So…who should the Toronto Raptors select in the NBA 2024 Draft?
the eighth pick will be made by the San Antonio Spurs well that sucked look we’re not going to talk about this yes it sucks they lost the first rounder yes even in a weak draft but the Toronto Raptors still do have two picks in the 2024 draft that we can talk about well this class has been considered weak throughout the year it’s weak in the same way that say the 2013 draft class was weak if you looking for a franchise player at the top of the draft you probably won’t find her or at least the best player in the draft won’t be the obvious election if they were they would have gone first if you’re looking for depth someone to fill out the roster around your core pieces then there’s a lot of interesting players that could be Dawning whatever reran the Raptors are looking to unveil next season and while it isn’t fair to assume or have the expectations that the Raptors will land some all NBA caliber Talent with the 19th pick they received from the Pacers in the Pascal cakam trade it is worth noting that even the 2000 draft wiely considered the worst draft class in NBA history managed to eek out three all allar players granted they were all onetime Allstar and one of them is considered one of the worst Allstar of all time but to be fair that class did also pump out a shair of decent role players like Mike Miller and hedo turku and before anybody says anything yes he was bad for the Raptors no heo was not drafted by the Raptors so I’m still going to count it right now the Raptors have big holes in their bench not to mention the starting unit has some serious questions to answer sure we know that Scotty Barnes RJ Barrett Emanuel quickley and Nea purle are going to start but who’s playing play two through four there’s big holes in the forward and sender rotations pun not intended and the backup point guard is also a noteworthy hole that needs to be potentially filled in this draft given just how dire the Raptor’s bench has been for the past few seasons coming out of this draft just getting their own Mike Miller that effective role player who might not necessarily be a star but does what you need your Supporting Cast to do filling out the roster with those types of players is an important part of retooling this team’s roster arguably it’s just as important as getting the death pieces to support your franchise Star as it is to draft set star and the Raptors already gotten the hard part out of the way finding their next base of the franchise in Scotty Barnes with that in mind let’s go over some of the most likely candidates for them to draft at 19 the pullup players who are expected to be in that 15 to 25 range as plus some names who will probably pop up in the early 30s because as mentioned earlier the Raptors have two picks in this draft not just one these breakdowns for the individual players aren’t going to be super in-depth we’ve got a lot of names to go through and I am by no means a scouting expert and even then expert get it wrong all the time scouting is really hard so if any of these players sound interesting to you give them a look check out some of their film read a Scouting Report take a gander at some of their highlights on YouTube we’re not going in any particular order we’re not going to go by position just consider this a formal introduction to one of the players that could come out of the 2024 NBA draft as a Toronto Raptor we’ll go through the first rounders first in two sections the most likely available candidates and then the ones who would be considered a stretch for one reason reason or another they’re either a reach down in the draft from Toronto’s current position or candidates to drop from significantly higher than they were expected to go alakan Whitmer going to the rockets at 20 in the 2023 draft let’s get started with the most likely names shall we perfect answer to Kobe Johnson’s defense step back P Believe It or Not Isaiah ker was seen as a consensus top five pick in this Draft before a truly Topsy Turvy season took place a 6’5 guard built like an M4 Sherman K is equal heart Swift as he is strong whether it’s using his size for paint penetration or to create opportunities for his teammates he’s making his presence felt on that end of the floor on the other side look he’s got a lot of work to be done on defense he does have the size to be an impactful Defender at least in so much as he should be able to guard other guards he’s never going to be a one to four sort of guy but his engagement on that end was lacking more so in the first half of the Season than the second but that L half does come with the question of where was this effort before and are you going to keep this up it’s not like he was locking up guys at the point of attack anyway he can also be more indecisive than you like when the ball is in his hands while averaging more assists than he does turnovers so he is still a positive in that regard but does have some work to do on his General decision-making if there’s any maure criticisms to be had about his offensive game it’s that his shot simply doesn’t pass the eye test he doesn’t have a three ball and his three throw shooting and this is for a guard mind you is under 70% which is downright damning his inability to make his shots at the line really does undermine how great he is at attacking the rim he averaged nearly 