Draft Profile: Jonas Valanciunas

[Maleko]

Friggin hell these threads should get merged. There are too many different ones on the draft and ridiculous to read it all.

[Fanchie]

Reading these posts, it seems that no one will slip. Well at some point, there will be someone available at #5. Whether it's Williams, Knight, Kanter or Walker, one of them is gonna be there when we get our call.

Just pick this one, or even BB or Jonas and we'll see what we do with it. What's the risk ? We have a pretty good young nucleus, even if this pick is useless, well : that happens.

The very important pick, the one we should absolutely keep and select extremely carefully is next year's : don't deal it BC !

If (when) we get a high pick next year, if we get the right guy in a loaded draft, then we'll be in a pretty good position with DD entering his 4th year and ED his 3rd : just as it was easier for Harden to find his marks in OKC with Durant and Westbrook having already put the team on the right trail.

These 3 guys will be our championship core. And if this year's pick turns out better than expected, well that'll save us a couple of year on our way to success, but no pressure.

[mcHAPPY]

Reading these posts, it seems that no one will slip. Well at some point, there will be someone available at #5. Whether it's Williams, Knight, Kanter or Walker, one of them is gonna be there when we get our call.

Just pick this one, or even BB or Jonas and we'll see what we do with it. What's the risk ? We have a pretty good young nucleus, even if this pick is useless, well : that happens.

The very important pick, the one we should absolutely keep and select extremely carefully is next year's : don't deal it BC !

If (when) we get a high pick next year, if we get the right guy in a loaded draft, then we'll be in a pretty good position with DD entering his 4th year and ED his 3rd : just as it was easier for Harden to find his marks in OKC with Durant and Westbrook having already put the team on the right trail.

These 3 guys will be our championship core. And if this year's pick turns out better than expected, well that'll save us a couple of year on our way to success, but no pressure.

DD and ED, as much as I love them on the Raptors, are nowhere near the talent of Westbrook and Durant. I am not comparing those players at this stage in their careers, I am comparing Westbrook and Durant when they were heading in to their 2nd and 3rd years.

[Jclaw]

The clip below summarizes my reaction to getting the 5th pick...


.....at the end of the day, assuming we would have had to been lucky to get 1 or 2 and should really have just expected 3, who did we really want at 3 who may not be available at 5? If you polled everyone on the site, you might find a third wanting Kanter, a third wanting Walker and a third wanting Knight (and, in the spirit of Yogi Berra, the last third wanting someone else). We're al least going to get one of those which is the same we could have said if we were picking at three. Ahhhhh..acceptance!

[Fanchie]

DD and ED, as much as I love them on the Raptors, are nowhere near the talent of Westbrook and Durant. I am not comparing those players at this stage in their careers, I am comparing Westbrook and Durant when they were heading in to their 2nd and 3rd years.

Agree, but we are clearly rebuilding around them, so their relevancy as our core nucleus is not to debate anymore. Maybe our ceiling around these guys is Conference Finals while OKC will end up winning it all, but our choice is already made, so we have to assume it 100%.

And maybe that third guy, the one from next year's draft, is our Durant, which would mean that DD and ED would be Westbrook and Harden/Ibaka : talentwise, that would sound more realistic. Or maybe it'll take them a few more years to get where these guys are but honestly, after 16 years, a couple of extra seasons doesn't make a big difference.

[Raptors_]

DD and ED, as much as I love them on the Raptors, are nowhere near the talent of Westbrook and Durant. I am not comparing those players at this stage in their careers, I am comparing Westbrook and Durant when they were heading in to their 2nd and 3rd years.

Westbrook averaged in his second year: 16.1 PPG
Derozan Averaged: 17.2

You can't compare Ed cause he barley played. And Durant is in a whole different league.

[Tim W.]

Westbrook averaged in his second year: 16.1 PPG
Derozan Averaged: 17.2

You can't compare Ed cause he barley played. And Durant is in a whole different league.

What does how many ppg they scored have to do with how good they are?

[e2thed]

Watch out, Kanter will win rookie of the year, and he will be drafted 4th overall by Cavs. We need to trade up to get Minnesota's pick or we are doomed.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

Kanter will play 30 games and his knee will asplode

[mcHAPPY]

Westbrook averaged in his second year: 16.1 PPG
Derozan Averaged: 17.2

You can't compare Ed cause he barley played. And Durant is in a whole different league.

Ignoring the fact PPG means very little to a player's total worth and value, the fact Durant is in a whole different league is the point. The Raptors have nothing close to a franchise talent let alone a perrenial all-star.

[planetmars]

For a team as bad as the Raptors selecting the best player available makes a lot of sense. However there have been mixed feelings as to who that would be, but should the Raptors stay away from a SF since the '12 draft seems to have an abundance of them?

The Raptors will most likely have another high pick in '12 (and hopefully another one if BC can swing a deal). Should the Raptors be mindful of what position they might go after in '12 and select a different position in this years draft? I like the idea of Leonard but if we get Barnes/McAdoo/Jones/Miller next year then would that be a waste of a pick? So even though I like Leonard and if Kanter is off the table, should the Raptors select someone like Knight/Walker or Valanciunas/Biyombo just because there aren't as many PG/Centers in next years draft? I'm thinking that it might be a smart decision.

[mcHAPPY]

Raptors at the Draft Combine, May 18-22

Toronto Raptors GM Brian Colangelo on their fifth pick in the Draft: “not looking for instant gratification.” Jonas Valanciunas is our projected pick for the Raptors currently in our lottery mock draft.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/7...s-and-analysis

I am weary of B/R but unless they are making up quotes, this one looks legit.

[RaptorDan]

Why wouldn't Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker, Alec Burks, Kawhi Leonard, and Reggie Jackson go to the combine and let teams watch them work out? I'm surprised so many top rated players didn't go.

[mcHAPPY]

Why wouldn't Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker, Alec Burks, Kawhi Leonard, and Reggie Jackson go to the combine and let teams watch them work out? I'm surprised so many top rated players didn't go.

I guess nothing to gain and everything to lose.

[Tim W.]

For a team as bad as the Raptors selecting the best player available makes a lot of sense. However there have been mixed feelings as to who that would be, but should the Raptors stay away from a SF since the '12 draft seems to have an abundance of them?

The Raptors will most likely have another high pick in '12 (and hopefully another one if BC can swing a deal). Should the Raptors be mindful of what position they might go after in '12 and select a different position in this years draft? I like the idea of Leonard but if we get Barnes/McAdoo/Jones/Miller next year then would that be a waste of a pick? So even though I like Leonard and if Kanter is off the table, should the Raptors select someone like Knight/Walker or Valanciunas/Biyombo just because there aren't as many PG/Centers in next years draft? I'm thinking that it might be a smart decision.

It's nice to think about next year's draft, but you simply have no idea where you are going to draft and who will be the best player at that point. PGs like Austin Rivers and Myck Kabongo might end up being two of the best players in the draft next year. Patric Young might grow a couple of inches and become the next Dwight Howard. WHat matters most is getting the most bang for your buck, and that means drafting the best player, whatever position that might be. If they need to be moved later on, then so be it. Remember that Oklahoma essentially drafted Jeff Green (technically Boston did) even though they had just draft Kevin Durant. They later turned Green into Kendrick Perkins. And now they're in the Western Conference Finals.