Re: 2023 Draft Prospect discussion Part II

[720]

In my opinion it’s going to really matter where George gets drafted. He needs to go to a team like the Rockets where there is no restriction and he’s allowed to explore and expand his game. If he gets drafted to a team like ours he might take a long time to develop because he will need to become more efficient if he wants to stay on the court (Nurse isn’t a great development coach imo).

[DrCoach]

In my opinion it’s going to really matter where George gets drafted. He needs to go to a team like the Rockets where there is no restriction and he’s allowed to explore and expand his game. If he gets drafted to a team like ours he might take a long time to develop because he will need to become more efficient if he wants to stay on the court (Nurse isn’t a great development coach imo).

They have green and kpjr

[720]

In my opinion it’s going to really matter where George gets drafted. He needs to go to a team like the Rockets where there is no restriction and he’s allowed to explore and expand his game. If he gets drafted to a team like ours he might take a long time to develop because he will need to become more efficient if he wants to stay on the court (Nurse isn’t a great development coach imo).

They have green and kpjr

I don’t think he’s actually going to the rockets. Rockets will likely have a top 3 pick. I’m saying a team “like” the rockets. As in a team with very little barriers for a young player coming in.

[Mark_83]

I won't be surprised if Coulibaly goes in the back half of the lottery by the end of the year like Dieng did last year. I agree with the guys who say he looks like he's still growing based on his body structure. Won't be surprised if he's 6'9 when it's all said and done. He has all the tools and flashes enough skill and feel to make you think he can be something. Needs to get stronger, and not super fluid or smooth, but he's very intriguing. Doesn't hurt that he speaks French either being in Canada haha.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[ATLTimekeeper]

As much as I hate George's percentages, he's a hooper by definition.

Gradey Dick is an incredible scorer as well.

Both things can be true. If I need a go to guy I'd rather take the risk on Keyonte, and if I'm looking for a #2 and a great complimentary piece I'd look at Gradey.

sub 40 FG% is rough for any prospect. Doesn't matter what your bag looks like. On the lower end of FG efficiency you'll have Donovan Mitchell, who was still like 30 points higher than George is now and a much better defender in college (and a plus NBA athlete). George is maybe slightly above average as an athlete, and he seems to struggle where guys like Mitchell thrive, which is creating inside shots for himself.

I'm definitely interested in seeing the trajectories of Wallace and George, because they're almost identical in size and athleticism and will likely both go in the top half of the draft. Very different players, but Wallace's profile just always seems to do better in the NBA.

[planetmars]

Been watching some Brice Sensabaugh videos today, and he's super intriguing. Tankathon's mock has him at 13 so might be in our range. He's a 19 year old kid that loves to score. 43.2% from 3 with 4.5 attempts a game. 59.2% TS% so pretty efficient overall. Has a really high usage (over 34%), so not sure how good he'd be off ball. But with that usage still got an ORTG of 114.4.

He looks a bit heavy. Shows 235 pounds but that's something you can work with. 6'6 but looks like a decent wingspan by just watching him play. Can play above the rim but doesn't look super athletic (mostly because of his weight/build). Has a 9.0 BPM, 1.2 DBM. So not a complete stiff defensively.

His ability to produce offense in the half court is what caught my attention.

[BoyzNTheHood]

As much as I hate George's percentages, he's a hooper by definition.

Gradey Dick is an incredible scorer as well.

Both things can be true. If I need a go to guy I'd rather take the risk on Keyonte, and if I'm looking for a #2 and a great complimentary piece I'd look at Gradey.

sub 40 FG% is rough for any prospect. Doesn't matter what your bag looks like. On the lower end of FG efficiency you'll have Donovan Mitchell, who was still like 30 points higher than George is now and a much better defender in college (and a plus NBA athlete). George is maybe slightly above average as an athlete, and he seems to struggle where guys like Mitchell thrive, which is creating inside shots for himself.

I'm definitely interested in seeing the trajectories of Wallace and George, because they're almost identical in size and athleticism and will likely both go in the top half of the draft. Very different players, but Wallace's profile just always seems to do better in the NBA.

It would be a tough choice, but based on our coach and drafting style I'd assume we'd pick Wallace over George. I'd be content with that selection.

[ArthurVandelay]

Brandon Miller would be a fantastic fit on Raptors. Going to need pick number 3 to get him though, so very unlikely. When I hear people say he lacks athleticism I think of Doncic and when KD couldn’t bench 185. Not saying Miller will be near the careers of those greats but he’s a very, very good basketball player and will have a great career.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Miller has a high floor. I don't know why he got Paul George comparisons because he will never be even close to as good as George on defense but offensively he looks to me like an eventual #2 option deserving of 16-18 FGA a game. Think the type of impact a guy like Siakam has as a scorer but as a SG/SF. His game isn't even close to as well-rounded as Pascal's though as he is a poor passer and very average defender.

