Miami 1st round pick for JJ was premature

[GarbageTime]

My instincts were correct, I knew BC shouldn't have traded it ,he could have gotten Cory Joseph like he wanted to.

And look at my first post, the Spurs took that dude 'cause they know hes the sleeper of this draft as well.

If JJ becomes an elite defender under Casey then I'll swallow my words with ease. But until that day, I still think BC fucked up kinda.

I'd say your instincts were wrong. JJ has shown, atleast threw the first few games, to be a top defensive player.

[stretch]

My instincts were correct, I knew BC shouldn't have traded it ,he could have gotten Cory Joseph like he wanted to.

And look at my first post, the Spurs took that dude 'cause they know hes the sleeper of this draft as well.

If JJ becomes an elite defender under Casey then I'll swallow my words with ease. But until that day, I still think BC fucked up kinda.

It's only a few games into the season but it looks like Norris Cole is the sleeper of this draft. Joseph is 2 and a half years younger and more of a work in progress.

[e2thed]

My instincts were correct, I knew BC shouldn't have traded it ,he could have gotten Cory Joseph like he wanted to.

And look at my first post, the Spurs took that dude 'cause they know hes the sleeper of this draft as well.

If JJ becomes an elite defender under Casey then I'll swallow my words with ease. But until that day, I still think BC fucked up kinda.

[golden]

Interesting to track the 28th pick (originally Miami's from the Bosh deal) that the Raps traded to Chicago for JJ. Miami got the pick back from Chicago and picked up Norris Cole, a defensive minded point guard. Looks like a decent pick for the Heat, but it's very early days.

Will be interesting to see if BC's bold statement "... there will be nobody remotely close to James Johnson's talent level at that pick in this year's draft...." turns out to be true vs. Norris Cole or later.

[SuperRaptor]

james johnson is the man, I would do that trade again a thousand times.

[albertan_10]

I have to agree that Nolan Smith would be a nice pickup, but he isn't going to be around at 28

[jrdyck]

LMAO at the poll results. Never has the Republic reached such a consensus.

[RAPresenting]

I am feeling in a predicting mood...Johnson is going to come in much fitter (lbs. loss...he knows he needs to) which will make him a better on the defensive end. It will also be his first full season with the Raps and more comfortable with his position on the team..if another sf is not chosen! And if he has improved his shot....weellll....is there anyone on the board that might measure up to that "potential"? No one mentions is passing/point forward skills either. Considering that a lot of teams are actually trying to flee their lottery positions I believe BC did the right thing to acquire JJ who was picked @16 in a better draft. I like his personality as well.

Agreed JJ has a lot of intangibles to make himself a very good player. Dropping a little weight and tightening up his jumper would make a huge difference. If they draft Leonard that is a pretty athletic group on the wing in DD, JJ and Leonard going forward.

[Bendit]

I am feeling in a predicting mood...Johnson is going to come in much fitter (lbs. loss...he knows he needs to) which will make him a better on the defensive end. It will also be his first full season with the Raps and more comfortable with his position on the team..if another sf is not chosen! And if he has improved his shot....weellll....is there anyone on the board that might measure up to that "potential"? No one mentions is passing/point forward skills either. Considering that a lot of teams are actually trying to flee their lottery positions I believe BC did the right thing to acquire JJ who was picked @16 in a better draft. I like his personality as well.

[white men can't jump]

Ok, I'm having trouble figuring out the logic of this post. You want to target 2 potential backups with a late first round pick because you want solid defenders?

Current raptors with good defensive upside: Amir, Ed, JJ, DD, Bayless....not going to count guys like reggie, dorsey, leandro etc who may not be around.

Keeping late 1st round pick scenario defenders: Amir, Ed, DD, Bayless, Kawhi and one of Smith or Vucevic

Trading for JJ and only having 5th pick: Amir, Ed, JJ, DD, Bayless, plus
one of these potentially solid defensive additions: Knight, Walker(over 5rpg and almost 2 spg despite size), Kawhi, Valuncianas, and Kanter(may not be great on D at first but sure to be a great rebounder)

All of these guys are better picks than we'd get at 28 and we'd have the same amount of potentially good defensive players at roughly the same positions. I also urge you to remember that D is one area where the coaching style has huge impact and Dallas still ran a solid D with Dirk, Barea, and Kidd on the floor together at times (and say what you want about Kidd's D, at this age he's a shadow of his former self and can't guard much of anyone 1-on-1)

[Akinyele]

Wasn't premature at all BC got a talented all-around SF who started and gave us solid D, rebounding & chipped in offensively. No one that we would of gotten with that pick would of been anywhere near ready

[ebrian]

Thanks. It's actually a pretty dreadful list, but also speaks to the drafting "genius" of RC Buford. That man is a god amongst men when evaluating late round talent.

I think we could have a better time discussing the value of the 28th (not who we could draft with that pick but the value of the draft pick on its own) versus James Johnson.

I think it's been well established that Johnson has more value than whoever we might pick at 28th. But it's the unknown quantity of the draft pick itself that gives it its value. If I'm BC, I might have wanted to keep the pick for a chance to move up/down the draft. For example if a potential trade partner is already set at SF, the 28th overall pick might be more valuable to them than James Johnson is.

[Papa Burgundy]

Good list ebrian - I think it shows that what we're getting from a #16 pick (that BC considered at #9 before drafting DeMar).
-Whether it's a 'weak' draft or not doesn't matter ... you just don't have any guarantees there.

[ebrian]

In the past 20 years, only 1 team has had any sort of success drafting out of the 28th spot -- San Antonio. They took Tony Parker, Leandrinho Barbosa, Beno Udrih, Ian Mahinmi, Tiago Splitter over the past few years.

Here are the other in the past 20 years. None of these guys will or have had as much promise as James Johnson. That's not to say Johnson is a slamdunk, but take a look at these names: Les Jepsen, Kevin Lynch, Lucious Harris, Marlon Maxey, Deon Thomas, Greg Ostertag, Priest Lauderdale, Keith Booth, Corey Benjamin, Scott Padgett, Erick Blarkley, Dan Dickau, Maurice Ager, Donte Green, Wayne Ellington.

Okay, I'll give you Greg Ostertag, but Utah has always had a history of getting more out of their players than their talent suggests.

[Employee]

Will there be someone better than JJ in the late 1st round and 2nd round? Probably. But it's a huge risk and the chances of BC actually getting that player are pretty slim. It's a smart move that's playing the odds IMO.