Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 2

[ATLTimekeeper]

I like Honeycutt as a late round pick, too. He reminds me a little of Batum. It's also been a long time since UCLA produced a bust. Maybe Dijon Thompson. Ryan Hollins kind of sucks, but he was a project big anyway and is still kicking around the league as a late 2nd rounder. Plus, some of the best defensive players at their position in the league are UCLA grads (Mbah Moute, Afflalo, Westbrook).

honeycutt is a howland player through and through as of now. Cannot produce his own offense but is a very good defender.

Yeah I know, which is why he'd be useful on our team as a late round pick. Strong rebounder and shotblocker, looks like he'll be able to make 3s in the NBA. Sign me up. That's all I want out of our SF anyway.

It's hard to tell who will declare and where they'll eventually be slated to go. He could very well decide late first money isn't worth giving up another year with Howland (and possibly not playing because of the lockout).

[Gold Dragon]

After slow start, UNC frosh Barnes is quickly catching up to his billing

If the Raps miss out on Kyrie and Terrence Jones the guy I see with the best chance at being an elite NBA baller is Harrison if he declares.

The next batch of players after Kyrie and TJ are guys who will be very good NBA players and maybe even all-stars. And they are all better than Barnes at this point in their development. But Barnes is the one I see with the IQ and abilities to be elite.

Sullinger and Walker are guys I see who are going to be very good right now and ready to step onto an NBA court and contribute right away. But they will be limited from elite status in the NBA because of height and aspects of their game that probably will never develop beyond where they are now.

I see Perry Jones, Kanter and Valanciunas as big men with potential that may or may not ever be realized, as with all big men prospects. All three of them present less risk than Barnes at this point but not a lot less and I like Barnes' upside more. I think Barnes has the highest BBall IQ of all of them and is rounding out his game with great coaching and competition.

I have a feeling that Perry Jones will be one of those prospects who always tease with his "potential" and never quite put it all together. Kanter and Valanciunas will be great big men with motors and good two-way games that will be valuable pieces on their respective teams but I don't think they will be perenial all-stars.

Barnes looks to be turning it around with 4 good showings in the last 5 but the stinker against Duke was very worrisome. I'm going out on a limb and predicting a late season run in his draft stock and an eventual top 5 selection if he declares. I like that he has faced the media frenzy, struggled with adversity and doubts about his game and is starting to turn it around.

[Kevin Willis]

Leonard another double - double. That's what he does Mr. Doubledouble.

was he not 14-8 tonight?

Nope. 14 - 10

[prototype]

So draftexpress updated Perry Jones profile. I'm not someone who follows college ball but after reading and watching the breakdown of his game, I want the Raptors to stay as far away from him as possible. He looks and sounds like a Bargnani or even worse, a Anthony Randolph type of player. I can't envision him being an SF and we already have a soft jumpshooting PF that plays like a SG.

I still want as follows: Kyrie Irving, Terence Jones, Harrison Barnes. Any one of them pair with DeMar would be fun to watch.

Although I would love Derrick Williams to be drafted by us, I'm not sure if adding another PF is the way to go. I don't watch the games so maybe I'm wrong but based on his highlights, he doesn't look too much like an SF. I see him as a shorter Amare with a three point shot. I hope we could pull of a deal with Bargnani like the Sonics did back in 2007 where they traded Ray Allen for a lottery pick so we could draft Williams.

[JamesNaismith]

So draftexpress updated Perry Jones profile. I'm not someone who follows college ball but after reading and watching the breakdown of his game, I want the Raptors to stay as far away from him as possible. He looks and sounds like a Bargnani or even worse, a Anthony Randolph type of player. I can't envision him being an SF and we already have a soft jumpshooting PF that plays like a SG.

I still want as follows: Kyrie Irving, Terence Jones, Harrison Barnes. Any one of them pair with DeMar would be fun to watch.

+1

Exactly how I feel.

I would be all for Perry if he were putting up Durant-esque numbers in college but he`s not...and the word project and potential keep getting thrown around when discussing him. The ratio of failed potential has to exponentially higher then acheived. I know Barnes can be lumped in there as well but if Barnes is in the conversation we are probably further down the draft then the top 3 anyways and HBarnes is unquestionably a SF....I dont wanna waste time on a tweener. If our choice is Kyrie or Perry -- you go with the more concrete with the two.

