Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 3

[bboyskinnylegs]

Do you think Jonas Valanciunas congratulated Rasho Nesterovic after he was announced as the Euroleague MVP (for the month of February), or do you think he was too jealous?

I'd congratulate him, Rasho has played very well in the 3 games he played for Olympiacos this month. In 23mpg in this 3-game span, he's averaged 17.3ppg (75% FG), 6.3rpg, and 3bpg. He also played solid D (in two of the games no opposing big men scored double digits), and he came up big in crunch time with some key putbacks.

In my opinion that's the kind of performance a young big man should consistently strive for.

[Kevin Willis]

This draft is poor. It's Irving or pick up because who knows. Now that I've seen a few games of all the projected top 10 I have to say it's not a great draft. OK, not great.

Barnes MAY be really good in a couple of years. Potential is there but he's not ready.

Kanter - who knows right now.

Perry Jones just reminds me of a Tyrus Thomas type guy. He's not going to save this organization.

Sullinger is a suped up Blair with more offensive game. I want to say good job for losing weight but you need to lose some more and increase that mobility.

I like DWill's game. He's a tweener that can play but he's no where near a no. 1 pick in a good draft. ie. Beasley, Rose, Wall, Griffin, etc. He's not really a top 5 in game, he just looks great compared to competition.

Leonard can be better than Barnes, yeah I said it. His improvement is sharp.

Donatas is Bargsish and shares his weakness. Don't need that. And if you see his games, he gets pushed around.

I like Vesely, but someone has to teach him to play SF in the league because he'll get killed a PF. Plus we have utility PFs like Davis/Johnson already. And if we want a utility type SF just take Leonard.

Honeycutt is so uninspiring and he's a lottery pick? He plays like Hedo but shorter and with same amount of heart (or lack of). I want to slap him when I see him play, tell him to wake up.

Every draft turns out good players but it's so unclear this year. I'm hoping march madness has ppl stepping up because there is no clear seperation in top 15.

[CreaM]

If we dont get a top 2 pick this June, I wouldn't hesitate to trade the pick for Kyle Lowry. Lowry would put up 20/10 on this team, been watching him closely this year. Rockets probably wouldn't do it though.

[bboyskinnylegs]

If we dont get a top 2 pick this June, I wouldn't hesitate to trade the pick for Kyle Lowry. Lowry would put up 20/10 on this team, been watching him closely this year. Rockets probably wouldn't do it though.

That's massively overpaying

[CreaM]

If we dont get a top 2 pick this June, I wouldn't hesitate to trade the pick for Kyle Lowry. Lowry would put up 20/10 on this team, been watching him closely this year. Rockets probably wouldn't do it though.

That's massively overpaying

If we dont come out of this draft with Kyrie, is there any reason not to trade for a PG that would give us 20pts 10 assists? Lowry is only 24.

[ATLTimekeeper]

If we dont get a top 2 pick this June, I wouldn't hesitate to trade the pick for Kyle Lowry. Lowry would put up 20/10 on this team, been watching him closely this year. Rockets probably wouldn't do it though.

That's massively overpaying

If we dont come out of this draft with Kyrie, is there any reason not to trade for a PG that would give us 20pts 10 assists? Lowry is only 24.

No, but you've massively overrated him. 20 and 10? Do you realize how many point guards have reached that mark? How is Lowry going to jump from 13.5 and 6.5 in 33 minutes to 20 and 10 on the Raptors?

[SkywalkerAC]

drafting Barnes would set us up so nicely. add a great point guard and get off to the races. even the prospect of adding a twilight-years Nash excites me having a DD/Barnes combo on the wings. one slasher, one shooter, a stretch 4, and two pick and roll bigs. Nash would have a field day with that team.

[henrydunn13]

This draft is poor. It's Irving or pick up because who knows. Now that I've seen a few games of all the projected top 10 I have to say it's not a great draft. OK, not great.

Barnes MAY be really good in a couple of years. Potential is there but he's not ready.

Kanter - who knows right now.

Perry Jones just reminds me of a Tyrus Thomas type guy. He's not going to save this organization.

Sullinger is a suped up Blair with more offensive game. I want to say good job for losing weight but you need to lose some more and increase that mobility.

I like DWill's game. He's a tweener that can play but he's no where near a no. 1 pick in a good draft. ie. Beasley, Rose, Wall, Griffin, etc. He's not really a top 5 in game, he just looks great compared to competition.

Leonard can be better than Barnes, yeah I said it. His improvement is sharp.

Donatas is Bargsish and shares his weakness. Don't need that. And if you see his games, he gets pushed around.

