Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 3

[Dr Positivity]

I'd go Kanter before both. Skinny big men scare the crap out of me. Give me the guy with strength and foundation down low.

[dagger]

If we're going to worry about Kemba Walker being too short, we have to worry about Henson being too light.

See, this tips the scales completely in favour of Henson, IMO. Worst-case for Kemba is that he can't get his shot off or defend anybody, best-case is that he gets his shot off and can't defend anybody. Worst-case for Henson is that he's 6'10+ and likes to rebound and block shots.

But, sure, you really hope that he gets stronger, above all, though he's out-muscled now but still finding ways to be effective.

The rebounding is not a guarantee. It's hard to rebound when opposing bigs are pushing you out of position.

People are talking about Jones III as the next A Randolph, Stro Swift, Tyrus Thomas athletic and not much else PF - But I think that's Henson.

I'm not sure about Perry Jones, but you're thinking on Henson might be true. I see him as a niche rebounder like Reggie you can roll out there for 15 minutes in the NBA but have a hard time imagine him holding up - or giving you elite play - for 35 minutes. He can surprise me and put on 35 pounds, but it seems more likely he'll swing between 220-225 pounds and there are small forwards heavier than that.

[Silk Wilkes]

I would take Valanciunas over Henson without hesitation.

I haven't seen him play so I'm not gonna deny that he's better than Henson. But I'll just say I'd take Henson first because of the defensive potential I see, I might sound ignorant though to people who have seen both play.

As for Kanter, I saw him against the best American talent and he dominated. However, he says he wants to play Power Forward and I'd rather draft a Centre.

[Silk Wilkes]

See, this tips the scales completely in favour of Henson, IMO. Worst-case for Kemba is that he can't get his shot off or defend anybody, best-case is that he gets his shot off and can't defend anybody. Worst-case for Henson is that he's 6'10+ and likes to rebound and block shots.

But, sure, you really hope that he gets stronger, above all, though he's out-muscled now but still finding ways to be effective.

The rebounding is not a guarantee. It's hard to rebound when opposing bigs are pushing you out of position.

People are talking about Jones III as the next A Randolph, Stro Swift, Tyrus Thomas athletic and not much else PF - But I think that's Henson.

I'm not sure about Perry Jones, but you're thinking on Henson might be true. I see him as a niche rebounder like Reggie you can roll out there for 15 minutes in the NBA but have a hard time imagine him holding up - or giving you elite play - for 35 minutes. He can surprise me and put on 35 pounds, but it seems more likely he'll swing between 220-225 pounds and there are small forwards heavier than that.

I see where you guys are coming from, but Noah and Chandler are listed at 7' and about 230 pounds. If he can get to 220-225, he can get to 230. I do see where the whole Swift, Thomas comparison comes from though.

[dagger]

I see where you guys are coming from, but Noah and Chandler are listed at 7' and about 230 pounds. If he can get to 220-225, he can get to 230. I do see where the whole Swift, Thomas comparison comes from though.

I actually give Henson more credit that Swift and Thomas both of whom seemed/seem to be less energetic on a consistent basis. I'm just skeptical that he can get to 230 and keep it on. That's more important than how high he can get with one summer's work. More so than most, he'll have to treat it like a disability that has to be addressed every summer and whenever possible during the season or he's going to have a lot of trouble justifying having been a lottery pick (which he will be).

[Silk Wilkes]

I think we're on the same page. At 220 he'll get thrown around like a rag doll against guys like Howard or even a guy with limited offensive ability like Perkins. I'm just saying that if the weight can be added properly and kept on the sky's the limit.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think guys like Henson and Vesely will likely be fighting injuries their whole career, which is why I wouldn't touch them with a top 5 pick. They shouldn't even be in the discussion, IMO. Not talented enough to warrant the risk of being too slender of frame.

You can't bring up Camby or Chandler or AK47 without mentioning that these guys have been cap cloggers at points in their career because they couldn't stay healthy.

[dagger]

I would take Valanciunas over Henson without hesitation.

I haven't seen him play so I'm not gonna deny that he's better than Henson. But I'll just say I'd take Henson first because of the defensive potential I see, I might sound ignorant though to people who have seen both play.

As for Kanter, I saw him against the best American talent and he dominated. However, he says he wants to play Power Forward and I'd rather draft a Centre.

I'd say both have a good chance to become good defenders, but Valanciunas is clearly going to be a C with his 6'11" 240 frame and superb wingspan, while Henson will be a PF period. I've also expressed concern over free throw shooting. Valanciunas is a 90% free throw shooter who puts up 200 free throws a day. Henson has worked at his free throws and has gotten his average up a bit, but bigs like Amir who get into the 80% range are rare, and often have trouble sustaining improvements in free throw shooting. If you are big on the O-boards, as both Henson and Valanciunas are, teams will foul you rather than give you easy putbacks, and you had better be a 70% free throw shooter to be elite in the NBA because otherwise, teams will foul you regularly rather than give you a putback jam. In fact, Andris Biedrins' career has tanked in part because he's such a terrible free throw shooter he no longer attacks the O boards as vigorously because he's afraid of the FT line. Dwight Howard's claims to work every summer on his free throw shooting and he does have good stretches, but then lapses back into mediocrity, and rarely moves the needle from year to year on his FT average. A good free throw shooter should also be able to develop a good faceup game from at least 15 feet in.

