Poe

Let's just say the highest single season rating I've calculated so far is over an 86.0, and that's Kobe Bryant's 2005-06 season. The lowest I've rated is Joel Anthony, and his was about -19.0 this season (yes, that's a negative rating). You can interpret it that way, yes. You can also interpret with certain players that they are so good at scoring in one area (say, three point shooting), that it outweighs their lacking in other areas.

Chicago Bulls: 62 - 20 Derrick Rose - 81.884 Carlos Boozer - 77.906 Luol Deng - 73.216 Kyle Korver - 71.385 C.J. Watson - 68.764 Joakim Noah - 65.158 Taj Gibson - 63.950 Ronnie Brewer - 58.090 Kieth Bogans - 51.138 Omer Asik - 45.171 Kurt Thomas - 31.373 Less than 41 Played Games: Brian Scalabrine - 45.544 (18 games) John Lucas - 58.315 (2 games) Traded Players: --- Acquired: Rasual Butler - 80.131 (TOT - 59.847) --- Left: James Johnson - 66.700 (TOT - 62.487)

This is a stat I invented I call Scoring Ability Rating (SAR). I don't believe anyone else has come up with it first. Do let me know if I'm wrong. I will be updating this thread with each team's player's SAR as I rate them. It may take a while, so I probably won't be finished with the whole league until at least a week from now. Keep in mind, while I won't reveal the formula yet, there IS possibly a flaw to the rating, which has to do with stats that aren't tracked yet. Whenever (if ever) they are in the future, that is when I'll be able to fix the issue. So for now, while it's best not take the rating completely literally, I do find it very accurate for what it is. Also remember, this is not so much about efficiency as it is about ability. Eastern Conference Teams Chicago Bulls: 62 - 20 Derrick Rose - 81.884 Carlos Boozer - 77.906 Luol Deng - 73.216 Kyle Korver - 71.385 C.J. Watson - 68.764 Joakim Noah - 65.158 Taj Gibson - 63.950 Ronnie Brewer - 58.090 Kieth Bogans - 51.138 Omer Asik - 45.171 Kurt Thomas - 31.373 ------ Less than 41 Played Games: Brian Scalabrine - 45.544 (18 games) John Lucas - 58.315 (2 games) ------ Traded Players: --- Acquired: Rasual Butler - 80.131 (TOT - 59.847) --- Left: James Johnson - 66.700 (TOT - 62.487) Miami Heat: 58 - 24 Dwyane Wade - 82.598 LeBron James - 82.460 Chris Bosh - 77.336 Eddie House - 69.079 James Jones - 64.239 Zydrunas Ilgauskas - 62.385 Mario Chalmers - 57.131 Mike Miller - 56.052 Juwan Howard - 50.353 Erick Dampier - 19.704 Joel Anthony - -21.304 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Jamaal Magloire - 45.093 (18 games) Udonis Haslem - 60.665 (13 games) Jerry Stackhouse - 56.044 (7 games) Dexter Pittman - 53.647 (2 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Mike Bibby - 54.411 (TOT - 60.384) --- Left: Carlos Arroyo - 56.455 (TOT - 54.194) Boston Celtics: 56 - 26 Paul Pierce - 78.592 Kevin Garnett - 75.751 Ray Allen - 75.196 Glen Davis - 72.097 Von Wafer - 66.050 Marquis Daniels - 60.177 Rajon Rondo - 59.620 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Shaquille O'Neal - 73.057 (37 games) Avery Bradley - 69.739 (30 games) Jermaine O'Neal - 61.332 (24 games) Delonte West - 60.293 (24 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Jeff Green - 72.733 (TOT - 71.356) Nenad Krstic - 70.710 (TOT - 67.845) Carlos Arroyo - 43.125 (TOT - 54.194) Troy Murphy - 53.944 (TOT - 53.120) Chris Johnson - 26.266 (TOT - 47.966) Sasha Pavlovic - 42.899 (TOT - 45.327) --- Left: Nate Robinson - 70.829 (TOT - 70.946) Luke Harangody - 59.929 (TOT - 63.160) Semih Erden - 56.047 (TOT - 53.255) Kendrick Perkins - 55.975 (TOT - 47.410) Orlando Magic: 52 - 30 Dwight Howard - 79.428 Ryan Anderson - 75.784 Brandon Bass - 72.160 Jameer Nelson - 71.329 J.J. Redick - 69.918 Quentin Richardson - 56.736 Chris Duhon - 30.298 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Malik Allen - 21.948 (18 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Jason Richardson - 70.658 (TOT - 74.726) Gilbert Arenas - 69.155 (TOT - 71.704) Earl Clark - 66.195 (TOT - 66.565) Hedo Turkoglu - 63.598 (TOT - 64.596) --- Left: Vince Carter - 76.281 (TOT - 76.212) Marcin Gortat - 51.390 (TOT - 69.738) Mickael Pietrus - 61.177 (TOT - 67.930) Rashard Lewis - 68.481 (TOT - 66.629) Jason Williams - 42.256 (TOT - 40.790) Atlanta Hawks: 44 - 38 Joe Johnson - 77.778 Josh Smith - 75.542 Jamal Crawford - 75.016 Al Horford - 73.360 Jeff Teague - 68.806 Marvin Williams - 68.446 Josh Powell - 66.206 Zaza Pachulia - 56.868 Damien Wilkins - 56.184 Jason Collins - 25.160 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Etan Thomas - 69.296 (13 games) Pape Sy - 65.785 (3 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Kirk Hinrich - 60.648 (TOT - 63.496) Hilton Armstrong - 43.280 (TOT - 33.736) --- Left: Jordan Crawford - 74.398 (TOT - 75.267) Maurice Evens - 56.051 (TOT - 61.108) Mike Bibby - 62.478 (TOT - 60.384) New York Knicks: 42 - 40 Amar'e Stoudemire - 81.745 Toney Douglas - 71.832 Bill Walker - 66.838 Shawne Williams - 64.038 Landry Fields - 59.328 Ronny Turiaf - 44.040 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Roger Mason - 50.576 (26 games) Andy Rautins - 65.433 (5 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Carmelo Anthony - 83.128 (TOT - 82.826) Chauncey Billups - 77.096 (TOT - 75.383) Derrick Brown - 64.315 (TOT - 61.102) Sheldon Williams - 63.308 (TOT - 57.137) Renaldo Balkman - 35.484 (TOT - 53.839) Anthony Carter - 52.201 (TOT - 47.340) Jared Jeffries - -10.249 (TOT - 12.218) --- Left: Anthony Randolph - 62.682 (TOT - 75.196) Danilo Gallinari - 73.530 (TOT - 73.438) Wilson Chandler - 74.558 (TOT - 73.424) Raymond Felton - 71.610 (TOT - 70.341) Timofey Mozgov - 57.062 (TOT - 59.364) Philadelphia 76ers: 41 - 41 Louis Williams - 79.937 Thaddeus Young - 75.825 Marresse Speights - 74.650 Elton Brand - 72.957 Jrue Holiday - 69.193 Jodie Meeks - 68.741 Andre Iguodala - 68.557 Andres Nocioni - 65.703 Spencer Hawes - 65.612 Evan Turner - 62.929 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Tony Battie - 56.010 (38 games) Jason Kapono - 39.734 (24 games) Darius Songaila - 47.753 (10 games) Antonio Daniels - 30.743 (4 games) Craig Brackins - 66.368 (3 games) Indiana Pacers: 37 - 45 Danny Granger - 78.589 Tyler Hansbrough - 75.511 Dahntay Jones - 74.121 Roy Hibbert - 72.708 Darren Collison - 71.128 A.J. Price - 70.668 Mike Dunleavy - 69.258 Paul George - 66.498 Brandon Rush - 64.161 Josh McRoberts - 60.527 T.J. Ford - 59.364 James Posey - 58.123 Jeff Foster - 38.640 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Solomon Jones - 53.901 (39 games) Lance Stephenson - 65.108 (12 games) Western Conference Teams San Antonio Spurs: 61 - 21 Manu Ginobili - 78.762 Tony Parker - 77.284 Tim Duncan - 74.780 DeJuan Blair - 74.286 George Hill - 70.634 Gary Neal - 68.967 Tiago Splitter - 68.136 Richard Jefferson - 66.882 Matt Bonner - 66.156 Antonio McDyess - 59.953 Chris Quinn - 59.927 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: James Anderson - 63.501 (26 games) Danny Green - 72.714 (8 games) Ime Udoka - 19.018 (20 games) Bobby Simmons - -16.279 (2 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Steve Novak - 78.793 (TOT - 79.496)* --- Left: Garrett Temple - 38.909 (TOT - 59.209) Alonzo Gee - 30.237 (TOT - 57.760) Othyus Jeffers - 62.296 (TOT - 56.107) Larry Owens - 63.478 (TOT - 55.205) Los Angeles Lakers: 57 - 25 Kobe Bryant - 83.823 Pau Gasol - 76.396 Shannon Brown - 73.937 Lamar Odom - 72.593 Andrew Bynum - 69.804 Derrick Caracter - 66.933 Matt Barnes - 64.193 Ron Artest - 59.428 Derek Fisher - 51.723 Luke Walton - 44.379 Steve Blake - 39.823 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Deven Ebanks - 77.616 (20 games) Theo Ratliff - -65.282 (10 games)* ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Trey Johnson - 83.309 (TOT - 67.629) Joe Smith - 32.249 (TOT - 45.489) --- Left: Sasha Vujacic - 69.901 (TOT - 70.839) Dallas Mavericks: 57 - 25 Dirk Nowitzki - 82.757 Jason Terry - 76.495 Jose Barea - 73.873 Shawn Marion - 73.193 Tyson Chandler - 67.096 Ian