Toronto Raptors 2024 NBA Draft Recap | Back to roots on Day 2 | Kings trade | Ja’Kobe Walter 101

Toronto Raptors 2024 NBA Draft Recap | Back to roots on Day 2 | Kings trade | Ja’Kobe Walter 101

on your Thursday draft recap episode of lock on Raptors the second round is in the books the Raptors did a whole lot of stuff and they’re back to their old ways baby we’ll break it all down coming up on today’s show thanks for hanging you are locked on Raptors your daily Toronto Raptors podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day hey hey what’s going on and welcome to another episode of Locked on Raptors part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day it is a little late in the day on a Thursday June the 27th I’m your host Sean Woodley been coming the Toronto Raptors now for 10 seasons on various platforms you can find all my work over on the hell website at Woodley Sean you can find the show on Instagram at lockon Raptors and of course you can join us over in the lockon Raptors Discord server which was absolutely popping off today nobody was working nobody at all in the lock on Raptors Discord as soon as the uh actually it was way before the draft started at four o’clock the people were going nuts in there uh very clearly lots of procrastination lots of stolen company time and I rate it it was awesome come join us in the Discord if you haven’t yet uh plenty to come of course as the offseason trudges along and again it’s free to join Link in the description of the podcast of course you can find the show for free wh get your podcast follow subscribe rate review tell a friend always appreciated when you support the show however it is you choose to support the show and of course you can also find us on YouTube where you can uh subscribe to the lockdown Raptor YouTube channel hit the notification Bell and you’ll get a heads up every single time the show is about to Premiere or go live a live show Could Happen anytime over the next few days it’s crazy times the Raptor’s roster makes very little sense right now uh so hit that button and you’ll be in the know when the show is about to Premiere or go live all right let’s get to it Today’s Show is brought to you by game time down the game time app create an account use the code lock in NBA for 20 bucks off your first purchase terms apply we are going to dive in today head long into a recap of the NBA draft we’ll talk a lot about the second round because holy crap the Raptors did a lot of stuff in the second round but we also cannot forget about the first round pick jacobe Walter the best player the Raptors acquired over the last two days probably or at least the highest upside unless you’re an Alis shamay person which we’ll get to that too um but yeah we’ll get into jacobe Walter at the end of the show I’ve got Cameron Stewart of lockon Baylor I recorded a chat with him earlier in the day talking about jacobe Walter thought it was really informative from someone who knows ball really well and watched jacobe Walter All Season at Baylor you have that to look forward to in the final segment of the show but buckle up we have a whole bunch of stuff to sort through uh from the day that was for the Toronto Raptors we’re going to get into the trade of the century the absolute fleecing can you believe it the Raptors turned Jaden McDaniels into a bunch of stuff from the big Sacramento Kings we will get into that trade the sort of ramifications where it leaves the roster as well but let’s start with the draft picks shall we the Toronto Raptors went into the day with just one draft pick 31 and you know there was all sorts of talk will they trade this pick will they uh package it with something maybe Bruce Brown is in there in some way shape or form who knows Bruce Brown not traded yet we’ll get to that coming up later too but the Raptors make the pick at 31 and the pick was Jonathan mogbo the 6’6 72 wingspan combo forward Center big man future basketball player type out of San Francisco University uh of course noted as a dear friend of Scotty Barnes who was in attendance for Jonathan mogo’s draft party uh so maybe that wasn’t necessarily a surprise pick maybe this was telegraphed all along who knows but uh very cool to see Scotty barnes’s pal drafted and mogbo someone we talked about I think about a month ago on the show as sort of like a bit of an upside play in this draft I think mogbo he is like a return to Toronto Raptor’s ass drafting I’ll tell you that most of today was very much that we’ll get into Jamal shed and alris shamay as well but mogbo I think an interesting pick for the Raptors at 31 look not not a shooter can’t shoot never shot just didn’t take any threes when he was at school but all the other stuff he does from the athleticism he tested really well at the combine um he is just like again enormous with a 72 wingspan a 9 foot standing reach he figures to be someone who can play Above his height and you know what does that mean you know where is he going to slot into the future plans I think the lack of shooting is a bit of a concern and it’s going to require the Raptors to really load up on shooting elsewhere to make it work Scotty Barnes is goingon to have to shoot RJ Barrett’s threes are going to have to fall for mogbo to have a real chance of making it in in the NBA I think the context of the team just as much as his own ability is really going to dictate just how successful he can be but a worthwhile bet on upside yes he’s 22 years old maybe he’s a little later in the development track but he’s also made huge strides in recent Seasons this past year at San Francisco in particular after bumping around community colleges and Missouri State and then to San Francisco this past year a worthwhile bet on a super duper athletic guy who at the very least is going to make Raptors 905 super fun we’ll get more into Jonathan mogbo there is a