First up, don’t forget the RR March Madness Pool.
Let’s kick off our NBA Draft coverage by recapping what’s been going on between the 6th and 10th pick this decade. The Raptors are currently slated to draft 8th and even though the team’s playing terrible I don’t see them falling below OKC and upping their odds to draft 5th. Obviously the lottery can change things but for a moment let’s assume everything works out according to the percentages and the Raptors draft where they’re supposed to draft. You’ll find that there’s plenty to be had if a GM has done his scouting. Some of the better players drafted in those spots this decade are D.J Augustin, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Andrew Bynum, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Chris Kaman, Amare Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Caron Butler, Shane Battier and Joe Johnson. Only twice in this time span has the consensus best player been drafted between 6-10 and those two are Roy and Stoudemire.
DraftExpress.com has us currently drafting 6′2″ Wake Forest PG Jeff Teague as the eighth pick. NBADraft.net has us selecting Arizona swingman Chase Budinger. In the weeks to come we’ll be looking at possible selections such as James Harden, Al-Farouq Aminu, Gerald Henderson and my dark horse Evan Turner of Ohio St along with many more. Go ahead and make an early call as to who you think might help the Raptors. My early pick is USC swingman Demar DeRozan. For now, let’s just look back and recap.
2008 Draft
Best Player: Derrick Rose at #1
Notables: #2 Beasley, #3 O.J Mayo, #4 Russell Westbrook, #9 D.J Augustin, #22 Courtney Lee
6 Danilo Gallinari (SF) New York Knicks Olimpia Milano (Italy) 1988 7 Eric Gordon (SG) Los Angeles Clippers Indiana Fr. 8 Joe Alexander (SF) Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia Jr. 9 D. J. Augustin (PG) Charlotte Bobcats Texas So. 10 Brook Lopez (C) New Jersey Nets Stanford So.
2007 Draft
Best Player: Kevin Durant at #2
Notables: #1 Greg Oden, #3 Al Horford, #15 Rodney Stuckey, #24 Rudy Fernandez
6 Yi Jianlian (PF/SF) Milwaukee Bucks Guangdong Southern Tigers (China) 1987 7 Corey Brewer (SF) Minnesota Timberwolves Florida Jr. 8 Brandan Wright (PF) Charlotte Bobcats North Carolina Fr. 9 Joakim Noah (PF/C) Chicago Bulls Florida Jr. 10 Spencer Hawes (C) Sacramento Kings Washington Fr.
2006 Draft
Best Player: Brandon Roy at #6
Notables: #1 Andrea Bargnani, #2 LaMarcus Aldrdige, #8 Rudy Gay, #21 Rajan Rondo, #47 Paul Millsap
6 Brandon Roy (SG) Minnesota Timberwolves Washington Sr. 7 Randy Foye (SG) Boston Celtics Villanova Sr. 8 Rudy Gay (G/F) Rockets Connecticut So. 9 Patrick O'Bryant (C) Golden State Warriors Bradley So. 10 Mouhamed Sene (C) Seattle SuperSonics RBC Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium) 1986
2005 Draft
Best Player: Chris Paul at #4
Notables: #2 Marvin Williams, #3 Deron Williams, #10 Andrew Bynum, #17 Danny Granger, #37 Ronny Turiaf
6 Martell Webster (G/F) Portland Trail Blazers Seattle Preparatory School 7 Charlie Villanueva (PF) Toronto Raptors UConn-So. 8 Channing Frye (F/C) New York Knicks Arizona-Sr. 9 Ike Diogu (PF) Golden State Warriors Arizona State-Jr. 10 Andrew Bynum (C) Los Angeles Lakers St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, NJ)HSSr.
