And Then There Was One: Thank Nation 2. Raps pick 23rd

[CoachD]

I only watched the one video of Purifoy and I don't see what everyone else is raving about. Good length and that was about it. Passing was fine as well, but nothing to write home about. I think he's not being talked about much for a reason, but I've been wrong before.
As for Grayson Allen, Masai would never draft a guy who can't do anything other than shoot. We already have potentially two snipers at shooting guard in Ross + Powell and both are better athletes, ball handlers and defenders than Allen.
I continue to say that we should focus on productive college guys, but I should qualify that statement by saying only those with NBA physical attributes ie. size, speed, explosiveness etc.

Watch on YouTube

Check this game highlights (Hes number 3)...he has great size and scoring ability hes also 6 foot 7 and playing SF so Ross/Powell have nothing to worry about once DMC Contract is up This kid has a good chance to be a replacement starter

For a 6'7" wing, I HATE the way the kid runs the floor.

[dagger]

I only watched the one video of Purifoy and I don't see what everyone else is raving about. Good length and that was about it. Passing was fine as well, but nothing to write home about. I think he's not being talked about much for a reason, but I've been wrong before.
As for Grayson Allen, Masai would never draft a guy who can't do anything other than shoot. We already have potentially two snipers at shooting guard in Ross + Powell and both are better athletes, ball handlers and defenders than Allen.
I continue to say that we should focus on productive college guys, but I should qualify that statement by saying only those with NBA physical attributes ie. size, speed, explosiveness etc.

If someone is a really good shooter, I can certainly see it. Specialists like Kyle Korver or JJ Redick aren't perceived to be much more than shooters - certainly, that was their rep coming into the league. But drafting in the 20s, at a time when the number of three point attempts league-wide is at an all high - sure, a prime shooting specialist might be a good pick. Not saying Allen is that guy, he really has some anger management issues and that's more likely to make teams think twice about drafting him in the first round.

[CoachJReturns]

One more guy who looks worth a look is Cameron Oliver.
20 year old
Freshman
Power Forward
Currently averaging 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Shooting 46.% from 3 on 4.5 attempts a game!
Doesn't appear to have an inside game judging by his 48% shooting on 2 point field goals, but excellent 3 point shooting and shot blocking would be very nice with a late pick.

[CoachJReturns]

I only watched the one video of Purifoy and I don't see what everyone else is raving about. Good length and that was about it. Passing was fine as well, but nothing to write home about. I think he's not being talked about much for a reason, but I've been wrong before.
As for Grayson Allen, Masai would never draft a guy who can't do anything other than shoot. We already have potentially two snipers at shooting guard in Ross + Powell and both are better athletes, ball handlers and defenders than Allen.
I continue to say that we should focus on productive college guys, but I should qualify that statement by saying only those with NBA physical attributes ie. size, speed, explosiveness etc.

If someone is a really good shooter, I can certainly see it. Specialists like Kyle Korver or JJ Redick aren't perceived to be much more than shooters - certainly, that was their rep coming into the league. But drafting in the 20s, at a time when the number of three point attempts league-wide is at an all high - sure, a prime shooting specialist might be a good pick. Not saying Allen is that guy, he really has some anger management issues and that's more likely to make teams think twice about drafting him in the first round.

If they're a guard, I'd say they'd have to be an elite shooter to get a look if shooting is all they have. We have Heslip on the 905 already who is as good a 3 point shooter as just about anyone in college. Sure, if the 2nd coming of Steve Kerr comes around give them a look, but even Kerr was actually a pretty smart and useful defender.

[Risk101]

You already know that I'm about to be in here heavy.

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[HolyMage110]

You already know that I'm about to be in here heavy.

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I swear they say this every year

[BoyzNTheHood]

Whoever found that Danjel Purifoy guy big props....He is the perfect pick if he is available...right now hes on no draft boards but that will prolly change soon ...But if he falls to us you have to take him...He has Jimmy Butler potential...If We can somehow come away from the Draft with Purifoy, Blossomgame and drop the Bruno Experiment i think our SF spot would be solid once DMC comes off the books

Thank you! I'll take my credit for that! Even though he hasn't done anything in the league yet, I'll take whatever I can get

I only watched the one video of Purifoy and I don't see what everyone else is raving about. Good length and that was about it. Passing was fine as well, but nothing to write home about. I think he's not being talked about much for a reason, but I've been wrong before.

