Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 3

dagger · Post #681 » by **dagger** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 2:08 am

wanker wrote:Primoz Brezic.

There is a 0% chance Colangelo takes Valanciuas with a top 5-6 pick, and thank god for this. There is also a 100% chance Kanter goes well before both Valanciuas and Motiejunas, and thank god for this also.

You're an idiot. There is no comparison between the earthbound Brezic and Valanciunas. It's like saying Dwight Howard's comparison is Oliver Miller.

Maybe you should watch him play before running your mouth, and yes, if we draft 5-6, there is a reasonable chance we will pick him, depending on whoever else is on the board at that time. I'd take him over Kanter any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

wanker · Post #682 » by **wanker** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 3:45 am

dagger wrote:
wanker wrote:Primoz Brezic.

There is a 0% chance Colangelo takes Valanciuas with a top 5-6 pick, and thank god for this. There is also a 100% chance Kanter goes well before both Valanciuas and Motiejunas, and thank god for this also.

You're an idiot. There is no comparison between the earthbound Brezic and Valanciunas. It's like saying Dwight Howard's comparison is Oliver Miller.

Maybe you should watch him play before running your mouth, and yes, if we draft 5-6, there is a reasonable chance we will pick him, depending on whoever else is on the board at that time. I'd take him over Kanter any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

While the Brezic comparison was a joke, I would hardly say there is "no comparison."

Unless a) we fall in the draft and/or b) several of the top prospects don't declare, there is no chance the Raptors take Valanciunas with their pick. I'm sure Brian (along with the trusty 'Mo' Gherardini) is quite fond of him as a prospect, but it is not happening. Valenciunas is not even close to NBA ready (especially if your plan is to have him at center, and I'm not sure what other plan there could be), and the Raptors will not draft another European project, not after the disaster that is Bargnani. You can be sure that MLSE wants a significant--and, most significantly, presentable--piece to show from the draft, in order to flaunt the fruits of a "rebuild," and Valenciunas is sure as **** not the player they are going to put on display.

henrydunn13 · Post #683 » by **henrydunn13** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:49 am

Watched Duke vs. UNC then Kentucky vs. Tennessee back-to-back today (thanks to PVR).

Obviously I was very focussed on Harrison Barnes and Terrence Jones (and to a degree Brandon Knight).

I came away high on both small forwards, but I'm currently favouring Terrence Jones.

Harrison Barnes had some agression, but preferred settling for a lot of shots. This was frustrating to watch because it felt like he had the talent and athleticism to drive it to the basket with ease but continued to settle. Though he did have good defence and rebounding.

Terrence Jones didn't shoot the ball well, but he seemed dominant: getting rebounds, driving, playing good defence and getting his hands on the ball. His energy and agression was great to see and I only wish Barnes had shown the same. Jones has really bad shooting mechanics - maybe it's something he can work on at the NBA level.

In terms of the best pick (besides Irving) for the Raptors, I'd take Terrence in hopes that his aggression could compensate for Bargnani. Though I'm hoping Barnes will turn it around because that shot would be best paired with DeRozan.

Post #684 » by **5DOM** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 5:19 am

wanker wrote:
dagger wrote:
wanker wrote:Primoz Brezic.

There is a 0% chance Colangelo takes Valanciuas with a top 5-6 pick, and thank god for this. There is also a 100% chance Kanter goes well before both Valanciuas and Motiejunas, and thank god for this also.

You're an idiot. There is no comparison between the earthbound Brezic and Valanciunas. It's like saying Dwight Howard's comparison is Oliver Miller.

Maybe you should watch him play before running your mouth, and yes, if we draft 5-6, there is a reasonable chance we will pick him, depending on whoever else is on the board at that time. I'd take him over Kanter any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

While the Brezic comparison was a joke, I would hardly say there is "no comparison."

Please elaborate.

Wo1verine · Post #685 » by **Wo1verine** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 5:42 am

DreamTeam09 wrote:There aren't gonna be a lot of teams with wing combo like we are going to have if we take Harrison Barnes/TJ or even PJ. The makeup will be very interesting but I like it. We'll definately need an uptempo pass 1st gaurd to go along with em.

