RAPTORS GET THE NINTH PICK! LIVE DRAFT REACTIONS & RECAP!

RAPTORS GET THE NINTH PICK! LIVE DRAFT REACTIONS & RECAP!

Hello and welcome to Run It Back on the Raptors Republic Network. I’m Zopie Shake here joined by Cody Wilds and Kyle Ramarine. The three of us were able to actually get together to commiserate as a group. We are recording this right after the 2025 NBA draft lottery results were announced. Uh we’ll be playing our reaction to it just before we start talking here. You’ll see how we felt about it. My dog just yawned in the back. He’s not feeling great about it either. Here’s Mark Tatum. Here we go, buddy. Oh my god, man. I’m so stressed. I’m so stressed. Oh, he’s just starting. He’s going. Damn. Okay, there we go. Kyle, delay your reactions. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll let I’ll let you guys say the pick so I know I know I can say something. Okay. Spurs. I think that was pretty pretty standard. Mhm. Because that’s the Atlanta pick, right? Yeah. Okay. All right. Oh, okay. So, from Sacramento Yeah. Yeah. Okay. If that if that jumped up higher than 12, Sacramento would have kept it. 12. Mhm. There we go. Keon Ella is sitting there for nothing. Okay. They dropped, I think. Right. Were they 10 or nine? They were 11. They were 11. Okay. So, they dropped. Did someone just jump up? Well, they had to have. Why they got to say that about the Maverick? Dallas moved up. Oh my god. How? Please tell me they didn’t move. This is I’m going to be confused. This technically could be Toronto at 10. It’s not. Okay. Okay. So, I’m pretty sure Yeah, this could be Toronto as well. Yeah, Toronto’s in all these ranges, right? No. Ah, there we go. There we go. I had to stop moving for a sec. Oh, no. Look at Mai. He’s so sad. Damn it. Ninth. Damn it, man. Damn it. The Spurs jumped up. I’m a conspiracy theorist now. I’m sorry. I’m believing every conspiracy. The Spurs and the Mavericks have jumped up into the top four. Are you kidding me? Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Well, this sucks. Yo, this is this is in insanity. Oh, the Sixers moved up. Oh, no. The Sixers are about to get this first pick. I’m telling you guys right now. The Sixers are about to get this first pick. This is every scenario I didn’t want. This is Oh, stop smiling. The Sixers are about to get the first pick. I don’t want any of them to get the first second. You know what I mean? Like this is Yeah, this is Bro. Oh my god. Two of these teams are going to be picking Dylan Harper for Utah. Oh, Utah, you got screwed. I mean, they tanked horribly, but Oh my god. You’re telling me one of the Sixers, Spurs, or Mavericks is ending up with Cooper flag Cooper flag inbound. Dylan Harper adx Cooper flag inbound. No, I’m so mad. This is I’m actually This is It’s ri I’m It’s not rigged, but Oh my god, it feels like it’s rigged. These are all the teams you didn’t want to see. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous, bro. These are These are like the least least deserving. Oh my god, bro. when when that I’m pretty sure when that nine pick got announced, you could see me just like like stutter for a second. Oh my god. And the Hornets, man. The Hornets haven’t done anything with their lottery picks. What are you talking about here? The ball and Brandon Miller are taking 23s a game. That’s all they’re doing. Nico’s getting rewarded for trading Luka. This is what this is, bro. This is so annoying. This is what this is. This is insanity. Oh. Oh my god. Nine. I just man, bro. It’s the fact that, you know, I would be really annoyed if the Spurs the their pick from uh Atlanta jumped up because obviously that’s crazy, but the fact that their own pick jumped up, man. They they got the Raptors pick last year. They I’m pretty sure they traded it and the Wolves took Rob Dillingham or whatever, but then like now you’re going to end up with a top four pick. You have Stefon Castle, the reigning rookie of the year with Wayne Byama. Oh my god. I If they get Cooper flag, man, I swear the Spurs or the Sixers get Cooper flag. What is What is like the the best outcome here? What do you What do you guys like out of the worst like pick your poison? Who do you want to get the number one pick here? The NBA folds. That’s my answer. That’s the best outcome. The league is over. Like it would be nice if you got sent to the West, I guess. But like, oh my god, my god, the maz the maz the NBA god’s like, “Yeah, you traded away your generational superstar. Let’s give you another one.” Oh man. And then you got 76 the 76ers over there. The Spurs could lowkey trade it to be honest. Like if they really wanted to spicy, I saw somebody mention today about like the idea of like adding Giannis next to WBY because obviously Giannis is such a downhill force and he can alleviate some of that pressure off Victor Wyama. So like you could put a spicy package together if you’re the Spurs. You know what I That is true. That I would I would consider that too, especially if it’s not number one, right? Like if you have like a top three, top four pick. Oh my. But oh my god, man. Just like I I can’t think of a worst case scenario. This is the This is the worst outcome right here. This is this Oh my god. It’s one of those moments where I didn’t realize I was praying on the downfall of my enemies than I was actually hoping for the the success of of my team. the just the I literally I think I tweeted this out earlier or wrote about it like the teams I did not want to see ending up in this position. Like it was in my notes about like I was going to ask you guys who you didn’t want to see the lottery. I had the Sixers, the Mavs, and the Spurs. Those are the only three teams I wrote down and they’re all in the top four now. Do you guys think we’ll ever see another like the Raps get the number one pick in our lifetime or like do you think we’ll die before that happens? God damn. Do you think Do you think I’m going to say this? This got dark real quick. I’m going to say sure. I hope so. Oh my god, bro. My vibe just got killed, man. That ninth that ninth pull, bro. A 12.9% chance of landing here. Is this where the uh the ping-pong balls come in or did they already do that? It’s already all done. It’s all done. