The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[Masai Ujiri]

If the Raptors go for the Atlantic title then Masai's Draft targets should be Glen Robinson and/or a PG. But then again, its better to go with BPA

Yup Masai should lock himself into these targets 6 months before the draft.

[MACK11]

One guy that nobody talks about is Elfrid Payton out of LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE. He's averaging around 25 5 5 with almost 3 steals a game and is super athletic. I would compare him to Eric Bledsoe

[mcHAPPY]

lon (Paris, France)

Could Marcus Smart end up 1st in 2014's draft?

Chad Ford
(1:31 PM)

Really doubt it. So much competition at the top and despite the early season narrative after Smart went off for 39 points against Memphis, his shooting percentage isn't much better than last year. He's got to knock down shots more consistently.

lon (Paris, France)

Who do you rather have for the next 5-6 years: Wiggins or Parker?

Chad Ford
(1:31 PM)

Right now, Wiggins. But clearly Parker is much more ready to play right now and would be the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year in the 2014-15 season.

Brent E (Fort Wayne, IN)

It seems like lately the top PGs in the draft have gone lower than the top players at other positions. Do you see Exum slippping out of the top 5 for similar reasons?

Chad Ford
(1:34 PM)

No. Don't see it. There are still scouts and GMs who swear he's the best prospect in the draft. Period. And after the safer picks like Parker and Randle are off the board, he's going to be very popular. Unless he gets injured or works out really poorly, he's not getting out of the Top 5. Way too much talent there.

Joe (Columbus)

Chad, it seems like Embiid is lower than expected in mock drafts. Is this just a product of people not seeing him at this point or could he really be in the 8-12 range?

Chad Ford
(1:38 PM)

He's a top 5 pick and if a bold GM gets the No. 1 pick, he could go No. 1 overall. Not sure there is a player with more long-term upside than Embiid in this draft.

Paul (Orlando)

Embiid = Bigger Ibaka ?

Chad Ford
(1:43 PM)

Think that's his floor. Ceiling higher than that.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat...ider-chad-ford

[mcHAPPY]

Chad (Charlotte, nc)

What are your thoughts on nc state's TJ Warren. He seems to have a great midrange and short game along with being a very good rebounder for his position.

Chad Ford
(1:35 PM)

Very intriguing. Not ideal size for his position nor is he an elite athlete, but has such a great nose for the ball. Some teams really like him, others are more on the fence. Probably a bubble first rounder in the 20s to early 30s right now.

Salik (Newport Beach)

Outside Wiggins, Parker, Randle, Exum, Smart and Embid, who are the best prospects in your opinion? Who rounds out that top 10?

Chad Ford
(1:40 PM)

Aaron Gordon of Arizona, Dario Saric of Croatia, Noah Vonleh of Indiana and Zach LaVine of UCLA round out my Top 10.

Gonçalo (Portugal)

Hi Chad, what's your thoughts about Saric? I see a little Dirk/Lebron mix there.

Chad Ford
(1:44 PM)

Probably going a little too far there. Those are two superstars. He doesn't have Dirk's shooting ability, nor does he have the strength and athletic ability of LeBron. Those are his two biggest weaknesses. But his basketball IQ is incredible, he is a terrific facilitator and he isn't afraid to take over a game. In a normal draft year, he'd be a Top 5 pick.

Chris (Lexington )

James young and wcs top ten picks?

Chad Ford
(1:45 PM)

Just outside the top 10. Young needs more consistency on that jumper and Cauley-Stein needs to continue to show improvement in his offensive game, but both guys have a good shot of going int he lottery.

Marty (Massachusetts)


Outside of Exum and Saric, who are the best international players in this draft?

Chad Ford
(1:48 PM)

Mario Hezonja is really intriguing. Another Croatian who is getting limited minutes in Spain right now, but super talented. Jusuf Nurkic of Bosnia and Nikola Milutinov of Serbia also mentioned as potential first rounders.

RC (Atlanta)

Is LSU freshman Jordan Mickey starting to get on the radar of some NBA scouts? He should be getting some of the same pub some of the other well known freshman are getting imo

Chad Ford
(1:48 PM)

Yes, lots of scouts intrigued, though he's probably better off going back to school for his sophomore season. Too crowded at the top.

Rich (Cleveland)

Who is your draft sleeper?

Chad Ford
(1:54 PM)

Pretty big fan of Wichita State's Ron Baker. Think Arizona State's Jahii Carson could follow in the footsteps of the Kings' Isaiah Thomas.

Marvin (Ohio)

What's the difference between Saric and Kyle Anderson? They seem to have very similar skill sets, yet Saric is a top-10 pick while Anderson is a borderline 1st rounder.

Chad Ford
(1:55 PM)

Saric a better athlete and better defender, more aggressive scorer. But you're right. There are similarities there.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat...ider-chad-ford

[isaacthompson]

Jahii Carson seems really intriguing...
Dude is lightning fast and has incredible hops for his size. Reminds me of a more athletic Ty Lawson, he's much more fearless in terms of driving to the basket tho almost kyle lowry like.

I like this kid, he's done very well this year. Had a 40 point game back in November too.

[magoon]

A very valid point, that has been made before, often. I agree. International players are being scouted better now, by more teams. The point doesn't address what I was saying though.

