Raps and NBA Draft conspiracy

[charlz]

I can't help but notice you're big on the anti-Raptor conspiracies. SO you think that the NBA conspired to end their CBA the summer after they figured that Toronto would bottom out, causing players to return to school so as not be drafted for a season that may not even happen because of a lockout? If it IS a conspiracy, it was the most complicated and brilliant conspiracy I've ever heard of, with so many variables to figure out that it has to be done by aliens.

---never mind---

[j bean]

Did i mention Jan Vesely is averaging 10 Pts/3 Rebs,a block and a steal as a 20 year old in the second best league in the world, playing with men instead of boys?

I'm not saying let's blow a top 2 pick on him but if we fall out of the top 2 or 3 he should definitely be looked at since was a a glaring hole at the SF unless people actually believe they can live with the James Johnson/Julian Wright electric combination.

All I know about Jan Vesely is the info that you have just provided. There isn't one person on the Raptors current roster including Solomon Alabi that I would give up on to look at Vesely. Maybe if he was very athletic and 40lbs heavier.

[ebrian]

This conspiracy stuff is really quite silly. I'm amazed that people actually believe in this. This is a joke thread, right?

[Apollo]

No, the league is trying to hold the Raptors back by hurting them at the draft. They changed the age limit before the 2006 lottery to stop them there. Now they're taking it up a notch this year by shutting down the entire league just to stop them from getting a superstar via the draft. They aren't happy about how Vince's Mom lost her excellent parking spot during his final season in Toronto. They're also not happy about the Bosh snub in Miami by Triano or maple syrup, or the metric system. This is retribution.

[pesterm1]

This conspiracy stuff is really quite silly. I'm amazed that people actually believe in this. This is a joke thread, right?

I tihnk charlz went a little to deep into the theory and brought up facts that werent researched well enough before making his conspiracy theory. however, i do think that the league is setup to an extent. for example i dont think they planned the CBA to end the year the raps are picking 3rd just to screw them over by players staying in school. BUT i do believe the draft is rigged in regards to the lottery and where certain teams will select in the draft. examples are.... cleveland drafting hometown guy lebron, chicago drafting rose another hometown guy, and dwight howard (shaq version 2) going to orlando.. its just all to ironic .

its to hard to rigg the things listed at the start of the thread but its not out of the question that things can be fixed in the NBA. i mean the government does it all the time, why cant the NBA. IMO its almost stupid for the NBA not to fix their league to help it along.

[MangoKid]

All I know about Jan Vesely is the info that you have just provided. There isn't one person on the Raptors current roster including Solomon Alabi that I would give up on to look at Vesely. Maybe if he was very athletic and 40lbs heavier.

Vesely is VERY athletic. You should read up on the kid. He's got a high motor, plays good D, and tries to dunk everything. If he was 40 pounds heavier, he'd be playing at 270 lbs. What SF aside from Lebron plays at 270? (Lebron is more at 250-260)

[MangoKid]

Oh, and to add to the conspiracy theory - the Raptors won the NBA draft in 1996 - they should have received Allen Iverson, but because of a clause saying they couldn't win the lottery for 5 years, they got the 2nd pick - and ended up with Marcus Camby..

[MangoKid]

2005 Raps get first over all pick but it is the first year NBA insisted players not come directly out from high school Diluting the Draft pool of Kevin Durant and Greg Oden among others.

We should thank our lucky stars that they put that rule into effect or else we would have had a gimpy Oden.

[Apollo]

Excellent point. Oden was the consensus #1. People were suggesting he might be the next Shaq back then.

[Bendit]

Oh, and to add to the conspiracy theory - the Raptors won the NBA draft in 1996 - they should have received Allen Iverson, but because of a clause saying they couldn't win the lottery for 5 years, they got the 2nd pick - and ended up with Marcus Camby..

I am assuming you were serious above...not really decphering this thread too well!!....I think Camby in retropect was the better pick who is still playing at a good level. Yes, Iverson was the flashy one but a selfish, high volume and high maintenance individual who ultimately did not win the big one (went to the finals as did Camby) and a coach killer. Camby was/is a terrific defensive centre and one who would be a good addition to the Raptors even at this late stage of his career (a couple of years)...exactly the type of player in his heyday that we need now.

[Apollo]

AI

• 14 seasons
• Career 27PPG
• 11 time all-star
• two time all-star MVP
• one time league MVP
• 3 All-NBA 1st team
• 3 All-NBA 2nd team
• 1 All-NBA 3rd team
• 4 Scoring Titles

Iverson is going to the hall of fame. We don't have to like Allen Iverson but we need to give him his due respect. The guy had a better career than Camby. You can blast Iverson all you want for his attitude but while he was out there going to war, putting his body on the line every night in the trenches against guys at times twice his size, Marcus Camby was busy recuperating for his most recent injury that had him sidelined collecting a fat cheque for nothing. Iverson was tough as nails and is one of the most talented and explosive players to ever play the game. in my opinion Camby can't touch him.

