How Will Ed Davis Stack Up Against Rookies Selected After Him?

[smushmush]

i am gracious the eddy slipped all the way down to us, at the draft i wasnt thinking of him as even a possibility for the raptors st our position. but at the same time like with every draft with every team there are some regrets.
with that being said if we didnt take ed i was huge fans of eric bledsoe (like apollo) and also armon johnson. i felt that both have good enough size and basketball IQ to run a nba team with time and if we didnt address our bigs the PG was the spot i was hoping we would uprgrade in the draft. those two in my opinion are going to have sucessful nba careers so if ed wasnt on the board and our radar then those are the two i would of went for.

Armon Johnson lookss like the guy that would make the transition from college to the NBA PG position quickly. However, Eric Bledsoe looks like a 2 guard in a 1 body, he needs to really reduce his turnovers to run a team in the future. The choice of Ed Davis was a smart choice as the Raps really needed a big(my choice was Cole Aldrich that would have brought the search for a franchise center to rest). Hopefully, with the rebuild going well(a Top 7 pick after this season), we get a franchise PG and an franchise rebounding and perimeter-defending SF later in the draft. Consequently, a Top 15 pick the season after this current one, we use to draft a franchise center.
Raptors needs in order of importance:-
1.A franchise PG.
2.A franchise SF or wing.
3.A franchise center.
I hope with the expiring contracts and draft picks, we are able to address those needs.

[smushmush]

Based on how I saw them ball in college, L.Sanders (rangy, defensive minded), J.Anderson (gritty, mid range game), Pondexter (multi-stat type, needs to develop j though) and D. Jones (lit up the Big East) all have the 'potential' to be a slept on type player.

I do agree that Davis can become a huge draft slip that benefits the Raps. He was a significant role player in UNC's run 2 years ago. He blocks and alters shots and perhaps it doesn't matter but I like the fact his dad played in the league. Without being biased, I like Davis the most out of this years potential draft slips.

Larry Sanders(I can see a huge frontline with Andrew Bogut in 2-3 years which gives the Bucks size needed to really compete in the playoffs, both protect the rim well), Pondexter(a rebounding SF is not likely to be a bust) and Damion James(has a solid game, does a little of everything, will sort of have a "Lamar Odom"-like career) are the ones, I am sold on from the names you mentioned.

[Hotshot]

There might be regret with the following players who will probably do well in the NBA:

Luke Babbit

Eric Bledsoe

Damion James

Dominique Jones

[pistol pete]

And the opposite? Who'll regret for not having picked our Ed? I think that at least Udoh and Al Farouq won't be overall at the same level (given their different roles and different needs for their respective teams)

[jeff_hostetler]

When watching the draft, I remember thinking when Bledsoe and Bradley were picked that the Raps should have taken them, but it wasn't until they were actually picked that I felt that. It was the finality of it all.

I do think, though, that Bradley couldn't have gone to a better team for the player that he is. Undoubtedly in my mind he in particular will become a better player as a result of having been chosen by Boston than if he were chosen by a score of other teams. So, we may look back 5 years from now and think how we should have taken him, but I think that he might not be the player that would cause such consternation had he been taken by a team that he was not suited for. The same can be said for many players, in fact, and I think these kinds of things should be taken into consideration.

Ed Davis on the Raps....good place for him to play, so there would be few teams out there where Davis will have a better chance at succeeding than in TO. Our PG needs would be better served in next year's draft anyhow, so not drafting Bledsoe or Bradley, regardless of how good they might be in the future, was probably the right decision, as their play at the point still needs to develop quite a bit. All other things considered, for the positions we needed and the players available, Davis was the right call. I see him being a far better player than Derozan. Actually, I'm still not convinced at all about Derozan. So we'll see how that goes. Man would I seriously have preferred Jennings. Then as well as now. That guy has serious championship potential.

[SirChillyMost]

I see "Bad Luck" Davis as a steal in this draft. As much as I like Bradley's game Davis was the right call at 13. It'll be interesting to watch this season's draft class grow as Davis should be a top 5 player from this draft in 3 years (imo). Davis will be the Rap's starting PF next season- if not by the end of year 1.

[SirChillyMost]

There might be regret with the following players who will probably do well in the NBA:

Luke Babbit

Eric Bledsoe

Damion James

Dominique Jones

Luke Babbit is really good- I didn't think that his game would translate to the NBA but he looked really good in Vegas Summer League play plus with Nate as his new coach he will be held accountable to learn while improving.

[Papa Burgundy]

At this point there aren't any bigs on the list of players taken after Davis that I would have picked before him. Even though BC said that the Raptors were going to take the best player regardless of talent level I think that was only because other than a few top picks the draft was pretty weak in quality big men and BC probably was not counting on Davis to be there at #13.