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, two teams jump them. So, the ping pong balls happen for like the top was it four, I think. Right. Yeah, it’s the top four. Yeah, the top four. And then from there it’s it’s just kind of in a worst to best record. Okay. Oh my god, man. Just this is that is so bogus. Tough tough scenes, bro. I don’t even want to watch this now. Like I genuinely am so deflated. Like I don’t want to see I don’t want to turn this off, bro. If I see the Sixers or the Mavs, I actually might explode, bro. I can’t even lie to you. The thing is We’re going to talk about this, but at nine, like the conversation becomes so blurry when it comes to Raptors and prospects. Like some of it will truly just come down to who falls and who doesn’t get picked between then. And then like from there it’s like figure it out honestly. I really hope that Hey Brandon, if the Celtics win tonight too, that’s just the cherry on top, man. I’m like I can’t Oh, if if the Celtics win too, I I I my my thoughts are going to get very dark. I’m going to be honest with you. I I tweeted this out where I’m like, “Oh, the ping-pong balls are going to determine my my mental health.” And it’s so true. Like right now, I didn’t realize how bad it was going to be. I didn’t I didn’t think it would hit me like this, bro. I really saw that. I saw it get pulled out. I was like, “Oh my god.” Oh no. I see a Sham’s tweet. I don’t even know if I want to look at it cuz he’s probably spoiling it. No, I’m not looking. I’m not looking. Oh. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. No. No. I saw it. I saw it. I’m not going to say it. I’m believing in every conspiracy theory. Well, you looked at Well, we all you hate all four of the teams that are there, so I you didn’t really reveal much. Exactly. Exactly. That’s why I’m not going to spoil it for you, but I’m so annoyed. I If it’s D. I’m I’m just going to Nico Harris’s job saved. Fitz Dallas. Okay, this is this is BS, man. This is BS. I’m Charlotte four. Thank god they got number three. I can’t believe one of the They were all right around the Raptors range, too. Yeah. Oh my god. So, the Spurs are gonna get Yeah. The Spurs are going to get Dylan Harper and the freaking Mavericks. The Mavericks who just gave away their franchise. I know Nico is smiling right now, bro. I know Nico. This is insanity. This is insanity. God, this is Bro, they just sent away their Cooper flag just to get another Cooper flag. Yeah, they’re pointing at him. Oh my god. I Cooper flag and Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. That is freaking sick, by the way, I have to say. But dude, this guy’s going to have a beer and they’re going to put him on house arrest. They had They said they never won the lottery before. They had 1.8% 8% chance. Oh my god, man. Oh my god. Nico Harrison, you genius. Shut up. Shut up. G, shut up. No. Oh my god. I hate everything right now. Uh, but I’ll start with you, Cody, just super quick before we get into it. How are you feeling after that? Uh, I was just saying before we need to record, uh, I need to go for a walk. Like I it’s you know it’s it’s gonna be what it’s going to be. That’s how the pingpong balls fall. That’s how it goes. That’s how it works. Honestly, glass half full. There’s teams that should be feeling a lot worse than Raptors fans. So there’s that. We’re not the the biggest losers, I’d say, but falling two spots to number nine is is pretty brutal. Yeah. Look, I’m going to be honest. That is not my gripe as much with this draft as what we’ll talk about in a second or this lottery. I mean, Kyle, how are you before we really dive into this? I’m I’m just in disbelief because I need to know like how many times the NBA ran this simulation backstage to make these happen. Bro, Utah fell four spots, Washington fell four spots, New Orleans fell two, Brooklyn fell two, Toronto fell two. That’s how crazy this draft is. Dallas jumped up 10. What? Yeah. Look, for uh we’ll put a graphic up later on, but just to give you a quick summary for the people that are watching and listening, the Mavericks, they jumped up, like Kyle said, with a 1.8% chance. They jumped up to the top spot. They will be drafting number one in the upcoming draft in June, presumably taking Cooper Flag because, you know, they could use a a bright young star. It’s not like they had one of those recently. The San Antonio Spurs, they jumped up. They were one spot behind the Raptors. They had, I believe it was around an 8% chance or so to jump up, maybe it was a bit less to jump into the first overall pick. And the Dallas 6% chance 6% chance. Yeah. Okay. So, 6% chance. They won four more games in the Raptors. They jumped up to number two. The Sixers, God, the Sixers, they jumped up to number three. The Hornets at four. Like Kyle mentioned, the Jazz dropped to five, Wizards at six, the New Orleans Pelicans at seven. The Brooklyn Nets at eight. The Toronto Raptors at number nine, dropping two spots, the Rockets at 10, Blazers 11, the Chicago Bulls at 12, the Atlanta Hawks at 13, and just because one pick wasn’t