2014 NBA Draft Prospects Thread #5 | Raps picking 20th

[nabbs]

Jahii Carson anyone??? Dude is obviously undersized but I mean..... He is literally a machine in the scoring department and his athleticism is off the charts for a guy his size. I mean after so many made the size argument for Isaiah Thomas (look at what he has become)..... I think it's definitely worth taking a look at him.

[OAKLEY_2]

My Elfrid Payton comparisons.

Realistic projection: Brandon Knight with worse shooting and potentially better D.

Those who love him like to mention Rondo or Rubio but here's my take on both of those.

- Probably has 75-80% of Rondo's speed with the ball.
- Probably has 60% of Rubio's vision and creative passing.
- Upside on D but still probably ends up being like 70% of Rubio's D.

What does that all amount to? For me, it's Brandon Knight with a worse shot and better D. That sounds like a huge diss but Knight was a lotto pick. I think it's a fair comparison given the quality differences of the Sun Belt Conference and the SEC. Do people remember what Knight put up as a freshmen in a much better conference? He's an interesting prospect at 20 but I think some are getting a little carried away about his potential to be a star based primarily on his size and the numbers he put up in the Sun Belt. Don't get me wrong. I'm acknowledging that I think he's one of the prospects with considerable upside that could be there at 20 given how young he still is but I personally think his shot is going to need more work than Austin Rivers' did and that's saying something. I don't mind small conference star prospects but I want to see elite NBA transferable skills. Lillard hard a bunch. Namely shooting. This kid doesn't have that. Many of the things he's doing to score in that conference against small PFs and Cs are going to get swatted away in the NBA. Once the scouting reports come out on his poor shooting everyone will go under on him in pick and rolls. He will have to embrace the defensive role the way Avery Bradley did to earn significant minutes on the teams picking 20 or later because so many of those teams already have quality at that position (which is why they were playoff teams). Some will even have quality third stringers (6'3 PGs with talent like Dwight Buycks) pushing him daily who can knock down 3s where he can not). You look at the Spurs who recently gave up De Colo for very little and us who gave up Augustine for even less for two recent examples of the cheap competition he will face in the league. PG is perhaps second only to PF in terms of depth.

He has some nice tools but I don't see any one thing that he does amazing enough to stand out from the pack in a big way in the NBA. If he doesn't improve his shot substantially or commit to D what are you left with and how long do you wait? Seems like the type who won't figure it out until he's on his second or third NBA team sometime in his mid-twenties. He's intriguing but I'm hoping we can do better. If he shot it better I'd be more excited. Even Courtney Lee had efficiency on his side when he tore up the Sun Belt Conference a few years back on his way to a late first round pick. BTW, those SLAM vids only show makes and Payton's has the least long range shots I've seen in any of those vids yet. He also seems fatigued in the rapid fire dunk drill.

Right off the bat you can see Payton has better handles than Knight. Knight is the better shooter of course but Payton changes speeds and breaks ankles with elite proficiency.

[Risk101]

Jahii Carson anyone??? Dude is obviously undersized but I mean..... He is literally a machine in the scoring department and his athleticism is off the charts for a guy his size. I mean after so many made the size argument for Isaiah Thomas (look at what he has become)..... I think it's definitely worth taking a look at him.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuLxtb5pWAk[/youtube]

- Great athlete for his size
- Quick off the dribble
- Consistent knock down shooter.

I haven't seen much of Jahii but he looks to be undersized at 5'11 and could pose a lot of holes defensively. I think Double Helix needs to run down another analysis on this guy

He's projected 55 on DX. Potential Nate Robinson?

[CrymeTime]

Jahii Carson anyone??? Dude is obviously undersized but I mean..... He is literally a machine in the scoring department and his athleticism is off the charts for a guy his size. I mean after so many made the size argument for Isaiah Thomas (look at what he has become)..... I think it's definitely worth taking a look at him.

I thnik he'll end up going anywhere between 45-54. Philly has 3 picks in that span, I think they'll take him.


