Snapbacks and Handshakes: The 2017 Draft (Raps pick #23)

[S.W.A.N]

Semi
Lydon
Leaf
Bolden

I have a feeling that one of these guys is going to be our pick. 3 point shooting from either the 3 or 4 spot is what we looking for. They also all pass the IBM test as they high PER players.

I'm starting to fall into the semi bandwagon for being the guy I really want. His upside is tremendous and fills an immediate need, so he might get a chance to break into the rotation.

[DG88]

Highlights of a player always make me skeptical but after DX put Ferguson all the way down to our pick im kind of excited. If he has a Giannis type work ethic the skies the limit!

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Professionals opinion

Terrance Ferguson

“He’s a very mature kid who's an athletic, jump-out-of-the-gym player,” a Southwest Division personnel man said. “He’s a lane-runner who wants to play in transition. Nice release jumper as he's streaky with shot – [he] has learned to play a slower pace with a purpose being in Australia. He learned to bang and get hit with mature pros as league and is solid.”

“He’s thin,” another Southwest executive says. “His body’s going to take some time. He’s never going to be big and bulky; he’s got to be wiry strong. It’s going to take him some time to physically mature. But he’s really athletic. He can play way above the rim. But he can’t put the ball on the floor real well. It’s mostly lobs and things like that where you see the athleticism, not him creating his own shot.

“He’s mostly a spot-up shooter. You can play him off of screens a little bit. And surprisingly, he posted a little bit in Australia, which is surprising for a guy who’s light in the (rear) like that. But he wasn’t bad. He’s a project because he’s young -- not a project like you’d think of a big. It’s just going to take some time.”

“He has great bounce, he’s skinny as hell, but he’s playing in (bleeping) Australia,” a Southeast Division executive said. “I heard Dante Exum was a point guard. No, he’s not. He has no left hand. He’s not a great shooter by any stretch of the imagination, and he’s not a creative player as a point guard. He was a perfect concoction of the trends of the day -- he was young, he was long, he had some athleticism, and he was the mystery man that nobody wanted to miss on. And now, he’s a backup on a team (Utah) that’s good. And they’re good. But they’re not good because of him.”

Good intangibles tho. Tries extremely hard on defense. Would be a nice indicator he's worth spending all that time developing him.

"TFerg is getting tougher every game. he may not be lighting up the stats sheet but he is playing hard, playing his role and he is hustling... great team first ball player...."


So in summary

Very athletic
Can shoot
Bad handles.
Can't create own shot
Doesn't show BBIQ
Good defensive effort
Very inconsistent
Very raw
Requires years of investment
Bad performance in Australia
Didn't get minutes in a league with minimal talent.

Might be worth it not sure tho.

Everything about him screams Terrence Ross, even his measurements/

[Syd-TK3]

Highlights of a player always make me skeptical but after DX put Ferguson all the way down to our pick im kind of excited. If he has a Giannis type work ethic the skies the limit!

Watch on YouTube

;t=139s

Watch on YouTube

Lol after enjoying the first video that workout video actually made me like him less.
It was poorly put together.
The guys defending him aren't even trying and he caries the ball a lot, handles need a ton of work

He's a huge project

[Risk101]

Everything about him screams Terrence Ross, even his measurements/

Nah its just his measurments th\t are similiar.

The highlights show him backing down grown ass men and getting to the rim Ross would steer away from that type of contact.

[HeadtopChunes]

Everything about him screams Terrence Ross, even his measurements/

Nah its just his measurments th\t are similiar.

The highlights show him backing down grown ass men and getting to the rim Ross would steer away from that type of contact.

I wonder how damaging that Ross comparison is to Ferguson in the eyes of our fanbase. He's not disimilar to Diallo but he gets half the love. He's 18 and would have to cook with the 905 for a couple years. But we might make something of him yet. Now I'm not saying we should draft him but I wouldn't be against it. I'm pretty sure he's going before us anyway.

[Risk101]

Anyone know why Hartenstein has dropped all the way to the bottom of the 1st round? He seems likee a top lottery pick in some of his highlights.

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[BoyzNTheHood]

Anyone know why Hartenstein has dropped all the way to the bottom of the 1st round? He seems likee a top lottery pick in some of his highlights.

Watch on YouTube

Some people think he has attitude problems. Others think he's just one of those guys that wears their emotions on their sleeve. Those emotions could make him an inconsistent player because he'll get down on himself. And it doesn't help that his jumper is very inconsistent. His release is not consistent and will make him very hit and miss.

