Official Raptors 2012 NBA Draft Thread, Part 2

[fredericklove]

Wrong....

No he wasn't "very" athletic or explosive BUT he was much quicker then what he is now. All you have to do is look at his highlights and it's obvious. His handles were a part of how he got by but it's the fact he has trouble with his lateral quickness that he can't get around. I don't care how good of handles you have unless you're a Harlem Globetrotter you're going to struggle with defences when you're moving slower then they are; pretty simple concept.

So I agree his recovery is THE concern but no it wasn't just his handles (no one gets by on JUST ballhandling) but he wasn't incredibly explosive either (ie/ that's the way you would describe Lebron)...he had much better quickness and better change of directions. If he gets back to that pace then he is the best SF in this draft easily.

Yea I agree he was never athletic or explosive, I really hope it's the slowness caused from the ACL recovery. It takes at least a year or two to recover from ACL. But what I've seen from him in the 1st 5 games now, I see his all around game potential. Someone who can knock down 3s, pass, and takes advantage using his length (he has been doing that around the key). His last game was impressive and best all around game I've seen from him thus far. His vision can really help us, think about him dribble drive and kick it to Jonas or Ed. He has handle for his size, I hope he can learn not to carry the ball too much, try more of those in-and-out and hesitation dribble. One thing too, I can see him excel in the pick & roll play but so far Acy nor PJ3 have done that with him this season.

[JN]

As for post below... During March is when players make it or break it usually. Tallent raises to the top and unknowns that were looked at can move up drastically. Yes two teams have tons of tallent but you still have Duke Ohio Baylor, Memphesis etc that have a lot of tallent. During the tourney you see them play a lot of games in short period against the best teams. Of course the tourney is a great stage.. I am not saying it is the be all and end all but it is great stage to raise or fall

Massive differnece between unknowns to fans and to scouts and management.

Their are more scouts watching conference games because you can schedule those in with certainty.

[Undefeated]

Gotta agree with JamesNaismith and fredericklove. Quincy was never very athletic or explosive. He had better quickness and change of pace then to get past his first defender, but he doesn’t get that high off the ground. When he takes flight for a dunk off of one foot he is really slow off of the floor. While his body control is nice for a player of his height, he’s not that acrobatic in the air. He’s more smooth, crafty, fluid and polished as a player than he is athletic or explosive.

But yeah I wanna see Quincy put his offense from the wing on display more. Just his second game playing from the wing though. He’s proven to have excellent court vision and passing off the dribble making those dump passes to the bigs inside. Raptors need a playmaker like that.

[Rapsfan07]

Nice to see Q. Mill getting some love around here.

Still think he's the best SF on the board and he should be the guy we take come draft night. His passing ability that he displayed this game was pretty good and upon arrival to the team, he'd be the best wing passer we have. I liked his ability to do other things on the court besides just score though from last game he scored in many different ways, That's good to see. Don't care if can't dunk like DeRozan, so long as he can be a good go-to scorer in the league, I'll be satisfied.

That said, I would like to see him score a little bit more. Jones III and Pierre Jackson seem to be the focal point of their offense which is fine because they're great scorers themselves but I feel that they don't run enough plays for Quincy or get him as involved in the offense as he can be (unless he's hot). I wanna see him create more off the dribble and try to play off ball as a shooter if Heslip isn't on the floor. I would also like to see him try harder on the defensive end. Looking a bit slow-footed but perhaps its because he's still recovering. I believe he was also out for his ankle last game or something but hopefully he can learn to defend a little better. With his length, it shouldn't be a problem.

[nk24]

Sorry if this has been already posted, didn't really see it when checking though. Though it may be a little too early to ask this, who is your ideal 2012 draft choice (realistic)?

I would anticipate the Raptors to receive a pick in the range 3-5. Looking at what the Raptors already have right now, I feel we can move forward with Demar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas (Ed Davis and Jerryd Bayless are debatable.)

It can still be seen what we can get from Jerryd Bayless, though a point guard position is rather easy to fill (this is where all that cap space will come handy.) And we do already have Ed Davis (and Amir Johnson), so I would knock Anthony Davis, Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones off that list.

It is not as easy to fill a small forward position however, so it comes down to Harrison Barnes or Quincy Miller. Though Harrison Barnes may be the better long term prospect and may have the better career, I feel Quincy Miller is the more explosive, athletic, franchise type player this team needs. On top, he is 6'9, has lots of length and has very good defensive plays. I endorse Quincy Miller as this year's draft choice, and picking him at 5th would be reasonable, what do you say?

[Dr Positivity]

I take Jeremy Lamb and put him at SF. I think he's the most dynamic talent.

[RapsFanInVA]

Donatas Montiejunas

[nk24]

I take Jeremy Lamb and put him at SF. I think he's the most dynamic talent.

6'5, 185 lbs would be rather undersized to classify as a small forward in this league if you ask me.

[Waylon Mercy]

As of right now nobody has distanced themselves as the clear cut number 1 pick...

