Official Raptors 2012 NBA Draft Thread, Part 9

[Rapsfan07]

no team will take him though and he will fall to raps whether we have #2 or #5 pick......drummond to raps book it

+1

been calling it from earrlly

[reck0n3r]

I'm liking Robinson a lot now too.

[JamesNaismith]

no team will take him though and he will fall to raps whether we have #2 or #5 pick......drummond to raps book it

+1

been calling it from

Honestly I never thought we would be in position to draft him (even after how bumpy/bad this season has been for him) but Beal and TRob have made some noise this tourney that I'm actually believing they worked their way into the top 3-4. I still just don't believe MKG goes top 4, I think one of Barnes or Drummond slip in before him but I could be wrong.

I just really, really wonder if Colangelo would gamble on a developing big man in the final year of his contract. Of course (as evidenced by Val) if this was last year I believe 100% he takes Drummond and laughs to the bank; this year I'm not so sure. I just can't see Colangelo allowing another year to go by where we get so-so results.

I personally believe outside of Davis that Colangelo has his eyes on Barnes, Beal, MKG and Lamb (in that order). I think he really wants a guy that can contribute right away with decent upside. I think Lamb could be a shocker if blows away our management at his workouts but really I believe it's firstly Barnes to lose, Beal's to steal and MKG as the fall back. Unless Drummond is worked out against TRob, Sully and maybe Zeller and blows them away and hype grows in the media about a misunderstood "Howard-like" prospect....I don't know if I see it happening, may be too big of a gamble with too little time from BC's perspective.

A nex mix:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNvdH5Bzz_Y[/youtube]

[Rejected]

Has anyone heard Harrison Barnes speak? It's more likely he will be president then a great basketball player. Something really weirds me out about it. Grantland just wrote a great article about it and after just watching him speak it really rung true. He seems more deliberate that transcendent. Whoever we draft he needs to be able to one day be a star player on a playoff team. We need a warrior not a politician.

[Rapsfan07]

So what Barnes can speak? He's intelligent. Nothing wrong with doing that. Tim Duncan can also speak pretty well. Then there's MKG who's not really good at talking to the media. The way a person speaks is a horrible way to judge their basketball talent. To be honest, I'm not very down on Barnes because I never really saw a star type player. I find that the posters here that are down on Barnes are people who thought he as going to be some big star...and that's what happens. When you set the bar too high, you get disappointed. I still think he's got Granger/Deng potential but he has some work to do on his game that's all...just like almost everyone else in this draft.

JamesNaismith...I hear you and it makes sense. However, I think you may be slightly wrong on the Kidd-Gilchrist. I'm not high on him...never really have been even when we were talking last year about this year and at one point everyone thought he was going to be a franchise changer. Truthfully, besides BB IQ and elite defense I don't see anything that makes me feel he'll be better than James Johnson. He seems to be a great person though and I truly wish him the best but I wan't someone who's got potential to make big impact on both sides of the ball. But I do think Gilchrist goes Top 5 when it's all said and done.

As for Drummond...it really, really depends. I think this draft night is going to be nuts. With the depth of this draft, almost anyone could go anywhere. #1 is Davis for sure but after that anything could happen. The good thing is 4 out of the Top 5 teams have holes at the SF position. If Davis is off the board, I could see New Orleans, Charlotte and maybe even Washington going with him. I also think that Sullinger will destroy workouts and could end up in the top 5 also.

IMO, here are the Top 5 prospects with the most 2-way potential:
Davis
Beal
Drummond/Barnes
Drummond/Barnes
Lamb

Same as my Raptors draft board. Why? Because teams choosing top 5 want to get the most out their pick so unless the player is a defensive stalwart like Dwight or a scoring machine like Carmelo, teams usually take the player who's got the best two way potential. But knowing BC, I think he has the same board you think he has. Which is a shame because if we do get the 4-6 pick and the surefires (Beal and Davis) are off the board, I can see him going safe with Lamb or gambling on Barnes but I don't see him gambling on Drummond though I think it would be the right thing to do. But something tells me he'll slip to us.

[Haisan]

I wouldn't want Drummond within a mile of this team. Better to bring Benoit Benjamin out of retirement than to take a chance on another unmotivated cancer like Drummond.

If we dropped a couple of spots, I would be very interesting in Kidd-Gilchrist. Having a great motor is as rare a skill as rebounding or shooting ... A versatile defender who goes all-out all the time? Sounds good to me.

[Tofubeque]

We would be really stupid to pass up Drummond if he's there at our spot. His physical ability is too much to sleep on, and he's a big. He could be a Bynum or Howard type talent if someone bothers to develop him, and at the very worst he'll be a Derrick Favors-type asset that plenty of teams would be willing to trade for.

My worst fear is that BC is so focused on winning next year, he'll pass on Drummond just because he doesn't have the patience for a raw prospect. And because we already have our "bouncy 5" and franchise PF Bargnani. A potential Drummond-Valanciunas frontcourt would be a shame to throw away. Size, speed and skill win in this league.

[Haisan]

We would be really stupid to pass up Drummond if he's there at our spot. His physical ability is too much to sleep on, and he's a big. He could be a Bynum or Howard type talent if someone bothers to develop him, and at the very worst he'll be a Derrick Favors-type asset that plenty of teams would be willing to trade for.

If the word out of Connecticut was of a motivated but raw young man who got better as the year went on, I would totally agree with you. But I have neither heard nor seen anything so promising. And potential without motivation means nothing (except Derrick Coleman, Benoit Benjamin, Sharone Wright, etc...).