enough, the San Antonio Spurs end up with the 14th overall pick via Atlanta as well. Uh, Cody, I’ll start with you. I guess just like an actual like initial reaction to the whole draft order. Yeah, I mean, what like question marks? Like that’s good way to put it. That’s exactly what it is. Everything we have fought has been basically flipped on its head. I mean that’s I alluded to it earlier, but like you got to feel for like the Jazz and Wizards, man. Like falling out of the top five. Like that’s what I mean. At least the Raptors, okay? They still have a base foundation, everybody. They still have good players, but teams like the Jazz and the Wizards that were like unbeatable tanks, like unfathomable tanks, and that’s the talent that those rosters have. Again, they are right outside the top four, which I think is I think you got Cooper, you got Dylan, and then I think VJ and Ace Bailey are in their own little tier at 3, four as well. So, they don’t even get like a top four pick. Like, man, brutal for them. Um, I don’t know why that’s my biggest takeaway is just I it’s it’s but seeing the teams at the top fall down like that is uh brutal for them and then yeah, Toronto at nine, which we’ll get into eventually here, but also brutal. It sounds like you’re just a very empathetic guy. You really feel for these teams that that fell down a little bit. It’s happened to Detroit in the past. It happens when you tank a lot sometimes, unfortunately. Hey, you guys can uh you guys can rant about that. I mean, what we could rant about Dallas, whatever. like made a dumb decision. It worked out for them. It Yeah, that’s why I’m going to rant about it. It was a terrible decision and it worked out for them. Come on, man. They shouldn’t be rewarded for it. But what’s it going to I mean, you got to move forward. So, uh I’m already over it. Over six minutes. All right, Cody. Eventually, we will all have to move forward. Uh 25 minutes after it happened, I’m not ready to move forward. I will get there eventually, but for now I am going to react and rant, but before I do, Kyle, I’ll kind of get to you like like Cody mentioned, it is what it is for a bit of it, but also the teams that got to jump up. There’s a conversation there about like come on, bro. It’s it’s it’s ridiculous. Like the the odds for Dallas alone, you said it was 1.8% and they never won a lottery before this. This is getting this is actually ridiculous. It wasn’t just they didn’t make a dumb decision. They made the dumb decision and they they traded away Luca and they got rewarded with the number one pick in the draft. And I remember way back when, you know, when we were discussing, you know, Toronto winning games um like why are they why are they winning these games? Should they be winning the games? And and Zophie was like remember you’ll never be able to beat a team like Washington and every stupidest stupidest things, bro. And I feel like I feel bad like Cody was saying too, but I also feel bad for us, man. I feel bad for us, for Toronto, bro, because we dropped two we dropped one or two spots from what we’re projected to be at. And now it’s kind of just like it’s up in the air to who we draft now. It’s deflating. It sucks to see even more of that teams who I’m just going to go out on a limb and say they clearly like Philly and Dallas don’t deserve top three picks in the draft. Simple as that. It’s not like, you know, they they put themselves in this position. Okay, Dallas put themselves in this position. the 76ers they were dealing with with Embiid and everything like that. Again, if Jared McCain was healthy, he would have won rookie of the year. We are ethically ethically tanking, bro. And it’s just frustrating. It’s just frustrating to see us dropping spots and now we’re put in this position once again. And it doesn’t make any sense to me, man. It doesn’t make any sense. It just feels like teams are just being rewarded for doing the worst possible decisions. Yeah. What irks me more than than Dallas getting number one is just like Toronto was like so close to even getting a top two pick. Like nobody’s complaining if Toronto lands at two, but of course it’s the San Antonio Spurs who won four, man. Yeah. Like talk about the rich getting richer if I’m being honest here. Like the San Antonio Spurs, they end up with two and 14. They just traded for De’aran Fox. They have the reigning rookie of the year in Stefon Castle. And oh yeah, the rookie of the year before that, Victor Wimyama, the first overall pick, generational freak. Obviously, he missed a good chunk of the end of the season with a blood clot diagnosis, but all accounts saying that he is recovering well and obviously we hope he gets back on the court very quickly, but like the rich getting richer here with San Antonio and uh we we’ll talk about it in a second about the idea of what San Antonio can do with that pick, but I kind of want to do touch on potential options for the Raptors at number nine first. So, Cody, like you said, it is what it is. the Toronto Raptor front office will have to pivot, I guess, and make a decision here based on where they’re at, unless they can somehow figure out a way to trade up or what not. But like for the time being, let’s say they’re at number nine. What names pop up to you? Yeah. Well, first let’s let me start with some numbers. So, rookie scale contract. So, wherever they were going to land, the Raptors were pretty much going to go into the tax. Um, the ninth pick gives them a bit more breathing room. They’re still assuming obviously he signs they pick at nine and this contract is signed. They’d be around $200,000 into the tax uh with this pick and that’s