<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>What did the Raptors pre-draft workouts yesterday at the Air Canada Centre have in common with a broken TV set? No shows. A pair of highly-touted, draft-eligible players failed to make it to the Adidas practice court at the ACC to work out for the Raptors braintrust. The Raptors originally were scheduled to work out 6-foot-8 French small forward Nicolas Batum, who is projected to go mid-way to late in the first round in next Thursday's draft. The Raptors select 17th and there have been suggestions that the athletic, defensive-minded Batum could be on their radar. But while the 20-year-old Frenchman did actually make it to Toronto, and underwent a physical with team doctors on Wednesday, he didn't make it to the ACC. "He's in town, he took the physical but wasn't feeling good (yesterday), so he didn't work out," said Jim Kelly, the Raptors director of player personnel. "But we would like to try to get him back." Kelly wouldn't elaborate on what Batum's affliction was, but said that the Raptors did scout him at a multi-player workout in Oakland last Saturday and have a pretty good idea of what he can do. "You never see enough of them, you always want to see more, but we do have a background on him. We followed him for a number of years, and we saw him in a work- out, but it's always better to have him in your own gym," Kelly said. The Raptors also were hoping to work out 7-foot power forward JaVale McGee, but, according to Kelly, the Nevada star couldn't make it to Toronto because of passport issues, although there have been reports that his mother will not allow her son to work out for teams that pick lower than 12th in the draft. The Raptors did work out a pair of probable mid-first-round picks, Syracuse star Donte Greene, a very athletic combo forward, and 7-foot-2 centre Roy Hibbert from Georgetown; as well as two Americans, forward Joe Jones of Texas A&M and 7-foot centre James Tyler, who played with the Halifax Rainmen this past season; and two Canadians, Loyola forward Mike Tuck and Northern Arizona forward Kyle Landry. Greene, who took a lot of heat from Orangemen fans for leaving Syracuse after his freshman year, could go as high as 10th in the draft, but is not taking anything for granted and has yet to turn down a workout with any NBA team.</div> The Toronto Sun
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Roy Hibbert knows that just over a year ago, most mock drafts had him as a top-10 pick and now have slotted him to go late first, early second round. But, if Hibbert, a 7-foot-2, 270 pound behemoth out of Georgetown, regrets returning to the Hoyas for his senior season, he did a pretty good job convincing the media horde otherwise yesterday at the Air Canada Centre. Hibbert's stock was at an all-time high in April 2007, after he followed a strong junior season by leading Georgetown to the Final Four. Though his team fell to future No. 1 Greg Oden and Ohio State, Hibbert outscored Oden 19-13 in the game and appeared to be a lottery lock. Then, Hibbert did the unexpected by pulling out of the draft. Unexpected, but yet correct, said Hibbert. "If I went last year, I wasn't mentally and physically ready for what happens in the NBA," Hibbert said. "I was 20 years old. I would have been on the bench. (Now) I think I'm one year older a little bit smarter and stronger and I think I can hold (my own) when I go out there." Hibbert's stock has dropped because his play didn't noticeably improve as a senior and because scouts question his ability to play in an up-tempo system, like Toronto's, and his conditioning. The latter doesn't seem to be a problem, because the noticeably leaner Hibbert has been following a gruelling workout schedule. Raptors director of player personnel, Jim Kelly, said Hibbert is like most players in the mid-to-nether-regions of this draft: Strong in some areas, but not without a few blemishes.</div> The Toronto Sun
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>As the stakes are raised in the final week before the NBA draft, so, too, is the level of frustration among some talent evaluators.Players inexplicably cancel workouts, perhaps listening to promises – real or imagined – and the players who do arrive are tired, worn out and often bothered by nagging injuries. The Raptors are feeling the effects of all of those factors, which becomes even more troubling considering there are several other issues in play that could have an impact on who they draft. "(Thursday) we brought in big (7-foot-3 Georgetown centre Roy) Hibbert, and we also brought in (Syracuse's Donte) Greene at a wing and we're still not sure what direction we're going to go," said Jim Kelly, Toronto's director of player personnel. Do they go big? Do they go small? Do the persistent trade talks general manager Bryan Colangelo is having play a role? Are those trades about divesting themselves of the pick or acquiring another? "We're trying (to work on simultaneous transactions). It's a possibility it could come but it doesn't mean it's going to happen," said Kelly. So they are left with a handful of possibilities to still sift through. "I think our list is starting to narrow," said Kelly. The trouble is, though, the list may never be complete. It undoubtedly includes the likes of Greene and Hibbert, Robin Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brandon Rush, who already worked out for the team, and a couple of others who might never work out privately for the Raptors.</div> The Toronto Star
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bigkallday @ Jun 21 2008, 09:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>raps wont select anyone at 17th, raps will trade 17 and TJ for Boris DIAW!!!</div> no they better not cause if Rush or CDR are avl there, you take them and trade one of our other guards im sorry but Rush in Toronto will be the best thing to ever happen to me
