Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread, Part 7

[northernlight]

Not true. The only people who pay attention to height with shoes are those trying to pretend their favourite is taller than he is. Yes they all wear shoes but the spin doctors always mix "with shoes" measurements with "bare-foot measurements" in order to promote their guy's height (or lack thereof). Yes height is only part of the physical information but would it be too much to ask to have a consistent bare-foot measurement so we don't have to guess?

I'm pretty positive he's at least 6'11, take a look a Eloy Vargas who's measured at 6'11 and Josh Harrelson at 6'10 and he looks taller than both of these players

Jones 6' 8, Vargas 6' 9, Kanter 6' 10

I wouldn't be surprised if Kanter ends up being a 6'9' wo shoes 6 10.5 with type measurements

I've said this before in the Kanter thread, he was last measured at 6'11 and no one really pays attention to measurements w/o shoes.

[wanker]

I'm still not sure why people are hating on Val. When I see his numbers.. I see a very good player. Add the fact that he's young and has elite length. Seems perfect. Can't wait until the lottery. Then we can finally figure out were we draft.

Ummm....Have you seen him play? I suggest you put aside the Euroleague stats and take a peek for yourself.

[Dr Positivity]

JV's body is mediocore, he's long but not that athletic and skinny
His skill game is mediocore, he's basically a catch and dunk guy
His head is mediocore, he has defensive awareness issues but has a nose for rebounds

What does this guy have going for him? Long arms?

For fun

Irving - Good body, great skill, great head
Williams - Great body, good skill, good head
Kanter - Good body, great skill, good head
Biyombo - Great body, bad skill, questionable head
Knight - Great body, mediocore skill, mediocore head

As far as I'm concerned JV should be nowhere near the top. He has nothing going for him but having a high standing reach and playing hard. He's like a motivated Thabeet, which is still not good

[God Squad]

I'm still not sure why people are hating on Val. When I see his numbers.. I see a very good player. Add the fact that he's young and has elite length. Seems perfect. Can't wait until the lottery. Then we can finally figure out were we draft.

Ummm....Have you seen him play? I suggest you put aside the Euroleague stats and take a peek for yourself.

I must admit I haven't watched him play myself. But dagger and others have given frequent updates on his games, articles and even footage at times. I'm not saying we draft Val, I'm just saying people need to be open minded and understand why he's rated were he is.

[Truthrising]

Not true. The only people who pay attention to height with shoes are those trying to pretend their favourite is taller than he is. Yes they all wear shoes but the spin doctors always mix "with shoes" measurements with "bare-foot measurements" in order to promote their guy's height (or lack thereof). Yes height is only part of the physical information but would it be too much to ask to have a consistent bare-foot measurement so we don't have to guess?

I'm pretty positive he's at least 6'11, take a look a Eloy Vargas who's measured at 6'11 and Josh Harrelson at 6'10 and he looks taller than both of these players

Jones 6' 8, Vargas 6' 9, Kanter 6' 10

I wouldn't be surprised if Kanter ends up being a 6'9' wo shoes 6 10.5 with type measurements

I've said this before in the Kanter thread, he was last measured at 6'11 and no one really pays attention to measurements w/o shoes.

[/quote]
This is where the draft combine comes and gives a definitive answer also based on the photo you see here, it's most likely that Kanter's hovering around around 6'10.5 to 6'11. Here's also another fact Kevin Love, Griffin and Howard are the best rebounders in the game, none of them are 7'00".

[RomaniaLuvTR]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... Candidates

[xprt]

JV's body is mediocore, he's long but not that athletic and skinny
His skill game is mediocore, he's basically a catch and dunk guy
His head is mediocore, he has defensive awareness issues but has a nose for rebounds

What does this guy have going for him? Long arms?