6 three throws a game it’s hard to say how much of his shooting gos can be blamed on a hand injury that led to that aformentioned lopsided season and it is at least worth noting that he did shoot slightly better from both inside and out of the arc in high school Isaiah is far from the most polarizing Prospect in this draft we’ll get to Zak later but he certainly has one of the longer list in regards to questions around his ability to either be lead or backup guard at the one or the two probably the one because well shooting Wes watch the open floor look mcain is a machine another TR in contrast here’s one of the best Shooters in the entire class McCain’s mechanics matches his many makes 41% on nearly six attempts a night nearly 90% from the line everything suggests that Jared is going to be an absolute sniper from outside and he’s certainly capable of taking it to the rim when asked to the real question mark for him is whether he’ll be able to make use of that lofty scoring gravity he’ll bring because for as much as one can attribute his low assist numbers to his role in Duke’s offense he didn’t showcase much to suggest his playmaking upside is all that high for regard he’s got good rebounding chops he’s great as a health Defender who’s always playing with high energy it’s really that playmaking where there’s a major question mark mcain has very few red flags he’s a high floor admittedly low cealing selection who can contribute right away the player that he is they’re really good at what they do but beyond the questions about whether he can be that backup playmaker for when quickly sits or even if a back court with the two of them can hold up defensively due to just how small it would be they’re both basically 63 or under their game doesn’t exactly scream high ceiling like there’s another level to reach in a draft where even the lottery picks have their share of question marks McCain is an appealingly safe pick that you can very easily see in the Raptor’s rotation regardless of where inste rotation they’ll end up office P picked it back up Walter hanging in here and he scores it one of the best shot creators in college basketball last season jacobe Walter can put the ball on the floor into the basket and they get set on the other end of the floor to guard along the perimeter his three point production and general efficiency did dip as the season went on but this is one of those cases where the eye test will tell you what the stats don’t I.E the mechanics are not the reason why those shots didn’t go in he reminds me a lot of fellow bear Keon George from last year’s draft albeit Walter is nowhere near as explosive as Kon was and defensively Jacobi plays with a lot more tenacity than George did not to mention he boasts a much lengthier wingspan of 6’10 that said he’s in this range for a reason and besides the efficiency the question is whether or not he’s going to be able to make the most of his shock creation capabilities via his playmaking because his General decision making it does leave a little bit to be desired he hasn’t shown much in the way of cord vision and in being able to dish out assist with ease if jar McCain is the prospect that you’re comfortable sliding into a starting lineup or bench rotation then jacobe Walter is the one that you’re excited to see whether or not they can brush up on their ever important efficiency or deliver on their intriguing promise as a two-way wing with the ability to create shots for themselves or their teammates connect trying to get to the basket again blocks the most dominant player in college basketball for the past few years Zack G is built like no one else quite literally he is an enormous 7 Foot Center the man averaged a 20 point double double for the entire season this year and was an automatic Bucket from inside the ark who flashed some upside as a playmaker capable of catering his soring gravity to elevate his teammates when doubled he still turned the ball over more than he dished out dines but I digress Ed is probably the most divisive Prospect in this draft because a lot of what made him so effective in college basketball is what’s causing people to question his game and whether or not it’s going to be able to transition into the NBA where Senators like Nico yic and Joel embiid Bama Deo even guys who were not necessarily centers big men like Yannis Anto tupu who are just as big as strong if not stronger and more skilled Beyond his size one of the main factors in its Effectiveness was because Purdue built the team around him it’s a hard cell to warp one’s entire defense or offense to cater to or cover Ed’s strengths and weaknesses when he has yet to play a day in the league his interior gravity is immense but he’s never been a floor spacing big man then again neither was Brook Lopez and look at how he turned turned out if nothing else Ed’s lack of lateral Mobility his inability to defend the pick and roll right now that is a problem he’s fine as a drop Defender and his foot speed being Dreadful is a slight exaggeration because it’s not that he’s slow it’s just that it takes a bit of time for him to get going once he’s on the Move he’s surprisingly mobile for his size but those first few steps can mean the difference between him being able to switch onto the perimeter from the paint or not being able to do that well I’m personally not a big fan of Zach I can at