not accounting the 39th overall pick which they also have. Chris Muche and Garrett Temple are still free agents. So there’s going to be some maneuvering that they’re going to have to do. Obviously you have till the end of the year to get under the tax line, but as of right now they’re projecting as a tax team to go into the season. As for names they could use around that ninth pick. Um, let’s Okay, I’ll start with this. I think it’s more stomachable to take Common Malawash at nine. If he gets there, I’m not sure. I I’m not sure, but I think it could all work out if Common is is there at nine. Looking at the order, um, I don’t necessarily see a team that would be dying to pick him. Um, so I think there’s a potential because, okay, he’s not gonna go top four at the very least. Utah at five, I’d be shocked. Washington at six, again, I’d be shocked. New Orleans at seven, they took Mei could probably use Malawash, but um, again, uh, maybe not the biggest need. And then, uh, Brooklyn at eight, which I guess they could take Malawash as well. But there’s a real chance Minwash just falls to the Toronto Raptors at nine, which I mean, if he’s there at nine, I think you have to take him. I I think at that point it’d be really good value. He’s number five on my board right now, so that would be perfect for them. There’s a good litany of guards in this area as well. Say Malawash goes ahead of uh the Raptors pick, then there’s a couple guards that could fall like a Jeremiah fears, a Casper Sakonis are on the lower end of this group of guards who could potentially be available at nine. And then you could get into your forwards um with guys like Asa Newell, Carter Bryant is somebody I really like, though nine might be a bit rich and then someone like a CMB, a Colin Marie Bole. So yeah, it’s not Cooper Flag. It’s not Dylan Harper. It’s not Ace Bailey, but there’s still some good names there. And the Raptors are still going to get a a piece. They’re still going to get a piece. Yeah. I think at the end of the day with this, the way the front office was approaching this is like we want to find that superstar because they’re still searching for it quite honestly for all the upside there is for Scotty Barnes. But they they knew the mathematic probabilities just weren’t on their side for that. So now it’s just like you have I guess in some regards I’ll ask you this Kyle like where does your philosophy now fall for when it comes to the Raptors like if they stay at number nine like do you just essentially go best player available and like Cody just mentioned you can look at forwards you can look at guards you can try to look at at bigs that may fall into that range or like wings or what have you and it very much becomes a beauty in the eye of the beholder type of thing like do you just trust that like take whoever you think is the best regardless of position and fit and go from there or is it like now that you know you’re drafting a nine and the idea of you getting a superstar is a lot less likely. Do you go to fill a role or a potential need whether it’s vertical spacing in a big or if it’s just like I don’t know point of attack or perimeter defense what have you. Where do you think the philosophy should lie for this team now? For me, I think it was it changed depending on where we we landed now. And it’s kind of like you saying like like you’re saying now that we have the ninth pick, we got to we got to fill some sort of role or need on this team. And I think that it starts with uh filling out the big man position on the team like Cody was saying with with Kaman if he gets picked up. I was looking at Derek Queen as well possibly. Um, yeah, I think that’s the decision we got to go with right now because I, yeah, you could take the best player available, but then it’s kind of like, all right, we’ll put fit to the side for now, pick this guy, kind of figure it out later. But then again, we were saying like our goals for the season is we kind of want to make a run for the playoffs, you know, and if we’re trying to figure out like how fit works, it’s kind of it’s going to be kind of difficult to kind of go with that. And we’re also adding Brandon Ingram as well to this team. We don’t know how he’s going to fit with this team as well. So, I feel like the safer option is to be like, “Okay, get a big that we know we need we need them to fit this role on this team because I feel like it’s safer overall.” But I don’t know if you’re the Raptors too right now. Not saying you do trade this pick, but do you see what packages are out there for other sort of players? Would you be open to that if you’re Messiah? I think you have to be, right? Like there’s this team is not in a position where they’re guaranteed anything. There’s no certainty in terms of them being able to compete or not. I know Cody’s a lot higher than maybe some people where he thinks this team can very easily be competing for a top six spot. I think there they should comfortably be in playin range and then from there it’s like you have to like get things to work well and then you’re going to be in that top six range in terms of like a guaranteed playoff spot or playoff birth. So I think when you’re a team like that you have to consider optionality, give yourself as many ways to pivot and move forward. I think that’s what this front office wants to do. Number nine is going to be interesting for me because like again the goal of the draft is to find players that raise the ceiling of your team. But like we’ve all kind of agreed here after number one and two it you have to squint a lot harder to find that. So at that point are you looking for somebody to raise your