User-Ränge » most fantasy leagues. Fisher: Cecil

BROOKLYN - It was widely expected to be one of the more unpredictable drafts in recent memory, but in the end it was Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors that raised the most eyebrows. For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Then came the announcement. "With the 20th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Bruno Caboclo from Sao Paulo, Brazil," first-year commissioner Adam Silver proclaimed with a confused look on his face as the basketball world raced to their internet browsers and Google apps. Who was this Brazilian mystery man? The grainy clip of him shown on the broadcast appeared to be shot from a cell phone. A web search produced a few brief videos, little more. The bio distributed by the Raptors came courtesy of Eurobasket and listed his weight as "n/a". "Theres probably three or four teams that knew about him," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters in Toronto shortly after the selection. Seven days ago Casey was in the same boat. He knew very little about the player that would eventually become his newest 6-foot-9, 205-pound small forward. "I hadnt seen him, didnt know who he was but I was totally impressed when I saw him," said Casey, who accompanied Ujiri on a scouting trip to Houston where they watched Caboclo workout and met with him a week ago. Caboclo had been on Ujiris radar for some time. The Raptors general manager made three trips to see the young Brazilian forward play throughout the season, and he had to be "stealth" about it. In this day and age it seems impossible that such a talent could exist, anywhere in the world, without every team and every scout knowing about him, right? It also seemed impossible that for once, in this age of social media, a pick was not broken on Twitter five minutes before it was made. But thats Ujiri. Thats how he does business, quietly. Expecting to use the 37th pick of the draft, Ujiri promised Caboclo the Raptors would select him months ago and as a result, the forward declined to workout for NBA teams. True to form, Ujiri was not following along with mock drafts, he was not the least bit concerned about how such a pick would be received. He saw something in Caboclo. "Hes a talent," Ujiri said of the 18-year-old and youngest player available in this draft. "I think at the end of the day we will be happy we picked him." Caboclo was not Ujiris primary target. As expected, the Raptors were after Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis, hoping he would fall to them while also trying desperately to trade up for him. Ideally, Toronto had hoped to select Ennis with pick no. 20 and snag Caboclo early in the second-round with pick no. 37. But the plan changed, as they often do on draft night, when the Phoenix Suns took Ennis at 18, two picks ahead of the Raptors. "We decided we lost one," Ujiri said. "Were not going to lose the second one. We jumped on it." The Raptors were fearful that Caboclo, second on their board, wouldnt make it back to them. A couple teams that had intel on the Brazilian and were believed to be interested - Phoenix and Utah - had picks ahead of Toronto and after missing out on a similar prodigy in Greek freak Giannis Antetokounmpo a year ago, Ujiri was not going to let this target get away. The allure, despite the lack of available information, is not a surprise given the rare gifts possessed by the long and athletic Caboclo. The first thing that jumps out watching short clips of the newest Raptor is his 7-foot-7 wingspan. "Bruno is an athletic phenomenon," Casey said. "At [pick no.] 20, you cant go out and get a perfect player but this young man has a chance to hit it big. Hes raw but hes going to be a guy thats going to develop in our program and grow and do a lot of things for us. Defensively hes long, he covers a lot of ground down [and] blocks shots with his length." He passed Caseys eye test immediately and the Raptors coach is confident hell turn heads once he heads north, calling him one of the most athletic players in the draft. "I know a lot of people dont know about him. Were excited to get him. Hes going to be a guy thats going to grow with our program and no one is going to be disappointed once this guy is developed and hits his peak because hes one of those guys that has a chance to hit it big as far as his potential is concerned." After a return to the playoffs last season, the Raptors have the luxury of bringing Caboclo along slowly, allowing him to learn in practice and on the bench, without the pressure of having to produce at a high level in his rookie campaign. Among other things, hell need to get bigger and stronger, hell need to get comfortable with the NBA game and his familiarity with the language will also be a work in progress. Upon meeting the 18-year-old Brazilian, Casey asked him who his favourite player is, to which Caboclo responded, "Kevin Durant". "Can you guard Kevin Durant," Casey asked and without hesitation the young man replied, "yes". Casey was impressed with his willingness and ability to learn on fly, a quality that should serve him well when he does join his new team. "Hes a smart young man, his basketball IQ is high," said the Raptors coach. "He knows how to play, has a great feel for the game. Hes going to be a clean slate as far as a guy to work with." Caboclo spent draft night in New York getting his visa sorted out before he makes a quick trip to Toronto over the weekend, where hell be introduced following a workout at the ACC on Saturday. Next week hell meet up with some of his new teammates and coaches in Los Angeles and is expected to participate in Summer League with the Raptors next month. Although theres no telling what role hell have with the team or to what extent hes able to produce right away, Caboclo will be a member of the Raptors this coming season. The Raptors were able to add a more seasoned player with the 37th pick in forward DeAndre Daniels, a proven winner and member of the reining National Champion UConn Huskies. Daniels, 22, averaged 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds with Connecticut last season. "Hes a good athlete also," Casey said of Daniels. "Hes a guy thats going to go through our Summer League program and well see where he is but I was impressed with his workout." Toronto selected Xavier Thames of San Diego State with the 59th overall pick, quickly trading him to the Brooklyn Nets for cash considerations. Cheap Devils Jerseys . -- Phil Mickelson came to the St. