Fragen und Antworten » so that the Cardinals could bring up top prospect

TORONTO - As anticipated, Thursday nights NBA Draft turned out to be a historic evening for Canadian basketball, however the Raptors, the countrys lone team, became reluctant spectators despite their best efforts to get in on the festivities. In many ways it was a celebration of how far the country has come and how much the sport has grown within it. In total, four Canadian players were selected - setting a league record - including three in the top 18, all from the Greater Toronto Area. For the second consecutive year Canada produced the top pick, 19-year-old phenom and Vaughan-native Andrew Wiggins, who will join last years No. 1 selection Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dwight Powell - picked in the second-round of Thursdays draft - in Cleveland. Mississaugas Nik Stauskas followed suit, going to the Sacramento Kings at pick No. 8 before the Phoenix Suns - owners of the 18th pick - nabbed Brampton point guard Tyler Ennis, a player that sat atop the Raptors board when he heard his name called. It was a bittersweet moment for the 19-year-old Ennis, who was finally realizing his lifelong dream, albeit two picks away from beginning his career with his hometown team. The Raptors, drafting 20th, struck out on their top target but it wasnt for a lack of effort or interest. "We tried everything," Dwane Casey admitted shortly after the first-round concluded. "It just didnt work out." Masai Ujiri and his staff tracked Ennis throughout his freshman year at Syracuse and quickly became enamoured with his poise at the point guard position. Until recently they believed there was little chance he would fall to them, or even come close. With his stock fluctuating leading up to the draft, Ujiri hoped Ennis would be available to them, also exploring several scenarios to trade up and even entice the Suns to give him up after the selection had been made. With Ennis off the board, Ujiri opted for the next player on his wish list, Brazilian mystery man Bruno Caboclo "We decided we lost one," said the Raptors general manager, "were not going to lose the other one. So we jumped on it." The Raptors came that close to drafting what would have been the first Canadian selected in their 20-year franchise history, but given the rate in which the country is producing high-level talent its only a matter of time until that vision - which once seemed like a pipe dream - becomes a reality. "Ennis was a target for us but he was picked by another team," Ujiri lamented. "We will have Canadians on our team. Definitely we will have Canadian players on our team. Theyre all over the league now. The last two first picks have been Canadian." "We tried and it didnt work out this time," he continued, "but were glad theres a lot a lot of them in the league and eventually well get a couple of Canadians here, trust me. Itll come, well get them here." Thursday served as a friendly reminder, Canada isnt going anywhere. After hemming and hawing for weeks, the Cavaliers finally decided on Wiggins with their No. 1 overall pick. Decked out in a captivating black suit decorated with white floral print and topped off with a black bow tie, the one and done Kansas star couldnt hide his joy when first-year commissioner Adam Silver called his name. "A thousand thoughts are going through my head right now," Wiggins said minutes later. "Its a dream come true. Ive been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid. My dream was just to make the NBA and now going to high school and college the opportunity of going number one came into talk and now I accomplished that. So its a crazy feeling right now. I dont even know how I feel. It doesnt feel real right now." "I always believed it," Stauskas added. "I believed in myself and I dont think many other people did but this is something Ive always felt is a possibility for me and I just kept working my hardest to make it happen. Its a cliche but dreams really do come true when you put all your effort into it." What could this night mean for the country? "I just think its huge," Wiggins said. "It opens doors for all the youth and everyone in Canada. It gives them hope. Because coming up when I was Canada, I wasnt ranked or nothing, I wasnt known. I didnt have no offers or anything like that. But I just kept my head straight and kept working on my game and look where I am today. So I just think it gives everyone hope that they can do the same thing and accomplish whatever I do because its possible if they work hard." The Raptors, like most of the 29 other teams, did pass up on four other eligible Canadians that went undrafted Thursday. Montreals Khem Birch, Calgarys Jordan Bachynski, Toronto-native and reigning Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim and the 7-foot-5 Sim Bhullar, also from the Toronto area, didnt hear their name called. Instead, Toronto opted for UConn forward DeAndre Daniels with an early second-round pick and traded the 59th overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets. Ujiri has maintained that if and when the Raptors do add a Canadian he wont be employed for his passport and he wont be sitting at the end of the bench. The pressure surrounding that type of player in that situation would be unfair, hes said. All four of the undrafted Canadian players are expected to catch on with Summer League teams, hoping to earn a spot on an NBA roster before weighing their options overseas or in the D-League. Steve Atwater Jersey . New York Red Bulls. 