Mahinmi - 65.379 DeShawn Stevensen - 64.473 Brendan Haywood - 50.567 Jason Kidd - 50.079 Brian Cardinal - 49.157 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Caron Butler - 76.851 (29 games) Rodrigue Beaubois - 75.257 (28 games) Dominique Jones - 65.952 (18 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Peja Stojakovic - 75.117 (TOT - 73.655) Corey Brewer - 74.109 (TOT - 65.778) --- Left: Steve Novak - 85.000 (TOT - 79.496) Alexis Ajinca - 72.375 (TOT - 71.415) Sasha Pavlovic - 52.958 (TOT - 45.327) Oklahoma City Thunder: 57 - 25 Kevin Durant - 82.908 Russell Westbrook - 80.319 James Harden - 74.455 Daequan Cook - 73.193 Serge Ibaka - 67.051 Erick Maynor - 58.567 Nick Collison - 40.988 Thabo Sefolosha - 37.596 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Royal Ivey - 54.187 (25 games) Cole Aldrich - 1.558 (18 games) Byron Mullins - 64.782 (13 games) Morris Peterson - 39.394 (4 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Nazr Mohammed - 67.658 (TOT - 71.568) Nate Robinson - 75.227 (TOT - 70.946) Kendrick Perkins - 38.998 (TOT - 47.410) --- Left: Jeff Green - 70.722 (TOT - 71.356) Nenad Krstic - 66.088 (TOT - 67.845) D.J. White - 60.880 (TOT - 71.044) Denver Nuggets: 50 - 32 J.R. Smith - 75.054 Nene Hilario - 73.897 Al Harrington - 73.124 Ty Lawson - 71.225 Gary Forbes - 69.953 Aaron Afflalo - 67.563 Chris Andersen - 63.798 Kenyon Martin - 63.220 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Melvin Ely - 30.700 (30 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Danilo Gallinari - 73.551 (TOT - 73.438) Wilson Chandler - 70.068 (TOT - 73.424) Raymond Felton - 65.487 (TOT - 70.341) Kosta Koufos - 75.227 (TOT - 66.233) Timofey Mozgov - 70.848 (TOT - 59.364) --- Left: Carmelo Anthony - 82.627 (TOT - 82.826) Chauncey Billups - 74.505 (TOT - 75.383) Sheldon Williams - 55.922 (TOT - 57.137) Renaldo Balkman - 63.670 (TOT - 53.839) Anthony Carter - 40.419 (TOT - 47.340) Portland Trail Blazers: 48 - 34 LaMarcus Aldridge - 79.009 Wesley Matthews - 74.954 Brandon Roy - 74.059 Patrick Mills - 73.835 Nicolas Batum - 70.469 Andre Miller - 69.007 Rudy Fernandez - 68.034 Dante Cunningham - 56.429 Marcus Camby - 38.718 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Armon Johnson - 70.120 (38 games) Sean Marks - 46.270 (29 games) Luke Babbit - 65.484 (24 games) Sean Marks - 46.270 (5 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Gerald Wallace - 72.570 (TOT - 71.229) Earl Barron - 54.304 (TOT - 60.622) Jarron Collins - 00.269 (TOT - 36.430) --- Left: Chris Johnson - 36.430 (TOT - 47.966) Joel Przybilla - –7.278 (TOT - –16.646) New Orleans Hornets: 46 - 36 David West - 78.614 Marco Belinelli - 73.435 Chris Paul - 73.238 Willie Green - 72.196 Trevor Ariza - 64.636 Emeka Okafor - 63.451 Jason Smith - 62.558 Quincy Pondexter - 57.233 Aaron Gray - 50.717 Didier Ilunga-Mbenga - 33.736 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Patrick Ewing Jr. - 57.914 (7 games) Pops Mensah-Bonsu - –45.191 (7 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Jarrett Jack - 73.096 (TOT - 73.996) Carl Landry - 75.124 (TOT - 72.540) David Andersen - 67.482 (TOT - 67.108) --- Left: Marcus Thornton - 76.778 (TOT - 77.136) Peja Stojakovic - 77.434 (TOT - 75.117) Jerryd Bayless - 67.621 (TOT - 71.147) Sasha Pavlovic - 23.515 (TOT - 45.327) Memphis Grizzlies: 46 - 36 Zach Randolph - 78.001 Rudy Gay - 75.282 Darrell Arthur - 73.139 O.J. Mayo - 72.140 Tony Allen - 71.211 Mike Conley - 68.072 Sam Young - 66.748 Marc Gasol - 65.786 Greivis Vasquez - 57.664 ------- Less than 41 Played Games: Hamed Haddadi - 72.101 (31 games) ------- Traded Players: --- Acquired: Leon Powe - 80.887 (TOT - 75.474) Rodney Carney - 75.387 (TOT - 67.199) Shane Battier - 67.482 (TOT - 51.848) Ishmael Smith - 56.290 (TOT - 50.827) Jason Williams - 39.010 (TOT - 40.788) --- Left: Marcus Thornton - 76.778 (TOT - 77.136) Acie Law - 39.975 (TOT - 57.965) DeMarre Carroll - 56.667 (TOT - 47.241) Hasheem Thabeet - 14.916 (TOT - 14.454)

