khandor’s sports blog

will most likely select one of the following 6 players:

1. DeMar DeRozan [OG-SF]
2. Gerald Henderson [OG-SF]
3. Jrue Holiday [PG-OG]
4. Jonny Flynn [PG]
5. Jordan Hill [PF]
6. James Johnson [SF-PF] 

according to Bryan Colangelo [GM].

[PLEASE NOTE: This is a link to a radio interview from Jun 17, 2009 which every Raptors fan should listen to, as it deals with Thursday's NBA Draft, the acquisition of Reggie Evans and the team's POV re: Chris Bosh.]

From the perspective of this corner, however, by doing so … they will, once again, be throwing away another golden opportunity to build their team into a legitimate long term contender for a Top 4 spot in the Eastern Conference, by not trading down to a Middle or Lower Spot in the 1st Round, while acquiring an additional pick in the 2nd Round, in a classic two-for-one scenario.

Q1. Why does this year’s Draft qualify as such an occasion?

A1. Because the players who fit best with what Toronto needs right now, as well as looking down-the-road a piece … possibly, to a life without Chris Bosh … are not perceived by others to be worthy of selection in the No. 9 position but will most likely be available in the Middle or the Lower section of the 1st Round, and/or in the 2nd Round.

Draft preview: Closer look at the small forwards

SMALL FORWARDS ::::::
Rank	Name	School/Team	Height	Weight	Wingspan	Vertical
1	Earl Clark	Louisville	6-10 3/4	228	7-2 1/2	33
2	Omri Casspi	Maccabi Tel Aviv	6-9 1/4	211	6-9 1/2	32.5
3	Sam Young	Pittsburgh	6-6 3/4	223	6-10 3/4	33
4	Austin Daye	Gonzaga	6-10 3/4	192	7-2 3/4	28
5	DaJuan Summers	Georgetown	6-8 1/2	243	7-0 3/4	34.5
6	Jonas Jurebko	Angelico Biella (Italy)	6-8 #	220 #	N/A	N/A
7	Derrick Brown	Xavier	6-8 1/2	225	7-2 1/2	35.5
8	Danny Green	North Carolina	6-6 1/2	208	6-10	33
9	Lorrenzo Wade	San Diego State	6-6 #	225 #	N/A	N/A
10	Victor Claver	Pamesa Valencia (Spain)	6-9 #	225 #	N/A	N/A

 

Derrick Brown is a player with a tonne of NBA ability, at the Wing position, who should be there for the Raptors in the Middle of the 1st Round.

———-

Xavier’s Brown has been coming on the last few weeks, benefitting from long arms (a 7-2 1/2 wingspan) good workouts up and down the first round, and the pedigree of bigs that Xavier has produced for NBA teams, including Brian Grant, Aaron Williams, Tyrone Hill, James Posey and David West. He’s active — “bouncy,” one personnel man says.

“Sometimes, kids get better and I think he’s one of the kids that’s grown with the process,” said a Northwest Division executive. “He’s been able to expand his game a little bit and show some of the things he couldn’t show at Xavier.”

———-

Derrick Brown would fill their need for an immediate ”starter” who can score the ball, rebound his position and defend with solid athleticism and considerable length.

Derrick Brown
SEASON	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
2005-2006	Did not play.
2006-2007	16.9	6.3	4.1	.8	1.1	.69	.5	.6	2.5	.706	.700	.500	1.96
2007-2008	28.1	10.9	6.5	1.7	1.9	.90	.9	.8	2.5	.609	.706	.344	1.66
2008-2009	29.5	13.7	6.1	1.9	1.7	1.11	.7	.9	2.5	.504	.741	.433	1.42

For the number crunchers …

Q2. When you look at these simple game stats, what do you see?

A2. A player who shot 43.3% from behind the arc last season … shooting three times as many treys than the year before [in which he shot three times as many as he did his first year in college] … scored at a solid rate of 1.42 PPS [i.e. higher than DeMar DeRozan and Tyreke Evans], and improved his Ast:TO each of his 3 seasons at Xavier University.

[PLEASE NOTE: Players who are capable of doing THIS, and reach the point where their ratio is above 1.00 have a HIGH Basketball IQ.]

In conjunction with his outstanding Wingspan, his solid vertical & lateral agility scores, his ability to do THIS:

on a regular basis, and the fact that he conducts himself like THIS:

when dealing with the media in a first-class way … say that this young man, Derrick Brown, “Is ready” to play in the NBA, right away.

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When you couple a player like Derrick Brown with a:

Taj Gibson [late 1st Rounder, early 2nd Round, Horace Grant type]
Dante Cunningham [late 1st Rounder, early 2nd Round, James Worthy type]
Danny Green [2nd Round, Bruce Bowen type]
Marcus Thornton [2nd Round, Mitch Richmond type], or
Nando De Colo [2nd Round, Manu Ginobili type]

you are talking about a serious increase in FIRST-CLASS athletic ability and NBA skill level that can immediately elevate the Quality Depth on the Raptors’ roster to the point where they could contend with the likes of Boston and Cleveland and Orlando, etc., in the not-too-distant future, either:

A. If Chris Bosh re-signs with their team; 

OR,

B. If Chris Bosh is traded [for comparable parts] and Andrea Bargnani continues to improve, as their Center, moving forward from that point.

———-

The ball’s been placed in Bryan’s Colangelo’s hands … for the sake of loyal Raptors fans everywhere … let’s hope that he doesn’t drop it, again.

 

Related:

Perception vs Reality - Who should Raptors draft?