Jrue Holiday – Holding the Key to the Raptors’ Draft Success?

Here is a question, based on what I saw of Curry, wouldn't he be worth a look at the 9 spot, assuming he was still available? I realise that he is projected as a 1 but he is flexible position wise and although there might be better options at the 2 or 3 he might be the best player available and allow the Raps to make a move (say trade him to OKC for Earl Watson) to get what they need.

I am probably the only one hoping all those mentioned swingman will be gone, so that the raptors will pick Dejuan Blair.
His toughness and rebounding will help a lot.

Curry can play. He knows the game, is heady, and will probably make a smooth transition to the lifestyle given that he is a child of a longtime NBAer. His dad played in Toronto so there is no foreign country mystique there. Depends on the approach, the team wants to take. If it wants someone who will contribute right away and he's on the board it's a wise pick. If it wants to go with upside projects, given the risk/reward then they can pick someone else. You can even look at it this way, people have proposed trading Bosh to a team like GS for Monta Ellis...umm..why not just draft Curry at his rookie scale and leave yourself more options. I wouldn't be opposed to a Curry pick at all.

Lots of stuff coming in now. First off, Blair apparently dropped 40 pounds...unreal.

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/24793/slim_blair_turns_heads_at_draft_combine

If you're BC and considering your team's needs, that has to make you think at 9, especially if most of the other guys you were looking at are gone.

Also, while Curry is the one guy I least want Toronto to draft at 9, he measure out at almost 6-4 in the combine, about 3 inches taller than I expected. He's got no wingspan to speak of, and doesn't fit the style of today's NBA point guards (slashing ability) but I expect he'll get a good look from the Raps regardless.

Here are the early measurements via Draftexpress:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Pre-Draft-Measurements-Released-3236

Some interesting points including Tyreke Evans' freakish wingspan and DeRozan being smaller than I had anticipated.

None of these mock drafts have any idea of whats going to happen right now, pure speculation. Each one is so different too. Im not even sure who i want the raps to take at this point. Blair and curry make sense from a need point of view but then u hear about guys like evens and derozen and you start to drool at the potential!

Actually why do we have a NEED for Curry?
Isn't he nothing more than a quicker but smaller Kapono? (Jump shooter with zero defense)

While I have been a huge Evans fan all along, getting Blair could work out quite nicely. Yes his weight is a concern but if he keeps that under control where he is right now, we could have an answer to our rebounding and interior toughness problems.

I'm not too worried about his height. His wing span and reach are better than many 7 footers (far bigger than Griffen). I'm more concerned about wingspan/reach than height...when was the last time you someone block a shot or collect a rebound with his forehead.

Wong - Totally agree - even at 6-3 he does nothing for me in terms of an option for Toronto. I'd much rather see a real wing who can attack the basket.

The "Tractor Trailor" comparisons to Blair are a bit scary, but I think Blair is going to work much harder at keeping his weight down, and has a much better style of play for today's NBA.

A little blurb from ESPN.com on Tyreke Evans backing up my thoughts on just how impressive his measurements seemed to be:

• Speaking of Evans, he had the most impressive measurements of the camp. He stands just 6-4 in socks and 6-5¼ in shoes. But he had a terrific 6-11¼ wingspan and an awesome 8-8 standing reach, both bests among guards in the camp.

As we know from Joey Graham, combine results don't mean much over the long haul but combined with Evans' freshman body of work, it sure makes things interesting considering Toronto's needs.

It seems that Tyreke's stock is getting hotter and hotter.

It just sucks that at the #9 spot we are the team the most drooling - yet will most likely feast on scraps and gristle left over from GSW and NYK....

It's going to break my heart to see T.Will go to another team... as I doubt he will drop to #21 -- which is a pick that is on the market.

Drool...

I feel the same way Jenge...sigh...

Although I'm hoping BC grabs another sleeper of mine like Tyler Smith or Jerel McNeal with a purchased second round pick...

Call me crazy, but I wouldn't be unhappy to see Curry in a Raptors uniform. Yeah, he's short, yeah he's going to have problems guarding at the next level, but when you can shoot the rock like he does, there's got to be a spot for you somewhere. At worst, he's an upgrade over Kapono. Even with Curry, though, the Raps have a lot of work to do in the off season.

Measurements are fine and dandy, but haven't we learned from Joey Graham? A repeat of that kind of pick would be a real disappointment. I haven't watched as much college ball this year, so I guess I will trust the judgment of those who've watched a lot of it. Problem is every year there is someone who shoots up the charts because of these set ups, happens in football too. It's sometimes a sign of a scouting department that hasn't really done it's homework and just goes with a choice that gets them a few kudos from the mock drafters and espn talking heads. It will really be interesting to see who the Raptors choose because it will likely be a choice half of us can find a reason to disagree with. But that is all part of the fun in spaces like this. We think we know until we don't

lurker and wong - They play completely different positions for one. As much as we need a defender, I just think Curry is better choice in the spot we are drafting in because he looks like he can already contribute minutes even if it is just as the back up 1. He is undersized for the 2 but he can play their two and getting someone with that flexibility is almost as important as drafting a swing (2/3). This team needs a lot of help and we may find that the cupboard is bare of players with enough talent to draft them in the lottery (again at the swing position). I think that is why Leo stated the Raps would draft (or should draft) a backup PG because that is where all the depth is at in this draft.

Great point, Interloper. Scouts get hung up on who jumps the highest or who has the longest wingspan. That's not unimportant, but ultimately you judge a player by what he does on the court. Paul Pierce slipped all the way down to tenth in his draft because he didn't wow scouts with his athleticism, unlike a certain guy named Vince picked that same year. Who would you rather have now?

I think Bill Simmons said it best when he called this draft a turd sandwich. Curry seems as close to a sure thing as there is, even if it's only as an offensive threat off the bench. But I'll take that over the "potential" of an Earl Clark anyday.

amare says he is better than bosh anyone agree with him.
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/knicks/archives/2009/05/amare_knicks_sh.html
anyways as long as raptors pick a stud in the draft am okay with it

I think if Curry falls to number 9 in the draft raptors need to pick him up! curry could really help the raptors on scoring and sure hes a point guard but he can also play a 2 and if calderon goes down with a injury like last season raptors will have a good backup instead of playing will solomon or roko so all in all i think raptors need to look at curry for scoring purposes and back up point guard purposes! he did avrage 28 points 5 rebounds and 6 assists this year so let him add that to the raptors team

To add to the Holiday menu. I am surprised with your friend's comparison of Jrue to Eric. They couldn't be farther apart except for size, and I don't believe they were ever compared. Dumars was the player I heard most.

ehh... thank you