2004 Draft
Best Player: Dwight Howard at #1
Notables: #2 Emeka Okafor, #5 Devin Harris, #7 Luol Deng, #20 Jameer Nelson, #26 Kevin Martin, #30 Anderson Varejao
6 Josh Childress (G/F) Atlanta Hawks Stanford 7 Luol Deng (SF) Phoenix Suns Duke 8 Rafael Araújo (C) Toronto Raptors BYU 9 Andre Iguodala (G/F) Philadelphia 76ers Arizona 10 Luke Jackson (SF) Cleveland Cavaliers Oregon
2003 Draft
Best Player: Lebron James at #1
Notables: #3 Carmelo Anthony, #4 Chris Bosh, #5 Dwayne Wade, #18 David West, #29 Josh Howard, #47 Mo Williams
6 Chris Kaman (C) Los Angeles Clippers Central Michigan 7 Kirk Hinrich (PG) Chicago Bulls Kansas 8 T. J. Ford (PG) Milwaukee Bucks Texas 9 Michael Sweetney (PF) New York Knicks Georgetown 10 Jarvis Hayes (F/G) Washington Wizards Georgia
2002 Draft
Best Player: Amare Stoudemire at #9
Notables: #1 Yao Ming, #10 Caron Butler, #23 Tayshaun Prince, #34 Carlos Boozer, #55 Luis Scola
6 Dajuan Wagner (G) Cleveland Cavaliers Memphis Fr. 7 Nenê Hilario (PF) New York Knicks Vasco da Gama (Brazil) 1982 8 Chris Wilcox (F/C) Los Angeles Clippers Maryland So. 9 Amare Stoudemire (F/C) Phoenix Suns Cypress Creek HS (Orlando, Florida) HSSr. 10 Caron Butler (SF) Miami Heat Connecticut So.
2001 Draft
Best Player: Tony Parker at #28
Notables: #3 Pau Gasol, #10 Joe Johnson, #13 Richard Jefferson, #31 Gilbert Arenas, #38 Mehmet Okur
6 Shane Battier (F/G) Vancouver Grizzlies Duke Sr. 7 Eddie Griffin (F) New Jersey Nets Seton Hall Fr. 8 DeSagana Diop (C) Cleveland Cavaliers Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA) HSSr. 9 Rodney White (SF) Detroit Pistons Charlotte Fr. 10 Joe Johnson (SG) Boston Celtics Arkansas So.
2000 Draft
Best Player: Michael Redd at #43
Notables: #1 Kenyon Martin
6 DerMarr Johnson (SG/SF) Atlanta Hawks Cincinnati Fr. 7 Chris Mihm (C/PF) Chicago Bulls Texas Jr. 8 Jamal Crawford (SG) Cleveland Cavaliers Michigan Fr. 9 Joel Przybilla (C) Houston Rockets Minnesota So. 10 Keyon Dooling (SG) Orlando Magic Missouri So.
85 Raps
Wow, thanks for killing my excitement over the upcoming draft
Perhaps the upcoming draft is not where the Raptors will find a potential star player that will rescue them from their predicament. Perhaps a solution to their problem is to trade Bosh for several NBA-proven athletic up-and-comers who will form the core of the future Raptor team. Perhaps raw rookies are not the answer …..
JENNINGS! JENNINGS! JENNINGS!
IS SHIT! IS SHIT! IS SHIT!
RUBIO! RUBIO! RUBIO!
are you kidding me? how is ronny turiaf more notable than Andrew Bynum.
wait.. how is Andrew Bynum not even notable?
At pick number 37, Ronny Turiaf was an awesome find. I only wish the Raptors had scouts that could draft like that. We are stuck with dudes who pick Rafel Arujos over Igudolas, Joey Grahams over Danny Grangers, and Bargnanis over Roys….oh what could have been.
I suppose he was a find, but so was Bynum at 10, no one had heard of this kid before but as his last 5 games before he got injured (again) this season will tell you, he was quite the find
Jan 30 @ MIN W 132-119
30:28 – 27 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. 10-15FGA 7-8FTA
Jan 27 CHA L 110-117
41:08 – 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 blocks. 10-14FGA 4-5FTA
Jan 25 SAS W 99-85
24:13 – 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks 4-10FGA 7-8FTA
Jan 22 WAS W 117-97
27:32 - 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 1 block 8-12FGA 7-8FTA
Jan 21 @ LAC W 108-97
36:23 – 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks 17-24FGA 8-11FTA
that’s an astounding 29.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per 36-Minutes.
Granted, his stats from the Jan 21st game inflate his per-36 quite a bit, but even if you take those out you still have a very impressive per-36 of
25.9 points (on 15 shots @62.7% shooting!), 15.7 rebounds and 3.2 blocks.
I know i’m just an annoying Lakers fan (who has a soft spot for the Raptors) but please tell me that’s less notable than Ronny Turiaf (career highs are 21 points and 12 boards)
I love Ronny to death, but there is no way he’s more notable than Bynum
I know Andrew Bynum is way better than Turiaf. All I was refering to was that at pick 37 Turiaf was a great find. However he is injury prone and his career stats are less than stellar….
