With the 9th Pick in the NBA Draft, the Raptors Select…

With the 9th Pick in the NBA Draft, the Raptors Select…

Hello Raptors fans and welcome back to Raptors Report. We are back. It’s been a while since we last spoke and unfortunately I wish I had better news. Um I’m sure that you know what I’m talking about by now. You probably even read the title of the video. So no surprise the Toronto Raptors are picking ninth in this year’s draft. So this is the worst likely outcome. There was one even worse outcome where they if they get triple jumped where three teams behind them jumped into the top four, but that was only about a 1% chance. The chance that they pick ninth was 12% which is, you know, unlikely, but still within the realm of possibility. And unfortunately, the Toronto Raptors ended up with the ninth pick. And so it is not a great outcome. Obviously, I would have liked it if the Toronto Raptors were able to jump into the top four, but alas, that’s not the world that we live in, and we’re just going to have to, you know, pick up the scraps that the other teams leave behind. And although it is not really an outcome I wanted to see, it does make this episode a little bit more interesting because there’s a lot of possibilities. And so, what I want to do is I want to take a look at all of the different possibilities that could happen on draft day. I’m going to look at all of the teams ahead of the Raptors, what they are going to be looking at, and then trying to read the tea leaves and figure out who will be available for the Toronto Raptors to draft when they are on the clock at 9. So, let’s start it off. So, first of all, let’s just talk about who, you know, moved up. So, number one overall is the Dallas Mavericks. Obviously, this does not help any kind of conspiracy theory about the league. Uh, this is just so suspicious and well, you know, I mean, they’re audited. This is all done under a, you know, a third party where they’re there in in the room to make sure that no, you know, funny business is going on. So, it’s not rigged in my opinion. But the Mavericks made the most suspicious trade of all time. They traded Luca Donuch to the biggest market in the NBA and they didn’t get much in return. But lo and behold, look, they’re picking number one overall and they get to pick Cooper Flag. So, I I think that’s I mean, it’s just really rewarding incompetence. I hate it. Um I guess it’s maybe slightly better than the second pick in this year’s draft who also moved up the San Antonio Spurs. Uh if they were able to pair Webanyama with Cooper Flag, I mean, it’s just over for the league. those two of the best prospects I have seen in the past couple of decades. Like literally two of the best prospects ever on the same team. So that would have just been game over. Uh then the Sixers, I was hoping that they’d lose their pick cuz I’m not a huge fan of their franchise, but they moved into the top three as well. And then, you know, I’m sorry to all the Hornets, Jazz, Wizards fans who, you know, tanked the whole year and had to deal with all these rebuilding rosters. they got bumped all down four, five, six. And so that’s uh you know, tough luck. I guess that’s why, you know, tanking isn’t a you know, ideal strategy. It’s why perhaps maybe people who were tearing their hair out that the Raptors weren’t tanking as hard as they possibly could. I mean, look at what happened to the to those guys, even though they are picking ahead of the Raptors. So, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 456 is a little bit better than nine. With that said, we’re going to take a look at the draft order and what the team needs are and who the teams are, you know, probably going to be thinking about come draft night. So, we’ll just start off with the Dallas Mavericks. They’re picking number one overall and this is a no-brainer. They’re going to be picking Cooper Flag 100%. Uh Cooper Flag is one of the best prospects I have seen. Um he’s definitely I think Wimbeyama is ahead of him. There are guys like uh LeBron James uh who was a better prospect coming out of uh high school. Um you could make the argument for a couple of other players, but Cooper Flag is one of the best uh prospects I have seen and there’s just no doubt about it. He’s going to the Mavericks. So, let’s not waste any more time. Now, next up is the San Antonio Spurs. So, uh Dylan Harper, I like him a lot. I think that he would be number one overall in almost any other draft class. I think he’s just a really solid high ceiling, high floor guy who is a prototypical NBA lead ball handler. And unfortunately for the Spurs, uh they have some guys uh like that. Well, they have one guy like that and then they’ve got another guy. Not exactly sure where he’s how he’s going to develop, but I really like Stefan Castle a lot and he’s kind of a guard player. I’m not exactly sure what his role is going to be moving forward, but you know, he’s similar size to Dylan Harper, so you got to take that into account. But they also have De’aran Fox and they made a big splash. They acquired him from the Kings and it looks like he’s going to be, you know, their starting uh lead ball handler uh moving forward. And I think they’re they’re going to try and