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by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jun 21, 2011 12:00 PM EDT in Daily Links

The Toronto Star's Doug Smith has Brandon Knight at the top of his draft board. If that isn't reason enough to take a pass on Knight, John Hollinger's Draft Rater isn't bullish on the Kentucky product; he's generously ranked 12th based on his one-and-done status and projects to be a third guard or marginal starter.

SB Nation's NBA Mock Draft also sees (potential bust) Knight landing in the T Dot.

ESPN The Magazine held its third-annual players-only mock draft. Picking fifth for the Raptors, Jerryd Bayless selected Enes Kanter based partially on the belief that he would be a great backup center to Andrea Bargnani.

Pro Basketball Talk outlines five NBA Draft sleepers to watch.

A couple of former Raptor draft picks round out the Top 10 NBA Draft Busts.

NBA owners and players are scheduled for a critical labour meeting on Tuesday.

What's more exciting than NBA Draft speculation? How about Dance Pak auditions, which take place on August 6th?

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Top 10 Draft Busts

Oden and Bender deserve to be on another list, something like “all time injury bust list.” Every other player on list either fizzeld very quickly or had a long and unproductive career. Oden and Bender are NBA busts, but for different reasons.

Ed O’Bannon is a name that comes to mind that failed misserbly in the NBA and was drafted before Theo Ratliff and Michael Finley and deserves to be on this list.

by Al Bundy is my hero on Jun 21, 2011 12:14 PM EDT reply actions

Ed O'Bannon - LOL

Never liked his game at UCLA.
-——————————————————

Ex-Players Join Suit vs. N.C.A.A.
By KATIE THOMAS
Published: March 10, 2010

Eleven former college football and basketball players have joined the former U.C.L.A. basketball star Ed O’Bannon in a class-action lawsuit that argues the N.C.A.A. should compensate former athletes for the use of their images and likenesses

cont. on link

http://nyti.ms/lfwkaP

by Buddahfan on Jun 21, 2011 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions

+1 , honestly oden is a very unlucky person he could have had a more productive career then durant but he got unlucky

by raptors_run_the_show on Jun 21, 2011 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions

AND people think he's either Lebron or some bouncer... lol ... stupid TMZ reporter...

"the Truth"

by Mikthaniel on Jun 21, 2011 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I hate when you guys link to NBA Insider stuff that I want to read, but can't...

"the Truth"

by Mikthaniel on Jun 21, 2011 12:46 PM EDT reply actions

wouldnt bargnani be the backup to kanter?

by jadedeed2327 on Jun 21, 2011 2:31 PM EDT reply actions

What Could Force A Lockout

League and Union are discussing a ten year deal.

Ten year deal?

Boy is that stupid.

One side or the other will definitely wind up getting the short end of a 10 year deal assuming that they can ever reach an agreement.

Hell, in America even Social Security and Medicare aren’t guaranteed for 10 more years in their current form and another 10 years in their current form will most certainly bankrupt America.

Ten year deal. Just plain stupid to even go there.

I hope that they can come to their senses on a more reasonable and smarter business decision that that.

by Buddahfan on Jun 21, 2011 3:46 PM EDT reply actions

Its official

I liked what I was hearing from Casey. Getting excited already. Suddenly I am wondering about a guy like Alibi, this might be a situation for him to thrive in. Had to laugh at Casey’s reaction to having JT as an assistant coach-don’t think he was too interested in that. Triano might make a great offensive coordinator for a team, but you can’t bring back last year’s head coach. New dude, new locker room, new era. Damn, I AM getting excited already!

Walker McKenna

by Robert Archibald on Jun 21, 2011 5:00 PM EDT reply actions

And Ed Davis!

Casey is pretty much the perfect coach for Ed Davis. Ed already plays the way Casey is preaching, this will be a long and beautiful relationship! Does this mean Bayless is more likely to be next year’s starter? Will Casey be able to make players better defensively, better using the talents of players like DeMar, Johnson, Kleiza? This HAS to affect who we draft, and I can’t see it helping Kemba Walker’s case. Whoever we draft had better have the ability to have an impact on the defensive end, and there will be a few players like that available at 5. Kemba ain’t one. Hello Coach Casey, this is Andrea Bargnani… Andrea is ALWAYS an enigma. What if Casey can teach AB how to use his length and athleticism? I do think that if Bargs is around, his ass will be seeing a lot more bench unless he improves his defensive intensity. Bargnani is young enough, and possibly smart enough, to figure out that if he listens to coach he will be a better player and therefore see more floor time. If he doesn’t? F—k him, he can come off the bench. Who knows – I would love to be a fly on the wall when those two meet!