At this point i think I'll take anyone that's not a euro..(not hating, but we've had awful luck with them, and i don't want another one until BC and MG are gone because frankly, they're morons when it comes to euro talent)

Rude Boy 1 · Post #686 » by **Rude Boy 1** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:10 pm

dagger wrote:
wanker wrote:Primoz Brezic.

There is a 0% chance Colangelo takes Valanciuas with a top 5-6 pick, and thank god for this. There is also a 100% chance Kanter goes well before both Valanciuas and Motiejunas, and thank god for this also.

You're an idiot. There is no comparison between the earthbound Brezic and Valanciunas. It's like saying Dwight Howard's comparison is Oliver Miller.

Maybe you should watch him play before running your mouth, and yes, if we draft 5-6, there is a reasonable chance we will pick him, depending on whoever else is on the board at that time. I'd take him over Kanter any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Whoa, whoa, whoa... I've been suspended from much less than that be careful dude!

Anyway what is it about this skinny non-athletic European you love so much? Is it the same things you saw in Bargnani? Or is he a much better prospect than Il Mago?

Jonas' game looks like he will have a great deal of trouble transitioning to the NBA style, where guys are bigger, better, faster, stronger and more athletic. It looks like he has a good work ethic on the court and could be a nice energy guy but as we've seen with many of the highly touted European players they struggle to find their game here mainly because they come over with a target on their back. The mentality is just so different, Americans are egocentric attention hoarders who love the limelight. I get the sense that European players are a lot more down to earth seeing as basketball over there is pretty much like basketball in Canada secondary and in some cases tertiary to some of the other sports played over seas.

Basketball in America is an ego driven, where the kids with the strongest mindset get all the accolades and the nice guys get milk commercials. I want a guy that is in every way a traditional American egomaniac, the guy that got all the girls in high school and college and thinks he's the king of the world because of it. The guy that played on the McDonald's All-American team and dominated to further feed his ego. The guy who played and won in all the major AAU tourney's and has been the focus of everyone's talk since he was 16-17.

plainballing · Post #687 » by **plainballing** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:15 pm

Does any one thinks we can trade for Ricky Rubio without giving up our first? We can draft Barnes and then need to find an established defensive centre (via FA or trade) so we can finally compete with the rest of the league.

Big Shot · Post #688 » by **Big Shot** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:20 pm

If basketball is the number one sport in Europe, it will be easier to find a good basketball player there. The fact of the matter is it is not. Don't need to over analyze the situation.

dagger · Post #689 » by **dagger** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:26 pm

Big Shot wrote:If basketball is the number one sport in Europe, it will be easier to find a good basketball player there. The fact of the matter is it is not. Don't need to over analyze the situation.

I have no idea what that means. Basketball isn't the No. 1 sport in America either. It's football, followed by baseball.

Big Shot · Post #690 » by **Big Shot** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:31 pm

dagger wrote:
Big Shot wrote:If basketball is the number one sport in Europe, it will be easier to find a good basketball player there. The fact of the matter is it is not. Don't need to over analyze the situation.

I have no idea what that means. Basketball isn't the No. 1 sport in America either. It's football, followed by baseball.

That means it's easier to find a good football and baseball player in the states, whether you agree or not.

dagger · Post #691 » by **dagger** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:54 pm

Big Shot wrote:
dagger wrote:
Big Shot wrote:If basketball is the number one sport in Europe, it will be easier to find a good basketball player there. The fact of the matter is it is not. Don't need to over analyze the situation.

I have no idea what that means. Basketball isn't the No. 1 sport in America either. It's football, followed by baseball.

That means it's easier to find a good football and baseball player in the states, whether you agree or not.

I still don't understand your point. What are you trying to say?

Mr.Raptorsingh · Post #692 » by **Mr.Raptorsingh** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:56 pm

There is definitely a transition period that most International players go through, probably more apparent for this generation of players than before.

