Chad Ford Mock Draft 1.0: Raptors select Enes Kanter (Enes v Jonas starts post #139)

[Shantz]

Kanter is currently training in Chicago and Ford is there today to check him out.

Via Chad Ford's Twitter Account:

"Kanter looked great. Tough. Great shooter. Skilled. Showed some leaping ability. In great shape. Feeling good about our Top 3 projection."

http://twitter.com/chadfordinsider

Also, a Al Horford comparison is a much bigger compliment in my eyes then an Al Jefferson. I have a feeling that Kanter is going to be a solid player in the NBA...but if he could end up being somewhere between the two of them (of even up to or beyond Horford) then we have a great player on our hands.

But beyond Kyrie, I don't know who fits our team better then Kanter. And even in terms of best player available...not sure who I would give the nod to between Kanter and Williams.

[Matt52]

Kanter is currently training in Chicago and Ford is there today to check him out.

Via Chad Ford's Twitter Account:

"Kanter looked great. Tough. Great shooter. Skilled. Showed some leaping ability. In great shape. Feeling good about our Top 3 projection."

http://twitter.com/chadfordinsider

Also, a Al Horford comparison is a much bigger compliment in my eyes then an Al Jefferson. I have a feeling that Kanter is going to be a solid player in the NBA...but if he could end up being somewhere between the two of them (of even up to or beyond Horford) then we have a great player on our hands.

But beyond Kyrie, I don't know who fits our team better then Kanter. And even in terms of best player available...not sure who I would give the nod to between Kanter and Williams.

+1

My only addition to the comparison to Horford would be a bigger Horford - about an inch and, at 18, already 15 pounds (after losing weight).

[Maleko]

Kanter is currently training in Chicago and Ford is there today to check him out.

Via Chad Ford's Twitter Account:

"Kanter looked great. Tough. Great shooter. Skilled. Showed some leaping ability. In great shape. Feeling good about our Top 3 projection."

http://twitter.com/chadfordinsider

Also, a Al Horford comparison is a much bigger compliment in my eyes then an Al Jefferson. I have a feeling that Kanter is going to be a solid player in the NBA...but if he could end up being somewhere between the two of them (of even up to or beyond Horford) then we have a great player on our hands.

But beyond Kyrie, I don't know who fits our team better then Kanter. And even in terms of best player available...not sure who I would give the nod to between Kanter and Williams.

I agree. I would go Kanter over Williams at this time, as I am still leery of Williams' ability to ultimately defend the 3 in the NBA.

[Apollo]

If Ed Davis follows through on his promise to add 15-20lbs of muscle over the off-season then Williams could play the 4 and you need no worry about it.

[Tim W.]

Well I hope he develops as you've planned as Jefferson is an accomplished NBA player who's had scoring seasons as high as 23ppg. Although on a bad team at the time, he's proven himself and his scoring abilities at the highest level of competition.

Let's see what you got Enes cause your getting some hefty comparisons right now.

Al Jefferson was the 15th pick in a pretty mediocre draft, and was about the same age as Kanter is right now. I don't think anyone is saying that Kanter will be averaging 23 ppg, but the fact is that Kanter's offensive game has some similarities to Jefferson's. To say we have no idea what Kanter's game is like is false. We've seen he can hit with range and that he's got good footwork in the post. We obviously don't know how that translates to the NBA, but that's the whole gamble with drafting players. Some work out and some don't.

[Maleko]

What's interesting is looking back at draft express, they had projected Ed Davis to be a more talented Udonis Haslem potential Horford type player. And now Kanter being compared to a bigger Horford.

[Tim W.]

I agree. I would go Kanter over Williams at this time, as I am still leery of Williams' ability to ultimately defend the 3 in the NBA.

I have more questions about Williams than Kanter, despite Williams having a monster college year. I think he's simply too short to play PF, in the NBA, and I agree about his ability to defend the 3. If he can, great, but if he can't, then I see him as a Glen Robinson-type player, who might put up some nice numbers, but is too one-dimensional to have a great impact.

Kanter is more of an unknown, but I see fewer downsides with him. He's big, strong, has scoring ability and is a good enough defender that I think he'll have a good, long career.

[Matt52]

If Ed Davis follows through on his promise to add 15-20lbs of muscle over the off-season then Williams could play the 4 and you need no worry about it.

