Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 7

[5DOM]

Has at least an inch, maybe more, on everyone on the team.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvko4VUYuKQ[/youtube]

Maybe an inch or two on Jones. So he's most likely grown an inch in last two years to 6'10" - 6'11".

[Reignman]

Has at least an inch, maybe more, on everyone on the team.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvko4VUYuKQ[/youtube]

Maybe an inch or two on Jones. So he's most likely grown an inch in last two years to 6'10" - 6'11".

Man, I wouldn't infer anything out of that picture you posted, they are on different planes and not even standing up right. I'd much rather use the team picture to make a guess.

[Reignman]

#30 - Eloy Vargas, listed at 6'11" on Kentucky's site. Think about that for a sec.

[Reignman]

BTW, it's strange that their site has no measurements for Kanter. Because of his ineligibility? They still have his pic.

[ItsDanger]

NCAA has a bad rep for inflating measurements. Wait for the combines for proof.

[5DOM]

Jones, 6'8" on Kentucky's site, isn't even standing straight. I can guarantee you that Kanter's not a 7 footer. If he were, everyone would know it by now (unless he's hiding it for a surprise)

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

I mean, if you guys don't want the risk of drafting raw bigs, you can always take, you know, a guy who will be one of the best players to come out of this crappy draft..*cough* *cough* Kemba Walker. I don't know what I have to do to convince you, but he will be a stud in the NBA. The fact that you don't think he'll be, will make it that much more likely. It's funny how that works. I'm not sure BC takes him because of Bayless and the fact that he's more of a scoring PG, but he'll be a good one imo, size or no size. I also think BC will favor Knight more over Walker, which is fine, but I have this sneaky suspicion that we'll regret passing on him....unless we draft Bismack Biyombo, which in that case, it wouldn't matter because Biyombo will be a monster imo. In one game, he showed me a will to compete, to send back anyone who dares to cross his path, and a endless motor that you just can't teach. Intangibles, folks, intangibles.

As you can tell, I'm very high on prospects who mix fire, character with impact ability. Oh, and I just love underdogs. You count them out, but they just keep coming back. It's galvanizing to me.

And I'll openly admit: I liked Jonny Flynn, DeJuan Blair in '09 just as much as DeMar. I liked T.J. Ford, and still do btw. Not the greatest track record, I know, but I can't help rooting for guys who've been doubted.

This is one of the few times I'll mention Kemba, because I know people don't like the mention of his name in association with our pick, and it's certainly understandable, because we're slotted 3rd. Oh, and we have Bayless after all.

So, with that, I leave you with this NY times story on Walker (and for the record, I'm not his agent lol, just a fan of his):

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/colle ... uconn.html

As an aside: Y'all must be glad I'm not the GM lol.

[5DOM]

I think Kemba's going to be a good pro. No way his explosiveness doesn't translate. With that said, I still don't want him with our pick unless we drop to 6.

[ItsDanger]

Walker looks like a solid PG. However, we need more than that. A wasted pick IMO that high. Guys like that should be picked in the 12-18 range. Look at the teams we need to beat. Im not interested in being a 40 win team that loses to the top teams year in year out.

[Dr Positivity]

I only like undersized points if they don't need physical contact in their game at all. Seems like Kemba needs it. Flynn needed it. Lawson didn't.

[wanker]

BTW, it's strange that their site has no measurements for Kanter. Because of his ineligibility? They still have his pic.

He was listed on Kentucky's site as 6'11. I guess they recently removed him from the team roster.

[SDM]

I think Kemba's going to be a good pro. No way his explosiveness doesn't translate. With that said, I still don't want him with our pick unless we drop to 6.

Same. We need a home run if we're picking #3 or later but at #6 I'd consider him. We gotta go for one of the project bigs and hope we land our own Marc Gasol or DeAndre Jordan.

[Indeed]

I'd be tempted to trade #3 for Paul George after last night. 18 deflections? 4 blocks, 3 steals? Holy moly.

RE: Kanter's potential interior defence, if you're not tall and you can't jump then you need to compensate with a good standing reach, good feet, or both, and you need to foul surreptitiously. If you can't block from behind then you HAVE to stay in front. The Theo Ratliff defensive method won't exactly work.

Araujo is a worst-case scenario he had/did none of those things, but you don't need to be as bad as Araujo to be ineffective. If Kanter doesn't participate in every combine event and work out against others I'd stay a mile away.

I am always high on Paul George, and think Indiana picked him over Davis has their reason.

[ty123]

I'd take Biyombo over Valanciunas. I'm sorry but a big with that defensive potential is too much to pass over guys like Valanciunas who'll likely be stashed in Europe for a few more years.

