Linkage – June 15
Here’s a take on Nicolas Batum from someone entirely disassociated with the Raptors, or him (and I paraphraise)
“Great athlete, long, good shooting range, needs to grow into his body because he’s still not strong enough. Good kid, very high basketball IQ, was a leader of a French team that won the European junior championship. He’ll be primarily a three in the NBA but could guard twos if he had to. Mature of his age but still some questions about his mental toughness on the court but all indications are he’ll get it.”
A spy tells me that workout the Raptors held Friday for six guys you’ve never heard of and may never hear of again was far from, um, good. Even if they buy a second round pick, it won’t be used on anyone who was there.
But Thursday’s shaping up to be a huge day. Plans are to get Batum in for a look, maybe Roy Hibbert and Mareese SPeights, among others.
And that’ll probably be the last big one before draft day. In the week in between, it’s more likely they’ll go see kids rather than have them in.
Moon was in town yesterday as part of the NBA’s 3 on 3 tournament at West Edmonton Mall. He was a judge for the slam dunk competition and spoke to over 300 teams of kids of all ages.
” I tell them to play hard and listen to God and your parents and always treat your school work like it means something to you … because a lot of people, when they play sports, they let the sport take over,” said Moon.
“I’ve played all over, and if I had to do it all over again I would, because I just love the game. I always dreamed of playing in the NBA and it has finally happened,” said Moon.
Moon has played on so many teams in so many different leagues, he has a hard time remembering all the cities he’s played in.
“I can’t name them; you’d have to go the Web to get it.” said Moon, who entered the 2001 NBA draft, but wasn’t chosen.
“I liked all the places I played in, but I didn’t like some of the situations I was put in as far as money. Sometimes you’d get paid, sometimes you wouldn’t.
“I got put in a lot of crazy situations and unfortunately I had to leave some of the places because of money. But I look back on it and it was just fine because I was playing basketball.”
On Friday, his reason for not coming to workout for the Raptors was a “hamstring injury”. Legit or otherwise, these on-going absences have led many to believe that Arthur is simply avoiding Toronto.
If that’s the case - if Arthur is shying away from Toronto - it would be in the Raptors best interest to steer clear from this guy. If Arthur isn’t interested in having a future in Toronto … then let him go. He’s not worth the headache.
Again, we don’t know if this is truly the case. We don’t know what Arthur’s reasons are right now. But this is sounding more and more like an ill-informed or ill-advised young player who knows nothing about this organization, city, and country.
One would have to assume that the Raptors as a team - on the floor - are not a cause for concern. The team may not be on the verge of an NBA Championship but they’re not basement-dwellers in the Eastern Conference. They were the Atlantic Division champs last year and they finished as the 6th seed in the East this season. They’re right in the mix in their conference.
The core of the Raptors is solid and fairly young as well … with Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon (and/or TJ Ford), and Andrea Bargnani.
Off the floor, Sam Mitchell’s reputation around the league is good enough - known as being a player’s coach … despite his tough-love attitude at times - and Bryan Colangelo may be the most respected executive/General Manager in the NBA.
The arena sells out - or fills close to capacity - more often than not … and the fans have proven their loyalty and passion for the team time and time again.
Thus, I have to assume that Arthur may have an ignorant attitude towards playing in this country. Why else would he not even workout for the Raptors?
Arthur needs to get his priorities straight ASAP … because you have to wonder if the no-shows in Toronto could have any kind of impact on how other teams may view him. Is he showing a flaw in his character by turning down a perspective employer time and time again? Is he hurting his standing by stringing along Colangelo, Kelly, and company?
Colangelo’s performance so far has been a mixed bag (postive but slow progress) but he’s a quality GM who’ll come good if given time.
The number one pick was difficult. It was one of those years where there was no clear cut number one pick. There wasn’t even a group of five players. You had at least 5 players in consideration for that pick when you look at guys like Rudy Gay, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andrea Bargnani, Tyrus Thomas. Maybe Adam Morrison - hey it could have been worse, imagine how the Bobcats feel? At the time I wanted Colangelo to draft Aldridge. I thought Roy was the best player in the draft but I liked the idea of Aldridge-Bosh together. When Colangelo picked Bargnani I thought fair enough that’s a solid pick, he’s an interesting player with lots of potential. Along with Gay I thought Bargnani had the highest ceiling in the draft. With no clear number one taking a guy with the high ceiling can be decent business. Now if Greg Oden was in the draft (darn High School rule) when he had the number one imagine where the Raptors would be now? The answer to that is something like where the Portland Trailblazers are right now. Imagine Bosh and Oden together with TJ Ford and a bunch of top shooters. Just bad timing. For my money it was the least clear cut draft with the most questionable potential guys at the top since Olowakandi went number one back in 1999. Very difficult. Just bad timing.
The Raptors seemed to plateau this season with numerous key players not improving from last season. Injuries to TJ Ford and Chris Bosh help end all hopes of reaching 50 wins this season, and the regression of Andrea Bargnani guaranteed the Raptors would not be competing for the #3 seed in the east. Jose Calderon was the brightest spot for the team this season (Jamario Moon was the best story) and made his way into top 10 point guard status.
TEAM NEEDS
Girth, weight, muscled frontcourt player with mean streak, Andrea Bargnani to progress not regress.
DRAFT CHOICE:
DEANDRE JORDAN
CENTER, 7′0″, 255LBS, TEXAS A&M, 20YRS OLD
ANALYSIS
This is where the falling Deandre Jordan finally lands. I have him down this far because from all the times I’ve watched him, I have not been impressed. His game is extremely raw and his intesnsity level is inconsistent. His his the biggest project among the top 20 prospects, and has the biggest risk/reward factor.
With the possible execption of Robin Lopez, I can’t see Toronto passing up Jordan at this pick.
Jun 15th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Thanks Scott for this great (long) article.