I think ED would need more than 15-20 pounds to play the C. Given the nature of the NBA these days, I do agree with Colangelo's statement of guards, wings, and bigs - especially the bigs. If Davis added 15-20 and Kanter was drafted, I do very much like that front court - especially with a healthy Amir coming off the bench.

[Apollo]

I think ED would need more than 15-20 pounds to play the C.

Joakim Noah is around that size (Ed with 20lbs of extra muscle). He looks to be holding his own.

If Davis added 15-20 and Kanter was drafted, I do very much like that front court - especially with a healthy Amir coming off the bench.

Me too. That's a great look for the future.

[grindhouse]

if we are making comparisons I see

derrick williams as Corliss Williamson
enes kanter as Timofey Mozgov
kyrie irving as tru holiday
kenneth faried as ben wallace
kemba as brevin knight
terrence jones as jamal mashburn
reggie jackson as part Chauncey Billups part rafer alston

[Apollo]

Kemba is a lot more aggressive than Brev was.

[grindhouse]

i love brevin knights game but at the nba level i think kemba will run into the same issues with his height

[grindhouse]

the more i look at the point guards in this draft the more i think it will be a deep point guard draft charles jenkins and reggie jackson are making me think why waste a early draft pick on irving (wishes I had synergy )

[joey_hesketh]

i love brevin knights game but at the nba level i think kemba will run into the same issues with his height

But people were saying the thing about Ty Lawson. And look at what he's doing in Denver.

He is listed at 5'-11" on the UNC webpage. Also listed at 5'-11" on NBA.com.
Kemba is listed at 6-1 on UConns page. Most places have him at 6' or 6'-1".

He put up more Points and grabbed more boards than Ty Lawson as a Junior, while basically putting up the same Assist numbers as Sophomores. As a Junior, where he still averaged a respectable 4.5apg (to Ty's 6.6apg) was asked to do the majority of the offensive lifting, while still running the offence.

I don't think his height is going to be an issue. At all. These guys have learned to adjust because of being slightly shorter (Kemba isn't THAT short) their entire lives. If he can be THAT dynamic for a Championship team, I think he will be more than alright in the NBA.

ADD I don't think the words 'dynamic' or 'explosive' were EVER used to describe Knights game. haha Kemba is all kinds of dynamite.

ADD Ty Lawson UNC Stats Page

Kemba Walker UConn Stats page.


Whoa.. forgot this was an Enes Kanter thread... my bad. haha

[ceez]

yeah add me in the "Kanter over Williams" club.

[Quixotic]

if we are making comparisons I see

derrick williams as Corliss Williamson
enes kanter as Timofey Mozgov
kyrie irving as tru holiday
kenneth faried as ben wallace
kemba as brevin knight
terrence jones as jamal mashburn
reggie jackson as part Chauncey Billups part rafer alston

Kanter as Mozgov? Seriously?

[Tim W.]

if we are making comparisons I see

derrick williams as Corliss Williamson
enes kanter as Timofey Mozgov
kyrie irving as tru holiday
kenneth faried as ben wallace
kemba as brevin knight
terrence jones as jamal mashburn
reggie jackson as part Chauncey Billups part rafer alston

I don't see any of that. AT all.

Corliss was never the scorer that Williams was, and was not nearly the athlete.

I don't get the Mozgov comparison, other than they are both white and European. Mozgov is limited offensively. Kanter is has range out to the 3 point line.

Irving is a true PG who is great at running an offense. My big question with Holiday coming out was whether he was a true PG.

If Faried is Ben Wallace, he should be a lot higher.

Kemba is one of the best scorers in the NCAA, but might be a little shot happy. Brevin Knight was a pass first PG.

Jones isn't even in this draft, and would be if anyone was comparing him to Mashburn.

I still can't get over that ANYONE would be part Chauncey Billups and Rafer Alston, two players who couldn't be more different.

[Quixotic]

But people were saying the thing about Ty Lawson. And look at what he's doing in Denver.

He is listed at 5'-11" on the UNC webpage. Also listed at 5'-11" on NBA.com.
Kemba is listed at 6-1 on UConns page. Most places have him at 6' or 6'-1".

He put up more Points and grabbed more boards than Ty Lawson as a Junior, while basically putting up the same Assist numbers as Sophomores. As a Junior, where he still averaged a respectable 4.5apg (to Ty's 6.6apg) was asked to do the majority of the offensive lifting, while still running the offence.