[Rapsobsessed7]

I mean, if you guys don't want the risk of drafting raw bigs, you can always take, you know, a guy who will be one of the best players to come out of this crappy draft..*cough* *cough* Kemba Walker. I don't know what I have to do to convince you, but he will be a stud in the NBA. The fact that you don't think he'll be, will make it that much more likely. It's funny how that works. I'm not sure BC takes him because of Bayless and the fact that he's more of a scoring PG, but he'll be a good one imo, size or no size. I also think BC will favor Knight more over Walker, which is fine, but I have this sneaky suspicion that we'll regret passing on him....unless we draft Bismack Biyombo, which in that case, it wouldn't matter because Biyombo will be a monster imo. In one game, he showed me a will to compete, to send back anyone who dares to cross his path, and a endless motor that you just can't teach. Intangibles, folks, intangibles.

As you can tell, I'm very high on prospects who mix fire, character with impact ability. Oh, and I just love underdogs. You count them out, but they just keep coming back. It's galvanizing to me.

And I'll openly admit: I liked Jonny Flynn, DeJuan Blair in '09 just as much as DeMar. I liked T.J. Ford, and still do btw. Not the greatest track record, I know, but I can't help rooting for guys who've been doubted.

This is one of the few times I'll mention Kemba, because I know people don't like the mention of his name in association with our pick, and it's certainly understandable, because we're slotted 3rd. Oh, and we have Bayless after all.

So, with that, I leave you with this NY times story on Walker (and for the record, I'm not his agent lol, just a fan of his):

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/colle ... uconn.html

As an aside: Y'all must be glad I'm not the GM lol.

id take Walker. Ideal world (without Irving) we end up with Kanter + Walker. Id like that a lot. I think kanter is going to be more offensive then defensive though im torn on him or Bioymbo

[TDotRep]

With regards to Kanter's defense via DX:

Defensively, Kanter had some excellent possessions in practice, coming up with some blocks by being a step ahead of the play and contesting shots with his positioning, rather than his athleticism. His body helps him fight for position on the block, and his physical nature allowed him to deny penetration when his man attempted to take him off the dribble. Once the shot goes up, Kanter does a nice job of sealing off his man and pursuing the ball. Though his ability to rebound outside of his area wasn’t as apparent as it was in junior play, he’s still, more often than not, the player coming down with the ball in a crowd.

This is the pre-Hoop Summit practice with other Euro team members. The game didn't matter much, the practice matters less. Who is to say he could even hang with Sullinger a year later, who I don't really like as an NBA prospect? Could he have repeated that performance the next day?

I hope Kanter is good, but I don't know how anybody could be confident one way or the other. It's hard to expect him to out-play NBA players consistently based on what he's been able to show, which is what he'd have to do if his physical makeup isn't special. Beasting Harrellson in practice, somebody who probably couldn't get signed by an agent, means nada to me.

Again, if he blows off ANY part of the pre-draft process I'm out.

Nazr Muhammid got slapped around in a one on one situation vs. kanter, and I think everyone could agree Mr. Muhammid is not slack on the defensive end.

[JYD]

I think Kemba's going to be a good pro. No way his explosiveness doesn't translate. With that said, I still don't want him with our pick unless we drop to 6.

I don't think he can be an effective 3-pt shooter in the NBA. He doesn't even shoot the college 3 well, and showed no improvement percentage wise that would give any hope in that department.

So in him you've got a midget (talking about defensive liability, I don't think this will be an issue getting shot separation), non-pure PG who can't shoot the 3. I actually like Walker and think he'll be a decent player, but I don't see any indicator he's going to be better than a Bayless, or have any kind of significant upside.

[fredericklove]

I think Kemba's going to be a good pro. No way his explosiveness doesn't translate. With that said, I still don't want him with our pick unless we drop to 6.

I don't think he can be an effective 3-pt shooter in the NBA. He doesn't even shoot the college 3 well, and showed no improvement percentage wise that would give any hope in that department.

So in him you've got a midget (talking about defensive liability, I don't think this will be an issue getting shot separation), non-pure PG who can't shoot the 3. I actually like Walker and think he'll be a decent player, but I don't see any indicator he's going to be better than a Bayless, or have any kind of significant upside.

I just see him as a 5''11 version of Nate Robinson, with better dribbling skills.

[chrisanna]

nowhere near nate's athleticism tho

[andyo]

I'd rather give Bayless the reigns than draft Kemba or Knight. Just IMO but both are nothing special.....