Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 5

MEDIC · Post #981 » by **MEDIC** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:51 pm

A guy like Demarcus Cousins is about the same hight as Kanter.

The big difference is wingspan. Cousins wingspan is almost 5" wider.

Kanter (7' 1")

Cousins (7' 5.75")

Joey Dorsey (7' 1.75")

These are the best bigs that I can find with similar measurements:

Greg Monroe: 6' 11" with shoes, 7' 2.25" wingspan

Channing Frye: 6' 10" with shoes, 7' 2.5" wingspan

Al Jefferson: 6' 9.75" with shoes, 7' 2.5" wingspan

Amare Stoudamire: 6' 10" with shoes, 7' 1.75" wingspan

Al Horford: 6' 9.75" with shoes, 7' 0.75" wingspan

Carlos Boozer: 6' 9.5" with shoes, 7' 2.25" wingspan

Chris Wilcox: 6' 9.5" with shoes, 7' 1" wingspan

Michael Bradley: 6' 11" with shoes, 7' 1.5" wingspan

Even a guy like Cole Aldrich (who many questioned his height to play C last year) has better measurements: 6' 11.25" with shoes, 7' 4.75" wingspan.

Zarko · Post #982 » by **Zarko** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:52 pm

spade57 wrote:
5DOM wrote:
Zarko wrote:Why is everyone looking to draft a PG? Our problem for years has been interior defense and defense in general. In the draft we have a legit defensive center to go after but no, we would rather draft a PG.

Draft the center, trade for a PG. PGs are a dime a dozen and NO ONE in this draft screams out even all star potential.

Who is this? Valanciunas or Kanter or Henson?

My guess is he's talking about Kanter.

Yep.

Guy has legit big man size (what is he? 260-270?), shot blocking ability, and he hustles. Those guys are really hard to find in the NBA. Hes drawn many comparisons to Bogut.

RaptorReloaded · Post #983 » by **RaptorReloaded** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:56 pm

Knight over Kanter and Walker in my own draft order. Big men are very rare compared to guards but theres a reason for it. Most dont work out and its a guards league.
Knight on the right team I think can have a Jennings esque rookie year and the Raps would be a perfect team for him to grow on. He would get the starting spot and having Jose as his back up would be a great contrasting pg combo we havent had since TJ left.
Knights stock will only rise too. If he beats Walker and UCon to go to the finals he is easily a top 5 pick. Maybe top 3.

God Squad · Post #984 » by **God Squad** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:02 pm

I don't see Knight and Jennings that similar. But I understand the comp. In regards to Kanter I thought he wasn't a very good shot blocker?

sunny · Post #985 » by **sunny** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:11 pm

i was wrong with that I posted earlier.
This is the most recent case of a player declaring for the draft and trying to continue playing in the ncaa
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basket ... suspension

Overuser · Post #986 » by **Overuser** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:15 pm

spade57 wrote:If drafting Kanter meant B.C was going to trade Bargs do it and run. Then we all meet up at real sports bar for some beers.

I'd be up for that and I live in PEI.

As for the length thing, I feel that people are over-valueing it. Unless your significantly undersized for your position it has more to do with the way you play. Did you know our starting center has a 9' 2" standing reach. Length is nice, but it doesn't guarantee you'll be able to play like a real bigman.

Of course none of us have any idea what kind of player Kanter can be. No one has seen him play in ages and I, like most of you, am basing my opinion off the Nike Hoop Summit video and scouting reports. The fact that he broke Dirk's record in that game wasn't what impressed me. It was how he got his points and rebounding. He plays like a real bigman at both ends.

In other news Sacramento keeps winning and we may be able to take over there spot.

ItsDanger · Post #987 » by **ItsDanger** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:23 pm

Reignman wrote:
ItsDanger wrote:Not interested in Kanter considering his knee problems and being from Turkey, Id be concerned over how well the procedures went.

He had tendonitis in his knees, I doubt he went through any kind of complicated procedure.

From nbadraft.net, "One of the big concerns scouts have with Kanter is his physical health. He has had a history of knee problems and there are concerns about his knees not checking out 100% when he has NBA physicals".

Over there, you have to bribe the doctors to ensure proper care. Still confident?

CunningLinguist · Post #988 » by **CunningLinguist** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:37 pm

Zarko wrote:Why is everyone looking to draft a PG? Our problem for years has been interior defense and defense in general. In the draft we have a legit defensive center to go after but no, we would rather draft a PG.