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/stats?playerId=2748
I was refering to Bynum about being injury prone.
meh fair enough.
Raps can potentially pick as high as 1st but at this point look more likely to pick
5th to (at worst) 7th.
That leaves them in the range of players like Brandon Jennings, Gerald Henderson, Chase Budlinger and Demar DeRozan
another name that intrigues though is Al-Farouq Aminu
Ideally, the Raps are looking for a 2/3 right?
i’m sure it was just a mistake…arse knows how good bynum is.
Holy fuck people, it slipped my mind. Bynum >>> Turiaf for the record.
From DraftExpress, concerning Demar Derozan;
“Still a very limited ball-handler, DeRozan’s offensive limitations are pretty significant if trying to project him immediately to the NBA. He struggles to change directions with the ball and possesses very little explosion off his first step, making him almost completely unable to create his own shot. If forced to dribble the ball more than once or twice he is liable to get stripped or look out of control, although he’s doing a good job of not putting himself in situations where he is liable to turn the ball over. He is averaging twice as many turnovers as assists, which ranks him last amongst all top shooting guard prospects.”
The part about him not being able to create his own shot scares me VERY much, afterall the Raps need someone who can create their own shot. I am not too sure about this dude.
I would go with Gerald Henderson from Duke.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Gerald-Henderson-1042/
I like Gerald Henderson. You can’t have enough smart atletic player that play defense.
me too…but i wonder about his size & outside game for a 2. tremendous athlete, and i like kids from solid programmes, especially ones who stay for a couple years to learn from excellent coaching.
which may be why i like singler so much. probably a mid- to late first rounder, but he’s going to be a decent, all-around player in the L. won’t be a star, more of a ‘value’ guy.
i think a lot of the above info on derozan was gleaned from the earlier part of the year, in which he struggled, especially compared to expectations.
but, i just watched him outplay harden in the P10 chip, and while he is still raw, i saw enough potential there to think he could, with some seasoning (which, btw, pretty much everyone in this draft will require), be a legit starting swing. he’s got an nba body, excellent quickness, upper-tier athleticism, and a very nice looking shot. i also found that he played within himself, he doesn’t try to do too much, but maintained a level of intensity & aggression throughout. defensively, he’s pretty good – always hard to tell just how effective a wing is defensively in college because of the competition – a guy might be shut-down good in college, but just be average in the NBA.
I watched Derozan play against ASU in the PAC-10 finals and he can dribble just fine. He totally dominated a decent sundevil squad.
A good way to look at it is what percentage of guys chosen in those spots were quality players. I think the Raptors will end up pick between 8-10. So if you look at those three picks each year in those years then you see that there are eleven quality players: Augustin, Lopez, Gay, Bynum, AI, Ford, Wilcox, Stoudemire, Butler, Johnson, and Crawford, out of 27 players chosen in those spots. If you turn that into a percentage then you find that there is a 41% chance that we will draft a quality player based on the last nine years.
2001 Draft
Best Player: Tony Parker at #28
Notables: #3 Pau Gasol, #10 Joey Johnson, #13 Richard Jefferson, #31 Gilbert Arenas, #38 Mehmet Okur
Who the fuck is Joey Johnson? I hope we are not talking about that slick mofo from Hotlanta named Joe Johnson, ’cause even remotley associating him with good/bad Joey would be a faux pas. By the way can you pass me the grey poupon?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
POST. OF. THE. YEAR.
Hahaha…sorry man. You can tell I follow the Raptors a little too closely..
I never thought I would say this but…it may be time to trade Chris Bosh. He will demand too much money.
This trade works, and I am pretty confident that it woulde be a remarkable improvement next year. I don`t like C.Maggette`s contract though, but if GS threw in a first and second round pick I would be inclined to pull the ichy trigger finger. (knowwhatimsayin!)
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=cuq769
Draft Gerld Henderson….
New lineup:
Starters:
Biedrins
Bargnani
Maggette
Graham
Calderon
Bench:
Belinelli
Mensah-Bonsu
AzubuikeUkic
Jawaii
Humphries
Banks
O`Bryant (waive his ass and sign Rasho Nesterovic)
Henderson
I really think this team would be better than our current squad. I am not saying we are winning the Championship or anything, but I do believe that we could build off of it.
haha…maggette.
