Toronto Raptors: 2009 NBA Draft
May 18th, 2009
by Raphielle Johnson
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2009 NBA DRAFT: NBA Team Needs/Capsules - NBA Mock Draft - Top 100 Prospects |
- We’ll update our Team Capsules with more specific info once the lottery is complete.
Toronto Raptors
2008-09 Record: 33-49 (3rd Atlantic; 13th in the East)
Draft Pick: 9th
Key Free Agents:
Shawn Marion (unrestricted)
Anthony Parker (unrestricted)
How They Got Here:
It was thought that the Raptors had a chance to fight for a playoff spot heading into this season. They had a perennial All-Star in Chris Bosh, and the midseason trade of Jermaine O’Neal was supposed to free things up even more on the offensive end for head coach Jay Triano. It didn’t work. Toronto was in the middle of the NBA in field goal percentage but they lacked to offensive firepower needed to compete on a nightly basis. And with Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker both being unrestricted free agents Bryan Colangelo will have his work cut out for him in building a team that can contend for a playoff spot. The Raptors plan to negotiate a long-term deal with Bosh in the offseason, and if they find that he’s set on testing the market in 2010 they could attempt to trade him.
What They Need:
Simply put the Raptors need some serious help. The feeling of many draft experts is that the 2009 class is especially weak (maybe the weakest since 2001) so this won’t be one of those “get rich quick” selections. In regards to the position of their draft pick, Toronto needs to look for a versatile perimeter player who can hold his own on both ends of the floor. Should they lose both Marion and Parker, that’s quite a bit to make up on the defensive end of the floor. If they do deal Bosh they’d better be sure to get a polished big man in return; outside of Blake Griffin you’re not going to find a guy like that in the lottery.
Who They’ll Take:
Tyreke Evans (Memphis) and Gerald Henderson (Duke; should he remain in the draft) are a pair of intriguing options on the perimeter. Henderson is the better defender but Evans is the more versatile of the two offensively. Toronto could also see James Harden (Arizona State) slip to them should too many teams higher in the order ignore his body of work and focus on his play in the NCAA Tournament instead.
Draft History (since 2000)
2008: Nathan Jawai (41st)
2007: no picks
2006: Andrea Bargnani (1st), PJ Tucker (35th)
2005: Charlie Villanueva (7th), Joey Graham (16th), Roko Ukic (41st), Uros Slokar (58th)
2004: Rafael Araujo (8th), Albert Miralles (40th)
2003: Chris Bosh (4th), Remon Van De Hare (52nd)
2002: Kareem Rush (20th)
2001: Michael Bradley (17th)
2000: Morris Peterson (21st), DeeAndre Hulett (46th)
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2009 NBA DRAFT: NBA Team Needs/Capsules - NBA Mock Draft - Top 100 Prospects |
Top Prospects
Stephen
Curry - PG/SG - Davidson
Tyreke
Evans - PG/SG - Memphis
Blake
Griffin - PF - Oklahoma
James
Harden - SG - Arizona State
Jordan
Hill - PF - Arizona
Ty
Lawson - PG - UNC
BJ
Mullens - C - Ohio State
Ricky
Rubio - PG - DKV Joventut
Brandon
Jennings - PG - Arizona
Hasheem
Thabeet - C - UCONN
Comments
Thoughts on Earl
Submitted by Raphielle Johnson on Mon, 2009-05-18 22:21.
I really like Earl in regards to his skill set; he's easily one of the ten most talented players in the Draft when it comes to skills. However, does he have the mindset needed to "bring it" every night? He had a tendency to look disinterested/aloof at times at Louisville, and that's a concern that could push him to the end of the lottery. As for a fit in Toronto, Bargnani prefers to stay on the perimeter, so Colangelo may be better served to take a banger if he were to go big.
Earl dosn't really fit the needs
Submitted by spirow (not verified) on Mon, 2009-05-18 23:03.
Yeah sure raptors need to get tougher on the rebounds and a guy like clark can help them. But the biggest problem the raptors had was the guards. . . Other teams exposed calderon and parker. . . And many times this caused bosh or bargnani to help and leave their man to be more free in the paint. Because of this problem raptors seemed disoriented on defence. We need a SG and with another pick another combo guard who can adress the SG and PG needs. For SG I James Harden, there was a piece on him getting ready for the NBA where he lost 15-20 pounds and worked on his shooting and explosiveness. I had doubts about him before but after watching him recently, he looks explosive. Another SG would be Demar Derozan who can also play SF. He'll be good in a run and gun system using his physical abilities. Tyreke evans is also another good pick who can play pg and sg. . . As for the raptors aquiring another pick we should may be trade up and target a guy like Holiday who can play combo guard just like Evans and wasn't used properly in the UCLA system. May be the raptors new up and down system might flourish his game. . . We need guards who can keep up with their defenders. And also have the ability to break guys down and create more of an open offence which will help free up guys like bosh and bargnani.
Naw i think we should get
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2009-05-19 09:18.
Naw i think we should get Demar Derozan ,,,, Cheak out his highlight videos hes AMAZING ... i think he'll be a great pick for the raptors , He can really run the floor and finish with a monster slam ,,, if not demar, i think we can pick up a stpehen cury or tyreke evens ,,, one guy who caught my attention was trennce williams great player
Trade the pick
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2009-05-21 23:21.
In a terribly weak draft class, we should trade the pick to get either more picks next year (when we will break the bank to sign Bosh, or trade him) or get a shut-down defender. I know there are some decent free agents available (odom) who would look nice in a Rap uniform, but am unsure who is being shopped around by teams in the means of an excellent defender. Our defense was laughable last season (and Calderon being a sieve with one leg didnt help) so we need to fix that now.
Trade Proposal
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2009-06-11 10:06.
What about Trading #9 and Humphries to Minnisota for #18 and Mike Miller? This way, we can draft Ty Lawson and get a solid 2-guard in Mike Miller. The numbers work. What do you guys think?
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About Raphielle Johnson
Columnist
Assistant Editor
Contact
raphiellej@aol.com
Background
College sports has always been a source of excitement for Raphielle Johnson, be it through watching, writing, or taking a shot in the dark and walking onto a college football team just to live the life (Arizona Football, 2001). Raphielle is the assistant editor, providing his own work in addition to helping out with the site operations. When not writing for CHN, you can usually find him in front of a television set watching one of many pay-per-view sports packages that he owns. He can be followed at twitter.com/raphiellej.
Location
In a gym near you
Favorite Links
Who Raps might take
Good thoughts, Raphielle, on who the Raps might take. I can't wait till the lottery, even though there's only a tiniest chance of the Raps moving up in the draft order. Colangelo has said he'll try to buy a pick, too.
What do you think of SF/PF Earl Clark? He seems to have the needed athleticism and court vision.