Draft Countdown: DeMar DeRozan

[TheDunc]

Isn't this thread suppose to be about discussing Demar as a prospect that we could draft. Anyways I watched DeRozan a couple time throughout the NCAA season and tournament and this is what I have to say about him at this stage. He is a great athlete with a nice slashing ability, he moves well without the ball, he rebounds well gets offensive rebounds well due to his athleticism, he runs the floor extremely well, and he has a nice mid range jumpshot. On the other hand his ball handling skills are poor, he isn't a great passer, his bb IQ is quite low, his three point shooting is atrocious for a wing player and is relatively a poor defender. The thing that everyone has been riding on is his potential, some of us saw it during the PAC-10 tournament and the NCAA tournament, were I think people have seen him grow into a better player. What some here do need to realize is that you have to look at the full body of work during the season and not just the tournament. Th e tournaments only really show to see if a player can bring it when his team needs him. Most of the skills Demar lacks he can develop in time, but are not only the Raptors and the fans want to wait and see if he pans out like with the Bargs situation.

Many here say that he'll be a star player if this was the case he'd be a lot higher than the 8th or 9th pick. In fact he'd be in the top five, it's because of his deficiencies that he's slated lower. For our sake it would be great if we could nab him at 9 and develop his skills over the off season enough for him to contribute. IMO he should have stayed another year in college to refine his skills, but he's doing this for family matters which is understandable.

+1000

[Gruel]

Thanks for the insightful post DG.

[Dr Positivity]

True, but reading over the rest of Granger's profile, he had a lot on Derozan. High bball IQ, 3 point range, ability to put the ball on the floor and create his own shot, and post scoring, passing, and defense, which admittedly haven't translated as well in his NBA role yet. This quote shows he was quite a different prosepct type than Derozan

Well thing is, Granger and DeRozan both have similar flaws entering the league seeing as they both weren’t dominant ball handlers, lack of dribbling left and has the athleticism, however, doesn’t have that fine of a first step. Those things can be easily thought where talent just comes to the player. No doubt Granger was the better player in college, but that comes with three more years of experience compare to DeRozan. Ideally, DeRozan would benefit with an extra year at USC...

See, I think if Derozan stayed 3-4 years and developed those skills (if, obviously not everyone's learning curve is equal), he could definitely end up a star. But going into the NBA with what he has now, he's going to be a fish out of water.

Do NOT underestimate the difficulty of greatly improving your ballhandling, first step, and bball IQ once you hit the NBA. Those are probably the three most important aspects to becoming a star wing and Derozan has none of them. Not to mention Granger is an epic 3 point shooter and shooter in general, which is what his game is definitely still centered around

[DG88]

Thanks for the insightful post DG.

No prob some posters here just buy into the hype of a player through highlights and never really watch how they play. That's something that you got to look at when evaluating a player, you evaluate them through the body of work not in a two week span.

[TiKusDom]

Isn't this thread suppose to be about discussing Demar as a prospect that we could draft. Anyways I watched DeRozan a couple time throughout the NCAA season and tournament and this is what I have to say about him at this stage. He is a great athlete with a nice slashing ability, he moves well without the ball, he rebounds well gets offensive rebounds well due to his athleticism, he runs the floor extremely well, and he has a nice mid range jumpshot. On the other hand his ball handling skills are poor, he isn't a great passer, his bb IQ is quite low, his three point shooting is atrocious for a wing player and is relatively a poor defender. The thing that everyone has been riding on is his potential, some of us saw it during the PAC-10 tournament and the NCAA tournament, were I think people have seen him grow into a better player. What some here do need to realize is that you have to look at the full body of work during the season and not just the tournament. Th e tournaments only really show to see if a player can bring it when his team needs him. Most of the skills Demar lacks he can develop in time, but are the Raptors and the fans want to wait and see if he pans out like with the Bargs situation.