Never going to happen man. Especially with Monta’s past season, they’re not giving up Beidrins and Belinelli. It’s a nice dream and I would welcome that trade with open arms, but not a realistic option.
i love this trade but! GS is giving up a lot to rent CB4 for 1 year. Unless CB can gurantee he will sign with GS then it could work. He is friends with Baron Davis.
Except that, you know, Baron Davis plays for the Clippers. Minor details.. I know. : )
LMAO oh yeah…
It starts at the top folks. The Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC will not win anything else Peddie and teachers are history.
MLSE
Poor ownership – check
Poor Chairman/CEO – check
Poor GM/President – check
Poor VP – Check
Poor scouting – Check
Poor tv production – Check
Poor Medical staff – check
Poor announcers – Check
Poor coaching – Check
Poor talent – Check
Poor Ticket prices – check
Toronto fans cant view a quarter of the games, what does our President and Board of Directors do? Nothing
Who hired Babcock and Ferguson to run both teams? Arguably the worst of the worst in there field. That’s right MLSE
To think now that 2009/10 will be any different your delusional.
Yesbut Moronto fans are quite accepting of sports losers(Leavs) and political losers(Liberals) … and stick with their teams and politicians no matter what. Moronto is not Canada..!!!
i agree with you about how badly the leafs suck, and the poor job that the raptors management has done in the past, but there is no way that you can group Toronto FC in that category. their management team of Mo Johnston and head coach John Carver have done an outstanding job this offseason. the raptors should pay some attention and perhaps follow their lead. they have built the BEST offensive unit in the MLS, while at the same time trading for the BEST canadian player in the league (dwayne deRosario). get your facts straight!!
Let’s rob Oklahoma. bosh for durant and westbrook. they must lose their innocence…
that’s a joke, right?
no. It’s a pathetic joke.
anyway Oklahoma has a good pool of young talent and picks. maybe the lure of a real superstar (the new bill russeellll) can work some magic with them…
Can we trade Colangelo for Presti?
I’d trade the whole team for Durrant. No way OKC will trade that guy for anyone not named LeBron.
I think this shows that historically, big men taken in the lottery are much more likely to be busts than guards and forwards.
And the same people killing Colangelo forget that he drafted Amare and Marion, signed Nash to what has turned out to be a great deal, and traded for guys like Johnson and Diaw. Sadly, none of that has been with the Raps but there’s simply not going to be a regime change anytime soon so we might as well quit whining and focus on potential blueprints.
but he had his father (Jerry) guide him through each decsion like Sam Presti when he was with the spurs. The difference between the two is that when takes everything he learned from his last job and applies it (Presti) while the other wasn’t ready for and just uses his current team for a way to boost his legacy of bring euros to the nba.
Great stuff Arsenalist — It’s very interesting to see all of those picks alongside one another.
So we have, what nine drafts and five players per draft = 45 picks. With those 45 picks, how many of the following do we have here?
(1) Star players — MVP, All-NBA, All-Star, almost All-Star worthy
(2) Quality starters
(3) Rotation players — regular rotation member, bench player or low level starter
(4) Busts
So what do folks think? Based on the last nine drafts, how likely are the Raptors to get a star player?
I count
(1) Star players — seven players — Roy, Bynum, Deng, Iggy, Joe, Caron and Amare.
(2) Quality starters — eight players — Lopez, Kaman, Hinrich, TJ, Battier, Nene, Gay, Przybilla.
(3) Rotation worthy players — 16 players — Gordon, Augustin, Brewer, Hawes, Noah, Foye, Webster, Villanueva, Frye, Childress, Wilcox, Griffin, Diop, Crawford, Mihm, Dooling.
(4) Busts — 10 players — O’Bryant, Sene, Diogu, Araujo, Jackson, Sweetney, Hayes, Wagner, White, Johnson.
** I left four players unaccounted for, off the 2007+2008 drafts, because I think it’s too early to group them in one of the above options. In other words, I didn’t know where to put ‘em.
………………..
Okay so that would give us — 41 players accounted for — rough odds based on the last 9 years:
(1) 7 out of 41 are established stars — 17%
(2) 8 out 41 have shown themselves to be high quality starters — 19.5%
(3) 16 out of 41 have been good rotation players — 39%
(4) 10 out of 41 players have been busts — 24.5$
……………….
That’s my stab at the situation.