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- Augusta James of Bath, Ont. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/.The Toronto Raptors guard, who will represent the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Sunday, says he doesnt complain in the face of adversity "because I know this little girl is just happy for anything. Cheap Devils Jerseys China . With Bernard hurt, the second-round pick has emerged.Hill ran for 152 yards during a 27-10 win at New Orleans on Sunday, his second big game. He also ran for 154 yards against Jacksonville earlier this season. Cheap New Jersey Devils Jerseys . Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier.Each week, TSN.ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen and NFL Editors Ben Fisher and Mitch Ward discuss three hot fantasy football topics. 1) Was Week 5 TY Hiltons coming out party, or is he still just a low-end WR2/flex play? Cullen: I like Hilton quite a bit, but even though I think his Week 5 performance helps to clarify that hes ahead of Darrius Heyward-Bey in the Colts wide receiver plans, Hilton hasnt done it consistently enough to be more than a low-end No. 2 or Flex receiver. He has gone over 100 yards twice this season, and those games are great, but Hilton has 78 yards total in the other three games and its risky to have a starting wide receiver who has that kind of downside. Fisher: Hilton started the year as nothing more than a flex play as he was behind Darrius Heyward-Bey on the Colts depth chart. But we all knew that wouldnt last long, and now that hes surpassed DHB his weekly totals are more indicative of the type of receiver he is. Hilton is going to have a great career in Indy playing with Andrew Luck but hes still splitting targets with Reggie Wayne this year. There are too many stud receivers more consistent than Hilton to consider him a WR1; I like the sophomore pass catcher more as a solid WR2 for the rest of the year. Ward: Hilton has tremendous potential and is going to have plenty more days like the 140-yard, two touchdown one he had in Week 5 playing alongside Andrew Luck in Indy. However, he just isnt going to be consistent enough to be considered a WR1 at this point in his career. For now, he is a hit or miss WR2 capable of going off for huge numbers, but equally as capable of being held to only a few. 2) Is Cam Newton worth hanging on to after his slow start? Cullen: After a Week 3 performance against the New York Giants, in which he counted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing), Newton was off to a good start -- his 18.7 Fantasy points per game at that point would rank eighth right now -- but coming off a bye week, Newton laid an egg in Arizona, dropping his numbers. Such is the fluctuation in value this early in the season. Anyway, I say ride with Newton because his next four opponents -- Minnesota, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Atlanta -- are a combined 4-14, so if Newton cant produce against that opposition, it will be readily apparent at that point what the answer should be to this question. Fisher: Nope. Too many times we hold on to players projected to play better and all they do is burn a spot on our bench. The Panthers have been a mess thiss year and its hard to see them improving too much while the owner may or may not be conducting a preliminary search to replace head coach Ron Rivera.dddddddddddd If you have the space on your bench then hold on to Newton he finds his game this year, but the third-year QB has barely outscored a number of QBs that find themselves on the waiver wire each week. Ward: Yes. Newton has underperformed so far this season, but he has more talent and upside than the QBs likely to be sitting on the waiver wire you might replace him with. He also has some pretty juicy matchups in the coming weeks that could be just what the doctor ordered to get his season back on track. Dont give up on him just yet. 3) Considering the teams shaky QB situation, are either of the Jaguars top WRs worth a spot on your fantasy team? Cullen: Even with terrible quarterbacks, both Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon are worth owning. Shorts leads the league in targets (61) and his 82.2 receiving yards per game ranks 17th, which is enough to be a low-end No. 2 or Flex starter in most weeks. Blackmon has only played one game, after missing the first four due to suspension, but he still had five catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. One thing about losing -- and the Jaguars will lose a lot this season -- is that teams have to throw the ball in an attempt to cut into the deficit. That means plenty of looks for both Shorts and Blackmon and enough value to be owned in most fantasy leagues. Fisher: Cecil Shorts has quietly put up a top 25 WR performance in most scoring formats through five weeks. That might not continue however as Shorts should surrender targets to Justin Blackmon moving forward, regardless whos throwing the ball. Blackmon however could be worth starting after his impressive 2013 debut last week. He had five catches for 136 yards and a touchdown, finishing in the top 10 among receivers. You cant expect a touchdown from Blackmon every week – the Jaguars are terrible – but if he keeps out of trouble the young wideout should perform as a strong WR2. Ward: Yes to both Shorts and Blackmon. I am particularly high on Blackmon who showed exactly how good he can be in his first game of the year with 136 yards and a score. While the QB situation in Jacksonville is iffy at best, the Jags will pretty much always be trailing this season and be forced to throw a lot of passes. This means lots of opportunity for both Blackmon and Shorts. The team might be awful, but these two can help your fantasy roster. ' ' '