khandor’s sports blog

Read the following quote from this article, concerning the supposed “new” status of the LA Clippers …

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Chris Paul’s arrival signals new future for Clips

“The hardest thing we said in this whole process was, ‘We’re good. We have a chance to be good, and do we really break this up for the home run?’ ” Olshey said. “We told Mr. Sterling we had two really good directions: We could continue to build – we’re going to be better this year than we were last year. We have this draft pick. The players are going to keep developing.

“Or we have a chance to completely change the culture of the organization and make us a contender right away.”

The Clippers opted for the latter, surrendering Gordon, the draft pick, Chris Kaman and forward Al-Farouq Aminu for Paul and two future second-round picks. When the deal was done, Roeser and Olshey celebrated with champagne at the practice facility.

“I’ve enjoyed times of hope and times of agony,” Roeser said. “And I’ve never been more excited for a team at the beginning of the season.”

While the Clippers look good on paper, they will begin the season with the unlikely burden of playoff expectations. They also know they have to win to keep Paul, whose contract runs through the 2012-13 season and Griffin, who could become an unrestricted free agent in 2014 if he doesn’t sign a contract extension. Paul and Griffin also have had knee injuries in recent years that will continue to be a concern.

But instead of worrying about any of that, Paul and his Clippers are focused on the present. For a day or two, at least, the Clippers have become the talk of the town.

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and, then, remember them verbatim, 3 years from today.

When you sacrifice the “near future” for what you believe to be the “present” … and, your team’s current roster still has major holes in it, at multiple positions:

PROJECTED STARTERS

PG/Chris Paul + PG/Chauncey Billups + SF/Ryan Gomes + PF/Blake Griffin + C/Deandre Jordan

PROJECTED KEY SUBS

PG/Mo Williams + OG/Randy Foye + SF/Caron Butler + PF/Trey Thompkins + PF-C/Brian Cook

PROJECTED RESERVES

G/Willie Warren + PF/Adam Koch

PROJECTED EXTRAS/OUTS

PG/Eric Bledsoe [inj.] + PG/Blake Ahearn + G/Travis Leslie + F/Renaldo Major

HEAD COACH

Vinnie Del Negro

rather than being an authentic moment of well-deserved celebration, what it actually is, is a truly sad day, in the inglorious history of your pro sports franchise.

A number of NBA observers now hold the belief that the LA Clippers are poised to become one of the elite teams in the NBA, given their recent acquisition of 4-time NBA All-Star PG, Chris Paul.

Yours truly is NOT one of them.

Q1. How come, you ask?

A1. It really is a very simple equation.

The strength of a first-class pro sports franchise is certainly top down.

However …

A team does NOT move into the authentically “elite” category just because:

- It acquires a top notch [although somewhat over-rated] PG … who is definitely in his prime but also has a history of [somewhat debilitating] knee injuries which have put him on the shelf for significant stretches of previous seasons

- It acquires a formerly outstanding PG … who is now in the latter stages of his highly accomplished career but wanted to go to a legitimate NBA title-winning contender, e.g. the Heat or the Lakers

- It has a very good, but still-very young PF … who is not yet in the prime of his career and has also incurred a prior knee injury which has already put him on the shelf for an entire season

During the 2010-2011 season:

LA CLIPPERS

- Finished 4th in the Pacific Division
- Finished 13th in Western Conference
- Had a W-L Record of 32-50
- Failed to qualify for the playoffs

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

- Finished 3rd in the Southwest Division
- Finished 7th in the Western Conference
- Had a W-L Record of 46-36
- Lost their 1st Rd Playoff Series

In reality:

1. One of these two franchises no longer has 2 of the 3 young cornerstone players who were on their roster last year, and filled their team with authentic levels of optimism for the foreseeable future.

2. One of these two franchises now has two 1st Round Draft Picks in the 2012 NBA Draft, each of which has a fair-to-good chance of being in the high-end of the Lottery.