You don't tank by telling players to play worse. You just play worse players.

The quality of the game has grown drastically and continues to evolve. If Michael Jordan were to play today, he would be one of the stars and not the star. Magic Johnson would not be a star but perhaps a role player (and he certainly wouldn't be playing PG). Just look at his poor shooting form AND poor handles compared to today. Larry Bird may be a bench player. Dr J would be an athletic "project" player at best, but most probably a D-League player. Jerry West would not even be a D-1 college player. He couldn't dribble with his LEFT HAND. The idea that basketball is somehow getting worse is utterly ridiculous. Please, watch some old basketball games before making these kind of comparisons. But the NBA is much more popular world-wide, has many overseas players within the league, and the association will be expanding teams to Europe within the next 10 years, while the NFL is almost strictly American (or so I think). I don't get what you are trying to say here. And there you have it. Drafting younger players forces scouts to do a better job. Is that the problem? No. But the real problem is, as you just said, it leaves colleges without top talent players. And so I repeat myself as usual in these type of arguments. Why did the college ratings go up? Oh. I dunno... maybe because of that 1 year policy made not so long ago by the NBA? Made after having such an increase in high school drafted players in the early 2000s? Think about it. It wasn't a problem when there weren't many going straight from high school to the pros. But the less high talents are going to college, the longer players will be forced to play there. Trust me. This trend will continue if this two-year rule is made So you honestly believe the NCAA has absolutely NO part in this whatsoever? OK. ...and to Antoine Walker and Allen Iverson.... blah blah blah. Basketball ≠ Knowing how to handle money and themselves. Is there an age limit for acting? No. It's the young actors and their parent's responsibility to know how to handle their own money and obey the law. Not Hollywood's. Not the NBA's.

