2011 NBA Draft: Chad Ford Mocks Jan Vesely to the Raptors...Again

For the second straight mock draft, Chad Ford has mocked Jan Vesely to the Toronto Raptors.

Now before we all get up in arms and swear off Chad Ford as a trusted insider, let's read the totality of his comments regarding his mocked selection for the Raptors.

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“Bryan Colangelo could go a number of ways here. He has strong interest in both Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker. If Knight’s on the board, I don’t think he gets passed on here. If Walker’s here the question for Colangelo is what to do with Leandro Barbosa and Jerryd Bayless. Both players are similar to Walker.
He could go with an international player, such as Valanciunas, Vesely or Bismack Biyombo. Of the three, sources say, Vesely is the highest on their board. He provides size and athleticism at the small forward position. The other dark horse here is Kawhi Leonard.”

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Ford has admitted that PG is atop their wish list, but contends that Walker may be too similar to Barbosa and Bayless.

Now on to Vesely.

Over the past week, we have learned that Jan Vesely does not actually have the shooting touch that some have reported.

He knocked down 40 percent of his three point attempts this season, but he attempted only 30, meaning he drained only 12.

We have also learned that Vesely put up 18 points and five rebounds in front of Bryan Colangelo and others during the final game of the championship for Partizan.

Furthermore, according to the Utah Jazz website, Vesely managed to average 19 and five over the last four games of the season.

All indications say that Vesely’s only future in the NBA will be at the small forward position, as he has a very limited post game and a stereotypical European lack of rebounding skill.

Luckily, unlike Bargnani, who was also tried at the three, Vesely reportedly has the lateral quickness and defensive ability to guard threes in the NBA.

He is also a terrible free throw shooter and a poor defensive rebounder, but is someone who excels in transition and on the offensive glass.

Vesely is an intriguing, high energy, high emotion player but is not the right pick for the Raptors at No. 5 overall.

Toronto Raptors Big Board

Enes Kanter
Brandon Knight
Kemba Walker
Jan Vesely
Kawhi Leonard
Jonas Valanciunas
Bismack Biyombo

To read our prior analysis of Vesely, click here.

You can find this article and other off-season Raptors talk at Raptors Digest.