Many here say that he'll be a star player if this was the case he'd be a lot higher than the 8th or 9th pick. In fact he'd be in the top five, it's because of his deficiencies that he's slated lower. For our sake it would be great if we could nab him at 9 and develop his skills over the off season enough for him to contribute. IMO he should have stayed another year in college to refine his skills, but he's doing this for family matters which is understandable.

Yes I agree with the bolded part , for our team sake it would be fantastic if we could nab him at 9, which I doubt he will be available at. If DeRozan is available at 9 you grab him and you run run run . I would much rather take a player with a very high ceiling who takes some nurturing and development but can become a far better player, than someone with a much lower ceiling that is already a finished product.

[rise of raptors]

Thing with drafting a prospect like Derozan is whether Toronto is a good place for him to develop and whether fans/management have the patience to wait for him to grow.

I think he's a great pick at #9. If Marion and Parker returns, I think these two will be good mentors for DD. The former also relies on athleticism and can teach about the running game (which DD has great potential for) while the latter can help with ball-handling/shooting/making smart decisions. Bringing in Alvin Williams can help as well. If there's one thing that the Raps organization have shown that it is good at its teaching players to improve their shot.

DD will be given the opportunity to play, simply because our wings are atrocious. We had Moon as our starting SF not too long ago and I think DD has already shown to be better than Jamario. The Matrix (if returned) will need someone to back him up. So he ca contribute imo, especially if we're serious about playing more uptempo.

Overall, I think DD has a great chance to succeed here.

[rise of raptors]

Thanks for the insightful post DG.

No prob some posters here just buy into the hype of a player through highlights and never really watch how they play. That's something that you got to look at when evaluating a player, you evaluate them through the body of work not in a two week span.

I agree with this. Most importantly, DD has shown that he is improving. So this is a good sign that he can reach reach his potential.

[RoyceDa59]

Jason Richardson part deux.

[Dennis P]

Isn't this thread suppose to be about discussing Demar as a prospect that we could draft. Anyways I watched DeRozan a couple time throughout the NCAA season and tournament and this is what I have to say about him at this stage. He is a great athlete with a nice slashing ability, he moves well without the ball, he rebounds well gets offensive rebounds well due to his athleticism, he runs the floor extremely well, and he has a nice mid range jumpshot. On the other hand his ball handling skills are poor, he isn't a great passer, his bb IQ is quite low, his three point shooting is atrocious for a wing player and is relatively a poor defender. The thing that everyone has been riding on is his potential, some of us saw it during the PAC-10 tournament and the NCAA tournament, were I think people have seen him grow into a better player. What some here do need to realize is that you have to look at the full body of work during the season and not just the tournament. Th e tournaments only really show to see if a player can bring it when his team needs him. Most of the skills Demar lacks he can develop in time, but are the Raptors and the fans want to wait and see if he pans out like with the Bargs situation.

Many here say that he'll be a star player if this was the case he'd be a lot higher than the 8th or 9th pick. In fact he'd be in the top five, it's because of his deficiencies that he's slated lower. For our sake it would be great if we could nab him at 9 and develop his skills over the off season enough for him to contribute. IMO he should have stayed another year in college to refine his skills, but he's doing this for family matters which is understandable.

Yes I agree with the bolded part , for our team sake it would be fantastic if we could nab him at 9, which I doubt he will be available at. If DeRozan is available at 9 you grab him and you run run run . I would much rather take a player with a very high ceiling who takes some nurturing and development but can become a far better player, than someone with a much lower ceiling that is already a finished product.

Outside of athleticism what would he add to our roster?

I too would like to believe that he can just expand his game and become a great player at 9 for us I just don't see the same upside most of you see here.

He is an ok prospect in a very weak draft, that much is becoming more and more obvious as the draft nears. To me there are too many ifs attached to his name there isn't a player in the draft that doesn't have ifs but for what we are drafting him to do.... way too many ifs.

I doubt we pick him at 9 given the fragile state of this franchise.