Every year we see teams go for higher ceiling prospects who possess superior athleticism and raw skills who haven't exactly put it together (and may never) than ones with a more conservative, mature, refined and consistent approach and skillset. For this reason I'm not convinced Miller is a lock for 3rd overall as there might be a front office out there that is too tempted by one of the Thompson twins.

But in all likelihood he does go 3rd.

[Psubs]

Jarace Walker has cooled off the last 3 games. Maybe he falls into the teens?

I wonder if the Thompson Twins test well but decline 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 scrimmages to not get exposed?

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Sasser last night

Watch on YouTube

Dude is the perfect replacement for GTJ if we don't wanna dish out the $$$. Are we really gonna pay Gary $25 million a year? The luxury tax starts at 162 million next year.

37.8 siakam
20 poeltl
18.6 anunoby
11.7 boucher
8 young
8 barnes
6.3 porter
4.3 achiuwa
1.9 Wieskamp
1.7 koloko
FRP 3.5 mil

Those players alone add up to 121.8 mil. You sign Gary and you're at like 146.8 mil, you can't add much without hitting the luxury. Sasser would likely let us save around 21.5 mil and bring the same type of shooting and defensive presence with better on-ball skills.

Unless the Raps plan on signing Fred to a 30 mil a year deal and simultaneously dumping Anunoby for cheaper young talent/picks or running Scottie at the point which would be a mistake since he has been shaky advancing the ball up the court at times when pressured, they 100% have to walk out of the offseason with a guard with a handle and shooting and Sasser brings that to the table. FA pool is slim pickins unless they have an ace in the hole like a Ty Jerome or someone who can be signed for cheap. Other option is move Anunoby for a young guard. Big decisions coming in the offseason.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Jarace Walker has cooled off the last 3 games. Maybe he falls into the teens?

I wonder if the Thompson Twins test well but decline 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 scrimmages to not get exposed?

I can see Walker going in the 8-13 range. The Thompson twins will likely go before him. Walker to me is in the cluster behind the players who are right behind Wembanyama, Henderson and Miller but in front of guys like Jett Howard and Maxwell Lewis etc..

[Psubs]

Jarace Walker has cooled off the last 3 games. Maybe he falls into the teens?

I wonder if the Thompson Twins test well but decline 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 scrimmages to not get exposed?

I can see Walker going in the 8-13 range. The Thompson twins will likely go before him. Walker to me is in the cluster behind the players who are right behind Wembanyama, Henderson and Miller but in front of guys like Jett Howard and Maxwell Lewis etc..

I like Wallace, Walker, Hendricks as 2-way players that will make the team better. They have potential to shoot the 3 over 33%.

[UnbelievablyRAW]

In my opinion it’s going to really matter where George gets drafted. He needs to go to a team like the Rockets where there is no restriction and he’s allowed to explore and expand his game. If he gets drafted to a team like ours he might take a long time to develop because he will need to become more efficient if he wants to stay on the court (Nurse isn’t a great development coach imo).

I think thats better for his development than going to Houston and chucking in a directionless offence. If he's gonna be great he's gonna have to be able to play defence and play a style that generates efficient offense. Whether thats becoming more offball and catch and shoot or learning to be better using ball screens to create space.

[720]

In my opinion it’s going to really matter where George gets drafted. He needs to go to a team like the Rockets where there is no restriction and he’s allowed to explore and expand his game. If he gets drafted to a team like ours he might take a long time to develop because he will need to become more efficient if he wants to stay on the court (Nurse isn’t a great development coach imo).

I think thats better for his development than going to Houston and chucking in a directionless offence. If he's gonna be great he's gonna have to be able to play defence and play a style that generates efficient offense. Whether thats becoming more offball and catch and shoot or learning to be better using ball screens to create space.

That’s very tough to do and more often than not it leads to situations where the player never really sees his potential through. Which is why I am not so sure he’s going to translate well in the NBA. I could be wrong but we’ve seen countless examples of inefficient guards that don’t have elite athleticism that have high usage in college do well but once in the league they become role players or out the league completely.

For his sake I think he needs to go to a team like the rockets/pistons/Hornets, etc where he can freely grow.

[Psubs]

In my opinion it’s going to really matter where George gets drafted. He needs to go to a team like the Rockets where there is no restriction and he’s allowed to explore and expand his game. If he gets drafted to a team like ours he might take a long time to develop because he will need to become more efficient if he wants to stay on the court (Nurse isn’t a great development coach imo).

