2014 NBA Draft Prospects Thread #5 | Raps picking 20th

[Undefeated]

Im really behind drafting Kyle Anderson now after being totally against it. He brings something completely different to our forwards, the ability to pass and see the court. Remember guys, mental speed can sometimes be faster than foot speed. His defence can be worked on with our plethora of coaches, his release will improve but his shot is pretty good % wise.

This is a huge comparison, but he reminds me a little of Paul Pierce how he cuts through the lane and lays it up, long steps whilst protecting the ball, high off the glass. Paul was also not the fastest but has a great basketball mind.

Thats actually a really interesting comparison.... Paul Pierce has been a raptor killer his entire career. If Anderson is there at 20 you have to take him, I think the chances of that are less then 5% though.

Paul Pierce is more athletic, bigger body so he can back his man down and has that I'm the best mentality. KA's game resembles his yes but those are big gaps.

Nor does he have a tight handle that Pierce has. Pierce has a lot of shake to his game and is very shifty with the ball selling his crossovers and drives extremely well to set up the stepback J. Kyle Anderson has neither of that and his handle is a bit suspect.

[SkywalkerAC]

Warming up to Payne a bit. Maybe he can be considered a 4/5 in the modern NBA? You know Casey values guys that can actually play on both ends and we need the shooting.

He's got the length and was 240 at the combine. It's hard to imagine him not producing at the NBA level. The lungs are not a real issue for me as the human body is capable of some amazing things, look at Dejuan Blair whose health concern was a lot more serious IMO.

The main issue with Payne is it kind of entails moving Amir, either to a different team or to the bench, or not retaining Patrick. I guess I'm warming up to the idea of drafting Payne, starting Patrick, bringing Amir off the bench as the 4/5, then bringing in Payne next to him. Patrick and Payne on the 2nd unit together just doesn't make any sense, but Payne-Amir? That's potentially VERY good in the modern NBA. Then you bring Jonas back on for a taste of what would be to come.

If Masai is uncertain about the pick, I can see him going for the guy that is a virtual lock to make the rotation and produce throughout his rookie contract. The team as is cries out for a backup 5, but from a composition point of view that position is probably best filled with a veteran anyway.

Casey has no problem playing young guys, as long as they play like veterans - see PatPat. Masai seems to value productivity and fit; this could be our best draft pick for a while, due to the depth of this class, so it's important to get value on the court as he ramps up the compete-process.

I guess the crux of all that is that I'm starting to see that Payne could be a real Casey-guy, one that would be played rather than strictly developed.

[DreamTeam09]

Atl or Phx or Chicago are the teams expected to take Anderson. Doubt he slips by those 3 teams n 4 picks before we select. He'd definitely add a different look to our 2nd unit. I already trust him with the ball more than Vasquez.

[mjg13]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JLew1050/status/473868645194813441[/tweet]
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[BillyGM]

I think Warren make Raptor dream come tru Jonas and Tj they bring championship to us everyday, we need draft him in order to win, he's great

TJ is a bad ass person. TJ does NOT mean small junk, Tijuana nor thief. TJ is probably the coolest down-to-earth person you will ever have the privilege to befriend! Always making people laugh and down for a good time. With his great personality, charm and skills, TJ pulls the hottest girls around.
Not only is TJ notorious for the best woman in town, TJ also has the best dank bud and more friends than anyone could ask for!
1 "Look at that guy....he has 4 chicks all over him"

-"yeah it's probably TJ"

2 "I can smell some strong ass weed somewhere"

-"it's TJ".

Then again I really like Rod's silky smooth jumper he can bring so much to us too like 2nd Redd but on winning team not sure if champhionship time but good time for sure

McDaniel can defend like Tony so he can bring us badass defense team name he doesn't fk around when on court

Anderson and Daniels to weak for NBA good for Europe

[for_tdot]

Thats actually a really interesting comparison.... Paul Pierce has been a raptor killer his entire career. If Anderson is there at 20 you have to take him, I think the chances of that are less then 5% though.

Paul Pierce is more athletic, bigger body so he can back his man down and has that I'm the best mentality. KA's game resembles his yes but those are big gaps.

Nor does he have a tight handle that Pierce has. Pierce has a lot of shake to his game and is very shifty with the ball selling his crossovers and drives extremely well to set up the stepback J. Kyle Anderson has neither of that and his handle is a bit suspect.

I agree. People forget how athletic Pierce was. Anderson is a terrible athlete.