The thing I like about having a lot of second rounders is that you can make a summer league team with these players. If the player doesn't workout, there is no commitment.

I hated when BC would give up 2nd rounders like they were nothing. I am excited that we have 2 2nd rounders, even if one of them is the second last pick.

[Undefeated]

Jahii Carson and Semaj Christon were my top PGs going into the season.

I'm not worried about Carson's size because he's extremely built in the upper body allowing him to absorb and take contact well at the rim and he's a blur with the ball. Combine that with his tight handle he can get to any spot on the floor he wants. A lot of his weaknesses were similar to Ty Lawson but I think Carson is a better shooter.

If it was me I'd prefer Semaj. Same quickness and athleticism, but has more size which means he's able to guard his position more effectively.

[raptor jesus]

DH is right. Payton has nice defensive potential but let's remember he played in the Sun Belt, not a major conference. Furthermore he has the very worst shooting and very worst TO% of any player in the entire draft.

Teams will press him early in the clock and try to make him make bad passes, then they will sag off him and dare him to shoot. On a pick and roll everyone will go under and hope he shoots. He can't even shoot FT's! It's a big IF that he will be able to go from worst shooter in the draft to NBA quality as a shooter.

I did a search of players who have his shooting #'s and his TO #'s in college basketball history. Guess what- you've never heard of any of them.

At #20 I really hope we have better options than a PG who can't shoot and who turns the ball over that much.
He has some nice skills but some of the holes in his game are so serious for a PG that he's almost a non prospect.

Damian Lillard played in a small conference, too. Paul George played at Fresno State.

The raw ability doesn't change conference to conference. Payton projects to be an elite perimeter defender.

Payton also represented the US at the U19 worlds.

[CrymeTime]

I'd Draft and Stash Moussa Diagne if he's there at #59.

[AngryDad]

The talk between Ennis and Payton actually kind of reminds me of last years debate over Burke and Schröder tbh.

[Risk101]

I'd Draft and Stash Moussa Diagne if he's there at #59.

He ranks among the top-six players in one of the top leagues outside of the NBA in per-minute rebounding and shot blocking. Very active with his feet, Diagne pursues the ball aggressively off the rim with reckless abandon on both ends, averaging a tremendous 12.9 rebounds per-40 minutes pace adjusted. Diagne is among the more interesting draft and stash prospects whose name popped up on this year's early entry list. His age, lack of experience, and the fact that he's already contributing playing against quality competition leave plenty of room for optimism that he'll continue to improve in the coming seasons

I see so much potential in that kid. He has great size and length and could be a huge steal in the draft.

[GP2]

Jahii Carson anyone??? Dude is obviously undersized but I mean..... He is literally a machine in the scoring department and his athleticism is off the charts for a guy his size. I mean after so many made the size argument for Isaiah Thomas (look at what he has become)..... I think it's definitely worth taking a look at him.

I thnik he'll end up going anywhere between 45-54. Philly has 3 picks in that span, I think they'll take him.


The thing I like about having a lot of second rounders is that you can make a summer league team with these players. If the player doesn't workout, there is no commitment.

I hated when BC would give up 2nd rounders like they were nothing. I am excited that we have 2 2nd rounders, even if one of them is the second last pick.

This x100000. I hated that we never seemed to have a 2nd rounder. And then during Behind the Draft all you see is:

"We were looking to acquire a pick" EVERY YEAR

[AkelaLoneWolf]

I'd Draft and Stash Moussa Diagne if he's there at #59.

He ranks among the top-six players in one of the top leagues outside of the NBA in per-minute rebounding and shot blocking. Very active with his feet, Diagne pursues the ball aggressively off the rim with reckless abandon on both ends, averaging a tremendous 12.9 rebounds per-40 minutes pace adjusted. Diagne is among the more interesting draft and stash prospects whose name popped up on this year's early entry list. His age, lack of experience, and the fact that he's already contributing playing against quality competition leave plenty of room for optimism that he'll continue to improve in the coming seasons

I see so much potential in that kid. He has great size and length and could be a huge steal in the draft.