little short out on the lock on Raptors YouTube channel right now uh from Andy Patton of locked on college basketball with a bit of a breakdown on mogbo if you want to go check that out but we will continue to break him down and get into his game as the summer progresses summer league coming up obviously we’ll get some more tape on him and everything like that seems like he’s going to get a guaranteed contract as well which is important because the next guy we’re going to talk about also reportedly got a guaranteed contract from the Raptors at number 45 as the Raptors acquired this pick from the Sacramento Kings in the deal they pulled off earlier in the day again we’ll get into the nuts and bolts of that with Davon Mitchell and Sasha bazhenov at another second round pick coming the Raptor way but Jamal shed is the pick for the Raptors at 45 the six-foot defensive player of the year in college this past season Big 12 Player of the Year joins jacobe Walter as Big 12 freshman of the year uh among Big 12 stars that the Raptors took this time around um and small guy but everything you hear about Jamal shed is unbelievable leader Kelvin Samson the coach uh at Houston said he’s like the best leader he’s ever coached um you know lots of sort of high praise for him along those lines the defense with him is absurd for a guy his size he’s six feet with a 63 wingspan but super fast super nasty just an absolute Menace defensively and figures to be maybe one of the best point of attack defenders in this class he might walk in and be the Raptor’s Best Wing Defender at six feet tall at this rate uh that maybe that’s not a good thing but it’s fun and interesting and I think speaks to how good Jamal shed figures to be defensively even at his diminutive size uh the three-point shooting is the thing that is the hangup here he has all sorts of High Praise as an excellent excellent passer um some referring to him as even the best passer in this draft average six assists a game last year at Houston he’s won a ton just like an absolute stud winning with Houston over the last four seasons where they’ve been a really successful program Believe made final fours if I’m not mistaken I always forget who makes the final four as soon as the final four happens but that Houston team has gone deep they’ve been high seeds they’ve won a ton of games and Jamal shed has been a big big part of that the last few seasons here and so I think if you’re trying to shore up your backup point guard spot we talked about KJ Simpson and Tyler kak last night on the podcast as like backup guards you could just go and try to add to the mix I think Jamal shed stands a pretty decent chance of coming into Camp he’s got the guaranteed deal per Kelly EO of the athletic uh who reported that just after the deal was made Kelly is based out of Houston and has a you know obviously connection with the Houston Cougars and all of that I believe he was the first to report that shed was going to be the Raptor’s pick at 45 and you know he’ll have a chance I think to grow into being the backup point guard for this team going forward it’s a lot to ask if a guy to be a backup point guard in year one obviously I’m sure there will be some g-league time for shed but the makeup is there the again the defensive stats the the box score metrics the advanced stats everything really really like this dude and you know even as the league Trends bigger there’s always room for really nasty backup point guard types who uh can kind of make things happen and stay in the league just because uh they’re a pain in the ass to deal with it seems like that’s what Jamal shed’s deal is going to be and then the last pick the Raptors made a surprise the second to last pick in the draft 57th overall the Toronto Raptors I guess buy into the draft for the Memphis grizley pick there and they take Alish shamay the 18-year-old 6’10 74 wingspan big man out of Cameroon and the NBA Africa Academy um he is the Bruno kaboko of this draft if they’re are guys who are Mystery Men anymore in the NBA Draft by the way go read Danny Chow’s incredible piece on Bruno kaboko over at the ringer today but when it comes to Al ramsh like this is the absolute long-term upside play right um he obviously has a lot of raw tools to him he’s got a bit of a shooting stroke he’s got the 74 wingspan some shop blocking acument some nice touch and footwork kind of delicate on his feet um again there’s so little tape on him it’s hard to really draw tons of conclusions he’s going to be someone who’s either stashed overseas or gonna come and play in the g- league one would think for a while he I would be stunned if he gets a guaranteed deal from the Raptors out of the gate uh Sam Vini said he’s about five years away from being a guy that’s fine he’s the third fourth the fourth guy that took in this draft it’s all right to have some longer term iron in the fire if you will it may not mean anything down the line alris shamay very well could not be an NBA player but we know the Raptors like to do this this is their history of hey we like this guy we believe in the tools we believe in our development let’s take him let’s see what we can do with him and look man you know Nick nurse no longer around the Darko rakovich regime seems to be prioritizing Player Development once again I like their chances of getting the most out of whatever alris shamay is going to be down the line um it’s just going to take some time and you know maybe he makes 905 ball pretty interesting next season the year after whatever he decides to come over whatever the Raptors deem that best um we’ll see he’s played in the Bal over in Africa as well so we’ll see where he ends up playing next season but he’s in the system now Alis shampay end of the day the big takeaway here is the Toronto Raptors are back on their old BS baby taking super high toolsy uh projectable guys who