2012 Draft Thursday, June 28th: Raptors select Terence Ross

[mcHAPPY]

Hoopsworld has us picking Moe Harkless with the 8th pick in their new mock draft. Is that a stretch? What would y'all say is Harkless' ceiling in this draft?

I personally think its 10 if fell there. I would be fine Moe at that spot. I think eight is a little too high. Than again I'm just a 22 year old university what do I know.

I'm not too sure about that MockDraft from HoopsWorld.com.

Lillard at 6?
Harkless at 8?
Barton at 16?
Lamb at 24?

Time will tell but I think this is more of a, "Hey man! Did you see the crazy mock at HW.com?" to get hits or a, "Thanks for the interview. We're going to bump your hype on our next mock draft!"

But then again, what do I know?

And a LOT is going to change between now and June 28th.

[ceez]

Hollinger just moved Dion Waiters into his top ten, ahead of the likes of Lamb, Lillard and Marshall.

Describes him as "a violent, explosive scorer". That's music to my ears.

[mcHAPPY]

Hollinger just moved Dion Waiters into his top ten, ahead of the likes of Lamb, Lillard and Marshall.

Describes him as "a violent, explosive scorer". That's music to my ears.

http://nbadraft.net/nba-draft-top-10-shooting-guards

Grain of salt given source.

1. Jeremy Lamb 6-6 180 SG UConn So.


2. Bradley Beal 6-4 195 SG Florida Fr.


3. Austin Rivers 6-4 203 SG Duke Fr.


4. Terrence Ross 6-6 190 SG Washington So.


5. Doron Lamb 6-4 195 SG Kentucky So.


6. Dion Waiters 6-4 210 SG Syracuse So.


7. John Jenkins 6-4 185 SG Vanderbilt Jr.


8. Evan Fournier 6-7 190 SG/SF France 1992


9. William Buford 6-5 185 SG Ohio St. Sr.


10a. Khris Middleton 6'7 215 SG Texas A&M Jr.


10b. Will Barton 6'6 180 SG Memphis So.

[ceez]

I like Hollinger, probably the only ESPN guy I semi follow. He's always got a couple head scratchers but he's on the ball for the most part.

I really think this is going to be one of those drafts where the top 15 changes by day and there'll be more than a couple "wow, really?" picks on draft night.

[mcHAPPY]

I like Hollinger, probably the only ESPN guy I semi follow. He's always got a couple head scratchers but he'd on the ball for the most part.

I

Most analysts and sites have been pretty similar the last few months but things are starting to get interesting..... after Davis, consensus has left the building.

[Chr1s1anL]

I like Hollinger, probably the only ESPN guy I semi follow. He's always got a couple head scratchers but he'd on the ball for the most part.

I

Im a big fan of Hollinger too. His pretty much the only reason I have Espn Insider. I love his scouting reports on NBA players their usually always right on. His the only reason I haven't given up faith on Alabi. I think he said that he'd be a quality starting center. What ever he says is gold to me.

[ceez]

Probable second rounders i like:

Machado
Khris Middleton
Evan Fournier
Darius Miller
Kris Jospeh (kind of a "why not?" type pick)

Mostly the top 2, though.

[Bouncepass]

Most analysts and sites have been pretty similar the last few months but things are starting to get interesting..... after Davis, consensus has left the building.

I agree that things are starting to shake up a bit, though that is a bit puzzling since nobody has seen the players do anything in the past several weeks.

Still, it seems that the top 5-6 are pretty set right now, and the movement is from 7 on down. That might change if a player or two is very impressive in workouts and pushes into the top 6 or 7 picks to shake things up.

[Chr1s1anL]

More fuel for the Bandwagon

[mcHAPPY]

More fuel for the Bandwagon

That is not game speed and no defenders. I find it tough to get excited about these types of videos - but that is just me.

It is interesting that Colangelo reportedly was talking about Harkless in March if memory serves correct.

I would not be happy if Harkless is what the Raptors come away with in the draft. If they obtain another pick though, that would be cool - either after trading their own pick or acquiring another.

[Nilanka]

Nice, smooth looking jumper. Good arc on his shot.

Looks a little timid dribbling with his left hand.

[Chr1s1anL]

That is not game speed and no defenders. I find it tough to get excited about these types of videos - but that is just me.

It is interesting that Colangelo reportedly was talking about Harkless in March if memory serves correct.

I would not be happy if Harkless is what the Raptors come away with in the draft. If they obtain another pick though, that would be cool - either after trading their own pick or acquiring another.

I do remember that too. I can't recall what he said though?

[mcHAPPY]

I do remember that too. I can't recall what he said though?

I think it was just he was heading to the Big East tournament to look at players and he rattled off a few names.... Harkless was one. But, again, this is only if memory serves correct.


Actually.... I think it was a tweet or someone online said they saw Colangelo in the airport and they asked him where he was going and who he was checking out. Ugh, it is all so foggy.

[Chr1s1anL]

What you think about Dion Waiters?

Personally I'm a big fan of toughness. After T-Rob, Dion is probably one the toughest player in the draft. I feel that are team is still too soft even with Casey. I like that he was able to accept a role off the bench even though it was obvious that he was the best player on the team. Shows that his willing to do anything to win and his all about W's. I don't like that his undersized, but I've heard that his capable of playing the point. If his a PG he need a serious look.

