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

[ReubenJRD]

I wouldn't be mad with Rivers coming to us. Good size, scorer, quick, good bloodlines, smart, confident, clutch, alpha kind of player. Him and Waiters are neck and neck.

would not mind rivers at all. for me he is ahead of waiters

+1 for both of you guys Unless Damian Lillard is available, I'm taking Austin Rivers. His game was made especially for the NBA. He admitted it, his father admitted it. He is a high character player, and he is a guy I think can be a big time NBA scorer. Good potential as well..

[Chr1s1anL]

would not mind rivers at all. for me he is ahead of waiters

Dion Waiters is better in my opinion. His more efficient scorer and way more NBA ready. Austin Rivers is just more flashy too me but, I'd love him if "The Waiter" is off the board.

[ReubenJRD]

Dion Waiters is better in my opinion. His more efficient scorer and way more NBA ready. Austin Rivers is just more flashy too me but, I'd love him if "The Waiter" is off the board.

He's more efficient. but wasn't he the sixth man at Syracuse? (Sorry, didn't watch too much of the Orange this year :$)

Austin Rivers was THE man at Duke. He didn't have anyone else around him to take off the pressure. He is an isolation player, and with college defenses, if there is no other threat on the floor, it's going to be hard to score efficiently on a decent amount of shots. Like the NBA, put LeBron with no shooters on the perimeter, maybe a bunch of rookie Demar Derozans, and the lane will be CROWDED.

I see Rivers as more of a BIG time scorer, I see him at top potential averaging 20+ points in the NBA. With that couple games going off for 40. Plus he isn't such a defensive liability.

I just think it all depends on your situation as a player. Austin Rivers on Syracuse might have been different as opposed to Dion Waiters on Duke.

[ceez]

Waiters over Rivers any day, every day

[ReubenJRD]

Waiters over Rivers any day, every day

why?

[octothorp]

For those that care, the new nbadraft.net mock has MKG going #7 to Golden State #ceezonsuicidewatch

If that's the way it breaks down, Toronto needs to do everything imaginable to try to swap with Portland; Golden State probably doesn't take Lillard (unless they trade down and someone else trades up and takes Lillard). Getting MKG would be such a huge salvaging of this draft. If the best we can do is Waiters or Rivers, I'll be pissed.

[Chr1s1anL]

He's more efficient. but wasn't he the sixth man at Syracuse? (Sorry, didn't watch too much of the Orange this year :$)

Austin Rivers was THE man at Duke. He didn't have anyone else around him to take off the pressure. He is an isolation player, and with college defenses, if there is no other threat on the floor, it's going to be hard to score efficiently on a decent amount of shots. Like the NBA, put LeBron with no shooters on the perimeter, maybe a bunch of rookie Demar Derozans, and the lane will be CROWDED.

I see Rivers as more of a BIG time scorer, I see him at top potential averaging 20+ points in the NBA. With that couple games going off for 40. Plus he isn't such a defensive liability.

I just think it all depends on your situation as a player. Austin Rivers on Syracuse might have been different as opposed to Dion Waiters on Duke.

in 33.3 minutes per game Austin Rivers averaged 15.5 on 43.3 FG%. Dion Waiters 24.1 mins per game and averaged 12.6 on 47.6 FG%. The point bout him being a 6th man is pointless. James Harden is a 6th and his deffinately better than most starting 2 guards in the league. Dion Waiter was on the better team and made sacrifice to win games. Big East is also the toughest conference in NCAA basketball.

[ReubenJRD]

in 33.3 minutes per game Austin Rivers averaged 15.5 on 43.3 FG%. Dion Waiters 24.1 mins per game and averaged 12.6 on 47.6 FG%. The point bout him being a 6th man is pointless. James Harden is a 6th and his deffinately better than most starting 2 guards in the league. Dion Waiter was on the better team and made sacrifice to win games. Big East is also the toughest conference in NCAA basketball.

Hmmm. Good points I guess. But the fact that it's College is different to the NBA level, that's why I didn't compare any NBA sixth men to Dion Waiters...

I don't know. I'm just not too big on Waiters, it's just my opinion. Austin Rivers has those intangibles that really make him a eye popping character. He was the number 1 player going into College out of high school, scouts saw something really nice..

These videos may not change your mind, but man this guy can really go OFF.

[ReubenJRD]

[Quirk]

How many times can I say Austin Rivers is below average in every single statistical category? Rivers is not even above average *at anything* in the NCAA. How on earth do people believe he will do better in the NBA? Rivers is the the most surefire bust in the first round. Both Lillard and Waiters are far better, even Lamb is better. *everybody* in the draft board is better. Rivers has flash and looks good, has good pedigree, and is a very well spoken young man, he will do lots of great things in life, but what ever it is he does excel at, it wont be playing in the NBA. Fools gold.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

8. Toronto Raptors Select
Perry Jones (Baylor)
With Jonas Valanciunas on the way, the Raptors can afford to take a chance on a guy who can be a dynamic compliment to their roster. He think’s he’s a guard, and with the bigs on this roster to man the inside, why not give him a shot to flash that potential on the perimeter or use him as a stretch four? Jones has a tremendous ceiling to his game, and with no players on the board who can make this team an immediate contender, it’s time to take a shot on a guy who could be a big steal and player in the league.

http://swishscout.com/?p=9142

Don't really like that pick but I can see the logic behind it.

[mcHAPPY]

http://swishscout.com/?p=9142

Don't really like that pick but I can see the logic behind it.

If that was the way the Raps were going, I think they'd be better off trading the pick to Houston for Lowry/pick. I think PJ3 is definitely available at 14 and possibly at 16.

[Joey]

WHOA. He wasn't doing any of that at Kentucky. Dudes got HOPS.

Could he be "Russell Westbrook 2.0"?

No... actually. Haha Not nearly as strong as Westbrook, and no he'll get to the rim that easy in the NBA. He can fly though, thats for damn sure.

[Joey]

I think PJ3 is definitely available at 14 and possibly at 16.

I'm not so sure. I've always believed that PJ3 will pull a Tristan Thompson and jump up the board with some team surprising alot of people and taking him Top 10. Never know though. 2 Days Away!!!

[Bouncepass]

How many times can I say Austin Rivers is below average in every single statistical category? Rivers is not even above average *at anything* in the NCAA. How on earth do people believe he will do better in the NBA? Rivers is the the most surefire bust in the first round. Both Lillard and Waiters are far better, even Lamb is better. *everybody* in the draft board is better. Rivers has flash and looks good, has good pedigree, and is a very well spoken young man, he will do lots of great things in life, but what ever it is he does excel at, it wont be playing in the NBA. Fools gold.

Lillard's stats as a Freshman were also "below average", and that was at a small school in a weak conference. Here are his Freshman stats:

Min 29.4
Pts 11.5
FG% 43.5
3P% 37.4
Ass 2.9
TO 2.3

How is Lillard's Freshman year better than Rivers'?

Waiters' Freshman year was even worse:
Min 16.3
Pts 6.6
FG% 41.1
3P% 32.9
Asst 1.5
TO 0.9

I still don't understand why people compare players based on last year's performance when they are at very different levels of development. Last year was Lillard's 4th year in college. He should be much more polished and a better shooter. He's had three more years to work on his game than a Freshman.