least see why people want to draft him at least amongst the crowd that wants him for the player that he is and is inating solely based on the fact that he’s Canadian for him to become a raptor like we’ve already got a few knucks on the roster right now to cheer for is RJ not enough do you have anything against Chris buet regardless of where you stand on zakii as a prospect whether you’re for or against him I think everyone can agree with at least this speaking strictly on NBA comparisons there really isn’t anyone in the leag quite like he and there probably won’t be for some time K is wide open and knocks down a three in a draft like this going with the safest option is a fairly reasonable play smart even and there aren’t going to be many pegs more safe than Tyler kak in this range and given that he is going to be older than Scotty Barnes is in his rookie season well he better be the 23-year-old is the definition of complete he could score at all three levels and efficiently at that his decision- making with the ball is terrific the man has an assist a turnover ratio of 3 to1 and his feel for the game is inspired how his defense will translate is up in the air due to him being 6’3 at most and he doesn’t have that run you out of the gym athleticism to make up for his lack of size but as far as floor generals go you won’t find many safer options this late into the draft or in the draft in general than KCK waving hands cat who’s right in front of a poy hey kids do you like Kelly linic do you want a player who can become Prime Kelly under his very tutelage yeah that’s basically the appeal of Kyle filipowski a stretch four who can play the five but is ultimately not a great rim protector you probably want somebody else playing at Center decent passer decent footwork on the post I really don’t have a lot to say about him if you seen Kelly alen play then you’ve seen what Kyle is expected to play like Prime alic is a nice rotation player to have a bit redundant given we had the actual Kelly but I digress look we’ve got one two three a lot of guys to go through not all of them are going to be super interesting now if you want to talk interesting prospects Thomas up ahead and that one blocked by me as far as Rim protecting big men go in this draft ye Miss is probably the team’s best bet in this range super athletic a terrific finisher with a soft touch around the rim 6’1 with an Enormous 7’2 Wings fan he has some potential to become a stretch five given his three throw shooting got better as the season went on but he’s likely going to be relegated to finishing plays at least to start out you know Rim running big man rather than than creating for himself on offense on defense though he’s everything you could ask for in a center fiercely competitive and always looking to contest shots I’ve seen some people compare him to Pascal cakam as a prospect mostly due to their background I.E a cameroonian who played soccer earlier in their life and pick the paskall later on as for the way they play you could see some resemblance to prosit Pascal Missy’s handle is similarly loose to what cakums was when he entered the league and he showed some flashy footwork in the pain along with the touch of self- creation and I mean Pascal did end up playing Center for a couple of Seasons even if that was because we didn’t have an actual Center I will say that it’s hard to see Missy becoming the playmaker of the pasal is that Beyond positional expectations I’d say that Missy has a lot more questions on offense namly surrounding the expectations of him to shoot threes in the next level versus the reality of him not doing so at Baylor granted he wasn’t asked to do so as a part of their offense and in fact his role in their offense was pretty limited they firmly placed him in that Rim running big man role Miss is the sort of player that’ll probably be in the rotation because of his defensive prowess rather than his offense and just being on the floor whatsoever will be huge for him developing the rest of his game now the one knock against him for the Raptors drafting him specifically shooting concerns aside he’s not an advanced dead Starling like a lot of raptor recent picks which would make him a very un Toronto selection still he’s probably got the second or third highest ceiling among centers in this draft and unlike the number one candidate he has a much more realistic path to being the ideal version of himself play and bakos three won’t go but there’s where and where count it speaking of that player Kell wear is frustrating to talk about because he is himself a very frustrating player his combination of athleticism size and potential to be a stretch five keyword being potential not to mention potential on defense given set size and athleticism should make him a no-brainer top 10 selection the issue and it’s been discussed to death at this point is the intangibles specifically whereas motor and lack of maturity makes him a huge risk pun not intended despite all the Intrigue he brings as a stretch center now this could be a case where a friend office does their due diligence and they like what they see or hear in a workout or interview thinking they can hone in on that raw talent in the same way that the grizzley’s overlooked reported character issues with GT Jackson in the 2023 draft and got an absolute steal but beyond the moral concerns his