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

[Joey]

If Barnes does things like that while still being a good shooter then he may possibly be the perfect fit for the raps.. I would love to see a Val/E.Davis/Barnes/Demar combo with a good point guard.

Completely agree.

That dunk is "SICK, WICKED & NASTY!! Oh Baby, what a dunk!!"

Hope that answers some questions toward his athleticism.

[Raptorsss]

Barnes can also pass and defend so he's the complete package.

[mcHAPPY]

Barnes can also pass and defend so he's the complete package.

There is a recent post that suggests different based on his statistics.

I think Barnes will be a great pro but I don't think he is 'the' stud in this draft class.

[NoPropsneeded]

I'm going with my boi Quincy Miller.

Its Easy!

[BALLS]

Tits and Balls

The Raptors as it currently stands have no franchise players. So when it comes to the draft, the Raptors should in my opinion always draft the best player available. If that ends up being Davis or Drummond, then they should go for it. If they have too many bigs, then they should look to trade them away for pieces that they need (like a PG or SF).

Think of the BPA like a future hall of famer vs someone who might make a few all-star teams. If you got a chance to draft Garnett in his prime or someone like Rudy Gay, who is still an excellent player but has never made an all-star team - which choice would be better? Sure Rudy Gay fits your squad better in the short term, but in the long term a young Garnett in his prime would have been the better choice, as he is someone you can build around to help create a championship.

If the consensus is saying by draft time that Davis is the best player available, and the Raptors have a chance to get him - they should do it and then use trades to figure out what to do with the rest of the team later.

If Drummond is the BPA, and we have Val.. you could always move Val (or Drummond) to PF. Both guys don't have to play center. But I have my doubts on Drummond. His rebounding ability is a big question mark for me.. and we all know what its like to have a big that can't rebound.

As for the Raptors.. the only guys I like at this point are Davis and Val (and Val only because we haven't seen him in the NBA). I am also okay with keeping Demar for another season because of his work ethic and his skill set, and because we need a starting SG. However I would not shed a tear if he was moved as well. Amir I think is a very good player with a reasonable contract - but if we can bring in assets for him, then I'd have no problem moving him as well.

I agree I just dont think that we can get good trades for our PF, I feel like most teams have sufficient PF and are not willing to give up good PG, so what we get more draft picks and then create the same problem for ourselves? Does that make sense, no it doesnt, oh... well okay I guess I am just trying to say the craptors wont ever win a championship, I just want to see them be okay and respected.

[NoPropsneeded]

someone should ban this fake ass raptors fan

[LBF]

I could do that not-blindfolded and without the 360 and if the net was lowered to eight feet.

[Raptorsss]

Drummond and Perry Jones are top 5 gambles. Players with NBA bodies and a diverse skill set, but haven't particularly distinguished themselves in the NCAA. Whereas players like Davis, Barnes, Sullinger what you see is mostly what you'll get and you could plug them into your rotation immediately.

[Pele]

Looking ahead to the 2012 Draft.

Personally, I don't think it's premature to be looking ahead to the 2012 draft at this point. Especially since the many previews of this season are outright stating that the Raps intelligently suck this year, and are relying on Valanciunas and a high lottery pick next year to begin moving them toward contention.

Hoopshype has the Raps at #3 picking Anthony Davis. I'm not sure about this pick for two reasons; 1. We already have an Ed Davis, and 2. We already have Ed and Amir, and possibly Jonas, to hustle within 5ft of the rim. That being said, I like Anthony Davis a lot, and wouldn't mind seeing him as a Raptor at all.

I guess my feeling is that Harrison Barnes is the total package and exactly what the Raps need. He's like a rich man's Lamarcus Alridge.

If BC can land Kemba Walker via trade (ironically) and lure a Gerald Wallace-like free agent (dreaming) then our starting line-up could look like this.