[Pureraptors]

Yea it's there would be a injustice in the world if someone didn't point out that comparing Camby to Iverson is ludicrous

[pesterm1]

AI

• 14 seasons
• Career 27PPG
• 11 time all-star
• two time all-star MVP
• one time league MVP
• 3 All-NBA 1st team
• 3 All-NBA 2nd team
• 1 All-NBA 3rd team
• 4 Scoring Titles

Iverson is going to the hall of fame. We don't have to like Allen Iverson but we need to give him his due respect. The guy had a better career than Camby. You can blast Iverson all you want for his attitude but while he was out there going to war, putting his body on the line every night in the trenches against guys at times twice his size, Marcus Camby was busy recuperating for his most recent injury that had him sidelined collecting a fat cheque for nothing. Iverson was tough as nails and is one of the most talented and explosive players to ever play the game. in my opinion Camby can't touch him.

+1 ... dont even get me started on iversons marketing value at the time.. there wasnt a kid out there whu didint want to be Ai. remmeber the shoes and clothing line. dude was crazy in his day.

[Apollo]

And he carried a flawed 76ers team to the finals that one year. Who can forget that game seven against the Raptors in round two.

[funkie]

iverson stated that he wasn't interested in being drafted by the raptors anyways, so maybe the NBA was doing us a favour :P

on a serious note, it was because we already had damon stoudamire as our starting point guard and iverson wanted to play point guard as well. no different than steve francis with vancouver really.

[j bean]

Vesely is VERY athletic. You should read up on the kid. He's got a high motor, plays good D, and tries to dunk everything. If he was 40 pounds heavier, he'd be playing at 270 lbs. What SF aside from Lebron plays at 270? (Lebron is more at 250-260)

The video says he is 215lbs. Add forty and he is 255.

[MangoKid]

The video says he is 215lbs. Add forty and he is 255.

nbadraft.net says he's 230 - LINK
draft express says he's 240 - LINK
ESPN says he's 240 - LINK

So really, as a SF, 230-240 is perfect. Most 3's are at that weight anyway.

He's currently averaging 14 plus points and close to 5 boards, plus he's shooting about 60% from the field in the Euroleague, playing against men. Not kids, men.

[pesterm1]

nbadraft.net says he's 230 - LINK
draft express says he's 240 - LINK
ESPN says he's 240 - LINK

So really, as a SF, 230-240 is perfect. Most 3's are at that weight anyway.

He's currently averaging 14 plus points and close to 5 boards, plus he's shooting about 60% from the field in the Euroleague, playing against men. Not kids, men.

bleh, not a fan of vesley, doesnt do it for me..

[smushmush]

Wow, with Harrison Barnes going back to school, The Raps better hope the get the 1st or 2nd pick in the draft and get a chance to take either Irving or Williams. They're probably the only 2 players who could become real good players 2/3 years down the road. Other players like Brandon Knight, Kemba, and/or Kanter might have a shot too. Not sure if Knight or Kanter are coming out either. If you can't get one of these guys, it might be time to look at moving the pick and roster players to upgrade.

I'm surprised Barnes chose to stay. Considering that next year's crop is expected to be much stronger, his stock could fall. I would also assume that the NBA will put in a salary cap restraint on rookie contracts as well. So, Barnes could end up costing himself a ton of money.

What does everyone think of Williams? I think he's going to be a real good NBA player but here's my concern. I haven't seen him play much but I remember reading a piece on him that stated that at 6 ft 8, he has the height of a SF but some scouts weren't sure if he had the speed and quickness to play the 3 at the pro level. Many scouts see him as moving to the 4 and being an undersized PF. Any truth to this assessment or would Williams be fine at the 3?

Williams will be fine at the 3, I watched Derrick Williams play in the NCAA March Madness tournament and he played pretty good defense for a 20 year old kid not from excellent college programs a la Duke, North Carolina, Texas and Kentucky . In addition, he has the legit size (250+ pounds) and height (6'8 and could be higher since he is 20 years old) at 20 years old to guard the LeBron's and Carmelo's (even the Joe Johnson's since Cool Joe is 6'7 and 240+ pounds playing the 2 position lol) of the NBA imo.

[MangoKid]

bleh, not a fan of vesley, doesnt do it for me..

I'd take Vesely over Williams. That's just me though. I know you wouldn't. But Vesely has more potential and creates more matchup problems than Williams.