Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 7

[fredericklove]

has barnes said anything yet? no? ah i hate him.

[God Squad]

Anyways. I'm down for one for the Euro bigs. Not saying their my first pick. With the draft being as weak as it is. I'd still take Kanter/Val before Walker. I admit I still like Knight. But he's not for us. I'll watch another team develop him. I'd be a little upset if he managed to become a legit pg.

[Truthrising]

Truth is I think Cole is better then Kanter..

When did you see Kanter play? thats the problem I havent seem him play vs real competition and one game doesn't mean ****. Hell in one game I went 5/5 from 3 but I have never been a good 3pt shooter.

I haven't seen him play outside of that one game, which is why I don't have an opinion either way on his NBA potential.

For me to make statements either way on Enes Kanter -- without any kind of first-hand understanding of his game -- well, that would be completely and entirely idiotic, don't you agree?

That's why IMHO you NEVER draft a BIG and especially a Euro big in early rounds (unless there is a Shaq which comes once every 10 years.) They may pan out but most of the time they don't, I have always felt you draft athletic players who play skill positions and dominated at every level they played.

I have always been of the school you sign/trade for veteran bigs, hell it even worked for us when we got Oakley, Willis and AD.

How about Ed Davis? That's exactly where you draft Bigs and he also went to NC a school like that knows what they are doing when they find players.

I was writing this when you guys made comments about Perkins and Chandler both who are FA this year... Why draft a Big spend years developing him with a chance they may be a bust when we can just sign one now?

You expect a big would easily want to sign for the Raps as a free agent ie Perkins? Honestly it may be easier fiiling in the SF spot through FA

[Raps in 4]

Don't like him for what this team needs. He seems to be a bigger Derozan, minus the slashing skills and Add long range shooting.

We need a more dynamic SF, who can defend, slash, and score like a old school SF.

Williams looks like more of a powerforward. Here's hoping we get Irving, if not then Barnes. I really hope these dudes declare.

+1

I don't think we need to take a risk on him transitioning to a SF with a top-3 pick. We can either trade the pick or take another player. I'm just not sold on him being a dominant SF.

[Wasp]

I actually see a bit of Pierce in him. But hey, I saw that in James Harden as well and he plays nothing like Pierce at the NBA level.

I actually like the Pierce comparison more than the common David West / Beasley comparison. He also reminds me of a prime Marion - strong, athletic, knack for finishing around the rim, and a sneaky-good outside shooting game.

He's an extremely legitimate prospect, and if we move up to 2nd and Irving gets selected 1st (which is looking more and more like a mortal lock), he's a no-brainer.

Don't like him for what this team needs. He seems to be a bigger Derozan, minus the slashing skills and Add long range shooting.

We need a more dynamic SF, who can defend, slash, and score like a old school SF.

Williams looks like more of a powerforward. Here's hoping we get Irving, if not then Barnes. I really hope these dudes declare.

+1

I don't think we need to take a risk on him transitioning to a SF with a top-3 pick. We can either trade the pick or take another player. I'm just not sold on him being a dominant SF.

The problem is, SF's who can defend, slash, score and be a primary ball handler are rare, almost generational players. The only ones who truly fit that mold are LeBron and KD, and they're both top-5 players. If we're going to expect perfection from an SF we draft, we're going to be waiting a long time. You don't pass on a guy just because he isn't LeBron-like.

[vexen]

You make it seem like FA are dieing to sign in Toronto. I understand you. I just don't think you understand the RAPTORS situation

Money talks! Both Perkins and Tyson would jump at a 10 million+ offer from Toronto and Tyson didn't sound to down when he though he was traded here, if fact he sounded pretty happy and we all know BC wanted him.

[God Squad]

You make it seem like FA are dieing to sign in Toronto. I understand you. I just don't think you understand the RAPTORS situation

Money talks! Both Perkins and Tyson would jump at a 10 million+ offer from Toronto and Tyson didn't sound to down when he though he was traded here, if fact he sounded pretty happy and we all know BC wanted him.

Perkins stated he didn't want to play for a **** organization. I'm not sure about Tyson. But why would they leave playoff contenders to join a rebuilding team? You're not making sense now. Ya, Your right. money talks. But 20 other teams will be throwing money at them too.

[fredericklove]

For a chuckle:

FSOhioZJackson Zac Jackson
I can't imagine Harrison Barnes would really come back to school, but maybe the thought of playing for the Timberwolves really is that bad.

hahha believe me I lived in Minneapolis for 2 months last year, there's absolutely NOTHING to do there, there's lakes...that's it. And damn, how will HB fit in the lineup especially when beasley and johnson crowded the sf/sg positions. Nobody wants to be a bench player

[vexen]

You make it seem like FA are dieing to sign in Toronto. I understand you. I just don't think you understand the RAPTORS situation

Money talks! Both Perkins and Tyson would jump at a 10 million+ offer from Toronto and Tyson didn't sound to down when he though he was traded here, if fact he sounded pretty happy and we all know BC wanted him.

Perkins stated he didn't want to play for a **** organization. I'm not sure about Tyson. But why would they leave playoff contenders to join a rebuilding team? You're not making sense now. Ya, Your right. money talks. But 20 other teams will be throwing money at them too.

yes but we have more and Toronto is a really nice place to play regardless of what people think. If we some how grab Irving in the draft you just watch and see the domino a effect it will have on our franchise. Truth is we are only a few years away from being really good with a Core like we have. Davis, Demar are both blue chip prospects IMHO.

