The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[magoon]

Chad Ford's mock draft 2.0 has us drafting Tyler Ennis 19th:

General manager Masai Ujiri had hoped that by shipping off Andrea Bargnani and Rudy Gay for pennies on the dollar, the team would put itself in a position to get high enough in the draft to land Canadian Andrew Wiggins. Instead, the Raptors are currently the favorites to win the Atlantic Division. Even if the team trades away Kyle Lowry, I'm not sure the Raptors can really get bad enough to have a shot at Wiggins. The good news is that the Raptors also are on the prowl for a long-term answer at point guard and there's another Canadian, Ennis, who has been as good as any freshman in the country. Ennis is a steady floor leader who strikes a perfect balance between distributing and scoring. His assist-to-turnover ratio is outstanding for a freshman. He's not an elite athlete, but that's the only real knock against him right now.

[Nilanka]

Chad Ford's mock draft 2.0 has us drafting Tyler Ennis 19th:

If all this Ennis praise continues, it wouldn't be far-fetched to see him project as a lotto pick.

[white men can't jump]

If all this Ennis praise continues, it wouldn't be far-fetched to see him project as a lotto pick.

Well, a lot will still depend on team needs. Many teams combine BPA with needs to make their selection. Many teams are pretty set at PG. And at least Exum and Smart will continue to project ahead of Ennis. Have a hard time seeing him crack the top 10....but after that, no clue how things shake out. Just hoping he falls to wherever we are drafting.

[Shantz]

Syracuse is playing against Miami right now. The game is on CBS for anyone interested in watching Ennis play.

[Jordan Evans]

2014 NBA DRAFT: Who's available for the Raptors?

The season's halfway through. The draft is in June, it's almost February. If we keep going at this rate, our pick will be in the 20's. What position should we target? Who's available at the position?

I think we should target a PG. All the franchise changers like Smart, and Exum will be gone in the top 10 but I think there are some who will fall pretty low. For example, Tyler Ennis, Andrew Harrison, Shabazz, Napier, to name a few. If I could select one, it would be Ennis but I feel he will go top 15 and our pick is not going to be there. I would select either Harrison or Napier. Harrison is taller than Napier at 6'6-6'1. Napier distributes the ball better and has a better FG percentage than him. But Harrison has more upside to me. If Masai were to select either one if Ennis is gone, I'd be pretty content. We don't know if Lowry will stay or Vasquez but Vasquez has said he wants to be a Raptor for the rest of his career. But if Lowry decides to leave us for a better team or for bigger money, I'd take a chance on Harrison or Napier. Who knows? I leave it up for Masai to find a big steal.

Thoughts?

[ceez]

trade up for Exum

i'm smitten

a team like the lakers aren't going to want to rebuild, they're going to use their pick to get a great player

lakers #1 and Nash for 2014 ALL STAR Demar?

[octothorp]

No disrespect, but is there any discussion here that doesn't belong in the 'Raptors and the 2014 draft' thread? I'd rather see all those discussions kept together.

[p3t3ypablo]

Nik Stauskas. Probably one of the most underrated people in this draft class right now. It's unbelievable that he isn't on most mock drafts.

[Rapstor4Life]

I heard Raps are targeting Ennis on Twitter.... besides being a P short of a Hilarious misfortune of a last name does anyone know what he does well? cant find a video talking about him.

[magoon]

I heard Raps are targeting Ennis on Twitter.... besides being a P short of a Hilarious misfortune of a last name does anyone know what he does well? cant find a video talking about him.

Ennis basically does everything well. He's a pass-first floor general by preference but he's got a decent scoring touch and for a freshman his D is not embarrassing. The reason he's not lottery yet are because he's not super-athletic and because he's under six feet, and scouts love players to be athletic and as big at their position as possible. But his skills are very good.

[octothorp]

I've seen him usually listed around 6'2", which would be about what he looks to be on the court, about in the middle in terms of PG height.

[blackjitsu]

trade up for Exum

i'm smitten

a team like the lakers aren't going to want to rebuild, they're going to use their pick to get a great player

lakers #1 and Nash for 2014 ALL STAR Demar?

Dear God not Nash. No, this isn't the 90's Leafs AKA an old age home for retiring athletes.

Nik Stauskas. Probably one of the most underrated people in this draft class right now. It's unbelievable that he isn't on most mock drafts.

So true he's deceptively fast and has some pretty good handles. Can he play point guard?

I heard Raps are targeting Ennis on Twitter.... besides being a P short of a Hilarious misfortune of a last name does anyone know what he does well? cant find a video talking about him.

Ennis basically does everything well. He's a pass-first floor general by preference but he's got a decent scoring touch and for a freshman his D is not embarrassing. The reason he's not lottery yet are because he's not super-athletic and because he's under six feet, and scouts love players to be athletic and as big at their position as possible. But his skills are very good.

I've seen him usually listed around 6'2", which would be about what he looks to be on the court, about in the middle in terms of PG height.

The thing I like most about Ennis's game is the way he controls the pace of the game. Everything around him just seems in slow-mo. I wouldn't be surprised if he is more athletic than what most scouts believe. The way he changes speeds so effortlessly makes you think he isn't going fast, but next thing you know -- he's at the basket. That zone they play pretty much hides his speed on the defensive end, so who really knows.

[magoon]

Dear God not Nash. No, this isn't the 90's Leafs AKA an old age home for retiring athletes.

Nash is what makes a DeMar-to-LA-for-LA's-pick work. Turning that $9m of salary from Nash into probable All-Star DeMar means the Lakers are much closer to fielding a competitive team in 2014-15. Thanks to Kobe's stupid, terrible contract, the Lakers most likely won't give up their first-round pick (likely to be solidly in the lottery, at least 6-8 range, possibly higher) without moving Nash's contract because they need the rookie salary to counterbalance Kobe's giant contract.

And make no mistake, it's probably smarter for them to keep their pick and waive Nash/hope he retires, because Kobe + DeMar = half the cap eaten up by two players' salaries. But if we could get, say, a top three 2014 pick for DeMar and taking Nash? I do that in a heartbeat.

[p3t3ypablo]

So true he's deceptively fast and has some pretty good handles. Can he play point guard?

He can definitely play point if needed. Most "experts" would say no, but those experts are the same ones who don't have him as NBA ready yet.

[Jordan Evans]

A player I like is Zach Lavine. He can play PG or SG but I'd rather him as our PG. What could we give for him? The trade would obviously be a draft day trade, meaning the Sacramento Raptors can be traded too.