[Dennis P]

Jason Richardson part deux.

that would be a steal!

[DG88]

I think we need to consider that this is a weak draft. most prospects in this draft including DeRozan would even be in the top ten more like in the top 15-18 in the draft. That is something that we have to consider.

[basketball royalty]

Outside of athleticism what would he add to our roster?

I too would like to believe that he can just expand his game and become a great player at 9 for us I just don't see the same upside most of you see here.

He is an ok prospect in a very weak draft, that much is becoming more and more obvious as the draft nears. To me there are too many ifs attached to his name there isn't a player in the draft that doesn't have ifs but for what we are drafting him to do.... way too many ifs.

I doubt we pick him at 9 given the fragile state of this franchise.

Fragile to some, waiting in the weeds to others. IMO the future isn't bleak for us at all. I really do think that the last part of the season is what you can expect from this team next year and we have to build on that. Keep Bosh, keep Marion, keep the uptempo game and go. Since we are adding Delfino and could possibly bring back AP, drafting a guy like DeRozan with great potential makes sense because we wouldn't have to throw him in the fire right away. Of course if he is ready AP's role diminishes and he gets his PT but if not we work on his game and get him to where we want him before sending him out.

IMO athleticism is not something you can teach so he has that and if he is a willing learner he will become a very good to great player. With the 9th pick I'd much rather go that route if it is available to me rather than go with a senior because he will be 'NBA ready'. We are not in dire straights but we are a homerun from being a real contender so I'd rather swing for the fences with the 9th pick.

[Anatomize]

Outside of athleticism what would he add to our roster?

I too would like to believe that he can just expand his game and become a great player at 9 for us I just don't see the same upside most of you see here.

He is an ok prospect in a very weak draft, that much is becoming more and more obvious as the draft nears. To me there are too many ifs attached to his name there isn't a player in the draft that doesn't have ifs but for what we are drafting him to do.... way too many ifs.

I doubt we pick him at 9 given the fragile state of this franchise.

Fragile to some, waiting in the weeds to others. IMO the future isn't bleak for us at all. I really do think that the last part of the season is what you can expect from this team next year and we have to build on that. Keep Bosh, keep Marion, keep the uptempo game and go. Since we are adding Delfino and could possibly bring back AP, drafting a guy like DeRozan with great potential makes sense because we wouldn't have to throw him in the fire right away. Of course if he is ready AP's role diminishes and he gets his PT but if not we work on his game and get him to where we want him before sending him out.

IMO athleticism is not something you can teach so he has that and if he is a willing learner he will become a very good to great player. With the 9th pick I'd much rather go that route if it is available to me rather than go with a senior because he will be 'NBA ready'. We are not in dire straights but we are a homerun from being a real contender so I'd rather swing for the fences with the 9th pick.

With his apparent weaknesses making him more into a raw project, his young age, I just don't see him being an immediate contributor for us. Down the road, it's more than plausible, but you're optimistic we'll get back Marion, and Delfino would somehow be the answer to all our problems at the SG spot? We were burned by SGs and SFs too often this past season, I'm not willing to go through another 2-3 losing seasons so we can watch this guy grow into a solid player in a few years from now, barring the ups/downs and inevitable mistakes. This team is in need of a secondary facilitator, a creator (who can actually penetrate in ISOs, and doesn't rely nearly as much on pick & roll), a shooter, and a stopper. I'm really looking for a complete package SG/PG here.

There are a lot of questions here, if we do re-sign Marion, for how long? If we draft DeRozan, how long would it take him to develop behind Marion? if we don't draft an SG, there aren't a handful of SGs we can pick up with Bosh/Marion/Bargnani's renewed contracts, Delfino/Parker won't cut it, there are way too many elite SGs and SFs in the league to count, and our short term fixes have put us in a glaring hole which requires our team to go with a player who sheds the project label.

[Dennis P]

Outside of athleticism what would he add to our roster?

