Toronto Raptors - We can't be pathetic forever, can we?

[T Dot O Dot]

we tank more before the all-star break than your team tanks in a whole year!!!

Keep rolling!!!

[sardis]

And we'll still get more ping pong balls.....WooHooo!!

[sotola]

Whew, just when I thought the team might start to garner more wins with Bargs back, Calderon goes down. Hopefully he is held out for a couple weeks and we should secure a high top pick.

The team has actually played incredibly hard for Casey and would have won at least 5 more with Bargs in the line up (considering we are something like 2-17 in games decided by less than 7 points).

We need talent and this draft can help provide it. Add in Valuncias next year, with a draft stud, and the true building should be able to begin.

I have no confidence in Bayless or Carter so an extended losing streak should be on the horizon even with Bargs back.... and time is running out on the season so the more losses the better.

[sotola]

Barbosa for a 2nd round pick

Project "Full tank mode" is now operationalized.

There are still rumours that Anthony Carter has been added which means we would have only one pseudo point guard until they sign someone from the D League who can't get it done.

wouldn't be surprised to see Bargs re-aggravate that calf as well.

My guess is we should be firmly entrenched in the 3-5 slot.

[sotola]

this draft class is definitely a solid group from top to bottom but i think a couple guys are vastly overrated.

I pray I do not see Harrison Barnes in a Raps uni. I think the so-called experts, who had him pegged as #1 after highschool (before Irving), just don't want to admit they might be wrong. I really don't see a top 5-10 player in him.

I also think Sullinger will get eaten alive by NBA forwards. He has rarely had good games against college teams with solid front courts.

but Davis is sweet

[Bklyn]

Sullinger is Sean May redux.

Barnes is Harold Miner.

[T Dot O Dot]

If we take a wing player it goes in this order :

1. Kidd-Gilchrist

2. Bradley Beal

Tied for 3rd : Harrison Barnes/Jeremy Lamb

Our pick would have to slide for it to get to that point, assuming Davis & Drummond both go top 5

Sullinger is out of the question

[sotola]

Yeah, I think Beal has more potential upside than Kidd-Gilchrist but I don't think Kidd-Gilchrist has any downside. I think, at worse, he will be a player very much in the mold of Shane Battier which isn't all that bad.

Beal's size is the only thing I am not completely sold on for his position but I once thought Dwayne Wade was too small as well so what do I know?

Would love to see Robinson fall to us! the schedules aren't easy the rest of the way for most of the bad teams so it's hard to say where everyone will end up. I hope they play the rotation like they did yesterday.... give lots of time to Forbes, Anderson and Udoh to see if they will "develop".

[sotola]

we need to lose the next 3 games to have a good chance to get in to the top 4..... I have a job to do ... .(grabs bat, heads to home of Calderon, Bargnani and DeRozan).

[sotola]

well, here's hoping for a loss in NJ. worst case, we enter the lottery in the 8th spot. Best case has us in #6. I don't remember too many teams moving into the top 3 from 8 or below but it seems to be more common in the 4-7 spots.

hey dot --- do you find yourself cheering for the opposition right now? I can't help myself. I actually watched that crap in Detroit and Milwaukee and was hoping the opposition coachs would take guys out that were helping the Raps (ie. Villaneuva/Stuckey in Detroit and Jennings last night). I also was pleasantly happy when DeRoz got ejected from the game for throwing a ball to the end of the court.

[T Dot O Dot]

it's a nice little 4 game losing streak were on, and we are playing guys on 10-day contracts

but it's too little too late

there is a loud camp who believe if we do not pick top 5 we should move the pick and I somewhat agree

Davis goes #1 for sure

Thomas Robinson will go somewhere in the top 4 (although we wouldnt pick him)

which means MKG, Drummond or Beal will become a Raptor if we pick top 5

I dont think Barnes & Jeremy Lamb are on our radar anymore so the 6th pick will likely be moved unless

a) one of Barnes / Jeremy Lamb really blows our socks off during workouts

or

b) one of Sullinger /Barnes climbs into the top 5


I'm not even going to even remotely entertain the thought of picking 7th or 8th

[Bklyn]

Sullinger is at worst Sean May...at best Corliss Williamson. It's a waste of a Lottery pick.

[T Dot O Dot]

Sullinger is at worst Sean May...at best Corliss Williamson. It's a waste of a Lottery pick.

right

we dont want any part of him or robinson... so if they both go in the top 5 & we pick 6th we will get one of Drummond, Beal or MKG

[Jungle Rat]

Sullinger is at worst Sean May...at best Corliss Williamson. It's a waste of a Lottery pick.

Totally agree

[sotola]

I actually like Robinson a lot. Yes, we don't NEED him as he is redundant but I fully believe you take the best talent available regardless of position. You can always trade from a position of strength.

Or as dot mentioned, trade the pick at the draft.

I personally don't want to be picking outside of #5 either.... unless it means we traded down and got something in return. and I have already made my thoughts known on Sullinger/Barnes. You can add the kid from Baylor (Perry Jones III) to that list as well.

The good thing is we have the flexibility to use the pick and our cap space to make a trade that can get us something that would be better than just using the 7th/8th pick alone.

I personally am hoping for a favourable lottery. I put my money on NO to win the lottery to finalize the sale of the Hornets from the league to the owner of the Saints. : )

[Bklyn]

Sullinger is at worst Sean May...at best Corliss Williamson. It's a waste of a Lottery pick.

right

we dont want any part of him or robinson... so if they both go in the top 5 & we pick 6th we will get one of Drummond, Beal or MKG

Word is Robinson is definitely going Top 5, so you have that working for you...

[Simitar]

I think Sullinger is going to be OK. He's not exciting, but he has a lot of skills that transfer well to the NBA. I think he'll be a much better pro than guys like Barnes, Perry Jones or Austin Rivers.

My pick for this year's Kenneth Faried (the underestimated guy that 20+ teams kick themselves for not drafting) is Jae Crowder.

[sotola]

loved watching Jae Crowder play... his size is the only thing holding him back. He's not tall enough to be a big man (imo) and he's not fast enough for the wing.

but the kid plays the game the way you would want.

[Simitar]

I think he's going to be a Shane Battier type. Lockdown defender at the 3, capable of checking smaller/stretch 4s. Maybe even being able to guard some bigger 2s (if rumors about him losing weight are accurate).

Probably won't have quite the 3pt shot of Shane, but he scored very efficiently, rebounded well, got assists with a very low turnover rate, got a lot of steals, did pretty well getting blocks, all with a pretty high usage rate. Pretty much everything that he did well are the things that transfer the best to the NBA game.

Every year a bunch of bad GMs draft guys with athleticism/potential ("look the part") over guys with actual production ("act the part").

[Bklyn]

Sullinger may wind up being OK, but I don't think he's worth a Lottery pick.