Anyone else want to take a swing based on how they would rank the players?
deng is ass
in general, it’s a little early to definitively determine what anyone in the ‘07 & ‘08 drafts will be long term (i.e. sam bowie avg’d 10 & 9 his rookie year, and wasn’t considered a ‘bust’ until injuries led to the end of his career). as such, while it looks as though some players in the two most recent drafts selected in those 5 spots may turn out to be gold (gordon, lopez, augustin), and others who could be headed to bust-ville (brewer, hawes, alexander), it’s likely too early to tell. removing those two drafts, we’re down to 35 players selected 6-10 from ‘00-’06.
1) 5/35 (14%)
2) 12/35 (34%)
3) 8/35 (23%)
4) 10/35 (29%)
this, of course, is just my subjective take.
is the question, ‘how likely are the RAPTORS to get a ’star’ player?’ or is it, ‘how likely is it that a ’star’ player will be available in the spot the raps are selecting?’
if it’s the first: not likely.
if it’s the second: not probable, but possible.
Haha … definitely the second question.
I think you have the right idea in removing the two previous drafts completely. It’s too early.
I don’t like Gerald Henderson as an NBA player. While he’s athletic in college, he’s a mediocre athlete in the NBA, playing undersized at the wing. He doesn’t have the burst or strength to make up for his lack of height. I just don’t see him doing anything in the NBA.
If you trade Bosh I think Aminu is the pick at the 5-7 spot (assuming he declares). I have seen a bit of him and he’s raw but he has upside and in this draft I think you have to take upside. He also strikes me as an uptempo, Colangelo type of player. Henderson is worth considering. The relative lack of buzz for him might mean he’s a poor man’s Brandon Roy for this year’s draft.
How does Jim Kelly still have a job? He’s been the chief scout for most of the abysmal years drafting right?
If the Raps luck out like the Bulls did last year and get into the top 3 who should they take? I vote for Rubio. He’s high risk but I think he ends up being the best player from this year’s draft. He’s already played well in what amounts to an all-star game, except that everyone in that game was trying. It’s one game but a 17-year old who can hang with Lebron, Kobe and co. gets my vote.
depends on who’s there, no? griffin is going no. 1, that’s pretty much a lock.
rubio hasn’t declared, and likely won’t until he’s assured of being a top-3 pick. if he does declare, it means he’s either going 2 or 3, and it’d depend on who’s picking 2. harden will likely go 2 or 3, but his stock could fall (albeit slightly) with a poor showing in the tourney.
if the raps are going #3, it seems likely they’d go with one of those two. personally, i think harden fills a bigger need, and i’m not convinced that he isn’t also the best available after griffin (though, to be honest, i was somewhat disappointed with his play v. USC – he deferred far too much, which is admirable to a degree, but if you’re ‘the guy,’ then there comes a time when you have to put your team on your back & do the carrying – like turner did for O. state). i’m not enamoured with him, but he has a brandon roy-esque fluidity about him, i like how he uses change of pace; i don’t like his outside game, i don’t think he’ll be able to get the same shots off in the NBA as he does in college. his big plusses are bball IQ, court awareness & unselfishness. probably not more than an average defender in the NBA.
OK I have not seen one minute of Harden but his write-ups say “potential bust” to me. He’s not athletic but he’s basketball-wise – just what the Raptors need! Both he and Griffin strike me as guys with high floors and low ceilings. Both will likely be solid NBA players but neither will raise the game of their teammates. That’s why Rubio’s upside strikes me as the best bet in a weak draft. He’s an hombre to borrow from Bill Simmons. The Raptors don’t need more nice guys, they need some hombres.
I’m intrigued by Turner at OSU too. Hope they last long enough in the tourney to get a few looks at him.
harden’s legit…may not be a star, but he’ll be solid. he knows how to play, & if there’s one thing he does that’s gone under the radar, it’s make his teammates better.
gotta disagree w/ respect to griffin – i’ve seen him a few times, and even in his ‘bad’ games, he’s been dominant in one respect or another. his got a killer motor, great intensity, and excellent athleticism, both from a strength & quickness perspective. unfortunately, he’s not really 6′10″ (seems more like 6′8″-ish); he’s gotta improve on his FT #s (esp. since he gets to the line so much), and cut down on TO’s – basically, all the same things that pretty much every big coming out of school needs to do.
i like rubio too, but i’m not sold on him; he still has a lot of growing to do, and it’d likely be a few years before he was a consistent contributor. if he declares & makes an impact in the L at 18, i’ll eat my words. but i’m willing to bet that even if he’s available when the raps pick, they’d pass on him.
as i mentioned earlier, i like singler as a dark-horse…he seems to have a well-rounded game, makes up for his avg. athleticism by playing smart, has a good motor. he’s an excellent offensive rebounder to boot. if the raps make a move to acquire another late 1st rd pick (or early 2nd), or out-right buy one with that $3M, i wouldn’t be disappointed if they went in that direction.
