1995 NBA Expansion Draft

The 1995 NBA Expansion Draft was the tenth expansion draft 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 1995–96 season. Toronto was awarded an expansion team on September 30, 1993,^[1] while Vancouver was awarded the league's 29th franchise on April 27, 1994.^[2] They were the first NBA teams based in Canada since the 1946–47 season Toronto Huskies.^[1] 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

Selections

Byron Scott was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies from the Indiana Pacers with the 18th pick.

John Salley was selected by the Toronto Raptors from the Miami Heat with the 25th pick.

Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	Previous team	NBA years[a]	Career with the franchise[b]	Ref.
1	Armstrong, B. J.B. J. Armstrong+	G	United States	Toronto Raptors	Chicago Bulls	7000600000000000000♠6	—[c]	[4]
2	Anthony, GregGreg Anthony	G	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	New York Knicks	7000400000000000000♠4	1995–1997	[5]
3	Massenburg, TonyTony Massenburg	F	United States	Toronto Raptors	Los Angeles Clippers	7000300000000000000♠3	1995–1996	[6]
4	Dent, RodneyRodney Dent#[A]	F	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Orlando Magic	5000000000000000000♠0[d]	—[c]	[7]
5	Guibert, AndrésAndrés Guibert	F/C	Cuba[e]	Toronto Raptors	Minnesota Timberwolves	7000200000000000000♠2	—[c]	[8]
6	Harvey, AntonioAntonio Harvey	F/C	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Los Angeles Lakers	7000200000000000000♠2	1995	[9]
7	Jennings, KeithKeith Jennings	G	United States	Toronto Raptors	Golden State Warriors	7000300000000000000♠3	—[c]	[10]
8	Slater, ReggieReggie Slater	F	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Denver Nuggets	7000100000000000000♠1	—[c]	[11]
9	Wingfield, DontonioDontonio Wingfield	F	United States	Toronto Raptors	Seattle SuperSonics	7000100000000000000♠1	—[c]	[12]
10	Ruffin, TrevorTrevor Ruffin	G	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Phoenix Suns	7000100000000000000♠1	—[c]	[13]
11	Smith, DougDoug Smith	F	United States	Toronto Raptors	Dallas Mavericks	7000400000000000000♠4	—[c]	[14]
12	Phelps, DerrickDerrick Phelps	G	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Sacramento Kings	7000100000000000000♠1	—[c]	[15]
13	Kersey, JeromeJerome Kersey	F	United States	Toronto Raptors	Portland Trail Blazers	7001110000000000000♠11	—[c]	[16]
14	Stewart, LarryLarry Stewart	F	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Washington Bullets	7000400000000000000♠4	—[c]	[17]
15	Tabak, ŽanŽan Tabak	C	Croatia[f]	Toronto Raptors	Houston Rockets	7000100000000000000♠1	1995–1998	[18]
16	Gattison, KennyKenny Gattison	F/C	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Charlotte Hornets	7000800000000000000♠8	1995–1996	[19]
17	Anderson, WillieWillie Anderson	G/F	United States	Toronto Raptors	San Antonio Spurs	7000700000000000000♠7	1995–1996	[20]
18	Scott, ByronByron Scott	G	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Indiana Pacers	7001120000000000000♠12	1995–1996	[21]
19	Pinckney, EdEd Pinckney	F	United States	Toronto Raptors	Milwaukee Bucks	7001100000000000000♠10	1995–1996	[22]
20	Wilkins, GeraldGerald Wilkins	G/F	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Cleveland Cavaliers	7000900000000000000♠9	1995–1996	[23]
21	Earl, AcieAcie Earl	F/C	United States	Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics	7000200000000000000♠2	1995–1997	[24]
22	Benjamin, BenoitBenoit Benjamin	C	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	New Jersey Nets	7001100000000000000♠10	1995	[25]
23	Tyler, B. J.B. J. Tyler	G	United States	Toronto Raptors	Philadelphia 76ers	7000100000000000000♠1	—[c]	[26]
24	Edwards, DougDoug Edwards	F	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Atlanta Hawks	7000200000000000000♠2	1995–1996	[27]
25	Salley, JohnJohn Salley	F/C	United States	Toronto Raptors	Miami Heat	7000900000000000000♠9	1995–1996	[28]
26	Edwards, BlueBlue Edwards	G/F	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies	Utah Jazz	7000600000000000000♠6	1995–1998	[29]
27	Miller, OliverOliver Miller	C	United States	Toronto Raptors	Detroit Pistons	7000300000000000000♠3	1995–1996; 1997–1998	[30]

Notes

• ^a Number of years played in the NBA prior to the draft
• ^b Career with the expansion franchise that drafted the player
• ^c Never played a game for the franchise
• ^d Never played in the NBA prior to the expansion draft
• ^e Andrés Guibert defected from Cuba to Puerto Rico in 1993.^[31]
• ^f 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.

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

References

General

Specific

External links

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