I don't think his height is going to be an issue. At all. These guys have learned to adjust because of being slightly shorter (Kemba isn't THAT short) their entire lives. If he can be THAT dynamic for a Championship team, I think he will be more than alright in the NBA.

ADD I don't think the words 'dynamic' or 'explosive' were EVER used to describe Knights game. haha Kemba is all kinds of dynamite.

ADD Ty Lawson UNC Stats Page

Kemba Walker UConn Stats page.


Whoa.. forgot this was an Enes Kanter thread... my bad. haha

I don't think Lawson is a good comparison, not to mention just because one person translated well doesn't mean everyone will. The only real similarity is they're both considered "small". Since you're looking at numbers, do notice that while Lawson did score less (26.6 pp48, vs Walker's 30.0 pp48), he was so much more efficient it isn't even close (.532 vs .428 fg%) And those assist numbers are more far off than you state. Their assist numbers are "similar" for their sophomore years, except that Lawson was playing 10 fewer minutes per game. As juniors, Lawson was posting 10.53 assists per 48 minutes. Walker only had 5.72 assists per 48 minutes. I think Bobby Jackson would have been a much better comparison.

Also, adjusting for their height in college play is not the same as adjusting to the NBA. Everyone, not only undersized players, have to adjust to the NBA and not everyone succeeds. NBAers are simply bigger, faster and stronger. Not to mention Lawson was picked 18th to offset the risk. #3 (assuming that's our pick) might be too high to gamble on Walker being one of the few special undersized guards. #3 is too high for a team sorely needing to add cornerstones and not solid players who only start for bad teams and would come off the bench for a good one (a la Bobby Jackson).

[Chr1s1anL]

I am really high on Jonas Valancuinas. I have always favored players that had attributes that you couldn't teach. Jonas is prime example of that. You can't teach length and Jonas has a lot of it. 6'11" with out shoes will most like measure around 7'1" in shoes and has a huge wingspan projected to be 7'6" and his only 19 men usually stop growing when their 21.

I know a lot of you are on the Enes Kanter bandwagon but, when I look at him all I see is offense. I think we already have enough of that. We really need to start changing the culture in Toronto. That start with the players we draft. I don't have problem with drafting a player with offensive potential but, they have to have defensive potential too. I just don't see that with Kanter.

With Jonas Valanciunas I see both! I see him possibly being a cross between Pau Gasol and Andris Biedrins at his best. I'm going to just stick with the defense though. Andrew Bogut, Serge Ibaka, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee and Darko were all top 5 in blocked shots. What do they all have in common? They all have a wingspan higher than 7'2". I feel that Jonas has the potential to be top 5 in blocks but, still get you buckets.

[Quixotic]

Blocks alone isn't an indicator of a good defensive center. Also, while we're looking at wingspans, here's a bunch of wingspan freaks that should be taken into account as well:

Saer Sene, 7'8.5"
Michael Olowokandi, 7'8"
Hassan Whiteside, 7'7"
Eddy Curry, 7'6.5"
DeSagana Diop, 7'6.5"
Hasheem Thabeet, 7'6.25"
Patrick O'Bryant, 7'5.75"
Loren Woods, 7'5.5"
Solomon Alabi, 7'5"

Actually, looking at the list of top wingspans, it seemed there were a lot more nobodies than stars. Valanciunas' 7'6" wingspan is self-reported anyway. Until he gets measured, we won't know if he's closer to 7'4" or 7'6".

Just as you don't see defensive potential for Kanter (not that there's much of anything to go on in the first place), I just don't see Valanciunas being more than a role player on offense realistically speaking. Maybe it's just me, but I find it amusing that these highlight reels of his don't really show any offensive ability beyond tip-ins, putbacks, alley-oops and dunks off of blown defensive plays. At most, he gets the ball, dribbles once and dunks. Just as I'm not big on watching videos of a prospect's made 3s, these dunks don't show much except that he can dunk when left wide open. Surely you don't need to spend a top 3 pick on that. He also doesn't rebound that well for someone with that great a wingspan. Not saying he's a bad rebounder, but he's not great for his size. I see him topping out at 7/8 rebounds per game.

Just to balance out the highlights mix, here's a breakdown of what is probably one of his poorer performances.