2012 Draft Thursday, June 28th: Raptors select Terence Ross

[mcHAPPY]

But....the million dollar question is 'Can he do it on a consistent basis and not just have it as a one time thing?'. Any one player can do it once.

Especially with $5-10M of guaranteed money on the line!

Plus options for another $10M if year 3 and 4 are picked up.

[Bendit]

Dont understand Monty Williams poopoohing the depth of the draft. Sure there is no Lebron there but to say there might not be a Carmelo is a bit of a reach. Then the comment about no Ginobili at 56? Well now, was there anyone including the Spurs who thought that there was a "Ginobli" in his draft? ...and would pan out to be the Ginobli in his great career? I believe there will be a few second rounders in this draft who will have good careers.

[NoPropsneeded]

Told you guys. PJ3 is going to be beastly. Lets hope he falls to us, he's slotted like 11th so if he raises 2 or 3 spots he's right in our range.

[Employee]

Yeah I read that tweet from Chad Ford about PJ3 last night too. A guy like Casey could maybe put him in line a little. But yeah I bet his stock is gonna go up in the coming months. Right now Draft Express has him 8 but I don't see that sticking.

[ceez]

talent is one thing, but i consider how well they did against competition important as well and PJ3 did next to nothing all year. He had a game here and there that was impressive but they were so far and few inbetween. No thanks.

[mcHAPPY]

talent is one thing, but i consider how well they did against competition important as well and PJ3 did next to nothing all year. He had a game here and there that was impressive but they were so far and few inbetween. No thanks.

I am definitely inclined to agree with you.

However, if he really was played out of position at Baylor and his strengths were not maximized (i.e. playing at PF when much better suited to SF) then that certainly changes the situation a bit.

Like I said in the post with the Ford tweets, I am sure glad I am not making that call.

[ceez]

not to mention doing zilch all tourney, when its the most important. true the guards weren't particularly good at getting him involved and he was playing out of position, but if he's as talented as everyone says he would have done something. i don't trust players that have a million excuses why they didn't play well.

[mcHAPPY]

PJ3 ESPN interview

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7971046

He talks about a comparison to T-Mac.

[ceez]

T-mac! Why didn't you say!

*barf*

[Nilanka]

ceez, there's plenty of room left on the PJ3 bandwagon. We'll save you seat.

[ceez]

I'd rather trade the pick for eddy curry

[planetmars]

I think PJ3's biggest problem is his maturity. I think with the right guidance he could become a star. If Nash comes on board for example, I think he could turn PJ3 into a star.

However the problem is that Bryan may not want to get another project. By hitting the ground running, it implies that he's trying to secure a playoff spot. With that it means getting guys who can contribute right away. PJ3 may or may not be able to do that.

If Barnes drops.. I'd rather take him over PJ3.. but if PJ3 is left at #8 I'd have no problem taking him.

[ceez]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog/...or-perry-jones

As for the GMs in the room? Everyone I spoke with came away with a different opinion. Here were two of the most representative:

"That sort of talent doesn't come along very often," one GM said. "As I was watching the workout, I thought you finally got to see what a freed-up Perry Jones could do if a coach just lets him be himself. He could be a dominant, and I mean dominant, forward with his size, athletic ability and skill set. I think he's a hard worker and will be a much better contributor if you give him the chance to be himself. I'd have no concerns drafting him in the top five. He could be a home run of a pick."

And the other side ...

"Of all the guys that are in your top 10, I'd have the hardest time taking him," another GM said. "I know he wants to be a 3, but I don't think he does anything that we ask our 3s to do that is special. He's not a great shooter. He doesn't have a great handle. He's not an aggressive defender. He's got great size and athleticism, but he's not skilled enough. That means he'll end up being a stretch 4, which is a euphemism for a guy who doesn't have a position.

"Could he be great? Sure. But I think he's a major project and a major risk. There are safer picks in the top 10 with very good upsides. I think there's a good chance that he slides in the draft as people continue to wrestle with who he is."

I wish I could tell you which camp I'm in. Both seem right, paradoxically.

massive red flag to me

[Shantz]

Here is an article from Chad Ford about Perry Jones III workout yesterday. It has two very interesting and polarizing quotes from two GMs.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- On Thursday I made the trip up the California coast from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to take in the BDA sports group workout.