I too would like to believe that he can just expand his game and become a great player at 9 for us I just don't see the same upside most of you see here.

He is an ok prospect in a very weak draft, that much is becoming more and more obvious as the draft nears. To me there are too many ifs attached to his name there isn't a player in the draft that doesn't have ifs but for what we are drafting him to do.... way too many ifs.

I doubt we pick him at 9 given the fragile state of this franchise.

Fragile to some, waiting in the weeds to others. IMO the future isn't bleak for us at all. I really do think that the last part of the season is what you can expect from this team next year and we have to build on that. Keep Bosh, keep Marion, keep the uptempo game and go. Since we are adding Delfino and could possibly bring back AP, drafting a guy like DeRozan with great potential makes sense because we wouldn't have to throw him in the fire right away. Of course if he is ready AP's role diminishes and he gets his PT but if not we work on his game and get him to where we want him before sending him out.

IMO athleticism is not something you can teach so he has that and if he is a willing learner he will become a very good to great player. With the 9th pick I'd much rather go that route if it is available to me rather than go with a senior because he will be 'NBA ready'. We are not in dire straights but we are a homerun from being a real contender so I'd rather swing for the fences with the 9th pick.

I agree with some of what you wrote however there is more uncertainty now than you care to acknowledge. Marion has to want to be here; at best he is a stop gap solution. My best bet is we sign and trade him to a team on the brink of contending or not contending. He only stays here if we overpay and at his age and also the economy it makes no sense... Delfino is okay but at best he shoots right around 40% from the field.... Bosh is thinking about walking that is a huge concern for this franchise, if he does we've pretty much lost every franchise player we've had that doesn't bode well in attracting FA's. AP is done...

I know its asking a lot but we need a Thaddeus Young-like pick now... I'm just not sure DeMar is that guy. First of all offense isn't our biggest problem it is without a doubt defense. That is the area that absolutely needs to be addressed this summer, forget bringing in high priced talent at the wing(we need it but its not attainable) I would much rather we draft a guy who has a defensive mindset at this point because I don't think the talent is that great overall. If we can come out with a guy who can play a bit of defense on the perimeter I think it will do more for us than drafting a project at the wing... Again just my opinion but there is nobody that i attainable in this draft that will wow you where we are slotted to pick. I usually wait for workouts to make assessments but I doubt HIGHLY Derozan is our guy at 9

[Anatomize]

Outside of athleticism what would he add to our roster?

I too would like to believe that he can just expand his game and become a great player at 9 for us I just don't see the same upside most of you see here.

He is an ok prospect in a very weak draft, that much is becoming more and more obvious as the draft nears. To me there are too many ifs attached to his name there isn't a player in the draft that doesn't have ifs but for what we are drafting him to do.... way too many ifs.

I doubt we pick him at 9 given the fragile state of this franchise.

Fragile to some, waiting in the weeds to others. IMO the future isn't bleak for us at all. I really do think that the last part of the season is what you can expect from this team next year and we have to build on that. Keep Bosh, keep Marion, keep the uptempo game and go. Since we are adding Delfino and could possibly bring back AP, drafting a guy like DeRozan with great potential makes sense because we wouldn't have to throw him in the fire right away. Of course if he is ready AP's role diminishes and he gets his PT but if not we work on his game and get him to where we want him before sending him out.

IMO athleticism is not something you can teach so he has that and if he is a willing learner he will become a very good to great player. With the 9th pick I'd much rather go that route if it is available to me rather than go with a senior because he will be 'NBA ready'. We are not in dire straights but we are a homerun from being a real contender so I'd rather swing for the fences with the 9th pick.

I agree with some of what you wrote however there is more uncertainty now than you care to acknowledge. Marion has to want to be here; at best he is a stop gap solution. My best bet is we sign and trade him to a team on the brink of contending or not contending. He only stays here if we overpay and at his age and also the economy it makes no sense... Delfino is okay but at best he shoots right around 40% from the field.... Bosh is thinking about walking that is a huge concern for this franchise, if he does we've pretty much lost every franchise player we've had that doesn't bode well in attracting FA's. AP is done...