I think thats better for his development than going to Houston and chucking in a directionless offence. If he's gonna be great he's gonna have to be able to play defence and play a style that generates efficient offense. Whether thats becoming more offball and catch and shoot or learning to be better using ball screens to create space.

That’s very tough to do and more often than not it leads to situations where the player never really sees his potential through. Which is why I am not so sure he’s going to translate well in the NBA. I could be wrong but we’ve seen countless examples of inefficient guards that don’t have elite athleticism that have high usage in college do well but once in the league they become role players or out the league completely.

For his sake I think he needs to go to a team like the rockets/pistons/Hornets, etc where he can freely grow.

Ya, I think at best he'll be a 6th man like Jordan Clarkson, who is putting up 21/4/4!!! At age 30 he's just become a regular starter.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Jarace Walker has cooled off the last 3 games. Maybe he falls into the teens?

I wonder if the Thompson Twins test well but decline 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 scrimmages to not get exposed?

I can see Walker going in the 8-13 range. The Thompson twins will likely go before him. Walker to me is in the cluster behind the players who are right behind Wembanyama, Henderson and Miller but in front of guys like Jett Howard and Maxwell Lewis etc..

I like Wallace, Walker, Hendricks as 2-way players that will make the team better. They have potential to shoot the 3 over 33%.

If Masai is looking at a wing in the draft it better not mean that we resigned FVV or gave Trent 25 million a year or are going forward with Malachi as our first PG off the bench but that Masai dumped Young or Porter on someone or traded Anunoby for a young guard of equal caliber.

Because of the market and our situation with both FVV and Trent capable of walking drafting a guard will likely be our #1 priority. We have an overabundance of wings, you can't expect guys like Scottie or Precious or Pascal to be full time PGs because they are not. The whole long athletic vision is nice in theory but in practice if you don't have a long athlete with outstanding handles to run the point then it's not gonna work. Jarace ain't that guy. Hendricks ain't that guy. Not only do we need a guard we potentially need multiple guards to add to the roster next year which means that in all likelihood one of them is gonna be coming from the draft. Or we can stick to the status quo, overpay the guys that we have and watch them fail miserably.

The more I looked into the numbers and what's available in FA the more you realize the Raptors might be in one hell of a tricky situation when it comes to the roster that really doesn't give them the luxury of going BPA in the draft unless they make multiple significant roster moves before draft day. We have to hope that a guard IS their BPA or damn close to the BPA that they can pull the trigger.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

9pm tip off for Kansas, now that's what I call some late-night Dick.

[Psubs]

I can see Walker going in the 8-13 range. The Thompson twins will likely go before him. Walker to me is in the cluster behind the players who are right behind Wembanyama, Henderson and Miller but in front of guys like Jett Howard and Maxwell Lewis etc..

I like Wallace, Walker, Hendricks as 2-way players that will make the team better. They have potential to shoot the 3 over 33%.

If Masai is looking at a wing in the draft it better not mean that we resigned FVV or gave Trent 25 million a year or are going forward with Malachi as our first PG off the bench but that Masai dumped Young or Porter on someone or traded Anunoby for a young guard of equal caliber.

Because of the market and our situation with both FVV and Trent capable of walking drafting a guard will likely be our #1 priority. We have an overabundance of wings, you can't expect guys like Scottie or Precious or Pascal to be full time PGs because they are not. The whole long athletic vision is nice in theory but in practice if you don't have a long athlete with outstanding handles to run the point then it's not gonna work. Jarace ain't that guy. Hendricks ain't that guy. Not only do we need a guard we potentially need multiple guards to add to the roster next year which means that in all likelihood one of them is gonna be coming from the draft. Or we can stick to the status quo, overpay the guys that we have and watch them fail miserably.

The more I looked into the numbers and what's available in FA the more you realize the Raptors might be in one hell of a tricky situation when it comes to the roster that really doesn't give them the luxury of going BPA in the draft unless they make multiple significant roster moves before draft day. We have to hope that a guard IS their BPA or damn close to the BPA that they can pull the trigger.

Sign and trade one of FVV or Trent. Sign the other. Trade Thaddeus or Boucher for solid backup guard help that can hit the 3 at over 37%.

[Rapsfan07]

Jarace Walker has cooled off the last 3 games. Maybe he falls into the teens?

I wonder if the Thompson Twins test well but decline 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 scrimmages to not get exposed?

Been saying this for a while. I honestly fully expect the Thompson twins to kill the drills, combine and private workouts but I can't see them agreeing to any kind of scrimmage.