The RaptorsHQ 2014 NBA Draft Board - Version 4.0

Everyone ready?

We're about seven hours away from the 2014 NBA Draft and things are getting quite interesting.

There's still a big debate about how the very top of the draft will unfold, trades rumours are flying around, and actual trades have already taken place.  And the specter of some big name free agents hangs over the whole process.

Here at the HQ, we're ready to roll.  If you've followed our draft coverage for the past five or six weeks, you've seen previews of pretty much every possible draft prospect option for Toronto, and some of these players we've even had a chance to speak with either via media scrums, or one-on-one.

We've looked at footage, at stats, at the rumours and rumblings and now, we're just anxious to get this process going.

First though, our final RaptorsHQ Draft Board, aka, Version 4.0.

The 10 names have remained fairly consistent throughout the process, but we've made a few tweaks for this final version, with explanations below.  Last draft board's ranking is in brackets beside this version's rankings:

Ennis stays on top.

At 20, he's by far the best option in my books and while I like Capela and McDaniels too, in my books there's a gap between Ennis and everyone else.  He passes the eye test, he had a great rookie season, he measured out well at the pre-draft combine and was more athletic than people thought, his advanced stats are very strong...basically, he checks off all the boxes for me in terms of a solid first-round draft pick, especially at 20.

And while it's a bonus, he also serves as a nice Plan B in case Kyle Lowry and Mr. Vasquez depart for greener pastures.

Capela and McDaniels come next and again, I'd be fine if either player's name is called at 20 (or wait, 22 maybe!!) I do prefer Capela to McDaniels based on Capela's upside and intangibles, and his advanced stats are off the charts. Again, advanced stats aren't the be-all, end-all, but Capela has some very intriguing ones such as block and rebound percentage that translate quite well to the next level.  ESPN.com Insider's Kevin Pelton just dedicated an entire article to him noting that he could be the steal of the draft, and Chad Ford is reporting that the Spurs want him at 30, but the Dinos are targeting him with their pick(s).

After those three, we've got Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes, two players who I think have been ranked too low on mock drafts, but who I'm not as sold on as the three players above them.  I wouldn't be upset to hear their names called at 20 tonight, but I wouldn't be as content as I would have been with the first three options listed.

After those five, there's another gap for me and then five other prospects who I like, but who I'm not exactly ecstatic about.  Each has some major areas of concern, from Anderson's ability to translate his game to the NBA, to Rodney Hood's awful advanced metrics and fairly one-dimensional game.

The big dropper on our list though, as you may have noticed, is Adreian Payne.

Payne occupied a top three spot on our draft board for pretty much the entire pre-draft process, but of late, I'll be honest, I've soured a bit on his potential.  I still think he'll be a solid role player, maybe even a starter in the NBA, but he's got some areas of concern and as one of the older players in the draft, likely is a lot more of a finished product than most other players. Sure, older picks can sometimes "learn new tricks," but the bulk of statistical evidence points to older players as being much closer to their ceilings.

As for Early and Warren, these are my two favourite remaining wing options, an area of need for Toronto, with Early getting the edge because of his potential as a "3 and D" guy.