Please don't screw up

Last year a brother got philosophical on the NBA draft. Boy was I wrong on that Villenueva pick by the Raptors but hey at least I didn't go off like Stephen A Smith when the Raptors made that pick. Villenueva really worked to disprove the naysayers, myself included, and came second in the rookie of the year balloting which isn't bad for a number 7 pick. So yea last year that #7 pick worked out for the Raptors although it doesn't make up for past draft failures like Araujo, Michael Bradley and Aleksandar Radojevic.

But this year the Toronto Raptors have the number 1 pick tomorrow! Why couldn't this have happened the year Lebron was available? Oh well cant complain #1 is #1 right? Well not exactly especially this year where there are no franchise players or no consensus pick for the top spot.

What should we expect? I'm not sure I'm just begging that they don't mess up. Yea mess up in a Kwame Brown, Michael Olawakandi type of number 1 pick mess up because oh man I really don't think this franchise or this city can handle another big let down.

Still there is room for optimism. New year, new general manager, Bryan Colangelo. Dude came into town with a big rep for making power moves. A new more capable general manager, an anti-Babcock(our former GM). Colangelo had remade Phoenix into an NBA powerhouse and given his first two trades in Toronto its looking promising. Got to give props to anyone who can trade Araujo after all. So yea I live in hope as a Raptors fan that I wont be embarrassed on draft day or soon after as our pick again becomes a bust.

Now on to the fun stuff........ Jdid's predictions also known as what the Raptors will do the opposite of.

Seems like the Raptors are really big on this Italian fellow Bargnani, supposedly the next Dirk Nowitzski. Its been all Bargnani this and Bargnani that since the announcement of us getting the top pick so its highly likely we'll draft him although he's a power forward and oh in Bosh and Villenueva we already have two of the top young PFs in the league. Hmmm do I smell a trade in the winds.

Look far be it for me to say that Bargnani wont be a good pick but..... lets look at the young European cats who have come into the league in the past decade or so. Only three of them Nowitzski, Gasol and Parker have actually become stars in the league. Ok my bad four if you count Peja but still the odds are kind of high that a European dude who has been hyped like there is no tomorrow will be a bust. Can you say Darko Milicic? Can you say Nikoloz Tskitishvili? No? Well actually I cant either but yea Tski whatever his name is was supposed to be a superstar too and how many of y'all have heard of him now after over 3 years in the league. Yea exactly!

Do you really want to take this Bargnani guy with the number one pick? Maybe if we trade down but number 1? Come on now.

So what are the other choices? Well if we keep number 1 I say it comes down to Rudy Gay vs LaMarcus Aldridge. If Aldridge can turn into a bonafied centre I'm all for it but from reports he seems like Chris Bosh lite so ummm yep you heard it here first I'm going with Rudy Gay. That's the officially Jdid number 1 pick if I was Raptors GM.

Yep Gay had a Villenueva type college year of underachieving at Uconn this year so his stock has dropped but dude is 6-9 and can shoot, defend and slash. Upside baby upside! Plus we had so much success with Villenueva that its made me a believer in Uconn players. Actually Uconn is getting a Carolina style rep for the players its producing. Quality players; Ray Allan, Richard Hamilton, Okafor, Ben Gordon and if we pretend that Khalid El-Amin never happened its like they never had a draft bust.

So there you have it. Rudy Gay NBA number 1 pick by the Raptors tomorrow if Jdid was GM.

Of course now that I've said it and endorsed it it just wont happen so all I can ask the Raptors is please don't embarrass me with your pick tomorrow.