Official Raptors 2012 NBA Draft Thread, Part 10

[Rapsfan07]

I agree that he has a chance to be with his skill-set and measurements. Good news that he's definitely in, I just hope teams keep sleeping on him come June.

Hopefully that happens. But I expect Lamb to blow up at the combine and team workouts. It shouldn't come as a surprise if Lamb does get drafted in the top 5.

Yup I've been saying the same thing for a month now, that once the combine rolls around and Lamb gets officially measured and begins workouts his stock is going to skyrocket. He's been at the top of my list out of him, MKG, Barnes & Beal for a long while and none of the wings have shown enough to leapfrog him in the past month.

I never put any stock in Ford's mock at this point in the year as his info is based on front office whispers that are likely driven by a desire to see certain players drop a few, if not a bunch of spots. However I'm still struggling to get my head around why Givony has Lamb ranked so low on his board. I highly respect his talent evaluation but what's the reason? Is he so sure of the mental deficiencies in Lamb's game effecting his upside? From a physical, skills & IQ perspective Lamb has everything I would want in a 20 year old two guard but I am concerned that Givony clearly still has major doubts.

For Givony to have Lamb behind a guy like PJIII or Terrence Jones right now just leaves me dumbfounded. As I say I respect Givony more than any other pundit out there but his level of scepticism on Lamb reaching his potential must be so high to still have Lamb ranked so low. I'd still take Lamb with a top 5 pick right now but it's hard to ignore when someone with Givony's experience ranks Lamb below such high bust material in PJIII & TJ.

+1

[Rhettmatic]

Steve Kyler's mock for USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketba ... 54153600/1

Apparently, he's high on everyone (possibly other things, too).

[Los Manos]

if you think lambs physical tools are impressive what can you say about quincy millers 7-4 wingspan for 6' 9" sf.

If only he could still jump over a chair and his jumpers release point wasn't so low - those both largely negate a lot of the positives of being so long imo.

The combine will be important for Miller too as he could elevate his stock if he can prove that his athleticism is returning after his surgery as it looked non-existant during the season. He just looked really slow and surprisingly out of control too often to have any faith in him developing into a starting 3 in the NBA. I do realise the limitations he faced that can potentially be overcome though but he didn't get stronger as the season went on, he got worse - considerably.

Scary thing with drafting Miller is that his reported elite asset coming out of high school, his ball handling, looked so far from elite during the NCAA season. He looked slow, methodical and often times sloppy from the triple threat position.

[niQ]

Steve Kyler's mock for USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketba ... 54153600/1

Apparently, he's high on everyone (possibly other things, too).

Wow, it's been a while since I saw Marquis Teague anywhere near the lottery...

[Dr Positivity]

I believe DX's rankings are a prediction, not their own opinion. If I'm not mistaken DX likes to base a lot of their judgments on prospects on situational statistics + after the information on combines

So J Lamb being low on DX isn't a matter of them dissing him as a prospect, as much as the fact that it looks like right now, that Lamb will have a hard time going top 10 (It depends on the order really)

[TheRealDeal]

Marc Spears (Yahoo!) put together a pretty solid top-10 list. Henson's a bit high, Robinson's a bit low imo but I agree with most of the scouts opinions.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--2012-nba-draft-s-top-10-prospects.html;_ylt=AjeYXt1Ei_daOJskBrMR04K8vLYF

2. Andre Drummond– Scout's opinion: "He's very big. He's probably the most physically prepared guy in draft. You look at him and his body says, 'NBA center,' but his game doesn't match his body. In his defense, it takes big men more time to develop."

4. Harrison Barnes – Scout's opinion: "He has a chance to be the second pick. He's as safe a pick as there is. He's consistently scored since high school. He consistently scored more than most in the draft. Some say he's one dimensional, but he can shoot the ball, which every coach wants."

7. Perry Jones III – Scout's opinion: "He has no heart, but he's the best talent available after Anthony Davis. Your owner could end up saying, 'How did me miss on this kid?' It's a gamble, but after a while if he keeps getting passed up it's a no brainer."

[Los Manos]

I believe DX's rankings are a prediction, not their own opinion. If I'm not mistaken DX likes to base a lot of their judgments on prospects on situational statistics + after the information on combines

So J Lamb being low on DX isn't a matter of them dissing him as a prospect, as much as the fact that it looks like right now, that Lamb will have a hard time going top 10 (It depends on the order really)

I think you're mistaken. Until June (or at least until the lottery is set) DX has always ranked the prospects based purely on their own scouting reports and assessments and don't take into account potential draft order or front office whispers at all. It is purely how they see the prospects ranked against each other based on their extensive tracking. Maybe I'm wrong but that's how I have always perceived their mock drafts.

[DA_SCOUT]

I believe DX's rankings are a prediction, not their own opinion. If I'm not mistaken DX likes to base a lot of their judgments on prospects on situational statistics + after the information on combines

So J Lamb being low on DX isn't a matter of them dissing him as a prospect, as much as the fact that it looks like right now, that Lamb will have a hard time going top 10 (It depends on the order really)

I think you're mistaken. Until June (or at least until the lottery is set) DX has always ranked the prospects based purely on their own scouting reports and assessments and don't take into account potential draft order or front office whispers at all. It is purely how they see the prospects ranked against each other based on their extensive tracking. Maybe I'm wrong but that's how I have always perceived their mock drafts.

I was under the same assumption as Los Manos. I think they rank them purely on skill/talent not need. If ranked by need, the draft order can change quite drastically.