As for the part about trading Bargnani like Ray Allen...you are talking about the best 3pt shooter in NBA history to a the most pathetic excuse of a big man in the NBA today.

[fredericklove]

After slow start, UNC frosh Barnes is quickly catching up to his billing

If the Raps miss out on Kyrie and Terrence Jones the guy I see with the best chance at being an elite NBA baller is Harrison if he declares.

The next batch of players after Kyrie and TJ are guys who will be very good NBA players and maybe even all-stars. And they are all better than Barnes at this point in their development. But Barnes is the one I see with the IQ and abilities to be elite.

Sullinger and Walker are guys I see who are going to be very good right now and ready to step onto an NBA court and contribute right away. But they will be limited from elite status in the NBA because of height and aspects of their game that probably will never develop beyond where they are now.

I see Perry Jones, Kanter and Valanciunas as big men with potential that may or may not ever be realized, as with all big men prospects. All three of them present less risk than Barnes at this point but not a lot less and I like Barnes' upside more. I think Barnes has the highest BBall IQ of all of them and is rounding out his game with great coaching and competition.

I have a feeling that Perry Jones will be one of those prospects who always tease with his "potential" and never quite put it all together. Kanter and Valanciunas will be great big men with motors and good two-way games that will be valuable pieces on their respective teams but I don't think they will be perenial all-stars.

Barnes looks to be turning it around with 4 good showings in the last 5 but the stinker against Duke was very worrisome. I'm going out on a limb and predicting a late season run in his draft stock and an eventual top 5 selection if he declares. I like that he has faced the media frenzy, struggled with adversity and doubts about his game and is starting to turn it around.

I have a feeling he's going to stay one more yr in UNC, he'll probably work his azz off on his handles over the summer and there's two more steller prospects coming into UNC next year which will make UNC a better team for sure...look for HB to have a college-player-of-the-year type of season next year.

So I doubt he'll enter this year's draft, he seems to value education more than ...$.

[fredericklove]

So draftexpress updated Perry Jones profile. I'm not someone who follows college ball but after reading and watching the breakdown of his game, I want the Raptors to stay as far away from him as possible. He looks and sounds like a Bargnani or even worse, a Anthony Randolph type of player. I can't envision him being an SF and we already have a soft jumpshooting PF that plays like a SG.

I still want as follows: Kyrie Irving, Terence Jones, Harrison Barnes. Any one of them pair with DeMar would be fun to watch.

+1

Exactly how I feel.

I would be all for Perry if he were putting up Durant-esque numbers in college but he`s not...and the word project and potential keep getting thrown around when discussing him. The ratio of failed potential has to exponentially higher then acheived. I know Barnes can be lumped in there as well but if Barnes is in the conversation we are probably further down the draft then the top 3 anyways and HBarnes is unquestionably a SF....I dont wanna waste time on a tweener. If our choice is Kyrie or Perry -- you go with the more concrete with the two.

As for the part about trading Bargnani like Ray Allen...you are talking about the best 3pt shooter in NBA history to a the most pathetic excuse of a big man in the NBA today.

Agree. Perry Jones's game has me worried from day 1. I'd rather have HB over anyone other than Kyrie. Can't trust the tweeners.

[sunny]

from my experience of watching ncaa players, the only ones who ever stay more than one year are not those who want to improve their game, or get an education; but those who are part of a program that they feel emotionally connected to and want to win a championship.

Although Barnes has not been dominating this year by any stretch of the imagination, it's all about how well a players games projects in the nba. IMO, Barnes is playing exactly how he will when he is in the nba. A lot of the other top prospects such as T jones/P Jones will have to completely alter their game.

[baulderdash77]

I really think that we should avoid P Jones. He's not going to be a SF- he can't hit a jumpshot at all.

He's going to be a PF or C. Unfortunately he's not a good defender or rebounder for that position.

