The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[white men can't jump]

Anyone else surprised we didn't draft a backup centre? We took 2 small forwards. I'm guessing free agency is where Masai is gonna look

Not at all surprised. We talk about how guys like Bachynski or P. Young could be ready to contribute, but nobody really is as a rookie, especially in terms of being able to anchor a D. Yes, they'd only be backups, so it could be worth the risk given the limited minutes they get, but in a basketball sense, the ideal option would be in free agency or a trade. I'm still hoping Okafor is healthy enough to be an option, but because of his injured year will be gettable on the cheap.

[ReubenJRD]

I'm pretty happy with our draft, however I would've been ecstatic if Ennis fell to 20th.

20th = Bruno Caboclo
37th = DeAndre Daniels
59th = Turned into cash considerations.

The Bruno selection had me incredibly quizzical. Until I realized his terrific athleticism, and physical tools. The damn guy is 18 years old, turning 19 soon - a year older than me - and he's 6'9 (likely to grow), and has a 7'6-7'7 wingspan. Incredible. We heard all throughout the draft that Masai really wanted Antetokounmpo last year, and might have gotten Greek Freak 2.0 with this selection. The only thing I'm skeptical about, is that - like what Grindhouse mentioned - we scrapped the entire draft for a guy that likely was a second round pick, a guy that few teams knew about or interested in, or maybe not even drafted.

Thanks to Draft Express, you can tell the guy works hard, has serious upside, but, he's VERY raw.

That being said, DeAndre Daniels counters that rawness, as he's possibly one of the more NBA ready prospects available in the second round at that time, in my opinion. He too has some solid physical tools, about 6'9 and a 7'2 wingspan if I'm not mistaken. He's got as solid bounce to his step, can shoot the ball, and plays D. He plays a lot like Rudy Gay, but not in the inefficient, take tons of shots, and hog the ball type of way. Just the style of play - mid-ranged jumpers, attack the rim with long arms, can defend and bail himself out thanks to athleticism and length, and is explosive.

The Daniels pick was my favourite, because he was second to Glenn Robinson III for the 37th pick on my list, Jarnell Stokes as a third, Russ Smith as a fourth.

* = UFA/RFA/Non-guaranteed (mistake my asterisks if im mistaken anywhere with their current contract situations)


PG: *Lowry*/*Vasquez*/*De Colo*
SG: DeRozan/or Ross/Daniels
SF: Ross/Caboclo/Daniels/Fields
PF: *Johnson*/*Patterson*
C: Valanciunas/Hayes

[white men can't jump]

It's actually bugging me now that we didn't take Anderson if we still expected Caboclo to be available at 22 to make the Memphis deal (or even vice-versa, taking Bruno at 20 and Kyle at 22).

I would much rather have Anderson + Caboclo than Daniels + Caboclo....

[Miekenstien]

up to the draft masai talked about needing a big 3 and some shot blocking. seems he got it in one player and we were all thinking it was clint and mcdaniels or clint and anderson etc.

i don't like or not like the pick. unlike some i am waiting until i see the player at least in summer league. i do trust in masai and one move i don't understand is not going to change that. and like i said earlier if he does become a player like they hope it is amazing he was kept under wraps so well. there has to be 100s of millions of dollars invested in scouring the earth for random freaks of nature.

[blackjitsu]

Interesting, NBA TV seems to have a balanced opinion on the pick:

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nb...w-raptors.nba/

[Puffer]

Interesting, NBA TV seems to have a balanced opinion on the pick:

Agree. Much more balanced view, similar to what we have been reading here and hearing from Masai/Casey.

[imanshumpert]

It's actually bugging me now that we didn't take Anderson if we still expected Caboclo to be available at 22 to make the Memphis deal (or even vice-versa, taking Bruno at 20 and Kyle at 22).

I would much rather have Anderson + Caboclo than Daniels + Caboclo....

That's nice, but clearly Ujiri and company didn't see things the same way.

[imanshumpert]

Yeah, their GM is a dealer and it was so obvious we wanted Ennis. Maybe they wanted Ross? That's my guess. But I would be okay with giving our 2016 1st rounder, since we already have New York's 1st rounder then, and ours might be in the 20s since I expect us to improve.

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NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

Just because we have 2 1sts in 2016 doesn't mean we should be lackadaisical with trading our own. That's a huge waste of an asset.

Yes we wanted Ennis, but Masai wasn't trying to give up an extra 1st rounder to do so, that is terrible asset management. The idea was to trade Salmons and absorb some salary for a year (Prince) to move up if Ennis was still available.

[CalibreMC]

So what? We can critique all we want......

[CalibreMC]

^^^^^^^what he said.

[stooley]

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

Just because we have 2 1sts in 2016 doesn't mean we should be lackadaisical with trading our own. That's a huge waste of an asset.

Yes we wanted Ennis, but Masai wasn't trying to give up an extra 1st rounder to do so, that is terrible asset management. The idea was to trade Salmons and absorb some salary for a year (Prince) to move up if Ennis was still available.

Well it's not really a waste though is it? A 2016 first rounder for a 2014 first rounder. Might not be the trade we need right now, but it's not all that crazy is it?

[ceez]

Let there be a rule: You NEVER trade a first round pick unless you're getting a superstar.

[white men can't jump]

That's nice, but clearly Ujiri and company didn't see things the same way.

Obviously....I just wonder what turned them off so hard on Anderson? Yes, I know he had question marks about his athleticism...but he's got way more skills than Daniels. And he's sort of the kind of player we need off the bench. If you put him and Greivis on the floor, maybe the ball moves well and finds the easy shot fairly often.

[stooley]

Obviously....I just wonder what turned them off so hard on Anderson? Yes, I know he had question marks about his athleticism...but he's got way more skills than Daniels. And he's sort of the kind of player we need off the bench. If you put him and Greivis on the floor, maybe the ball moves well and finds the easy shot fairly often.

0 defense though, not a casey player, and questionable whether his skills will translate to the NBA when super athletic 3s are guarding him

[007]

0 defense though, not a casey player, and questionable whether his skills will translate to the NBA when super athletic 3s are guarding him

Like our boy Bruno!