hit the gas pedal and go uh this next season because Victor Webamin is already emerging as one of the best players in the league. I don’t think it’s wise to foot around here. I think it’s time for them to start making hay while the sun shines. Uh, as Wanyyama gets older, uh, you want him to have the experience of being in the playoffs. So, I think that they’re going to try and make a jump next season, which is an important point. I think that they will be willing to trade this pick. Um, I don’t know if Harper is the greatest fit. I mean, he’s a great fit with Webyama, but I don’t think he’s a great fit with the guy that they just made a big deal for. Uh Dylan Harper uh is a guy who would probably want to have the ball in his hands most of the time and Dear Fox is a guy like that as well. So I think that there’s a distinct possibility they could trade this pick for an impact player. A lot of people have been talking about Giannis. They could maybe make a play for him. I think that number two overall is high enough that this is something that I could see happening. uh they might have to include you know Stfan Castle in that deal but you know uh Jiannis Atenakmpo one of the top three players in the world. So pairing him with Victor Webbyama and Dearan Fox you’re going to immediately become one of the best teams in the league. So something to watch out for. With that said I think there’s a very outside chance that they might be interested in drafting Ace Bailey with this pick. I don’t think it’s likely. I think even if they kept the pick that they would pick Dylan Harper, but something to keep an eye out for. I think maybe like 5 10% chance that they pick Ace Bailey here. Uh, next up is the Philadelphia 76ers and they are picking third. Third, there’s a big drop off in quality. Um, there are a couple of guys in this realm that could conceivably go third overall. I think they’re going to go with Ace Bailey. Ace Bailey has been ranked number three for most of the year. He’s got some question marks around his game. Uh whether he has the processing to, you know, really read the game at the next level, how able he is to generate easy baskets for himself. But he is a forward with an amazing jump shot and he has clearly a huge amount of upside and I think that that is the guy that they’re going to be picking. Um so they have uh they could pick uh VJ Edgecom or Trey Johnson uh at this spot. But I think Trey Johnson’s a little bit more likely than VJ Edgecom because he can play in the offball spot where the Sixers are very stacked at the guard spot. They’ve got Maxi, they’ve got Jared McCain. Uh they’ve they’ve got that kind of sealed up. So I think that they’re going to go with Ace Bailey. And uh that’s that’s my prediction here. It’s possible they take Trey Johnson here, but um I think uh Ace Bailey is the most likely. So, I think that the Hornets, so the Hornets are an interesting team uh at the four spot because they the two best players who uh will probably be available to them are VJ Edgecomb and Trey Johnson. So, they both have strengths and weaknesses and they’re both kind of shooting guards. So, it really depends what the Hornets want. They have LaMelo Ball and they have Brandon Miller. Uh Brandon Miller would fit with either VJ Edgecomb or uh Trey Johnson, but LaMelo Ball is a guy that you have to kind of think long and hard about. And I could see an argument for both Trey Johnson and VJ Edgecom. Trey Johnson, I think, is a natural fit on offense. He’s an offball guard who can really shoot it. That would make a lot of sense next to um LaMelo Ball. You could have LaMelo Ball handle the ball like he likes to make plays and then Trey Johnson could roam the perimeter and uh you know create his own shot, shoot the ball. Uh that makes a lot of sense. Uh, I could also see them taking VJ Edgecom and VJ Edgecom could play uh on the offball spot as well, but he’s a really good defender and that’s one of LaMelo Ball’s weaknesses and that pairing could make sense because VJ Edgecom could really play the disruptive defender role next to next to LaMelo Ball. So, it’s really about what they want. Are they going to think about defense? Are they going to think about offense? I think they’re going to think about offense. I think they’re going to take Trey Johnson. Um, I think that’s a pretty good pairing on offense there. So that’s what I predict. I think that the Hornets will take Trey Johnson. Next up, I I think the Jazz, like this is all kind of moot. I think the Jazz are just going to take whoever falls. Uh so if the Hornets take Trey Johnson, then the Jazz are going to take VJ Edgecom. If the uh Hornets take VJ Edgecom, I think that the Jazz will take uh Trey Johnson. I think that the Jazz need just talent and their spots where they are weakest are at the kind of wing guard spots. They’ve got Markin, they’ve got Filiposki, they’ve got Walker Kesler. Their front court’s pretty squared away. So, it’s just an easy uh choice here. They’re they’re going to take whoever falls between uh Trey Johnson, VJ Edgecom. So, I think that they’re going to be taking VJ Edgecom here. Uh I think he’ll be, you know, a nice fit uh next to that front court. So, that’s who I think they’re going to take. So, now we