We are seeing less Nowitzkis, less Stojakovics, less Ginobilis, less Gasols, less Kirilenkos, etc. All-star calibre players. I'm sure I'm missing some other names, it's early in the morning.

However, the group of Europeans in this upcoming draft have been touted by scouts as being above average.

Valanciunas and Vesely are very good prospects. Valanciunas, for one, has demonstrated an ability to rebound and play big, so he should not be compared to Bargnani in any way.

karolis1221 · Post #693 » by **karolis1221** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:57 pm

Big Shot wrote:
dagger wrote:
Big Shot wrote:If basketball is the number one sport in Europe, it will be easier to find a good basketball player there. The fact of the matter is it is not. Don't need to over analyze the situation.

I have no idea what that means. Basketball isn't the No. 1 sport in America either. It's football, followed by baseball.

That means it's easier to find a good football and baseball player in the states, whether you agree or not.

there is other reasons why states have better basketball players

Big Shot · Post #694 » by **Big Shot** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 5:27 pm

I have nothing against European players. Maybe I should've said that it's easier to find a good football player than a good basketball player in Europe since football is the #1 sport there.

karolis1221 · Post #695 » by **karolis1221** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 5:58 pm

Big Shot wrote:I have nothing against European players. Maybe I should've said that it's easier to find a good football player than a good basketball player in Europe since football is the #1 sport there.

first in Europe we dont have such a training facilities like in US,second nobodie cares about high school basketball and college basketball,and last europeans dont have such a strong physic and athletic bodies to jump like americans lol its fact, Soccer is number one in the world not only in europe 8-)

Post #696 » by **Double Helix** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 6:04 pm

As much as I like James Johnson I think that if we don't get really lucky with the lottery balls we are going to make Terrance Jones a member of the Toronto Raptors on draft day. He fits with BC's recent track record of going after a mixture of youth, upside, proven stats at the NCAA level and positional need.

Big Shot · Post #697 » by **Big Shot** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 6:06 pm

karolis1221 wrote:
Big Shot wrote:I have nothing against European players. Maybe I should've said that it's easier to find a good football player than a good basketball player in Europe since football is the #1 sport there.

first in Europe we dont have such a training facilities like in US,second nobodie cares about high school basketball and college basketball,and last europeans dont have such a strong physic and athletic bodies to jump like americans lol its fact, Soccer is number one in the world not only in europe

Yeah I know soccer is the #1 sport in the world. I intentionally wrote "football" because that's what they call( in England at least) over there.

Dr Positivity · Post #698 » by **Dr Positivity** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 6:25 pm

Double Helix wrote:As much as I like James Johnson I think that if we don't get really lucky with the lottery balls we are going to make Terrance Jones a member of the Toronto Raptors on draft day. He fits with BC's recent track record of going after a mixture of youth, upside, proven stats at the NCAA level and positional need.

I don't think Johnson will differ us from taking a SF. For one, JJ is more of a bench contributor on a good team anyways unless he can find his offensive sea legs. Secondly Terrence Jones will be able to log PF minutes in the NBA... he might be ONLY a PF... so he can play beside James Johnson at times next year

Big Shot · Post #699 » by **Big Shot** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 6:31 pm

I like TJ at sf, if no Irving.

Rude Boy 1 · Post #700 » by **Rude Boy 1** » Mon Mar 7, 2011 6:56 pm

Mr.Raptorsingh wrote:There is definitely a transition period that most International players go through, probably more apparent for this generation of players than before.

We are seeing less Nowitzkis, less Stojakovics, less Ginobilis, less Gasols, less Kirilenkos, etc. All-star calibre players. I'm sure I'm missing some other names, it's early in the morning.

However, the group of Europeans in this upcoming draft have been touted by scouts as being above average.

Valanciunas and Vesely are very good prospects. Valanciunas, for one, has demonstrated an ability to rebound and play big, so he should not be compared to Bargnani in any way.

Not even in terms of demeanor or temperament?