I like Vesely, but someone has to teach him to play SF in the league because he'll get killed a PF. Plus we have utility PFs like Davis/Johnson already. And if we want a utility type SF just take Leonard.

Honeycutt is so uninspiring and he's a lottery pick? He plays like Hedo but shorter and with same amount of heart (or lack of). I want to slap him when I see him play, tell him to wake up.

Every draft turns out good players but it's so unclear this year. I'm hoping march madness has ppl stepping up because there is no clear seperation in top 15.

What about Terrence Jones? He's a better prospect than atleast half the people on your list.

[henrydunn13]

So I've narrowed down my favourites for the Raptors to pick this year to Kyrie Irving, Terrence Jones, and Harrison Barnes. Obviously, I am praying for Kyrie; but, I'm having trouble choosing between Jones and Barnes.

With Jones, we get great aggression, rebounding, and defence (more dominant than Barnes) and this would mesh very well with Bargnani's lack of rebounding, help-defence etc...

With Barnes, we get more of a shooter who isn't as aggressive in taking it to the basket and not as dominant overall (when compared to Jones). This pairs really well with DeRozan, as it gives us a great shooter to pair with him.

I would love to hear everyones opinion on which of these two SFs would fit best with our squad. Do we look to cover up Bargnani's rebounding/defensive issues, while disregarding our poor guard shooting?

Currently, I think Terrence Jones is the pick as I think it's more likely that DeRozan and Jones can develop better shooting than it is for Bargnani to develop more defensive aggression. Jones is more of an inside player and Barnes looks like he just wants to shoot all day.

Please - weigh in with your opinions.

[dagger]

drafting Barnes would set us up so nicely. add a great point guard and get off to the races. even the prospect of adding a twilight-years Nash excites me having a DD/Barnes combo on the wings. one slasher, one shooter, a stretch 4, and two pick and roll bigs. Nash would have a field day with that team.

If you're going to use a 5th overall pick on a spotup shooter at SF, he'd better shoot better than 40% from the field and 32% behind the arc. I realize some people are projecting much better here, but Barnes has done little to this point to justify the notion he'd be a worthy 5th overall pick. Heck, at 40% he'd have the worst FG% of any of our current starters, and his three point shooting is in Linas Kleiza territory. This month will be critical for him to show he can either shoot at a higher percentage, or has other features to his game.

[5DOM]

I agree. I think most Barnes fans were already set on drafting Barnes even before his college season that they just don't care about how he plays anymore. I mean he is perhaps the only player in this thread who has many people posting "BARNES MADE A 3 POINTER!!!" every 32% of the time he attempts the 3. He IS a shooter (simply because he can't attack the rim at all), but he's just an average one right now. There's not much he has shown to warrant a top 5 pick status and even less to draw comparisons to Ray Allen of all people. Things can obviously change after the tournaments though

[Kevin Willis]

What about Terrence Jones? He's a better prospect than atleast half the people on your list.

Oh yeah, Terrence Jones is one player I'm liking more and more. He's a gamer, I just like watching him and Knight play and I don't know why. I like him more than Barnes, he's offensive game is more polished right now, his D is good and he plays with intensity. I don't see him blowing by people like say Knight does but he gets where he needs to be. I noticed him in the Tennessee game, once he increases his range - he can be pretty good. But still - he's not a No.1 type of guy or franchise changer. he's a really good player.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I prefer Barnes to T.Jones. Even though Barnes has disappointed, I have no doubt he can play the SF position and he seems like the type of worker that will eventually become a productive player. My biggest concern with him is that we'd try and build around him, when he looks to me like a complimentary piece. Psychologically he reminds me of Chris Bosh. Not the crying, youtube Bosh, but the deer in headlights when confronted with an aggressive challenger. T.Jones looks like a PF chucker who plays D when it's convenient. I'm a Kentucky fan, so I always have a soft spot for Wildcats, but I get nothing from him. I like the effort, but it's hot and cold. He reminds me of Aminu. Tweener that puts up numbers but maybe lacks IQ.

[Salted Meat]

I might get killed for saying this, but I don't see anything wrong with grabbing a complimentary piece in this year's draft. In all likelihood, we'll be choosing someone who'll need time to grow anyway, so there shouldn't be a lot of pressure for us to get a superstar or franchise type player, especially when one probably doesn't exist in this draft past, say, the 1st overall pick.

Taking a guy like Barnes or Valanciunas isn't bad... if the team can project their growth and potential accurately, they'd actually be great investments. Tank in 2011-12, get our new rookie a year under his belt, let DeRozan improve, let Davis bulk up, and go into the 2012 draft with a clear intention of getting the franchise player we need.

