The RaptorsHQ 2014 NBA Draft Board - Version 3.0

We're getting into final countdown range.  With the NBA draft less than a week away, we figured it was time to update our RaptorsHQ Draft Big Board again so to that end, we bring you version 3.0 below.

Again, we've ranked 10 players in order of draft preference, and who hopefully will all be around when Toronto makes its selection.  Last draft board's ranking is in brackets beside this version's rankings, and we'll get into the changes between this version and the previous version but first, the list:

Ennis stays atop the rankings here.  He's still listed as a very real option for the Raptors at 20 on mock drafts, so here he stays.  Again, Ennis may not be the second coming of Steve Nash, but we feel that at least he'll be a very productive back-up point guard, which is a nice find this late in the draft.  The problem is, I'm not feeling very confident that Ennis will actually be around at 20.

On the flip side, his biggest point guard competition on our board, Elfrid Payton, has been removed from our list. Payton's stock has been soaring of late and it doesn't look like he's going to get out of the top 10 picks, let alone the lottery, at this stage.

With Payton gone, Michigan State big man Adreian Payne moves up a spot to take the second spot in our rankings. Like Ennis, I'll be surprised if Payne is there at 20 but if so, I'll be very happy for the Raptors to call his name.

In third spot, KJ McDaniels makes this update's biggest jump, going from ninth on our last board to third.  He's been solid in workouts from interweb reports, and has checked out a lot better than I expected based on various advanced statistical models.  He's got to work on his long-range shooting, but the other pieces, including excellent physical attributes, are all there.

In fourth, we've got a new entrant, Mr. Jordan Adams. As we'll discuss next week, Jordan dominates nearly every advanced statistical draft model we can find, and after seeing him in person on Tuesday and reading various other workout reports, we feel that he could be one of the steals of this draft.  He may end up at the very top of this list in fact by next Thursday.

Likewise in fifth, we've got another statistical darling, Clint Capela.  Capela also looks great outside of an algorithm though and it's pretty easy to see his game translating very effectively at the next level.

We'll keep going with the sleeper picks and move to another new entrant on our board, Tennessee's Jarnell Stokes. Like Adams, Stokes is one of the top players based on various statistical models but along with that, the kid can obviously play.  He was in great shape at his recent Raptors' workout, and it's not hard to see him being at least a Brandon Bass type at the next level, which again, is pretty good value at 20.  I'm still not even sure I see much difference between him and lottery pick Julius Randle.

The final four picks belong to a quartet of wings (although yes, LaVine considers himself a PG) who frankly, I'm having a tough time ranking, or getting very excited about. Hood has the ability to be at least a Danny Green type at the next level, but he's looked awful in almost every advanced stats model.  He doesn't do much in the paint, but he's got enticing shooting ability and solid size.  LaVine has looked about as expected via advanced stats, so he pretty much keeps the same spot.

And Warren and Early?  Ugh.  While both have good physical attributes, and their box score metrics are very solid, both are bad to awful on advanced stats models.

Obviously advanced stats models are hardly the "be-all, end-all," but I prefer draft prospects to at least show up decently in these types of things.  Early is one of the worst wings in the draft in terms of creation in isolation, and while he shot well from long-range last year, his previous seasons weren't so good.  He also spent a lot of time at power forward, something he won't be doing in the NBA.  And Warren's offensive value is predicated on mid-range effectiveness, not exactly a staple in today's current version of the NBA.

So in many ways, currently my thought process is that once the top five guys on this list are off the board, it's a bit of a dice roll in terms of who I'm hoping lands in Toronto's lap, with others like UCLA's Kyle Anderson and Michigan's Glenn Robinson III being additional options as we get down to brass tacks.