1995 NBA expansion draft explained

1995 NBA expansion draft
Sport:	Basketball
Date:	June 24, 1995
League:	NBA
First:	B. J. Armstrong
Expansion Teams:	Toronto Raptors Vancouver Grizzlies
Expansion Season:	1995–96 NBA season
Prev:	1989
Next:	2004

The 1995 NBA expansion draft was the tenth expansion draft in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 24, 1995, so that the newly founded Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies could acquire players for the upcoming . Toronto was awarded an expansion team on September 30, 1993,^[1] while Vancouver was awarded the league's 29th franchise on April 27, 1994. They were the first NBA teams based in Canada since the Toronto Huskies.

In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twenty-seven other NBA teams had protected eight players from their roster, and the Raptors and the Grizzlies selected fourteen and thirteen unprotected players respectively, one from each team.

Prior to the draft, the league conducted a coin flip between the Raptors and the Grizzlies to decide their draft order in this expansion draft and in the 1995 NBA draft. The Grizzlies won the coin flip and chose to have the higher pick in the 1995 Draft, allowing the Raptors to receive the first selection and the right to select fourteen players in the expansion draft.^[2]

The Raptors were formed and owned by a group headed by Toronto businessman John Bitove. Brendan Malone was hired as the franchise's first head coach. The Raptors used their first pick to select three-time NBA champion B. J. Armstrong from the Chicago Bulls. However, Armstrong refused to report for training and was traded to the Golden State Warriors for five other players. The Raptors' other selections included four-time NBA champion John Salley and six other former first-round picks, Doug Smith, Willie Anderson, Ed Pinckney, Acie Earl, B. J. Tyler and Oliver Miller. Seven players from the expansion draft joined the Raptors for their inaugural season, but only Miller, Earl and Žan Tabak played more than one season for the team. Tabak and Andrés Guibert were the only international players in the draft.

The Grizzlies were formed and owned by Vancouver sports magnate Arthur Griffiths. Former Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Brian Winters was hired as the franchise's first head coach. The Grizzlies used their first pick to select former first-round pick Greg Anthony from the New York Knicks. The Grizzlies' other selections included three-time NBA champion Byron Scott and three other former first-round picks, Benoit Benjamin, Doug Edwards and Blue Edwards. On draft day, the Grizzlies acquired a second-round draft pick from the Orlando Magic in exchange for selecting Rodney Dent, who had never played in the NBA.^[3] Eight players from the expansion draft joined the Grizzlies for their inaugural season, but only Anthony and Blue Edwards played more than one season for the team.

Key

Pos.	G	F	C
Position	Guard	Forward	Center

Selections

Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	Previous team	NBA years	Career with the franchise	Ref.
1	^+	G		Toronto Raptors	Chicago Bulls		—	^[4]
2		G		Vancouver Grizzlies	New York Knicks		–	^[5]
3		F		Toronto Raptors	Los Angeles Clippers			^[6]
4		F		Vancouver Grizzlies	Orlando Magic		—	^[7]
5		F/C		Toronto Raptors	Minnesota Timberwolves		—	^[8]
6		F/C		Vancouver Grizzlies	Los Angeles Lakers			^[9]
7		G		Toronto Raptors	Golden State Warriors		—	^[10]
8		F		Vancouver Grizzlies	Denver Nuggets		—	^[11]
9		F		Toronto Raptors	Seattle SuperSonics		—	^[12]
10		G		Vancouver Grizzlies	Phoenix Suns		—	^[13]
11		F		Toronto Raptors	Dallas Mavericks		—	^[14]
12		G		Vancouver Grizzlies	Sacramento Kings		—	^[15]
13		F		Toronto Raptors	Portland Trail Blazers		—	^[16]
14		F		Vancouver Grizzlies	Washington Bullets		—	^[17]
15		C		Toronto Raptors	Houston Rockets		–	^[18]
16		F/C		Vancouver Grizzlies	Charlotte Hornets			^[19]
17		G/F		Toronto Raptors	San Antonio Spurs			^[20]
18		G		Vancouver Grizzlies	Indiana Pacers			^[21]
19		F		Toronto Raptors	Milwaukee Bucks			^[22]
20		G/F		Vancouver Grizzlies	Cleveland Cavaliers			^[23]
21		F/C		Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics		–	^[24]
22		C		Vancouver Grizzlies	New Jersey Nets			^[25]
23		G		Toronto Raptors	Philadelphia 76ers		—	^[26]
24		F		Vancouver Grizzlies	Atlanta Hawks			^[27]
25		F/C		Toronto Raptors	Miami Heat			^[28]
26		G/F		Vancouver Grizzlies	Utah Jazz		–	^[29]
27		C		Toronto Raptors	Detroit Pistons		–	^[30]

