Raps' Free Agent Mini-camp

[WJF]

Phil Scrubb will 100% play on an NBA roster at some point. Very versatile player, albeit undersized. Thomas just doesn't possess the skill set for the NBA game, but will definitely play professionally somewhere. It's crazy that your university team can be an absolute dynasty and you're still underrated against guys who played NCAA.

I think Phil is a PG, combo guard at the minimum, he is 6'3" - 6'4", how he is undersized? He is a very good shooter and has a fantastic basketball IQ.

[RandomGuy]

Not sure how d league has higher level of competition than Euroleague for OP. Good thread despite that

[KeonClark]

I chuckle that their names are "Scrubb" and everybody wants to sign them to the D League.

[The Great One]

http://www.nba.com/raptors/press-releases/freeagentcamp-061015]Details here.

A few notes:

Olu Ashalou wasn't anything special in college ball. He played well in the Japanese league, but it's the Japanese league. Courtesy invite.

Jordan Bachynski played respectably in the D-League but not super-amazingly (averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 blocks and 5.9 rebounds in 19 minutes per game over 18 games). He might be worth looking at as a backup rim protector/shot blocker but he probably tops out as a second coming of Aaron Gray and might not even be that. He'll likely have a long and good career playing international basketball, but his NBA opportunities are borderline.

Khem Birch missed averaging a double-double over 49 games in the D-League by .4 rebounds while only playing 26 minutes per game. Of the three Canadians the Raps are inviting with college ball experience he's easily the best and he could definitely become a solid rotation player.

Ryan Broekheff was a sort of playmaking wing in the Turkish league but nothing special. Fill-out-the-camp invite.

Aaron Craft is an athletic, pass-first PG who desperately needs to find a jumper to make the NBA. He doesn't have one.

Drew Crawford is a respectable shooting wing and a decent rebounder given his size. Certainly could fill out the end of an NBA bench, if nothing else.

DeAndre Daniels is basically Drew Crawford except better and with longer wingspan.

Michael Eric played in the Greek and Italian leagues and I'm not sure why he was even brought out to this camp, looking at his stats.

Joe Jackson, "the other Joe Jackson," showed himself to be a capable scorer in the D-League and has a respectable shooting stroke. Potential third point guard.

Mike James, "the third or fourth Mike James," played in Euroleague and was a decent scorer there. Lesser version of other Joe Jackson since he achieved basically the same level of play against slightly weaker competition.

Tony Mitchell is an inefficient chucking guard who doesn't do much else except score a lot.

Toure' Murray is on his way out of the NBA and this is basically his last stop.

Ronald Roberts is an in-the-paint power forward. No perimeter game worth mentioning, but efficient in the paint and an extremely strong rebounder. Played very well in the D-League; strong potential to become a rotation guy in the NBA.

LaQuinton Ross: okay scoring wing. Not a lot of floor sense. Probably not good enough as a scorer to justify a bench spot on an NBA team in the long term. He's the sort of guy who gets a 10-day to prove himself and maybe makes the jump but not likely.

The Scrubb brothers: Basically this is their chance to show off if they can hang with, at minimum, borderline NBA prospects. They get a lot of hype because they've utterly dominated with the Carleton Ravens, but nobody really knows how that compares to true NBA-level competition or even D-League competition. So this is their shot. My guess is that Phil's game will translate better than Thomas'.

Roscoe Smith: Good rebounder and can score, but doesn't have the efficiency you want in a power forward - he's trying to become a stretch four in the D-League and it hasn't clicked for him yet. But he's smart enough to know what he needs to become.

Gary Talton: See Other Joe Jackson.

Tyrus Thomas: Yes, it's THAT Tyrus Thomas. Played poorly in the D-League last year. Potential resurrection longshot project, I guess, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Jeremy Tyler: I have no idea.

Mitchell Watt: Khem Birch, but not as good.

Basically, the ones to keep an eye on here are the Scrubbs, Birch, Roberts, Daniels and maybe Jackson. And may I just say that I'm not sure why Melvin Ejim didn't get an invite? He's been playing quite decently over in the Euroleague.

Scrubs.

[BreakingBradStevens]

I like Craft, Ross and Birch. Haven't seen Phil Scubb recently but a year ago I saw a game and wasn't impressed.