PG Kemba
SG Barnes
SF Derozan
C Valanciunas
PF Wallace (griity veteran leadership)

[Jon_Wade]

Personally, I don't think it's premature to be looking ahead to the 2012 draft at this point. Especially since the many previews of this season are outright stating that the Raps intelligently suck this year, and are relying on Valanciunas and a high lottery pick next year to begin moving them toward contention.

Hoopshype has the Raps at #3 picking Anthony Davis. I'm not sure about this pick for two reasons; 1. We already have an Ed Davis, and 2. We already have Ed and Amir, and possibly Jonas, to hustle within 5ft of the rim. That being said, I like Anthony Davis a lot, and wouldn't mind seeing him as a Raptor at all.

I guess my feeling is that Harrison Barnes is the total package and exactly what the Raps need. He's like a rich man's Lamarcus Alridge.

If BC can land Kemba Walker via trade (ironically) and lure a Gerald Wallace-like free agent (dreaming) then our starting line-up could look like this.

PG Kemba
SG Barnes
SF Derozan
C Valanciunas
PF Wallace (griity veteran leadership)

Wallace is a small forward as is Barnes, Demar is a shooting gaurd. But I would certainly be excited about a Kemba/Derozan/Barnes/E.Davis/Valanciunas! Although if Anthony Davis is available at 3 I would take him.

[e2thed]

I guess my feeling is that Harrison Barnes is the total package and exactly what the Raps need. He's like a rich man's Lamarcus Alridge.

lol and lol, Barnes is like a less mobile Luol Deng.

If BC can land Kemba Walker via trade (ironically) and lure a Gerald Wallace-like free agent (dreaming) then our starting line-up could look like this.

Gerald Wallace already stated that he wouldn't want to come to Toronto to play.

[NoPropsneeded]

Personally, I don't think it's premature to be looking ahead to the 2012 draft at this point. Especially since the many previews of this season are outright stating that the Raps intelligently suck this year, and are relying on Valanciunas and a high lottery pick next year to begin moving them toward contention.

Hoopshype has the Raps at #3 picking Anthony Davis. I'm not sure about this pick for two reasons; 1. We already have an Ed Davis, and 2. We already have Ed and Amir, and possibly Jonas, to hustle within 5ft of the rim. That being said, I like Anthony Davis a lot, and wouldn't mind seeing him as a Raptor at all.

I guess my feeling is that Harrison Barnes is the total package and exactly what the Raps need. He's like a rich man's Lamarcus Alridge.

If BC can land Kemba Walker via trade (ironically) and lure a Gerald Wallace-like free agent (dreaming) then our starting line-up could look like this.

PG Kemba
SG Barnes
SF Derozan
C Valanciunas
PF Wallace (griity veteran leadership)

thats a terrible idea. First of all MJ would never give up kemba walker and he is not the type of PG this team needs. Second of all Gerald wallace is a SF doesn't want to play in toronto and he is not worth the time and money.Third of all DeMar is NOT a SF he is a SG and does not have the body or skill set to play the 3. I'd look to get another 1st round pick and draft a pg like kabongo or Marshall. If we draft a SF like Barnes or Miller we won't need to really sign anyone, just cheap vets or resign the ones we already have and fill out the roster.

Lineup:

Kabongo/Marshall
DeRozan
Barnes/Miller
Davis/Bargnani(unless we trade him)
Valanciunas

[mcHAPPY]

ESPN: Anthony Davis is NEXT

This story appears in the Jan. 9, 2012 NEXT issue of ESPN The Magazine.

UNTIL 24 MONTHS AGO, Anthony Davis was a nondescript set of initials. "Most people call me AD; I've never had nicknames based on my game," says the Kentucky forward. Of course not. Nicknames are a statement, affectionate and brief, describing the most obvious hook of a person.

