Official Raptors 2011 NBA Draft Thread Part 9

[Kevin Willis]

Let's get this clear from all the Vesely haters out there.

Don't make absolute statements. It's not that he can't guard ppl in front of him, it's that quicker SFs can get by him. don't make it seem everyone does. He has a good motor and shows good BBIQ on where he needs to be and what he needs to do on the court. He's not Bargs.

He has had 20 reb. games in U-18 games. If pple are on Enes' jock and JV's jock for their numbers at U-18 they really need to look at Jan's numbers as well. He's not a horrid rebounder for a SF. He's not Leonard and Faried but don't make it seem like he's Bargs.

It's not like he has NO handles at all. He can crossover and drive with his first step. He just not Turk or Lebron at the SF but how many ppl are???

He has improved at the 3 year over year and that's a good sign for a 6'11" guy. His form is good. His rhythm is not but that's not his game for Partizan. He can learn that. Don't make it sound like he's never hit a 3 or an outside shot.

He has proven himself more than many others in the draft, including JV and BB. He has a toolset that needs to be shaped. He needs to fill out. He has potential to be a driving SF, that hussles on D, plays with the high energy of a Noah, work out like crazy with the Young Gunz and has enough of an outside game where you have to respect it, get you a few boards and play help D. That will be his game - glue guy not all-star and in this draft a glue guy starter is not bad.

Saying that, I would rather have Knight or Kanter and maybe even JV or Leonard at the 5. Just saying I wouldn't stab myself in the face if we drafted him.

[Harry Palmer]

Don't make absolute statements.

Like, never?

[Kevin Willis]

Don't make absolute statements.

Like, never?

Damn you and your mind games HP. Damn you...

Actually I like this time of year where people fight hard to justify who they like and don't like. It makes the board interesting. Remember Mustard Tiger - I can't remember who he really liked but he was ready to fight if you went against him.

[Dr Positivity]

The other thing about Vesely is having a guy who play SF and PF, which I think he'll be able to, makes him a more flexible piece team building wise. You look at a guy like Kemba where let's say he's not good enough to be a starting PG on a great team. Now on a great/title team you have on option with Kemba: 15mpg backup PG. Even if he's effective for that time, it's still 15 minutes. Drafting Kemba means you're handcuffed into either forcing him as your starter long term or wasting the value of the pick. Minny is learning that with Flynn right now. Now that it's clear he's not their longterm starting PG, there's not much use for him in the team they have going forward.

With Vesely if he's not a starting player, either from ability or us say drafting a star SF in the 2012 draft, he can still log 25-30 minutes off the bench and be a huge part of a winning team.

[bboyskinnylegs]

^^ I miss the fervor with which lemondrop defended Terrence Williams

[bboyskinnylegs]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thHUDYnKuuc&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[Eating a Book]

WHY AM I WATCHING A NINE MINUTE INTERVIEW WITH JIMMER FREDETTE?

[Harry Palmer]

WHY AM I WATCHING A NINE MINUTE INTERVIEW WITH JIMMER FREDETTE?

Lack of options?

[bboyskinnylegs]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKTtfWnpf4w&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
here's the workout video

[Dr Positivity]

Jimmer looks pretty quick in those driving drills

The Tobias Harris thing still mystifies me. Doesn't look like an NBA player at ALL. 6'8 SF/PF tweener who's slow/had a non NBA body, has no lift at all, and has a mediocore shot. He's getting top 15-20 talk???

[PowerPhil15]

i hope the second pick that BC is trying to obtain is to grab jimmer. screw taking walker at 5, jimmer had similar scoring numbers, is a better shooter (which we need) at the cost of a little more speed. jimmer is underated in passing and drive and kicks.

jimmer/calderone
derozen/bayless
James Johnson/Kleiza
Ed/Amir/Reggie
Kanter/Amir

package bargnani and barbosa for the second pick and maybe a backup centre/future picks/small forward

[darth_federer]

David Thorpe says that Biyombo is Joel Anthony version 2.0. I ll pass thanks. Never been sold on the kid.

[5DOM]

I think Joel Anthony is the floor for Biyombo. He produced more in the ACB at 18 than Anthony did in the NCAA at 24.

[PowerPhil15]

biyombo wont be as good as anthony for timing on blocks and wont have the same defensive presence. but i think he will be close and he will be a better 2 way player, better on the offensive end and a better scorer. for biyombo he might have a ceiling of 10-15/10/2 which would be unreal

[5DOM]

biyombo wont be as good as anthony for timing on blocks and wont have the same defensive presence. but i think he will be close and he will be a better 2 way player, better on the offensive end and a better scorer. for biyombo he might have a ceiling of 10-15/10/2 which would be unreal

Why do you say that?

[Lucky26]

Knight and Walker both know Demar. What a suprise.

Demar is like the anti-VC when it comes to being sociable with fellow players. Everyone who played with him on the AAU circuit has nothing but good things to say about Demar.

He is our ambassador for sure

[bboyskinnylegs]

If you watch Biyombo on D, his timing is excellent... he uses his length and athleticism to his advantage in being patient before going up for the block (as opposed to just biting on pumpfakes early). And Biyombo is a much better rebounder, Joel's highest *per-40 minute* rebounding rate (his 2nd year in the NCAA) was 9rpg. Biyombo's is 11.9 in the ACB.

[bboyskinnylegs]

I don't know if this has been posted, but this is Fraschilla's take on Kanter/Vesely/Valanciunas/Motiejunas/Biyombo:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsjazzn ... /story.csp

[yayotube]

I don't know if this has been posted, but this is Fraschilla's take on Kanter/Vesely/Valanciunas/Motiejunas/Biyombo:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsjazzn ... /story.csp

Vesely: You're looking at a high-level athlete. I hate to compare him to Tom Chambers, who is probably beloved in the state of Utah, but he's got that Tom Chambers flair about him. … This kid, what he is is, he's a very good athlete who plays with high energy. His skill level is not up to where his NBA athleticism is yet. And, at worst, he's like a Shawn Marion, Kirilenko-type, where you don't have to run plays for him, he'll just find plays to grab rebounds, get on the break and get some dunks, lobs behind the defense — he's what I call an energy guy. He's more of a power forward than he is a small forward. But quite frankly, in this draft, he might be among the big guys the best defensive prospect in the draft. The only guy I might say that would compare to him is Chris Singleton from Florida State. This kid can guard threes and fours in the NBA because of his athleticism. He's not going to give you a lot of offense early, but he's an energy player.

I've heard both sides of the argument where some say although he's athletic his lateral quickness is terrible to guard 3's, and have also heard how he has potential to be a good defender because of his athleticism and motor. IF he can become a good defender though, he's very intriguing.

[5DOM]

8 Darkos for D