Draft the center, trade for a PG. PGs are a dime a dozen and NO ONE in this draft screams out even all star potential.

Who is this draftable defensive centre that you speak of? You realize that Kanter is not an above the rim shotblocking type right? JV will take some time to bulk up enough to defend the post.

This draft has much better PG prospects than centres and the league has become much more guard dominated.

Dr Positivity · Post #989 » by **Dr Positivity** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:42 pm

@ Medic

IMO strength matters more than length when your big is above 6'9. Kanter measuring our similarly to Al Horford is very encouraging because he's just as thick and strong as him. I bet Kanter will be able to play as a small C.

bboyskinnylegs · Post #990 » by **bboyskinnylegs** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:44 pm

Overuser wrote:In other news Sacramento keeps winning and we may be able to take over there spot.

we have taken over their spot, now we have to maintain it

MEDIC · Post #991 » by **MEDIC** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:55 pm

Dr Mufasa wrote:@ Medic

IMO strength matters more than length when your big is above 6'9. Kanter measuring our similarly to Al Horford is very encouraging because he's just as thick and strong as him. I bet Kanter will be able to play as a small C.

Oh, I have no doubt he can play the position (& I think he is a C, not a PF), but I think he will be slightly undersized. I also think that Kanter would be a much better C than anyone else that we have on the roster.

He just won't be the shot blocking C that we all hope for. If he learns how to position himself defensively & adds size & strength, he should be OK though. We have good shotblocking help from the PF & SF positions.

Horford is like Antonio Davis. He can play the C position if you have nobody else, but he should be a PF. No team with Horford at the starting C is going to the NBA finals. He's just too small. Horfords done an admirable job with his lack of size, but he also has more athleticism that Kanter has.

My big thing with this team is that I want to shift the bulk of the scoring away from the 4 & 5 positions & start collecting players that can do the bulk of the scoring from the 1, 2 & 3 positions.

If we can get the bulk of the scoring from the PG & wing positions, we can add any veteran C to the team to provide defense & rebounding. (similar to what we did in the VC years).

Like they keep saying, it's a guards league.

Having said that, I wouldn't be upset if they thought Kanter was the BPA & drafted him. We could definitely use him.

Dr Positivity · Post #992 » by **Dr Positivity** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:59 pm

MEDIC wrote:
OakleyDokely wrote:I don't think anyone would descibe Knight as a 'pure' PG.

I think what attracts a lot of people to him is his size, his potential to defend at the NBA level, his ability to hit the outside shot and his overall on floor leadership / work ethic.

We have to remember that he's still very young and raw. But it's pretty impressive that at such a young age, he's been able to lead his team to a final 4 and be one of the best players on the court.

His PG skills are still very raw, but he's got lots of time to improve that area of his game.

I guess I like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, John Stockton type PG's rather than Devin Harris/ Jrue Holiday.

Comes down to preference I guess. I think Kemba can be a much more dynamic PG (penetrate & dish). The type that will make his teammates better.

For me, Kemba is much more similar to a 5'11 Devin Harris than Nash/Paul/Stockton. Kemba is a score first PG, still. I'm not seeing playmaking vision near what does elite PGs have. On that note, the key to a drive and dish PG is making them help. Undersized PGs have more trouble doing this because they'll know when Kemba goes to the rim they can force him into a bad shot with his size and without his ability to use his body. It'll also be a killer if his shot doesn't become lockdown, because they'll just go under the screen to block his penetration. And then there's the defensive side of the ball...

I see Kemba as a backup PG. I'm not disagreeing with those who say he has Damon Stoudemire or Aaron Brooks potential, though then again Damon was hardly the cat's bananas once he got away from being the top guy on our bad team, and Brooks has fallen off big time. If Kemba makes me eat crow and is an all-star I think it'll be as a Tim Hardaway type player, not Chris Paul

crosswalkryan · Post #993 » by **crosswalkryan** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:00 pm

Al Horford is way more athletic...makes me think you haven't watched either player. Kanter doesn't play above the rim but plays strong in the post. Horford is strong in the post, but has that above the rim athletic ability you rarely see in a big man and thats his main plus.

I would rather take a SF or PG we have seen alot from and we know has potential (Barnes, Knight).

Not saying Kanter will be a bust...just wouldn't feel comfortable taking him so high when we know so little. Maybe I'll change my mind after his draft combine and workouts

bboyskinnylegs · Post #994 » by **bboyskinnylegs** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:05 pm

Is he definitely skipping out on the Hoop Summit on April 9th? Or is he still undecided? I think he has franchise big potential, but we really need to see more of him.