[Wally West]

Glad they are bringing in PJ Dozier. He is clustered in a group that includes Terrence Ferguson, Semi Ojeleye, Wes Iwundu, and Sidarius Thornwell. All of them offer some offensive versatility and defensive potential. I have followed Dozier for along time because he was a top Rivals prospect in highschool and a McDonald's All-American, but he had a knee issue and played on a knee with almost no MCL for years.

Guys with knee issues worry me. but he seems to have recovered enough. In some ways he reminds me of Derozan. Just this hyped prospect from a good family and has a huge work ethic that should make him succeed. He is almost 6-7 and has a 6-11 wingspan so he is a good size for a wing, but will need to put on weight.

Why I lost faith in him is his shooting. He didn't hit his freethrows (59%) and his threes were below 30%. In the current NBA that is almost inexcusable for a wing. However, he does have some skill as a slasher and his size is great. Only 20 years-old so he still has some time, but as a sophomore I didn't see the statistical jump I would like. Maybe he could find a niche like Michael Kidd Gilchrist, or if his shooting improves, he could be like Trevor Ariza whose jumpshot came much later in his career.

Basically, if we draft this kid we believe that the development program could make him a viable scorer like Norman Powell experienced while in Toronto. I don't want to underestimate it, but Dozier has a very good basketball IQ that makes him intriguing.

I really like him. Worried about his knee though. Also, I was pretty high on Elfrid Payton his draft year and he hasn't lived up to his potential because he can't shoot. Just like Payton, Dozier can't shoot but I might project him to still having perennial all-star type talent like i did DeAndre Bembry last year. I'd like Dozier moved to point guard.

My thing is that Dozier's jumpshot form does not look broken. Maybe he could become a good shooter with the development team in Toronto. Norman Powell made a huge progression as a shooter while in Toronto.

I really like the Bembry comparison but I hope he is better! Bembry had a terrible rookie year, and it is a good thing Dozier has two years on him being only 20.

Could Dozier play PG? I am not sure if he meant for that full time role, but I could see him playing a bench 2 role. I want to see him become a lockdown guy like the other PJ.

I think he absolutely could just like I felt McCaw could play point guard in last year's draft.

[RaptorsLife]

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Wesley vs devin Robinson should be good

[raptor jesus]

Everything about him screams Terrence Ross, even his measurements/

Nah its just his measurments th\t are similiar.

The highlights show him backing down grown ass men and getting to the rim Ross would steer away from that type of contact.

Ferguson shoots 1.8 FTs Per 40...

[Syd-TK3]

Everything about him screams Terrence Ross, even his measurements/

Nah its just his measurments th\t are similiar.

The highlights show him backing down grown ass men and getting to the rim Ross would steer away from that type of contact.

I wonder how damaging that Ross comparison is to Ferguson in the eyes of our fanbase. He's not disimilar to Diallo but he gets half the love. He's 18 and would have to cook with the 905 for a couple years. But we might make something of him yet. Now I'm not saying we should draft him but I wouldn't be against it. I'm pretty sure he's going before us anyway.

Yeah the Ross thing will turn a bunch of people away from him.
But I'd just look at it as potentially a second chance at what Ross could have been.

I don't no much about how Ross was in college and how he compares to Ferguson now but I agree that I wouldn't be upset if we drafted him.
Assuming my other favorites aren't gone

[Clementine64]

Put me on the Semi Ojeleye bandwagon. So far from all the guys I've looked at I'm really intrigued by two guys at our draft position,Semi and Jonah Bolden.

What is the likelihood that Masai trades a guy like Joseph for another draft pick?

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[HeadtopChunes]

Iwundu is interesting. He's got length, defense, passing and flashes of good shooting.

I think he has a relatively low celing. But should be able to contribute well and be a good support piece

[YoungG]

Highlights of a player always make me skeptical but after DX put Ferguson all the way down to our pick im kind of excited. If he has a Giannis type work ethic the skies the limit!

Watch on YouTube

;t=139s

Watch on YouTube

Lol after enjoying the first video that workout video actually made me like him less.
It was poorly put together.
The guys defending him aren't even trying and he caries the ball a lot, handles need a ton of work

He's a huge project

I'm not a Ferguson fan at all and those highlight videos only showed me that he hasn't had any real growth as a player since his senior year in high school. I believe that if Masai was to look for a project player, he's better off further developing Bruno. I think Bruno could beat Ferguson in a 1-on-1 situation at this point as Bruno is more polished and has more defensive tools to win.

[ill-Will03]

Semi has to be the pick, but with our draft luck and his stock continuing to rise I wouldn't be surprised if he's picked before us. Anyone else get a draymond lite vibe from him?

