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

[mcHAPPY]

Thomas Robinson is 6’10″ with a 7’1″ wingspan and averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds for Kansas this year. Offensively he ranked in the 75th percentile among all college players, The departure of the Morris twins to the NBA last summer allowed Robinson to step into a starting role, where he was as dominant as any front court player in the college ranks. He loves to play in the post, where he scored 33 percent of this points this season, but is also exceptionally good at cutting to the basket, getting offensive rebounds and put-backs and will run the floor and finish in transition. He lacks court vision and passing ability at this stage of his development, so don’t look for him to be someone who draws a double-team and then kicks it out. He’ll use his size and quickness to overpower opponents and put the ball in the hole.

Robinson should also be a game-changer on the defensive end, especially after spending three seasons playing under the defensive-minded Bill Self. Robinson ranked in the 98th percentile in defending the pick-and-roll, 83rd percentile in defending the low post, 79th percentile in spot-up defense and 79th in fighting through screens to prevent scores. He’s quick enough to stay with the finesse power forwards like Dirk Nowitzki and Andrea Bargnani, but also powerful enough to hold down physical post players like Amar’e Stoudemire and Pau Gasol.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba2-san-a...serving-notice

I'm not sold on him but the above certainly changed my perception.

[Bouncepass]

If we managed to get tyreke evans without giving up the draft pick we could get jeremy lamb to go beside him since reke needs the ball in his hand and lamb plays really well off the ball, just a thought though.

The only problem is that Lamb would never actually get the ball playing with Tyreke.

[Bendit]

I'm not sold on him but the above certainly changed my perception.

I thought Robinson's motor/passion was outstanding in the last 2 games of the tournament. He outplayed Sullinger and if not for him UK would have won going away. He'd be a steal if he fell.

[mcHAPPY]

I thought Robinson's motor/passion was outstanding in the last 2 games of the tournament. He outplayed Sullinger and if not for him UK would have won going away. He'd be a steal if he fell.

At 8? Hell yeah. Even my reservations would be squashed at 8. I was thinking top 5 - you know, a few weeks ago when we all lived that dream? (insert a painful 'lol').

[Nilanka]

Chard Ford just released his top 100 prospect rankings. Here is his top 20:

1. Davis
2. MKG
3. Beal
4. Robinson
5. Drummond
6. Barnes
7. P. Jones
8. T. Jones
9. Sullinger
10. Zeller
11. Lamb
12. Lillard
13. Henson
14. Rivers
15. Waiters
16. Moultrie
17. Marshall
18. Ross
19. Leonard
20. Miller

Nothing terribly surprising.

[e2thed]

Moe Harkless, straight up beast, hes the MarShon Brooks of this years draft in terms of potential.

I say we trade for Dallas' or Atlanta's first round pick with our 2 second rounders and some cash, and draft this guy he will fix the SF problem for the future.

[charlesnba23]

Where is Kris Joseph?!?!?

[mcHAPPY]

Where is Kris Joseph?!?!?

He is a senior. They don't have to petition for the early entry.

[Prime]

but also powerful enough to hold down physical post players like Amar’e Stoudemire and Pau Gasol.

I'm not sold on him but the above certainly changed my perception.

...

Since when were either Pau or Amar'e physical post players?

[MangoKid]

If our selection happens to be 8, 9 or 10, why not just trade down? I know it's not a popular thought but there are 2 guys that really caught my eye - and happen to be teammates - Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten. Ross is a high energy, high IQ swingman that we're clamouring for, and Wroten could take over Bayless' spot, the team can just renounce JB's rights to get more cap space.

[ceez]

i don't mind the idea of wroten at SG but want nothing to do with Ross. average basketball iq, probably worse handle than demar.

pass.

[MangoKid]

i don't mind the idea of wroten at SG but want nothing to do with Ross. average basketball iq, probably worse handle than demar.

pass.

Nothing can be worse than Demar's handle. Wroten is intriguing - he should be to those who are busting for Tyreke Evans.

[Shantz]

Finding a Niche for Perry Jones

Very interesting article from Draft Express about Perry Jones and discussing what types of situations he could excel (or struggle in). I have highlighted the parts that caught my attention, but the whole article is worth a read.

Despite being projected as a likely top five pick, Perry Jones surprised many last April by electing to return to Baylor for his sophomore season, citing the need to "grow as a player and person," and “have fun” before leaving for the NBA.

After a fairly average freshman season production wise, at least relative to his talent-level, the burden was on Jones to have a much stronger year, as he would no longer be able to rest quite so heavily on the laurels of his upside.

