And Then There Was One: Thank Nation 2. Raps pick 23rd

[super_balls]

Good option for us. If there's no movement and we stay at 23, I'd rather we take a younger guy with upside over another junior, or senior who looks like no more than a bench player. Gotta upgrade the talent somehow.

Just keep passing on the Malcolm Brogden types.

Frankly there aren't any juniors and seniors that I'm terribly interested in taking, though I wouldn't mind Robinson who I was high on before his mediocre season. I still like his tools though. Among highly productive collegiate players, I think I like Evans as a guy with starter potential in the future.
I've been wrong before though. I think I'm typically right only 50 percent of the time with picks and with the 23rd pick I'm guessing my selections are no better than anyone else's.

Frank Jackson from Duke also declared but didn't hire agent (so testing waters) - I see him as basically brogdon but a freshman. High IQ player, still young, very good size and athleticism (6'4 w/ 6'7 wingspan, won McDonald's Dunk Contest - see link below) for a PG and has a beautiful shooting stroke with range. He's definitely someone to take a look at as opposed to Diallo, who could very well end up being a Wayne Selden or Chris Walker type prospect, he's athletic but what else?

Watch on YouTube

Wasn't the best at Duke, but I seriously think his game is more suited for the NBA because he's scoring guard, who can take advantage of the open court.

Watch on YouTube

Just look at how explosive he is, maybe if we give him a promise at 23 he will declare.

Watch on YouTube

[Kevin Willis]

found the guy Masai is drafting for sure.

Watch on YouTube

6'8 220lbs 7'2 wingspan

looks like he's in the french pro A league

Wow, he looks real good. Masai does love the french league. Any idea of what his stats look like?

His stats are below. They are ok but nothing special.

http://www.draftexpress.com/clubhouse/Levallois-541/roster

[CoachJReturns]

Just keep passing on the Malcolm Brogden types.

First of all, you mean the Norman Powell types. Second, Powell types aren't dime a dozen. Sometimes you need to swing for the fences. Brogdon isn't leading you anywhere.

Projecting BPA for say freshmen at 20-23 is much harder than at 1-10. Hence why we have drafted seniors at 20(s) three times except for Bruno. To date our best pick was a senior in the second round overlooked by the rainmakers. Swinging for the fences at 23 is a fool's errand. We need to pick the the player who might range from 20-45 and ticks boxes like Powell did and then strategize how best to get them. Do we need to acquire one of Philly's second rounders to get say Thornwell who looks very much like a Norm player. Should we stash a Euro at 23 like Kurucs? Is a player from South Carolina going to be as good as players who faced California or L.A. caliber competition. I think more goes into this than scaling physical specimen's who merely appear to be athletes with potential.

So just take Evans. We would get a guy who is young enough to still be considered to have a ceiling(not that juniors and seniors don't, but you usually know what a player is by his senior year), who already put up good numbers against collegiate competition. Seems like the logical compromise from a talent perspective. Fit will have to be worked out in future with our depth at point guard, but I'm not really a fan of drafting for need, particularly when those who fill our need(a wing who can shoot and defend) are pretty mediocre in our range.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Just keep passing on the Malcolm Brogden types.

First of all, you mean the Norman Powell types. Second, Powell types aren't dime a dozen. Sometimes you need to swing for the fences. Brogdon isn't leading you anywhere.

Projecting BPA for say freshmen at 20-23 is much harder than at 1-10. Hence why we have drafted seniors at 20(s) three times except for Bruno. To date our best pick was a senior in the second round overlooked by the rainmakers. Swinging for the fences at 23 is a fool's errand. We need to pick the the player who might range from 20-45 and ticks boxes like Powell did and then strategize how best to get them. Do we need to acquire one of Philly's second rounders to get say Thornwell who looks very much like a Norm player. Should we stash a Euro at 23 like Kurucs? Is a player from South Carolina going to be as good as players who faced California or L.A. caliber competition. I think more goes into this than scaling physical specimen's who merely appear to be athletes with potential.

Thornwell will not be the pick. As great as our Senior draftees have been, none of them are leading us anywhere. Our best players are Kyle and DeMar, both drafted as underclassmen. Then you have Serge and JV who were picked from the International pool while thet were very young. Seniors are perfect to fill in the gaps around those guys.

