2011 Draft Rumors & Discussion

[Apollo]

Wiz and Suns looking to move up to #2?

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the #2 pick in the upcoming draft, and it’s not a state secret that they’re not overly thrilled about the pick. Arizona combo forward Derrick Williams is the consensus #2 pick in the draft, and Minnesota’s two best young players are Michael Beasley and Kevin Love, so there are a ton of rumors about Minnesota potentially looking to trade the pick.

According to Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony, the Suns and the Wizards have been “the most active teams” in trying to trade up for Williams. The teams hold the 13th and 6th picks in the upcoming draft, respectively. Minnesota is reportedly looking for a “veteran big man” in a potential trade of the #2 pick, which neither the Suns or Wizards can really offer, unless the Suns are willing to give up Robin Lopez (who isn’t even that much of a veteran), or David Kahn is a big Marcin Gortat fan.

Lots of teams seem to want Williams more than the Timberwolves do, but it takes a lot more than that to make a trade involving a #2 overall pick. We’ll see how this all shakes out.

Source: NBC Sports

[HuskyRaptor]

[RaptorDan]

Nice find. Brandon looks pretty sweet in this workout. I wouldn't be too upset if we landed him in the draft.

[grindhouse]

david locke did some breakdowns of the top prospects, enjoy

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/view...?f=3&t=1116905

[mcHAPPY]

HoopsWorld.com: Consensus Mock 5.0

It seems Kanter's allure is fading with the 'analysts'.

Jazz at 3
Raptors at 5
Wizards at 6
Kings at 7
Pistons at 8

I hope Yannis is the only one wrong with having him gone by 5.

Seems there is a general consensus Valanciunas is gone at 4 to the Cavs. The odd man out on that prediction is Kyler who has Williams falling to the Cavs at 4 with Valanciunas and Knight going 2 and 3.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=20021

[Quixotic]

I sure hope so. Having Kanter, Davis and Johnson cleaning up on the boards for the next however long is quite the tantalizing thought.

[Maleko]

I sure hope so. Having Kanter, Davis and Johnson cleaning up on the boards for the next however long is quite the tantalizing thought.

Yes, yes it is.

[jbml]

Irving's toe

http://morningjournal.com/articles/2...9775819358.txt

He said there shouldn't be any long-term problems for Irving.

[G-locity]

What do you guys think of Josh Selby?

If ever BC aquires a late pick, what do you guys think about this kid?. He has good size and can play both guard positions and is very athletic as well. His game is similar as knights though i think knight is a better shooter at this point.

[Quixotic]

As much as I love taking chances on people with potential, I wonder if he would receive enough playing time behind DeRozan and whoever our starting point will be to fully develop here, especially since he doesn't exactly seem all that different from Bayless. I imagine if he becomes a good player, it'd likely be with another team.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

As much as I love taking chances on people with potential, I wonder if he would receive enough playing time behind DeRozan and whoever our starting point will be to fully develop here, especially since he doesn't exactly seem all that different from Bayless. I imagine if he becomes a good player, it'd likely be with another team.

Selby can play point...

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I think he's going to be one of the steals of this draft. I really don't see why he's coming out this year, if anyone can dramatically improve their stock by staying in school it's him.

[Quixotic]

Selby can play point...

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I think he's going to be one of the steals of this draft. I really don't see why he's coming out this year, if anyone can dramatically improve their stock by staying in school it's him.

I know he's a point, hence "behind ... whoever our starting point will be." But he's another point in the great line of points who haven't proven their ability to be a floor general. At the very least Bayless had SOME decent looking games in the NBA. Selby's 8 pts, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and shoddy %s all around doesn't look THAT great in predicting a future as a good floor general.

[MangoKid]

I don't see what Selby does anything different than what Bayless does. And like Q said, the kid while he does have talent, he's not a floor general, he's more of a combo guard.

[Employee]

Latest Yahoo mock draft (which is done by the guy at Draft Express):

5 Toronto Raptors
Kemba Walker, PG
21 years old; 6'1"; 185 lbs
Connecticut, junior
Toronto's situation will be in flux until a coach is hired to replace the recently removed Jay Triano. The vacancy makes this pick difficult to project at the moment. Nevertheless, if Brandon Knight is off the board, Walker is considered one of the strongest candidates in the early going, especially considering the team's clear-cut need for a franchise point guard. He joins dark horses Bismack Biyombo and Kawhi Leonard, candidates who would go a long ways in bolstering a team defense that ranked worst in the NBA last season.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...ug=ycn-8581953

[MangoKid]

This one here is for ceez, who's a big Burks lova. I found this on the ESPN Insider section.

Colorado guard Alec Burks had to pull out of his workout against Washington State's Klay Thompson on Sunday in Charlotte because of a shoulder injury he suffered in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Reportedly Burks ran into Kansas' Markieff Morris while running off a screen on Saturday and that's when he got hurt.

"That's what he told me," Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney told the Journal Sentinel. "He felt like it was OK. He just kind of banged it but he completed the workout. I thought he had a good workout."

Milwaukee likes Burks a lot and he went out to dinner with their general manager, assistant general manager and head coach on Friday. Normally that's a not a big deal, but Burks is the only player the Bucks have taken out to dinner so far.

The Charlotte Observer reports Burks separated his shoulder, so there is a chance he won't be able to work out again until just prior to the draft.

-- Nick Borges