NEW YORK โ In an NBA Draft that went largely as expected Thursday, the Arizona Wildcats managed to throw in a few subtle surprises.
The first was the Finnish flag that UAโs Lauri Markkanen flashed on the inside of his suit jacket as he took the Barclays Center podium as the No. 7 pick, making him officially Finlandโs third NBA player and highest draftee ever.
Then there was the late news that guard Kadeem Allen, universally projected not to be drafted, went No. 53 to the Boston Celtics after a strong predraft showing. And the knowledge that, as the No. 60 and final pick passed, that neither UAโs Kobi Simmons nor Chance Comanche were taken.
Simmons, who had been projected as a late second-round pick, will join Comanche and Brandon Ashley (2015) as the only Wildcats to go undrafted after leaving UA early to declare for the draft.
For Markkanen himself, though, the night maybe wasnโt really about surprise as much as awkwardness. And it actually started about a half-hour before he took the stage.
At that point early in the draft, just before Washingtonโs Markelle Fultz went No. 1 to Philadelphia, the Timberwolves were reportedly working to trade their No. 7 pick to Chicago. Minnesota wound up trading the No. 7 pick, plus Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn, for Jimmy Butler.
Markkanenโs agent, Michaelk Lelchitski, said he found out about it just before the evening started.
โWe had an idea the Bulls could be interested,โ Lelchitski said. โThey just had to get into position to take him.โ
But even though news of the trade had spread before the No. 7 pick was announced, Markkanen was given a Timberwolves hat to wear on stage and was even asked during his in-arena interview to cry out the Timberwolvesโ โhowl.โ
Markkanen, who isnโt the sort to howl in just about any situation, offered a meek version of it.
He knew he wasnโt heading for Minnesota, even if the announcers didnโt.
Asked about the moment afterward, Markkanen didnโt speak of it directly.
โMost of the questions were about Chicago,โ Markkanen said. โBut Iโm just happy to be here and just glad to be involved in it. Iโm just honored if some team, organization, includes me in trades.โ
After his on-stage interview, though, Markkanen was ushered away from sight. He did not appear on ESPN and was skipped over by about 15 players in the NBAโs interview room, making a gathering of five Finnish journalists quite nervous that they might never get a chance to speak with him โ as daybreak neared in their home country.
โThis is the only reason we came here,โ said Saska Saarikoski, of Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
After about an hour, the Bulls announced the trade was official and Markkanen was brought back into the post-draft washing machine. He finally donned a Bulls hat, dribbled a basketball during an NBA photo shoot, then walked into the interview room and talked about his new team.
Even though the Timberwolves were the team Markkanen followed as a fan growing up in Finland, Markkanen was quite aware the Bulls have some pretty appealing history.
โIโm really honored to be part of this organization, and canโt wait to go there and do what I can,โ Markkanen said. โItโs just a blessing to be (a Bull). And of course with Michael Jordan, greatest player ever to play, itโs huge to be a part of it.โ
By going No. 7, Markkanen ties Damon Stoudamire (1995) as the fifth-highest draft pick taken out of Arizona. Derrick Williams (2011) and Mike Bibby (1998) were No. 2 picks, while Sean Elliott went No. 3 in 1989 and Aaron Gordon was No. 4 in 2014.
In addition, Markkanen was the third Pac-12 player picked in the draft, after the conference posted its first-ever 1-2 selections when Fultz went first to Philadelphia and UCLAโs Lonzo Ball went second to the Lakers.
The Pac-12 broke its 2008 record of picks in the two-round draft era with 13, but it did so in a surprising manner. Thatโs because Allen and Calโs Jabari Bird (56) were among the final seven picks taken in the 60-player draft.
Allenโs draft selection was a public surprise, though it was known that he attracted considerable interest during the spring predraft process. He played well at the NBAโs seniors-only Portsmouth Invitational, and then was invited to the NBA Combine and also participated in 15 workouts for NBA teams.
The selection of Allen, who was unavailable for comment, was also no surprise to somebody else: His former backcourt mate at Arizona, senior Parker Jackson-Cartwright.
โNo one deserves this moment and opportunity more than my brother Kadeem Allen,โ Jackson-Cartwright tweeted. โBeen proving people wrong all his life and will continue!โ