[Undefeated]

Atl or Phx or Chicago are the teams expected to take Anderson. Doubt he slips by those 3 teams n 4 picks before we select. He'd definitely add a different look to our 2nd unit. I already trust him with the ball more than Vasquez.

Kyle rarely looks to breakdown or probe the defense so of course he's not going to lose the ball where as Vasquez is always probing the defense looking for small corridors searching for passing angles that might develop or shoot those rainbow floaters while he keeps his man hostage on his hips when can't find a passing angle he wants. As the primary ball-handler, I don't think Kyle is going to make a lot of plays because he doesn't drive to get the defense to converge on him which will create passing lanes for draw-and-kick or drop-off to the big in the alley. But as a secondary ball-handler he can use his defender's momentum against them where his lack of an explosive first step won't be as apparent and it helps that he's a threat from 3 so his man can't haphazardly closeout to get into the paint. From there, he can use his height to look over the defense find the army of open shooters spotting-up (hint-hint: why Atlanta and Phx are highly intrigued by him).

[SkywalkerAC]

Thats actually a really interesting comparison.... Paul Pierce has been a raptor killer his entire career. If Anderson is there at 20 you have to take him, I think the chances of that are less then 5% though.

Paul Pierce is more athletic, bigger body so he can back his man down and has that I'm the best mentality. KA's game resembles his yes but those are big gaps.

Nor does he have a tight handle that Pierce has. Pierce has a lot of shake to his game and is very shifty with the ball selling his crossovers and drives extremely well to set up the stepback J. Kyle Anderson has neither of that and his handle is a bit suspect.

I'm not quite buying that Undefeated, not that I've studied Anderson as much as you have by this point. PP has more power and shiftiness to his dribble-attack but KA is impressive in a different way. I understand your reticence with how high, and over-dribbled, and vulnerable Anderson's dribble can be but at the same time he can really get into glide-attack mode and get to where he wants to at an incredible rate for a guy that size. I thought Livingston might be a decent comparison but on second thought he has more modern dribble style. Then I thought Jason Kidd but he's so amazing with those high speed x-overs that he's a bit incomparable (though less so in the half-court I would argue).

I don't know, I guess it's the way KA can push it out in front with those long strides that makes it look so different, smooth, yet effective. Steve Nash comes to mind as a guy that looks so smooth pushing hard off that back foot and past guys to the rim, rather hurky-jerkeying with the ball, though Paul Pierce can do that as well, which is maybe where this comparison comes from. And more than likely Anderson would be well-advised to add more and more Pierce-esque craftiness to his dribble-game.

Bottomline, I do think there is something special in Anderson's handle, but it's largely that ability to get his head past his defenders' hips using those long strides to get into the lane. In the NBA he'll have to tighten it up, dribble more defensively and less, but he should be fine.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Watching Tavares play right now. Scored a nice hook shot after a difficult catch. Also made a lay-up over a defender off the pick and roll. His defensive awareness is very good considering he's new to the sport. Saw him track multiple cutters. He's also confident coming way out beyond the 3 point line on hedges and hasn't been burned yet.

His rebounding has been so-so this game, allowing the opposition to get behind him a couple of times. He's also blown some offensive sets by being late to react.

[Lukeem]

I'd be so happy to see the raptors big board. Even post draft.

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[for_tdot]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tb_TfzdMiI[/youtube]

Russ Smith Workout video for Raptors on youtube.

[Dalek]

Jordan Clarkson sounds like a safe bet to be a good NBA player. Big for PG, can handle and has a bit of flash with his passing, and plays solid fundamental defense. The guy tested out as a pretty amazing athlete to boot. I am curious to see if he gets picked at 20 like Evan Fournier was back in Denver. Very similar games IMO.

[thunderforce]

Anyone else think he has already set up a trade for the 20th pick , he just seem to be downplaying the draft and has hardly seen many players around there .

[Roland Brice]

Jordan Clarkson sounds like a safe bet to be a good NBA player. Big for PG, can handle and has a bit of flash with his passing, and plays solid fundamental defense. The guy tested out as a pretty amazing athlete to boot. I am curious to see if he gets picked at 20 like Evan Fournier was back in Denver. Very similar games IMO.

I'd expect him to be a candidate at 37. I don't think we need to reach for him at 20, although someone might take him between 30 and 36. However, I still wouldn't select him at 20 because he's not special in any area. I've been reading up on him today since we worked him out and the overwhelming theme is mediocrity. He's not a great outside shooter, his overall athleticism isn't special, he's mediocre laterally and with his first step, he's a decent but not great defender, and he's still learning how to play the point.