[Wasp]

You make it seem like FA are dieing to sign in Toronto. I understand you. I just don't think you understand the RAPTORS situation

Money talks! Both Perkins and Tyson would jump at a 10 million+ offer from Toronto and Tyson didn't sound to down when he though he was traded here, if fact he sounded pretty happy and we all know BC wanted him.

So you'd rather overpay for a mediocre FA than risk taking a talented guy just because he might bust? That's bad asset management. Believe me, I like Kemba / Knight as prospects, but they might bust too. Any prospect can bust. We'll have to wait for the workouts to see what Kanter is like after a full season without playing competitive ball, but if he looks legit you don't pass on a talented big body C just because you have the option of overpaying Tyson freakin' Chandler in the offseason.

[vexen]

You make it seem like FA are dieing to sign in Toronto. I understand you. I just don't think you understand the RAPTORS situation

Money talks! Both Perkins and Tyson would jump at a 10 million+ offer from Toronto and Tyson didn't sound to down when he though he was traded here, if fact he sounded pretty happy and we all know BC wanted him.

So you'd rather overpay for a mediocre FA than risk taking a talented guy just because he might bust? That's bad asset management. Believe me, I like Kemba / Knight as prospects, but they might bust too. Any prospect can bust. We'll have to wait for the workouts to see what Kanter is like after a full season without playing competitive ball, but if he looks legit you don't pass on a talented big body C just because you have the option of overpaying Tyson freakin' Chandler in the offseason.

IMHO a Chandler/Davis front court would be scary and yeah I would give him the bucks because he will be 10X better then Kanter next year.

[fredericklove]

didn't realise that Irving was born in Melbourne.

U also probably didn't realize Irving's uncle is Rod Strickland. Maybe that's where KI got his point guard skills from.

[God Squad]

I agree that a Tyson/Ed front court would be beautiful. But thats not a guarantee that he's willing/wants too. I'd much rather take a prospect and let that prospect grow.

[Truthrising]

imo i'd rather invest in a defensive Center LONG TERM, not any stop gap solution by signing a FA big - we've gone through before and where did that lead us? If the scouting reports turn out to be truth about Kanter than we should take a shot a develop him since those are a lot harder to come by. We shall see how the workouts turn out for Kanter but from what I hear - John Calipari has given some high praises for his rebounding fundementals, he smoked Nazr Mohamed during workouts. Looks a like player who's strong and agile for his size, something we've lacked for a long time.

[Dr Positivity]

He's a Luol Deng. Won't be heartbroken if he decides not to declare.

Is he even Luol? Deng is an awesome player. He scores, he rebounds, he's an all-D team defender, and he's been the overall 2nd most valuable guy on a 62 W team this year. He's probably a top 6-7 guy at his position

I could see Barnes being Deng but I could also see him just being a Mikael Pietrus or Matt Barnes level player who all he does is hit 3s and hold his own defensively, or Marvin Williams

It's like the Evan Turner talk last year where claiming he might be the a permanent version of the good John Salmons (the two months after he gets traded) or Caron Butler was a Debbie Downer comment, he was supposed to be between Joe Johnson and Brandon Roy. Philly would love if Turner just got to good Salmons level after the rookie season he's had

[FluLikeSymptoms]

I'm thinking of Barnes as a taller Michael Finley at full potential, not so much Deng.

[5DOM]

He's a Luol Deng. Won't be heartbroken if he decides not to declare.

Is he even Luol? Deng is an awesome player. He scores, he rebounds, he's an all-D team defender, and he's been the overall 2nd most valuable guy on a 62 W team this year. He's probably a top 6-7 guy at his position

I could see Barnes being Deng but I could also see him just being a Mikael Pietrus or Matt Barnes level player who all he does is hit 3s and hold his own defensively, or Marvin Williams

It's like the Evan Turner talk last year where claiming he might be the a permanent version of the good John Salmons (the two months after he gets traded) or Caron Butler was a Debbie Downer comment, he was supposed to be between Joe Johnson and Brandon Roy. Philly would love if Turner just got to good Salmons level after the rookie season he's had

I'm honestly not sure what Barnes is better than freshman Deng at, but I just figured that if I compared him to Deng who does share lots of similarities*, I wouldn't get bashed.

*Size
Athleticism
Work ethic
Basketball IQ
Defense
Pull up jumper
Hype out of HS
Big college team

They even have similar numbers (although Deng's slightly better in almost all categories)
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/compar ... =luol-deng

[Dr Positivity]

I'm not really sold on him as a future SF. PF, sure.

[Reignman]

Barnes had a bad 17 games to start his freshmen year while playing with a PG that didn't know how to facilitate.

My point is, you need to look at the full body of work. He's definitely not as "ready" as some other prospects but a bad 17 game stretch shouldn't cloud people's judgements of his potential. He was a dominant player in HS, dominated every "showcase" event he went to and was very good after those first 17 games and ended the season strong.

He's gone from being overrated to underrated.

[God Squad]

I actually think the Luol Deng comparison is on point. Though it could also be higher/lower.