There were a record six Canadians selected at the 2019 National Basketball Association Draft from Brooklyn, New York on Thursday. Canada sets the record for the most players drafted from a single country in one year outside the United States. However, in an interesting storyline, four of the six Canadians ended up being traded.
The six Canadians drafted were Duke shooting guard and small forward R.J. Barrett of Toronto, Ontario (third overall by the New York Knicks), Virginia Tech guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Toronto, Ontario (17th overall by the Brooklyn Nets), Gonzaga power forward Brandon Clarke of Vancouver, British Columbia (21st overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder), Florida State power forward Mfiondu Kabengele of Burlington, Ontario (27th overall by the Brooklyn Nets), Michigan small forward Ignas Brazdeikis of Oakville, Ontario (47th overall by the Sacramento Kings) and Iowa State shooting guard Marial Shayok of Ottawa, Ontario (54th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers). Of the six, Barrett has the most potential after leading Team Canada to a gold medal and being the most valuable player of the 2017 FIBA under-19 Basketball World Cup in Egypt.
Of the four Canadians who were traded, two players were traded by the Nets. Brooklyn dealt Kabengele to the Los Angeles Clippers for a second round draft pick in the 2019 NBA Entry Draft (Jaylen Hands) and a first round draft pick in the 2020 NBA Entry Draft. The Nets also traded Alexander-Walker to the Atlanta Hawks with Allen Crabbe and a first round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft for Taurean Prince and a second round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Hawks then traded the eighth (Jaxson Hayes), 17th (Alexander-Walker), and 35th picks (Marcos Louzada Silva) in the 2019 NBA Draft along with the first round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to the Pelicans for Slomon Hill, the 57th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (Jordan Bone) and a future second round NBA Draft pick.
Clarke was traded from Oklahoma City to Memphis for a first round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (Darius Bazley) and a second round draft pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Brazdeikis was traded from Sacramento to New York for the second round draft pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (Kyle Guy).
