Official Raptors 2012 NBA Draft Thread, Part 12

Dr Positivity · Post #121 » by **Dr Positivity** » Wed May 9, 2012 11:02 pm

Our strengths are more like "not weaknesses"... they can be improved upon. Or put it this way... it's harder to go from decent to great than it is to go from bad to decent, at things. So if we have a choice between improving something from decent to great vs improving something else from bad to average... a better use of resources may be the former

DA_SCOUT · Post #122 » by **DA_SCOUT** » Sat May 12, 2012 4:35 am

T.Jones stock is gonna rise after workouts.

JamesNaismith · Post #123 » by **JamesNaismith** » Sat May 12, 2012 4:44 am

DA_SCOUT wrote:T.Jones stock is gonna rise after workouts.

Probably not that much.

DA_SCOUT · Post #124 » by **DA_SCOUT** » Sat May 12, 2012 5:24 am

JamesNaismith wrote:
DA_SCOUT wrote:T.Jones stock is gonna rise after workouts.

Probably not that much.

Draft Express has him at 11, and nbadraft.net has him at 16.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him as high as 8.

JamesNaismith · Post #125 » by **JamesNaismith** » Sat May 12, 2012 5:31 am

DA_SCOUT wrote:
JamesNaismith wrote:
DA_SCOUT wrote:T.Jones stock is gonna rise after workouts.

Probably not that much.

Draft Express has him at 11, and nbadraft.net has him at 16.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him as high as 8.

All I can say is I doubt it.

I think Sullinger, Lillard, Rivers and Marshall are likely to increase their stock before him and if a GM falls in love with an inconsistent player with "potential" then the other Jones is a far more likely candidate as his talent level and measurements are much more impressive.

Post #126 » by **Undefeated** » Sat May 12, 2012 5:34 am

Highly doubt T-Jones cracks the top 10.

JamesNaismith · Post #127 » by **JamesNaismith** » Sat May 12, 2012 5:59 am

I do think TJones receives more hate than he deserves but most GMs will be realistic with him....he looks to be a SOLID rotation player but in the top 10 most people are looking to find higher impact players who can not only be starters but key pieces to their franchise moving forward; TJones has not proven to be that guy and most GMs know that.

shortmikeshortt · Post #128 » by **shortmikeshortt** » Sat May 12, 2012 8:02 am

I think TJ is quite under rated.

If we didn't have James Johnson on this team I'd expect a lot more people to throw his name out there as a possible number 8. He's better than JJ, no question IMO, but there is some minor duplication there, and there are bigger holes in the roster.

He is a top 5 talent, its basically his inconsistency and tendency to turn invisible...if he can convince scouts he can get over that he'll end up in the top 10 or higher. Its not unreasonable to suggest he can become a Josh Smith or Lamar Odom (when he was good)...his potential as a defender and shot blocker is very high, and the great thing about him is he a lefty who can handle, pass and shoot...and to top it off he's quite physical. I see more than a solid role player if he can find the right coach...and Casey could be the right coach.

Greg Stink · Post #129 » by **Greg Stink** » Sat May 12, 2012 1:22 pm

Terrence Jones is a tough one. On the one hand, he's got all the talent, tools and a position (I don't think he's a tweener, he's an NBA 3 who should also be able to play some 4 as a 2nd spot). I would think that makes him a top-10 pick despite the flakiness, but that's what I thought of Earl Clark and he went 14... which ended up being one round too high.

Post #130 » by **Alfred** » Sat May 12, 2012 2:14 pm

shortmikeshortt wrote:I think TJ is quite under rated.

If we didn't have James Johnson on this team I'd expect a lot more people to throw his name out there as a possible number 8. He's better than JJ, no question IMO, but there is some minor duplication there, and there are bigger holes in the roster.

Terrence Jones is almost certainly a power forward at the NBA level. James Johnson's position is up in the air, but at least he can play the small forward position pretty effectively, at least defensively.

shortmikeshortt · Post #131 » by **shortmikeshortt** » Sat May 12, 2012 2:58 pm

Alfred wrote:
shortmikeshortt wrote:I think TJ is quite under rated.

If we didn't have James Johnson on this team I'd expect a lot more people to throw his name out there as a possible number 8. He's better than JJ, no question IMO, but there is some minor duplication there, and there are bigger holes in the roster.

Terrence Jones is almost certainly a power forward at the NBA level. James Johnson's position is up in the air, but at least he can play the small forward position pretty effectively, at least defensively.

I'm not sure about that actually - he has great size and athleticism for the 3 spot...can handle like a 3 and shoot from outside. He's better facing the basket as well and he can guard 3s...I'd call them both 3/4's depending on matchups etc.

Regardless though, if he's a 3, he's in the James Johnson mould (but better), if he's a 4, we have too many 4's, so hes still not really a need.

Greg Stink · Post #132 » by **Greg Stink** » Sat May 12, 2012 3:41 pm

Alfred wrote:Terrence Jones is almost certainly a power forward at the NBA level.

Doubt it. He plays like a 3 on offense and OT looks like guarding 3s is his best bet. I'd put him on Carmelo over Amare, LeBron over Bosh, Deng over Boozer, Gay over Randolph, Durant over Ibaka, Batum over LA, MWP over Gasol, etc. Gallo, Hedo, Granger- TJones is a SF in the NBA.

gerrit4 · Post #133 » by **gerrit4** » Sat May 12, 2012 4:05 pm

My opinion on TJ is that if he slides until after the lottery, he could be an incredible steal. Top ten, he may be a disappointment.

Post #134 » by **Undefeated** » Sat May 12, 2012 4:08 pm

It's too bad that T-Jones' skill level isn't up to par with his physical tools, or else he would be one hell of an NBA 3. It's that his skills aren't polished enough to play the 3 full-time. He's just as much of a 3 as Perry Jones is.