3. One of these two franchises has a bevy of still-youngish players with a substantial amount of upside. The other franchise does not.

4. One of these two franchises has Donald Sterling as its owner. The other franchise does not.

In fact, there is nothing in the history of the Clippers which suggests the franchise is any closer today to eventually becoming a legitimate contender for the NBA Championship, down-the-road, than it would have been without acquiring Chris Paul at all.

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In the comments section of yesterday’s blog entry, concerning the state of the Raptors, more than one contributor indicated their belief that the Raptors’ recent transactions may have actually “weakened” their roster for the current season, and asked if the specific take of this corner could be explained in further detail.

To wit:

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The two trades which the Raptors completed over the weekend have improved their functional NBA talent level in the following ways:

OPTION I

OPTION II

These improvements are NOT enough to allow the team to move up into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

What they ARE, however, are the type of improvements which will:

i. Make this year’s team much more competitive this season with the other teams in the East that are in the fight for the final 3 playoff positions [i.e. No. 6-8], which include Milwaukee, Indiana, New York, Charlotte, Detroit, Cleveland and New Jersey;

ii. Increase the likelihood of the Raptors using the remainder of their TPE to upgrade their current roster EVEN FURTHER, as the season unfolds, in an effort to make the playoffs THIS YEAR;

iii. See the Raptors insert Ed Davis/PF in their line-up THIS SEASON, in the aftermath of suffering a torn meniscus injury in the pre-season, instead of having him sit out the ENTIRE 2010-2011 campaign, in a similar way to what Blake Griffin/PF did last year with the LA Clippers … which, then, allowed the Clippers to add a 2nd standout player to their team this past summer, in the form of Al-Farouq Aminu [SF], from the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery.

and,

iv. Prevent the Raptors from finishing in one of the bottom two positions in the Eastern Conference this season and, thus, eliminate their opportunity to obtain a franchise-changing player like Harrison Barnes/SF [or, perhaps, Kyrie Irving/PG].

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PS. Raptors fans should not believe the hogwash prolifigated today by a number of so-called “stats-based basketball analysts” who espouse a mis-directed philosophy which views a “basketball player” as a “simple basketball player”, regardless of who his/her teammates are and which coach s/he actually has the opportunity to play, and learn, under.

Initial Thoughts on last night’s NBA Draft concerning the Toronto Raptors

#1. In all likelihood, Ed Davis [PF, North Carolina] …

is going to become a very solid NBA player, sometime down-the-road.

#2. When it comes to properly evaluating which specific player was THE BEST available when the Raptors made the No. 13 [overall] Selection of the 2010 NBA Draft, last night …

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Ed Davis will help possibly Bosh-less Raptors

Maybe the best thing about the pick is this: Davis wasn’t simply selected because he plays Bosh’s position. He was selected because he was, in the minds of the brain trust, the best player on the board when the Raptors used their 13th-overall pick. Taking the best-available talent is always a savvy strategy, which is to say it hasn’t always been the Raptors’ strategy. (See Araujo, Rafael.)

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those who would try to tell you that Toronto’s basketball brain-trust did, in fact, choose THE correct player will eventually be shown to have made a serious mistake in judgment.

Tracking the development of how exactly a team that makes its 1st Round Draft choice, on the basis of a positional need and then tells its fanbase that it did the exact opposite thing

The first 5 selections went pretty much as planned:

1 Washington Wizards – John Wall, PG
2 Philadelphia 76ers – Evan Turner, G/F
3 New Jersey Nets … in need of dynamic Wing or a conventional Power Forward – Derrick Favors, PF
4 Minnesota Timberwolves … in need of a dynamic Wing or a conventional Big Man – Wesley Johnson, F
5 Sacramento Kings … in need of a Big Man – DeMarcus Cousins, C

Then, the Golden State Warriors became the first team to by-pass the opportunity to add a highly-rated PF from a reknowned Atlantic Coast Conference [ACC] program who has been properly identified, to this point, as a very good rebounder and shot-blocker with good length, overall athleticism, and a solid hoops IQ.