[Dr Positivity]

I guess it's possible, though their top 100/mock lining up so much with the predicted order no other sites, is a bit coincidental if it's all their own analysis. I would think there's be at least one "unpopular opinion alert!" I suppose it's possible the reason it's pretty by the books if all their own analysis, is that going out on a major limb puts their credibility at risk if they're wrong, insults the scouts and teams, etc.

On that note DX has had Lamb ranked out of the top 10 all year according to their mock history, even when he got as high as consensus top 5 for everyone else - so it's plausible they just don't like him much

[Dr Positivity]

Also 12th overall isn't that bad of a ranking. I think it's more about them liking Henson, Zeller, and Terrence Jones more than people here do

[C_Money]

I don't get how that scout calls Harrison Barnes a one dimensional shooter but then puts him ahead of Bradley Beal. Beal can shoot it and then do a hell of alot more.

[CunningLinguist]

MKG over Lamb? Wow

What's wrong with MKG over Lamb? MKG is ranked top 2 or 3 in virtually every mock draft... If we're going by drafting BPA it would only make sense...

I think it's fair to think Lamb is a better prospect, but yeah, the consensus among Mocks (and NBA GMs) are that TRob and MKG are locks for the 2 and 3 picks - and that was before the tournament. The possible dark horses to sneak into the top 3 are Beal and Drummond.

I could be wrong, and I don't think it would be shocking if Lamb was picked before MKG, or turns out to be the better player. But it's hardly shocking that someone thinks MKG will be drafted before Lamb considering that every source seems to point that way.

I still think MKG goes outside the top 3. At least I think he should. Drafting a defensive wing in the top 3 would be setting a precedent, especially in a strong draft.

[Undefeated]

if you think lambs physical tools are impressive what can you say about quincy millers 7-4 wingspan for 6' 9" sf.

If only he could still jump over a chair and his jumpers release point wasn't so low - those both largely negate a lot of the positives of being so long imo.

The combine will be important for Miller too as he could elevate his stock if he can prove that his athleticism is returning after his surgery as it looked non-existant during the season. He just looked really slow and surprisingly out of control too often to have any faith in him developing into a starting 3 in the NBA. I do realise the limitations he faced that can potentially be overcome though but he didn't get stronger as the season went on, he got worse - considerably.

Scary thing with drafting Miller is that his reported elite asset coming out of high school, his ball handling, looked so far from elite during the NCAA season. He looked slow, methodical and often times sloppy from the triple threat position.

To be frank, I've never thought Quincy Miller was very athletic. He did have better lateral and vertical quickness prior to his torn ACL injury, but he was never a high leaper by any means. Even back in high-school, he was very slow to get off the ground one-legged for a dunk with a running start. He's more of a player who plays below the rim and relies on a relentless array of counters and pivot moves to get his shot off against his defender. I'm not at least one bit worried about his athleticism because he makes good use of his length. However, as the season went on, Quincy looked a lot more mobile then he was earlier in the year. I remember him playing against Northwestern where he looked absolutely slow closing out on shooters in that Baylor zone defense. But as the season gradually progressed, you could actually see him re-gaining that quickness back as he was effectively running and closing out on time. Plus, he's one of the better players on Baylor who gets up and down the floor in transition pretty well. He'll usually spot a teammate dropping a jaw-dropping dime here and there. That's a positive sign his speed is picking up.

With regards to his jumpshot, it's just his pick up is low rather than his release point. His release point is usually a couple of inches above his head. And he's got a lightning quick release to boot which will work well for him in the NBA in spite of his lack of lift. Whenever Baylor runs Quincy off a down-screen to the pinch post for a catch-and-shoot, it's money. Not Jeremy Lamb or Harrison Barnes elite, but still a good shooter regardless.

But yeah, his handles have been underwhelming to say the least considering it's no where near as good as it was advertised. It's not to say his handles are weak, but he needs to tighten it up. He's got moves, but needs to have a few go-to dribble moves, so that he can rely on it consistently. Because too many times he dribbles the ball in front of his body where the ball is exposed and he gets it fully stripped, and not getting low enough on his dribble when he goes right-to-left trying to beat his defender by trying to do all-sort of moves in-game. And he's got to stop carrying the basketball. It's like he gets called for one or two carrying violation a game. He'll be good once he tighten those handles up and get lower. The moves are there just that the fundamentals are not up to par.

[mieshpal]

i dont understand why so many people love MKG, he doesnt look like hes going to be a star in this league, he reminds me alot of James Johnson. I just dont see this kid being anything special, draft beal or sullinger if we dont get the number 1 pick, those guys have a chance to be star players. I have a strange feeling that this draft isn't going to have as many top 10 studs as alot of people assumed would happen.

[fredericklove]

I don't get how that scout calls Harrison Barnes a one dimensional shooter but then puts him ahead of Bradley Beal. Beal can shoot it and then do a hell of alot more.

Maybe you're jealous of Barnes having legit NBA size for his position.

[turner10]

Quincy Miller announces that he is returning to Baylor next year.

[fredericklove]

This is the most ridiculous rigged lottery ever, Edmonton Oilers just won it again so they won 3 years in a row!!?!?!?!?!?!?!? This is RIGGED, guess what guys, NBA draft is gonna do the same. The Cavs is gonna win it, book it. Damn man, I'm pissed off.

[fredericklove]

Quincy Miller announces that he is returning to Baylor next year.

Not surprised by that, he needs another season to harness his skillset.

[DA_SCOUT]

Quincy Miller announces that he is returning to Baylor next year.

Very smart decision.

[GRidge]

definitely a good call by Miller. Hopefully he show he's 100% back from the injuries.