Now some would say that the Raptors should have taken Daniel Orton and others like myself at the time Damion James. However now I think Davis was a better choice for the Raptors because of their need for a big man and the fact that the Raptors have signed Kleiza

I am still not sure why some thought the Raptors should have drafted Orton. I believe he eventually was drafted by Orlando at the end of the first round. I don't recall him playing too well in the Orlando Summer League this past July.

Who would say that?? People on Crack probably ... Orton may not have even been in the list of top 5 bigs still left on the board ... Ed Davis, Patrick Patterson, Larry Sanders ... Kevin Seraphin ... Craig Brackins? Anyway - in my opinion not many sane people would argue that they should have taken Orton, but feel free to rub it in my face if i'm wrong ... or whoever it was that you heard express this sentiment.

[Papa Burgundy]

I was reading in a blog today about how {some} Utah fans are pissed they drafted Hayward and not Davis, so who knows

If I was a Utah fan, i'd be pissed they drafted Hayward over Paul George - could have been the SF of the future ... or even Cole Aldrich, since Memo is unreliable to stay healthy ... heck, even Xavier Henry and Luke Babbitt would have made me happier if I was a Jazz fan ... and Ed Davis.

This article: http://www.nbadaily.net/homegrown.cfm?articleid=133
actually even has Ed Davis as one of the top three rookies for the coming season ... with Wall and Monroe.

[Buddahfan]

Who would say that?? People on Crack probably ... Orton may not have even been in the list of top 5 bigs still left on the board ... Ed Davis, Patrick Patterson, Larry Sanders ... Kevin Seraphin ... Craig Brackins? Anyway - in my opinion not many sane people would argue that they should have taken Orton, but feel free to rub it in my face if i'm wrong ... or whoever it was that you heard express this sentiment.

If you remembered who said it, and it wasn't me, you probably would never have posted the comment above that I highlighted in red. Boy are you in trouble now.

[sleepz]

Larry Sanders(I can see a huge frontline with Andrew Bogut in 2-3 years which gives the Bucks size needed to really compete in the playoffs, both protect the rim well), Pondexter(a rebounding SF is not likely to be a bust) and Damion James(has a solid game, does a little of everything, will sort of have a "Lamar Odom"-like career) are the ones, I am sold on from the names you mentioned.

Yeah, they all looked solid in College. I was referring to D. Jones instead of D. James though. Jones wsa the 2 that played at SFlorida. James i'm not as big on only because although a good defender and rebounder, has a weak offesnive game for a 3 and he never really took the reigns at Texas last year, as that team was a disaster. Speaking of Texas it should be interesting to watrch them play with three highly touted Canadian ballers on their squad this year.

[Buddahfan]

Yeah, they all looked solid in College. I was referring to D. Jones instead of D. James though. Jones wsa the 2 that played at SFlorida. James i'm not as big on only because although a good defender and rebounder, has a weak offesnive game for a 3 and he never really took the reigns at Texas last year, as that team was a disaster. Speaking of Texas it should be interesting to watrch them play with three highly touted Canadian ballers on their squad this year.

We shall see about James. He did just fine in the summer league.

He averaged 19 ppg in 30 mpg in the LVSL.

He was a lot more aggressive there than he was a good deal of the time at TX

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2010/...mes/index.html

Maybe Bradley was the problem at TX last season?

[smushmush]

If I was a Utah fan, i'd be pissed they drafted Hayward over Paul George - could have been the SF of the future ... or even Cole Aldrich, since Memo is unreliable to stay healthy ... heck, even Xavier Henry and Luke Babbitt would have made me happier if I was a Jazz fan ... and Ed Davis.

This article: http://www.nbadaily.net/homegrown.cfm?articleid=133
actually even has Ed Davis as one of the top three rookies for the coming season ... with Wall and Monroe.

I also see Demarcus Cousins being one of the Top 5 rookies after the end of the season - he is going to have a Rasheed Wallace-like career as an headcase but he will be a piece to championship contending teams.

[smushmush]

Yeah, they all looked solid in College. I was referring to D. Jones instead of D. James though. Jones wsa the 2 that played at SFlorida. James i'm not as big on only because although a good defender and rebounder, has a weak offesnive game for a 3 and he never really took the reigns at Texas last year, as that team was a disaster. Speaking of Texas it should be interesting to watrch them play with three highly touted Canadian ballers on their squad this year.

Damion Jones playing defense and rebounding is really crucial for an SF(ask Carmelo Anthony - very good offensive player but sucks at defense which is why Denver might have under-achieved under Melo's era). Defense is harder to teach than offense so I will always take a defensive player over an offensive one(see Amir Johnson with stellar defense and almost no offense but he came to the Raptors and has gotten good offensively - once he starts hitting his mid-range shots, look-out!).