He's basically built like the perfect SF. He's 6'8" 230lbs, has a silky smooth jumper, a nice handle, decent vision, and superb athleticism. If you went into a laboratory and built the perfect small forward you'd build him. Of course, people will mention LeBron but he's above perfect and simply just a freak. Purifoy has top-10 potential in THIS draft. Mark my words.

[BoyzNTheHood]

One guy we haven't discussed(that I can recall) is Robert Williams. 19 year old freshman power forward for Texas A & M.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Robert-Williams-89995/
Not a perfect fit, but he's a terrific shot blocker for a forward who has a mid-range shot already. He's another guy worth considering if it's believed he can extend his range. Kind of another Skal situation, though not as highly touted.

He currently has a PER of 34.6 which ranks 1st in the DraftExpress mock draft. He's raw, but he's been very effective for a raw, freshman forward.

He's definitely one of the bigger sleepers in this draft. I get the feeling that he'll go top-20 when it's said and done. His raw potential is immense.

Another guy I don't understand why we're not talking about is Thomas Bryant.

6'10" 240lb big man with a 7'5" wingspan and a 9'5" standing reach! He's basically a hustle big man, except he SHOOTS THE 3! A lot of people are enamored with Kenneth Faried. Now imagine him with extreme length and a 3 ball in his game! How is he so slept on, especially on a team in need of a stretch big who doesn't take the ball out of Kyle, DeMar or JV's hands!

[CoachJReturns]

Whoever found that Danjel Purifoy guy big props....He is the perfect pick if he is available...right now hes on no draft boards but that will prolly change soon ...But if he falls to us you have to take him...He has Jimmy Butler potential...If We can somehow come away from the Draft with Purifoy, Blossomgame and drop the Bruno Experiment i think our SF spot would be solid once DMC comes off the books

Thank you! I'll take my credit for that! Even though he hasn't done anything in the league yet, I'll take whatever I can get

I only watched the one video of Purifoy and I don't see what everyone else is raving about. Good length and that was about it. Passing was fine as well, but nothing to write home about. I think he's not being talked about much for a reason, but I've been wrong before.

He's basically built like the perfect SF. He's 6'8" 230lbs, has a silky smooth jumper, a nice handle, decent vision, and superb athleticism. If you went into a laboratory and built the perfect small forward you'd build him. Of course, people will mention LeBron but he's above perfect and simply just a freak. Purifoy has top-10 potential in THIS draft. Mark my words.

I'll keep an eye on his name, but he could just as well end up a late 2nd round pick, or undrafted. If his name isn't even being floated around by the time the draft comes around, Masai can just keep him on his list of guys for our 2nd round pick. If we got another rotation player with a 2nd round pick, Masai would pretty much establish himself as the value king of GMs at the draft.

Looking at his numbers, his shooting is intriguing, his assist numbers ain't bad and he gets steals at a solid rate. The one stat which sticks out is his non-existent shot blocking for someone of his size at the college level. He's blocked exactly 1 shot in 11 games! Doesn't mean he's a dud, though.
It looks like his eligibility hurt his stock dramatically, which would make him a buy low player, which is the Masai special. He has always seemed to target guys who are undervalued despite having obvious skills. I just don't see how the heck he didn't block a couple more shots simply by virtue of his size. lol.

[Kevin Willis]

You already know that I'm about to be in here heavy.

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I swear they say this every year

Not really. If anything outside of the Wiggins draft, each draft was called weak for the several years now.

[CoachJReturns]

You already know that I'm about to be in here heavy.

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I swear they say this every year

They do at that, but it's deep. What's made it a little different is guys like Rabb and Anunoby returning for their sophomore year when they could have been 1st round picks last year. I'm not sure Rabb knew how good this draft is. He returned and may be selected later than he would have last year.

[CoachJReturns]

I keep looking at Jonathan Jeanne as a nice long term pick for us. Realistically, if Masai doesn't trade any of the picks, only one of these guys is likely to see minutes, so he can afford to take a flyer here. With quality players even in the second round, he can add 1 or 2 guys with a higher floor and use 1 pick on a high ceiling guy. Jeanne could be a shorter Manute Bol. He's 7'2 with a 7'7 wingspan and is a rather fluid runner for someone so lanky. Needs a ton of time in the weightroom, but he's only 19, so we wouldn't be expecting him to crack the rotation any time soon anyway. He'd make a ton of sense as a draft and stash prospect.