For now, I'll say the best chance is for the Knicks to beat the Celtics. I may re-think this later, though.

That's because Charlie punched Hollins below the belt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmJGN-uC3aE

ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM C - Dwight Howard F - Kevin Durant F - LeBron James G - Kobe Bryant G - Dwyane Wade ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM C - Amar'e Stoudemire F - Dirk Nowitzki F - Carmelo Anthony G - Kevin Martin G - Chris Paul ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM C - Tim Duncan F - Blake Griffin F - Kevin Love G - Derrick Rose G - Russell Westbrook And I know there's no such thing but.... just for fun: ALL-NBA FOURTH TEAM C - Al Jefferson F - LaMarcus Aldridge F - Danny Granger G - Manu Ginobili G - Monta Ellis ALL-NBA FIFTH TEAM C - Pau Gasol F - David West F - Paul Pierce G - Deron Williams G - Tony Parker HONORABLE MENTION: C - Nene Hilario F - Chris Bosh F - Carlos Boozer F - Zach Randolph G - Chauncey Billups

Fixed. Anyway, statistically, the Heat *are* the better team. That's the fact. I'm not arguing it.

Damn straight.

So is that a reason for every high school player to have to wait two years to play in the NBA? Because they might not be good? What about the players that DO wind up good, like the Kobe Bryants and the Kevin Garnetts? Is it really because there is a chance you might end up with a Kwame Brown, that there should be a rule against it? What about the college players that might NOT be good? You may wind up with a Tim Duncan, or you may wind up with an Adam Morrison. Would that be a reason to force players to play in the Euroleague after college before the pros? Or can we just admit that it's all BS. Players might be good making the transition from college, making the transition from high school, or the Euroleague. Or they might be bad. But in the end, you know who's choice it is to draft them. The team and the management. They need to do the proper scouting to make sure they got the right guy. If they didn't, it's their fault. It's was their choice. Besides, teams are starting to draft players that aren't quite NBA-ready and allow them to develop in the Euroleague before fully adding them to the roster. It's not like you can't do the same with high school players! Just admit it. It's only because college is losing public interest because all the good players are going to the NBA draft younger and younger. All the good players that puts colleges in the spotlight, like the Bird - Magic rivalry, are becoming scarce. It's simple. They want the good players too because they want to keep making money off it. And that's BS. I say, the best league should get the best players no matter what. If you are good enough to play at the highest level, there should be nothing holding the player back. Besides, you don't need an education to be good at basketball.

Even if that were true, is that really a reason to force players to wait a year after high school (or two now)?

This rule was originally made because the NCAA is afraid that the NBA is taking all the good players, and colleges want some too. Now they are they are saying that the NCAA only gets good players for one year, while the NBA gets them for 10+. Well that ain't no fair! Right?? Can't we just admit college basketball sucks? Nobody wants to play there when they can play in the N-B-freaking-A, and get PAYED doing it (well, payed more than college). I wouldn't be surprised if, one day, it's extended to four years. [expletive] college.

I don't understand.

Point differential and strength of schedule.

The only reason she went third (and I truly believe she should have been picked second), is because of how deep the draft was this year. First Maya Moore was a "no-brainer" as a first pick, she's going to be incredible. Possibly better than Diana Taurasi. Second, Elizabeth Cambage's potential is believed to be sky-high because of her height and shooting ability for being a 6'8'' player, though personally I whole-heartedly believe she is just a project player at this point. Looking at game-film, she doesn't have much true skill at all, and no way is she going to be getting the ball so deep under the basket so easily at the WNBA level. Unlike the Australian league where talent level and b-ball IQ is low in comparison and everyone around her is half her size, she's going to actually have to work for her points, which will take a while for her to acquire the skills necessary to be effective. Which isn't a problem for a team with no talent or depth in the Tulsa Shock (only won 6 games last year). Third, Amber Harris could have easily been picked higher than her because of her height (nearly 6'6'' and is a PF), athleticism, quickness, and rare abilities with the basketball like ball handling and three-point shooting. She's going to be a terrific player as well. Also, especially after this draft, Minnesota is STACKED. They chose the Thunder approach to building a team through the draft, and it really payed off. Believe me, they are going to be scary.

