MikeToronto

I dunno. I guess I am always a bigger fan of something at least somewhat proven vs. something that has "the potential"...

Regardless, JJ's development is the biggest positive for me this year. That strange "incident" non-withstanding, I'd like him to be retained and continue his development - he absolutely has the potential to be a starter at SF for this team for a long time and he is much closer to being that man than Barnes, IMO. Beal makes a lot more sense because we lack shooters @ 2 and his strength should provide some defensive and driving help there as well.

carp

Agreed. Love Beal as a shooter for this team, and I've been on the JJ bus since we traded for him. Heck, wouldn't have been upset if we drafted him over DD either.

Barnes is hopefully our worst case draft.... hopefully, would still be a good get.

moremilk

I think if the opportunity comes, you definitely draft mkg, even if it's not a good fit
however, if derozan doesn't improve his shooting a lot, you either bring him off the bench, or you trade him for a better shooter - you can't have two wings with no range, it's suicide.

makes no difference though, unless we move up in the lottery or trade up before the draft, we're either drafting barnes or some kind of point guard. I think Barnes at 6th or 7th is not a terrible reach. Even if he's another marvin williams type of player, it's not like marvin is horrible. And he'll most likely be better than marvin.

powerfulpanda

if we fall in the 5-10 range i wouldn't mind us reaching for kendal marshall. with today's PGs, ya hes not gonna wow you or get any all star votes but hes the type when its all said and done he has a successful 15 year career. kinda like a derek fisher or mark jackson. and we saw how important he was to UNC when he went down with that injury.

DocHoliday99

Not a good fit with the roster as it stands now, but MKG seems to have a tenacity that a lot of the other players in the draft dont have (or haven't shown yet) which is why I would like him. Just not a good fit currently but the roster will definitely change. Same in the case of Beal - better fit right now but whose to say thats the case in 6 mos. I agree with carp though, Beal has the potential to truely be the steal of the draft.

What makes you so sure? The pg's that might be availble are Marshall and Lillard and I would rather trade the pick before taking either. However if MKG and Beal are gone, I would definitely take Barnes.

Tough to say anything though - it's all guess - till the draft order is established. Then let the games begin.

MrClutch

If Jose is still our PG for next season, then drafting Beal would be a necessity since Jose would be able to spot him open for jumpers. Hopefully that would give Demar more room to operate as well

DocHoliday99

Problem with Marshall though is his shot....or lack of it. If he could develop that it would make it easier for him in the NBA. He's definitely a facilitator and controls the offense but what a potential deficiency.

moremilk

I don't see us drafting a middling big prospect, given that we have a glut of PF/Cs ... The PGs are ranked in the low 10s, so we may trade down to get one of those if barnes is not available. All in all, there's a pretty big chance we trade up or down, especially if barnes is not available when we draft.

jeffb

I sort of agree, i think though that say we get #8.....imo we'll trade up to top 5 or out but not down. Jack Armstrong the other day apparently said that if the Raptors can't get a top 5-6 pick they should trade out of the draft and do a trade like when we aquired AD in 99 which i pretty much agree with if a good deal can be made.

carp

Agreed... I think we'll have our eyes on three guys, MKG Beal Barnes, and if they're gone, we look for a big name wing like Iggy, Mayo or Tyreke.

LOG

The players I want from this draft are AD, BB, Lamb and Marshal. If we can land any of them i would be very happy

IGetAir

I'd be happy very happy with that, let's hope that's BC's thinking as well.

LET'S GO RAPTORS!!!!!

If raps draft MKG, keep him. Trade DD. DD can only be good if he's a starter and a top option on offense but he is just a scorer. Off the bench he would be horrible. Trade DD + JJ for a 11-13th pick and get Lamb. Lamb at SG and MKG at SF wouldn't be too bad.

DocHoliday99

I like those 3 and if we fall out of the top 6 I agree with above, add the pick with a player and trade for someone of quality that way.

Personally I'd love to see MKG paired with Mayo; or Beal paired with Iggy - either solution though will push DD to the second unit or into a trade.

jrob23

Woah now

you admit that all DeMar is good for is scoring, but claim he wouldn't be good to come off the bench?

The ideal place in the rotation for players that only provide points is in a 6th/7th man role.

carp

What I don't understand is this seeming need to move DD if we brought in another SG and yet we've played all year with Bargnani, Ed Davis and Amir Johnson at PF with Kleiza and JJ also putting in time there. DD can play with another SG.... there are minutes in a long season.

LET'S GO RAPTORS!!!!!

Yes, and he's been handfed the starting SG position his whole tenure in Toronto. Also, the point of trading DD is to upgrade at another position if need be.

MikeToronto

Adding this link to the article on Raptors Republic - the author is echoing a lot of what I've been preaching this season:

Toronto Raptors Big Board 1.0 – The Top Ten Raptors Targets | Raptors Republic | ESPN TrueHoop's Toronto Raptors Blog

LKeet6

really good article. made a compelling case for each player.

i'm warming to the idea of trading down actually. unless we get a very high pick. Even with 2nd or 3rd pick, you're not assured a stud and the list of high potential players goes far down beyond the 10th pick maybe.

We could trade jose, DD or Ed (or more than 1 of them) plus our pick for a very good player and a 10th-15th pick. then take a risk on someone like perry jones. We could get 2 players who will improve us instead of just 1 from the draft. Yes, obv there is risk but there seems to be a fair amount of risk even with the high picks. Let other teams fall in love with a high pick and draft a player with downsides (attitude is mentioned for a couple of players,) casey can work with?

creative1mm

Draft Perry Jones..