[Kevin Willis]

I prefer Barnes to T.Jones. Even though Barnes has disappointed, I have no doubt he can play the SF position and he seems like the type of worker that will eventually become a productive player. My biggest concern with him is that we'd try and build around him, when he looks to me like a complimentary piece. Psychologically he reminds me of Chris Bosh. Not the crying, youtube Bosh, but the deer in headlights when confronted with an aggressive challenger. T.Jones looks like a PF chucker who plays D when it's convenient. I'm a Kentucky fan, so I always have a soft spot for Wildcats, but I get nothing from him. I like the effort, but it's hot and cold. He reminds me of Aminu. Tweener that puts up numbers but maybe lacks IQ.

Hmm maybe. But right now who's the more polished player - T.Jones or Barnes? I would have to say Jones and we're banking on Barnes 'getting it'. That might not happen. T. Jones has a man's body and he can play SF. His vision isn't the best ever but it's pretty good and better than Barnes. And when T. Jones decides to play D he can guard anyone. Kentucky plays with this edge and maybe that's why I like watching him play. This year TJ has shown more. Barnes is higher risk/higher reward. Plus Aminu is not a bad player, would you not take him at SF for this team? and T.Jones creates better than Aminu though they definitely are similar.

[Prestige]

I watched Sullinger the other day. I've watched him a few times this year but I still have the same opinion. I don't want anything to do with him at all. He's undersized, unathletic, and carries too much weight. To me he's the most likely to bust. His shots are going to be blocked and he'll have trouble rebounding in the NBA. People compare him to Dejuan Blair but Blair is much stronger and is way more athletic. Irving, Terrence Jones, Perry Jones and Derrick Williams are all better and safer prospects. Probably Kanter and Valanciunus as well.

[CreaM]

That's massively overpaying

If we dont come out of this draft with Kyrie, is there any reason not to trade for a PG that would give us 20pts 10 assists? Lowry is only 24.

No, but you've massively overrated him. 20 and 10? Do you realize how many point guards have reached that mark? How is Lowry going to jump from 13.5 and 6.5 in 33 minutes to 20 and 10 on the Raptors?

1. Raptors have a PG dominating system.
2. Lowry would be excellent playing the pick and roll with Bargnani, Amir, Ed.
3. If you have watched him play recently, you'd see that he has a MUCH improved 3 point shot.
4. He would play about 38mpg on this team, thus inflating his numbers in the process.

Maybe 20 pts is a stretch because Bargnani needs his iso touches, but Lowry would easily get 10 assists on this team.

[Silk Wilkes]

I think if it's between Barnes or T. Jones you gotta choose Barnes especially if the decision is that close. Barnes is the one who would stretch the defense, whereas a DeRozan/Jones wing combo just allows the wing defenders to sag off and guard the paint. Of course a jump shot can be learned but it's not guaranteed. Plus, Barnes' work ethic has been praised and we see what that can do for you when we look at DeMar. If Harrison and DeRozan work hard on their games there's no telling how good they can get. Remember, these two guys were regarded as two of the prospects with humongous ceilings coming into college and if they can get even close to their peak abilities...well you can figure it out...

That being said, I wouldn't be mad if we pick Terrence. I prefer it like this, where we have a pick of prospects instead of putting our eggs into one basket and probably getting disappointed on draft night with someone like Bargnani.

[Kevin Willis]

I think if it's between Barnes or T. Jones you gotta choose Barnes especially if the decision is that close. Barnes is the one who would stretch the defense, whereas a DeRozan/Jones wing combo just allows the wing defenders to sag off and guard the paint. Of course a jump shot can be learned but it's not guaranteed. Plus, Barnes' work ethic has been praised and we see what that can do for you when we look at DeMar. If Harrison and DeRozan work hard on their games there's no telling how good they can get. Remember, these two guys were regarded as two of the prospects with humongous ceilings coming into college and if they can get even close to their peak abilities...well you can figure it out...

That being said, I wouldn't be mad if we pick Terrence. I prefer it like this, where we have a pick of prospects instead of putting our eggs into one basket and probably getting disappointed on draft night with someone like Bargnani.

That's my concern as well. Just pack the paint with that duo. Our current SFs - Kleiza, Wright, JJ, Weems - don't shoot the three. But whoever we draft probably won't start with Derozan.

T. Jones works hard too. We say how hard Barnes' works but other players work hard too. P. Jones is another story...

Edit: I forget that Barnes isn't a great shooter yet. He just shoots twice as much from downtown as T. Jones. Neither are a Jordon Hamilton - people just insist he's a great shooter. His mechanics look better, that's about it...

[5DOM]

Again Barnes isnt even a good shooter right now. And I think DeRozan's already a good jump shooter. He just has to exrend his range a bit