Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 6

[luvtheteam]

I'm surprised there isn't a little more talk of Walker. He's got a chance to be really good...actually he is really good already. He's quite small, but could be a Chris Paul type of player, but i don't know much about his character and how driven he is. I'd love a lightening quick shooter/distributor on this team. We seem to be missing that and would make everyone better. Don't know if he'll be around when we pick as i'm expecting he'll go top 4 or 5 (or higher?), so we need to have some luck with the balls.

Kemba looks like a Mo Williams to me with a possibility to be better in terms of scoring. That's a pretty nice player. Defensively I think he'll be better as well.

Jonsie....he looks a lot quicker to me than Mo. I kind of see him as a cross between TJ Ford and Dwayne Wade in terms of his explosiveness, overall size and shooting. (closer to TJ in size, but wade for shooting). I want to see him tonight though to get a better feel. I was out Saturday and pissed that i forgot to tape the game. I mostly wanted to see him play. Let's revisit tomorrow.

[crosswalkryan]

Wade came into the league without a jump shot...and he's 6'4 with like a 6'10 wingspan...nothing like d-wade

I like Kemba, but D-wade he is not.

[MEDIC]

I think if we go the route of high risk/ high reward, I'd take Jonas over Perry.

The psychological aspect of the game is such a key indicator for me. It sounds like Jonas has a lot of fight & competitive fire in him (plus the length to play C), whereas there have been lots of psychological red flags in regards to Perry Jones.

[luvtheteam]

Wade came into the league without a jump shot...and he's 6'4 with like a 6'10 wingspan...nothing like d-wade

I like Kemba, but D-wade he is not.

No no...i know...i wasn't suggesting that, or i would have said he's like Dwayne wade. That's why i threw TJ in there as TJ is much smaller, lightening quick, but wanted better shooting so though of dwayne who is also very quick but shoots better.

Wade shoots well now. I wasn't referring to when wade came in the league.

[Troubadour]

If we end up with the 5/6 pick, I think we should take a chance on Kemba Walker.

He's a proven winner, scorer, and he can step in and win from the start.

Alternatively, if Kemba Walker falls, we could trade one of our better pieces (Bargnani/Calderon/a future pick) for the 8-14 pick. That way we end up with Harrison Barnes/a big and Kemba Walker.

That would set us up nicely for the future.

[Rude Boy 1]

Man, I've been going back n forth on J Val/E Kanter all season and I think I'm finally leaning towards Kanter.

Val just seems like too much of a project at this stage whereas Kanter seems far more game ready. Now here's the thing, I do see the upside with JV but I can't shake the feeling that our fanbase would get on him fairly quickly after Hoffa and then Bargs.

I don't think JV would get a fair shake in Toronto.

He hasn't played basketball all season. that should hurt his development and readiness

[Rude Boy 1]

Kemba Walker is without a doubt a nice piece to add to a team like Toronto. We still don't have a go to scorer and I don't think anyone outside of Kyrie Irving is a can't miss having said that Kemba strikes me as a guy that will only add to the young core we're building here.

His game compliments DeRozan, Davis, Amir and Johnson's and still allows room for Bayless to grow and possibly become our franchise PG.

We're still without that alpha but Kemba reminds me of TJ Ford with a jumper. In this draft it looks like the only alpha's are in the top two positions everything else looks like complimentary pieces. Kemba looks like a piece that is ready for the next level of competition

[yayotube]

Kanter for me too. When you look at the top 3 if Barnes declares, it'll be Irving/Williams/Barnes and then for me its a toss up between P Jones III if he can play SF or Kanter at C.

Valanciunas is too much of a project like noted above and he's a twig. The thing I like about Kanter is that he's already solid frame wise and measured at 6'10 when he was 17 (Hoops Summit) so draft measurements will shed some light as to whether or not he grew a bit more.

Regardless though, he's still practicing against Kentucky players and apparently played an impact in Josh Harrelson's emergence.

Valanciunas is more of a raw project and who knows if he'll ever become a low-post threat in the NBA, which is what Kanter has a good chance of becoming.

[plainballing]

Barnes or Irving should be the only guys we go after for this draft. We need real star that can take over tho...

[Alfred]

I don't think we need to get a guy that's NBA ready. We could definitely accommodate a project right now, because we're not really in a position to win next season if there even is a next season. Valanciunas has all the tools to be a good NBA center. Another point is that if there isn't a season next year, we could have him play in Europe for another season to develop.

[plainballing]

I don't think we need to get a guy that's NBA ready. We could definitely accommodate a project right now, because we're not really in a position to win next season if there even is a next season. Valanciunas has all the tools to be a good NBA center. Another point is that if there isn't a season next year, we could have him play in Europe for another season to develop.

I hope we can get a guy that is NBA ready and still have potential to explode. Look @ AI, Vince, Duncan, they came into the league playing well already and progress. I think it's better if we have players like that so we can actually have faith in him and build vets around him.