floor instead because the Raptors have made it clear they want to be competitive next season. They already have a lot of talent on this roster to be competitive. Namely talent that very much needs the ball in their hands. Whether it’s Scotty Barnes, like you said, Kyle, adding Brandon Ingram, even an RJ Barrett, Emanuel Quickley, guys who need to have it be able to make decisions with the ball in their hands to be effective. So if a guy like Kaman Malawatch, like you said, Cody drop somehow, which I would personally love, like do you just take that because of how much it would raise the floor of this team because you were trying to get competitive sooner rather than later. So I think you have to give yourself the optionality there to answer your question, Kyle. But it’s just now it just comes down to really what philosophy it is like going back to that for the Raptors. So, Cody, like where do you fall on that? Yeah. You know what? It’s it’s going to come down to who’s on the board obviously, but it would be interesting to see where they if they would rather do like a more of a home run swing. Yeah. Or if they would rather let’s get a plugandplay kind of guy. And I mean, when you’re looking at the people in that area, like there is more of a swings available to them. I mean, like somebody hasn’t even brought up yet. Queen is also uh another potential name in and around that area. It’s It’s interesting, man. Like I’m still I’m still so scatterbrained trying to sort through all of this, but I I my biggest takeaway is just I someone’s gonna like someone’s going to fall over them. Someone always falls. The refs have done well drafting the lotto. Uh I believe they’ve had a couple of picks at nine. Purle was at nine. So Purle was their last number nine. Dear was before that. Yeah. Uh so hey, they’ve had some good uh picks at nine. Obviously got to trust my eye. The balls landed how they will, but it it’ll shed some light into how the Raptors want to build this thing out. Um obviously their options are going to be a lot more limited at nine and we’ll get less knowledge because of that. But there’s still there’s still going to be a good player available and I think you just gota I’m definitely a lot more glass half full here. Uh, but I think, yeah, biggest takeaway is do they go for more of a home run project swing or do they want somebody who’s going to be really good right now? Yeah, for our history buffs like you mentioned, uh, Cody, I’ll give you the breakdown here. They picked nine three times before. The first time was in 1997 when they took Tracy McGrady. Second time was Demard Rosen in 2009. That was premisu Jerry being in the front office. And then the Messiah Jerry pick, which was actually if I guess karm karma coincidence, whatever you want to call it. The last time Msiah Jerry actually represented the Raptors at the draft lottery was in 2016 where they ended up with the ninth pick and they took Yaka Purle. So, uh yeah, I uh for that’s for our history folks here, but Cody, I I’ll just stick with you because I know you’ve been talking about the prospects here. So, I guess I’ll just ask them like at number nine like just play the scenarios in your head. Who is the player that you think you want? So, and for like what need, fit, etc. I know obviously depends on who drops and what not, but like in your head, play out the scenarios and see like what name pops out to you. I mean, okay, I can I’ll run it through it right now. Uh, number one, I would assume maybe Cooper Flag. I think that’s pretty safe. Yeah. Spurs, Harper, uh, three Sixers with Bailey. I think Ace Bailey landing in Philly is really good for him now and for future. I just want to say that. Unfortunately, Philly, great for Philly. I think Ace coming into more of that three and D role to start and then being able to grow as that primary while he figures out those primary things like his handle uh his his bend and his rim pressure is great. Uh VJ at forward to Charlotte I think is a perfect fit for them as well. I hate it but it’ll be great for them. They get a defensive offball guard who doesn’t need the ball in his hands but can still grow into more LaMelo and Miller size kind of helps out with that even though VJ measured in at 6’4. So that’s fine. Utah at five. Um what do you guys think Utah would do at five at that point? Like then then Utah I think would just go best player available. I think they would take Yeah. one of the guards. I think I don’t think basically what I’m trying to say is I think Malawash could get to nine. I kind of laid that out already, but I I think there’s a realistic path here for Mos to get to nine. Utah, I think they would go with one of the guards like a Trey Johnson or a Conpple. Uh who’s at six? The Wizards. I mean, you just drafted Sar. Uh I guess they could go Malawash. Honestly, Malawash kind of fits what they want to do with the the new length and all of that. Malawash gets there. That’s what I what is what I’m trying to say. Uh and I think it’s a real possibility still. Yeah. Yeah. Like I I was going to be happy. There’s a way for the Raptor there’s a way for them to come out of this with still Malawatch. I think Yeah. Look, I was going to be happy with Malawatch at seven. I’ve talked about it. I think the Raptors don’t particularly need more high usage ball in your hand guys. Adding play finishers around players like Brandon Ingram and Scotty Barnes is I think important especially if they don’t have that superstar upside in a Dun Harper and Cooper flag. So a guy like Malawash who has this insane catch radius of like he’s a 9 foot6 standing reach. He’s like 78% finishing at the rim. He just