Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 6

[bboyskinnylegs]

Can someone remind me why Enes Kanter was banned from playing in the NCAA?

they felt that the amount that he was paid from the pro team he played for in Turkey (Fenerbahce) was more than he needed for basic living expenses.

[SkywalkerAC]

Kanter really isn't much bigger than T-Jones, which is more than a little concerning. I'd be surprised if he had Davis's standing reach, and Ed isn't even all that long.

I wish Val was bigger and taller as well (I hazard a guess he's under 7' in shoes) but at least he's got that crazy length going for him.

both of these guys are gamers and would strengthen our frontcourt but Val looks like the better fit as we're in need of elite length.

sacto will probably snatch up Kanter to go next to Cousins and dominate the paint for years to come...

[wanker]

Jonas V definitely has crazy long arms (as advertised). He barely has to jump to dunk & his feet are almost touching the ground when he hangs from the rim. I'm starting to believe his measurements (as per his statements). He should be about 7 feet in shoes with a crazy 7'6" wingspan. Those are essentially the exact same measurements as JaVale McGee.

Seems to have a great motor too (think Noah or Varejao with better shot blocking). He is soooo damn skinny though. Then again, I thought Noah was too skinny (in College) to ever be a useful big in the NBA.

"You can't teach size"

[MrBojangelz71]

Right now, if Barnes opts out and we do not get the #1 pick, I am all for drafting Valanciunas. After this weekend I am convinced that we need to move Bargnani for a draft pick or young prospect. I still want to see what we have with Bayless and JJ next season, allowing them more playing time.

We need a young energetic C that can bang in the paint, low post and board. Out of all the C's available in the top 10, Val seems most natural in doing all those things. If we could move Andrea for a 8-10th pick and another piece, I would love to grab Walker with it and move Jose. I believe Jose has value after a solid season. Bayless still has question marks to me, but is showing he can have an impact.

Val and Walker would make me very happy.

[Reignman]

Man, I've been going back n forth on J Val/E Kanter all season and I think I'm finally leaning towards Kanter.

Val just seems like too much of a project at this stage whereas Kanter seems far more game ready. Now here's the thing, I do see the upside with JV but I can't shake the feeling that our fanbase would get on him fairly quickly after Hoffa and then Bargs.

I don't think JV would get a fair shake in Toronto.

[plainballing]

Right now, if Barnes opts out and we do not get the #1 pick, I am all for drafting Valanciunas. After this weekend I am convinced that we need to move Bargnani for a draft pick or young prospect. I still want to see what we have with Bayless and JJ next season, allowing them more playing time.

We need a young energetic C that can bang in the paint, low post and board. Out of all the C's available in the top 10, Val seems most natural in doing all those things. If we could move Andrea for a 8-10th pick and another piece, I would love to grab Walker with it and move Jose. I believe Jose has value after a solid season. Bayless still has question marks to me, but is showing he can have an impact.

Val and Walker would make me very happy.

I would take either Jones or Williams over Valanciunas...then trade them for a young point like Ricky Rubio!

[MEDIC]

Right now, if Barnes opts out and we do not get the #1 pick, I am all for drafting Valanciunas. After this weekend I am convinced that we need to move Bargnani for a draft pick or young prospect. I still want to see what we have with Bayless and JJ next season, allowing them more playing time.

We need a young energetic C that can bang in the paint, low post and board. Out of all the C's available in the top 10, Val seems most natural in doing all those things. If we could move Andrea for a 8-10th pick and another piece, I would love to grab Walker with it and move Jose. I believe Jose has value after a solid season. Bayless still has question marks to me, but is showing he can have an impact.

Val and Walker would make me very happy.

That would be a pretty amazing draft. I'd be very happy with that.

I'm still sitting on th fence about Jonas V though. If he had another 15-20lbs on his frame, he'd be my guy for sure. He's one of those players that is a project, but you might be kicking yourself 3-4 years down the road for not picking him & putting the work in to develop him. Jonas says he's 6'11" without shoes (same as McGee) & says that he has a 7'6" wingspan (same as McGee). When McGee first came into the league, I thought he had no chance because he was soo damn skinny. McGee has put on a little more bulk since then & I would love to have him playing C for this team (although he still has a ton of work to do to get better).