[bongmarley]

This guy is a beast

https://youtu.be/2AybJ6ujDrY

[Kevin Willis]

You already know that I'm about to be in here heavy.

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I swear they say this every year

They do at that, but it's deep. What's made it a little different is guys like Rabb and Anunoby returning for their sophomore year when they could have been 1st round picks last year. I'm not sure Rabb knew how good this draft is. He returned and may be selected later than he would have last year.

Oh yeah, Rabb is not going to be in the lottery this year. It was a dumb move on his part unless he just wanted to go back to school.
Jaylen Brown wouldn't be top 10 in this year's draft. Actually I think TJ Leaf will be a higher pick than Rabb. He has better numbers as a freshman than Rabb is having as a sophmore.

[CoachJReturns]

I swear they say this every year

They do at that, but it's deep. What's made it a little different is guys like Rabb and Anunoby returning for their sophomore year when they could have been 1st round picks last year. I'm not sure Rabb knew how good this draft is. He returned and may be selected later than he would have last year.

Oh yeah, Rabb is not going to be in the lottery this year. It was a dumb move on his part unless he just wanted to go back to school.
Jaylen Brown wouldn't be top 10 in this year's draft. Actually I think TJ Leaf will be a higher pick than Rabb. He has better numbers as a freshman than Rabb is having as a sophmore.

Rabb just wanted to continue his education I think. He's supposed to be a very good student.

[OakleyDokely]

These picks are actually worth discussing considering what Masai has done recently with late picks. Late 1sts and 2nds have been death valley traditionally for the Raps.

[Clutch0z24]

You already know that I'm about to be in here heavy.

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I swear they say this every year

They just have to hype up the draft for show purposes but i think this Draft they really mean it when they say its going to be a beast of a draft....
I mean you can see it in the performances from the players in college this year so far....The last time i heard them say this was the Wiggins Draft and well Joel Embiid + Wiggins show they are franchise changing talents and Jabari is at least an all star future type guy but that draft wasnt as deep as they said it was going to be...

This draft on the other hand has soo much potential in terms of franchise players

1.Markelle Fultz
2.Dennis Smith
3.Josh Jackson
4.Lonzo Ball
5.Jayson Tatum

All have Franchise changing talent

Then you have guys like
DeAaron Fox
Jonathan issac
Lauri Markkanen
Malik Monk
Harry Giles
Bam Adebayo
Miles Bridges
Marques boldes
(All have All star potential)

Then the bottom half of the draft also has alot of sleepers who could become something special as well...I agree that this draft is super super deep and will be really good for the Raptors in terms of having late 1st rounders...gives us 2 chances to find a steal! having 2 late firsts in this draft would equal to a 10-15 pick in another draft

[CoachJReturns]

Gotta say I'm pretty confident we come away with a decent rotation player again with one of these picks. We have 3 picks including our 2nd rounder, so I'm hoping Masai uses one on a draft and stash project(Hoping Jonathan Jeanne is the pick, if available. He could be a major shot blocker like Gobert, which is Casey's wet dream) and plays it relatively safe with the other two picks using Watson/high PER guys again.

[DreamTeam09]

Gotta say I'm pretty confident we come away with a decent rotation player again with one of these picks. We have 3 picks including our 2nd rounder, so I'm hoping Masai uses one on a draft and stash project(Hoping Jonathan Jeanne is the pick, if available. He could be a major shot blocker like Gobert, which is Casey's wet dream) and plays it relatively safe with the other two picks using Watson/high PER guys again.

we should have a Knicks 2nd round pick no? can someone confirm this?

[CoachJReturns]

Gotta say I'm pretty confident we come away with a decent rotation player again with one of these picks. We have 3 picks including our 2nd rounder, so I'm hoping Masai uses one on a draft and stash project(Hoping Jonathan Jeanne is the pick, if available. He could be a major shot blocker like Gobert, which is Casey's wet dream) and plays it relatively safe with the other two picks using Watson/high PER guys again.

we should have a Knicks 2nd round pick no? can someone confirm this?

Nope. We have our 2017 1st round pick, Clippers 2017 1st round pick and our own 2017 2nd round pick.
http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/future_drafts/detailed