Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 6

[Dr Positivity]

Biyombo could go top 6. Teams LOVE making picks on big men for their wingspan and athleticism.

If he jumps that high, that means prospects like Valanciunas/Knight/Walker/T.Jones could potentially drop.

What I would give to get another pick in the 10-18 range. Charlotte will sell one of those picks if you offer them enough and we have the TPE to make it work by taking back contract... though so does Dan Gilbert. 6-9 mil for the 10 or 16th pick sounds like a lot but come on MLSE! I mean they'd probably be ok with BC spending the MLE on some crap again or overpaying Jeff Green, so why not pay 6-9 mil for Brandon Knight, Jimmer, Terrence Jones, or Hamilton... those guys are only slightly worse prospects than ones available at 5 or 6

[karolis1221]

I think that Kanter's type of player is much harder to find than Biyombo, and I'd be surprised to see a team make the same mistake GS did last year and take the hustle big over the skilled one in the top half of the lotto. Udoh looks like a player but taking him over Monroe was moronic.

And what's the age issue with Biyombo, what's the rumoured high number? How are his hands?

He reminds me Dikembe mutombo,i think he would fit for knicks or miami type of teams.

[raps_aviator]

I am kinda surprised that not a lot of people are talking about Jan Vesely. I am starting to like this kid. He has crazy athleticism. He is a 6`11 SF who can shoot the three but is very aggressive. He is great in transition and can also dribble the ball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXyH3rRm ... re=related

[notic519]

We already have a project center - we dont need another one. Remember when Alabi was also a projected lottery pick?

All I have to say about that is, they're giving Ajinca minutes over him

Have you seen Alabi on the court? He has a LOT to learn before he should be playing anything more than garbage time at the end of the game. He is completely lost. Putting him in and letting him run around like a chicken with his head cut off isn't doing him really any favors in his development. Not seeing Alabi on the court is not a big deal at all. Let him have a full summer with a big man coach where he can learn some of the many things he lacks and maybe he can earn more minutes next year.

[FluLikeSymptoms]

I think that Kanter's type of player is much harder to find than Biyombo, and I'd be surprised to see a team make the same mistake GS did last year and take the hustle big over the skilled one in the top half of the lotto. Udoh looks like a player but taking him over Monroe was moronic.

And what's the age issue with Biyombo, what's the rumoured high number? How are his hands?

DX is promising a full scouting report soon. I have no idea about his hands.

David Aldridge at NBA.com had a story today that mentioned the age concerns. He said some scouts believe he really is 18, some believe he's closer to 20-21, and some even think he could be in the 23-26 range.

Thanks.

But an Eastern Conference GM said he heard rumors that Biyombo was anywhere from 23 to 26...

BC smokescreen?

[TDotRep]

I think that Kanter's type of player is much harder to find than Biyombo, and I'd be surprised to see a team make the same mistake GS did last year and take the hustle big over the skilled one in the top half of the lotto. Udoh looks like a player but taking him over Monroe was moronic.

And what's the age issue with Biyombo, what's the rumoured high number? How are his hands?

very very good point sir.

[fredericklove]

I wouldn't trade 1 for even 2 and 3 in this draft. Irving is the only 'sure' looking star without major question marks.

Your nuts... you'd be crazy not getting the 2 and 3rd pick or 2nd and 5th pick.

Walking away with one of Derrick Williams and/or Harrison Barnes AND Kanter, Knight, Walker, J Vals is > than just getting Iriving. IMO

I want irving so bad but for 2 and 3rd pick that's an offer no one can refuse.

[sunny]

from chad fords draft card:
Derrick Williams, SF, Arizona
Overall Rank: 2
Positional Rank: 1
Hollinger PER: 32.69
Player Traits: Shooting, Penetrating, BBall IQ

Projection: Top 5

Positives: Versatile forward, High basketball IQ, Very efficient, rarely takes a bad shot, Has terrific quickness in the paint, Power finisher at the rim, Good shooter with three point range, Can play inside and out, Good athlete with quick first step, Has a great second bounce, Big time competitor on both ends of the floor

Negatives: A bit of a tweener, Undersized for his ideal position at the four

Player Updates: Mar 28 Update: Derrick Williams has been steadily rising in our rankings all year. He began the season ranked No. 26 on our Big Board. In late December he cracked the lottery. In January we moved him into our Top 10 and in February we moved him all the way to No. 4 on our Big Board and we raised the possibility of Williams being the No. 1 pick in the draft.

This weekend Williams did his best to show that he was worthy of being the top pick in the draft. Williams was flat out beastly against both Duke and UConn. His 32 points and 13 boards against the Blue Devils was one of the best performances by a big man we've seen all year. Williams had everything going. He connected on five 3-pointers, had two Blake Griffin-esque dunks and dominated the paint for Arizona. His strength, explosion around the basket and smooth perimeter game made him look like an NBA All-Star in the making. Against UConn, things didn't quite work out as well. He had 20 points and five boards, but missed a few critical shots for Arizona down the stretch.

This weekend we raised him another two spots to the No. 2 position on our Big Board. Based on feedback from NBA scouts and GMs, we now believe Williams is in serious consideration for the No. 1 pick along with Duke's Kyrie Irving and North Carolina's Harrison Barnes. With all three players now out of the tournament, there should be a lively debate based on team needs and workouts about who is No. 1.