footwork and focus on defense can be dubious at best and a lot of his upside on that end is based more on potential than what he’ll immediately bring to a team and I’m not just talking about the whole he needs to get the NBA body there’s a reason why I haven’t brought it up with any of these prospects because every single one of these prospects needs to get the NBA body it’s not unique to him this is one of those draft picks where if I was out the helm well clearly something’s gone wrong but if that were the case I wouldn’t make it outside looking in and all but I’d be ecstatic if this front office thought that they could unlock Kell because he’s one of the few high ceiling players in this draft the kind where you can see them become a star even if a lot of Swing factors have to go his way and with where that list of Swing factors is pretty extensive so those are the most likely names to be potentially picked in the first round and roughly the range that the Raptors will be in one thing to keep in mind is just because a player is expected to be in an AFF mentioned range it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be on the board in this draft there is a serious chance we’ll see more than one Prospect drop and another one reached for if there was a draft to test the Mantra of taking the best player available it would be this one because who the best player is in a given range is highly debatable so let’s make like a gymnast and get some stretches in Haron to shoot it tough one got it ah that felt good all right so back to the players uh Carlton Bob Carrington a 6’5 combo guard who does a little bit of everything he’s a great rebounder he can just show DS with EAS he’s got some serious shooting drops outside of the paint anyway that may Rd game is gorgeous he’s not the most elite of athletes that pain penetration and general finishing does need some work and his defensive potential has more to do with his tools his size than it does with what he has shown on that end of the floor he wasn’t exactly racking up steals at the point of attack but he is one of the few guards with upside that could be on the board and simultaneously one of the few guards that one doesn’t have to wonder whether or not his size SS to quickly would be the main point of contention in a bob Emanuel backc Court a bib if you will being put on the Raptor’s floor his name has come up as a potential Riser of L due to his craftiness and the level of self- creation he’s displayed for someone so young he’s only going to be 19 and he’s one of the youngest players in the draft overall but how far up he’ll go if he does turn out to be a draft a riser is up in the air 15 seconds remaining being defended by Ward Dillingham jumper got it Kentucky takes the lead oh right these two guards okay so there’s been some Buzz about Rob Dillingham potentially being a draft a dropper similar to fellow Kentucky guard Tai Tai Washington back in 2022 granted the two are very different players ryer is a hyper athletic scorers guard with bottom five defense among the draes but I digress the other point guard play oh right Rob is also not a great playmaker the other point guard player with potential to drop out of the lottery Nica toic is another divisive name to throw out there though for different reasons than Zach or Isaiah it’s undoubtable that his playmaking is so blime he’s arguably the most skill playmaker in the class his finishing at The Rim is downright Elite and bear in mind he’s doing so against fully grown men while being a teenager and while his defense isn’t good um I uh I don’t know where he’s going with this he’s just not a good Defender though unlike Rob his size is less of a reason for him being a liability on that end of the floor giv he 6’6 with a roughly equivalent wingspan as far as high upside swings go niola is perhaps the most interesting offensive option that could be available at this stage in the draft with the sheer level of artistry he possesses when the ball’s in his hand but the injuries as in plural there’s been a lot of hoopla about how severe his recent ACL Terr is along with his agent and team allegedly downplaying the severity of it whether or not one believes that the fact of the matter is that this wasn’t even his first major lower body injury that he’s had this season he had an injury that took him off the court for months prior to this being in injury risk this early into his season yeah that’s sure to scare people into thinking that they might be drafting the latest member of The Ball Brothers highly talented guards who can make an enormous impact on the floor when they’re on it who unfortunately just cannot stay on the floor and unlike Lonzo there’s not a shitty shoe or the Bulls negligent medical staff in sight to blame it on also like I said topich is nowhere near as tantalizing a prospect on the defensive end as either ball brother was but I digress I don’t know how much stock I’d put into either guard being on the board by 19 but toic is history is definitely more worrying than Rob being the black hole that he is on the defensive end like I expect Dillingham to at least play in his rookie season whereas with the cola I can’t be sure if he’ll suit up so everyone can overact to him in summer league let alone during the NBA season proper then again oi and and noi was predicted to go way higher than he ultimately did in