The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[mcHAPPY]

Quick search for a thread found nothing dedicated specifically to Raptors and 2014 Draft. Feel free to post prospect information, etc.


A friendly request - there are a few threads on tanking already such as.....

Here - Signs of Tanking

Here - Best Case Scenario Timeline Tanking vs Not Tanking

Here - Rebuild or ReTool?

Here - Time Leiweke: We May Ultimately Have to Excuse My English Suck To Be Good

Here - Changing Circumstances: A Tanking Argument

..... so if you feel the need to discuss the merits of tanking versus building, go look at one of the above threads.


If you want to be a bummer and point out a lot of the prospects are likely to be top 3 and the odds of drafting there are extremely slim, remember that Harrison Barnes was once considered to be a #1 pick in his senior year of high school as was Andre Drummond. Things can, and will, change.


Think of the thread as a public service announcement to educate us all on the 2014 draft!

[mcHAPPY]

DraftExpress.com pre-season scouting video on Marcus Smart:

[mcHAPPY]

Dante Exum:

[mcHAPPY]

I'm a fan of this draft class' point guards. All are tall guys. Micic is one of them as well and likely to be a mid to late round pick assuming he doesn't stink it up this year:

[akashsingh]

I want that wiggins kid though, he seems pretty good.

[mcHAPPY]

I want that wiggins kid though, he seems pretty good.

lol

I lost the over/under on this one.


I'd be ecstatic for Wiggins too. But there are a lot of good players, in my opinion. We'll see how it all plays out. Guys don't always live up to hype, guys come from nowhere, guys totally flop. Upcoming freshmen who are hyped eventually become 2nd round picks (Quincy Miller), undrafted (C.J. Leslie), or 3 years later former lottery pick prospects are in the 2nd round of mock drafts (LeBryan Nash)..... all those guys were talked about as 2012 lottery picks at the start of 2011-12 season by the way.


Guys I'll be watching this year:

PG:
Smart (OKC)
Exum (Intl)
Harrison (Kentucky)
Micic (Intl)

SG:
Seldon (Kansas)
PJ Hairston (UNC)

SF:
Wiggins (CANADA!!!!!)
Parker (Duke)
Saric (Intl)
TJ Warren (UNC)

PF:
Gordon (Arizona)
Randle (Kentucky)
McDermott (Creigton)

And while the Raps don't need a C, I'm really intrigued by Joel Embiid at Kansas.



I'm sure more names will emerge as season progresses.... and some of the above might fall off the radar too. Without a doubt most under radar right now, in my opinion, is Wayne Seldon due to all the Wiggins hype above and below the 49th parallel.

[mcHAPPY]

"He’s got the best feet,” Self answered without hesitation. “When you guys watch Joel play, you’ll say he’s got unbelievable feet. He’s like a 6-footer, the things he can do with his feet.”

Then Self dropped a name that made everyone in the room sit up and lean forward.

“He kind of reminds me a little bit of (Hakeem) Olajuwon early in his career,” Self said. “I’m not saying he’s Olajuwon. I’m not saying that at all. But you know, some similarities when he was real raw when he was young, but always had great feet, light on his feet. I think Joel’s the same way.”

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2013/s...mong-kansas-b/

Lots of intriguing prospects this year.

Embiid also has 7'5" wingspan

[octothorp]

All I know is, Patric "I know for a fact Valanciunas is not a lottery player" Young is a senior this year. Draftexpress has him 34th, nbadraft has him 52nd. I'm rooting for him to go undrafted.

[mcHAPPY]

All I know is, Patric "I know for a fact Valanciunas is not a lottery player" Young is a senior this year. Draftexpress has him 34th, nbadraft has him 52nd. I'm rooting for him to go undrafted.

Who says Raptor fans hold a grudge?!?!?! lol

You're right though.

He is another example of a guy who was projected as a lottery pick in his freshman year by mock drafts who now in his senior year is as you said.

[Axel]

One guy I'm watching (and rooting for) this year is Adreian Payne at Michigan State. Draft Express has him going 26th. Watching the dude the last couple of years, you can see his growth as a player. His game reminds me of Keon Clark (hopefully without the booze). 6'9" with a 7'0 wingspan.

[ebrian]

Patric was the guy I argued for days with about with Tim W in regards to JV's dominance. I believe it was the U19 tourney in which JV completely destroyed Patric, and Tim's argument was that he was a projected future lottery pick and therefore JV will be awesome. The lesson wasn't about whether or not JV will be great, but rather that sizing up guys who haven't played yet can often end up being a futile comparison.

All this draft stuff is great, but barring
1) An extremely lucky lottery ball bounce, or
2) A very bad start to the season and the unloading of overrated talent for draft picks

.. I think we'll end up somewhere in the 15-17th range of the NBA. Matt52 has only listed 13-14 guys. We need more.

[mcHAPPY]

One guy I'm watching (and rooting for) this year is Adreian Payne at Michigan State. Draft Express has him going 26th. Watching the dude the last couple of years, you can see his growth as a player. His game reminds me of Keon Clark (hopefully without the booze). 6'9" with a 7'0 wingspan.

This was point of thread. I had not done much reading on him before but Axel peaked my curiosity.

Great shooting percentages across the board!

His weaknesses nails it:

Is his shooting for real?
Can he extend 3pt shot to NBA range?
Much less intriguing without reliable jump shot.

[Axel]

This was point of thread. I had not done much reading on him before but Axel peaked my curiosity.

Great shooting percentages across the board!

His weaknesses nails it:

I can't post the video (at work) but youtube him blocks DJ Stephens dunk. It's from last year tourney vs Memphis. Blocks the baseline dunk from a help position then drills the 18 footer at the other end.

The weaknesses you list above are dead on, which is why he reminds me of Keon Clark at this stage.

[Xixak]

Not sure how I feel about Exum. Looks awesome on paper, but the fact we've never seen him really play in the US makes it harder to see how good he actually is. That's why he's going to avoid the NCAA I think, because all he can do by playing Div 1 is lower his stock.

[mcHAPPY]

Not sure how I feel about Exum. Looks awesome on paper, but the fact we've never seen him really play in the US makes it harder to see how good he actually is. That's why he's going to avoid the NCAA I think, because all he can do by playing Div 1 is lower his stock.

I agree however those were same concerns with Kanter and JV in 2011... and really any young foreign prospect.

I read that he is likely not to go to NCAA. The reason given was he went on recruiting trips and was turned off by process. He is definitely a guy who, at this point in time, really has nowhere to go but down.