Walker McKenna

by Robert Archibald on Jun 21, 2011 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Kemba

Was an above average defender in college and likely will be average to above-average defender in the NBA. No idea where you’re getting the idea that Kemba won’t have an impact on defense, he is definitely better on that end of the floor than Knight by a large margin. Walker averaged 2 steals per 40min pace adjusted, 5th best of all guards in the draft and tied with Irving for best in the lotto. Knight had only 0.7 steals per 40 min pace adjusted, which is the worst out of the top 20 guards in the draft. Chris Paul doesn’t have freakish height or length but he is usually near the top of the NBA in steals, Walker will have a similar effect on defense.

by IWillPartyHard on Jun 21, 2011 8:04 PM EDT up reply actions

If a high number of steals determined how good of a defender you were..

Monta Ellis would be an all world defender, and he is literally one one of the worst defensive SGs in the league.

Kemba is not good at defense, and will struggle with it in the NBA particularly do to his small height, short arms and slight frame.

by SD37 on Jun 21, 2011 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Also

Knight was very good defensively, and didn’t get a lot of steals because he doesn’t gamble or make stupid decisions on defense. He is very athletic, has very good lateral quickness, and good measurables. He was good in college and should continue to improve in that aspect.

by SD37 on Jun 21, 2011 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Terrible comparison

Between Monta, a PG with a shorter wingspan than Kemba who is trying to guard SG’s significantly larger than him, and Kemba who will be guarding other PG’s much closer to his size. Not to mention if you just watch both of them play it’s obvious how much of a better defender Kemba is.

Knight was not good defensively in college, he was below average. You’re just talking about his measurables like that someone makes him a good defender, it doesn’t. Sure, he has the length to be good at D, but so does Alabi and Derozan, potential doesn’t mean much to me when it’s not backed up by real life production. Knight was abysmal at defending the pick and roll, something he’d be expected to do a lot of as a PG in the NBA.

by IWillPartyHard on Jun 21, 2011 8:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I didn't actually compare the players skillsets

I just used it to state how a lot of steals doesn’t mean someone is a good defender.

I agree though, I noticed that Knight wasn’t particularly good at getting through picks and draft express seems to think the same thing, but I feel like with his athleticism it should be able to be something he can learn. Although that really isn’t something we can argue and something we will have to take a wait and see approach with. He is however good at one-on-one defense and that is definitely something he can build on.

Seems to me that right now, Knight’s hype is based solely around potential whereas you know what you are going to get with Kemba (barring huge steps forward in development).

by SD37 on Jun 21, 2011 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed on potential vs sure thing

I just really don’t see Knight ever being to man the point in the NBA and think he will be trapped in combo guard limbo his whole career, kinda like Jamal Crawford or Louis Williams. Something I think the Raptors could do without, since they already have that guy in Bayless.

Whereas with Walker I think you’re getting a player that will be a lot like Ty Lawson but a better scorer. Something I’d love to see on the Raptors.

by IWillPartyHard on Jun 21, 2011 9:21 PM EDT up reply actions

did u say Walker was an above average defender in College? LOLLLL

What games did u watch. I saw maybe just less than half of UCONN’s games and I didn’t see any defence being played by Walker, I actually saw the opposite. That guys is a horrible defender and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Read below and watch the first video, especially from the 6:13 point:

http://www.nba.com/jazz/news/2011_scouting_reports_kemba_walker.html

Ty Lawson is stronger and tougher physically than Walker as well as being a pure PG. They may be the same height but they are not the same calibre of PG.Thats like saying Shaq and Alabi are similar height so Alibi should be as effective as Shaq.

A pure pg at Lawson’s size can be successful if he’s really good, but not a combo guard/scoring guard like Walker. Guys like Collison and Rondo are true and true PG who focus on setting up the team while Kemba is a scorer who, if you watch the video, will struggle to do the things he did in college at the next level.

by Member29 on Jun 21, 2011 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Steals Are Not Necessarily A Sign of A Good Defender

A lot of steals are obtained by gambling on defense. People talk about the steals but they don’t talk about how many times the defender did not get an attempted steal but instead got burned by the offensive player because the defender was out of position to be able stay in front of the offensive player as a result of getting into position to attempt a steal. Happens a lot more then you probably think.

Players who get a lot of steals play defense with their hands. Players who can’t move their feet to stay in front of a player or are too short to alter a shot will often gamble on defense with their hands in an attempt to force a turnover.