Greg Stink · Post #135 » by **Greg Stink** » Sat May 12, 2012 4:23 pm

Undefeated wrote:It's too bad that T-Jones' skill level isn't up to par with his physical tools, or else he would be one hell of an NBA 3. It's that his skills aren't polished enough to play the 3 full-time. He's just as much of a 3 as Perry Jones is.

Offensively, maybe, but not defensively. PJ3 doesn't look to be able to guard either position.

fredericklove · Post #136 » by **fredericklove** » Sat May 12, 2012 5:57 pm

Greg Stink wrote:
Undefeated wrote:It's too bad that T-Jones' skill level isn't up to par with his physical tools, or else he would be one hell of an NBA 3. It's that his skills aren't polished enough to play the 3 full-time. He's just as much of a 3 as Perry Jones is.

Offensively, maybe, but not defensively. PJ3 doesn't look to be able to guard either position.

And here we are hoping Lamb slides to us because the warriors might take a SF or PG or PF because they don't need a SG...let's just hope PJ3 does well in the workout to make them sold about his SF skills.

Post #137 » by **Undefeated** » Sat May 12, 2012 6:06 pm

Terrence Jones is basically a jack of all trades, master of none. He can shoot the ball, but not consistently. Although Jones gets a high release point on his shot with good rotation and puts a lot of arc on his shot almost like a rainbow, his mechanics are very flawed. He never gets his shoulders and elbows squared to the basket always tilting his body to the side of the rim when he shoots with his elbow sticking outwards, and he releases the ball on the right side of his head when he's a left-handed shooter. Fundamental flaws. His pick up when he steps into a shot is very slow. I don't care about a slow release, but when you've got a slow pick up, you're going to have difficulty getting your shot off in the NBA. He needs to learn to pick up the ball at his mid-section instead of his waist below because he's a tall guy. The taller you are, the higher you need to pick up the ball, so that you don't give defenders tenths of a second to close out on your shot. It makes a world of difference.

His ball-handling is fine when he's being guarded 10-15 feet from the basket, but it's not enough when he's got a defender giving him no breathing room from behind the arc. Although he can breakdown the defense, but it's only when he's given a clear path down the lane. I don't know how T-Jones is going to survive when the NBA game is much faster. He can't really read the defense because he puts his head down and bulldozes through the defense, and when the secondary defender comes over to provide help, he doesn't really know how to adjust say using a spin, side step or Euro-step to maneuver around the secondary defender. Because of that, he usually gets whistled for a charge once or twice a game. Dribbles the ball too high, and doesn't really have any dribbling moves. Not even a inside-out/windmill dribble. Basically, he can only handle the ball when he doesn't have a defender shadowing his every move. It's the same with his passing. He'll often try to squeeze a pass through a myriad of defenders when the ball has no chance of getting to the receiver. Shows me he can't read defenses once again. Not a selfish player, but sometimes he can get lazy with his passing and it gets picked off. It all comes down to reading the defense and improved decision-making for Terrence Jones.

Not really a dominant rebounder either given his size, length, and athleticism. Harrison Barnes averaged 2 less rebounds and that was playing with TWO front court teammates averaging double-digits rebounds. Only Anthony Davis averaged a double-digit rebounds on UK. I'm not saying he's a poor rebounder because he's shown he can dominate the glass when he wants to like he did in the NCAA Tournament alongside Anthony Davis, but he can't rely on his athleticism and size too much because those attributes will be negated in the NBA. He needs to use his rear and push his opponents out of the paint. Key is to box-out effectively with his size. That's without touching on his up-and-down motor. But we'll leave that out.

Essentially, he's not really great at anything. Can do a little bit of everything. I mean, if we're looking at other projected lotto wings, each and every one of them has something unique to their game that stands out. Bradley Beal has his shooting and rebounding. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has his tenacious, lock-down defense, rebounding and motor. Harrison Barnes with the shooting and defense. Jeremy Lamb and his sweet stroke. Austin Rivers with the scoring instincts. I'd rather have a prospect that already has one skill he's really, really good at and hope that they round out other parts of their game than a prospect who has a lot more to polish out.

DA_SCOUT · Post #138 » by **DA_SCOUT** » Sat May 12, 2012 6:24 pm

DraftExpress has Terrence Jones best case scenario as Al Harrington in his prime. I think that's quite fair, and I also disagree with Alfred saying T.Jones is a 4, he's a 3 who can play the 4 here and there but mainly a 3 in the NBA.

I've lightened up to the idea of drafting Lamb now, wasn't a big fan but starting to warm up to him.

@ 8 with AD,ADrum,TRob,MKG,BB,HB (gone) (i know i listed 6 lol )

I like: PJ III, Lamb, Lillard

Dr Positivity · Post #139 » by **Dr Positivity** » Sat May 12, 2012 6:30 pm

Jones isn't a BC pick, I'm almost certain of it

Dr Positivity · Post #140 » by **Dr Positivity** » Sat May 12, 2012 10:01 pm

Big board + What caliber of player I expect if they pan out (based on ability/significance, not stylistic)

1. Anthony Davis (Alonzo Mourning)
2. Meyers Leonard (Marc Gasol)
3. Jeremy Lamb (Eric Gordon)
4. Arnett Moultrie (David Lee)
5. Jared Sullinger (David West)
6. Perry Jones III (Andrea Bargnani)
7. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Richard Jefferson)
8. Bradley Beal (Jason Richardson)
9. Andre Drummond (Deandre Jordan)
10. Thomas Robinson (Kris Humphries)

Would you be happy if the Raptors drafted... (check all that apply)