When he was an oversize infant born in Chicago, his family took to calling him Fat Man -- a name that held most of the way through high school. But when puberty (and the basketball gods) stretched him seven inches over a few months during his junior year, it was time for a new moniker. Now, seeing the 6'10" Davis creeping along the court in practice, sticky limbs shooting out from nowhere, Kentucky coach John Calipari has taken to calling him Spider-Man. "He just goes 'pfft' and his arms go and he's hanging in the air," Calipari says.

Davis is just starting to get comfortable inside his taffy physique -- his version of a superhero suit. Two months into the season, the 220-pound freshman has already saved a win against North Carolina, snuffing John Henson's last-second jumper like spit on a birthday candle. On that play alone, Davis showed why he isn't just Tall Guy or Big Fella.

It also proved that he's figured out how to control those yards of limbs to his advantage. And people are taking notice. Fewer than 10 games into his college career, Davis was already being eyed as the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA draft. Says a Western Conference scout of the Henson block, "I saw that and I just thought, He's the type of player who justifies the entire NBA draft process."

But this wouldn't be a good superhero origin story without some pathos. Part of Davis' drive to develop a game on both ends of the court owes to the fact that he remembers being a 6'3" guard who didn't play travel basketball or get high-major scholarship offers until the summer after he grew. Instead, he practiced with his cousins Jarvis, Marshaun and Keith Chamberlain (who played pro ball in Germany), going through guard workouts put together by their dad, Keith Sr. -- Davis' elementary school athletic director.

Then the Spurt happened. Davis played exactly one summer on the travel circuit before his out-of-nowhere talent made headlines. Within a month after his first tournament during his junior year, he was a top-10-ranked recruit. Although he got offers to spend his senior year at Chicago's public school powerhouses, Davis decided to stay at Perspectives Charter School, where he averaged 32 points, 22 rebounds and seven blocks per game. "When I grew, it made the game a lot easier for me," Davis says. "I didn't have to try to shoot floaters over these giant guys."

Now he's a menace. Davis had blocked 14.74 percent of two-point field goals taken against him through Dec. 17 (fifth nationally), with 4.4 rejections per game (second). When Davis had seven blocks in a win over Kansas at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15, Calipari says he texted 16-year NBA vet Marcus Camby (whom he coached at UMass): "Remind you of you when you were younger?" Camby laughed and responded yes. Then Cal gets serious: "Anthony is ahead of Marcus at this stage. Marcus was good but not like this as a freshman."

Davis' impact on defense is where his length and athleticism are most apparent, but it's his offensive potential -- the ballhandling skills and shooting touch Uncle Keith instilled -- that persuaded Calipari to switch up his dribble-drive motion (DDM) offense. At both Memphis and Kentucky, DDM always worked with a big who ran the floor for mostly transition buckets or putbacks. But with soft-handed Davis playing alongside preseason All-America post Terrence Jones, Calipari tweaked the strategy to include more pick-and-roll action. So far, Davis has scored on half the pick-and-roll possessions he's run (1.11 points per possession), mostly on a solid-looking 19-foot jumper.

Of course, things are more interesting when Davis goes up for breakaway dunks, which is how he scores most of his 11.8 ppg. He's easy to find on lobs, and his explosive vertical makes for a show. "He puts his teeth on the rim," Calipari says. "He's jumping that high with his size, which means his arm is probably a foot above the square." It's just one more way Anthony Davis has made a name for himself.

Through Dec. 17, Davis accounts for 23.8 percent of his team's rebounds, 18.5 percent of its steals and 14.4 percent of its points.

“Anthony will be a good pro. He has great timing when it comes to blocking shots, and his length will be a problem for a lot of people. When he starts knocking down that midrange jumper, it could be trouble.”
-- Rudy Gay, NEXT class of 2006

Source: ESPN.com

[mcHAPPY]

For any college basketball fans:

Saturday, noon eastern, CBS

(4) Louisville vs. (3) Kentucky

[AJ360]

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 24 points & 19 rebounds today vs Louisville.

That's the kind of player the raps need.