Notes

• Number of years played in the NBA prior to the draft
• Career with the expansion franchise that drafted the player
• Never played a game for the franchise
• Never played in the NBA prior to the expansion draft
• Andrés Guibert defected from Cuba to Puerto Rico in 1993.^[31]
• Žan Tabak represented SFR Yugoslavia national team prior to the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia in 1992.

Trades

Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of future draft picks between the teams, along with a particular agreement in the expansion draft.

• The Vancouver Grizzlies agreed to select Rodney Dent from the Orlando Magic in exchange for a future second-round pick.^[3]

References

General

• Web site: NBA Expansion Drafts: Results. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100329091903/http://www.nba.com/history/expansion_drafts.html. 29 March 2010. dead.
• Web site: All-Time NBA Expansion Draft Results . NBA.com/Bobcats . Turner Sports Interactive, Inc . October 22, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080116123003/http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/draft_central_expansion_alltime_results.html . January 16, 2008 .
• Web site: 1995 NBA Expansion Draft. basketball-reference.com. March 11, 2010.

Specific

External links

• NBA.com
• NBA.com: NBA Draft History

Notes and References

1. Web site: Laying the Groundwork for the NBA in Toronto. NBA.com/Raptors. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. 2009-08-31.
2. Web site: The NBA Settles North of the Border. NBA.com/Grizzlies. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. 2009-09-01.
3. Web site: Memphis Grizzlies 2009–10 Media Guide (pg. 119). September 27, 2010. NBA.com/Grizzlies. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. PDF. https://web.archive.org/web/20121109153834/http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/media/media_guide-2009.pdf. 2012-11-09. dead.
4. Web site: B.J. Armstrong Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 3, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100915073723/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/armstbj01.html. 15 September 2010 . live.
5. Web site: Greg Anthony Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
6. Web site: Tony Massenburg Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100925030449/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/masseto01.html. 25 September 2010 . live.
7. Web site: Armstrong Becomes Top Expansion Pick. June 25, 1995. Los Angeles Times. Heisler, Mark. October 11, 2010.
8. Web site: Andres Guibert Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
9. Web site: Antonio Harvey Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100831223809/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/harvean01.html. 31 August 2010 . live.
10. Web site: Keith Jennings Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
11. Web site: Reggie Slater Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
12. Web site: Dontonio Wingfield Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
13. Web site: Trevor Ruffin Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
14. Web site: Doug Smith Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
15. Web site: Derrick Phelps Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
16. Web site: Jerome Kersey Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100915074748/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kerseje01.html. 15 September 2010 . live.
17. Web site: Larry Stewart Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
18. Web site: Žan Tabak Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
19. Web site: Kenny Gattison Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
20. Web site: Willie Anderson Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100924232151/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/anderwi01.html. 24 September 2010 . live.
21. Web site: Byron Scott Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100906083603/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/scottby01.html. 6 September 2010 . live.
22. Web site: Ed Pinckney Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100925030722/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/pincked01.html. 25 September 2010 . live.
23. Web site: Gerald Wilkins Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100925002531/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wilkige01.html. 25 September 2010 . live.
24. Web site: Acie Earl Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
25. Web site: Benoit Benjamin Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100830151756/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/benjabe01.html. 30 August 2010 . live.
26. Web site: B.J. Tyler Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
27. Web site: Doug Edwards Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
28. Web site: John Salley Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010.
29. Web site: Blue Edwards Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100925030434/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/edwarbl01.html. 25 September 2010 . live.
30. Web site: Oliver Miller Statistics. basketball-reference.com. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100927065113/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/milleol01.html. 27 September 2010 . live.
31. Web site: Defecting Cuban Finds Invisible Barrier Tallest. Araton, Harvey. August 14, 1994. October 3, 2010. The New York Times.