the 2017 draft largely due to his own season ending injury so for topage specifically it’s at least worth acknowledging him as the more likely of the two to fall even if f with either of them is is questionable defensively if one assumes they’ll start for the team or share the floor at some point with the manual quickly with topic specifically there’s also the worry about taking the ball out of Quickly’s hands and affecting his own development of his own playmaking so those are the guys from the first round now the Raptors do have another pick in this draft and it’s from the Pistons and that means it just so happens to be the best one you could possibly get in this draft for the second day yeah the draft takes place over two days which might lead to a higher chance of this pick being moved but we’ll talk about this scenario in a moment for now let’s assume that the Raptors do stay at 31 and go over some of the names of intriguing players that might be the first called out on that very day which it’s starting at 4 for some reason why did you even bother to extend it is 611 frame and here’s Smith on the other end wow the g-league ignite season was absolutely miserable oh to Mis management that failed to live up to its goal of providing players and alternative avenue Venter in the league the lack of solid foundation to help their players develop up to including the team’s construction the ignites issues extended over to evaluating guys like Lottery bound Ron Holland Matt buellis and relevant to the Raptors Tyler Smith if we’re talking about players who fit the profile that this front office Ador Tyler Smith is near the top of the list he’s versatile at least in theory he has good size and while his three-point shooting does need to be taken with a grain of salt the actual mechanics look solid the big questions for Smith are on the defensive end a lot of his potential there is for now just that at 6’1 with a 7′ one wingspan he has the size to be immensely impactful on that end of the floor but that 2.5 stock stats is a bit deceitful there’s a lot of times where he just doesn’t seem engaged and he’s really bad at screen navigation it’s also an open question as to where he’s going to fit in at the NBA level is he a center is he a wing is he going to be stuck at the four next to a big man wherever you place him there’s a lot to like about Smith in theory the offensive upside is tremendous he can do a little bit of just about everything from Rolling inside to catching and shooting from out and he’s got a nice pullup game too it’s really whether he can display that same motor on the defensive end as it can in getting a bucket basically is he going to be more than Christian Wood he’s not an amazing playmaker but he’s a good decision maker with a ball in his hands and did I mention he’s 19 think about how many 19-year-old big men come into this league with anything approaching a bag or at least the ability to shoot threes as well as Smith can for the 31st pick he be a risky swing but one worthy of consideration looking for consistency Joseph block by gun you might be wondering how a player that’s considered the best defender in this class would wind up in the second round that’s because Ryan Dunn’s offensive game is terrible it’s terrible there’s not much of a way to put it there really isn’t a great comparison for him as a prospect because even guys like batist thel who are very much defense first prospects were better from the free throw line than he was I don’t want to pretend like he can’t be impactful on that end of the floor the 6A forward has the tools to Be an Effective driver but right now his offensive game stands in Star contrast to his polished all defensive caliber ability to disrupt the opposing team’s own offense the Raptor defense was pitiful last season and the team absolutely needs more sides of the Wings especially so to allow Scotty Barnes to excel as a health Defender but while the team’s offense was a lot better and certainly more fun to watch it didn’t exactly become Elite unless you have the conundrum that they and many other teams without a contender offense doe with drafting dun he’s a revelation on one side of the ball but at least for now a non-factor on the other he’s not even particularly good as a pass R decision maker so yeah not bringing much of a new Dynamic to that side his defend of prowess will be welcome all the same but whether he’ll be similarly productive on the offensive side well I’ll put it like this dshot has a lot of reworking to be done pun very much intended P if you want to talk potential second round steals out in the open then Pon D’s name should be at the top of one’s list he’s had a limited role in his team thus far but what he’s been able to show in the small amount of minutes he’s been given in that role is immensely impressive the shock creation the defense his touch around the rim making shots both open and contested the amount of flashes that this 6’9 Wing has shown could make for an hourong WB crossover and the fact that he’s one of the youngest players in this draft I think he’s third or fourth youngest makes him all the more fascinating specifically as an OG and noi replacement with more notable upside albeit equally questionable playmaking chops with a two-point lead now on that three and this Clinton here we go on the open floor Clon with the flush the appeal