got the Wizards. Um the Wizards picked number two overall in last year’s draft and they picked up Alex Sar, who I like as a prospect. I think he’s got potential. They also got Bob Carrington who I also think has potential. They’re a very young team and uh they also have um Bilal Kulabali. I think that they’re building some nice stuff there. So I’m not exactly sure how attached they are to uh Jordan Pool. If they want to move off of Pool, he had a pretty decent end to the season. And I think that, you know, they could be they could move him if they wanted to. I don’t think that contract looks as toxic as it did maybe at the end of last season and the beginning of this season where he just looked abysmal. But after Kyle Kusmo was waved, team made a lot more sense. Jordan Pool looks like he could be there long term. Maybe, maybe not. Um, the unfortunate thing for them is that I there are a lot of guards in this draft range and a lot of centers. And I don’t think that they want to draft another center after they picked up Alex Sar. I think they’re much more likely to take a guard here. Even though they have Bob Carrington, even though they have Jordan P at the moment, I really think that they might be in the market for uh Jeremiah Fears. Uh I think that he is a guy that they’re going to be interested in. Uh they could even play him off of the bench while Jordan P is there. I think that he has a lot of scoring chops. He’s an alpha dog type of player. I think that that’s a guy that they could be very interested in. Khan Canipple. He’s another guy who has been mocked, you know, in the top half of the lottery uh this season. I think he’s another potential pick there, but I think they might just try and go for the high upside pick in fears rather than the safer pick in Caniple. Although Khan Canipple would fit their team pretty well. He’s a good shooter. He could play next to Bob Carrington. He could play next to Jordan P. He could play next to Bal Koulabali. He he’d be a nice glue guy that could help run their offense. So, I think those are the two picks there for them. I think Jeremiah Fears. I think Kon Canipple, I don’t think they’re going to be drafting a center. I think there’s an outside chance for a guy like Yakonis, but I think if you’re going to pick Yakonis, I think you just go with Fierce. I think that the upside there is a lot higher. Um, so yeah, I think they’re going to go with Fears, but I could see Conanipple. Uh, next up, the Pelicans. So, the Pelicans are kind of at the mercy of the Washington Wizards. Uh, I think that they would draft Fierce if he’s available. um they could use a guard upgrade. They want a guy who can handle the ball and put pressure on the rim. And they’ve been looking for that type of player for a long time. And they’ve made a bunch of trades to try and find that guy, but they really have not been able to successfully find a player who really fits the mold of an A1 creator. So, I think if he drops to them, I think the Pelicans will just snatch up fears, take him, and uh no doubt about it. If the Wizards take him, there’s not a ton of replacements for Fears at that spot. They could take Yakonis, who’s another guard. He could be a guy that they try and develop. They could also take Coniple because if they take uh if the Wizards take Fierce, then, you know, Caniple will drop to them. Uh I think that there’s a bit of overlap there with Trey Murphy. I think Trey Murphy is a great shooter. Um a really good wing. He can handle the ball a little bit as well and score. Uh there’s a lot of overlap there, but with that said, you can run a couple of those guys. So, I could see them taking Conciple as well, but I I think they’re going to go big and I know they have Eaves Missy and I don’t know how like he he did play a big role for them. He was one of the worst finishers in the league. So, he’s, you know, there’s some question marks about him. I don’t think that him being on their team is going to prevent them from taking a center. So, I could really see them taking common malawatch here. Um there are two centers in this draft range. Dererick Queen and Common Malawatch. Uh the problem with Derrick Queen is that he is a scoring center. He’s a guy that can, you know, put pressure on the basket, score inside. He is not a good defender and his rebounding is kind of suspect. So, if you’re trying to build around Zion Williamson, which I I think they are. I mean, I think that that’s kind of what they’re going with. I think that common Malawatch would be the guy that you would want to pair with Zion Williamson. a guy can who can really hold it down inside and you know do the dirty work uh play help defense when Zion Williamson gets blown past and then Zion can just cook and there’s a little bit of stretch potential there as well with common Malawatch. So I think that if Fierce drops to them slam dunk they’re taking Jeremiah Fierce. If he does not I think they’ll take uh Common Match and then there’s an outside chance I think of Coniple as well if they just want to if they are high on him. I think he would fit on pretty much any team that drafts him. Next up are the Nets. So that this is the team that is drafting before the Toronto Raptors and and the Nets are kind