NBA Draft Discussion

[Canucklehead]

Well, Toronto picked Charlie Villenueva(sp) 7th overall, a player who plays the same position as Chris Bosh and is much less talented than many other forwards left on the board, Channing Frye comes to mind. I can't believe that pick. Very dissapointed. Hope they make up for it with a good 16th overall pick.

[The Insider]

Is Rob Babcock mentally competent???

For goodness sakes, how in the hell does this clown still have a job? Unless he is trading him for someone else why would you draft a guy the same position as your franchise player??? My goodness, you'd think he'd go the safe route and draft a high touted guy, but no Babcock has this idiot idea to draft a guy who he'd probably be able to get with his last pick in the second round. It's going to take ten years to clean up this guy's mess. :hammer2:

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Gerald Green was on the friggin board. What an idiot. Instead we get a lazy bum, with a bad work ethic, and plays a position filled by Chris Bosh.

[The Insider]

You know what, he has to be dealing this guy for someone else. No one is this dumb, absolutely no one. If this guy is a Raptor at the end of the night and no one else has of value has been picked then I'm done with the Raps until this guy gets canned. It is embarassing as a Raptor fan to hear the team get ripped two straight years because of a GM who honest to god is flushing this team down the toilet, frankly I am shocked that he picked up the option Bosh.

[PDO]

He's trying to outdo the Leafs!

And just imagine.. you could've had Jamal instead of this guy also.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Good draft for the Bobcats. Selecting Tar Heels Felton and May will be good from a marketing standpoint, and both are pretty solid players too. Although I'm surprised they didn't take Green instead of May. The Raps have their choice of Green, Granger, or Graham with the 16 pick, since the other GMs seem to be drugged up too. However, he'll probably do something stupid like take that European PG, Jack, or some tall European guy. If he takes Green though, all will be forgiven.

[The Insider]

Raps second, first round pick is next, I'm seriously worried.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Well we got Joey Graham. He's a solid pick, and should be a nice player in the NBA. He plays good defense, but I'd still rather have Green. He's gonna be a superstar in this league, and some team is gonna get very lucky.

[Canucklehead]

Very happy with Graham. It still doesn't make up for the attrocious pick earlier though. The ESPN guys were saying it all. Why pick the same position 3 years in a row? And not even pick the best player at that position? Babcock must go!

[The Insider]

I guess it was a decent pick, but we needed a center and a point guard and idiot drafts 2 forwards. It was nice to hear the ESPN guys not ripping into us for this one, but the first one makes me believe that Babcock picked who he thought was good, got ripped into and decided it would be smart to draft a guy who would be a popular choice.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Charlie V is still making me mad. If we took Green/Granger at that spot (like most analyst thought we would) combined with Graham at 16, this could have been a GREAT draft for the Raps. Buy out Rose with the one time buyout rule in the CBA, and then sign Big Z with that money. The franchise would've been set.

My boy Green finally got a home. He'll be going to beantown next year, and the Paul Pierce rumours will heat up once again.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

I guess it was a decent pick, but we needed a center and a point guard and idiot drafts 2 forwards.

Well we needed on the wing, so a swingman like Graham wasn't a bad pick. By the end of next season he should be our starting SF, with Rose at SG if he's still here. Not that bad. Don't know what we do with Charlie V though, since he's not gonna start at PF over Bosh, and I doubt he'll make the transition to center.

[The Insider]

Well we needed on the wing, so a swingman like Graham wasn't a bad pick. By the end of next season he should be our starting SF, with Rose at SG if he's still here. Not that bad. Don't know what we do with Charlie V though, since he's not gonna start at PF over Bosh, and I doubt he'll make the transition to center.

I know Graham was a good pick, I'm just blown away by the 7th pick, it has soured me on this whole draft because I cannot get around what we could've had and what we got.

[Canucklehead]

The good, the bad, and the ugly:

The Good

3. Utah - D. Williams
8. New York - C. Frye
13. Charlotte - S. May
14. Minnesota - R. McCants
17. Indiana - D. Granger
18. Boston - G. Green

The Bad

2. Atlanta - M. Williams
9. Golden State - I. Doigu
11. Orlando - F. Vasquez
12. LAC - Y. Korolev

The Ugly

7. Toronto - C. Villaneuva

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

I wouldn't say Marvin Williams is a bad pick. He might turn out to be the best player from this draft class.