of Bobby Clinton is pretty simple do you like big wings who can hit threes do you like when they’re 6′ 10 big technically 6′ n it look pooby as the wing for you if you want someone who can contribute right now as a 3 and D Wing he can be a little inconsistent on both ends and as far as outside goes he doesn’t have a ceiling as high as he is tall I don’t ever see him being a major distributor or having him put the ball on the floor very often but as far as 3D Wings go he’s one of the more well-rounded options that you can expect to crop up in this range Burton has it poked away good defense by George okay so George has a pretty wide range as far as prospects go he could very well be drafted with the Raptor’s 19th overall pick just as easily as he could find his name being called in the 30s but regardless of where one places him he’s very much the type of player that would be perfect under D rakovich is .5 offensive system a win with playmaking chops his seasonal stats don’t stick out but his feel for the game does on ball off ball you just trust him to make the right decisions even with the college three-point line being shorter than the NBAs and thus one having to take any outside shooting stat with a healthy dose of skepticism him shooting almost 40% when guarded on catching two three-pointers jumps out and in a good way the shot looks good the splits even more so and for Sito Wing he’s got a really nice handle with equally eye-catching playmaking so why is a guy like George being even brought up as a potential second rounder well he’s not very athletic I hesitate to call him slow footed since he does manage to cover a lot of ground simply due to his size but like his stats don’t stand out his athleticism isn’t worth noting at least not in a positive manner despite shooting sub 30% W it up top moo Jonathan moo is one of those Advanced stat dreams that makes you wonder why they aren’t talked about more often for Toronto specifically he is just about the perfect pick for both ends of the floor one of the most efficient players in college basketball an outstanding playmaker for his position who thrives in transition is either the ball handler or recipient a switch W Swan ball five all Draymond Green minus the assaults and the general likeability and those Advanced stats I don’t want to turn this into a math lesson and start throwing numbers at you so I’ll just leave it at this Jonathan far outplays his sides and his competition with his ability to finish at The Rim resembling a traditional big man more than the 68 forward that he is and most forwards can’t handle the ball as well as he can either if he could take and make some threes then he’d be the complete package but alas his outside shot has yet to develop during his years in college granted he’s made major strides year-over-year so it sound unreasonable to think that he’ll be asked to work on that part of his game let alone to think that he’s capable of developing one given his reported work ethic that said MoGo might be a stretch to pick at the top of the second round and that’s where we’re going to get into trade talks the Toronto Raptors had been pretty averse to making draft night trades but between Bruce Brown’s rapidly approaching team option not to mention them needing to make a decision on Chris buet in his future with the team I think this year might be an exception especially if they want to make moves in free agency like they hinted at in the season exit interviews as from recording this both of them are still on the team so who knows whether or not Bruce Brown will get a first in this year’s draft or next year’s is up in the air not to mention the possibility of using him to move up in this draft instead of just picking at 19 I don’t think bu has enough value to get a first on his own even in a perceived week draft he’s probably closer to a second or two than he has a first- round selection and he’s a surprisingly difficult player to match salaries for most playoff teams that could use an energy bake like Chris won’t have a trade exception to absorb him into or salary filler to make the money worth so while 10 million doesn’t sound like a lot on paper they’re aren’t a lot of obvious trade Partners out there maybe the Clippers with PJ Tucker and that page said look I’m not going to turn this into a trade machine all I’ll say is that the Raptors have a lot of options for what they can do on draft night whether it’s trading up down or out of this year entirely if they do decide to stick around who are they going to pick and where well we’ll find out in a couple of days until draft night game on my friends
The Toronto Raptors have a lot of decisions to make. For the 2024 NBA Draft specifically, the Toronto Raptors have 2 picks to make in this year’s draft on Wednesday with the 19th and 31st picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Will they go big with one of Yves Missi or Kel’el Ware? Will they expand on their guard rotation by choosing Isaiah Collier or Carlton Bub Carrington? Are they going to add to their wings with Ja’Kobe Walter or G-League Ignite Tyler Smith? Will Zach Edey come home to Canada’s sole NBA team? Will Rob Dillingham or Nikola Topic slide down to where the Raptors find themselves?
Tune in to this week’s video to find out who may be on the board for the Toronto Raptors to choose in a few days at the 2024 NBA Draft!