may may not hit who they believe in dudes and also really nasty guys who are nice leaders at the point guard position who stand No taller than six feet that’s the Raptors I know baby glad to see you m Jerry and Bobby Webster doing their old tricks uh after a few years out in the wilderness you love to see it with that speaking of old tricks fleecing basketball teams in trades that’s the thing they used to do all the time did they do that with the Sacramento Kings Maybe I guess sort of in terms of quantity of stuff coming back for Jaylen McDaniels absolutely we’ll get into the ramifications of the Jaylen McDaniels trade with the Sacramento Kings and all that’s coming back the other way coming up in just one second Today’s Show is brought to you by our friends over at game time you got to check out game time it’s the best place to buy tickets for the sports concerts Theater events you want to go to all summer long and hey not just the summer Raptors 905 basketball will be back before you know it and if you want to go see Jonathan mogbo maybe Al shamay Jamal shed you can go and buy your tickets for Paramount five food center in Miss aaga hosting Raptors 905 games and you can do it with game time the very best place to buy tickets you can save up to 60% off buying last minute tickets for sports concerts comedy theater and more they have Allin pricing so you never get fees up at the front uh you know at the end that surprise you which is oh it’s what I thought I was paying what a beautiful thing this is the way all ticketing apps should be you get seat views so you know exactly what you’re buying before you buy it’s all there for you including game time ticket coverage your purchase is covered with the most flexible customer service policy in the ticketing industry there’s simply no reason not to use game time to buy tickets for your next event download the game time app create an account use the code lock in NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem the code locked at NBA for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed all right back at it here got to dig in now to the trade with the Sacramento Kings that kicked off the day uh I didn’t think it was like the biggest thing of the day so that’s why I led with the guys they picked off top but certainly uh it was a nice way to wake up from an afternoon nap around 3:30 when I did say in the lock on Raptor Discord I’m taking a nap we’re charging up for the second round here’s hoping the Raptors make a hilariously positive trade in their favor while I’m napping and they kind of did that I just am a soothsayer I guess I don’t know um the taale of the tape on this trade with the Sacramento Kings the Toronto Raptors get Davon Mitchell uh Sasha bazhenov the 45th overall pick in this draft and the Portland Trailblazers 2025 second round pick for Jaylen McDaniels that Blazers second round pick the Raptors simply got a taste this time around of picking first on the second day of the draft and wanted to go in short the team that is definitely finishing 15th in the west next season they are sickos they love they just can’t get enough picking first in the second round I guess I don’t know either way that was uh that was the move and look sending Jaylen McDaniels who was really really really really really bad for the Toronto Raptors last year out for a bunch of guys who are not jayen McDaniels that’s a win to get two second round picks look second round picks again it’s darts you’re you’re you’re it’s a gigantic game of darts that’s all it is and it’s it’s you know you’re usually not going to hit on those second round picks but having a lot of them is good they’re currency for trades they’re sweeteners for trades and with the new cap environment that’s coming in with the second apron All The Insider types have been really reporting on this of late um the second round pick is going to become kind of an interesting thing for contenders uh and teams that are trying to build on the margins you know if you’re in the second apron second round picks are basically your only way to add to your team on top of that there’s a new second round player exception built into the CBA that is going to make those second round picks more valuable um look there it’s just a nice thing to have extra second rounders especially one that could be high from the Portland Trailblazers who are not going to be very good next season just because the western conference is an absolute bear and they are uh little cubs it’s going to take some time for them to figure things out okay um either way this trade is a win no doubt it’s a good bit of asset management it’s a good way of using the Raptor’s flexibility they have from clearing their decks and sort of having more open books it’s not the sexy you know take a nice good player into your cap space type of move that maybe we all really hoped could have been a thing the Raptors pulled off this summer but hey you know this is a nice bit of asset management at the very least they get Jamal shed in the door and they get a look at Davon Mitchell and Sasha bazhenov on top of that 2025 Blazers pick now look the players returning here are probably the thing I’m least excited about honestly I I I think Davon Mitchell I’m seeing a lot of oh young upand cominging you know Prospect uh guy who has lots of upside no it’s been a rough go for Davon Mitchell for the last couple seasons in Sacramento after being a first round pick he was a lottery pick back three seasons ago it’s just he’s fallen out of favor fallen out of the rotation on the Kings because his offense is just not there there defensively absolutely he’s a wonderful point of attack Defender that’s something the Raptors badly need in second units certainly you could do a little bit worse than having Davon Mitchell out there hounding opposing lead ball handlers but the offense is a struggle