Draft Profile: Kemba Walker

[NoFrillz]

Just watching the highlights alone, Walker reminds me of a shorter D-Wade--the way he gets to the basket. Once he gets a shoulder past you, see ya. He also uses an array of step-backs and uses his '2-steps' to effectively get around defenders when going all the way to the basket. Yeah, a lot of players use the step back to create space, but not as well as wade or walker.

[dballa21]

Don't kid yourself man, Kemba is and never will be anywhere near CP3's level. They don't even play a similar game, so why even bother throwing out a comparison like that?

CP3 is a pass first PG and likely the best defender at his position in the game. Nothing anyone has seen from Kemba Walker suggests he'll be like this. If that was the case, he be going first overall in this weaker draft class.

You're right he will not be like CP, but it's not unrealistic to say he's the next Tim Hardaway. He has all the tools, athleticism, defense, rebounding(surprisingly), passing, and leadership. if he goes to the right team he can become an elite pg.

[Deadallus]

So everyone wants us to draft Kanter when he rejected an interview with our team? Steve Francis anyone? Walker is our guy. People will complain, but when he plays like Mighty Mouse and walks away with the ROY award, the suspension on the bandwagon will fail from excessive weight.

[MyMomLovesMe]

I'm liking Walker more and more...

[dballa21]

when he plays like Mighty Mouse and walks away with the ROY award, the suspension on the bandwagon will fail from excessive weight.

I can't wait for this, as long as he's wearing a raps jersey.

[LeeZ]

That move that Walker pulls at 1:29 or so...sweet though it is...is that not a travel? He picks up his dribble with the hop step. Then takes another step after the pump fake. Isn't the hop step already two steps?

That was absolutely, totally and indisputably a travel. Glad someone else noticed it.

[Tim W.]

You're missing the point. Walker was told by the UCONN coaches to score. He was their main weapon.

The best pg's are always a scoring threat. Jose is at his best when he attacks. The Raps suck when he runs the court and predictably stops, looking to pass.

Kemba has all the tools to be a Chris Paul level pg for years. He's mature, focussed and a winner. Exactly what this team needs.

Kanter showed he can be a bull at the Hoops thing. I wouldn't be unhappy if BC took him. But, in my opinion, Walker is the best choice. I like him better than Irving and Williams. (although, I'd be happy with either of them)

The team that gets Walker is going to compete for a title in the next 8 years.

You think Walker can be a top 5 player in the league?!?!? I really don't know what to say about that.

[Arsenalist]

That puts all the rumours to bed. However, how much of an upgrade is he than Bayless? While I slowly warmed up to what Walker brings to the table - I do like his intangibles, that size of his and that jumpshot worries me. He'll have to work hard on that jumpshot. If Colangelo selects him, I'll back it. But if Williams drops and Kanter is around at 5 and Walker is the pick, I will admit that I'd be disappointed.

Walker can create serious separation for himself and has an improving mid-range game. Oh wait, isn't that Ben Gordon lite you say? Where he separates himself from his "type" is that he loves to make plays for others, and is an improving team player. He's a scorer who genuinely wants to be a pass-first PG, maybe in college he didn't fully get that chance because he had to carry a lot of the scoring burden due to him being a junior on a team giving freshman big minutes.

People making an issue about Kemba Walker's height need to realize that he's 6'1" with shoes, which is the same as Rajon Rondo. You can make a case that he can be exploited by people shooting over him, but honestly, when did you recall T.J Ford being exploited on defense? Even Barea in Dallas gets away with it? Height is much more of a factor at the SG where players are generally 6'5" and taller, if you stick a midget there like Jarrett Jack you saw what happens, PG, not so much.

His attitude is also right, maybe he was a reach with the 3rd pick, definitely not at the 5.

[Tim W.]

So everyone wants us to draft Kanter when he rejected an interview with our team? Steve Francis anyone? Walker is our guy. People will complain, but when he plays like Mighty Mouse and walks away with the ROY award, the suspension on the bandwagon will fail from excessive weight.

How many Raptor fans watch Fox news? Really. Because everyone seems to be taking a bit of unsubstantiated news and jumping to very large conclusions. It's actually astounding. Steve Francis was a guy who came out and said he did not want to play in Vancouver, and he was never quite right in the head (I heard a lot from a friend who worked for the Grizzlies).

What we know about Kanter is that he APPARENTLY did not go to any of the meetings with any teams yesterday, yet at least one of the teams (the Jazz) he has rescheduled with. Hard to come to ANY conclusions based on that evidence.

And Damon Stoudamire is the perfect example of what I'm afraid Walker will be. A guy who can put up great stats on a bad team, but can't fit in on a good team. Is this what you're saying, too?

[MyMomLovesMe]

Tim work with me... help me bring Kanter to us, by lowering his draft status. (j/k)


Lets not be interested.

[Tim W.]

Tim work with me... help me bring Kanter to us, by lowering his draft status. (j/k)


Lets not be interested.

If Kanter is the third best player in this draft, which I believe him to be, and can be the type of center I think he can be, you can bet your ass I'd be interested. Unless he comes right out and says he does not want to play for Toronto, then I'm going after him. And even if he does, I still might.

[MyMomLovesMe]

How good is he though? What do we have to go on, teammates from Kentucky, Ford?


A game from a year ago? Even in these workouts, do we ever see him in 5 on 5 action, no. I think there is a little room for weariness and it could very well make him slide.


One thing I like about Walker is that his game has been tested.

[Tim W.]