6 Golden State Warriors … in need of a Big Man – Ekpe Udoh, PF

Then, the Detroit Pistons proceeded to do the exact same thing.

7 Detroit Pistons … in need of a Big Man – Greg Monroe, PF/C

Then, the LA Clippers did precisely what the LA Clippers were expected to do.

8 Los Angeles Clippers – Al-Farouq Aminu, SF

Then the ‘fun’ began.

9 Utaj Jazz … in need of a Big Man – Gordon Hayward, SF

Raptors fans might want to ask themselves this question:

“How come Kevin O’Connor decided to go in this direction when the chances are pretty good that Carlos Boozer [PF/C] will NOT be returning to Salt Lake City in the fall? … when different “stat-based basketball gurus” have suggested that Gordon Hayward – as a relatively unathletic Small Forward – will be a bust?”

[PLEASE NOTE: This is the same GM who selected Deron Williams over Chris Paul a few seasons back; and, whose franchise has missed the playoffs, oh, about 1 time in the last 100 years, or so; and, played its way into the NBA Finals, during the 1990's; and, consistently been a top 6 team in the Western Conference for the last decade ... while operating under the same Hall Of Fame head coach, i.e. Jerry Sloan.] 

Then, Larry Legend went to work, and dipping into his ‘infamous bag of tricks’ …

10 Indiana Pacers … in need of a Point Guard – Paul George, SF

selected a college sophmore who was deemed to be not ‘good enough’ to have earned a place on the WAC all-conference team this season … but, who was also perceived by most NBA teams – not expressly looking for a big man – to be, perhaps, THE Guard/Forward with the HIGHEST UPSIDE in the entire 2010 Draft, having rocketed up to a potential ‘Lottery Pick’ over the course of just the last 3 months.

[PLEASE NOTE: This is the same GM who decided not to re-sign Jarrett Jack, PG last summer, as a restricted free agent, on a reasonable contract; once coached his team to the NBA Finals; and, has recently gone about the task of gradually re-building the Indiana Pacers into a legitimate franchise again, in the unseemly aftermath of The Brawl At The Palace ... since taking over from Donnie Walsh, on a full-time basis ... as one of the all-time great players in the history of the game.]

Then, Jeff Bower … who has blown both hot and cold during his tenure, as GM for New Orleans … made a serious mistake.

11 New Orleans Hornets [picking for the Oklahoma City Thunder] … in need of a Big Man – Cole Aldrich, C

Then, Chris Wallace … who has blown mostly cold during his tenure, as GM for Memphis … made a moderate mistake.

12 Memphis Grizzlies – Xavier Henry, SF

Then the Toronto Raptors had the chance to select THE BEST available basketball player still on the Draft Board … regardless of their positional need … and, proceeded to whiff, albeit by just a few inches.

[PLEASE NOTE: Luke Babbitt will play next season for the Portland Trail Blazers, and was selected in last night's Draft by their out-going GM, Kevin Pritchard, who is generally considered to have done a fabulous job during his tenure with their team, successfully overseeing the transformation of the once reknowned "Jailblazers" to one of the best still-youngish teams in the NBA, with legitimate title-winning aspirations down-the-road.]

It says in this corner that players like:

1 John Wall

2 Evan Turner

3 Al-Farouq Aminu

4 Gordon Hayward

5 Paul George

and

6 Luke Babbitt

simply do not come along every year in the NBA Draft, and when a franchise that really does know what it’s doing has a chance to grab one of them it does NOT willing choose to pass THAT by, in favour of a ‘solid pro prospect’ without ‘star’ upside.

Which is precisely what Toronto did, yet again, last night.

#3. The Raptors did not make this pick last night because Ed Davis was the best player still available.