the three-point shooting there was like a slight like pulse last year that you kind of could feel 36% on 2.2 attempts a game maybe you latch onto that as a bit of Hope but he’s never been an especially good finisher you know he he does just doesn’t bring a ton to the table offensively any Notions that he’s like the new backup point guard I think are incorrect I think that grossly um sort of mischaracterizes what kind of player Davon Mitchell is he’s someone who’s going to be a defensive pest on the second unit you probably don’t want the ball in his hands a ton and if you can start to knock down some threes hey that becomes a really nice second draft bet the Raptors have made I’m not super confident that’s going to happen and I’ve admittedly have never really been much of a Davon Mitchell guy not my cup of tea necessarily but I’m open to the idea of him carving out a bench roll on this team Sasha bazhenov I think maybe the higher upside of the two he is 28 years old of course former Euroleague MVP came over to the Kings last year requested a trade at the end of this year um and it just didn’t really work out with the Kings and you hope that there’s this sort of thing sometimes with European guys where the first year in the league is a big adjustment and they kind of settle in going in to their second season I maybe that happens with venkov I do think venkov is kind of an archetype of player that was maybe more at home in the NBA 10 years ago where he just he doesn’t really defend and the idea of him is just like high volume and accurate three-point shooting he shot 38% on three attempts a game in just 12 minutes a game for the Kings this past season in his first year just 42 games played um so the three-point shooting is very real and maybe there’s something to tap into there um just as like a spacing option in the Raptor lineups of course we know the Raptors need shooting and they’ve obviously started to address that with you know the Grady dick pick last year jacobe Walter in this draft um you know none of their second round picks have any shooting to really lean on or rely upon but um that’s fine venkov does have a three-point stroke that you could maybe get something out of but you know it’s tough right guys who are one-dimensional and only shoot threes and don’t really defend like that’s just not a type of player that really has success in the NBA anymore you got to have a little bit more to your game there’s got to be more Dimension Kelly alen not a very good Defender but on top of being a great three-point shooter He’s Got playmaking Juice he can run your offense in in some instances like there’s a little bit more in terms of depth to his game we’ll have to see if venkov can tap into more of that seems like he wasn’t super happy with the Kings he did request a trade or he was going to go back to Europe I think was the reporting on it a few weeks ago and so maybe a fresh you know set of eyes a European inspired coach in darkar rakovich who who plays with European principles maybe that gets a little bit more out of Sasha bankov but really this is about getting those extra couple of picks and I think just kind of again taking a couple of probably low likelihood shots on a couple of guys who will be off your books after this season anyway the the real sort of takeaway here is that it makes quite a roster crunch for the Raptors sort to sort out over the next few days and it makes the roster kind of wildly imbalanced there is a whole lot of two guards on this team right now um if you look at the roster right now as it stands I’m assuming Emanuel quickley is just going to be back with the Raptors so I’ve built him into the uh roster I’ve built here but the roster as it stands for the Raptors Manuel quickley Bruce Brown obviously he’s got the big guaranteed date on the 29th looming over him but right now he is on the team Davon Mitchell and then you have Grady dick jacobe Walter RJ Barrett oai abaj have filling out the three right now which is not ideal I think both of those guys are two guards in the perfect world oai iaj I’m very curious to see what he looks like to start next season I think his time with the Raptors maybe his NBA career is going to be in the balance for the first couple of months next year as there’s going to be a lot of competition for those guard minutes and oai abaji has got to be a lot better than he was with the Raptors this past season to hang on to those minutes I think um then in the front Court you got Scotty Barnes Kelly Ock Chris bue still on the roster of course Sasha venkov yaka purle and Jonathan mogbo you have a two-way uh with DJ carton I should have added Jamal shed is a guaranteed deal for kello as well so you have him in the mix that’s 14 guaranteed roster spots right now as it stands you’ve got a non-guaranteed Javon Freeman Liberty and then you have the UFA cap holds of Gary Trent jior we’ll see Jordan War bye-bye and Garrett Temple good so long friend hope you become an assistant coach next season lot to sort out with the roster with balancing of things and there are a few different ways this could go for the Raptors in the next couple days I I I don’t think this is the roster we’re going to see the Raptors go into the season with it just doesn’t make sense to have this many two guards competing for not that many two guard minutes right it just you know it does seem like they’re leaning into RJ Barrett being more of a three and Scotty Barnes maybe filling into three a little bit more if that’s the case like one of the big stories going into the season is going to be can RJ Barrett and Scotty Barnes ratchet it up as perimeter Defenders if they can the Raptors issues on the wing get a little bit easier to figure out and the sort of the roster slots into place a little bit more easily the positional versatility of Scotty Barnes becomes a real asset but we have not