For fun

Irving - Good body, great skill, great head
Williams - Great body, good skill, good head
Kanter - Good body, great skill, good head
Biyombo - Great body, bad skill, questionable head
Knight - Great body, mediocore skill, mediocore head

As far as I'm concerned JV should be nowhere near the top. He has nothing going for him but having a high standing reach and playing hard. He's like a motivated Thabeet, which is still not good

Really motivated Thabeet? ( thats best comparision you could get?)Then I can say Biyombo is Reggie Evans with blocking ability and Kanter is less skilled , without blocking Darko. Everyone can talk **** without any arguments. If you want good skills and iq then look no further than Motiejunas he is the most skilled out of all big men.....
1) Body - JV is 18 years old he is still growning. If you didn't know eastern european people mature later than our western friends. Jonas over the course of year grown some muscle and he will gain more ( you can see in videos). He has good frame that will allow him get more weight and won't hurt much his agility. He is tallest of 3 c's 6'11 without shoes, has freakish wingspan is agile for his size EVEN now as skinny as you say he doesn't have problem finishing trough contact. Do you think every big at 18 years old is fully matured? I have to disappoint you.
2) His head- he knows his rotations and doesn't seem lost as someone as Biyombo on court, always keeps ball over his head, has good passing ability is great pnr player and help defender.
3) skills- he has a good fundementals some sort of hook shot, few post moves, can knock a jumper around a basket ( and he is 1/1 3pts this season), great ft% shooter, has a good feeling for blocking shots, has great hands who helps him get nearly impossible shots and at age of 18 he has ton of experience.

[ty123]

^^^Biyombo must be very lost but Valanciunas's average of 8 fouls per 40 mins a game must give him great court awareness. Take off the blind homer goggles. Your just like a Bargnani fanboy, take off the homer goggles.

[dagger]

JV's body is mediocore, he's long but not that athletic and skinny
His skill game is mediocore, he's basically a catch and dunk guy
His head is mediocore, he has defensive awareness issues but has a nose for rebounds

What does this guy have going for him? Long arms?

For fun

Irving - Good body, great skill, great head
Williams - Great body, good skill, good head
Kanter - Good body, great skill, good head
Biyombo - Great body, bad skill, questionable head
Knight - Great body, mediocore skill, mediocore head

As far as I'm concerned JV should be nowhere near the top. He has nothing going for him but having a high standing reach and playing hard. He's like a motivated Thabeet, which is still not good

Frankly, I can't agree with you at all. I look at your top 5 and we can find serious issues with each and every one.

Irving - how about injury risk, guy misses three months with a frickin toe injury and no one here wants to even whisper that he might be one of those guys who might be a higher risk than usual to injuries.

Williams - what, exactly, is his position. I think I know it, but a lot of people here are sure he's going to play out of position.

So you're certainties are my uncertainties.

We Raps love to dwell in what we think are statistical certainties. As in, a seven foot center at age 26 is not going to become a significantly better rebounder because it just doesn't happen. A 24 year old is too old to draft because, well, 24 year olds will never improve like a 20 year old so even if the 24 year old is better on draft day than the 20 year old, history says that will flip over time. And generally, that's true with high picks.

So riddle me this: Is there a big in the NBA who shoots over 80% from the free throw line who doesn't have a decent face up/midrange game? And wasn't it true that when Amir Johnson improved his free throw shooting he also developed a decent faceup game?

So why would Valanciunas not develop a nice face up game, if he was encouraged to do so? Even now, it's a good bet the reason he doesn't take open looks is because he isn't being encouraged to do so, and may be actively discouraged from doing so by his coaches.

Second, if a player has mastered the pick and roll in Lithuania, would it not stand to reason that he can master the pick and roll at the NBA level?

Third, if a player as a bit of a back to the basket game, which Jonas does, does it not make sense that as he adds strength and works on his back to the basket moves that it will become a staple of his game?

So while there are definite concerns in my mind about his ceiling, there is also a lot of positive on which to build, and frankly I have negatives about everybody in this draft. there is no Lebron, no Durant, and Kyrie Irving may be a rich man's Jose and not the second coming of Chris Paul. That's the cards we've been dealt. And the challenge for management - whichever management we have - will be to sift through the negatives of each and try to project the ceiling of each and decide who has the highest ceiling among the players available when we pick.

[dagger]

^^^Biyombo must be very lost but Valanciunas's average of 8 fouls per 40 mins a game must give him great court awareness. Take off the blind homer goggles. Your just like a Bargnani fanboy, take off the homer goggles.