The Raptors made this, specific, pick because they are now thinking that Chris Bosh will not be re-signing with their team after July 1 and they desperately needed to add a capable Power Forward to their line-up with solid long term potential, as an above average rebounder and shot-blocker, to play beside Andrea Bargnani [C] – who is horribly deficient in both of these areas – in the front-court for the foreseeable future … given the fact that each of the other Big Men candidates who they had originally targeted had already been selected by the teams slotted ahead of them in this year’s Draft.

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PS. FWIW, know that choosing to go with a capable player like Solomon Alabi [C] over an exceptional ‘NBA talent’ like Hassan Whiteside [C], as an additional pick scooped up from the 2nd Round, in return for cash considerations, actually fits into the exact same category, i.e. as yet another opportunity lost. 

It really is amazing just how serious the ramifications can be when an organization falls in ‘puppy love‘ with an ‘ineffectual’ player and then ‘ties its can to him’, come h*ll or high water.

Far too many times, this type of nonsensical decision results in years of under-achieving flatline performance for an outfit that could otherwise have gradually risen to eventually become one of the best in the league, if it would have been aware of this player’s actual deficiencies, in the first place, and removed him from their roster at the earliest possible point in time.

When this corner has to read the following example of a grossly incorrect statement/observation … from a Basketball Acumen perspective … from a significant segment of the Raptors still rabid fanbase:

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A Road Map For The Raptors 2010 Draft

If George is off the board, a distinct possibility, if I’m BC, I draft Cole Aldrich (assuming he’s still on the board at 13 as well of course.)  No, he’s not the biggest upside guy in the world, but I truly believe he can become a shot-blocking, solid rebounding big man at the next level akin to Joel Przybilla.  This would allow Toronto to then move Andrea to the 4, a position he’s more suited to play and one I feel that will minimize his weaknesses.

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it is extremely disappointing.

The fact is …

After watching him play in the NBA for the last 4 seasons, Andrea Bargnani’s best position is, undoubtably, Center [not Power Forward].

How come, you ask?

Primarily, because this is the ONLY position on the floor where he has a hope in h*ll of not committing 6 fouls in 20 minutes of game action and/or costing his team an unholy number of points allowed on the defensive end of the floor by his inability:

i. To DEFEND adequately [A] in Transition, or against any type of [B] “Switch” situation, or against any type of [C] Pick and Roll/Pop action, or [D] in any scenario where he is required to give “off-the-ball help to a teammate” after dribble penetration has occurred;

and;

ii. To REBOUND adequately versus any type of under-sized mismatched opponent … with a superior level of quickness … at the PF position.

i.e. NBA Secret Scout nails description of Bargnani [Oct 22 2009]

As Andrea Bargnani’s PT has gradually increased over the last 3 seasons, the Raptors’ W-L record has [coincidently? or correlatively?], either, gone in the opposite direction or, at-best, flatlined:

2006-2007, 47-35, made the playoffs, 1st Rd loss to the Nets
2007-2008, 41-41, made the playoffs, 1st Rd loss to the Magic [-]
2008-2009, 33-49, failed to make the playoffs [-]
2009-2010, 40-42, failed to make the playoffs [0]

The chief reason Toronto has had to play Bargnani for increasing numbers of minutes at the Center position these last 3 seasons is NOT because the team has “wanted” to use him in this way, or because he is particularly effective at this spot but, rather, because he is actually the LEAST DESTRUCTIVE to his own team’s chances for success when he’s working at this specific position … primarily against a power-based opponent.

Secondly, if the Raptors make the decision to select Cole Aldrich [C] with the No. 13 [overall] Pick in this evening’s NBA Draft, it will do absolutely nothing to eleviate their current problem with Bargnani …

* i.e. NBA: Potential Draft Busts

* If Chris Bosh happens not to re-sign with their team, as an UFA after July 1;

AND,

* If Toronto then makes the decision to trade Hedo Turkoglu [PF] and Jose Calderon [PG], in return for other players who are of equal or less ability.

