The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[Shantz]

@WojYahooNBA: As further proof of how far Shabazz Napier's stock has risen: He's accepted an invite to green room for NBA Draft, source tells Yahoo.


Did Ennis get invited as well?


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Sounds like the Green Room is going to be huge this year. Can't find anyone in our Top-20 (besides Embiid) who wasn't invited. Still digging

— Jonathan Givony(@DraftExpress) June 20, 2014

If that's the case, then Ennis has been invited to the Green Room. He currently sits at 19 on DraftExpress

[Kuh]

OK, my big board

59: Sim Buhllar, Daniel Miller

Sim by the numbers: 7' 5"/ 13.2 WS (!!)/ 21 years old. And also, he's from Toronto, and we have McKechnie to get him in shape. It's the more or less worthless 59th pick, so just do it! First NBA player of Indian descent, it's a great story regardless of outcome. If by some fluke Sim is off the board, grab Daniel Miller out of Georgia Tech.

The www.boxscoregeeks.com draft ranking is now out. I'm sure it will be massively controversial, because it totally bucks conventional wisdom in a whole bunch of ways. The include a bunch of unranked seniors in their top picks ... presumably because those seniors have good college-level stats, and they maybe don't correct for age/college experience/strength of schedule.

Highlights that people may like, though:
- they rank Sim Bhullar as #23 in the draft
- they rank Jarnell Stokes - who I know a lot of people love - at #9
- Shabazz Napier is just behind him at #10
- they don't like Tyler Ennis (or Wiggins) so much
- they really (like stupid really) love TJ Bray and Khem Birch, both of whom the Raps have brought in

They haven't ranked international players yet, so no comment on Capela.

[Chr1s1anL]

Top skills in 2014 draft class

Jay Bilas and Chad Ford debate best shooter, rebounder, passer and defender in the draft
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...ter_Bilas_Ford

1. Who is the best shooter in the draft?



Jay Bilas: I would tab Nik Stauskas of Michigan as the best overall shooter in the NBA draft. Stauskas has deep range, a quick and high release and the ability to get a shot off under duress. He moves without the ball, can rise up off the run, can catch and shoot and has the ability to pull up and hit with consistency. In a game of H-O-R-S-E, I would go with Oakland's Travis Bader. He may not get drafted, but Bader can stick in the NBA because of his ability to shoot the ball.


Chad Ford: I'm tempted to agree with Jay on Stauskas, just because he can get his shot off against anyone. But if you're going with the best pure shooter, I think it's Creighton's Doug McDermott. When he gets his feet set, he's the most lethal shooter we've seen in a long time. A 3-pointer in the corner for him is like a layup. So while McDermott doesn't have the versatility of a Stauskas, he's my guy when it comes to pure shooting -- and why I think McDermott will be the first of the "shooters" off the board on draft night.

2. Who is the best rebounder in the draft?



Ford: At the top of the draft both Kentucky's Julius Randle and Indiana's Noah Vonleh are elite rebounders, averaging 13.6 boards per 40 minutes. But I'm inclined to go with Tennessee's Jarnell Stokes here. Not only were his rebounds-per-40-minutes numbers similar (13.5), but Stokes averaged 4.2 offensive rebounds per game to Randle's 3.5 and Vonleh's 2.4. Stokes' ability to crash the boards at both ends makes him especially appealing and why I think he's going to go higher than people expect on draft night. He's essentially the same size, same age and put up similar numbers to Randle.

Bilas: Today, the best rebounder is Kentucky's Randle. Long term -- which could mean in a year or two -- will be Indiana's Vonleh. Randle is the most physically dominant player on the glass and is an outstanding offensive rebounder. Vonleh is taller, longer and has bigger hands. As he matures, he will get better and better. Another terrific rebounder is South Alabama's Augustine Rubit, who is a raw, 6-foot-7 rebounding machine.

3. Who is the best passer in the draft?


Bilas: This is not an NBA draft full of great passers, but I like UCLA's Kyle Anderson as the best. Anderson played a point forward for Steve Alford in Westwood, and he delivered the ball to scorers while still looking to score. Anderson can see over defenders at 6-9, and he has a great feel for the game. His main competition is Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis. Ennis and Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart are the best point guard prospects, although UCLA's Zach LaVine may wind up being the best point guard in a few years.

Ford: Jay's right. There aren't a lot of great passers in this draft -- especially at the point guard position. Ennis has terrific numbers on his assist-to-turnover ratio, which makes him a tempting choice. He doesn't make the spectacular pass, but he rarely makes a bad one. Louisiana Lafayette's Elfrid Payton is also an underrated passer. But I'm inclined to agree with Jay on Anderson. He has a spectacular feel for the game and sees the floor as well as anyone in the draft. Two international players -- Croatia's Dario Saric and Serbia's Vasilije Micic -- would also make my short list. Saric's game is a lot like Anderson's. He's a big (6-10) power forward who plays like a point guard. And as far as point guards go, no one in this draft sees the floor better than Micic.

4. Who is the best defender in the draft?


Andrew Wiggins' length and athleticism could make him an elite defender.
Ford: Kyle Anderson? I kid, I kid. I think it's going to be Andrew Wiggins. He has elite physical and athletic tools and already tries hard on the defensive end. He's eventually going to be able to guard three positions on the floor and could be a disruptor at his position the same way Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are. Joel Embiid, Smart, Aaron Gordon and Payton also have great potential as elite defenders at the next level.

Bilas: Great question, and one that I would answer a little bit differently this year. Right now, Smart is the best perimeter defender, especially off the ball. He's strong, gets steals and has a great awareness and understanding of help defense. Kansas big man Embiid is the best rim protector in this draft, and he will continue to get better. Long term, Wiggins has the athletic tools to be the best overall defender, and should be.