like he gives you that optionality of vertical spacing. And I think people have talked about how the Raptors don’t really play that way. I don’t think they’ve had the option to play that way. So if you add this guy to be as part of this offense for Dark Gorakovich to run through. I think adding that guy next to Scotty Barnes and uh Brandon Ingram who by the way is a pretty awesome screener. I don’t think that gets talked about enough with Malawatch. So adding that optionality would be important too. So I I would love it there. But Kyle, I’ll throw it to you now. So like what for you like what’s the name that pops up to you if like play the scenarios in your head like what do you want to see coming and especially if it’s somebody different than than Malaw Pretend Malawash is gone? I don’t know in this situation is Dererick Queen still on the board or is it do we think he’s going to hire? Let’s say sure. Yeah. Okay then. Yeah. Yeah. Honestly, for me, I think the Raptors need to get a big like I for like if we couldn’t get Cooper flag, I thought outside of this, we need somebody to, you know, to help pair along, especially now we’re running with Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Quickly, Scotty. And I feel like these guys both fill a role like pretty good to be honest or Derrick Green especially as well. Like he is 610 so it’s not like the sevenfooter, but I think honestly again putting him alongside YaKob or even putting him just straight into that center role, I feel like that can really help out flush out the team. you know, someone that doesn’t need the ball to be successful, I think we need in this draft. But again, besides like the top picks, this is our best option, I believe, personally. But that’s the case. I don’t know if Derrick Queen’s going to work all that well. That guy leaves the ball in his hands. He likes to score a lot. He doesn’t defend a lot. If you can’t tell, I’m not as high on Derrick Queen. I will say that was with the idea of us being in like the the Raptors being in like the five to seven range hypothetically, right? Like obviously at this point like the the upside swing like you said Cody if they want to go for a bit more of that like home run play especially at nine you really do want to see what you can get out of it. I completely see the upside of Derek Queen. He has tons of like counters in his offensive game. He has really good footwork. It’s just like those questions on defense. I don’t believe in the shooting all that much. I think he shot around something like 20% or something from perimeter in college. I I I don’t really love the baby Joic comparisons. He’s not a playmaker. I’m sorry. He averages more turnovers than assists. And then like the Shangon stuff I kind of see like I get it but like at that pick I sure I could see it for the sake I’ll throw this out and I’ll ask you guys what you think of it because for the sake of like you guys already said Malawatch and Queen and you guys have both already said bigs. I have another name that I would love as well. But okay it’s the same as this but oh I think I know you’re going to talk about that’s different. But I’ll mention Kasparis Jackonis because I am kind of getting a little tired of the Raptors prototype when it comes to guards that are either smaller in stature or a bit more slender and speedy. I would like some size in the guard rotation, especially your primary ball handler. And at 66, 205 pounds, he would just by far and away be the biggest guard on this team. Emanuel Quickley is 6’3. Great. He’s about 10 lbs lighter than Jamal Shed who’s 6′ tall. Like you can see how the physicality has really impacted these small guards. And it’s been a common theme for the Raptors for quite some time. Going back to Kyle Lowry, Fred Van Vleet, even if you look at Dennis Shruder and DaVon Mitchell, these are more slight or just shorter in stature guards, especially at the point guard spot. And I would just love to see a bit more size. It’s why I was salivating at the idea of Dylan Harper. Quite honestly, that guy, which would have been a freak and fit so perfectly into that position, just like literally filled everything, especially with athleticism. So Kasparis, he has more question marks. He I think he’s shown he’s a high level processor. The turnovers became a concern especially later in the season with Kasparis. So it’s something you do want to see him fix up, but his usage was a lot higher too. So I’m just like saying if you want to find a way to get some size in the rotation, especially with this point of attack heavy defense thing, I I’m not saying he’s a lockdown defender or anything, but just adding that there as an option, especially off the bench to start, I think it gives you optionality, right? because then if the quickly situation doesn’t work out, it’s a guy who can really kind of fit in there and be a processor and playmake for some of your your more play finisher type of guys. So, I don’t know if you have thoughts on that, Cody, before you want to jump in with your name or if you just want to go to it, but go ahead. Yeah. No, I think you laid it out pretty well. Um, I’m going to bring up another guard uh that I think I think Caspers can be there and I think Fears can be there. Jeremiah Fears. So, you touched on KJ. I’ll touch on Jeremiah Fears a little bit. I totally hear you on the size in the back court and that’s why I was literally going to say that’s why I would have loved Dylan Harper in Toronto because and again he gets the he had an ungodly rim rate uh like finishing driving season this year and it would have fit perfectly next to IQ who’s more of that perimeter shot creator but Fears if they want to take a home run swing especially at the guard position like Fears uh would be that guy he’s super young he’s supposed to be in high school this year he recclassed Um, but again, he is a bit smaller. Measured in 6’2 and a half without shoes on. So, with shoes on, you’re looking at like 63, just under 6’4. Um, 65 and a half or 65 and a quarter wingspan. 