Diallo is a guy that would go to Kentucky and turn himself into a lottery pick. So why would you pass that up for another role player? You're trying to shoot for the middle of the pack. You want to be safe instead of take a chance. That may be great for you, but unless you take risks you never get past that dreaded treadmill.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

First of all, you mean the Norman Powell types. Second, Powell types aren't dime a dozen. Sometimes you need to swing for the fences. Brogdon isn't leading you anywhere.

Projecting BPA for say freshmen at 20-23 is much harder than at 1-10. Hence why we have drafted seniors at 20(s) three times except for Bruno. To date our best pick was a senior in the second round overlooked by the rainmakers. Swinging for the fences at 23 is a fool's errand. We need to pick the the player who might range from 20-45 and ticks boxes like Powell did and then strategize how best to get them. Do we need to acquire one of Philly's second rounders to get say Thornwell who looks very much like a Norm player. Should we stash a Euro at 23 like Kurucs? Is a player from South Carolina going to be as good as players who faced California or L.A. caliber competition. I think more goes into this than scaling physical specimen's who merely appear to be athletes with potential.

Thornwell will not be the pick. As great as our Senior draftees have been, none of them are leading us anywhere. Our best players are Kyle and DeMar, both drafted as underclassmen. Then you have Serge and JV who were picked from the International pool while thet were very young. Seniors are perfect to fill in the gaps around those guys.

Diallo is a guy that would go to Kentucky and turn himself into a lottery pick. So why would you pass that up for another role player? You're trying to shoot for the middle of the pack. You want to be safe instead of take a chance. That may be great for you, but unless you take risks you never get past that dreaded treadmill.

Diallo declared for the draft! 5-star prospect. he probably becomes a top 10 pick this year if all goes well for him. doubt he drops to the Raptors territory. This team needs some injection of high ceiling players.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Do you think Boston would take Derozan for their 2017 1st round lottery pick + one of their wing players not named IT or Crowder.

hypothetically speaking. of course. If they strike out on PG and Butler.

[artsncrafts]

Do you think Boston would take Derozan for their 2017 1st round lottery pick + one of their wing players not named IT or Crowder.

hypothetically speaking. of course. If they strike out on PG and Butler.

Derozan for 27th pick? Seems like you could get more for DD.

NVM they dont have 27th pick as it was a swap. So no they dont trade the top 2 pick for DD.

[CoachJReturns]

Projecting BPA for say freshmen at 20-23 is much harder than at 1-10. Hence why we have drafted seniors at 20(s) three times except for Bruno. To date our best pick was a senior in the second round overlooked by the rainmakers. Swinging for the fences at 23 is a fool's errand. We need to pick the the player who might range from 20-45 and ticks boxes like Powell did and then strategize how best to get them. Do we need to acquire one of Philly's second rounders to get say Thornwell who looks very much like a Norm player. Should we stash a Euro at 23 like Kurucs? Is a player from South Carolina going to be as good as players who faced California or L.A. caliber competition. I think more goes into this than scaling physical specimen's who merely appear to be athletes with potential.

Thornwell will not be the pick. As great as our Senior draftees have been, none of them are leading us anywhere. Our best players are Kyle and DeMar, both drafted as underclassmen. Then you have Serge and JV who were picked from the International pool while thet were very young. Seniors are perfect to fill in the gaps around those guys.

Diallo is a guy that would go to Kentucky and turn himself into a lottery pick. So why would you pass that up for another role player? You're trying to shoot for the middle of the pack. You want to be safe instead of take a chance. That may be great for you, but unless you take risks you never get past that dreaded treadmill.

Diallo declared for the draft! 5-star prospect. he probably becomes a top 10 pick this year if all goes well for him. doubt he drops to the Raptors territory. This team needs some injection of high ceiling players.

He's currently projected in the late first round. He's a definite possibility to be there at 23. I don't know much about the guy, but if Masai picked him I'd believe it was probably for good reason.
Besides, this isn't like reaching for Bruno and then not even having a place for him to play. We have the D League team specifically for these scenarios where a raw talent joins the team and we don't want them just riding the pine for the length of their rookie contract.

[CoachJReturns]

Do you think Boston would take Derozan for their 2017 1st round lottery pick + one of their wing players not named IT or Crowder.

hypothetically speaking. of course. If they strike out on PG and Butler.