These are exactly the type of guys we should be looking for in the draft.
I know that a lot of people look in the first round and look to move up but I think there's a decent amount of international talent that's available this year.
If we draft and stash 2-3 prospects in this draft, that would give us assets to work with but we also start developing a farm system with players who play in competitive leagues.
Multiple teams have multiple second round picks and I think we can snatch 2 of them

[Rapsobsessed7]

At #20 I like (based on current DX projections of people 20 or lower)
- Efrid Payton
- KJ McDaniels

I want either one of these guys. I like Inglis too but not at #20. Both bring defense and athleticism.

At #37
- Damien Inglis
- Deonte Burton
- Spencer Dinwiddle
- Nikola Jokic

At #59
- Jordan Bachynski
- Semaj Christon

[Naysorn]

Draft Inglis, trade him to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan.

[Mikistan]

I'd Draft and Stash Moussa Diagne if he's there at #59.

He ranks among the top-six players in one of the top leagues outside of the NBA in per-minute rebounding and shot blocking. Very active with his feet, Diagne pursues the ball aggressively off the rim with reckless abandon on both ends, averaging a tremendous 12.9 rebounds per-40 minutes pace adjusted. Diagne is among the more interesting draft and stash prospects whose name popped up on this year's early entry list. His age, lack of experience, and the fact that he's already contributing playing against quality competition leave plenty of room for optimism that he'll continue to improve in the coming seasons

I see so much potential in that kid. He has great size and length and could be a huge steal in the draft.

These are exactly the type of guys we should be looking for in the draft.
I know that a lot of people look in the first round and look to move up but I think there's a decent amount of international talent that's available this year.
If we draft and stash 2-3 prospects in this draft, that would give us assets to work with but we also start developing a farm system with players who play in competitive leagues.
Multiple teams have multiple second round picks and I think we can snatch 2 of them

Totally agree.

Especially in this hockey/baseball market in Toronto, people understand development of young players in other leagues. You can sell fans on long-term prospects while keeping options open for young end-of-the bench guy.

Guys who are hungry rather than just twilight-players picking up cheques.

[Double Helix]

For any McDaniels fans:

Looking at Twitter, both Masai and Weltman were on hand to see McDaniels post this line against then top-rated Syracuse:

http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/playergamestat ... =400502845

I'm just looking over Twitter to see what other prospects in the mix he watched.

[Rapsobsessed7]

For any McDaniels fans:

Looking at Twitter, both Masai and Weltman were on hand to see McDaniels post this line against then top-rated Syracuse:

http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/playergamestat ... =400502845

I'm just looking over Twitter to see what other prospects in the mix he watched.

Love him. Glad his wingspan/reach measured better than expected.

[ATLTimekeeper]

DH is right. Payton has nice defensive potential but let's remember he played in the Sun Belt, not a major conference. Furthermore he has the very worst shooting and very worst TO% of any player in the entire draft.

Assist to TO ratio is comparable to Smart and Napier. Who cares about how often these guys turn it over as 20 year olds? TO% also isn't one of those stats to separates a good from bad player.

Teams will press him early in the clock and try to make him make bad passes, then they will sag off him and dare him to shoot. On a pick and roll everyone will go under and hope he shoots. He can't even shoot FT's! It's a big IF that he will be able to go from worst shooter in the draft to NBA quality as a shooter.

The whole point is to draft players that could blow up into something more. Obviously if he can't ever shoot it will likely be a bad pick. At this draft slot you're better off taking chances, especially on young players, that they'll overcome a major flaw. It just so happens that shooting is one of the more correctable flaws. Makes it a good risk/reward player. If you take a role player potential guy (like, say, McDaniels or Hood) you're more likely to end up with someone you could buy in free agency for a couple of million/year. That makes it a wasted pick, too.

[UnderdogRaptors]

Draft Inglis, trade him to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan.

Dead lmao

[Double Helix]

For any Kyle Anderson fans:

It seems Masai was on hand to see this vs Duke:

http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/playergamestat ... =400502741

[Rapsobsessed7]

Opinion on McGary as a backup C?