I’ll be disappointed if the Raptors don’t figure a way to get (buy) into the latter half of the draft/early second round. Of course they still have to pick the right players and while I’ll hold off for now, Kelly’s track record makes me pretty nervous.
Sorry to post in this forum… but I’m kinda desperate! I have an extra ticket for tonight’s Raptors Red Party. I’m willing to take any offer at this point so if you need a ticket let me know! Face value = $250 (open bar, all-inclusive food, silent auction, mingle with Pops)!
Let me know!
Out of the 56 players drafted 6-10 since 2000, only 7 aren’t still playing in the league.
—————————————
i like rubio too, but i’m not sold on him; he still has a lot of growing to do, and it’d likely be a few years before he was a consistent contributor. if he declares & makes an impact in the L at 18, i’ll eat my words. – by yertu
—————————————
The type of statement which will be book-marked by Flux, and saved for a rainy day! : )
no problem…just have to define ‘impact.’
Khandor,
LOL…; )
I also assume, by impact, yertu means average 32p 16a & 12r, otherwise he’s a scrub/bust. j/k yertu.
absolutely…anything less, and i’ll be disappointed…wouldn’t you?
seriously, i do think he’s got a shot at being legit starting PG, perhaps even all-star calibre…but i’d be surprised if that happened next year. that’s if he even declares.
Why is Rafeal Arujo on the 2004 List of notables when Josh Smith isnt even mentioned
This may be a stupid question, but is the following scenrio possible:
Sign Bosh to a max money and length contract this Summer. Then trade him this summer to a team that can send back some picks, a vet, a prospect or two, and maybe some expiring contracts? That way Bosh gets his money and the Raps don’t lose him for nothing.
its possible, but its probably one of the worst things we can do.
That wouldn’t work because bosh becomes to expensive to trade. He would be a BYC player, meaning that his average salary would be what the raps have to take back. ouch.
R.I.P. Eddie Griffin
yertu,
re: your impressions of Rubio
Perhaps what you should have said instead was something like this:
“If Rubio declares this year, it would not surprise me in the least if he has a significant impact in his first season in the NBA, as he has the look of a special player, at the PG position.”
If you’d have written THAT … then, I might be nodding my head affirmatively. : )
as you’ve stated many times before, whether you agree with what i happen to think doesn’t matter much to me. if i’m wrong about him, then fine, i’m wrong. we’ll just have to wait and see. in no way am i suggesting that he won’t be a special player, i’m simply wondering if he’ll get to ‘impactful’ level at 18, in his first year, on a shitty team, on a new continent, playing a different style of ball. by 20, when he’s adapted to a new lifestyle, style of play & his body has developed, more than likely. i could easily see him being one of the top points in the L…just not NEXT year.
In my book … if a player is good enough to be a Starter in the NBA … “impact” at the PG position is measured best with his team’s Wins & Losses totals.
Point Guard is the one position in basketball where all other statistics are rendered virtually meaningless.
well, chances are he’ll be picked by the clips, wiz, grizz or kings. if impact is, indeed, measured by wins/losses, then he’s got a steep road ahead…
I couldn’t agree more… but I don’t understand why I get laughed at when I argue that Ron Harper is the best PG in history…. Or when I explan that Mo Williams was a terrible point guard last year but now he and Derek Fisher are the best…….
“In my book”, there is no possible way you can make a believable argument that this is the best way to evaluate point guards…. Why is it true for PGs and not other positions? Doesn’t the rest of the roster have an impact on team record?
I cant imagine that you actually believe this, so why would you post it?
do you guys have an archive of all the “raps of the days”?
Yeah, we started keeping archives starting in February. We’ll post them at the end of the season or something.