Your also forgetting a few big players on your list....

But to answer your question despite us having a zillion PF's Anthony Davis to me seems like
the best overall talent in this draft so I would go with him.

[JamesNaismith]

Out of THOSE choices easily Anthony Davis.


The frontcourt is THE answer to CONTEND in the future. If you grab a wing you need understand that they have to become AS good or better then whichever elite wing is at the top (and that's most likely Bron or Durant). The only way to bypass that is if we had a Shaq-like prospect which for all Val's potential is not even close.

However if we were to land Drummond or Davis and they reached their potential with Val we suddenly have a NICHE in the league that no one could match by the time they developed. Creating a second Twin Towers would be absolutely huge for this franchise. It is about the only only way I could realistically envision our franchise being championship contenders in the next 5 years...without it forget it because like I said we would need a wing as good or better then the best now and as I see it there is no such player on the horizon.

TWIN TOWERS (I should trademark that lol) is the answer and the movement

[Dr Positivity]

I take Jeremy Lamb and put him at SF. I think he's the most dynamic talent.

6'5, 185 lbs would be rather undersized to classify as a small forward in this league if you ask me.

He has a 7'4 wingspan

Yeah you wouldn't want him on the big guys but nobody can guard Melo and LBJ anyways

Basically defense in the new NBA is about help d and rotational speed. And Lamb fits that

[Dr Positivity]

Just wanted to say I think Davis is closer to being a PF Valanciunas offensively than the hype suggests

Length and the pick and roll instead of on ball dynamism is Anthony Davis. I kind of like Marcus Camby as a long term comparison for him. I'm not buying the offensive star potential for Davis yet at all

[fredericklove]

I take Jeremy Lamb and put him at SF. I think he's the most dynamic talent.

6'5, 185 lbs would be rather undersized to classify as a small forward in this league if you ask me.

I remember someone says he can play SF because of his 7 feet something wingspan lol! Rondo has 6`9 wingspan so maybe he should play SF too lol.

I LOVE barnes, but if AD is there damn I`ll take him. Think about it, TWIN TOWER like JamesNaismith said. You can build around twin tower easily!

[Dr Positivity]

Basically the way to approach it is MLTBASOTB (Most Likely To Be A Star On The Board)

If you like Davis over Lamb, Jones III, Drummond, etc. it's because you think he has star upside and in the all-star game every year upside more than those guys too. Not because he nicely fits beside Derozan and Valanciunas

Absolutely nobody on our roster is good enough to pass on a franchise player for. Not even Demar (yet).

[S.W.A.N]

If I had to pick right now it would be Davis, but Drummond still could be the guy.

After that Barnes Miller Jones Lamb are all legit possiblities.

Jones III doesn't get enough for being a potential star. He has as much potential as any of the top 7 guys.

This draft is so deep its sick.

[fredericklove]

Just wanted to say I think Davis is closer to being a PF Valanciunas offensively than the hype suggests

Length and the pick and roll instead of on ball dynamism is Anthony Davis. I kind of like Marcus Camby as a long term comparison for him. I'm not buying the offensive star potential for Davis yet at all

I disagree, Kentucky doesnt run their offense around him, and AD is the 5th offensive option in the lineup so he doesnt get enough touches to create for himself. He can be Camby in terms of defense but Camby has no offensive repertoire at all which I believe Ad has. AD might not have advanced post moves right now since he only started playing like a big man recently (he was point-center or point-forward in HS) but he has high BBIQ. I can see him start developing face up games, think about it, I dont believe that someone who used to play point guard that DONT know how to slash or face up against a defender. He is raw offensively but it doesnt mean he will always be offensively limited. Hes still learning how to play like a big man. Give him time, he will improve his offensive repertoire (not in college but in NBA).

[fredericklove]

Basically the way to approach it is MLTBASOTB (Most Likely To Be A Star On The Board)

If you like Davis over Lamb, Jones III, Drummond, etc. it's because you think he has star upside and in the all-star game every year upside more than those guys too. Not because he nicely fits beside Derozan and Valanciunas

Absolutely nobody on our roster is good enough to pass on a franchise player for. Not even Demar (yet).

Davis has star potential AND nicely fit beside Demar and Val.

[mappiah19]

I take Jeremy Lamb and put him at SF. I think he's the most dynamic talent.

Totally agree.

[IntricateOh25]

There's nothing I'd love more than a second lottery pick in this draft. Walking away with one of Davis/Drummond and any of the lottery-bound small forwards would be huge.

That being said, Harrison Barnes is my favourite prospect thus far.

[bboyskinnylegs]

Davis/Drummond/Jones III/Lamb are the 4 best prospects right now imo, so if any of them were available with our pick I think I'd take them. Between those 4 I'm not sure, although I think PJIII and Drummond have the absolute highest ceilings of anyone based on their size/athleticism/skillset. There's uncertainty as to whether they are likely to fully realize their enormous potential though.