Post #995 » by **5DOM** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:05 pm

I think Jeremy Lamb might have very similar standing reach # to Kanter's. He can most likely jump higher than Kanter too

wtfbosh · Post #996 » by **wtfbosh** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:10 pm

Sorta off-topic here, but the McDonalds All American game is this Wednesday...anybody know who's airing it in Canada? Doesn't seem like any of the channels are carrying it this year.

sunny · Post #997 » by **sunny** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:14 pm

The second full weekend of March Madness was simply amazing.

It's rare that NBA scouts and GMs get to see the top prospects in the country go head-to-head in such intense circumstances.

Not only did we see some great performances by some great players (and some shaky ones by a few Player of the Year candidates) but for the first time in a long time scouts began to concede that maybe this draft isn't as bad as they've been making it out to be.

At times, Arizona's Derrick Williams, Duke's Kyrie Irving and North Carolina's Harrison Barnes all played worthy of a No. 1 pick in the draft.

The list below doesn't reflect who played the best game or games. But it does give you a good feel for who scouts were talking about. Here's a look at a who helped and who hurt themselves this weekend:
The Good

Derrick Williams, F, Arizona
Top 100 Rank: 2

Derrick Williams has been steadily rising in our rankings all year. He began the season ranked No. 26 on our Big Board. In late December he cracked the lottery. In January we moved him into our Top 10 and in February we moved him all the way to No. 4 on our Big Board and we raised the possibility of Williams being the No. 1 pick in the draft.

This weekend Williams did his best to show that he was worthy of being the top pick in the draft. Williams was flat out beastly against both Duke and UConn. His 32 points and 13 boards against the Blue Devils was one of the best performances by a big man we've seen all year. Williams had everything going. He connected on five 3-pointers, had two Blake Griffin-esque dunks and dominated the paint for Arizona. His strength, explosion around the basket and smooth perimeter game made him look like an NBA All-Star in the making. Against UConn, things didn't quite work out as well. He had 20 points and 5 boards, but missed a few critical shots for Arizona down the stretch.

This weekend we raised him another two spots to the No. 2 position on our Big Board. Based on feedback from NBA scouts and GMs, we now believe Williams is in serious consideration for the No. 1 pick along with Duke's Kyrie Irving and North Carolina's Harrison Barnes. With all three players now out of the tournament, there should be a lively debate based on team needs and workouts about who is No. 1.

/ chad ford

MEDIC · Post #998 » by **MEDIC** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:18 pm

Dr Mufasa wrote:I see Kemba as a backup PG. I'm not disagreeing with those who say he has Damon Stoudemire or Aaron Brooks potential, though then again Damon was hardly the cat's bananas once he got away from being the top guy on our bad team, and Brooks has fallen off big time. If Kemba makes me eat crow and is an all-star I think it'll be as a Tim Hardaway type player, not Chris Paul

I'm picturing Kemba as a quicker, better version of Ty Lawson. Brooks is speedy, but he is also very slight/ skinny.

I in no way feel that Kemba's game is at the level of a CP, but if he can be 3/4 of what Paul is, we'll have a hell of a PG on our hands.

I've seen lots of footage of Kemba finding the open man near the bucket when the defense collapses on him. I don't believe that he is a tunnel vision scorer (like some here are suggesting). I think he's dynamic enough to adjust on the fly & make the appropropriate pass if need be.

Everything I have read about the guy suggests that he has a lot more natural PG instinct than he has shown this season. He seems to be one of those guys that has been asked to do things that hide some of his strengths.

Like everyone else.....I'm just stating my opininon, but I do feel he will be an above average PG in this league. With his type of speed, toughness, build, ball handling, shooting & passing ability, I just don't see him failing at the next level. With the minor touch fouls & 3 second rule, I'm not sure how they're going to stop him without fouling. If they do.....Amir & Davis will be there for the easy bucket.

Dr Positivity · Post #999 » by **Dr Positivity** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:26 pm

I'm not sure Kemba will ever have Lawson or Jameer Nelson's league best shooting ability and ability to get shots off and he's not faster. Those guys also seem more fluid and in control than Kemba to me. When Lawson and Jameer play it feels like they're playing on water. Kemba feels a lot more indebted to his explosiveness which I don't think will cut it

Moxie · Post #1000 » by **Moxie** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:33 pm

I hope we can somehow hold on to 4th. I've been running the lotto sim, and we are ending up in the top 4-5 WAY more consistently. Lots of top 3, too.