[SkywalkerAC]

Watching Tavares play right now. Scored a nice hook shot after a difficult catch. Also made a lay-up over a defender off the pick and roll. His defensive awareness is very good considering he's new to the sport. Saw him track multiple cutters. He's also confident coming way out beyond the 3 point line on hedges and hasn't been burned yet.

His rebounding has been so-so this game, allowing the opposition to get behind him a couple of times. He's also blown some offensive sets by being late to react.

Does he look as awkward running up and down the court as I think he does?

[UnderdogRaptors]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tb_TfzdMiI[/youtube]

Russ Smith Workout video for Raptors on youtube.

WTF! this dude looks like JR Smith crazy

[Dalek]

Jordan Clarkson sounds like a safe bet to be a good NBA player. Big for PG, can handle and has a bit of flash with his passing, and plays solid fundamental defense. The guy tested out as a pretty amazing athlete to boot. I am curious to see if he gets picked at 20 like Evan Fournier was back in Denver. Very similar games IMO.

I'd expect him to be a candidate at 37. I don't think we need to reach for him at 20, although someone might take him between 30 and 36. However, I still wouldn't select him at 20 because he's not special in any area. I've been reading up on him today since we worked him out and the overwhelming theme is mediocrity. He's not a great outside shooter, his overall athleticism isn't special, he's mediocre laterally and with his first step, he's a decent but not great defender, and he's still learning how to play the point.

I know it sounds a bit crazy, but even Chad Ford has made claims that he might be selected in the 20s and then you have this quote from Toronto Director of Scouting, Dan Tolzman:

“Everyone played well. It was really competitive. We brought in a handful of point guards that we’re kind of considering at both 20 and 37. We kind of just brought them all in. We got a look at them, and they played well. Russ is as fast as they get. He showed that today. Unfortunately Jahii Carson got hurt yesterday at another workout. He’s another extremely fast player. Jordan Clarkson played extremely well. Nick Johnson played well, too. He showed his athleticism and shot the ball well.”

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/06/ ... nba-draft/

That could only mean Jordan Clarkson. I know they seem to have about 10 guys or so in that tier of picks, but he has to be the top PG if Ennis doesn't fall.

[Raptorfan2012]

Anyone else think he has already set up a trade for the 20th pick , he just seem to be downplaying the draft and has hardly seen many players around there .

Yeah I think Masai already has a plan for the 20th pick - either trade it or move up for. It is weird he is bringing in so many 2nd round candidates.

[Indeed]

Atl or Phx or Chicago are the teams expected to take Anderson. Doubt he slips by those 3 teams n 4 picks before we select. He'd definitely add a different look to our 2nd unit. I already trust him with the ball more than Vasquez.

Kyle rarely looks to breakdown or probe the defense so of course he's not going to lose the ball where as Vasquez is always probing the defense looking for small corridors searching for passing angles that might develop or shoot those rainbow floaters while he keeps his man hostage on his hips when can't find a passing angle he wants. As the primary ball-handler, I don't think Kyle is going to make a lot of plays because he doesn't drive to get the defense to converge on him which will create passing lanes for draw-and-kick or drop-off to the big in the alley. But as a secondary ball-handler he can use his defender's momentum against them where his lack of an explosive first step won't be as apparent and it helps that he's a threat from 3 so his man can't haphazardly closeout to get into the paint. From there, he can use his height to look over the defense find the army of open shooters spotting-up (hint-hint: why Atlanta and Phx are highly intrigued by him).

I see the same thing, and I wish Atlanta will draft him with their top pick. I prefer to have a defensive capable at SF to fit into our system. I don't see Anderson fits into our system.

[Indeed]

Jordan Clarkson sounds like a safe bet to be a good NBA player. Big for PG, can handle and has a bit of flash with his passing, and plays solid fundamental defense. The guy tested out as a pretty amazing athlete to boot. I am curious to see if he gets picked at 20 like Evan Fournier was back in Denver. Very similar games IMO.

I'd expect him to be a candidate at 37. I don't think we need to reach for him at 20, although someone might take him between 30 and 36. However, I still wouldn't select him at 20 because he's not special in any area. I've been reading up on him today since we worked him out and the overwhelming theme is mediocrity. He's not a great outside shooter, his overall athleticism isn't special, he's mediocre laterally and with his first step, he's a decent but not great defender, and he's still learning how to play the point.

I think it is for #59, in case any of these drops, we may consider them. There are enough PG in the league, so they are more likely to drop.

I suppose #20 is set or I suppose we may trade up. #37 is a little tricky, but I think they are in no hurry to evaluate their options.