In most drafts, a player like Jonas (project big) would be late lottery or even late teens. That's how weak this draft is.....so it's difficult.

Kanter seems to be a player that can contribute right away, but his length seems to be more suited for the PF position (although we would be playing him at C).

[plainballing]

Right now, if Barnes opts out and we do not get the #1 pick, I am all for drafting Valanciunas. After this weekend I am convinced that we need to move Bargnani for a draft pick or young prospect. I still want to see what we have with Bayless and JJ next season, allowing them more playing time.

We need a young energetic C that can bang in the paint, low post and board. Out of all the C's available in the top 10, Val seems most natural in doing all those things. If we could move Andrea for a 8-10th pick and another piece, I would love to grab Walker with it and move Jose. I believe Jose has value after a solid season. Bayless still has question marks to me, but is showing he can have an impact.

Val and Walker would make me very happy.

That would be a pretty amazing draft. I'd be very happy with that.

I'm still sitting on th fence about Jonas V though. If he had another 15-20lbs on his frame, he'd be my guy for sure. He's one of those players that is a project, but you might be kicking yourself 3-4 years down the road for not picking him & putting the work in to develop him. Jonas says he's 6'11" without shoes (same as McGee) & says that he has a 7'6" wingspan (same as McGee). When McGee first came into the league, I thought he had no chance because he was soo damn skinny. McGee has put on a little more bulk since then & I would love to have him playing C for this team (although he still has a ton of work to do to get better).

In most drafts, a player like Jonas (project big) would be late lottery or even late teens. That's how weak this draft is.....so it's difficult.

Kanter seems to be a player that can contribute right away, but his length seems to be more suited for the PF position (although we would be playing him at C).

McGee still feels like Keon Clark to me but he would prob look good beside Reggie.

[Kevin Willis]

Trade our pick for Ricky. Rubio. No Perry Jones please.

[plainballing]

Trade our pick for Ricky. Rubio. No Perry Jones please.

We got some love for Ricky Rubio! I seriously think he'll do fine even tho his stat sucks in recent years. You got a big point guard who can pass, sounds like J Kidd to me.

[just23]

At this point I'd say we should just draft Jonas or Kanter. A legit starting center would seem like a good draft to me. Barnes would have been nice since he seems to play defense with a lot of intensity and attention to his man, but if he's going back we need to start looking at other options that fit. A real center is something we've never had long term. If there's a lockout Jonas would at least continue to play in Europe in all likelihood, so he'd still be getting the time he needs to develop. Besides, next year's draft will be stacked enough, that even with a pick in the late lottery we could come away with a starter. Add in the fact that Knight, to me at least, doesn't look any more talented than Bayless, and picking a center this year just seems to make a lot of sense. Kemba can play, but to me his ceiling is somewhere alongt the lines of Aaron Brooks, which is good, but certainly not worth of a top 5 pick. Great point guards are everywhere these days, so why waste a top 5 pick on one who will be just an average NBA starter? Give me Jonas or Kanter and I won't have any cause to complain.

[DreamTeam09]

With HB saying he wants to return I think this only opens the door for us to select Perry Jones to be our future SF. I am all for this as I've been saying this all yr. If no Kyrie or Barnes, then you take PJ... With a player like him with his size & skill, it could really shake up the look of this entire line-up...

[luvtheteam]

I'm surprised there isn't a little more talk of Walker. He's got a chance to be really good...actually he is really good already. He's quite small, but could be a Chris Paul type of player, but i don't know much about his character and how driven he is. I'd love a lightening quick shooter/distributor on this team. We seem to be missing that and would make everyone better. Don't know if he'll be around when we pick as i'm expecting he'll go top 4 or 5 (or higher?), so we need to have some luck with the balls.

