The Raptors finished the regular season with a record of 36 – 46, a 43.9% winning percentage for the season. Despite the losing record however, the Raptors were able to barely crawl into the playoffs as the 8th seed in the east, where they faced the defending champions the Miami Heat. The Heat eventually beat the Phoenix Suns 4 – 2 in the finals while the Raptors stayed home and watched ESPN.
Toronto had the second worst record of all teams that made playoffs and were christened with the 15th pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. The first pick went to the worst team in the league, Portland, who had a 25% to win. Indiana jumped a spot and grabbed the 2nd pick while Philadelphia won the 3rd pick. However due to a previous trade (I have no clue), Houston received Philadelphia’s pick.
The Raptors used the scouting period to take a look at 6 players, all projected to go in the top 20. They were as follow: Alando Tucker (SG, Wisconsin), Corey Brewer (SF, Florida), Roy Hibbert (C, Georgetown), Acie Law IV (PG, Texas A&M), Julian Wright (SF, Kansas), and Yi Jianlian (PF, China). Yi and Tucker were the most impressive amongst the 6. Yi schooled last year’s number one pick Andrea Bargnani 11 – 2, finishing the game with an impressive one handed dunk right over Bargnani. Tucker on the other hand ran circles around Luke Jackson, making 11-12 shots while forcing Jackson to shoot only 3-24.
After scouting, the Raptors’ first business was to re-sign franchise player Chris Bosh for 68 million over the next 5 years; however they chose to not re-sign starters Morris Peterson and T.J. Ford go. But with the 15th pick in the NBA draft, the Raptors had a pretty good chance to pickup some good rookies at starting salaries instead of playing Peterson and Ford each 20 million over the next 2 or 3 years.
The NBA also saw a flood of players retire during the off-season. The most notable retirees were Sam Cassell of the Clippers, Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen of the Spurs, Jalen Rose of the Suns, Toni Kukoc of the Bucks, and last but not least Dikembo Mutombo. Mutombo’s finger wag will be truly missed.
On draft night, the Raptors’ draft office was buzzing. The Raptors were fairly interested in Hibbert, however Hibbert did not manage to fall far enough and went to the Celtics at 9. Brewer would have been a possibility for the Raptors, but he went at 12th to the Sacramento Kings. When the Raptors turn came at 15th, they were astounded to find Chinese superstar Yi Jianlian still on the board. Yi, who is the first Chinese player to actually attend draft night, has been projected as the next big thing to Yao Ming. The Raptors did not hesitate and grabbed Yi. The Raptors had another chance to pick at #40, and they used it to fill up a small hole in at the SG position by taking Alando Tucker. Tucker awed the coaches and scouts with his speed and touch against Luke Jackson, and will most likely backup Anthony Parker and share time as the backup guard with Juan Dixon. The complete draft order was as follow:
1. Portland Trailblazers: Greg Oden 7’0 265 C Ohio State
2. Indiana Pacers: Kevin Durant 6’10, 220 SF Texas
3. Houston Rockets (From PHI): Joakim Noah 6’11 227 C Florida
4. Atlanta Hawks: Josh McRoberts 6’10, 240 PF Duke
5. New York Knicks: Nick Young, 6’6 200 SG USC
6. Charlotte Bobcats: Daequan Cook 6’5 219 SG Ohio State
7. Milwaukee Bucks: Marcus Williams 6’7 206 SG Arizona
8. Los Angeles Lakers: Brandan Wright 6’10 213 PG North Carolina
9. Boston Celtics: Roy Hibbert 7’2 283 C Georgetown
10. Seattle Supersonics: Al Horford 6’9 250 PF Florida
11. Minnesota Timberwolves: Kyle Visser 6’11 250 C Wake Forest
12. Sacramento Kings: Corey Brewer 6’9 182 SG Florida
13. Memphis Grizzlies: Dominic James 5’11 175 PG Marquette
14. New Orleans Hornets: Loren Stokes 6’3 173 PG Hofstra