seen a ton to suggest that Ace on ball Wing defense is something those guys are capable of Barrett’s dabbled in it a little bit in his early time with the Knicks but last year was really bad for Barrett on the defensive end that just has to be better full stop not just for next year’s team but for frankly the long-term fit of RJ Barrett in this team like that’s a really big story anyway but with the way the roster is set up it’s like incumbent upon Barrett and Scotty Barnes to go and figure out how to defend on the perimeter it’s just going to be a thing they need there’s a lot of not very good defensive players on this roster and they’re going to have to have some insulation right now where that insulation comes from is a little bit unclear to me but that’s where things sit oai abaji can certainly carve himself out of Ro if he’s a nasty Defender I’m not worried about Davon Mitchell and Jamal shed and their defense is going to be nasty those guys very very very good on ball point of attack Defenders but they’re not starting for you they’re not playing Super heavy minutes for you there’s got to be defense coming from somewhere else and I would imagine that there is still a move or two here for the Raptors getting back to the options they have it seems like the two options right now is is one you retain Bruce Brown you keep Gary Trent Jr and you just kind of go into the season with this team and you figure it out that maybe is not super ideal because of the deal with the Kings and the extra money that came in about n million extra dollars on the books exchanging McDaniels for venkov and Mitchell the full mid-level exception will not be available to the Raptors if they bring back Bruce Brown and pay Gary Trent Jr what it’s gonna take to pay Gary Trent Jr um they’re just not gonna have the money to get that full mid mid-level exception which is maybe their best tool to go and try and add a wing your Caleb Martin type your Nai Marshall type etc etc we’ve talked about the list of options on in the free agency market a ton the other way you could go is you decline Bruce Brown’s option you say hey we thought we might find a trade form but we’re not we’ll use cap space instead you renounce Gary Trent Jr’s caph hold you let him walk to free agency and you get to about 20ish million dollars in salary cap space maybe that’s enough to throw an offer sheet to Patrick Williams that the Bulls don’t want to don’t want to match you could go four years 80 something like that maybe that’s an option there not I’m a little terrified of paying Patrick Williams all that money but also the cap is going up and it’s probably fine to pay him 20 million bucks a year it might not even be enough to get the Bulls to to pass but the Bulls are weird uh just drafted Matas buis and you know there’s positional overlap there and all of that maybe they just want to wipe the Slate clean with Patrick Williams and move on it’s worth a conversation you wouldn’t throw out the offer sheet if you didn’t have a good sense of what the intentions of the Bulls are one would think it’s not going to be a Sur R necessarily we’ll see there that’s one option the other option is with that cap space instead of Patrick Williams you go and maybe split it between a couple of guys maybe you throw Naji Marshall just like a smidge over the mid-level exception so you outbid all the other teams offering the mid level for him and get him in the door to be your starting Wing next season is that perfect I don’t know if he’s a starter necessarily but worth a shot he’s a good Defender and the Raptors need good Defenders um the other guy there is Caleb Martin I think and then you use your five six million bucks of extra leftover money for uh you know a Jaylen Smith a Goa batad another big man to kind of add to the mix I think that is a fine option it would sort of rebalance the roster a little more effectively I think um and probably prefer to just keeping Bruce and Gary and using like a small chunk of a mid-level exception like the the not the full version you can get or that they could have gotten to in a previous version of the team where jayen Jaylen McDaniels is on the team and not um the venkov Mitchell d you know maybe they offload a Chris buet and CH and this changes the calculus maybe they maybe Sasha venkov you know goes back to Europe and you know maybe that’s a thing right like there’s all sorts of different ways this can go but right now this roster is whack and something’s got to give somewhere the roster spots are largely spoken for um the Bruce Brown thing obviously the next Domino to fall we’re going to talk more about that on tomorrow’s show as Jamar Hines is going to join to kind of look ahead to the freee agency window Bruce Brown all that good stuff but we’ll put a on that for now that’s where the roster sits after that deal again a good deal overall like clear positive value for the Raptors creates some headaches and sort of roster crunch things that got to be sorted out but I don’t I’m sure they don’t make that trade without an idea of what their plan is going forward here it all seems confusing and uh you know Mis misplaced and misshapen until it’s not when the transaction cycle begins and Things fall into Focus so not too worried there you get that extra pick next year from the Blazers that’s not a bad thing to have either good trade all around trade of the century maybe not uh it’s not Grievous Vasquez for OG and anobi and Norman Powell but it’s pretty good none the less we’ll come back on the other side we’ll round up the show with my chat with Cam Stewart of lockon Baylor yes it’s a longer episode today but it’s a lot to talk about man so you just got to deal with it okay really good conversation coming up with Cam looking forward to that and we will get to that in just one second joining me now on lock on Raptors is our pal from the lockon network