Watching last night's NBA draft at the Air Canada Centre felt like a trip down memory lane. And the surprising thing was the memories were actually marginally good ones.
The Raptors , in a refreshing throwback, actually drafted an athlete - you know, one of those jump-out-of-the-gym, strong-as-a-bull fountains of talent that most good NBA teams have in quantity and Toronto hasn't had in eons. That's right. They didn't draft a lumbering maybe of a Euro, as they did in the first year of GM Bryan Colangelo's three-year descent to this year's draft lottery. They didn't make a draft-day trade for a lumbering has-been of a big-man, as they did last year. They drafted DeMar DeRozan, a 6-foot-7 pogo stick who will make you go, "Wow," more often than you say "Why?" And that alone, for a team a long way from title contention, isn't such a bad thing.
No one is saying DeRozan is the second coming of Vince Carter, the explosive swingman who starred on the only Raptors team to win a playoff series in 2001 - no one except DeRozan, who dangerously heaped the comparison on himself in his post-draft news conference and, before that, via Twitter. "Air Canada's back (in Toronto)," was the gist of the new guy's tweet. (Although with the national carrier teetering, not to mention the kid's California provenance, clearly DeRozan needs a fresher nickname. How about WestJet?)
It wouldn't be a Raptor draft night without an obligatory red flag, of course, and thankfully DeRozan's no-win Carter allusions weren't even as cringeworthy as, say, Rob Babcock insisting that Rafael Araujo is "not a stiff."
Yes, DeRozan's YouTube arsenal of dunks are certainly reminiscent, if not quite as impressive, as the work of a young Vinsanity. But no, he's not exactly a shoo-in to match Carter's accomplishments, which only include eight trips to the all-star game, a rookie of the year, an Olympic gold medal, a string of 50-point nights and a legendary quit-on-the-franchise suck-out.
But DeRozan, cut him some slack, is a 19-year-old from the hard streets of Compton who, in Colangelo's opinion, has "got a chance to be special." He first dunked as a sixth-grader. He dunked over Kobe Bryant at Bryant's skills academy in the summer before his one-year stint at the USC. He was a prodigious enough talent that it's been said that USC used two scholarships to get him for a season - one for DeRozan, and another for DeRozan's long-time friend Romeo Miller. Romeo, a chart-topping child rapper (and sub-mediocre college point guard) is the son of Percy Miller, the former Raptors training-camp prospect better known as the rapper Master P, who coached a club on which Romeo and DeRozan, apparently a package deal, were teammates.
Speaking of memories - it's always worth a laugh to reminisce about Master P's still-hard-to-fathom presence on Toronto's pre-season roster circa 1999, one of the first signs of then-coach Butch Carter's deep-down battiness, to be sure. Coach Carter argued the rapper's presence would shield Vince and Tracy McGrady from fame's harsh glare. Master P, upon his release, argued that, "besides Vince Carter, I'm probably the best investment (the Raptors ) could have made." So if DeRozan's a titch delusional about his place in the world, consider his mentors. And enjoy his development.
Last night Jay Triano, the Toronto coach, vowed to give the rookie plenty of playing time. And why not? The Raptors aren't exactly in the thick of the East's ongoing arms race. Vince Carter's arrival in Orlando keeps the Magic a contender even with Hedo Turkoglu poised to leave via free agency. Shaq O'Neal's shipment to Cleveland doesn't hurt the Cavs one bit.
Said Colangelo: "We've got more work to do." So long as DeRozan understands that, clear the runway for a memorable ascent.