15. Toronto Raptors: Yi Jianlian 7’0 230 PF China
16. Orlando Magic: DJ White 6’9 250 PF Indiana
17. Chicago Bulls: Brandon Rush 6’6 202 SG Kansas
18. Washington Wizards: Acie Law IV 6’3 185 PG Texas A&M
19. New Jersey Nets: Nick Fazekas 6’11 242 PG Nevada
20. Houston Rockets: Darrell Arthur 6’9 230 PF Kansas
21. Golden State Warriors: Aaron Gray 7’0 270 C Pittsburgh
22. Utah Jazz: Jeff Green 6’8 235 SF Georgetown
23. Los Angeles Clippers: Al Thornton 6’8 220 SF Florida State
24. Denver Nuggets: Rudy Fernandez 6’6 172 Spain
25. Cleveland Cavaliers: Taddeus Young 6’8 216 SF Georgia Tech
26. Dallas Mavericks: Aaron Afflalo 6’4 215 SG UCLA
27. Detroit Pistons: Jermareo Davidson 6’10 220 PF Alabama
28. San Antonio Spurs: Taylor Hansbrough 6’8 245 PF North Carolina
29. Phoenix Suns: Quinton Hosley 6’6 213 SG Fresno State
30. Miami Heat: Marco Belinelli 6’5 201 SG Italy
Round 2
31. Portland Trailblazers: Sun Yue 6’9’’ 212 SG China
32. Philadelphia 76ers: Tiago Splitter 6’11 236 PF Brazil
33. Indiana Pacers: Hasheem Thabeet 7’4 256 C Connecticut
34. Atlanta Hawks: Marc Gasol 7’0 271 C Spain
35. New York Knicks: Sean Williams 6’11 239 C Boston College
36. Charlotte Bobcats: Julian Wright 6’8 225 SF Kansas
37. Milwaukee Bucks: Jared Dudley 6’7 213 SF Boston College
38. Los Angeles Lakers: Ekene Ibekwe 6’9 220 SF Maryland
39. Boston Celtics: Avis Waytt 6’11 230 PF N/A
40. Toronto Raptors: Alando Tucker 6’5 205 SF Wisconsin
41. Seattle Supersonics: Bobby Brown 6’1 165 PG Cal State Fullerton
42. Orlando Magic: Mohammed Abukar 6’10 224 PF San Diego St.
43. Minnesota Timberwolves: Ivan Radenovic 6’10 249 SF Arizona
44. Sacramento Kings: Morris Almond 6’6 204 SF Rice
45. Memphis Grizzlies: Craig Bradshaw 6’10 230 PF Winthrop
46. Chicago Bulls: Hibbert Hill 6’11 237 PF Providence
47. Washington Wizards: Trey Johnson 6’5 218 SG Jackson State
48. New Orleans Hornets: Mustafa Shakur 6’3 183 PG Arizona
49. New Jersey Nets: Mario Boggan 6’7 240 PF Oklahoma State
50. Houston Rockets: Sean Singletary 5’11 175 PG Virginia
51. Golden State Warriors: Mirza Begic 7’3 220 C Bosnia
52. Utah Jazz: Reyshaun Terry 6’7 232 SF North Carolina
53. Los Angeles Clippers: Zabian Dowdell 6’2 195 PG Virginia Tech
54. Denver Nuggets: De’Angelo Alexander 6’5 210 SG UNC-Charlotte
55. Cleveland Cavaliers: Derrick Byars 6’7 230 SF Vanderbilt
56. Dallas Mavericks: Brad Newley 6’7 205 SF Australia
57. Detroit Pistons: Brandon Heath 6’3 196 PG San Diego State
58. San Antonio Spurs: Curtis Sumpter 6’7 223 SF Villanova
59. Phoenix Suns: Jarrius Jackson 6’1 185 PG Texas Tech
60. Miami Heat: Stephane Lasme 6’8 234 SF Massachusetts
- During the free agent period the Toronto Raptors only made one significant move, signing former Seattle Supersonics starter Luke Ridnour for 12 million over 3 years. This will push Jose Calderon back to the 6th man position in order for Ridnour to start. Ridnour’s pass first and shoot second method should greatly benefit all the other players on the Raptors.
With this the Raptors ended all transactions and activities and moved onto the training camp. They decided to focus primarily on offense and athletic skills during camp rather than defense, and it paid off. Reports from Assistant Coach Ricky Peter told of improvements in Yi Jianlian’s strength, stamina, jumping and speed; while Joey Graham increased his quickness. Just before the first game of the season against the Dallas Mavericks, Coach Sam Mitchell named the following playing/starting roster:
As the Raptors look to begin the 2007-2008 season they hope to improve on their record from last year and progress even further into the playoffs. GO Raptors!
. But why there are two bosh on the starting line-up? and also i like the pics Jing 
so hot 
I hope to see good updates. (You are one of the best dynasty people)