I know its asking a lot but we need a Thaddeus Young-like pick now... I'm just not sure DeMar is that guy. First of all offense isn't our biggest problem it is without a doubt defense. That is the area that absolutely needs to be addressed this summer, forget bringing in high priced talent at the wing(we need it but its not attainable) I would much rather we draft a guy who has a defensive mindset at this point because I don't think the talent is that great overall. If we can come out with a guy who can play a bit of defense on the perimeter I think it will do more for us than drafting a project at the wing... Again just my opinion but there is nobody that i attainable in this draft that will wow you where we are slotted to pick. I usually wait for workouts to make assessments but I doubt HIGHLY Derozan is our guy at 9

Terrence Williams pretty much fits what you ask for perfectly. People here don't want to draft him at #9, but if we acquire a 2nd pick in the draft, I would be enamored with grabbing him, he would most definitely help us defensively. We need a ball hawk, and also a guy with a lot of heart and determination, this would be one.

[Dennis P]

Fragile to some, waiting in the weeds to others. IMO the future isn't bleak for us at all. I really do think that the last part of the season is what you can expect from this team next year and we have to build on that. Keep Bosh, keep Marion, keep the uptempo game and go. Since we are adding Delfino and could possibly bring back AP, drafting a guy like DeRozan with great potential makes sense because we wouldn't have to throw him in the fire right away. Of course if he is ready AP's role diminishes and he gets his PT but if not we work on his game and get him to where we want him before sending him out.

IMO athleticism is not something you can teach so he has that and if he is a willing learner he will become a very good to great player. With the 9th pick I'd much rather go that route if it is available to me rather than go with a senior because he will be 'NBA ready'. We are not in dire straights but we are a homerun from being a real contender so I'd rather swing for the fences with the 9th pick.

I agree with some of what you wrote however there is more uncertainty now than you care to acknowledge. Marion has to want to be here; at best he is a stop gap solution. My best bet is we sign and trade him to a team on the brink of contending or not contending. He only stays here if we overpay and at his age and also the economy it makes no sense... Delfino is okay but at best he shoots right around 40% from the field.... Bosh is thinking about walking that is a huge concern for this franchise, if he does we've pretty much lost every franchise player we've had that doesn't bode well in attracting FA's. AP is done...

I know its asking a lot but we need a Thaddeus Young-like pick now... I'm just not sure DeMar is that guy. First of all offense isn't our biggest problem it is without a doubt defense. That is the area that absolutely needs to be addressed this summer, forget bringing in high priced talent at the wing(we need it but its not attainable) I would much rather we draft a guy who has a defensive mindset at this point because I don't think the talent is that great overall. If we can come out with a guy who can play a bit of defense on the perimeter I think it will do more for us than drafting a project at the wing... Again just my opinion but there is nobody that i attainable in this draft that will wow you where we are slotted to pick. I usually wait for workouts to make assessments but I doubt HIGHLY Derozan is our guy at 9

Terrence Williams pretty much fits what you ask for perfectly. People here don't want to draft him at #9, but if we acquire a 2nd pick in the draft, I would be enamored with grabbing him, he would most definitely help us defensively. We need a ball hawk, and also a guy with a lot of heart and determination, this would be one.

I like him too just not at 9 if we could get him at 17-20 I would LOVE that. I doubt we do though..

[basketball royalty]

Personally I do think that Delfino will be more than adequate as a starting 2 guard for this team. I felt he would have doe a great job this season had he not gone to Russia.

I think it is very important to keep Marion here if we are to keep Bosh and not start all over an d rebuild. He is the perfect compliment to our frontcourt and is still a ways away from a rocking chair unlike most of you seem to want to believe.

