It is a testament to the depth of young basketball talent Canada is producing that history may be in the offing as the lead-up to this year’s NBA draft begins here in earnest this week.
The league’s draft combine — a series of group and individual workouts along with a series of physical and psychological tests — includes more than 60 of the top prospects for the June 27 draft, including enough local Toronto talent to make it one of the most intriguing drafts ever.
There is a slim chance — if the guesswork of mock drafts are to be believed this far in advance — that UNLV forward and Toronto native Anthony Bennett could eclipse Tristan Thompson (fourth overall, 2011) as the highest selected Canadian ever.
If Gonzaga forward Kelly Olynyk, a resident of Kamloops whose father, Ken, was the long-time University of Toronto head coach, earns himself a lottery spot it will mark the first time two Canadians have been taken in the top half of the first round of the draft.
And Myck Kabongo, a Toronto product and a Texas point guard, would make it an historic Canadian threesome if he’s drafted, as expected, sometime early in the second round.
Two of the three — Bennett had shoulder surgery and is out for four months — are here for three days of workouts and meetings with teams hoping to raise their stock.
“Players can move up and down a lot, but this is early in the process,” one NBA official said recently.
That Bennett is injured is keeping with an enduring theme in a draft that lacks a splashy marquee player, a fact that will put added emphasis on workouts and interviews here. Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel (knee) is out for the summer as is Maryland’s Alex Len (ankle).
While both are going to be lottery picks — Noel is likely to go No. 1 overall regardless — if teams find a safer, more ready teenager through the workout process that starts here it could affect the top of the draft.
Players and their agents are, typically, taking a careful approach lest flaws in talent become more apparent in workouts against other players. Some combine invitees will only take physicals and meet with team officials rather than go through full workouts.
There are generally three things that teams look for above any drills scenario here since all the top prospects have been seen repeatedly over the course of the college season.
Some teams put high value on how a player conducts himself in the interview process, they look to see if players have been working diligently on conditioning and they want to see effort in all drills.
The Raptors are represented here by a group of front-office types but basically just as a formality. So far without a pick in the draft — they only retain it if they vault to the top three in next week’s lottery — they will take in workouts as basic due diligence in case something comes up.
But with the future of president and general manager Bryan Colangelo still undetermined, it will be anything but business as usual for the Toronto contingent.