Based on how J.V. has played since the draft...

I think it would be tough ... a bit of a toss up with Drummond and Val imo ... PF's are so common, even very talented ones.
-Star PGs and Cs are what really get executives randy ... Since Drummond is publicly saying he'll go back to UCONN, i'd say the only competition for top spot (given his summer and season of success, matched with his skills and youth) would be Davis.

Has Davis proven as much as Val? I don't think so really ... playing against lesser competition, as part of an insanely gifted cast.
Does Davis have a higher ceiling than Val? In some areas of his game yes, but it's apples and oranges ...

He'd probably go #2, but my homer pride has me voting #1 :)

Look at how close Davis' hairline is to his Eyebrows!! Thats crazy!!
Not to mention he doesn't actually have a forehead...

At least Bert has one of those.

I don't think I could actually look at this kid long enough for him to be a Raptor. Haha


Google "Anthony Davis is" and let Google finish the Sentence.

Hint: The last word is not "Good", "Tall" or "Dominating".

Personally I think it would be pretty close race for #1 and Anthony Davis would only edge it out by winning NCAA tourney. With the summer Val had he would of started as the #1 pick this fall. Just the fact he would be the player in the draft with most ball experience And the fact that his Lithuania Big too(most all of them have successed in the league). I think GM would think his the most ready player between the two. 7 footers always get the edge.

Somebody point out an excellent fact in here. Valanciunas slipped a little because teams knew he wasn't going to play this season and in 2012 there would still be a need of a buyout from his former team. With the contract red flag removed and all the hype that's been going around in the last nine months, 5th overall would certainly be the absolute worst case scenario in 2012 for him had he waited.

Apollo can you please stay on topic...now back to that brow...HOLY SHIT

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thead wrote:

Apollo can you please stay on topic...now back to that brow...HOLY SHIT

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HAHAHA
This made me laugh.
Well played, sir.

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joey_hesketh wrote:

Look at how close Davis' hairline is to his Eyebrows!! Thats crazy!!
Not to mention he doesn't actually have a forehead...

At least Bert has one of those.

I don't think I could actually look at this kid long enough for him to be a Raptor. Haha


Google "Anthony Davis is" and let Google finish the Sentence.

Hint: The last word is not "Good", "Tall" or "Dominating".

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That is mean. True. But mean..... and, yes, I am guilty of laughing.

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Fanchie wrote:

I have to disagree. Well, partly at least.

Most young european entering the draft are bench players back home with limited minutes and not necessarily high level experience, so in this case, i do agree that college game is better.

But in JV's case (or Rubio's), the dude is a starter on his team (and has been for quite a while now), has played in the Euroleague, FIBA Euro championships : he's used to play with grown men at a professionnal level. This is priceless : don't forget that most college players won't ever become professionnal, so I think the average level is higher in Europe.

Then there is the style/rules differences, but there are some between college hoops and NBA too.

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I do agree that Euro leagues are better than the NCAA. Well most, remember there are different tiers. JV is not in the top tier. I still think it is better than most NCAA competition though. The only thing I think helps NCAA players is that they are playing against 90% of the other people that are going to be in the draft. It kind of gives you a better barometer of how they compare to the rest of the class.

If Val was in this draft I got to say he'd go #2 over Drummond. Both have enormous potential but with Val's success internationally, I think he'd move ahead of Drummond who is having a so-so freshman season. I think the top 5 would be:

1. Anthony Davis
2. J.V
3. Harrison Barnes
4. Drummond
5. MGK

Anthony Davis has confirmed that he and his unibrow will be entering the draft separately.

follow up question... Will the unibrow not get jealous if it is taken in the late second round while the rest of Anthony Davis goes in the first round? What if they play on different teams? According to some scouts the unibrow started out on the perimeter but as it grew has fallen into a more natural center position.

I think he goes third, maybe fourth though it depends which teams are picking in the top spots. If the Raps picked first, they might take him again since they do a lot of international scouting and market this team as being international. Some teams don't do as much with international guys and might be inclined to take American players first if the talent level is similar.

There is also the problem that even when drafted, Val could decide not to come over right away like we saw Rubio do. At the fifth pick that's not such a big deal, especially since he has first overall talent, but at the first spot? That might be a franchise killer. Can you imagine if Cleveland passed on Irving took Jonas first overall and he decided not to come over right away? Heads would have rolled, fans would be pissed. Move that to this year: do you think there is any GM who passes on a superstar level prospect like Davis for a guy that may not show up for camp? The biggest thing with the 1st overall pick is having that guy puts butts in seats for franchises that need it. I don't think any team takes that risk.

Jonas probably would deserve to go first or second but I think most teams would take Davis, Drummand and probably even Barnes ahead of him.

I hate to feed in to the European stereotypes and stigma but another thing to remember with the deep draft class, no one wants to be Detroit and pick Darko. However, looking at performance and playing career I think JV has to be considered top 3 - four at the max (for the record I picked 2).

Top 2, easily.

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Matt52 wrote:

I hate to feed in to the European stereotypes and stigma but another thing to remember with the deep draft class, no one wants to be Detroit and pick Darko. However, looking at performance and playing career I think JV has to be considered top 3 - four at the max (for the record I picked 2).

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He could've went 3rd last year if not for his contract situation.

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Nilanka wrote:

He could've went 3rd last year if not for his contract situation.

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True but last year was considered a weak draft class by the 'experts'. The 'experts' are saying this year is a strong draft class which is why I feel there has to be consideration given to this.

Another question that can be framed is if JV was coming up in the 2011 draft after the summer and season he just had, would he go #1? In other words is JV a better prospect than Irving?

I think Cleveland would have probably still picked Irving, knowing that they could either get JV or Kanter at #4.

I'd be curious what non-Raptors fans think about JV. Most of them probably don't even know who he is.

The Spurs know who he is. They were willing to deal Tony Parker to have the right to draft him.

Also Cleveland, saw their forums, how furious some of them were when they saw JV not being picked.

Well Tristan Thompson was a huge surprise to many. It blew most mocks out of the water from that point on. Colangelo must have been doing double fist pumps when the Cavs called Thompson's name.