By the Chicago Sky, who have possibly the best Center in the WNBA in Sylvia Fowles (averaged 18 and 10 last year). Courtney + Fowles = Stockton + Malone

Based on regular season performance, the Heat should barely beat the Bulls in a 6 or 7 game series and represent the East in the finals. That's just based on the numbers, though.

Q & A with Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot By Frank Della Femina, WNBA.com http://www.wnba.com/media/draft/2011/vandersloot_620_110410.jpg Full Q & A Here: http://www.wnba.com/draft/2011/vandersloot_qanda_110410.html I have seen mock drafts project her as low as 10th. That is absurd. I think she will become the best Point Guard in the WNBA, and in my opinion, the first elite basketball player to play the PG position in the WNBA (no, I do not consider Sue Bird to be an elite overall player). I will have my eye on her in the upcoming seasons and the team that drafts her.

In your opinion, what are these flaws?

The Heat have made huge strides throughout the season. This is the team I envisioned since game 1.

The media has already picked Rose a long time ago, so it's not worth arguing who WILL be MVP. There is no question. However, you CAN make an argument on who truly deserves it. But if I were to speak about anyone other than Derrick Rose, I'm already going against the norm. And as you've probably guessed at this point, I don't believe the true deserving player to be Derrick Rose. Actually, when a saw this poll a few months ago on realgm asking who the MVP was so far that season - after a brief moment contemplating - I selected an answer, and was completely surprised to see Derrick Rose get nearly 50% of the votes. That's because I don't watch ESPN or NBA TV (unless I'm watching a basketball game), or read much basketball news other than the basic stuff, so I guess not much has influenced my opinion other than actually watching games and analyzing stats. I discussed on a couple forums about the actual reasons the Bulls are good: their defense and their rebounding (which they are among the top of the league in both categories). Rose impacts neither. His impact is scoring, and the Bulls are only an average offensive team. Rose's offensive efficiency is also about average. He just has volume numbers because of his extremely high usage in the offense (though he does have the talent to maintain the average offensive efficiency despite the high usage). Of course, all this and more falls on deaf ears. Months later, I start seeing articles by people like John Hollinger and someone on the NY times named Niel Paine (also the creator of basketball-reference.com) expressing similar points, and Stan Van Gundy echoed the same opinion on the media hype over Rose. As for my opinion on who really deserves MVP? I once thought it was Dwight Howard. Advanced statistics (like PER and Win Shares) suggest that it's LeBron James. After making my own statistical discovery, I'm starting to think Kobe Bryant deserves MVP this year. And may have been robbed of several more throughout his career. I'll make a final decision when the season is over.

Usually when that's said it's in a light-hearted joke that has no reason to be taken seriously, or perhaps someone will use it for the sake of getting under your skin, but don't truly believe it. Not to say woman aren't often degraded intentionally, though, but this shit is absolutely nothing compared to what women have to deal with in some places outside the states. Anyway, I don't think this video is directed at girls in general. Just the ones that are especially loud about playing video games, and somehow think they are special for it.

Thanks a lot for giving what you know. You gave me a better picture than what I've started with. It's of my belief that GMs should always pick the best quality player, not the players that might turn out good (depending how complete the current team is - a team like the Celtics should probably use their picks on a "potential" guy). For this reason, I'd most probably choose Barnes over Perry (assuming there aren't any better players other than Irving). From there, see what skills he already fully possesses, see what assets that are incomplete and need solidifying, and see what elements he needs to add to his game. For Perry, it sounds like his main - or maybe his only - asset is his size for his possible position. If that's the case, then NBA teams would have to completely mold him into a basketball player. That's taking blind chances, because you don't know where the prime of his abilities lies, even if he is a hard worker. You don't know how much range he can gain, how well he can potentially post, his willingness to rebound at the NBA level, etc. You can tell that some things may come easier with having that size and athleticism, but basically like you said, he may break through or he may bust. 'Potential' to me is a vague word. Players start out with a set of skills and abilities, and how much the player will actually improve is unknown. Any player can become good. Well with that said, Barnes does sound like he could be a good pick up for the Raptors, though it would be ignorant for me to say for sure.