[Canucklehead]

I wouldn't say Marvin Williams is a bad pick. He might turn out to be the best player from this draft class.

When weighed against Deron Williams I don't think Marvin Williams can even compete. Marvin was a 6th man on his college team and Deron was leader of his. Deron should've been taken ahead of Marvin.

[leaferfan87]

FIRE BABCOCK!

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

When weighed against Deron Williams I don't think Marvin Williams can even compete. Marvin was a 6th man on his college team and Deron was leader of his. Deron should've been taken ahead of Marvin.

Well Marvin Williams was only freshman, and on any other school would've been a starter at SF. Also, he's a team player and accepted the role as 6th man, do you really believe Jawad Williams is a better player than him :conspire: At a stacked school like North Carolina where you have plenty of talent, why not avoid any problems with your players and sit a guy who's comfortable with being the 6th man. Marvin Williams has a boatload of talent, and would've been a lottery pick if he declared for the draft out of high school. As for Deron, no doubt he's a great player, but some would say Dee Brown or even Luther Head was the best player on that team. Size is the only thing that makes Williams a lottery pick, while Head went in the 20s, and Brown will likely go in the late first round next year too.

[Canucklehead]

Well Marvin Williams was only freshman, and on any other school would've been a starter at SF. Also, he's a team player and accepted the role as 6th man, do you really believe Jawad Williams is a better player than him :conspire:

No, he's better then J. Williams. At a stacked school like North Carolina where you have plenty of talent, why not avoid any problems with your players and sit a guy who's comfortable with being the 6th man.

Sure, but if he's truly as gifted as people think he is, Roy Williams would have recognized that and gave him more playing time and a starting spot. Coaches don't make starting 5 descisions based on who's most comfortable sitting on the bench.

Marvin Williams has a boatload of talent, and would've been a lottery pick if he declared for the draft out of high school. As for Deron, no doubt he's a great player, but some would say Dee Brown or even Luther Head was the best player on that team. Size is the only thing that makes Williams a lottery pick, while Head went in the 20s, and Brown will likely go in the late first round next year too.

Of course Marvin Williams has a "boatload of talent" but Deron Williams is much better than you or a lot of others give him credit for. There's no way Brown or Head were better than him in that NCAA tourney. I don't think Marvin is a terrible player, I would just go for the sure bet if I was drafting and Deron is the sure bet. Marvin could turn out to be great but I would place my money on Deron.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Well Deron is definitely the more polished player of the two. I'm not gonna argue with you on that. However, most scout agree Williams will be a star in this league and I think Atlanta feels him and Josh Smith will lead the franchise out of the gutter.

[Canucklehead]

Fair enough, LFL.

Add another "Good" to my list in Fransisco Garcia going to Sacramento at the 23rd pick, I thought he would go higher.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Fair enough, LFL.

Well that's the fun thing about draft time. Everybody sees prospects differently. Look at Andrew Bynum for example. Depending on who you ask you'll get future All-Star to draft bust.

Add another "Good" to my list in Fransisco Garcia going to Sacramento at the 23rd pick, I thought he would go higher.

Agreed. He should be in the rotation right away for the Kings and contribute offensively. He has the potential to start in this league too. Very good for a pick in the 20s.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Raps took Roko Leni Ukic with their 41st pick. Pretty good actually. He was expected to go in the teens, and was ranked in the second tier of PGs with Jarrett Jack. He has good PG size at 6-5, but like most foreign players is still very skinny, only 185 I think. He isn't much of a shooter, but has great passing ability. That should be a good thing for us, because the last thing we need is another shoot first player. Ukic is projected to become a starting PG in the NBA, and since the new CBA allows for draft picks to play in the NBDL the kid won't rot away at the end of an NBA bench. Good pick, but we got lucky he dropped this far. With the next pick they'll probably take Juan Mendez just because he's Canadian, but I hope Ryan Gomes falls (doubtful).

[leaferfan87]

The Raptors took some random Slovenian guy at #58 who I have no clue of who he is. Guess what position he plays?

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

The Raptors took some random Slovenian guy at #58 who I have no clue of who he is. Guess what position he plays?

Uros Slokar was good value at 58. He was projected to go as early as the late first round, but like many players in this draft fell. Although a taller guy, he projects to be a SF if he does come over to the NBA. They'll probably leave him in Europe next year, but in the long run he might be able to stick with the Raps. Honestly though, at 58 nobody is expecting an NBA player. You go with potential and cross your fingers.

