2012 NBA Draft

[Matt]

Raptors reportedly looking to trade their #8 pick

Toronto Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo is actively looking to trade his number eight selection in the 2012 NBA Draft for an "established, athletic wing man," according to a report.

An ESPN report indicates that Colangelo has begun talks with multiple teams in order to find a trading partner for his lottery selection. Among the players that Colangelo reportedly has interest in are Memphis Grizzlies swingman Rudy Gay and the Philadelphia 76ers'Andre Iguodala
.

What remains to be seen is what other pieces Colangelo will package with his lottery pick. Sources say point guard

Jose Calderon

and his expiring contract, along with young forward

Ed Davis

may be two of the pieces that could be available.
Colangelo indicated at the end of the season that he was willing to explore different avenues in order to make the team better, but wouldn't say specifically if that meant shopping his top-ten pick for a more established scorer.

Colangelo is entering the final year of his contract and indicated that in order to help his coaching staff move forward, it may be time to unload some of his younger assets for more proven talent.

Recent moves have allowed the Raptors to free up about $10 million in cap space heading into the off-season and Colangelo indicated the cap room has enabled the team to explore multiple roster options.

With Andrea Bargnani , Davis, Amir Johnson and the incoming Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors have stockpiled frontcourt players and may look to unload one of Bargnani, Davis or Johnson in order to strengthen themselves at other positions.

Davis' rookie contract may make him the most likely candidate since Bargnani and Johnson are both locked into long term deals through 2015.

If Colangelo decides to keep the pick, sources say the Raptors would lean towards Syracuse's Dion Waiters , UConn's Jeremy Lamb and Weber State's Damian Lillard
.

Several recent reports said that the Raptors plan to make a push for Phoenix Suns free agent point guard Steve Nash , who was recently named general manager of Canada's senior national team.

[Rudi]

Combine Notes from CBS Sports

CHICAGO - Jeremy Lamb and Bradley Beal sat watching their fellow shooting guards. Thomas Robinson leaned forward, itching to get a chance to go against the other power forwards.

But such is life at the NBA Combine -- where the elite players aren't allowed to play at the request of their agents.

Future number one overall pick Anthony Davis sat it out -- even though he doesn't even have an agent yet. Davis, Beal, Lamb and Robinson were joined by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Austin Rivers, Dion Waiters, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond and, yes, even Arnett Moultrie, as those who decided to sit out this year's NBA Combine.

Arnett Moultrie? Seriously.

That meant guys like Larry Bird, Sam Presti, Danny Ainge, Mitch Kupchak and other NBA general managers were forced to watch the next tier of prospects for four hours on day one at the UIC campus on Thursday.

They saw Damian Lillard put on a dead-eye shooting clinic. They saw big man Meyers Leonard dominate and show why he shouldn't slip out of the top 10 pick come June 28. They saw skilled Canadian Andrew Nicholson display an offensive arsenal that made Bird proud.

But they didn't see most of the guys that will shake David Stern's hand early on June 28.

And even for the players they did watch, it wasn't an easy assessment. Most of the action wasn't live game action or even head-to-head battles. The majority was drills.

"If you've seen pre-game warmups or halftime, that's basically what this is," one high-ranking NBA executive told me. "Structured pre-game warmups."

OK, that may be harsh. But there wasn't a ton to be gained from the NBA Combine in terms of legit evaluation.

The real value comes in the measurements, testing and interviews. The numbers won't officially be released until Friday, but there was plenty of good news for several players. Beal checked in at 6-foot-4 1/2 with shoes, Sullinger stood at 6-foot-9, Robinson and Royce White at 6-foot-8 and Rivers at 6-foot-5. Drummond was 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan. Henson's wingspan was 7-5.

The interviews began on Wednesday night and continued following the on-court action Thursday -- around 3 p.m.

Lamb said he was tied up with 30-minute interview sessions from 3 until 9 p.m. Drummond walked to his room at 5:30 with three in the books and two remaining. Some guys had eight interviews scheduled. Beal even spent 30 minutes with the Boston Celtics, a team that holds two picks in the early 20s.

There were crazy questions. Robbie Hummel was asked by one team who, in his opinion, was the worst player at the Combine. Drummond was asked to diagram a UConn play. John Henson was posed the question what he thought he'd average in 11 minutes on this year's team.

I won't give you Hummel's answer, but Drummond succeeded and Henson's response was four points and three rebounds.

The NBA Combine is much like the one run by the NFL in that it's nearly impossible to get the top players to participate. It's high-risk, no-reward. However, Beal and Lamb would have excelled in this setting where the guards spent the majority of their time in shooting drills.

Then again, what would that have proven? We know Beal and Lamb can shoot the ball, anyway.

Well, at least most of us know that. If an NBA general manager is putting a significant stock in the NBA Combine -- or even a workout for that matter -- he probably isn't going to be successful. The scouting has been done over the course of the season, as is the case with guys like Beal and MKG. Or for the past two years with a guy like Barnes.

It would be nice to see the NBA attempt to make the event more competitive, structure it in a way where we see more two-on-two or three-on-three rather than shooting drills.