[magoon]

The Knicks are supposedly just trying to straight-up buy a first-round pick from OKC (#21) or Phoenix (#27) for three million bucks.

Surely, if we want another first-round pick, we can try to do that as well?

[Chr1s1anL]

This from over a month ago. Just thought there were some interesting notes that related to the draft.

The Toronto Raptors might have been the second biggest surprise this season behind the Phoenix Suns and moving forward a few tweaks could make them Eastern Conference contenders over the next few years. Toronto's general manager Masai Ujiri needs to be wise how he assembles the roster via the draft, free agency and trades. Speaking of trades, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun wonders if Ujiri should consider putting one of his starters on the trade block.

Wolstat writes: "Amir Johnson has a year left on his contract and has been breaking down. As integral as he has been, now is the time to at least see what his value is."

Johnson is on the books for $7 million next season, although his salary is protected for only $5 million. Johnson has stated his love for the team and the city on a few occasions and he likely wants to retire as a Raptor. With that said, Wolstat is right that Johnson is the one starter Ujiri might consider shopping around the league. A bigger and tougher power forward would be a big help for Jonas Valanciunas.

As far as the current needs during the 2014 offseason, Ujiri will try to re-sign Kyle Lowry and then land a shotblocker and rebounder via the draft or free agency. Ujiri also wants to add some height to the shooting guard and small forward positions.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/...espnapi_public

[Chr1s1anL]

The Knicks are supposedly just trying to straight-up buy a first-round pick from OKC (#21) or Phoenix (#27) for three million bucks.

Surely, if we want another first-round pick, we can try to do that as well?

Exactly "if". Making a quarter of our roster rookies doesn't sound like a good idea to me. You don't win with inexperience in this league. Our Playoffs run was a good example of that.

[MACK11]

Latest DX mock has is taking CAPELA and Ennis going 19 to Chicago

[magoon]

Exactly "if". Making a quarter of our roster rookies doesn't sound like a good idea to me. You don't win with inexperience in this league. Our Playoffs run was a good example of that.

But that is exactly the point. We're still in a rebuilding phase; we have no star player (Lowry is the closest we have and he's not at the level of a true star) and we need to accumulate assets in order to get our rebuild to the point where we can attract one, either via Spurs-style depth or trading young assets for a megastar when one becomes available.

Just because we made playoffs in a historically weak year doesn't mean it's time to go into win-now mode. We should continue to develop our kids, and if you give Casey vets he's going to play the vets more likely than not. Give him lots of kids instead.

[magoon]

Latest DX mock has is taking CAPELA and Ennis going 19 to Chicago

Chad Ford's newest mock has us taking Ennis, with Capela going 27th.

[Primer]

But that is exactly the point. We're still in a rebuilding phase; we have no star player (Lowry is the closest we have and he's not at the level of a true star) and we need to accumulate assets in order to get our rebuild to the point where we can attract one, either via Spurs-style depth or trading young assets for a megastar when one becomes available.

Just because we made playoffs in a historically weak year doesn't mean it's time to go into win-now mode. We should continue to develop our kids, and if you give Casey vets he's going to play the vets more likely than not. Give him lots of kids instead.

If 1st round picks are available for just cash we should buy all of them. I don't expect any to be available, and assume this is just NY journalists grasping at straws to give their fans something to read. Even if the guys we drafted were slotted in as 3rd options they'd still be extremely valuable assets, as all players on rookie contracts are.

[Chr1s1anL]

But that is exactly the point. We're still in a rebuilding phase; we have no star player (Lowry is the closest we have and he's not at the level of a true star) and we need to accumulate assets in order to get our rebuild to the point where we can attract one, either via Spurs-style depth or trading young assets for a megastar when one becomes available.

Just because we made playoffs in a historically weak year doesn't mean it's time to go into win-now mode. We should continue to develop our kids, and if you give Casey vets he's going to play the vets more likely than not. Give him lots of kids instead.

Obviously Casey and Masai are on the same page or he wouldn't of resigned him. If thats the case im sure Masai is in agreement of how he use the young players. Remember also were the only team in the playoffs that started two sophomore players.

[The Great One]

So is Napier now the #4 PG in this draft??!

Crazy to think that Ennis might actually still be on the board at 20!

[magoon]

So is Napier now the #4 PG in this draft??!

Crazy to think that Ennis might actually still be on the board at 20!

Well, that's how NBA minds work. Exum and Smart are the future stars, Napier is the one who can be at least a high-quality backup right away, and Payton is the one with the most upside. So Ennis, who's just the one who does everything well, falls after Napier and Payton, because he doesn't have quite as much raw potential as Payton does and he's not quite as polished as Napier, and GMs drafting point guards are looking for one or the other.

[planetmars]

If 1st round picks are available for just cash we should buy all of them. I don't expect any to be available, and assume this is just NY journalists grasping at straws to give their fans something to read. Even if the guys we drafted were slotted in as 3rd options they'd still be extremely valuable assets, as all players on rookie contracts are.

I think you can only use $3M in one transaction all year. So you can't buy multiple picks anymore. I think in previous CBA's you could use that $3M as many times as you wanted so you could buy multiple picks.

[magoon]

I think you can only use $3M in one transaction all year. So you can't buy multiple picks anymore. I think in previous CBA's you could use that $3M as many times as you wanted so you could buy multiple picks.

It's actually $5m, and you can divide the $5m over multiple trades. But yeah, it's not enough to go buy multiple picks, most likely.