[5DOM]

Imagine if Williams made one of those 3s or didn't get in foul trouble... He could have actually won the tourney and possibly be the consensus #1.

[Reignman]

I think I'm going to put D Will into my top 5 for the first time. It's not that I didn't think he was a top 5 talent but his tweener status scares the hell out of me for this team. But since I have PJ in my top 5 it only makes sense that D Will is there too under the same caveat - that the brass is 100% certain he can defend NBA SFs.

So my draft board is now:

Irving
Barnes
DWill/PJ (as long as they are SFs)
Kanter/Val (preference is Kanter but if the scouts think VAL's upside is substantially better than Kanters then you go with VAL)

Give me any one of those guys and I think I'd be satisfied. Irving/Barnes are may favs but I wouldn't be upset with the rest.

[fredericklove]

About trading down from 1 to 2-5 or something like that, the main advantage would be time. It'd be like saving a year of tanking, getting 2 solid picks. The Raps must want to avoid another year like this one if they can. Think of it like the Roy-Aldridge for the Blazers.

The Blazers had their wow draft moments...Roy and Aldridge two franchise players plus a number one pick in Greg Oden the next year. If Blazers wasn't doomed by curse, they would have an injury-free superstar guard, a borderline all star PF and an injury-free defensive beast in the paint...they probably could challenge the Thunders every single year... their rebuilding plan was so damn nice, yet so damn cursed.

Our lineup would be sick if it plans out like this

Kanter
Davis
Barnes
Derozan
Kabongo

[FluLikeSymptoms]

I know that, on paper, DWill can play the 3 but he just looked like a PF on the court to me and it seems like this lesson has been learned.

Am I crazy, or did UConn force DWill to play like a face-up SF in the 2nd half of his last game, which didn't work out so well for him?

[fredericklove]

I know that, on paper, DWill can play the 3 but he just looked like a PF on the court to me and it seems like this lesson has been learned.

Am I crazy, or did UConn force DWill to play like a face-up SF in the 2nd half of his last game, which didn't work out so well for him?

Hoping he plays melo style, aggressive when posting up or in face-up game, shoots open 3 and pounds the glass type of big forward player. I too worried about his tweener status but his upside is too good to ignore, I'd draft him unless barnes declares.

[5DOM]

Thought he played the same way he did against Duke. Only against UCONN, his 3's didn't go in. He was also in foul trouble the whole game, so that might have affected his game a little.

[anj]

I know that, on paper, DWill can play the 3 but he just looked like a PF on the court to me and it seems like this lesson has been learned.

Am I crazy, or did UConn force DWill to play like a face-up SF in the 2nd half of his last game, which didn't work out so well for him?

D-Will is definitely a PF. Although I'm sure he would accept it, forcing him to play the 3 would be a huge disservice to his game, IMO (unless it's an expertly tailored "power 3" style).

The thing is, you could probably fit him in to your offence with no problems, it's on the defensive end that worries me. I know that Williams plays extremely hard, but there are obviously times where effort just isn't enough. Could you imagine him trying to check Manu or Joe Johnson when their respective teams go small?

Luckily, the league is filled with bigger 3s that might help hide his defensive shortcomings when guarding SFs, i.e. I don't see him suffering more than the rest of the league with a Melo, Deng, Pierce, Granger or Durant.

[Lionel Messi]

So what's everyone's top 5 right now?

Mine is:

Irving
Williams
Kanter
Valaciunas
Barnes

All of these guys scare me other than Irving. Kanter seems like the safest bet to me out of those guys with Barnes having the highest chance of being a full blown bust.

[sunny]

Derrick still managed to play very well against Uconn given his foul situation. When he was on the court, he was something like a +16.
Arizona shot two three's to win the game in the final 4 seconds, one of which was wide open. Both of these were with 40%++ (Derrick is a 60%) 3 point shooters.
The bounces of basketball...

[Silk Wilkes]

Williams can definitely play the 3 so he's moved up for me:

1) Irving
2) Barnes
3) Williams
4) Kanter
5) Jones III

[Rapture]

For me it's still a 2 man draft. Williams or Irving are the guys that i want. I just have a feeling that Williams might be even better than Irving some day with his elite athleticism. If we won't get a top 2 pick I hope we'll trade up. The other guys have wayyy lower upside except PJ3 but unfortunately i can't see him reaching his ceiling.

[Rhettmatic]

For me it's still a 2 man draft. Williams or Irving are the guys that i want. I just have a feeling that Williams might be even better than Irving some day with his elite athleticism. If we won't get a top 2 pick I hope we'll trade up. The other guys have wayyy lower upside except PJ3 but unfortunately i can't see him reaching his ceiling.

First, I'll say that I know next to nothing about Enes Kanter.

But the Enes Kanter that I've conjured up in my mind -- an image based entirely on highlights from the Hoop Summit and a mishmash of various online scouting reports -- is an appealing player. So I'm very curious to see how he does in workouts and I'm cautiously optimistic that he might jump into that top 3 discussion and make the draft look a little deeper.