from lockon Baylor is the host of that show cam Stewart here to talk about a man he watched a whole lot of during his freshman season at Baylor Toronto Raptor 19th overall pick jacobe Walter cam thanks so much for taking the time man how are you yeah thank you for having me on I’m doing well this has become the last couple years a fun time of year for Baylor fans it wasn’t always that way with the NBA draft but uh now we’re getting guys in the first round every year and I mean I I think there’s a ton of upside at 19 for a guy like Jobe Walter this is a guy a lot of us thought were going to be in the top 10 most of the year so um that could be a good thing or a bad thing right but I think it’s I think it’s gonna be a positive thing for for the Raptors yeah I mean Bobby Webster Raptors GM spoke to the media after the draft and basically said yeah we didn’t think he would be there at 19 and so it was sort of like a oh he’s the best guy on our board we better go do it type of thing um I want to get into a few elements of Walter’s game we’ll start with the stuff that feels more safe and certain at the NBA level then we’ll kind of go a little bit more abstract into the stuff that might be there down the line for him but let’s start with the shooting obviously the raw numbers for him from the field last season from three-point range not super sexy 34% on north of six attempts per game uh shot well below 40% overall just like not a very good uh efficient shooting season from jacobe Walter as a freshman but all of the scouting Intel you read and you watch him on film it does feel like the three-point shooting should translate pretty well to the NBA I think just like the the instances of watching him fly around a screen and catch and rise and fire with that sort of um the form that he has which I he kind of has that sort of JJ reic thing where he sort of jumps forward when he’s catching it on you know coming around a screen or whatever um that I think is NBA level shooting I think that’s going to work um but you watched him this year what did you see in the shooting is there any reason for optimism any reason for skepticism for you when it comes to the three-point shooting and I guess by extension the sort of two-point stuff as well which was pretty bad for him this year yeah yeah well I mean honestly Sean you nailed a lot of it there I mean truly you look at the numbers and you’re like H really this guy is getting the hype and for a guy who watched him game in game out it it could have been I mean look numbers don’t lie right sometimes he was in he was in a slump he hit a bit of a slump um in the middle of his conference schedule this year with the big 12 being the best conference in in college basketball and part of that I I chocked up to he’s 19 years old uh barely and so um he he was just going through that freshman slump of it all and playing uh being you know used a lot more than he would have at at the high school level in terms of the schedule and everything but you watch the watch the tape of him shooting and there’s a lot there to like um from right away his first game he dropped I think it was 28 points and it was catch shoot you could see it I mean it was just 18year olds did not come that Polished in terms of like you said coming off a screen catching it no matter where his body is at being able to square up to the basket in the air and have a pure shooting form um one of my favorite plays from him this year was a game tying three-pointer at the end of the first overtime in a big rivalry game against TCU where he was basically sprinting down the court in a last second situation and got the ball on the wing and was able to to basically stop on a dime face the basket from from an elbow three and and nail it at the buzzer it was pure you know for a guy to be going at that speed and to be able to square up to the basket so naturally that that was kind of the things that that jumped off for us um and he didn’t have much of a much of a two-point game there there is something that I do like about him getting to the free throw line which is something that’s not easy again for for a lot of uh College freshman he he attempted the second most free throws in the conference and made the third most um just a shade under 80% from the free throw line So that obviously does need to get a little bit better as to the overall shooting numbers but I think with the with the specialization coaching you’re gonna get in the NBA from any team um he he’s gonna just improve the little things on that jump shot and I I don’t know if you’ve heard this term Sean but like 80 to 85% of the league now is three and D so I think that’s what you be looking at with jacobe as a three and D guy at at that size and that pure shooting form already um I think I think that gets better and you know who knows the first year or two it could still be a struggle but he’s a kid that does not lack confidence um very coachable from what we’ve heard from everyone inside that locker room uh which they don’t say about everybody and uh contrary to what some people might believe um and and that shot I think is going to play really really well in today’s NBA yeah and I think the idea of putting a bunch of movement shooting around Scotty Barnes sounds pretty good to me we know Emanuel quickley can do it already we know Grady Dick Figures to be that type of player as he uh levels up you know hopefully in year two and Beyond and yeah I think Walter the shooting piece of it it just it fits the Raptor’s sort of the mo they have to be going by right now which is yeah I think he I was just gonna say I just think he has a lot of similarities with Grady dick so I’m glad you brought that up I saw Grady play a lot in college as well in the in the Big 12 and saw him live a couple of times um I think there are more similarities there than a lot of people realize so