[Canucklehead]

I'm very happy with the pick of Ukic. A good sized PG who may be able to step into the starting spot very soon.

[J.R.]

Sign Juan Mendez!

[Newfie John]

Sign Juan Mendez!

He's goin to the rap's summer league.

Babcock is an idiot.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

Overall I'd give the Raps draft a B.

I'd still rather have Green, but I'm willing to give Charlie Villanueva a chance. He has a bad work ethic, but being optimistic like I am, I'll attribute that to the fact that he wanted to jump to the pros straight from high school. Besides, Rasheed Wallace has had a pretty solid career without ever giving it 100% :thumb: :conspire: Anyways, he averaged 8.3 boards last year playing in the Big East, he comes from a winning college program, and has a skill-set that few big men possess. He's not a true center, but there aren't many dominant "true" centers in the game outside of Shaq. Him and Bosh will give us a nice frontcourt to build around.

Graham will be our starting SF by the end of the season I think (with Rose moving to 2 and Peterson going to where he belongs, the bench). Good athlete, playing at OSU he's definitely a guy that can play defense, and he may not be an all-star, but definitely a solid pro.

Ukic was just a steal at this point in the draft. Good passer and great height, but he needs to fill out a bit. Should backup Alston next year, and hopefully become the starter in the 06-07 season.

[Madferret]

Big purple snub
Juan Mendez won't be the first Canadian to suit up for the Toronto Raptors.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The Toronto Raptors blew their chance to make Juan Mendez the first Canadian they've ever drafted. Now Mendez is ready to snub the Raptors back.

The Niagara forward Wednesday declined the Raptors' offer to play for their summer league team and instead is taking the Miami Heat's invitation, Mendez's agent, Merle Scott, told The Associated Press. "We appreciate their interest and consideration," Scott said, referring to the Raptors. "But Juan's going to accept the Miami Heat invitation." Mendez's decision comes a day after the NBA draft, and it takes some of the sting out of the disappointment the Montreal native felt when the Raptors failed to select him.

Scott considered Miami the best fit for Mendez because he'll get a chance to have plenty of playing time once the Southern California summer pro league opens July 8. It runs through July 23. Mendez isn't guaranteed a pro contract, but he'll get a chance to showcase his skills against NBA-calibre talent in an attempt to attract a free-agent offer.

Heat general manager Randy Pfund was unaware when asked about Mendez's decision, but excited by the news. "If we got him, that's great," Pfund said. "That kid can play basketball. If he doesn't make it in this league, he'll make a whole lot of money playing in Europe or someplace else."

Mendez was projected to be a mid-range prospect with an outside chance of being a second-round selection. He's coming off a successful four-year career at Niagara, where he led the Purple Eagles to their first NCAA tournament berth in 35 years last March.

He finished with 2,210 career points, second at Niagara to Calvin Murphy. And with 1,053 career rebounds, Mendez became the first Purple Eagles player to score 2,000 points and record 1,000 rebounds.He also became the top-scoring Canadian player in NCAA history.

The only knock against Mendez was whether, at six-foot-five, he had the outside shot and ball-handling skills to make the transition from playing power forward to small forward in the NBA.

The Raptors expressed interest in Mendez, working him out twice before the draft, and they had the opportunity to make a public-relations splash by selecting a native Canadian. Mendez drew plenty of Canadian media attention playing at Niagara, located just across the Ontario border and 90 minutes from Toronto.

The Raptors' chances of selecting Mendez ended when they took Slovenian forward Uros Slokar with the 58th pick.

"I don't want to say unhappy, but he's very disappointed," Scott said, referring to Mendez's reaction.

"There's no explanation that will ever be given that can help any of us understand why it went like that," Scott said. "But you know what, it's a profession. People make decisions that they think are best for them. Unfortunately, that's why that team is in the situation they're in."

The Raptors, who last made the playoffs in 2002, are in the midst of a rebuilding program after being forced to trade disgruntled star Vince Carter last season.

Raptors general manager Rob Babcock said the team liked Mendez, but it couldn't pass up drafting Slokar when he was still available.

"We never made any promises that we would take Juan at 58," Babcock said. "He's certainly a good enough player to be selected at 58 and is definitely a good enough player to invite to our summer camp. Wherever he ends up, we wish him the best of luck."

It doesn't appear that Babcock is making any friends these days eh...