Picking up on some of the Rubio comments above, he’s the guy with the best chance of being a star from this year’s draft. Given his youth and the position he plays, he probably won’t do much in his rookie year. Who besides Magic and the Big O have been star PG’s from year 1. Chris Paul looked good in year 1 but didn’t explode until later, no?
But if the Raptors are looking for an impact rookie in the draft, I think they are making a big mistake. This coming off-season is a rebuilding one, no matter how you cut it. The team has to make good long-term choices.
If we get between 5th-10th pick. The guy we pick is Earl Clark 6′9 230lbs! He has all round game and great vision. His game like Boris Diaw/Danny Granger. That’s we can use relationship BC and Marion for sign and trade. List of top four guys that can help Raptors right now: 1) Earl Clark SF/PF
2) Stephen Curry PG/SG (6′3 think sixth man)
3) Terrence Williams SG (6′6 and plays D)
4) Tyler Smith SF/SG (6′7 all round game)
Just to add to the dicussion, I suppose… why are we limiting the potential players to American ones. With the exception of Pistol Pete Rubio (take that yertu! :P lol), aren’t there any foreign dudes we should consider, knowing BC’s history and style? Isn’t there a Gianfranco Alotashootzki out there? or a Luigi DiNoreboundnani? Those for sure have to be on top of his draft board!
Especially in, what people are calling, a weak draft, isn’t there even a bigger chance he reaches in the international pool of choices?
Alotashootzki
DiNoreboundnani
I see what you did there lol
I don’t know why so many people love Rubio so much. He still hasn’t proved himself against any kind of talent level — not even Division I NCAA — and we already have a similar player in Calderon. I’d rather see the Raptors take Aminu. I like his game and think it translates best to what the Raptors need at this point: somebody big that can come off the bench (for now) and take Bosh’s place when he leaves in a couple seasons.
Um that American Olympic team had a few Division 1 NCAA-level players on it no? Maybe I’m thinking of another team.
I wasn’t talking about a couple of games in the summer, I meant a whole season.
I think you are mistaken if you consider the Euroleague to be inferior to NCAA division 1. This dude is playing with fully developed men.
If an 18 year old had started for Team USA and played an integral role en route to winning an Olympic Silver, I’m guessing even playing just those “couple games in the summer” would make him the most hyped basketball player on planet Earth.
17 yo btw
make no mistake. rubio is really good. remind me of drazen petrovic (you may google him). sure his durability must be tested, and may not be a good difender 1o1. but the boy can play, and would be a good solid pick.
FLUX! lol
clark, derozan, harden, henderson, anyone of those is fine. considering what we have right now.
but please oh dear god, please do not draft budinger. i know he’s a great volleyball player but fuck.
i’m getting excited for june!
we still have money for delfino and we got a mid level left, which now can get a player due to hard economic times. lets blow it on matt carrol…………….oh gawd
this is assuming that they do get a top 10 pick. I have a shot list of players for colangelo.
-Stephen Curry
-Greg Monroe
-Brandon Hill
What if Golden State offer this trade…
Bosh and Marion for
Maggette, Crawford, Brandon Wright and their Pick (top 3 protected)
Starters:
Calderon
Crawford
Maggette
Wright
Bargnani
Bench:
Graham
Mensah-Bonsu
Ukic
Jawaii
Humphries
Banks
2 Top 10 picks (Monroe and Jennings)
Possible Mid-Level signing, should be some bargain buys this off-season
This way you get some more youth but also quality vets who can provide scoring NOW. No defence but good scoring!!! ;)
If they could trade Jose + filler for Nash then they could go Run and Gun crazy, Wright and Bargs would excel in a uptempo offense.
Triano’s canadan rite. can sum1 tell me why did he worked for the redeem team this past summer?
LETS PICK SOMEONE WHO IS WORSE THAN RAFAEL ARAUJO!!! IGGY SHOULD HAVE BEEN A F******* RAPTOR!!!
It is disappointing to read the different articles being published yesterday and today with the following sentiment as the main theme,
“This ___________ is the swing man the Raptors should be looking to draft this off season.”
… when THE WAY the Raptors should be thinking doesn’t involve that type of thought process at all.
Instead of making their selection in the 2009 NBA Lottery based on which “swing man” they need to add to their present team, the Raptors NEED to start thinking of drafting the BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER on the board, period and exclamation mark.
If this organization would simply have done that going to back to the year after Wince Carter’s draft year … the entire history of the team would be different today.