What I also like about Valanciunas is he's accomplished already on the pick and roll, which is the NBA's bread and butter play, so he can contribute offensively from Day 1. Like many young bigs, however, he does have to improve defending the pick and roll. I like Henson, just not for us, because he won't be BPA when we draft and he doesn't fill a need with Ed Davis around.

[dagger]

I think guys like Henson and Vesely will likely be fighting injuries their whole career, which is why I wouldn't touch them with a top 5 pick. They shouldn't even be in the discussion, IMO. Not talented enough to warrant the risk of being too slender of frame.

You can't bring up Camby or Chandler or AK47 without mentioning that these guys have been cap cloggers at points in their career because they couldn't stay healthy.

What's too slender about Vesely? He's 6'11, 240 and plays SF. By that criteria, Harrison Barnes will snap like a twig the very first NBA game he plays. I'm not aware of Vesely having a serious injury in his two years of Euroleague play. And guys only become cap cloggers when they are good enough to get max contracts to begin with.

[Prestige]

Isn't Henson similar to Brandon Wright? He was compared to Bosh coming out of UNC and was supposed to be pretty good, but look how he turned out.

[Alfred]

I could definitely see Valanciunas and Ed Davis forming a very formidable front line for us in the future. Two solid two-way players that are big on the boards, and then have Amir Johnson coming off the bench.

[Silk Wilkes]

Isn't Henson similar to Brandon Wright? He was compared to Bosh coming out of UNC and was supposed to be pretty good, but look how he turned out.

I wouldn't say Henson is anything like Bosh, but Brandon Wright was almost a carbon copy. Henson's stats and measurements resemble those of Joakim Noah which is one of the reasons why I'm so high on him. His weight is also similar at the same point.

[Silk Wilkes]

Colorado didn't make it. So much for watching Alec Burks in the tourney.

[baulderdash77]

There's no complaining about snubs this year. There's way too many teams in as it is.

[BobbyDhaliwal]

Raptors Pick

Harrison Barnes - Barnes and DeRozan can be great going into the future with a 1-2 punch from the wing. Barnes gets to the free throw line as well.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AJFWX-yLgY[/youtube]

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

Nice story on Kemba Walker

http://espn.go.com/blog/CollegeBasketba ... -title-win

[Rapsfan07]

Just a thought.

Would anyone be interested in taking on a guy like Ben Gordon or something from the Pistons in exchange for their lottery pick? Kinda like what the Clippers and the Cavs did the other day. It gives us an extra chance at Irving or at the very least adds a prospect or can be used as trade bait.

I don't particularly want that, I'm just throwing it out there.

[swirsk]

Who would you guys compare Valanciunas to in terms of play style? Biedrins with offense? Gasol?

[Double Helix]

Looking at the NBA standings, the games remaining for all the teams in the bottom 5, the lottery odds of us staying at 5 or dropping to 6 and past draft history... I'm mentally preparing for us picking 5 or 6 so that anything better than that is a pleasant surprise and anything worse than that is the awful news that it deserves to be.

That said, using previous draft history, multiple mocks, and what I've seen of the players I think the following players are all but guaranteed to be gone by the time pick 5 rolls around:

K. Irving
D. Williams
P. Jones

I just don't see how a kid like Perry Jones doesn't wow people in private workouts. I think he'll end up looking like a Josh Smith type of kid that's so freakish in so many different ways that you just want him on your team and you'll figure out how to get him minutes later. I personally don't like Sullinger at all; he scares me. I mentioned before that I get a Sean May vibe from him. If he ends up being the next Kevin Love than I eat my words and even if he ends up being a Sean May type he'd still be okay (May was solid until he got hurt) but I'm certainly not excited about the idea of us drafting the guy and I'm really hoping the hype continues and some GM before us (Washington perhaps?) loves him and he's gone before we pick. Assuming Sullinger is the 4th pick, the BPAs at 5 become:


H. Barnes, Jonas Valancianus/E.Kanter (whichever is seen as the better C prospect -- I like JV better), Jan Veseley, Terrance Jones and Kemba Walker.

Not terribly exciting imagining it playing out like that but it's probably better to set the expectations lower and hope for the best.

[wanker]

"One of the most promising young big men in Europe. Has developed quickly both in terms of skill development and physical stature. He is expected to start out as a forward in the NBA but will likely play center eventually as his body matures."

"A skilled and strong big man who is comfortable at any spot along the front line. Several scouting reports indicate he has three-point range, but he does not take this shot when playing for his team in regular season play in order to comply with his coach’s wishes."

This, please!