http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...Basketball/home<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Draft night brings intrigue and lots of questionsMICHAEL GRANGE From Thursday's Globe and MailE-mail Tonight's National Basketball Association draft is the last official function of the 2006-07 season.Around the NBA, men whose livelihoods depend on their ability to judge what a 20-year-old will do at 25 will gather in their "draft operation centres" ? the NBA league office has nixed the use of the term war room ? to try to chart the future of their franchises.It's always a welcome day for hoops heads. Like spring training in baseball, draft day is full of possibilities before the inevitable truth that the guy your team just picked doesn't have a jump shot and, with his pocket now full of money, isn't really interested in developing one. At the top there is the Greg Oden-Kevin Durant conundrum. The pair of can't-miss prospects will surely occupy the top two picks, but are so different in style that debating which of the college freshmen should be picked first has become a kind of basketball Rorschach test.Traditionalists argue a team can never go wrong with a smart, athletic big man such as Oden to protect the basket. The flip side is that in a league increasingly favouring smaller, skill-based players, having a slashing, 6-foot-10 wing player (Durant) is the way of the future.Elsewhere in the draft there is enough drama and intrigue to make your head spin, with many of the top-10 picks possibly affected by rumoured trades involving some of the NBA's biggest stars, including Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce and Jermaine O'Neal.As of now, Canada's NBA team will be sitting it all out, watching with interest just like everyone at home.The Toronto Raptors' first-round pick (No. 22) belongs to the Charlotte Bobcats (via the Cleveland Cavaliers) to complete a 2002 deal. Toronto's second-round pick (No. 52) is in the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers because of previous deals.Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo said yesterday he has been invited into the top 10 of the draft ? an NBA source said Charlotte was shopping its No. 8 pick pretty actively. The appeal for the Raptors would be a chance to pick the likes of Corey Brewer or Jeff Green, potentially answering the team's problems at small forward for a decade or so. But in the next breath, Colangelo suggested the price to get into the top third of the draft was too steep, which likely meant the deal would cost the Raptors point guard Jose Calderon and change."We're going to take the prudent approach," Colangelo said. "We're not going to do something just because we get caught up in the frenzy around the draft."With that in mind, there's a better chance the Raptors might do something later in the first round, where club sources indicated there is a chance to deal with one of the teams with multiple picks ? the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns or Charlotte ? the asking price being a future first-round selection.Toronto's been hinted as having a particular enthusiasm for Marco Belinelli and Rudy Fernandez, a pair of European shooting guards who might be available in the bottom third of the draft.But the sounder move might be a grab for Tiago Splitter if he's available in the No. 20-plus pick range. An active seven-footer, the Brazilian specializes in rebounding and defending, which the Raptors need, and would also be attractive because he wouldn't take up a roster spot until the 2008-09 season, after he's fulfilled his obligations to his Spanish club.It all might happen, some of it might happen, but chances are none of it will happen ? that's just the norm for draft night, when months of intrigue usually end up being sound and fury signifying nothing.Instead, the Raptors will be much busier a couple of days from now, when they can formally begin their chase for a free agent who can join their starting rotation, most likely as a small forward who would be a clear upgrade on Joey Graham or Carlos Delfino, the presumption being that veteran Morris Peterson is headed elsewhere.But that doesn't mean the events of tonight won't affect the Raptors in a big way. They already caught a major break when the top two picks ended up going to the Western Conference ? Portland and the Seattle SuperSonics, respectively ? thanks to the table-tennis balls at the draft lottery last month, but their good fortune can't last forever.As good as last season's 47 wins were, Toronto caught its share of good fortune at the expense of others. Injuries devastated the Boston Celtics. A return to health and a good player tagged with their pick at No. 5, let alone a trade that would add the likes of Shawn Marion or Jermaine O'Neal to their roster, would instantly make them a factor in the race for the coveted Atlantic Division banner.The Milwaukee Bucks were similarly derailed by injuries and have a chance to improve with their No. 6 pick, as well as a healthy Michael Redd and Bobby Simmons.And tonight should go a long way toward determining if the Atlanta Hawks' steady accumulation of assets after years of misery will help them turn the corner. If rumours that their No. 3 and No. 11 picks and some of their excess of young talent make them a factor in the bidding for Garnett, Marion or even Amare Stoudemire are correct, they could turn the corner at high speed.The 2006-07 season was an unqualified success for Toronto. But 2007-08 starts officially on Sunday.After that, nothing is guaranteed.</div>I wouldnt mind having a rudy fernandez, hes a pretty damn good athlete, and adds the outside jumper we need especially with Bargnani starting at the 5 this year.
