Raptors #1 pick National Post

[Nesterofish]

TORONTO - Maurizio Gherardini, the newly hired vice-president and assistant general manager with the Toronto Raptors, had a hard time playing coy yesterday. But he tried.

"I don't know who you're talking about," he said yesterday when the name of top prospect Andrea Bargnani was raised during an informal meeting with the Toronto media. "I know nothing."

Gherardini, of course, knows just about everything there is to know about Bargnani, having recruited him for Italy's Benetton Treviso when the Italian big man was still in his teens.

"The priority is going to be what is best for the club," Gherardini maintained. "On the other hand, I have no doubt that Bargnani's a of a player."

But aside from waxing enthusiastic about the 20-year-old's potential, there was little Gherardini could say yesterday, the NBA Draft just two days away. Facts are hard to come by and, in their absence, the hypothetical rules.

The imagined possibilities for the Raptors are still apparently many. The list of players potentially bound for Toronto has grown in recent days to include Earl Watson of the Seattle SuperSonics and Marquis Daniels of the Dallas Mavericks -- possible trade bait including Mike James and Alvin Williams.

Meanwhile, popular opinion on who Toronto will draft if it keeps the first pick -- or at least remains near the top of the draft -- has narrowed to Bargnani, University of Texas forward LaMarcus Aldridge and Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison.

If Gherardini knows anything about any of this, he did not offer any insight yesterday. Colangelo will meet with the media himself this afternoon, but all answers will likely have to wait until tomorrow night.

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[Pistons < Spurs]

Raptors' assistant high on Bargnani
All eyes on Toronto as NBA draft looms

ROBERT MACLEOD

BASKETBALL REPORTER

What's known is that Andrea Bargnani is seven feet tall, 20 years old and Italian born and raised. He is described as a little bit Dirk Nowitzki, a little bit Pau Gasol.

What's not known is whether Bargnani will be the No. 1 pick in the National Basketball Association draft tomorrow night.

For the first time in their 12-year history, the Toronto Raptors, who select first, hold the key to the NBA's new-talent box. As there is no consensus top pick, there is much intrigue as to whom Bryan Colangelo, Toronto's president and general manager, will take with the first pick.

All the clues point to Bargnani, a young and rising power forward who has honed his skill playing professionally for Benetton Treviso the past several seasons in Italy. He is considered the best international prospect in the draft.

Arguably, no one knows him better than Maurizio Gherardini, the former general manager at Benetton. He has monitored Bargnani's development for close to four years. Gherardini recruited Bargnani to Benetton. And Gherardini's recent arrival as the Raptors' vice-president and assistant general manager has only fuelled speculation that Bargnani will soon join the club.

"What I can tell you is, first of all . . . he's much bigger than people think," Gherardini said yesterday. "He's a seven-footer with no shoes on. He's not 225 [pounds], he's 246 to 248 right now. He's got a great body. That's besides the talent. It's not by coincidence that he was voted the top young European basketball player this year.

"He started the season as a 15-minute player for us and he ended up playing 32, 34 minutes as a starter. We started the season with basically nothing to expect. We ended up winning the championship with Bargnani [being] very consistent."

Raptors fans may remember Bargnani from two years ago, when, as an 18-year-old, he lined up against Chris Bosh during a preseason game between Toronto and Benetton at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors were fortunate to escape with an 86-83 win. Bargnani played an impressive 22 minutes, knocking down six of 15 shots and scoring 13 points. He also had five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Gherardini said that performance convinced him Bargnani was NBA material.

"We thought he was going to be good," he said. "After that game, we realized he could be special. From that time on I think he's always been improving.

"He's got the talent, both technical-wise and physically to be a great player," Gherardini said.

He said the comparisons to Nowitzki, the German star who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, and Gasol, the Spaniard who averaged 20.4 points a game for the Memphis Grizzlies last season, are not far off the mark.

"Nowitzki's Nowitzki, but [Bargnani's] got a great touch," Gherardini said. "But if you look at the way he moves . . . I would place him somewhere in between the Nowitzki style and the Gasol style. He's also the kind of guy who goes up for the big dunk, keeps the ball high.

"For example . . . Bargnani led the league in blocked shots this year. He's big, he has long reach, and he also goes for the block."


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