Given the following developments in the Eastern Conference this summer:

1 Cleveland, re-signs LeBron James + adds Byron Scott?
2 Orlando, ?
3 Atlanta, re-signs Joe Johnson + promotes Larry Drew
4 Boston, retains Ray Allen + Doc Rivers
5 Miami, re-signs D-Wade + adds at least 1 [and, possibly, 2] new UFA
6 Milwaukee, returns Andrew Bogut from injury + adds Corey Maggette & CDR
7 Charlotte, ?
8 Chicago, adds at least 1 [or, possibly, 2] new UFA + Thom Thibodeau
——————————————-
9 Toronto, adds the No. 13 [overall] Pick/2010 NBA Draft
——————————————-
10 Indiana, adds the No. 10 [overall] Pick/2010 NBA Draft
11 New York, adds at least 1 [and, possibly, 2] new UFA
12 Detroit, adds the No. 7 [overall] Pick/2010 NBA Draft
13 Philadelphia, adds the No. 2 [overall] Pick/2010 NBA Draft + Doug Collins
14 Washington, adds the No. 1 [overall] Pick/2010 NBA Draft
15 New Jersey, adds the No. 3 [overall] Pick/2010 NBA Draft + Avery Johnson

and a possible 2010-2011 roster for Toronto which looks like this:

HOLDOVERS

PG: Jarret Jack/#1 and Marcus Banks/#2
OG: DeMar DeRozan/#3, Sonny Weems/#4 and Marco Belinelli/#5
SF: ?
PF: Andrea Bargnani/#6, Reggie Evans/#7 and Joey Dorsey/#8
C: Amir Johnson/#9

NEWCOMERS

* Cole Aldrich/#10
* Player 1/#11 [in return for Chris Bosh, e.g. David Lee]
* Player 2/#12 [in return for Chris Bosh, e.g. Wilson Chandler]
* Player 3/#13 [in return for Hedo Turkoglu, e.g. Andres Nocioni]
* Player 4/#14 [in return for Jose Calderon, e.g. Mo Williams]
* Player 5/#15 [2nd Pick, 2010 NBA Draft, e.g. Devin Ebanks]

in all likelihood, it would mean the Raptors will finish with less than 38 wins, again, and fail to make the playoffs for a 3rd consecutive season.

Instead of continuing to believe that Andrea Bargnani was in some way the RIGHT PLAYER for their franchise to select with the No. 1 [overall] Pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, and then still being determined to build around him going forward 5 years later … even though it will have cost them the services of Chris Bosh, in the end … what the Raptors need to do is finally bite the bullet on the entire Il Mago experiment and completely remove him from their roster.

Only then will this franchise begin to turn itself around … by recalibrating its over-riding Basketball Philosophy with a new focus on a more balanced approach to Team Offense, Team Defense and – most importantly! – Team Rebounding.

Now is the time to … quite literally … throw the baby out with the bath water!

———————————–

PS. The player who Toronto SHOULD be selecting this evening with the No. 13 [overall] Selection in the 2010 NBA Draft is one of: Al-Farouq Aminu [SF], Paul George [SF], Gordon Hayward [SF], Luke Babbitt [SF] or Hassan Whiteside [C].

This year’s draft will take place on Thursday [June 24].

According to 3 recent ‘mock drafts’, the first 10 selections are likely to play out in the following ways:

Which would then mean the following group of players will not be available to the Raptors with the #13 pick:

while at least 2 of the following group of players shown below in neon green will most likely still be available when Toronto makes the #13 selection:

The key poll question for today is:

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Related:

Revisiting Draft Rater [includes John Hollinger's subjective Draft Board]

The 2010 NBA Draft will take place in 7 days.

This summer there are several players available who should be able to develop into outstanding NBAers, including household names like John Wall [PG/OG] and Evan Turner [OG/SF], currently atop every list of the so-called “draft experts”.

From a Raptors perspective, however, Toronto is situated in the #13 position and is, therefore, unlikely to have access to those players.