LAS VEGAS -- Our NBA draft workout tour kicks off in Las Vegas this year in search of a guy who a number of scouts say is the draft's true sleeper.

I spent the last two days with trainer Joe Abunassar of Impact Basketball in Vegas, looking at a number of prospects.

Abunassar has a great track record with clients like Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay and Kawhi Leonard, to name a few.

Once again this year, he has a number of prospects in his gym preparing for the draft.

Here's what I learned:

A number of NBA scouts who I really respect have been telling me for more than a month that the real sleeper in this draft is Syracuse sophomore Dion Waiters.

One GM went even further. "There are really only two potential superstars in this draft. One is a sure thing -- freshman Anthony Davis. The other one is Waiters. He can be an electric scorer in the NBA. There's some Dwyane Wade in him."


Comparing anyone to Wade is going too far. Waiters doesn't have Wade's elite leaping ability nor does he have his freakishly long wing span.

Still, very few NBA GMs or scouts doubt his talent, and most of them won't hesitate to compare him to Tyreke Evans. Waiters is one of the draft's best scorers and showed at Syracuse that he can get to the basket at will.

Evans went No. 4 in the draft two years ago and won Rookie of the Year. Wade has won an MVP award. Waiters is projected as a late lottery to mid-first-round pick by most teams.

Why the disparity, given the dearth of guards who can really go out and get their points whenever they need it? The chorus from GMs about Waiters is always the same: Character? Defense? Body language? Coachability?

Waiters has a message for all 30 GMs in the league.

"I'm not a bad kid. And I can play defense," he says with a smile after completing an hour workout with Abunassar.

Waiters obviously has his ear to the ground and bristles at the characterization that he's a troublemaker.

The concerns spawn from an awkward situation last summer when Waiters and head coach Jim Boeheim questioned whether they could coexist anymore.

Waiters came to Syracuse ranked as a top-15 prospect by ESPN and expected to contribute right away. However, he showed up to school in less-than-ideal conditioning. Boeheim became frustrated with his lack of intensity on the defensive end. The media picked up on some poor body language. By the end of the season, Waiters and Boeheim were at odds.

"He had nothing to be frustrated about because he was 100 percent wrong," Boeheim told The New York Times. "He played no defense last year. Not some. None."

Waiters, however, stuck it out. "I called my mom after almost every game crying," he told me on Tuesday. "But she just told me to keep going. To not give up. I'm glad I listened to her. I matured this year."

"I came to Syracuse a boy," Waiters added. "I left as a man."

Waiters came back in the best shape of his career. He embraced his role as the team's sixth man. He showed off point guard skills that scouts didn't know he had. He was Syracuse's best player. Coach Boeheim praised him all year. However, the questions persist.

"A lot of people judge me, but they don't know me," Waiters said. "I'm a good kid. I've never been in trouble. I've never been arrested. I don't hang around bad people. I was immature when I came to school. I was overwhelmed. But I put in the work to get better. Coach and I didn't bump heads all season. I'm very coachable. I just needed a little room to grow."

Waiters grew up in a tough situation in Philly. He left his family at the age of 15 to attend prep school. The move was traumatic for him. In the last year, he told me, he lost three cousins and a best friend. So if he looks too serious, it's because life, both on and off the court, is serious business for him.

Waiters also says that people misread his body language on the court. "You don't see Kobe smiling on the court. When I'm out there, it's all business. I want to win. I want to destroy my opponent. That's my focus. Smiling is for after the game, not during it."

On the court, in Vegas, Waiters is all business. He's in terrific shape, showed off an improved jump shot in workouts and can be explosive with the ball. But the real highlight show began later that afternoon when the five-on-five play began.

Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs and Florida State's Michael Snaer both took turns trying to guard him, and they didn't have much luck. On Wednesday, he again dominated in three-on-three play.

Waiters is a solid workout guy. He does enough to impress but not a lot that wows. But when he's actually playing the game, it's all wows.

He carved through the defense to the rim at will. He hit several 3-pointers, fadeaways, spins to the basket. He initiated the offense and got others involved. He got whatever he wanted and ... yes, he played inspired defense on the other end.

"I can't wait for the real workouts to begin," Waiters said. He knows that he's currently in a scrum with Jeremy Lamb, Austin Rivers and Terrence Ross and will likely work out with them directly once the Chicago combine is over. He's got a message for them, too. "I'm going to try to destroy them. I love to compete. If I have a weakness, it's that I'm too competitive. But I think once workouts come, that will be my biggest strength."

Teams still have legitimate on-the-court concerns. He's a bit small for his position. He's struggled with conditioning in the past. He needs to be a consistent shooter and, yes, he still can improve his defense.

But if he works out well and resolves some of the concerns about his personality, there's no reason he couldn't go as high as No. 6 or 8 on draft night. He's that good.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog/...star-potential

[Nilanka]

Remember all the talk of this draft not being as "deep" as once thought?

That seems like a bit of a joke now, doesn't it? Looks like there will be some very good players for Colangelo to choose from, even if we drop to 11th.