Raptors NBA Draft Thread: Damian Lillard (POR)

[fredericklove]

fredericklove
He's 6''1.

Haha, no. He's 6' 2.75"...
0'0.25" off of 6'3, and much further from 6'1.

I'm talking about Kemba.

[shortmikeshortt]

fredericklove
He's 6''1.

Haha, no. He's 6' 2.75"...
0'0.25" off of 6'3, and much further from 6'1.

I'm talking about Kemba.

Ha, yup, my bad.

[BillyGM]

Not worth discussing about Lillard's physical tools because they're incredible good. Definitely fits the standards of a star PG in the NBA.

[DG88]

Matt Devlin ‏@MattDevlinRaps
Raptors bringing in 7 for pre-draft workouts....the 1 name to remember Damian Lillard G Weber State. #Raptors

Devlin inside information? Lol just kidding.

[DA_SCOUT]

Matt Devlin ‏@MattDevlinRaps
Raptors bringing in 7 for pre-draft workouts....the 1 name to remember Damian Lillard G Weber State. #Raptors

Devlin inside information? Lol just kidding.

You think they'll post the workout videos on Raptors.com? Would love to see Lillard puttin in work.

[DG88]

Matt Devlin ‏@MattDevlinRaps
Raptors bringing in 7 for pre-draft workouts....the 1 name to remember Damian Lillard G Weber State. #Raptors

Devlin inside information? Lol just kidding.

You think they'll post the workout videos on Raptors.com? Would love to see Lillard puttin in work.

Once the workouts are we should expect video to start popping up around 4-5pm is my guess.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Is he working out against anybody or is he just doing individual workouts?

I would like to see him against elite athleticism rather than solo drills and weak league play to gauge him.

It's a solo workout. Kind of bs for someone who isn't considered one of the elite prospects in the draft.

[dagger]

honestly but the end of their careers I have a feeling Wroten might end up with a better career, something bout this screams stud to me. (Yes I am a Wroten Homer) With that being said lillard is exactly like calderon, why exactly do we want calderon number 2, except calderon can shoot.

Wroten might be a better prospect - in an alternate universe. He had more turnovers than assists and can't shoot to save his life.

And Lillard exactly like Jose Calderon? I can understand comparing Lillard to Bayless, but comparing him to Jose is like comparing Hasheem Thabeet to Yao Ming because they're both tall.

[CoachJReturns]

honestly but the end of their careers I have a feeling Wroten might end up with a better career, something bout this screams stud to me. (Yes I am a Wroten Homer) With that being said lillard is exactly like calderon, why exactly do we want calderon number 2, except calderon can shoot.

Wroten might be a better prospect - in an alternate universe. He had more turnovers than assists and can't shoot to save his life.

And Lillard exactly like Jose Calderon? I can understand comparing Lillard to Bayless, but comparing him to Jose is like comparing Hasheem Thabeet to Yao Ming because they're both tall.

Yeah, I'm not really seeing the Calderon comparison. Lillard is more athletic and seems to like attacking the rim, which Calderon has never really done. Both are good shooters, but that's probably one area where you are happy to see a rookie point guard be similar to Jose. At this poin he looks like Bayless with a jumpshot, or Lyndsey Hunter which won't get anyone excited, but Hunter looked pretty good when he first entered the league. He just had a very low ceiling. Hopefully Lillard's is a lot higher.

[DG88]

honestly but the end of their careers I have a feeling Wroten might end up with a better career, something bout this screams stud to me. (Yes I am a Wroten Homer) With that being said lillard is exactly like calderon, why exactly do we want calderon number 2, except calderon can shoot.

Wroten might be a better prospect - in an alternate universe. He had more turnovers than assists and can't shoot to save his life.

And Lillard exactly like Jose Calderon? I can understand comparing Lillard to Bayless, but comparing him to Jose is like comparing Hasheem Thabeet to Yao Ming because they're both tall.

Yeah, I'm not really seeing the Calderon comparison. Lillard is more athletic and seems to like attacking the rim, which Calderon has never really done. Both are good shooters, but that's probably one area where you are happy to see a rookie point guard be similar to Jose. At this poin he looks like Bayless with a jumpshot, or Lyndsey Hunter which won't get anyone excited, but Hunter looked pretty good when he first entered the league. He just had a very low ceiling. Hopefully Lillard's is a lot higher.