But I still love it. Any basketball fan does.

It's fun to watch Lillard drain NBA 3-pointers with ease, to see Hummel move freely without a knee brace - and to see Kendall Marshall back on the court following the wrist injury that kept him out of the NCAA tournament.

Perry Jones III and Henson didn't back out (well, their agents didn't back out) and both showed well. Leonard, a legit 7-footer whose toughness has been questioned, was a beast. Moe Harkless and Terrence Ross' stock continued to rise with strong shooting displays. Quincy Miller struggled. So did Tony Wroten and Kevin Jones.

Lillard, the Weber State star, proved he belonged with the big boys.

"Everyone knew I could shoot," he said. "But I wanted to show it. I didn't want to people to think I'm scared."

"I just wanted to get the experience," added Perry Jones III. "It's a once in a lifetime thing."

T-Rob was rocking back and forth in his chair underneath the baseline, chomping to get on the court. Beal was locked in as well -- and you can bet Rivers didn't want to be a bystander, either.

But go downstairs to the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Chicago. Just watch. No one is more in demand and has more power than the agents right now.

The NBA doesn't make the NBA combine. Guys like Jeff Schwartz, Jeffrey Wechsler, Mark Bartelstein and David Falk do.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/19293063/nba-draft-combine-withdrawals-and-standouts

[Rudi]

lol at this.

The Trail Blazers were one of "many teams" who were disappointed with Connecticut SG Jeremy Lamb's pre-draft workouts.

Lamb acknowledged that teams want to see his "motor" and whether he can stand up to NBA contact, and he didn't help himself by failing to shoot well during drills. Another strike against him for Portland came during a media interview -- when asked whether he knew "anything about" the Blazers, he struggled to name LaMarcus Aldridge, then said he knew of "the light-skinned dude," who turned out to be Nicolas Batum.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=NBA

[EmpireWF]

While hilarious, can you blame the guy? Portland traded the majority of their team away within the past few months.

Charlotte is deciding between Robinson and Kidd-Gilchrist for the #2 pick, or they may just move it.

[BiggaAdams]

We traded Camby and g wall. He should know about potential teams he's trying to get drafted by. Hard to sell yourself when you say you can play alongside that tall black guy and the light skinned dude

[Sportsbuck]

While hilarious, can you blame the guy? Portland traded the majority of their team away within the past few months.

Charlotte is deciding between Robinson and Kidd-Gilchrist for the #2 pick, or they may just move it.

Honestly, I hope we move it and acquire some more youth/draft picks.

I'm very high on Damian Lillard, shame we already drafted Kemba last year. I think Lillard is going to be a star in the NBA.

[Kuzzy Powers]

Jeremy Lamb is dumb as bricks. Every fan of a potential team drafting him should have the :dontwant: face right now.

[Kuzzy Powers]

Honestly, I hope we move it and acquire some more youth/draft picks.

I'm very high on Damian Lillard, shame we already drafted Kemba last year. I think Lillard is going to be a star in the NBA.

IMO it would be a mistake for the Bobcats not to take MKG.

[Rudi]

IMO it would be a mistake for the Bobcats not to take MKG.

They're rumored to be trying to trade that pick in a deal for Rudy Gay. Doubt it happens tho.

[SuperKevin]

I want the Wizards to get Thomas Robinson in the worst way. Local guy who wants to play in DC. Provides toughness in the paint and will be perfect running the pick and roll with John Wall

[EmpireWF]

They're rumored to be trying to trade that pick in a deal for Rudy Gay. Doubt it happens tho.

Sounds like half the league is interested in Gay but apparently, Memphis won't deal him.

[Cody]

Do you guys think Barnes would go to Cleveland?

I would rather have Beal, but there are just so many connections and Kyrie is going to be the main one pushing for Barnes imo.

[Kuzzy Powers]

There is a whole slew of lottery picks that I want no part of in this draft. Barnes, Robinson, Drummond, Lamb, Rivers are all potential lottery picks that I would not want my team to take a shot with.

[ralaw]

People hate on Barnes, but IMO he's going to be a solid NBA player. I don't think he'll be a star, but I can see him being a solid role player. IMO a team drafting him is taking little risk. Assuming the team that drafts him has a good PG from day 1 he will be able to score from catching and shooting and he'll defend. The only thing that concerns me about Barnes is that he losses confidence easily. I think he'll develop some ball handling skills.

I wouldn't touch Lamb and Drummond makes me nervous. Beal and Rivers are meh. MKG will contribute, but he needs a lot of development. IMO Robinson will be a quality big, but he has a low ceiling.

[A Tasty Burgerr]

I am really looking forward to the Bucks pick. There's three guys I see come up in almost every mock for them. I'd be happy with Meyers Leonard, then it seems Zeller comes up quite often, and I'd be alright with him.

I am very scared of Perry Jones though. He has said he would be happy playing with Milwaukee which is rare for any high-profile pick, but imo his risk is way too high to justify the potential reward, however great it may be. After Yi Jianlian and Joe Alexander recently I can't take another one of those for a few years...