Kanter DOESN'T Reject Raptors

[mcHAPPY]

looks like it's shaping up to be

1. Irving
2. Williams
3. Kanter/PG (one of Knight/Walker)
4. Kanter if Utah goes for a PG
5. Dunno


Interesting point mentioned about Utah and their potential to save money if they were drafting a PG, which would almost certainly be available at the 5 if Toronto were to pick or trade for Kanter at 3. If that's the case, then I bet we'll see a draft day trade between Utah and Toronto.

Or Utah with Washington
Or Minnesota with Washington
Or Cleveland with Washington (rumours of Blatche to CLE were in the winter)
Or Minnesota with Cleveland
Or Minnesota with Washington
Or any of these teams with Sacramento

I'm not trying to be a d!ck, it is just there are so many scenarios it is making my headspin.

[j bean]

The only thing that looks certain is Irving going #1. Kanter owns the pre-draft buzz. Minnesota could even pick Kanter over Williams at two. The Cavs like him if he's still around at four. O'Connor with the Jazz is open to a trade for his third pick as he wants someone who is polished and can be a finisher next season.

[Beaverboi]

I can, and am, with David Khan being the GM on the other end. The conversation I'm picturing basically goes as follows,

*Phone rings*
BC: "Yo. This is B-Dot. Who dis?"
Kahn: "KAAAAAAAAAHNNNNNNN!"

BC: WAAAAASSSSSUUUUUUPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????? ?????
Kahn: WWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPP PPPPPPP!!!!!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?
Isiah Thomas: WWWWAAAAAASSSSSSUUUUUUUPPPPPPPP!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?
Geoff Petrie: WWWAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!! !!!!!!???????!?!?!?!!?
All: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
BC: True, True.

[MyMomLovesMe]

I don't think Kanter is the sort of player you trade up in the draft for. He is intriguing, but its enough of a risk using a top 5 pick, much less manoeuvring to get him.

If you don't do it for Irving or Williams, why would you do it for Kanter? (I have a feeling he will just be a Vareajo with more skill out there. He will come out guns blazing, but in the grander picture, he will just be a good big man, not a team maker - a pick like that, you get happy if it falls to you, but you don't throw extra assets into the kitty to nab him)

[Tim W.]

I don't think Kanter is the sort of player you trade up in the draft for. He is intriguing, but its enough of a risk using a top 5 pick, much less manoeuvring to get him.

If you don't do it for Irving or Williams, why would you do it for Kanter? (I have a feeling he will just be a Vareajo with more skill out there. He will come out guns blazing, but in the grander picture, he will just be a good big man, not a team maker - a pick like that, you get happy if it falls to you, but you don't throw extra assets into the kitty to nab him)

As long as the Raptors don't give up one of their core players, who cares whether you manoeuvre to get him? If he's the guy you want, then why not give up something of little value for him.

[Tim W.]

And interesting tidbit on Hoopsworld. Jonathan Givony, of DraftExpress, was doing a chat and someone asked...

max in ohio:
I've recently read that the Cavs have Valanciunas (or like we in cleveland call him Big V) higher on their board than Kanter. Have you gotten the same vibe?

Jonathan Givony:
Yes. Directly from Kanter's camp in fact.

Read more NBA news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Chat.asp?C...#ixzz1NORUPqS1

I'd hear this before, but this is a little different perspective on it. Why would Kanter's camp lie about that?

More chance that Kanter drops to 5?

[jeff_hostetler]

And interesting tidbit on Hoopsworld. Jonathan Givony, of DraftExpress, was doing a chat and someone asked...



I'd hear this before, but this is a little different perspective on it. Why would Kanter's camp lie about that?

More chance that Kanter drops to 5?

Perhaps to build the Big V's hype in hopes Kanter falls to the Wiz??

I too found it curious. Even if it were true, what would the value be in admitting teams are higher on a direct competitor?

[Raptors_]

BC: WAAAAASSSSSUUUUUUPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????? ?????
Kahn: WWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPP PPPPPPP!!!!!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?
Isiah Thomas: WWWWAAAAAASSSSSSUUUUUUUPPPPPPPP!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?
Geoff Petrie: WWWAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!! !!!!!!???????!?!?!?!!?
All: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
BC: True, True.

[MyMomLovesMe]

As long as the Raptors don't give up one of their core players, who cares whether you manoeuvre to get him? If he's the guy you want, then why not give up something of little value for him.

The problem is that giving up any assets beyond the pick, makes the selection even riskier. I don't think
Kanter will make as much of a difference at this level as some think. I think he will be a solid rotation player, but I still have my doubts about his skills translating without exposing some of his weakness.

If we are going to be tossing in our side assets and using the pick, I would be much happier to do it for KI or DW.

[Tim W.]

Perhaps to build the Big V's hype in hopes Kanter falls to the Wiz??

I too found it curious. Even if it were true, what would the value be in admitting teams are higher on a direct competitor?

I don't know if I've ever seen that before. Maybe it was an offhand remark? You might be right about hoping it slips him to the Wiz. I would just love to see the Raptors get two higher ranked players two years in a row. It would almost make up for everything else that has happened over the last 16 years. Almost.