[nelabai]

Well if you Draft Drummond, you will have to choose who do you play, because neither Val or Drummond is ready to play PF. That means, one of these guys will face little playing time and little development.

If you draft Drummond, and still try to play both Val and Drummond, then get rid off E.Davis, get rid off Gray, Cut Barganni minutes to 30 minutes, cut Amir minutes to 10-15

[NiL8r87]

I think TRob and Valanciunas would be an absolutely SOLID frontcourt combo

The rebounding potential of that front court would be off the charts, both are fantastic at it.

On another note, Drummond could have all the athleticism in the world, but from what I hear it's his attitude that's the issue, and it's not that he's a fiery personality, it's that he literally doesn't care that much about basketball, so personally I want no part of the guy.

[Snowcrash]

Has anyone heard Harrison Barnes speak? It's more likely he will be president then a great basketball player. Something really weirds me out about it. Grantland just wrote a great article about it and after just watching him speak it really rung true. He seems more deliberate that transcendent. Whoever we draft he needs to be able to one day be a star player on a playoff team. We need a warrior not a politician.

If that's the case, maybe BC drafts Barnes to become the future CEO of MLSE.

[YoungD23]

When is the Draft Lottery, is it in May?

We should really look into Andrew Nicholson with one of those other picks, that guy can play and his name has been coming out more because of his run with the Bonnies. He looks like a complete player, post game, midrange, outside shot shooting high percentages. Supposedly, he has a 7'3 wingspan and of course hes a Toronto native. If no one has read it, they had an article about him on NBA.com

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/c ... index.html

[CoachJReturns]

I have mixed feelings about Drummond. If he's on the board and Davis, MKG, Beal and Robinson are gone I think you can't pass him up. To me those 5 have solidified themselves as the top 5. In Drummond's case he does have solid defense and given how young he is, he will improve. There's always a chance of a big becoming another Kwame Brown bust, but this guy at least has some rebounding and shot blocking ability already, so he should never be that bad.
The talk about his attitude is obviously a concern, but he's still a kid. What confuses me is, if he really doesn't care about basketball, why am I reading that he has great conditioning? Does he just like to work out for the hell of it? Or has his conditioning been exaggerated.
He's not my top choice in this draft(I really hate his free throw shooting), but if he's the best player on the board you take him and run.

[delaney8]

I'd be on board with Drummond at 4-5. That UConn team was so messed up this year I don't think any of those guys were able to show their skills properly.

Plus I think Casey may be able to push him to be better, much more so than some of the other coaches we've had.

Re: rotation. In that scenario I think Ed and/or Amir has to go. We would need Bargs to score and a Gray type player to protect a bit but I think there would be enough minutes considering the young guys will play 20ish. It is a recipe for further tanking though unless we bring in a really good PG.

[daner01]

Drummond has not impressed me at all. I'd much rather Robinson or Sullinger over him any day. Both Sullinger and Robinson have that heart and hustle factor which you cannot teach.

Everytime I see Drummond I think selfish; aka T-mac, aka Vince Carter, D. Cousins, the list goes on.

[phailing101]

I think everyone is underestimating how messed up UConn was this year without Calhoun.

I would have no problem taking him at any pick. It probably means some significant roster changes if he develops but he's a much better gamble than Barnes.

I love me some MKG but I'm not sure he's not a higher upside JJ?

Beal/Lamb would be awesome picks but I am not convinced hey are BPA in the top 5. More of a stretch for a need.

[JamesNaismith]

I'm probably one of the biggest fans of Drummond on this board but I'm really having a hard time picturing Colangelo taking the gamble. I 100% that he's the type of "homerun" risk you take where if he pans out that you have a LEGITIMATE franchise player and an amazing front court combination BUT again I just can't see Colangelo RISKING bringing in 2 PF/Cs in a single season who won't be able to CLEARLY effect the win-loss record in his own contract year.

I'm almost certain that Barnes is at the top of his board and the more I think about it I believe Lamb and Beal are fighting for 2nd on it.

Barnes just fits the style and character for a Colangelo sale to the public to a tee....he can go on about how Harrison was hyped as the next Kobe/Melo coming out of highschool, how he's built NBA ready, solid defender and naturally Barnes' is good speaker who will also be able to sell himself. For all his faults, I keep saying that HB WILL be a good fit in Casey's system which relies on shooters and defence.

The guys that could sneak into our pick I believe is Lamb and Beal. It really depends what catches BC`s eyes and ears come draft time; I cant even say which trait he will lean towards most. Both are great shooters that can create for themselves but the question will be does BC go for another `potential`pick or contributor? In past seasons I would say guys like Lamb (and Drummond) were a shoe in BUT again this is BCs year so Beal could slip in the problem is either Beal comes off the bench of DeMar is shifted to SF (or traded)....another thing where on the surface it`s easier to just draft Barnes (from BCs pov)

Other than Davis I just cant see him picking a PF

[ty123]

Kendall Marshall will be a good player as well.

[dTox]

At first I was opposed to picking another PF, but if Robinson is our pick I honestly wouldn't be disappointed. After the tourney began this kid has me as a believer, he's already a better player than Ed in my books, and Bargnani isn't in my longterm vision so I don't see any reason why Robinson can't become the future PF of this team, its a much better choice than taking on a player with less potential just becaue he fits a "need" ala Barnes or Marshall.

[NiL8r87]

Kendall Marshall will be a good player as well.

Right now I'd love to have Marshall on the team. Manages a starting lineup loaded with lottery picks, he goes down and they look completely lost on offence. That alone makes me interested in the guy, but he had alot of great moments in the tourney before going down.