Raptors Take Bargnani With No. 1 Pick

Andrea Bargnani, a forward from Italy, poses for a photo with NBA commissioner David Stern after being selected by the Toronto Raptors as the first pick overall in the 2006 NBA Draft Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow) (Jason Decrow - AP)

NEW YORK -- Andrea Bargnani went first. Then came the trades. The Toronto Raptors selected Bargnani with the No. 1 pick Wednesday night in an unpredictable NBA draft that saw four of the top seven picks switch teams by the middle of the first round.

LaMarcus Aldridge of Texas went second to the Chicago Bulls, starting a flurry of trades that would also include the fourth, sixth and seventh picks.

Aldridge's rights were later dealt to Portland for the rights to Tyrus Thomas, who had been chosen fourth, and forward Viktor Khryapa.

"Right before they said my name, they said, 'They are going to call your name in a minute, but don't worry about it, they are going to trade you,'" Aldridge said.

The Trail Blazers weren't done dealing. They acquired the rights to Randy Foye, taken seventh by the Boston Celtics, along with Raef LaFrentz, Dan Dickau and cash for Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and a 2008 second-round pick.

The Blazers then shipped Foye's rights to Minnesota for Brandon Roy, the Washington guard taken sixth by the Timberwolves.

"When I see the guys go 1, 2, 3, it was just nerve-racking," Foye said. "But then like two picks before, my agent and Brandon's agent were making eye contact and I didn't know what was going on at the time. And once I saw my agent's face light up, he was like, 'Yeah, Boston is going to take you.'

"And then, 'Portland is going to take you.' And then when they said Minnesota, I was like OK, good. Bring it on."

There were 15 trades, likely the product of a draft that lacked star power. High school players are no longer eligible, meaning Greg Oden, who surely would have been the No. 1 pick, is headed to Ohio State instead of the NBA.

The Raptors didn't think they needed a deal, confident that Bargnani, a 20-year-old forward from Italy, can live up to comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki.

"Everyone has strengths, weaknesses, etc.," general manager Bryan Colangelo said. "But at the end of the day, it came down that we felt that Andrea Bargnani was really the best pick for the future of this organization going forward. It's not about today. It's about today and tomorrow and we think that Andrea is a player that's not only going to help us in the short run, but we think he's going to grow into a terrific star in this league."

The 6-foot-10 Bargnani, the first European player taken first overall, has drawn the comparisons to the Dallas Mavericks' All-Star because of his outside shooting skills. Playing last season for Benetton Treviso in Italy's Lega A, Bargnani shot 37 percent from 3-point range.