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Drew Lock Jersey . -- Another baseball tradition is about to largely disappear: a manager, with a crazed look in his eyes, charging the field and getting into a face-to-face shouting match with an umpire.Scott Cullen has notes on a premier prospect getting the call, changes in the Red Sox rotation, a 40-year-old getting regular at-bats and more. INJURIES - Cardinals 1B Matt Adams has been put on the DL with calf tightness, resulting in some lineup shifting, with Allen Craig moving from right field to first base, so that the Cardinals could bring up top prospect Oscar Taveras, who was the No. 3 prospect coming into the season, according to Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. In 49 games at Triple-A, Taveras had 7 HR, 40 RBI, was hitting .325 with an .897 OPS. Hes already homered in his second major-league at-bat and if Taveras keeps hitting, the Cardinals will surely find a way to keep that bat in the lineup. - Bostons rotation is getting some new faces with LHP Felix Doubront and RHP Clay Buchholz on the DL. RHP Brandon Workman has taken one spot, but the more intriguing arm belongs to RHP Rubby De La Rosa, a power pitcher who struck out eight in seven shutout innings in his first major league start since 2011, when he underwent Tommy John surgery. De La Rosas average fastball was 95.0 MPH, a threshold surpassed by only a handful of starters this season. - Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira, who has been surprisingly productive with 9 HR, 25 RBI and a .242 AVG (.847 OPS) in 37 games, has suffered a setback with his ongoing wrist issues and will be evaluated Tuesday. If Tex has to go on the DL, that likely means more playing time for Kelly Johnson at first, though the Pinstripers could also shuffle Brian McCann there on occasion to get C J.R. Murphys bat into the lineup. Murphy has hit .348 with a .796 OPS in 18 games with the Yankees and had a .773 OPS in the minors last season (before hitting .192 with a .500 OPS in seven games at Triple-A this year). - With Mets CF Juan Lagares joining Eric Young Jr. on the DL, there is now an opportunity for 40-year-old Bobby Abreu, who is hitting .314 with an .880 OPS this season. - Rays RF Wil Myers is out with a sprained wrist. Hes struggled, hitting .227 with a .666 OPS in 53 games. Kevin Kiermaier get a crack at regular playing time and the 24-year-old already has a couple of home runs, thoguh hes been more about speed in the minors, hitting .305 with an .823 OPS and 11 stolen bases in 34 games at Triple-A. - Diamondbacks CF A.J. Pollock hitss the DL with a broken hand, and will miss six-to-eight weeks.dddddddddddd This creates an opportunity for 23-year-old Ender Inciarte, though he has a .380 OPS in 53 plate appearances thus far. He did hit .312 with an .807 OPS and seven steals in 26 games at Triple-A. - With 1B Nick Swisher and DH/3B/C Carlos Santana on the DL, keep an eye on 23-year-old 1B Jesus Aguilar, who had an .889 OPS at Triple-A before getting the call to the majors, where hes managed to hit .188 with a .488 OPS in his first 20 plate appearances. - Jeff Mathis will get some reps behind the plate for the Marlins while Jarrod Saltalamacchia recovers from a concussion. Mathis is hitting .300 with an .867 OPS this year, but hes a career .198 hitter (.573 OPS), so dont bank on that level of production continuing. - Royals 3B Danny Valencia went on the DL with a sprained left hand, giving Mike Moustakas a quick reprieve from his demotion to Triple-A. Moustakas mashed at Triple-A, hitting .355 with a .960 OPS in eight games, but hes been brutal with the Royals, hitting .148 with a .531 OPS. - Dodgers LF Carl Crawford has a sprained ankle, opening the door for Andre Ethier to get regular at-bats, playing centre field while Matt Kemp handles left. Ethier has hit a career-low .256 with a .708 OPS this season, but had an .826 OPS in May following a tough start (.618 OPS in March/April). GOOD ADDS (Available in at least 40% of TSN leagues) Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B/1B, Cleveland - 3 HR, 16 RBI, .361 AVG, 22 R, 133 AB (Available: 41.6%) Brock Holt, 3B, Boston - 1 HR, 11 RBI, .337 AVG, 12 R, 86 AB (Available: 96.4%) Lorenzo Cain, CF, Kansas City - 2 HR, 19 RBI, .328 AVG, 12 R, 122 AB (Available: 71.4%) Michael Saunders, RF, Seattle - 3 HR, 22 RBI, ..275 AVG, 24 R, 131 AB (Available: 86.8%) Kolten Wong, 2B, St. Louis - 0 HR, 11 RBI, .268 AVG, 12 R, 8 SB, 123 AB (Available: 72.5%) Collin McHugh, RHP, Houston - 3-3, 2.80 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 50 K, 45 IP (Available: 80.9%) Jaime Garcia, LHP, St. Louis - 1-0, 4.12 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 19 K, 19 2/3 IP (Available: 72.5%) Cody Allen, RHP, Cleveland - 2-1, 3.24 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 29 K, 23 1/3 IP (Available: 65.0%) Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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