Highest pick I could see us getting for DeMar, hypothetically speaking of course, would be in the 4-6 range. The top 3 guys: Fultz, Ball, Jackson are all in the running for 1st overall. The next tier that includes the 4-10 range could all possibly be available depending on team needs and current desire to fully rebuild or compete. I think DeMar did a good thing for his value with how well he played during Lowry's absence. He finally showed he can lead a team to a winning record.

None of this is really relevant though, since DeMar will likely be here until he retires. It would take a total meltdown in the rest of the Bucks series for a move to even be considered.

[artsncrafts]

Do you think Boston would take Derozan for their 2017 1st round lottery pick + one of their wing players not named IT or Crowder.

hypothetically speaking. of course. If they strike out on PG and Butler.

Highest pick I could see us getting for DeMar, hypothetically speaking of course, would be in the 4-6 range. The top 3 guys: Fultz, Ball, Jackson are all in the running for 1st overall. The next tier that includes the 4-10 range could all possibly be available depending on team needs and current desire to fully rebuild or compete. I think DeMar did a good thing for his value with how well he played during Lowry's absence. He finally showed he can lead a team to a winning record.

None of this is really relevant though, since DeMar will likely be here until he retires. It would take a total meltdown in the rest of the Bucks series for a move to even be considered.

There is a 25% chance this happens so we may as well entertain the idea

[RaptorsLife]

tank for 2023 for him and LeBron james jr http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/sports/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/sports/for-athletes-like-that-the-world-is-pretty-much-their-oyster-toronto-basketball-prodigy-dreams-beyond-the-nba

[OAKLEY_2]

First of all, you mean the Norman Powell types. Second, Powell types aren't dime a dozen. Sometimes you need to swing for the fences. Brogdon isn't leading you anywhere.

Projecting BPA for say freshmen at 20-23 is much harder than at 1-10. Hence why we have drafted seniors at 20(s) three times except for Bruno. To date our best pick was a senior in the second round overlooked by the rainmakers. Swinging for the fences at 23 is a fool's errand. We need to pick the the player who might range from 20-45 and ticks boxes like Powell did and then strategize how best to get them. Do we need to acquire one of Philly's second rounders to get say Thornwell who looks very much like a Norm player. Should we stash a Euro at 23 like Kurucs? Is a player from South Carolina going to be as good as players who faced California or L.A. caliber competition. I think more goes into this than scaling physical specimen's who merely appear to be athletes with potential.

Thornwell will not be the pick. As great as our Senior draftees have been, none of them are leading us anywhere. Our best players are Kyle and DeMar, both drafted as underclassmen. Then you have Serge and JV who were picked from the International pool while thet were very young. Seniors are perfect to fill in the gaps around those guys.

Diallo is a guy that would go to Kentucky and turn himself into a lottery pick. So why would you pass that up for another role player? You're trying to shoot for the middle of the pack. You want to be safe instead of take a chance. That may be great for you, but unless you take risks you never get past that dreaded treadmill.

You have to have the picks to take the appropriate risks. Swinging for the fences at 23 doesn't happen in a vacuum the players that are Hail Mary material have to be there. Diallo might be that and he might not be. What I am saying is don't assume a strategic position if the players avalable cannot support it. If you want to take risks maybe scratch and win is your thing.

[mappiah19]

I really like Frank Mason III

[OAKLEY_2]

Do you think Boston would take Derozan for their 2017 1st round lottery pick + one of their wing players not named IT or Crowder.

hypothetically speaking. of course. If they strike out on PG and Butler.

We would never do that trust me.

[CoachJReturns]

I'm pretty underwhelmed by the guys in our range like Giles, Lydon, Leaf etc.

I'll likely change my mind again a half a dozen times before the draft, but for now my board is one of these two:

Jawun Evans
Devin Robinson

Evans looks like an NBA point guard. Robinson has the great length and athleticism to be an excellent 3 and D player in theory. I was high on Robinson before the season started, but his mediocre numbers for a junior sort of cooled my opinion on him. Still, he did well in the tourney and he'd be one of the Raptors better athletes. Our need of youth at the small forward spot is another obvious reason to give him a look. Fit isn't everything, but when you can't find a guy who stands out it's definitely worth taking into consideration.

