Bryan Colangelo 2011 NBA Draft Might've Could've Should've

[raptorgaetano]

I have to admit I was one of the Rap fans who said WTF Jonas Valanciunas on draft night ... I do think after a summer of following him ( thanks to this thead it help keep me updated ) I must say that he is going to be one of those players 10 years from now that we will say " How did that guy go as low as 5th "

 

Saying that I seem to be having one eye on him and the other guys who fall under the category of could've Should've

might've ie who we were looking at in mock drafts ... Also the guys some Rap fans booed cause Bryan didn't take him.

 

Kyrie Irving ( 17 pts 5.2 assists ) ( seems like the real deal ) ( people thought he should have stayed in school )

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6442/kyrie-irving

 

Derrick Williams ( 7 pts a game ) still early but not burning up the stat sheet

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6480/derrick-williams

 

Enes Kanter ( 4 pts 5 boards )

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6447/enes-kanter

 

Brandon Knight ( one of the PG we thought would drop to Raps and they would take )

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6448/brandon-knight

 

Washington Jan Vesely

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4165/jan-vesely

 

Tristan Thompson ( Some big games and some stinkers )

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6474/tristan-thompson

 

Bismack Biyombo ( a raw offensive player but can block and rebound )

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6427/bismack-biyombo

 

Kemba Walker

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6479/kemba-walker

Edited January 20, 2012 by raptorgaetano

[DunkinDerozan]

I thought they should have taken Kemba at the draft when he fell that far, but if they didn't take him I hoped atleast for Brandon Knight. When they called out Jonas I was as frustrated as you. I just thought another damn European player who is going to be another bust. Although he hasn't played a game in the NBA yet, i've definitely changed my attitude towards him. He looks like he could be a monster for our team next year.

[Built Ford Tough]

I was on the Kyrie Irving bandwagon before he even set foot at Duke but once the Raptors didn't win the lottery, I stopped pimping him out because I knew there was no chance that they would be able to draft him. I also found the whole Williams/Irving debate hilarious as I knew there was no way that the Cavs would pass on Kyrie and he is showing this season just how good he is.

 

I was really high on Valanciunas and he was my number one pick, but I didn't hype him as much on here either, simply because I thought there was no way that the Cavs pass him up at 4. The potential of pairing up Irving and Valanciunas was just too great to pass up in my opinion.

 

So when the Cavs did pass on him to take Thompson I was absolutely estatic when the Raptors picked him. I was pulling for Knight at the time of the draft but when Val fell I was very pleased.

 

Other than Val, I was pulling for Knight (as I said above) and Kanter (although I fully expected him to go 3rd). I would've been fine with Walker as well.

 

I was completely against taking Vesely or Biyombo.

 

Luckily for me, Valanciunas did fall because if he hadn't, Biyombo would've been the Raptors pick. He has bust written all over him if you ask me. Walking away from the draft with Biyombo would've been brutal.

[Check my Stats]

I wanted anyone other than Vesely lol.

[DunkinDerozan]

I would have been absolutely furious if the raps picked bismack. I think your right about him having bust written all over him. There's no way you can draft someone that high in the draft who has no offensive game.

[raptorgaetano]

I thought they should have taken Kemba at the draft when he fell that far, but if they didn't take him I hoped atleast for Brandon Knight. When they called out Jonas I was as frustrated as you. I just thought another damn European player who is going to be another bust. Although he hasn't played a game in the NBA yet, i've definitely changed my attitude towards him. He looks like he could be a monster for our team next year.

 

All I heard on nights prior to the draft was how raw Knight was and Kemba was too small to play in the NBA ... Knight 20 point night tells me he isn't as raw as we told he would be ... Hopefully with playing time this year and finally being healthy Baylsis

will show us his upside is better then Kemba or Knight ..

 

 

Bismack Biyombo

 

last night 18 mins 11 pts 4 blocks and 8 boards .... He at least showing he isn't a Hasheem Thabeet ...

[Built Ford Tough]

With Knight it wasn't so much him being too raw but more of him not being much of a true point guard. In college he basically had a turnover for every assist and so far in the NBA I believe his assist to turnover ratio is still right around that 1-1 range.

 

There concerns about that and his inability to break down the defense. So far, neither one of those concerns seem to be without valid reason. I mentioned the assist to turnovers above and so far 76% of his shot attempts are jumpers. He has only drawn 3 shooting fouls all season long.

 

As for Kemba, his size concerns were a big issue, but people also questioned whether he had the athleticism to compensate. He has a tight handle, but he is unathletic for his size and there were a lot of concerns about his defense against the bigger, more athletic guards in the NBA. Much like Knight, both of those concerns have proven to be valid, although the defense issue is more of a concern than the athleticism as he has been alright at getting past his man and isn't forced to be just a shooter.

 

Even if Bayless doesn't end up being better than either one of them, that really doesn't matter. I highly doubt any of the three ever become more than backup point guards or a 4th/5th option on a good team. Meanwhile, Valanciunas has the potential to be one of the better centers in the league and that kind of potential is something you can't pass up at 5th in a rather weak draft (in terms of star potential).

[raptorgaetano]

With Knight it wasn't so much him being too raw but more of him not being much of a true point guard. In college he basically had a turnover for every assist and so far in the NBA I believe his assist to turnover ratio is still right around that 1-1 range.

 

There concerns about that and his inability to break down the defense. So far, neither one of those concerns seem to be without valid reason. I mentioned the assist to turnovers above and so far 76% of his shot attempts are jumpers. He has only drawn 3 shooting fouls all season long.

 

As for Kemba, his size concerns were a big issue, but people also questioned whether he had the athleticism to compensate. He has a tight handle, but he is unathletic for his size and there were a lot of concerns about his defense against the bigger, more athletic guards in the NBA. Much like Knight, both of those concerns have proven to be valid, although the defense issue is more of a concern than the athleticism as he has been alright at getting past his man and isn't forced to be just a shooter.

 

Even if Bayless doesn't end up being better than either one of them, that really doesn't matter. I highly doubt any of the three ever become more than backup point guards or a 4th/5th option on a good team. Meanwhile, Valanciunas has the potential to be one of the better centers in the league and that kind of potential is something you can't pass up at 5th in a rather weak draft (in terms of star potential).

 

First of all great post ..

 

Oh no regrets with Jonas on my end and some say he is high risk high reward type of pick ... Watching behind the draft

you saw that this guy Jonas was a pick they really really wanted ...

 

Although it's not this draft but also previous drafts which I have seen the Raptors not take a PG ... Jrue Holiday , Ty Lawson

are two guys who come to mind who were on the draft board and were not drafted ... I know high sight is 20/20 but since Mighty mouse this organization has failed to draft and develop a PG ...