Nevertheless …

If the Raptors want to make significant strides going forward this off-season … regardless what Chris Bosh eventually decides to do, as far as re-signing with the team [or not] is concerned … their rabid fans should focus their attention on the following players who are likely to be picked in the 1st Round on Thursday, June 24, 2010:

[in alphabetical order]

Should Toronto manage to select one of these players they will have succeeded in upgrading the talent on their current roster and positioned themselves to make gradual progress up the standings in the Eastern Conference.

Prior to last night’s proceedings, these 15 individuals were identified by this corner as players who could have given the Toronto Raptors what they need, at this moment in time, heading towards a long term future [A] with or [B] without Chris Bosh:

Perception vs Reality – Who SHOULD Raptors Draft?

Al-Farouq Aminu [6-9, 215, SF/PF, Wake Forest, now unavailable]
Tyreke Evans [6-6, 219, PG/OG, Memphis]
DeMar DeRozan [6-7, 220, OG/SF, USC]
Earl Clark [6-10, 226, PF, Louisville]
Derrick Brown [6-8, 225, SF, Xavier]
Terrence Williams [6-6, 213, OG, Louisville]
Wayne Ellington [6-5, 202, OG, UNC]
Danny Green [6-6, 208, OG/SF, UNC]
Sam Young [6-6, 223, SF, Pittsburgh]
Marcus Thorton [6-4, 194, OG, LSU]
Tyler Hansbrough [6-9, 234, PF, UNC]
Taj Gibson [6-10, 214, PF, USC]
Dante Cunningham [6-8, 227, PF/SF, Villanova]
Tyler Smith [6-6, 212, OG, Tennessee, now unavailable]
Nando De Colo [6-5, 190, OG, France]

This is what happened last night with each of those 15 players::

- Al-Farouq Aminu. Withdrew from consideration; back to Wake Forest.
- Tyler Smith. Withdrew from consideration; back to Tennessee.

- Tyreke Evans. SACRAMENTO/No. 4, selected by Geoff Petrie.

- DeMar DeRozan. Player the Raptors/No. 9 wanted all along.

- Earl Clark. PHOENIX/No. 14, selected by Steve Kerr.
- Derrick Brown. CHARLOTTE/No. 40, selected by M-Jordan/L-Brown.
- Terrence Williams. NEW JERSEY/No. 11., selected by R-Thorn/K-Vandeweghe.
- Wayne Ellington. MINNESOTA/No. 28, selected by David Kahn
- Sam Young. MEMPHIS/No. 36, selected by Chris Wallace. 
- Danny Green. CLEVELAND/No. 46, selected by Danny Ferry.
- Marcus Thorton. MIAMI/No. 43, selected by Pat Riley [traded to New Orleans-Jeff Bower/Byron Scott].
- Tyler Hansbrough. INDIANA/No. 13, selected by Larry Bird.
- Taj Gibson. CHICAGO/No. 26, selected by J-Paxson/G-Forman.
- Dante Cunningham. PORTLAND/No. 33, selected by Kevin Pritchard.
- Nando De Colo. SAN ANTONIO/N. 53, selected by RC Buford/G-Popovich.

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1. Over the next few seasons, it is going to be most interesting to watch the development of these 15 players.

2. The Charlotte Bobcats [37-45] are gradually building a very solid team:

* Adding Gerald Henderson [OG] and Derrick Brown [SF] last night
* Trading for Boris Diaw [PF-SF], Raja Bell [OG], Vladimir Radmanovic [SF-PF] and DeSagana Diop [C} last season
* Drafting DJ Augustin [PG] & Alex Ajinca [C} last year
* Re-signing Gerald Wallace [SF-PF] last year
* Re-signing Emeka Okafor [C-PF] 2 years ago

3. There’s a very good reason the same names keep popping up when the Larry O’Brien Trophy is awarded, in June, to the NBA Champions.

Update:

* Marcus Thorton has subsequently been traded to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for two future 2nd Round Draft Picks [i.e. 2010 & 2012].

Welcome to the 2009 edition of ‘Match the Stats’ [re: Raptors' possible draftees].

This is your friendly DraftMaster, khandor.

