Today, we've got the opposite take, this one from ESPN Draft guru, David Thorpe. In his ESPN Insider piece, Thorpe notes that Anthony Davis is the obvious choice for Toronto should they win the draft, but his next best option for them wouldn't be Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Instead, it would be Florida's Bradley Beal or Kansas' Thomas Robinson.
From the piece:
Perfect fit: Bradley Beal, Thomas Robinson
DeMar DeRozan is a good NBA scorer, but his lack of perimeter shooting and suspect defense warrants looking into a replacement, if it makes sense. It makes sense with Beal, who projects as an outstanding shooter and a very good scorer. He should become a better player than DeRozan in almost every other facet of the game. In fact, adding Beal would allow the Raptors to bring DeRozan off the bench, where he could end up being an excellent sixth man while still being a primary scorer. Both guys could even finish games together since Beal will be able to defend many small forwards thanks to his length and strength. Toronto can't go wrong with Robinson, either, as he would fill a huge need for athleticism on the front line with the perfect game for Casey -- tough and energetic and willing to fight and defend. Robinson would play major minutes as a rookie and improve the Raptors in his first season.
Interestingly, D Stance and I had a discussion this morning about DeRozan coming off the bench in a sixth-man role, and yes, I could see him and Beal finishing games together.
However I'm going to disagree with Thorpe's point regarding DeRozan being a good NBA scorer. Lately he's looked better in this regard, but to me, good scorers are guys like Jason Terry, able to efficiently score in a variety of ways. As I plan on discussing later this week, if DeRozan isn't getting to the free-throw line, he's not exactly a good scorer. He hardly creates for others, can't shoot from long-range, and doesn't exactly shoot 50 per cent from inside the arc either.
As well, I'm not sure how Thomas Robinson is a "perfect fit" option either considering the log-jam at the 4 currently, and the concerns with Robinson playing the 3 in the NBA. I still think MKG is a great fit for TO, and while I agree with Thorpe regarding Kidd-Gilchrist's outside shooting needing work, I believe MKG's other skills would outweigh this one area of concern.
And of course this is just one opinion on the matter and in the end, all that really counts is what Bryan Colangelo and co think.
After all, Coach Thorpe also told me at Summer League two seasons ago that Solomon Alabi was progressing faster than Ed Davis so...