You can add that Lillard isn't turnover prone either for the amount of time he had the ball in his hands. He averaged just 0.12 turnovers per possession that was the third best rate among the top 100 PG in college

[dohboy_24]

Damian's athletic testing numbers came back pretty positive as well...

34.5 no step vert (2nd overall, 1st among PG)
39.5 max vert (4th overall, 1st among PG)
13 bench press (t-8th overall, 3rd among PG)
11.15 agility (20th overall, 4th among PG)
3.34 sprint (17th overall, 5th among PG)

Along with his measurements, Lillard is clearly the #1 PG prospect of this draft. He has said he'd like to carry on the tradition of Oakland PG's like Gary Payton and Jason Kidd and I'd like to see what he could do in a Raptors uniform alongside DeMar, JJ, Ed Davis, Bargs, and JV.

[DG88]

SlamOnline's mock has us taking Lillard with the 8th pick

With the eighth pick in the 2012 SLAMonline Mock Draft, the Toronto Raptors select…

Damian Lillard from Weber State.

First featured on SLAMonline in February, the Weber State PG finished his redshirt junior campaign second in the NCAA in scoring at 24.5 ppg. He’s an extremely efficient shooter, who connected on 41 percent of his attempts from the beyond the arc.

He’s also a terrific rebounder (5 rpg) for his size and takes care of the ball well—ranking first among point guard prospects in turnovers per possession. Lillard is extremely explosive (40-inch vertical) and drives well in either direction, which helped him get to the free-throw line (where he knocked down the second most FTs in NCAA at a 90 percent clip).

The two-time Big Sky POY says he hears the question often: “Do you think you’re a 2-guard?”

His answer: “No,” adding that he wants to run an offense—not “just to push the ball up the floor, but run NBA sets.”

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/20 ... ock-draft/

[Ku-Bar]

Charles Barkley talking about bench press results in these physical tests re: Kevin Durant.

"who much does a basketball weigh?" I laughed so hard when I heard that.

OR I suppose to satisfy the stats auditors out there we have to break down to five decimal places every former MVP or All NBA player who in fact proved the strongest physical beast in terms of weight-lifting output. HAH!

[CTG]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Q8RaU6-VI&feature=related[/youtube]
Not sure if this has been posted

[phailing101]

From the interviews I've read/seen, he sounds like a really good character guy with a very high work ethic. Reminds me of DD in that regard.........and that's the type of guys I want around.

I will be very pleased if we draft this kid.

He can chill behind Nash for a season and learn the ropes

[BillyGM]

Answer me this, would it be good to pair Jonas Valanciunas with Damian Lillard? Or you can see some problems? Is Lillard good PnR player?

[DG88]

Answer me this, would it be good to pair Jonas Valanciunas with Damian Lillard? Or you can see some problems? Is Lillard good PnR player?

It's one of Lillard strengths. Him and Val coming off the bench will be fun. Lillard is a threat on the pick and roll because of his ability to from range and his penetrating ability.

[BillyGM]

Answer me this, would it be good to pair Jonas Valanciunas with Damian Lillard? Or you can see some problems? Is Lillard good PnR player?

It's one of Lillard strengths. Him and Val coming off the bench will be fun. Lillard is a threat on the pick and roll because of his ability to from range and his penetrating ability.

But do you see them as our playoff team starters in the future?

[DG88]

Answer me this, would it be good to pair Jonas Valanciunas with Damian Lillard? Or you can see some problems? Is Lillard good PnR player?

It's one of Lillard strengths. Him and Val coming off the bench will be fun. Lillard is a threat on the pick and roll because of his ability to from range and his penetrating ability.

But do you see them as our playoff team starters in the future?

It all depends on how they develop. Val is the future at the center position so we know he will end up starting by his second year in the league. Lillard has the opportunity as well with Calderon off the books he could get the starting role. It all depends on how much he grows. I can see him being a starter, having a guy in your offense who can suck in the defense helps open things up on the offensive. A Val/ Lillard pick and roll could potentially be a dangerous weapon to use against other teams. Val's ability to roll to the basket quickly and finish at a high rate added with Lillard's three point range and penetrating ability. Both are great free throw shooters as well, so if you foul either of them they'll still be able to score off the pick and roll action.

[Dr Positivity]

Lillard is basically the prospect people want Rivers to be, he has the size and athleticism to finish at the rim more, is much more legit shooter in 3P% and FT%, and both seem to create similar ways.

At the same time his destiny screams a Lou Williams/Mo Williams type of career, to me.