I just wanted to say I like that you brought that name into it yeah no yeah I just think yeah like movement shooting it’s not just stationary stand in the corner and knockdown wide openen threes right and I think that’s the concern sometimes um with with prospects it’s like oh look at the great shooting but it’s like what kind of Threes is he taking Walter’s threes are just like a lot more difficult than your your standard stand in the corner wait for the the offense or the to sort of funnel to you in the corner or whatever type of Threes And so that’s why I feel pretty good about it translating and yeah like the idea of like Emanual quickly Grady dick and and jacobe Walter flying around off screens with Scotty Barnes picking him out sounds pretty interesting to me uh you mentioned the three and D thing let’s get to the defense which I think is maybe something that didn’t quite translate as much based on what you read and watch um at at College in his freshman year as you mentioned he was 19 years old in the best conference in college B basketball so that has to be baked into it but he is 6’1 and he does figure to have defensive upside to lean into he’s got the tools to be a good Defender uh what would you sort of put in as your like your Baseline expectation for him in the NBA defensively and what did you see this year good or bad that kind of informs what your overall view of his defense is yeah well I I just got to say that 610 wingspan is just mouthwatering like truly and I I can’t sit here and be like he was an elite defender in the college level he wasn’t um he he played well within a team system defense that beor had um but I think that might have limited them a little bit on what they could do defensively and he wasn’t he was the only one um but I see that length and I see his his strength already and I just think that that has to turn into an above average defender in in in the NBA you know I I’ll throw out the name of Jason Tatum he’s not gonna be Jason Tatum hold on with me but um but to way that he developed into a Defender and at times an elite defender in the league mainly because of his size and and specifically his length I I can see that happening with Jobe Walter at a bit smaller um in fact I I’ll even throw out another crazy name for you I remember the early days of Pascal cakam before he really became that polished and offensive player he was a pretty good Defender and I know that’s di down a little bit U to still still an above average Defender but his length helped him out so much in in switchability and I think jacobe Walter while not being you know 6869 with that wingspan can can switch on to to some small forwards as well as guarding in the back court and so I that’s its potential there you know again it’s not something that’s going to scream out to you on tape the way his shooting form might but I think there is a lot of potential there on on the defensive end for sure and and he was getting some good assignments uh in the Big 12 he had a lot of good assignments going against him in fact when he played Houston uh Jamal shed was covering him who was the defensive player of the year in college basketball um so he he got some tough assignments on both ends uh but I see I actually do see a ton of potential um from that defensive side for him because of that wingspan because of his physicality and again not to be not to be uh beating this drum here but how much he was able to adjust during a season and how much the coach has raved about how he takes coaching again it’s just not everyone who’s one and done is is getting those kind of compliments seems 2AM like he kind of has the reputation as like a dude with a high give a crap meter which I feel like matters a lot on defense can you speak to that at all absolutely um very high on the give a crap meter I’ll say that excellent we love that the intensity off the charts with him and a really well spoken guy but make no mistake about it when we were in press conferences with him he wasn’t happy and smiley you know before or after a game he he was he was an absolute G gamer and I mean to what you just said there that is that’s the biggest thing about playing defense in the NBA especially in your early days right like I If you can handle that assignment and take on that challenge chances are GNA become a good Defender and I think he he is right there you know you you look at the numbers and obviously he was a better shooter than just about anything else in his game but he did a lot of little things to help Baylor win uh last year when he was in that slum he became like the team’s second leading rebounder for three games as a guard you know he had a couple of assist games where he had three you know four five assists which doesn’t seem like much but for a guy who’s a spot up shooter that’s a lot um and so he was doing a lot of little things on the defensive end too so that just shows me that this guy is going to do what you tell him to do and what it’s going to help him fit best into the team love to hear that um obviously I think the defense to me feels like a worthwhile bet the shooting feels like a worthwhile bet and if those two things can combine that’s a player that basically every good team is happy to have I think the sort of next level of okay is there something beyond that can he be more than I know you mentioned in the video that we ran earlier on the channel last night you know kavus calwell Pope comes to mind I mentioned Danny Green as sort of an example as well just like two guards who can defend in bomb threes they have a place in the league but for that extra little bit of juice for the sort of upside play of this I’m curious what do you make of his uh sort of creation upside if there is any you know didn’t seem to flash a ton at Baylor this year but he spoke about you know feeling like he has that last night when he spoke