Well, your overall point is that the draft is a crapshoot, and I don't entirely agree. Certainly there's always luck involved - you can grab a Chandler Parsons in the second round and get a credible starter for basically nothing. (Parsons might want to believe he's a star player, but... no.) Certainly you can draft high and do poorly in your choices, but as a general rule these days, when you draft poorly everybody else says "wait, what?" Most high-pick mistakes get noticed at the time they're made: Bennett going 1st, Alex Len going fourth (should have been Noel if you wanted an injured big, Phoenix!), Dion Waiters going fourth over Harrison Barnes when everybody expected him to go 7-9 and most likely end up with the Raps (and what a bullet we dodged there), and so on.

But as a general rule: you usually get a good player in the first ten picks. You usually get a solid starter/backup in the second ten picks. You usually get a solid backup in the third ten picks. And most second-rounders punt out of the league after a few years if they play at all.

[e_wheazhy_]

The Real 2014 Lottery Depth

Yup Masai should lock himself into these targets 6 months before the draft.

I'm not trying to be a dick but Masai has probably already locked into a (albeit wide) variety of prospects even at this early stage of the season. Anything we tell him to do or suggest he "should" do, he's probably already done or is doing.
That's why he's an NBA GM and we are not.


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[Masai Ujiri]

I'm not trying to be a dick but Masai has probably already locked into a (albeit wide) variety of prospects even at this early stage of the season. Anything we tell him to do or suggest he "should" do, he's probably already done or is doing.
That's why he's an NBA GM and we are not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you misunderstood what I meant by lock in, I was also being sarcastic

[MACK11]

I'm not trying to be a dick but Masai has probably already locked into a (albeit wide) variety of prospects even at this early stage of the season. Anything we tell him to do or suggest he "should" do, he's probably already done or is doing.
That's why he's an NBA GM and we are not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did you not feel the sarcasm...

[e_wheazhy_]

Did you not feel the sarcasm...

Kids, this should be a lesson to everyone. Don't drink and post on the forums.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Masai Ujiri]

People are sleeping on Aaron Gordon right now. The guy is a freak athlete and also very skilled. People are saying he's a tweeter, but he's actually taller and longer than Blake griffin is, so I don't see why he wouldn't be able to play the 4 effectively. I really like him and he's projected to go 19th by nbadraft.net right now.

Then there's our Canadian boy Ennis and a host of other potential sleepers. Masai's got this.

[white men can't jump]

People are sleeping on Aaron Gordon right now. The guy is a freak athlete and also very skilled. People are saying he's a tweeter, but he's actually taller and longer than Blake griffin is, so I don't see why he wouldn't be able to play the 4 effectively. I really like him and he's projected to go 19th by nbadraft.net right now.

Then there's our Canadian boy Ennis and a host of other potential sleepers. Masai's got this.

Gordon is longer than Griffin, but I thought he's an inch shorter (not a huge deal either way). I think the bigger issue of concern in terms of being a tweener is his weight/strength. Griffin is built like a house. Gordon isn't skinny, but at 220 that's more like a solid SF weight than it is a guy who can bang with PFs. And he doesn't have the offensive skill set to play SF full time yet.

The issue with tweeners is that their physical gifts may turn out to be less special at the next level if they have some issues, like in Gordon's case strength and skill set, and that they can't find their niche. I'm not saying it'll happen with Gordon, but when you look at the guys in the top 5/6, most of them are pretty easy to peg in terms of NBA niche.

Anyway, things always swing wildly until the NCAA tournament is over and workouts start. Can't imagine Gordon falling out of the top 10, but hard for me to see him cracking the top 5.

nbadraft.net is totally schizo this time of year. They have Jerami Grant going 9 even though he's really raw and a similar player to Gordon. Zach Lavine wasn't even on their board a short time ago, and Adreian Payne was around the 10-12 area, now he's at 23.....It's like every time they watch someone have a good game they totally shake everything up.

[The Great One]

Sleepers:

Tyler Ennis
Dario Saric
Perry Ellis
Semaj Christon

All could be available in the 16-20 range. Though, I still think MU will find a way to move up in this draft.

[white men can't jump]

Sleepers:

Tyler Ennis
Dario Saric
Perry Ellis
Semaj Christon

All could be available in the 16-20 range. Though, I still think MU will find a way to move up in this draft.

I think Ellis ends up being one of the guys who will suffer from classic tweener syndrome. He thrives in the post, but he will not be able to have his way against NBA competition. He's not big or quick enough, and he doesn't have Aaron Gordon or Jerami Grant level athleticism. He'll struggle not just offensively, but likely on D quite a bit. I see bench player in him in the NBA.

The other guys might all be quality starters, though Saric is a bit tough to peg in terms of niche. Still though, his ability to create and all-around skills make me more optimistic about his ability to be a quality starter than Ellis.

[The Great One]

Watched the Kansas game earlier today. And i can definitely see now why people are comparing Embiid to Olajuwon. First of all, for a big man he's got great footwork. He's built like Hakeem. He's got good touch around the rim. He's very quick. And he's a good shot blocker.

Pretty impressive 'Dream Shake' here by Embiid. Olajuwon like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Irvvb7Y4-w