That being said, DeRozan if available is my pick at 9 because I believe he has the best potential and would be able to be brought about slowly. We no longer have SMitch out there where DeRozan would be left to sink or swim without being taught first. We should only give him minutes he can handle and make sure he is developing the way we want in practice.

That philosophy would apply to any rookie we draft, even Harden who is the only SG I would draft ahead of DD. I think we have to remember that like it or not Kapono will have some minutes coming to him and if his role is limited, they could be quality minutes. We also should be looking at resigning one of either AP or Joey as well. IMO if we get someone like DD who may be a bit more raw we have to keep AP. If we get more NBA ready guy like Harden we should keep Joey. Eitherway, quality minutes should not be expected by whomever we draft so I would go with the guy that could have potential to be an allstar rather than get a guy to fill a role.

[basketball royalty]

Terrence Williams pretty much fits what you ask for perfectly. People here don't want to draft him at #9, but if we acquire a 2nd pick in the draft, I would be enamored with grabbing him, he would most definitely help us defensively. We need a ball hawk, and also a guy with a lot of heart and determination, this would be one.

I like him too just not at 9 if we could get him at 17-20 I would LOVE that. I doubt we do though..

My personal draft board consists of 4 guys:

1. Harden
2. DeRozan
3. Evans
4. TWill

I don't expect to get Harden without trading up. I am hoping DD will be there at 9. If he isn't I wouldn't pass on Evans if he were available. After those 3 I think I would look to trading down and getting TWill later in on.

[Dennis P]

Personally I do think that Delfino will be more than adequate as a starting 2 guard for this team. I felt he would have doe a great job this season had he not gone to Russia.

I think it is very important to keep Marion here if we are to keep Bosh and not start all over an d rebuild. He is the perfect compliment to our frontcourt and is still a ways away from a rocking chair unlike most of you seem to want to believe.

That being said, DeRozan if available is my pick at 9 because I believe he has the best potential and would be able to be brought about slowly. We no longer have SMitch out there where DeRozan would be left to sink or swim without being taught first. We should only give him minutes he can handle and make sure he is developing the way we want in practice.

That philosophy would apply to any rookie we draft, even Harden who is the only SG I would draft ahead of DD. I think we have to remember that like it or not Kapono will have some minutes coming to him and if his role is limited, they could be quality minutes. We also should be looking at resigning one of either AP or Joey as well. IMO if we get someone like DD who may be a bit more raw we have to keep AP. If we get more NBA ready guy like Harden we should keep Joey. Eitherway, quality minutes should not be expected by whomever we draft so I would go with the guy that could have potential to be an allstar rather than get a guy to fill a role.

How do we keep Marion? at what price? How long is his deal?

What do you see in Derozan that suggests he will be an allstar someday? How much of a project is he? Is he a good fit at the 2? a SG that can't shoot and has no NBA handles?

Overall you're just presenting ideas with no foundation or substance... Why do we need to keep Joey(and I HIGHLY doubt that happens) if we draft Harden?

[Dennis P]

Terrence Williams pretty much fits what you ask for perfectly. People here don't want to draft him at #9, but if we acquire a 2nd pick in the draft, I would be enamored with grabbing him, he would most definitely help us defensively. We need a ball hawk, and also a guy with a lot of heart and determination, this would be one.

I like him too just not at 9 if we could get him at 17-20 I would LOVE that. I doubt we do though..

My personal draft board consists of 4 guys:

1. Harden
2. DeRozan
3. Evans
4. TWill

I don't expect to get Harden without trading up. I am hoping DD will be there at 9. If he isn't I wouldn't pass on Evans if he were available. After those 3 I think I would look to trading down and getting TWill later in on.

Harden is about the only guy I think can have an immediate impact on this team. I'm not a huge fan of Evans or Derozan.... I think Williams at 9 is WAY too high. Its going to be a really tough draft for us IMO if we don'r move up somehow...