Really, stop putting down people who disagree with you. All the top picks in this draft are flawed, but most of them are 18-19 years old and will grow out of some of their flaws. Bargnani himself used to foul at a very high rate and that has long since ceased to be a concern. We don't even talk about his fouls. If anything, we talk about a lack of fouls.

[Dr Positivity]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BafkiHxunjk&feature=player_embedded#at=119[/youtube]

I still think this guy might have the 3rd most offensive upside in this draft and it's just been completely passed over cause he's a Junior and his first two years were just ok. It seems like he has everything to make a star PG. Great athleticism, 6'3 with an apparant 7 foot wingspan, strength, put up 18ppg with 42% 3pt shooting in college playing against good teams, and it seems like he has balls. I don't know what's missing.

[mappiah19]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BafkiHxunjk&feature=player_embedded#at=119[/youtube]

I still think this guy might have the 3rd most offensive upside in this draft and it's just been completely passed over cause he's a Junior and his first two years were just ok. It seems like he has everything to make a star PG. Great athleticism, 6'3 with an apparant 7 foot wingspan, strength, put up 18ppg with 42% 3pt shooting in college playing against good teams, and it seems like he has balls. I don't know what's missing.

[Truthrising]

^^^Biyombo must be very lost but Valanciunas's average of 8 fouls per 40 mins a game must give him great court awareness. Take off the blind homer goggles. Your just like a Bargnani fanboy, take off the homer goggles.

Really, stop putting down people who disagree with you. All the top picks in this draft are flawed, but most of them are 18-19 years old and will grow out of some of their flaws. Bargnani himself used to foul at a very high rate and that has long since ceased to be a concern. We don't even talk about his fouls. If anything, we talk about a lack of fouls.

Correct most are 18-19 yr old, Biyombo on the otherhand we have no idea how this guy is and it seems odd that he doesn't even have a birth certficate especially coming from a family like his. I wouldn't be surprised that he's at 20 or 21 yrs old given the maturity for his age.

[NateHuffman]

not sure if it's been noted in this thread but according to the early entry list we have another canadian in the draft in Olu Ashaolu.

[TDotRep]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK8mqcdavFQ&feature=related[/youtube]

[hkhulk]

May I just ask a silly question? When will be the correct date and time for lottery?
Some say 1mth before draft,some say 18th. Just want to make sure I have a free night.

Cheers

[bboyskinnylegs]

http://www.wtvq.com/sports/8081-2011-kentucky-combine

John Calipari doesn't think kids have enough time to properly test the NBA waters, and that's why he found a way to keep his kids ahead of the curve.
The Cats will hold the 2011 Kentucky Combine next Monday and Tuesday at the Joe Craft center. Every NBA team is invited to come to Lexington and get a first hand look at the Cats three underclassmen Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and DeAndre Liggins who have entered the NBA Draft but have not hired agents.
Josh Harrellson will also participate in the event.

The workouts will be private and will be conducted by NBA personnel.

[bboyskinnylegs]

May I just ask a silly question? When will be the correct date and time for lottery?
Some say 1mth before draft,some say 18th. Just want to make sure I have a free night.

Cheers

Tuesday, May 17th at 12pm I believe

[mintsa]

May I just ask a silly question? When will be the correct date and time for lottery?
Some say 1mth before draft,some say 18th. Just want to make sure I have a free night.

Cheers

Tuesday, May 17th at 12pm I believe

The draft lottery is normally held between 7pm to 8pm before that night's playoff game. I dont ever remember it being at 12pm in the afternoon.

[God Squad]

http://www.wtvq.com/sports/8081-2011-kentucky-combine

John Calipari doesn't think kids have enough time to properly test the NBA waters, and that's why he found a way to keep his kids ahead of the curve.
The Cats will hold the 2011 Kentucky Combine next Monday and Tuesday at the Joe Craft center. Every NBA team is invited to come to Lexington and get a first hand look at the Cats three underclassmen Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and DeAndre Liggins who have entered the NBA Draft but have not hired agents.
Josh Harrellson will also participate in the event.

The workouts will be private and will be conducted by NBA personnel.

Great find. Good to know that Coach Cal will allow NBA personal to get a better look at these guys.
Quick question, Any word on Kanter? Will he be there/participate?