Stu Jackson, general manager for the first five seasons, made several non-optimal player selection decisions. This included selecting Bryant Reeves in the 1995 draft, and signing him to a US$65 million six-year contract extension in 1997, putting the Grizzlies in a salary cap squeeze. From then he consequently drafted point guards, including Antonio Daniels, who failed to develop. Jackson traded a 2003 first-round pick for Otis Thorpe, who "hated Vancouver". He signed free agent Tony Massenburg for US$1.5 million, just to sign Isaac Austin for US$5.5 million and leave Massenburg on the bench. Griffiths retrospectively stated that the draft conditions from the NBA did not allow the franchise to build a winning team in years, and that the NBA had asked too high a price for not providing the means of a suitable income. However, he did draft Shareef Abdur-Rahim and his hands were tied when top pick Steve Francis refused to play for Vancouver. On the other hand, the Raptors succeeded in drafting Vince Carter, reached the playoffs in the 1999–2000 season and played consistently in front of sell-out crowds.