82 uh 8 foot two and a half standing reach. So, obviously bit on the smaller side of guards, but he provides some rim pressure that the uh the Raptors still need. Like that’s why Dylan Harper would have been great. Dylan Harper does it at a higher level. Yeah. But Fears’s driving ability, he might be the best handler in the class. I was going to say a really tight handle and the way he’s able to get to the rim is it’s special. He does it so well. And uh he had some tough play in the SEC uh tournament and then in the SEC in general, in conference play, and it kind of had some mixed results, but for young guards like this, like it’s he has playmaking upside. His P&R play is really good. He has like a budding floater game as well. He he shot 50% on on like floaters and like runners and like that. So gets to the rim, gets to the free throw line quite a bit. He had a nearly 52% free throw rate. I think that’s somebody who the Raptors could potentially take. But again, weaknesses, three-point shooting, wasn’t much of a shooter at all. Um especially off the dribble like it was it was pretty bad. He was uh just under 21% on off the dribble threes this year but he had the confidence to take them. I was gonna say his shot diet like he he was willing to take big shots and he was relied so much for on that team that uh I think if someone like a Fears or Fears or Malawash would be my top two and then if they’re gone if they’re both gone which I think is totally possible then then you’re looking at like the Casper Shaki Chonises or you’re you’re looking at that forward spot with like a Isa Newell or Carter Bryant or Akala Murray Moles who all I would think would still be they’re at nine. Yeah. Yeah, I would think so, too. And uh with with the Fierce pick, I think like especially if you’re at nine, there’s way less pressure about this player needing to come in and be a starter right away. And then you get again, you get the conversation about like what their role is on the team. And I think the could value a lot from coming off the bench for the Raptors. Like being with that second unit, playing with the rest of the young guys and the rookies. Like like you said, he’s a crafty player. I’m a big fan of his handle, which I think is so important for young guys coming out. That’s one of the first things that like you see with other players who struggle kind of processing in traffic in the NBA is like their handle can solve all those problems. So, I think that’s going to be important. Like you said, not the most efficient shooter, but he’s taking some big shots for the Oklahoma team. And again, I’m echoing here, but just the the the load on him offensively just was immense, especially throughout conference and tournament play. You just saw how much he was trying to do to will this team to win. So, I think that’s one of the things that has to be taken into account. it’s going to be very different in terms of the context in which he’ll play for the Raptors and insulating that way could be interesting. So, I like that idea of like if you’re in this range and you want to add some depth to the bench and then see if the player can bud into that role, it’s definitely something to take a look at. But, uh Kyle, I I am ready to hate a little bit. I I am ready to get a little upset. Okay. And I know you’re the person I can come to for a quick rant who just understands like just from the pure like just the pure fan perspective of seeing like the Philadelphia 76ers with the ungodliness of their tanking and just like just signing and keeping old guys and somehow still things worked out for them where Jared McCain would have been rookie of the year and then he gets hurt but you still have him and he’s still going to be great and then now you end up with the third pick. San Antonio Spurs, we talked about it. The rich just getting richer. You said goodbye to Greg Papovic and he’s in the front office role. El hefe, you have Mitch Johnson stepping in. It’s supposed to be a changing of the guard. You’re figuring stuff out, but it’s but you’re the Spurs, so somehow you can trade for De’Aran Fox. You can get in a position to potentially either make a blockbuster trade like Hello Giannis or whatever have you. But if not, oh yeah, Dylan Harper pairing him next with Stefon Castle as this insanely young backcourt while you half box. And then Victor Webyama is still around by the way. And that’s not even the craziest thing because the Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison and that front office got tired of Luca Donuch not being on P90X 247 and sent him away. and they get immediately rewarded by getting Cooper flag on this team next to Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Derek Lively, who we haven’t even talked about really. That could be fun with uh Cooper Flag and some kind of short roll stuff they can do together. But there’s no pressure on this kid here other than the fact that they might trade him in five years and he can just fit in next to Kyrie and AD and let them be the vets to kind of lead this squad obviously if they stay healthy. Kyle, how bogus is this? This is I was about to say you came to the right person for the hate like for let it happen. This is this is ridiculous, bro. When’s when was the last time a team dropped