Kemba Walker is not going to be the next CP3. That is IMO an absurd idea. IMO Walker will wind up being somewhere between Will Bynum and Mateen Cleaves. What all three have in common is that they were/are short and quick and none of them could shoot worth sheet.

by Buddahfan on Jun 21, 2011 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Walker Is A Career 30% Or So Three Point Shooter

The majority of those shots were taken from about where Amir shoots his jump shots, maybe a foot or two more

The college three point line is 20 – 21 feet.

Amir has consistently over the last two years shot over 40% from 16 – 23 feet.
Walker is a career NCAA three point shooter from say 20 – 23 feet of 30%

So Amir would have been a better three point shooter in college then Kemba and it would not even be close.

You can find the links on the Net to support the numbers.

by Buddahfan on Jun 21, 2011 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions

For Example

Barbosa has averaged 1.4 steals per 36 minutes for his career
Ray Allen has averaged 1.1 steals per 36 minutes for his career.

No one who has watched the two play over the last 5 – 7 years and knows what they are watching would say that Babosa is a better defender than Ray Allen.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/allenra02.html

by Buddahfan on Jun 21, 2011 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions

steals

may not mean good defense, but good defenders still come up with steals.

I wouldn’t exactly say Ray is a better defender than Barbossa either. Their both about average… just Ray actually has the size to cover SGs. He also gets the priviledge of having a great defensive team, while Barbossa never has.

by Not so Friendly Stranger on Jun 21, 2011 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions

We get it, you don't like Walker

But comparing him to Mateen Cleaves and Will Bynum is absurd. I never said Walker would be the next CP3, I just used CP3 as an example of a small PG who plays good defense and gets lots of steals, showing that you don’t need absurd length to make an impact on defense at the PG position.

Will Bynum is not and was never anything even close to the offensive player Walker is, not to mention he never even really played PG in college, as evidenced by his awful -2.73 PPR. Horrible horrible comparison. Please, just look at their stats, basic and advanced in college, and tell me how Bynum is anywhere even sniffing Walker’s league?

As for Mateen Cleaves, really? really? really? You don’t think you’re being just a tad bit ridiculous there? really?

by IWillPartyHard on Jun 21, 2011 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

you notice how whenever they talk about knight, its always about his positives, but when talking about walker, its always about his negatives. can we please be fair with these evaluations of players. knight isnt a good defender either but cause he has an inch or two over kemba, he has the potential to be a good defender?

well heres some positives that walker has that many of you haters dont know/care about. he is a winner! he may not be such a great shooter but he can create his own shot and get to the foul line at will. hes got a leadership mentality, dont believe me, just look what he did with uconn carrying the team all on his own. hes quick, explosive, has better handles and has quick moveable feet so i can see him getting better at defense too, knight isnt the only one who can get better.

as for knight, yall are already in love with him so i dont need to say any of his positives, but dont ignore the negative parts of his game cause in reality he aint much better than walker and walker doesnt deserve all of the critism hes getting just because you think his future will translate to another players from the past. you know theres also a lot of past players knight’s future can be compared to who hasnt dont sh*t in the league, but ill be fair and just say that neither is better than the other at this point

by tea time on Jun 22, 2011 4:12 AM EDT up reply actions

T time

lots of players win championships and lots of players play awsome in the NCAA but that doesn’t mean their skill and size etc will translate to success the NBA. I just don’t see Kemba being successful in the NBA playing the style he did in college, especially with his size. I guess we’ll see.

I prefer Bayless than Walker hands down. How can Bayless be overlooked for a guy like Walker is beyond me.

by Member29 on Jun 22, 2011 5:43 AM EDT up reply actions

The Truth of the Matter Is

That this year Dallas won the title vs losing it to Miami in 2006 because of experience. Everyone of the key Dallas rotation players had over 10 years experience in the NBA.

Triano was absolutely right when he said experience was important.

No way Dallas has more talented than the Thunder. But Dallas had a ton more experience.

So those looking for some quick Raptors trip to the promised land because of a new coach you are smoking pipe-dreams.

The road is long and tough and takes lot of experience to learn how to win.

So BC will probably need to trade some young talented players for more experienced talented players if the Raptors are looking for a shot at the playoffs next season.

I don’t care who their coach is next season, without adding quality players with experience it will be another lottery for the Raptors in June 2012 or if they are lucky maybe a first round exit in the playoffs, though I wouldn’t bet on it,.

Trade Bargnani now

by Buddahfan on Jun 22, 2011 9:29 AM EDT reply actions