Now … Whoooooooooo’s ready to play?

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The names of 15 players who at one time this spring were eligible for Thursday’s [June 25] NBA Draft:

Nando De Colo [6-5, 190, OG, France]
Earl Clark [6-10, 226, PF, Louisville]
Terrence Williams [6-6, 213, OG, Louisville]
Marcus Thorton [6-4, 194, OG, LSU]
Tyreke Evans [6-6, 219, PG/OG, Memphis]
Sam Young [6-6, 223, SF, Pittsburgh]
Wayne Ellington [6-5, 202, OG, UNC]
Danny Green [6-6, 208, OG/SF, UNC]
Tyler Hansbrough [6-9, 234, PF, UNC]
Tyler Smith [6-6, 212, OG, Tennessee, now unavailable]
DeMar DeRozan [6-7, 220, OG/SF, USC]
Taj Gibson [6-10, 214, PF, USC]
Dante Cunningham [6-8, 227, PF/SF, Villanova]
Al-Farouq Aminu [6-9, 215, SF/PF, Wake Forest, now unavailable]
Derrick Brown [6-8, 225, SF, Xavier]

The 1st year statistics for these 15 players, at the college level, in random order.

Your assignment comes in two parts:

PART ONE
Rank the individual stat lines [according to their assigned number in the left-hand column] in the specific order which you feel best addresses the Raptors’ needs.

[e.g. 1st - No. 14, 2nd - No. 5, 3rd - No. 1, 4th - No. 7, etc.. Account for all fifteen.]

PART TWO
Match the individual stat lines [according to their assigned number in the left-hand column] with the correct Player’s Name from the list of fifteen provided above.

[e.g. 1st - No. 14; Tyreke Evans; 2nd - No. 5; 3rd - No. 1, Al-Farouq Aminu; 4th - No. 7, Tyler Hansbrough, etc.. Account for all fifteen.]

Once complete … you will then be ready to enter the Raptors’ War Room on Thursday night with your own version of ‘Raptors Match the Stats’:

[which should look something like this]

[NOTE: Interested persons are invited to submit their own version of 'Raptors Match the Stats' in the "comments" section.]

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According to NBA.com’s 2009 NBA Draft: Consensus Mock Draft, the players most likely to be selected by the Raptors are Tyreke Evans or DeMar Derozan, each of whom was a college freshman this past season. Do you think these two players actually have the individual stat lines that Best Fit what the Raptors need from this year’s pool of draftees?

Go ahead and play ‘Match the Stats’ … and, you will soon find out!

The answer might surprise you.

[or, maybe not ... depending on what your impression is of the Raptors' Draft Record, in the Bryan Colangelo era.]

If Toronto chooses to trade down [from No. 9, overall], on June 25, into the latter half of the 1st Round and/or the 2nd Round:

[continuing from what was started here last week]

Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest [unfortunately, unavailable]

Danny Green [6-6, 208, OG/SF, UNC]

Dante Cunningham [6-8, 227, PF/SF, Villanova]

Derrick Brown [6-8, 225, SF, Xavier]

Earl Clark [6-10, 226, PF, Louisville]

Marcus Thorton [6-4, 194, OG, LSU]

Nando De Colo [6-5, 190, OG, France]

Sam Young [6-6, 223, SF, Pittsburgh]

Taj Gibson [6-10, 214, PF, USC]

Terrence Williams [6-6, 213, OG, Louisville]

Tyler Hansbrough [6-9, 234, PF, UNC]

Tyler Smith [6-6, 212, OG, Tennessee]

Wayne Ellington [6-5, 202, OG, UNC]

* None of whom should be traded up for *

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In conjunction with:

I. Shifting Chris Bosh back to the Center position;

II. Trading Andrea Bargnani;

and,

III. Trading Shawn Marion.

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After Blake Griffin [PF], Ricky Rubio [PG] and Stephen Curry [PG] … there is quick-sand everywhere in this year’s draft which needs to be avoided, if possible.