[OAKLEY_2]

Highlights of a player always make me skeptical but after DX put Ferguson all the way down to our pick im kind of excited. If he has a Giannis type work ethic the skies the limit!

Watch on YouTube

;t=139s

Watch on YouTube

Professionals opinion

Terrance Ferguson

“He’s a very mature kid who's an athletic, jump-out-of-the-gym player,” a Southwest Division personnel man said. “He’s a lane-runner who wants to play in transition. Nice release jumper as he's streaky with shot – [he] has learned to play a slower pace with a purpose being in Australia. He learned to bang and get hit with mature pros as league and is solid.”

“He’s thin,” another Southwest executive says. “His body’s going to take some time. He’s never going to be big and bulky; he’s got to be wiry strong. It’s going to take him some time to physically mature. But he’s really athletic. He can play way above the rim. But he can’t put the ball on the floor real well. It’s mostly lobs and things like that where you see the athleticism, not him creating his own shot.

“He’s mostly a spot-up shooter. You can play him off of screens a little bit. And surprisingly, he posted a little bit in Australia, which is surprising for a guy who’s light in the (rear) like that. But he wasn’t bad. He’s a project because he’s young -- not a project like you’d think of a big. It’s just going to take some time.”

“He has great bounce, he’s skinny as hell, but he’s playing in (bleeping) Australia,” a Southeast Division executive said. “I heard Dante Exum was a point guard. No, he’s not. He has no left hand. He’s not a great shooter by any stretch of the imagination, and he’s not a creative player as a point guard. He was a perfect concoction of the trends of the day -- he was young, he was long, he had some athleticism, and he was the mystery man that nobody wanted to miss on. And now, he’s a backup on a team (Utah) that’s good. And they’re good. But they’re not good because of him.”

Good intangibles tho. Tries extremely hard on defense. Would be a nice indicator he's worth spending all that time developing him.

"TFerg is getting tougher every game. he may not be lighting up the stats sheet but he is playing hard, playing his role and he is hustling... great team first ball player...."


So in summary

Very athletic
Can shoot
Bad handles.
Can't create own shot
Doesn't show BBIQ
Good defensive effort
Very inconsistent
Very raw
Requires years of investment
Bad performance in Australia
Didn't get minutes in a league with minimal talent.

Might be worth it not sure tho.

Very athletic
Can shoot
Bad handles.
Can't create own shot
Doesn't show BBIQ
Good defensive effort
Very inconsistent
Very raw
Requires years of investment
Bad performance in Australia
Didn't get minutes in a league with minimal talent.

Ross' handles were not "bad" and they were not PG good.
Ross would put the ball on the floor curl to the top of the key and drain the long ball.
Ross' defensive effort was inconsistent and he got the boot as a starter.
Ross had a breakout game but never had a breakout season.
Ross was never "raw".
Years of investment was never obvious for Ross.
Ross did have one bad summer league that was a big major holy fk.
Ross got minutes in a league with loads of talent.

Ferguson sounds more like a James Young investment. Off to 905 for exclusive Bruno seasoning.

I bet they pick a player who could play for Casey now but also improve with 905. If this team is actually dispatching JV then Bam would be that kind of player if they thought he could become a stretch 4 and occasional 5. He is a likely boards machine, shot blocker who has some moves and could drain Casey rabbit from hat jumpers.

[RaptorsLife]

Yikes this guy sounds like Ross to the tee

[ATLTimekeeper]

Ferguson chose to play in Australia as an 18 year old. No way Ross could handle a dirty league like that at that age. I give him credit for not choosing to put up numbers in China or the NCAA. He took a harder path, it didn't work in terms of playing time. Anyway, if we had picked Ross at #23 we'd have all thought BC nailed the pick.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Anyone know why Hartenstein has dropped all the way to the bottom of the 1st round? He seems likee a top lottery pick in some of his highlights.

He's the guy I want us to pick. IMO, he's ranked that low for a good reason. He didn't put up good numbers in a relatively unathletic weaker European league and his scoring skillset is overrated. In the few games I've watched him play I just like the size/skill/mobility combined with his effort/IQ on defense.

[CoachJReturns]

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Wesley vs devin Robinson should be good

I hope Masai doesn't consider reaching on Iwundu, or Robinson(though I like Robinson and was quite high on him at times this year). This seems more like bringing in some mid to late second round guys and seeing if they're worth acquiring a pick for, or signing outright in the event someone goes undrafted. And one very well could go undrafted.