to the media um obviously any player is going to feel pretty good about their own abilities to do things so you got to take that with a great assault too but um do you think there is you know some creation ability in there is it may be something that the Caps out is a guy who can make something happen attacking a close out and sort of keep the sequence going um what do you see as the upside for him creation wise and what did you see this year that kind of um you know might tip your hand one way or another yeah it’s definitely the least amount of confidence of the of the tools that we’ve talked about so far in terms of his shot creating ability um and I know that’s kind of what separates the men from the boys in the in the NBA from the max guys from everyone else um and there were flashes of especially when he was facing really tough Defenders that shed game comes to mind where he could he could you know dribble a little bit to the left side and and shoot some tough twos and make some tough twos he was making NBA NBA long twos by by the end of his time at Baylor but it it it was something that he struggled with and in Baylor’s offense specifically they had a true facilitating pass first and pass second point guard um and so that that helped the team offense entirely but that’s probably why you didn’t see um him creating a lot and I know he talked about that last night where he feels he has that in his bag um but we just we just didn’t see a lot of it so it’s not something I could sit here and be like yeah just give him some time he’ll he’ll not he’ll he’ll nail that um but he he is a guy who I think his athleticism is going to take him a long way uh we we have seen guys in the NBA the last few years who came out um either as spot up three-point shooters or just really raw athletic guys guys who have figured out those things in between and so I see you know a great shooting ability from jacobe which is you know something that is tougher to teach um and I see enough athleticism there that I think he can do that in the future but I would say that is that is the the biggest question mark in his game um both creating for himself and of course creating for others as well you don’t expect them to play point guard but um I think that’s that’s where he he is going to struggle in the early days anyway yeah I mean on a team with a manual quick and Scotty Barnes and also a team that runs a ton of stuff through their Bigs like I don’t think they’re going to ask very much from him on the ball anyway um but yeah I think if down the line he can become the type of dude who attacking a close out you know if he’s a great shooter that’s going to make those Closeouts all that much easier to attack of course to gain that Advantage I I think there is um at least a reasonable hope that he can become you know a second side creation type guy at the sort of very peak of his outcomes I don’t think he’s ever running 100 picking rolls for you in a game yeah but I I think that’s perfectly fine with what the Raptors are going with and look it’s the 19th overall pick there’s only so much you can hope to get there and it does feel like the floor here is pretty high when it comes to jacobe Walter if the tools click in and sort of mesh with the NBA game cam this was great thank you so much for offering the Insight uh I really appreciate it going to look forward to hopefully catching up with you again as jacobe Walter you know makes his way into the NBA we can certainly bring you back in uh anything you want to promote for the good people out there well yeah we’ve we’ve got some uh draft reaction coming up on lockon Baylor um you can see on my Twitter there real Kim Stewart I’m retweeting it all the time lockon Baylor and and look I mean Baylor’s getting top five guys top five prospects every year now so RS fans once you once you get towards that Springtime also you might want to check in on some prospects we’ll have you covered because it seems like Baylor is gonna have top 20 guys every year so uh yeah be sure to check us out and and I know for for my Canadians who are looking to get into college basketball start end with the big 12 man it’s all pure chaos and we’ll have you covered there too this was great thank you so much and we will catch up very very soon and thank you the listeners for tuning in bye

In Episode 1667, Sean Woodley is goes solo out of the gate to talk about the Toronto Raptors getting back to their roots on Day 2 of the NBA Draft with the selections of Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead and Ulrich Chomche on top of a deal with the Sacramento Kings that landed them the 45th-pick (Shead), Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov and a 2025 Blazers second-round pick. Off the top, Sean chats about the Raptors three-second rounders: Mogbo, the super-athletic, shooting-averse combo forward/big who just so happens to be childhood friends with Scottie Barnes, Shead, the 6’0 point guard from Houston who was the Big-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and is a three-point shot away from probably being a long-time backup point guard in the NBA, and Chomche, the youngest prospect in the draft, who stands 6’10 with a 7’4 wingspan and seems to be many years way from making a true impact in the NBA. This was the second round where the Raptors got back up to their old tricks when it comes to the types of dudes they historically love to draft. Next, Sean breaks down the deal with the Kings, discusses where Mitchell anad Vezenkov might fit in — if at all — and discuss where it leaves the Raptors’ roster heading into the free agency window. Lastly, Sean is joined by Cam Stuart of Locked On Baylor to break down the strengths, areas of growth and overall upside of Raptors first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter.

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