Led by agents Bill Duffy, Kevin Bradbury, Todd Ramasar, Rade Filipovich, Calvin Andrews, David Mondress and Ugo Udezue, BDA has a number of clients in this year's draft training at the University of California at Santa Barbara. On Thursday they invited more than 80 NBA GMs and scouts to witness a three-hour workout of their clients.

I was on hand to both watch the workouts and to talk to the GMs and scouts in attendance.

Here's what I learned:

•The two biggest enigmas in the draft are Connecticut Huskies big man Andre Drummond and Baylor Bears forward Perry Jones. I'll see Drummond in New York early next week.

Jones was the headline attraction Thursday. Whether his performance answered the questions NBA teams have about him is open to interpretation.

The workout featured Jones as a wing -- a smart move to validate NBA scouts who believe that Jones was miscast as a center in Baylor's offense the past two years. While Jones has the size of an NBA center, he's a perimeter-oriented big man who shies away from contact in the paint. He always looked more comfortable with the ball in his hands facing the basket than he did backing down a defender in the paint.

Thursday's workouts capitalized on Jones' strengths and featured him in a number of drills alongside other wings like the Vanderbilt Commodores' Jeff Taylor and UC Santa Barbara's Orlando Johnson.

Jones wowed early. He's unusually quick and fluid for a player his size. While he's not a lights-out shooter, he's got a nice stroke and knocked down 7-of-15 from NBA 3-point range in one drill. He's also a solid ball handler for his size and looked very comfortable running all the drills on the perimeter.

What was most impressive was his explosiveness in the paint. When Jones hit the lane, he blasted off the ground for a number of thunderous, highlight-reel dunks.

In many ways he reminded me of another unusually big wing -- Paul George. George measured 6-foot-10 in Indiana Pacers training camp and played the 2 and 3 all season for Indiana. Both are excellent athletes who are comfortable putting the ball on the floor and pulling up for jumpers. Both players were accused of not dominating the game during their two seasons in college. George didn't even make first-team All-WAC as a sophomore.

While George's numbers were slightly better across the board, he was allowed to play the wing in college. Jones, on the other hand, played the 4 and 5 the entire season.

After the workout, some things were clear. Others were not.

Jones is going to look terrific in individual workouts. There are very few players in this or any draft who can do the things he does at his size. A team could easily fall in love with his potential and make him a top-5 pick. George fell all the way to No. 10 on draft night and virtually every team that passed on him now regrets it. If we were to do over the 2010 draft today, he'd be the second or third player off the board.

What is less clear is whether a position change will improve Jones' motor and overall mental toughness. He disappeared for long stretches during Baylor's season and shied away from contact. Was Jones just unhappy with his role at Baylor and therefore not as engaged as he could've been? Or is there something deeper in his personality that saps the competitive edge out of him?

In speaking with Jones on Thursday, he's aware of what teams are concerned about and said he's working on improving his mental toughness and body language. He specifically said he's trying to improve his attitude when his shot doesn't fall early.

As for the GMs in the room? Everyone I spoke with came away with a different opinion. Here were two of the most representative:

"That sort of talent doesn't come along very often," one GM said. "As I was watching the workout, I thought you finally got to see what a freed-up Perry Jones could do if a coach just lets him be himself. He could be a dominant, and I mean dominant, forward with his size, athletic ability and skill set. I think he's a hard worker and will be a much better contributor if you give him the chance to be himself. I'd have no concerns drafting him in the top five. He could be a home run of a pick."
And the other side ...

"Of all the guys that are in your top 10, I'd have the hardest time taking him," another GM said. "I know he wants to be a 3, but I don't think he does anything that we ask our 3s to do that is special. He's not a great shooter. He doesn't have a great handle. He's not an aggressive defender. He's got great size and athleticism, but he's not skilled enough. That means he'll end up being a stretch 4, which is a euphemism for a guy who doesn't have a position.

"Could he be great? Sure. But I think he's a major project and a major risk. There are safer picks in the top 10 with very good upsides. I think there's a good chance that he slides in the draft as people continue to wrestle with who he is."
I wish I could tell you which camp I'm in. Both seem right, paradoxically.

I think it's a good thing to note that Chad Ford mentioned in a tweet yesterday that Colangelo was at this workout. Does not mean that either quote came from him, but simply to say that he was there to watch and observe.

Edit: ceez got there first, but the rest of the article on Jones is here.

[ceez]

i think BC is going to be more involved than usual with the scouting. he knows this draft pick is key to the teams foundation and if they're going to be a contender in a couple (few) years