Unfortunately, Jones' follow-up season was fairly disappointing. His production dropped or stagnated in several key areas, and many were left to ponder whether he simply isn't a good fit at Baylor, or if he lacks the internal motivation and wherewithal needed to get the most out of his unbelievable natural tools.

Upon announcing his decision to return to school, Jones was asked what he thinks he needs to improve the most on the following year. His answer was fairly revealing: “My motor. To be able to keep playing consistently throughout the entire 40 minutes of the game.”

With another full year to evaluate Jones, it doesn't appear that those questions are going anywhere. If anything, they've only gotten much louder.

One thing that no one ever questions is Perry Jones' talent. Just how rare and unique a player he is becomes immediately evident the moment you start watching him. He has a tremendous combination of size, athleticism and skills, making him appear to be capable of doing anything he wants on the basketball court. He shows terrific footwork inside the paint, has 3-point range on his jumper, can handle the ball fluidly from coast to coast, and is a breathtaking finisher around the basket.

What isn't quite as clear is why Jones struggles so much at times to make his presence felt over his college career, and why we didn't see more improvement from his freshman to sophomore seasons.

Jones' usage rate dropped this year, as he accounted for just 18.1% of his team's possessions, which ranked 54th amongst the 81 college players in our top-100 prospect rankings. His scoring production fell, as did his efficiency. His field goal percentage went from 55% to 50%, and he got to the free throw line much less frequently than he did as a freshman.

Jones is somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, as he can do a little of everything, but nothing in his game is especially polished. He does not have a consistent means of putting the ball in the basket, and he goes through long stretches where he doesn't have any impact on the game, although part of that may have to do with the way he was utilized.

He sees the biggest share of his possessions in the post, either with his back to the basket, or facing up from the mid-post. He doesn't really have the strength or toughness to be overly effective backing opponents down, but his excellent size, length and quickness allows him to get shots off here with relative ease. He shows nice potential with his smooth footwork and soft touch around the basket, particularly with his jump-hook, but will have to improve on his ability to draw fouls and finish through contact if he's to maximize this part of his game.

Where Jones seems to be more effective at the moment is facing up from 12-18 feet in isolation settings. His incredibly quick first step and long strides allow him to blow by opponents, and he can finish strong at the rim thanks to his terrific leaping ability or with a floater inside the paint.

Unfortunately, his lack of experience and average feel for the game hampers him here somewhat. He often struggles to read the secondary line of defense rotating into the paint, as he's not a great passer on the move and isn't quite advanced enough with his ball-handling ability or off-hand to weave his way around defenders.

Improving as a shooter could help make him a more efficient offensive player, as he took 3.5 jumpers per-game this season, but only converted 36% of them. The main issue here appears to be his shot-selection. He has a tendency to settles for too many off-balance fade-aways at inopportune times, even when he has a clear path to attack the basket. At this stage opposing defenses don't have any real issue getting him to take the shots they want him to, something that will hopefully change as his knowledge of the game improves and he better understands how to take advantage of his unique strengths.

Defensively, Jones again has great potential, but is somewhat of a mixed bag when it comes to actual results. His tremendous size, length and phenomenal mobility should theoretically allow him to guard up to three positions in the NBA, but his poor fundamentals, awareness, intensity and toughness certainly put a damper on that, as does his occasional lack of focus.

His team played a lot of zone the past two seasons, which will likely make the transition to playing man to man defense a little rougher initially considering his lack of experience. Right now he's clearly better using his size and length defending big men inside the paint rather than forwards on the perimeter, where he tends to get lost.

Similarly to last year, Jones was a surprisingly average rebounder and shot-blocker this season for a player with his athletic tools, not showing much in the ways of instincts, hustle, or physicality, particularly in terms of boxing out.

Jones is going into this draft process with quite a bit less momentum than he had last year. His last college game was an especially poor NCAA tournament showing against Kentucky, where his team was thoroughly dominated and all his weaknesses were seemingly on full display.

With that said, Jones can easily turn that momentum around with strong workouts and interviews in the next two months, as he's exactly the type of prospect NBA GMs tend to fall in love with in June. At the moment, he clearly has no idea how to use the tremendous tools that are at his disposal, but it's far too early in his career to definitively say he never will.

In a strong environment with great coaching and plenty of patience, Jones could become a very useful NBA player, and surely there will be no shortage of teams willing to invest in his talent. The question is, how high in the draft will he ultimately be selected?

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/...ry-Jones-3910/

[saints91]

Based on who is available from 7-10 I would trade down. I don't know what it would take but i think this is the year to make a big move to get who we want. If we are lucky we won't be a lottery team for a very long time. Trade down to 5 or 6 to grab Barnes, and then sign a couple FA's and we are set.

[ceez]

trading up to get Barnes is like buying a diarrhea milkshake