How good is he though? What do we have to go on, teammates from Kentucky, Ford?


A game from a year ago? Even in these workouts, do we ever see him in 5 on 5 action, no. I think there is a little room for weariness and it could very well make him slide.


One thing I like about Walker is that his game has been tested.

I can certainly understand the weariness. And if this were a better draft I would probably not consider him. But there isn't anyone in this draft that doesn't have major question marks, including Walker. What I like about Kanter is that I can see a higher ceiling with him. With a guy like Walker, I just feel his game would be too limited. I really don't see him as much more than a mediocre PG, at best. Maybe I'm wrong. I wouldn't be the first time. But I've gotten a pretty good feel for these things over the years enough that I tend to trust my gut. And my gut tells me that Kanter is a better gamble than most of these other guys because he's got the chance to have a much bigger impact.

[Quixotic]

How good is he though? What do we have to go on, teammates from Kentucky, Ford?


A game from a year ago? Even in these workouts, do we ever see him in 5 on 5 action, no. I think there is a little room for weariness and it could very well make him slide.


One thing I like about Walker is that his game has been tested.

Well, think of it this way. How much do we usually have to go on when drafting high schoolers or some young Euroleague players? The former plays against your son's high school friends, and the latter barely gets playing time on veteran-laden teams. It usually comes down to workouts in those cases. The biggest negative for me isn't the lack of game-tape, but his downtime. It does seem like he kept in shape and continued to work on his game (with Tim Grover, albeit for only 7 weeks) though.

Kemba does have the advantage of having a significant amount of gametape on him, but at the same time, how much of his "dominance" was due to him being a junior? He's certainly more NBA ready than most of the other prospects, but how important is that to a 22 win team?

Another big factor for me is the utter dearth of C prospects next year, combined with the possibility of acquiring an established PG (e.g. Felton) via trade if we really needed to. More teams are set at PG than at C, so it'd be far easier to fill a PG hole later than find ourselves a C.

[jd4]

Kemba Walker will be a Toronto Raptor come June 23. My conclusion about this comes from two things.
A. Draft Order
I think it will go down like this:
1. Cleveland: Irving
2. Minnesota: D. Williams
3. Utah: Brandon Knight
4. Cleveland: Enes Kanter
5. Toronto: Kemba Walker

I also think it will go like this because we must remember that BC is on a short leash. He needs the team to show improvement over the next 2 years in order to continue being GM. He won't waste the pick on a project who might take 2-3 years to develop. Kemba is ready to contribute right now. Plus, BC has always loved fast point guards.

At first, I was mad that we lost out on Irving, Williams, and Kanter. I also dreaded the thought of taking Kemba as I saw him as nothing more than a TJ Ford clone. However, after watching video of him, I'm convinced that Kemba will be the steal of the draft. He has elite speed and great body control. In watching Irving and Knight, I don't seem to see the same elite speed. They seem to be a step slow for the NBa. All the elite pg have elite speed. He's also has the swagger of a winner and has never had anything given to him. I'd be very happy to get him with the 5th pick.

We can then move Jose or Balyess for a SF or wait till next year to draft one.

[RaptorDan]

I don't think Utah will take Brandon Knight because with their other pick they plan on taking Jimmer, and that will be 2 pg. I can see Utah taking Anus Kanter.

[Quixotic]

I also think it will go like this because we must remember that BC is on a short leash. He needs the team to show improvement over the next 2 years in order to continue being GM. He won't waste the pick on a project who might take 2-3 years to develop.

Not saying that we definitely won't pick Kemba, but the above statement is a non sequitur. Improvement isn't just an increase in wins. If we go from 22 to 40 wins, but with a ceiling of ~40 wins, BC hasn't done his job. The question should be, "in 3 years, is our team primed for a long run of playoff contention?"

BC could have used our TPE to pick up some veteran on an undesirable contract. He could have continued to make trades for veterans after the Diaw/Chandler trade fell through. We didn't have to be a 22-win team. Instead, he traded Jack for Bayless, a move that probably cost us a few more wins. While BC saying he's open to taking someone who would might 2-3 years to develop could simply be posturing, taking all the evidence as a whole suggests otherwise.

[Quixotic]

I don't think Utah will take Brandon Knight because with their other pick they plan on taking Jimmer, and that will be 2 pg. I can see Utah taking Anus Kanter.

I think they're more in the market for a Klay Thompson or Alec Burks with their #12.

[jeff_hostetler]

Having seen the combine measurements, I'm absolutely on board with drafting Kemba Walker at 5. His size is now definitively not an issue. Chris Paul, Raymond Felton, Jameer Nelson, Ty Lawson...all players who led their teams to the playoffs this year, and all players of comparable height (Felton I'm counting for NY. They were a playoff team when he was there). Walker is a player, a leader, and he comes through in the clutch. Anyone who watched the NCAA game between UCONN and Kentucky will know that Brandon Knight, for all his supposed defensive capacities, was unable to guard Walker, and was subsequently switched to guarding UCONN's 2-guard.

[grindhouse]

kanter didn't want to do a interview with us so in my eyes that takes him off my draft board. irving seems to be total about money and I would question his love for the game based on interviews he has done. derrick williams will not be there and I like kemba but he is a hugh risk because of height. I don't like knight that much tbh mainly because I want a point guard who will put his chest on another mans chest and play D, knight is not that type of player. everyone will love faried if we draft him but it seems to me like everyone wants to reach on a prospect so bismack is a guy I would take if we are reaching or kemba I guess.