toronto on the draft

[Ellie Cutler <ellie@oreilly.com>]

                      Raptors are looking up

                      High-schooler an option if they can't make deal

                          By BILL HARRIS AND FRANK ZICARELLI,
                                    TORONTO SUN
                        The Raptors went back to high school last night.

                      Kid phenom Jonathan Bender, an 18-year-old, 6-foot-11
                      forward from Picayune High School in Mississippi, was in
                      Toronto meeting with Raptors brass. If the Raptors
fail to move
                      up from the No. 5 spot to select Maryland point guard
Steve
                      Francis or UCLA point guard Baron Davis in the NBA draft
                      tomorrow, it's not out of the question that Bender
could wind up
                      being one of the players Toronto takes home.

                      But to state it bluntly, landing anything less than
Francis or Davis
                      would be "settling" for the Raptors. Toronto isn't
anxious to select
                      another high schooler (they took Tracy McGrady with
the ninth
                      pick in 1997), but may be forced to consider Bender
given the
                      theory of taking the best player available.

                      Bender certainly doesn't fit with a Raptors team that
is craving
                      short-term success. And drafting a high schooler
would send an
                      odd message to veteran Charles Oakley, who played
last season
                      in Toronto and is pondering his options as a free agent.

                      Chicago holds the No. 1 pick in the draft, followed by
                      Vancouver at No. 2. While the Raptors' hopes of
working out a
                      deal with the Bulls appeared to be faint as of last
night, a swap
                      with the Grizzlies -- perhaps in some sort of three-team
                      arrangement -- would ensure that Toronto could snare
either
                      Francis or Davis.

                      However, Minnesota -- which has the No. 6 pick --
apparently
                      is thinking exactly the same way regarding Francis
and Davis.

                      If the Raptors are foiled in their attempts to trade
up, the next
                      best thing might be trading down.

                      Rumours yesterday suggested that Washington -- which
holds the
                      No. 7 pick -- and Toronto were discussing a deal that
would see
                      the teams swap positions, presumably so the Wizards
could
                      select Miami of Ohio's Wally Szczerbiak. The Raptors
might
                      reacquire forward Tracy Murray in that scenario.

                      Most mock drafts have assumed Francis, Duke's Elton
Brand,
                      Davis and Rhode Island's Lamar Odom will be the top four
                      players taken, not necessarily in that order.

                      The talented but mysterious Odom had a workout scheduled
                      yesterday in Rhode Island and many teams -- including
the
                      Raptors -- had representatives there.

                      If Odom, who a couple of weeks ago explored the
possibility of
                      regaining his college eligibility, slipped to No. 5,
the Raptors
                      would be faced with a curious -- but potentially
profitable --
                      predicament.

                      Before yesterday, Odom had worked out only for
Vancouver.

                      Cleveland is a possible trading ally if the Raptors
move down.
                      The Cavs hold the No. 8 pick and covet Szczerbiak.

                      Rumours have the Cavs sending either forward Andrew
                      DeClercq or point guard Brevin Knight and the No. 8
pick to the
                      Raptors for No. 5.

                      The Raptors also have the No. 12 pick and there's a
chance

                      Utah point guard Andre Miller could slip that far.

                      Another possibility is raw 7-foot-3 centre Aleksandar
Radojevic,
                      but his stock seems to be rising -- perhaps into the
top 10.

                      The size-challenged Knicks, who have the 15th pick,
are said to
                      be intrigued by Radojevic and are looking to move up.

                      Reports out of Dallas said the Raptors explored
sending the No.
                      5 pick to the Mavs for Canadian point guard Steve Nash.
                      However, league sources said the Raptors have little
interest in
                      Nash, in part because of his hefty contract (he's
entering the
                      second year of a six-year, $33-million deal). 

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