[MEDIC]

Here's an article on Jonas V.

http://www.valanciunas.com/2010/08/youngster-from-utena-is-keeping-sabonis-secret/#more-46

On Sabonis:

“He was definitely my favorite player then”, says Valanciunas. “I didn’t see him play in person, but I used to watch his games on TV. I still watch some of those old games once in a while.”

“I saw videos of Sabas when he was still very young. His passing impressed me the most”, admits Valanciunas. “Everything was important in his game: his finishing skills, positioning under the basket, but his assists were just amazing.”

.........he shared the hotel room with Tautvydas Sabonis – one of three sons of Arvydas Sabonis.

“Tautvydas is a great guy. We are good friends, and we used to talk about everything. We were also learning together watching basketball videos, including the ones where his father is making those passes.”, says Valanciunas. “Sometimes his dad would give him advice, and Tautvydas would share it with me. Both of us learned valuable details about the game that way.”

Sabonis on Jonas:

“He’s using not only his size, but his quickness as well. His wrist is magic. It’s easy to miss short jumpers around the basket, but the basket seems to literally suck his shots in”, Arvydas Sabonis says about Valanciunas. “He’s great in defence, and he knows how to avoid fouls. Jonas is a center, so he has to clean up everybody else’s mistakes. It takes skill to play clean in this position and avoid picking fouls. He just has to keep his head on his shoulders, and he’ll standing on many more podiums.”

Then at the end of the article, the Lithuanian coach goes on to say that he needs to work on his 3 point shot.....

Don't listen to him Jonas! Someone needs to get this kid out of Euroleague ASAP!

[Rhettmatic]

Now that Barnes is out, I'm not sure I have the energy to talk myself into whichever prospect will be available at 4-6.

Ugh. Can we just win the lottery, please? Pretty please?

[Basketball_Jones]

I'm surprised there isn't a little more talk of Walker. He's got a chance to be really good...actually he is really good already. He's quite small, but could be a Chris Paul type of player, but i don't know much about his character and how driven he is. I'd love a lightening quick shooter/distributor on this team. We seem to be missing that and would make everyone better. Don't know if he'll be around when we pick as i'm expecting he'll go top 4 or 5 (or higher?), so we need to have some luck with the balls.

Kemba looks like a Mo Williams to me with a possibility to be better in terms of scoring. That's a pretty nice player. Defensively I think he'll be better as well.

[Lionel Messi]

Now that Barnes is out, I'm not sure I have the energy to talk myself into whichever prospect will be available at 4-6.

Ugh. Can we just win the lottery, please? Pretty please?

Agreed. Although Kanter, Valanciunas and Derrick Williams wouldn't be too bad imo.

Kyrie Irving PLEASE.

[Reignman]

Now that Barnes is out, I'm not sure I have the energy to talk myself into whichever prospect will be available at 4-6.

Ugh. Can we just win the lottery, please? Pretty please?

Feel the same way, I was banking on us walking out with Irving or Barnes. Now it's P Jones or Kanter for me and both come with their fair share of flags.

Like you said, we need to win the lottery.

[tecumseh18]

Here's an article on Jonas V.

http://www.valanciunas.com/2010/08/youngster-from-utena-is-keeping-sabonis-secret/#more-46

Nice find.

Jonas is a center, so he has to clean up everybody else’s mistakes.

Wait ... what? Some other quotes:

“Both Valanciunas and Motiejunas are the future of Lithuanian basketball. Only Motiejunas’ defensive liabilities prevented him from making the roster of Lithuanian mens basketball team this year, though his game made a huge progress this year. I hope both him and Valanciunas will continue working hard”, hopes Lithuanian coach Steponas Kairys.

“Unlike some other young and talented players I’ve coached, Valanciunas is exhibiting good work ethic, and has a great desire to improve.”, stresses Kurtinaitis.

I think a key thing is that Valanciunas is being steeped in the tradition of a small, basketball-oriented country, and is getting mentorship on the right way to play. That's very promising.

[bboyskinnylegs]

Interesting that Jonas' game is getting compared to Pau's... from what I saw of him he looked more like a Joakim Noah, or a center version of Amir/Ed