He has the same game as Stro Swift at this point so it's going to take a lot of development to get him to be a good enough NBA player to justify a top 10 pick. I really fear raw undeveloped potential, especially when it's with a guy who's lazy on the court sometimes.

[Dr Positivity]

Actually, I'm growing increasingly confident that Perry Jones is the #1 prospect in the draft

[Rude Boy 1]

Chris Singleton is out for the rest of the year because he needs surgery on his foot. That may hurt his draft stock.

Singleton reminds me a lot of Antoine Wright.

Wouldn't mind him with the Miami pick

[HSOB SIRHC]

So are more people joining me in the "Find a way to draft T.Jones and Knight" bandwagon?

[Silk Wilkes]

Does Barnes remind anyone else of Marvin Williams? I hope not...

[Rude Boy 1]

Does Barnes remind anyone else of Marvin Williams? I hope not...

Harrison Barnes looks every bit like Marvin. He'll probably look like a stud during the one on ones and get drafted in the top 5. He has picked it up lately but what are the strengths of his game? what does he use to dominate opponents? Marvin had a nice smooth game in college too but never really dominated any one thing.

[DreamTeam09]

P.Jones is a SF in the NBA. He's not a tweener, hes only playing the 4 in college bcuz of his height and the program hes at. He himself knows he'll have to play the 3 to produce in the NBA. You can't judge him off of what u may see from him at baylor. He has SF handles/his jumper is not broken/ and at 6'11 he can be nightmare matchup for us night in night out if he can defend the 3. Right now I'll take him 2nd behind Kyrie because he has the most potential to me. What you do is bring PJ - TJ - HB into workouts and whoever impresses the most is the one u take if kyrie is off the board.

Kyrie
PJ
TJ
HB

thats the raptor draft board imho.

[sunny]

So are more people joining me in the "Find a way to draft T.Jones and Knight" bandwagon?

im usually on the avoid calapari players at all cost bandwagon.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think Marvin WIlliams was more of an inside player that added some range to his jumper. Barnes is a jumpshooter who needs to work on getting easy buckets when his jumper is off, which it seemingly has been all year. I don't really see the high IQ that everyone talks about with Barnes. I see a kid who knows some advanced fakes to throw off his defender, but I don't really see a guy that sees the floor well, knows how to find open spaces, knows when to turn down a good shot for a better shot. But apparently he works like a pig on his game, so there's a good chance he'll turn out decent.

[Silk Wilkes]

I think Marvin WIlliams was more of an inside player that added some range to his jumper. Barnes is a jumpshooter who needs to work on getting easy buckets when his jumper is off, which it seemingly has been all year. I don't really see the high IQ that everyone talks about with Barnes. I see a kid who knows some advanced fakes to throw off his defender, but I don't really see a guy that sees the floor well, knows how to find open spaces, knows when to turn down a good shot for a better shot. But apparently he works like a pig on his game, so there's a good chance he'll turn out decent.

Not that I don't believe you, but do you have any proof of this? I just need something to keep my hopes up if we do in fact draft him.

[TDotRep]

Kyrie, HB or P.Jones, T.Jones, Sulli, and Valaw/ethefrighisameis.

My top 6 in that order. It kinda scares me that T.Jones comes off as not the brightest tool in the shed, and Calipari has been riding him to work harder all year.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think Marvin WIlliams was more of an inside player that added some range to his jumper. Barnes is a jumpshooter who needs to work on getting easy buckets when his jumper is off, which it seemingly has been all year. I don't really see the high IQ that everyone talks about with Barnes. I see a kid who knows some advanced fakes to throw off his defender, but I don't really see a guy that sees the floor well, knows how to find open spaces, knows when to turn down a good shot for a better shot. But apparently he works like a pig on his game, so there's a good chance he'll turn out decent.

Not that I don't believe you, but do you have any proof of this? I just need something to keep my hopes up if we do in fact draft him.

http://thegazette.com/2010/01/05/chicago-tribune-harrison-barnes-has-the-drive-and-the-jump-shot-to-be-nations-top-basketball-recruit/

Might have some mommy issues, though.

That work ethic is really the only thing that keeps me believing that he could turn into a player. I'm pulling for him even though I might sound critical.