jumped 10 spots in the draft? Like when I mean Atlanta technically did it last year to be fair, but we’re going to ignore that. But you know, they didn’t trade they didn’t trade Trey Young and then get another the same year. This is it’s actually ridic Bro, this is I don’t know what Luca did to deserve this type of karma. I don’t know what n the direct deposit had to hit from the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA because this is actually ridiculous, bro. The Dallas getting it, then San Antonio, then Philly. These are teams that don’t deserve this. I don’t care. The entire fan base can come after me. You guys do not deserve this. And you know it. You know it. And I’m not saying, “Okay, Raptors deserve it.” I’m saying any of the other teams, like, man, the West got blessed today, huh? The East just couldn’t get anything. This is, bro. Like, I I don’t even like I’m speechless because what are the odds you trade away a generational superstar like Luca, a perennial MVP player, and then you get the number one pick in the same year on a 1.8% chance. Okay. All I’m saying is it kind of seems similar to, you know, when um the New Orleans Pelicans traded away Anthony Davis and they ended up with Zion Williamson. Huh. Funny funny little coincidence there, isn’t it? You think that just that just happens? Like, I’m sorry. It’s not rigged, but I’m going to feel like it’s rigged because this is insane. Yeah, you trade away that I mean, you put the pieces together. You trade away Luca to the biggest market in the NBA. We’ll reward you with something. We got you guys with something. You look like a fool for a little bit. We got you. Hit the line. Who Who did the Pelicans trade Anthony Davis to last time? Also also the biggest market in Los Angeles. I’m just saying I’m turning into Wendy here. I’m just putting the fingers up for generational prospects coming in. Like I’m just I’m putting the fingers up. You you do the rest. That’s that’s all I’m doing. The NBA equivalent of selling your soul. You give LeBron your best player and you get the you get a the number one pick in the draft. All right. Well, I I’m I need to go for a walk. I’m pretty much You guys are getting You guys are getting into my head. But yeah, I think it’s Yeah, it’s I hope we were able to provide some analysis. It’s been a lot of just more of a banter pod than anything. But um you know, we needed that though. We truly needed that. This is just pretty much us ranting. Yeah, this is therapy for me at least. Okay, guys. Final guess final thoughts, final say. You can say a sentence or whatever just on the the Raptors ending up at ninth, the the prospects looking forward. Cody, I’ll give it to you quick. Just give me your final thoughts. Yeah. All right. Um, yeah, I think I’ve been the most happy guy. I’m not happy. Like, I’m definitely not happy, but uh yeah, I think obviously brutal uh what happened with the rapper specifically, brutal for the Wizards and Jazz. Shout out the Dallas Mavericks. I guess Nico Harrison is a genius. They get number one. Stop saying that. He’s not a genius. What do you mean? He got Cooper Flag. I don’t know. He’s a genius because he listened to Adam Silver and sent Luca to LA and he got Okay, it’s supposed to be final thoughts. I’m sorry. I’m going to keep ranting. Kyle Kyle Wood. This man. Giannis to the Spurs inbound, bro. This is it’s count it in the next couple in the next few months. You’re about you’re about to see that the the Shams trade hit, bro. Like this is this is I didn’t say final thoughts but I guess I like really quick. Cody, if you’re the Spurs, do you trade it for Yiannis? Two 40 or whatever goes into it. I think I would. Yeah, Kyle, yes or no? Yeah, I I would do it. I would do it. Yeah, two like two for you already have Stefon Castle. Dylan Harper is great and you love it, but you know, it’s Yes. Uh okay. For me, just like you said, Cody, you have to be optimistic right now because what other choice do you have? Trust trust in this front office. They got dealt a not so great hand and uh Mustafi Jerry to his credit has been pretty good in the lottery. So far, late first round picks, it’s a it’s not as pretty, but for the most part, he hasn’t been picking all that high to begin with. But you get Scotty Barnes at four, which wasn’t a consensus pick. You took a bit of a not a gamble, but you trusted your scouting department. It paid off. You got Yaka Purle at nine way back when. That was a pretty good damn pick. And then uh you got ready to get 13. Jury’s still out there, but you see the promise there. So, for the most part, Msaw Jiri and his staff have done pretty well when it comes to lottery picks. So, I’m going to trust in it begrudgingly given the situation, but you have no choice. But that does it for us here at Run It Back. From myself, Kyle, and Cody, we appreciate you tuning in, even though it was a bit of a nonsense pod at times, but let us know down below. How do you feel? Raptor stuck at nine, what would you do? Who would you draft? Would you trade it? Give us all your thoughts and feedback below. We appreciate it. Make sure you also like the video and share it so it reaches as many people as possible so they can enjoy us losing our minds. Uh, but beyond that, that does it for us here at Raptors Republic at Runit Back. God, I am so tired. I need a walk. That does it for us here at RunitBack. Peace out. We’ll see you soon.

In this episode of Run It Back, the boys give their live reactions of the NBA draft and then give their thoughts on the aftermath!

0:00 Intro
0:30 Live Draft Reactions
9:37 Aftermath Discussion

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