[Rhettmatic]

I don't think we need to get a guy that's NBA ready. We could definitely accommodate a project right now, because we're not really in a position to win next season if there even is a next season. Valanciunas has all the tools to be a good NBA center. Another point is that if there isn't a season next year, we could have him play in Europe for another season to develop.

Yeah, the other benefit to drafting a project would be that it would perhaps cool BC/MLSE's heels as far as aiming for a quick turnaround.

I still think we need another high pick next year before we can think about righting the ship, especially considering the increasingly toxic stink of the 2011 class.

[phailing101]

Man, I've been going back n forth on J Val/E Kanter all season and I think I'm finally leaning towards Kanter.

Val just seems like too much of a project at this stage whereas Kanter seems far more game ready. Now here's the thing, I do see the upside with JV but I can't shake the feeling that our fanbase would get on him fairly quickly after Hoffa and then Bargs.

I don't think JV would get a fair shake in Toronto.

He hasn't played basketball all season. that should hurt his development and readiness

I think he's going to be fresh, healthy, heavier and a better understanding of the game from a coach's perspective. Much like a QB sitting for a year.

I expect he's going to lock himself into the top 1-2 picks following workouts.

[plainballing]

Man, I've been going back n forth on J Val/E Kanter all season and I think I'm finally leaning towards Kanter.

Val just seems like too much of a project at this stage whereas Kanter seems far more game ready. Now here's the thing, I do see the upside with JV but I can't shake the feeling that our fanbase would get on him fairly quickly after Hoffa and then Bargs.

I don't think JV would get a fair shake in Toronto.

He hasn't played basketball all season. that should hurt his development and readiness

I think he's going to be fresh, healthy, heavier and a better understanding of the game from a coach's perspective. Much like a QB sitting for a year.

I expect he's going to lock himself into the top 1-2 picks following workouts.

I think he will be fine, but top 2 pick is still high for him...I want to see his measurement first.

[Alfred]

Here's a Jonas Valanciunas article that sort of confirms what I'm saying:

http://www.lithuaniabasketball.com/news ... ed-us.html

[plainballing]

Here's a Jonas Valanciunas article that sort of confirms what I'm saying:

http://www.lithuaniabasketball.com/news ... ed-us.html

I agree with the article, someone gotta take advantage of the possible lockout and prospects not declaring.

[Rude Boy 1]

I don't think we need to get a guy that's NBA ready. We could definitely accommodate a project right now, because we're not really in a position to win next season if there even is a next season. Valanciunas has all the tools to be a good NBA center. Another point is that if there isn't a season next year, we could have him play in Europe for another season to develop.

Yeah, the other benefit to drafting a project would be that it would perhaps cool BC/MLSE's heels as far as aiming for a quick turnaround.

I still think we need another high pick next year before we can think about righting the ship, especially considering the increasingly toxic stink of the 2011 class.

I agree wholeheartedly that we're at least 2-3yrs away from having steadied the ship, my only point of contention is the project selection on a rebuilding team. I'm not so sure drafting one now doesn't set the rebuild back even further. If we draft another Bargnani one could argue it'll do more damage than good. There is nothing wrong with picking a safe top 5 this year and swinging for the fences next year. A safe pick to me means

Irving
Williams
Walker
Knight
Sullinger
T. jones

risky picks

P Jones (no drive, very passive)
Barnes (highly inconsistent)
Valanciunas (sorry the Euro thing scares me)
Kanter (hasn't played all year)

[yayotube]

I don't think we need to get a guy that's NBA ready. We could definitely accommodate a project right now, because we're not really in a position to win next season if there even is a next season. Valanciunas has all the tools to be a good NBA center. Another point is that if there isn't a season next year, we could have him play in Europe for another season to develop.

I see Valanciunas as a mobile, athletic defensive center which is great by all means, but for some reason I'm not completely sold on him. I see Kanter as a wide, low post threat and with size to man the post on D, great rebounding skills, although he may not be as mobile as Valanciunas. What makes it difficult is that there's not much footage of Kanter, which is why I think workouts/measurements at draft time will be so key to get a better sense of both those guys.

The good thing about both C prospects is that they both have high motors and play with relative intensity. What puts me over the edge with Kanter is just that he seems like an old school center to me, of which there aren't many these days.

By NBA ready I don't mean ready to contribute/take us back to treadmill territory, but just the mental aspect of transitioning to the NBA. Maybe you can sell me on Valanciunas?

[5DOM]

I agree with everyone here. I've said this already, but I think it would be beneficial for us to grab a player with high upside, who is not going to improve our team much for at least another year. We really need to tank another year or two. Otherwise, I fear that we might become a treadmill team again like the Hawks. Solid draft picks, but no high-end talent.

[Rude Boy 1]

I agree with everyone here. I've said this already, but I think it would be beneficial for us to grab a player with high upside, who is not going to improve our team much for at least another year. We really need to tank another year or two. Otherwise, I fear that we might become a treadmill team again like the Hawks. Solid draft picks, but no high-end talent.

Let's not ignore the fact you have to get lucky in the draft as well. Had Atlanta drafted Chris Paul or Deron Williams instead of Marvin their fate would be much different.