[Tim W.]

The problem is that giving up any assets beyond the pick, makes the selection even riskier. I don't think Kanter will make as much of a difference at this level as some think. I think he will be a solid rotation player, but I still have my doubts about his skills translating without exposing some of his weakness.

If we are going to be tossing in our side assets and using the pick, I would be much happier to do it for KI or DW.

I just don't place a whole of value on the Raptor's other assets, I guess. And I can see Kanter ending up being a top 10 center, and maybe a 18-10 guy with good defense. To me that's worth giving up a few lesser assets.

[MyMomLovesMe]

I see you are really high on Kanter.

15.5 Dwight Howard , ORL
11.2 Marc Gasol , MEM
10.9 Kevin Garnett , BOS
10.8 Zach Randolph , MEM
10.5 Tim Duncan , SAS
10.3 Joakim Noah , CHI
10.2 Carmelo Anthony , NYK
9.9 Carlos Boozer , CHI
9.7 Marcus Camby , POR
9.6 Andrew Bynum , LAL
9.6 Al Horford , ATL
9.3 Tyson Chandler , DAL
9.2 Gerald Wallace , POR
9.0 Nene Hilario , DEN

These are the top rebounders in the league today. I went to 9.0, because its close enough to 10 for me. You are talking about only 8 players in the league that can even make the 10 mark. Noah for instance won the NCAA championship and struggled quite a bit before getting the hang of it. In my opinion Noah's talent and skill eclipse Kanter's by a lot.

If Kanter was to be as good as one of these players, he would most likely be pushing Irving and DW for the 1st. The draft is not that deep, so the likely hood of finding even 3 players that would be of the above calibre is very low. Sitting out at Kentucky is not going to help him that much either.


Don't get me wrong, you may be correct and Kanter will meet your expectations, I just think in order to do that, he will have to destroy a lot existing expectations.

(Before the season even started guys were giving 10 rebounds to Amir, its just not that easy, even if rebounding is your strength.)




...and by the way, I am not surprised that Kanter dominated the nike summit, how many of those young dudes have ever played against a 260 pounder? Young guys will always struggle against size, they are just not developed enough. The NBA has many 260+ players. (I think some are acting like Kanter will be better for us than Bosh, and I think that is very wrong. He will not be able to use his size as easily in the NBA, and will need to have speed skill and smarts. He very well may be better than Bosh, but so far he has not even played an NCAA game - so acting like he is a franchise changing pick seems a little silly to me.)

[MyMomLovesMe]

My bad, in the post above, this is the regular season rebounding list, I copied the playoff stats above by mistake. Still the same point can be made.

15.2 Kevin Love, PF MIN
14.1 Dwight Howard, C ORL
12.2 Zach Randolph, PF MEM
12.1 Blake Griffin, PF LAC
10.4 Kris Humphries, PF NJ
10.2 Pau Gasol, PF LAL
9.8 David Lee, C GS
9.7 Al Jefferson, C UTAH
9.5 Emeka Okafor, C NO
9.4 Tyson Chandler, C DAL
9.3 Al Horford, C ATL

(even smaller list)

[Tim W.]

My bad, this is the regular season rebounding list, I copied the post season. Still the same point can be made.

1 Kevin Love, PF MIN 15.2
2 Dwight Howard, C ORL 14.1
3 Zach Randolph, PF MEM 12.2
4 Blake Griffin, PF LAC 82 12.1
5 Kris Humphries, PF NJ 10.4
6 Pau Gasol, PF LAL 82 10.2
7 David Lee, C GS 73 9.8
8 Al Jefferson, C UTAH 9.7
9 Emeka Okafor, C NO 9.5
10 Tyson Chandler, C DAL 9.4
11 Al Horford, C ATL 9.3

I quoted this comment because it was shorter.

And I do really like Kanter. Yes. And I think if he had played at Kentucky, he might very well be going #1 this year. And I'm not the only one. I've also heard others who felt that he could average double figure rebounds. I posted this elsewhere, but it's the Utah Jazz announcer breaking down Kanter's game and I think it's a pretty good breakdown:


Talking about Noah, I actually wasn't very high on him coming out. I thought he might do well in certain circumstances (lI thought he'd excel in Phoenix), but I wasn't quite sure whether he'd be able to consistently defend centers in a half court situation. He also had absolutely no offense. What he did have going for him was his IQ, athleticism and motor.

Kanter seems to be far more skilled than Noah was when he came out, at least on offense. He'll never be the defender that Noah is, although he could end up being a better man-to-man defender with his strength, but he seems to possess the same IQ and toughness that Noah did.

Now, I don't know if Kanter will ever make an All-Star team (although at center that's certainly possible), and I don't see him approaching Chris Bosh numbers, but what he does seem to bring are things that this club has lacked. I'd also rather have Kanter as my third best player on my team than a guy like Bargnani, because Kanter will do the dirty work you need your big men to be able to do to really compete.

[Raptors]

Kanter is overrated, the guy has a limited ceiling. I don't like anyone in this draft except Irving. If I was BC I would trade for a SF, sign a FA center, and draft a pg in the draft (Knight perhaps).