[CoachJReturns]

I looked up some numbers on Semi and Devin Robinson and when comparing them to the kind of small forwards we seem to want(guys who can shoot and defend with potential to be more aka. Kawhi, Butler etc.)
there seems to be an obvious trend that we haven't discussed. Great defenders DO put up numbers in college. Specifically they all average a good steal total. Kawhi and Butler for example both averaged 1.4 steals a game in their final college season. Kawhi also averaged 10 rebounds which is beastly for a small forward. Semi averages 0.4 steals a game in 36 minutes which is simply terrible. He's more Joey Graham than anything statistically speaking. I've read about the steal correlation to pro defense before and intuitively figured it was correct, but never looked up numbers for these prospects.
I think it's easier to teach offense than defense and Semi seems to lack something.
As for Devin Robinson, he is very limited on offense. He is strictly a catch and shoot guy and was shut down when forced off the 3 point line. However, his defensive numbers were very encouraging. In only 26 minutes a game he averaged almost 1 steal and 1 block a game. He was also a better rebounder per 40 minutes than Semi by a good margin.
Again Robinson is very flawed on offense. He hasn't shown an ability to put the ball on the floor and isn't much of a passer either. But I'll take defense over offense more often than not.

[LonZoBallin]

Caleb Swanigan if we gotta pick late

[S ID]

If we're taking a senior then it has to be Wesley Iwundu.

Great tools (6'7 with a 7'1 wingspan)
Improved shooter (huge strides after tweaking his jumper)
Playmaking ability (averaging 3.5 assists)

He needs to keep working on his jumper, finishing, and also improve his handle as it's kinda average right now.

[Psubs]

I looked up some numbers on Semi and Devin Robinson and when comparing them to the kind of small forwards we seem to want(guys who can shoot and defend with potential to be more aka. Kawhi, Butler etc.)
there seems to be an obvious trend that we haven't discussed. Great defenders DO put up numbers in college. Specifically they all average a good steal total. Kawhi and Butler for example both averaged 1.4 steals a game in their final college season. Kawhi also averaged 10 rebounds which is beastly for a small forward. Semi averages 0.4 steals a game in 36 minutes which is simply terrible. He's more Joey Graham than anything statistically speaking. I've read about the steal correlation to pro defense before and intuitively figured it was correct, but never looked up numbers for these prospects.
I think it's easier to teach offense than defense and Semi seems to lack something.
As for Devin Robinson, he is very limited on offense. He is strictly a catch and shoot guy and was shut down when forced off the 3 point line. However, his defensive numbers were very encouraging. In only 26 minutes a game he averaged almost 1 steal and 1 block a game. He was also a better rebounder per 40 minutes than Semi by a good margin.
Again Robinson is very flawed on offense. He hasn't shown an ability to put the ball on the floor and isn't much of a passer either. But I'll take defense over offense more often than not.

Robinson might be more like Corey Brewer annd Semi like Corey Maggette. So, between college steals and pro defense would say there is a coreylation?

[Mark_83]

I looked up some numbers on Semi and Devin Robinson and when comparing them to the kind of small forwards we seem to want(guys who can shoot and defend with potential to be more aka. Kawhi, Butler etc.)
there seems to be an obvious trend that we haven't discussed. Great defenders DO put up numbers in college. Specifically they all average a good steal total. Kawhi and Butler for example both averaged 1.4 steals a game in their final college season. Kawhi also averaged 10 rebounds which is beastly for a small forward. Semi averages 0.4 steals a game in 36 minutes which is simply terrible. He's more Joey Graham than anything statistically speaking. I've read about the steal correlation to pro defense before and intuitively figured it was correct, but never looked up numbers for these prospects.
I think it's easier to teach offense than defense and Semi seems to lack something.
As for Devin Robinson, he is very limited on offense. He is strictly a catch and shoot guy and was shut down when forced off the 3 point line. However, his defensive numbers were very encouraging. In only 26 minutes a game he averaged almost 1 steal and 1 block a game. He was also a better rebounder per 40 minutes than Semi by a good margin.
Again Robinson is very flawed on offense. He hasn't shown an ability to put the ball on the floor and isn't much of a passer either. But I'll take defense over offense more often than not.

I've been a big proponent of Robinson ' s this year. I think he has Trevor Ariza 3 + D upside. However I think our pick might be a bit early. I would see if we can trade back for Orlando or Philly's two 2nd rounders. We could get Robinson + a stash or Robinson + Blossomgame/Iwundu/Thornwell /White and have two shots at a 3 + D of the future.