of the most wide openen team. Um because Fierce is gone. Fierce and Cam Thomas are kind of similar players. Cam Thomas is a scoring guard who really likes to shoot and drive and handle the ball and score. So very similar players, but he’s I believe will be off the board before he even uh before they have a chance to get him. So there’s it’s kind of wide open for them. Can see them taking a lot of guys. They don’t really have, you know, a core, a really solid core like some of the other teams in this range, they’re really just probably looking for the BPA. And in fact, because they don’t really have a core, I think that they’re going to try and get a guy who can put up some stats. And I really think that the guy that they might be the most interested in is uh Derek Queen. Derk Queen has a lot of weaknesses. He’s not a good defender. His boxing out and intangibles on the defensive end and via rebounding on defense are all kind of questionable. But there is one thing he can do, which is score and playmake. And he can do a bunch of different stuff on the offensive side of the ball. And if you’re going to be a bad team, I think the Nets are going to be a bad team next year. Um, uh, even if they make a couple of trades, uh, Cam Johnson, I don’t even know if he’s going to be on their team next year, but I I think that they just want they’ll be looking for a guy who can come in and immediately make an impact and not require a ton of stuff around him in order for him to make his game work. I don’t think they’re going to be looking for a complimentary player. So, if Coniple drops to them, I I could see them taking Derek Queen over Coniple. Um I Conanipple Common Malawatch if common malaw watch drops to them. So uh there’s a chance there. I think that they would take Derek Queen over him as well. Common Malawatch and Conanipple, they’re more complimentary players. They’re guys who sort of fit in rather than be a star kind of guy. So I I think that they would go for Derek Queen. Um but I could also see them just seeing Coniple as the BPA and they could try and pick him up as well. So that there’s potential there. So that’s that goes for the teams that are ahead of the Toronto Raptors. So let’s talk about what the Raptors, you know, might be looking for and who they could pick up in uh this draft. So first of all, I think that the Toronto Raptors will draft common Malawatch if he drops to them. So, the Wizards kind of hold the key to the Toronto Raptors future because if they take Jeremiah Fears, then I think the Pelicans might take common Malawatch. If the Wizards takes say Canimple um or, you know, Yakonis or maybe even Queen, I I I think slam dunk. I think that the Pelicans are taking Jeremiah Fierce. Okay. So if common malaw watch drops past the the Pelicans, I think the Nets are not going to take common Malawatch. I think he will just fall directly to the Toronto Raptors. So with that said, I think that you know if the Wizards take somebody other than Jeremiah Fierce, I think there’s a good possibility that common Malawatch will drop all the way to the Raptors, then they’ll be able to pick him. And I think they will do that if it’s available to them. One of my sleeper picks, one of the guys that I really liked, especially if the Raptors fell back uh was Jace Richardson, but that was prior to reading his uh draft combine measurements. Jace Richardson had some pretty bad draft combine measurements. He was measured at 6 ft. Uh pretty small. Uh not a great wingspan. So, he I think I’m a little lower on him. if he can’t play the two or if he can’t be a swing, if he’s just nailed into that point guard role, not as interested. Khan Caniple is another guy that could fall to the Toronto Raptors. So, it’s worth discussing him. So, if you know the Wizards take fears, uh the Pelicans take Malawatch, the Nets take Derek Queen. So, those are all possibilities. Coniple could fall all the way to the Toronto Raptors. And I’ve discussed Conaniple. I know there are a lot of people who are not as high on him uh just because he doesn’t have that superstar upside potential, but here’s the pitch for him. Um the Toronto Raptors, I think, are going to be looking to make a push next season. They’ve made a bunch of trades. They have guys entering their prime. They need complimentary players. Um and they need guys who can shoot. They need guys who can come in and contribute immediately. So, I think Conanipple could step in and play a lot of minutes for the Toronto Raptors off of the bench and there is some positional overlap. So, there’s a guy right now on the Toronto Raptors, uh, Grady Dick, who has, you know, the rep of a shooter. He hasn’t been a great shooter so far this in his career. Um, there’s still potential there. I’m not writing him off completely, but I think if the Toronto Raptors drafted uh Coniple, I think you would probably see a trade involving uh Grady Dick just, you know, swap uh one shooter wing for another. And I wouldn’t mind seeing that. I think Konipple at this point after seeing two seasons of Grady Dick, I would say that Kon Canipple has higher upside than him. So, um yeah, I wouldn’t be too upset with Coniple on the Toronto Raptors. Uh but obviously it would probably require a little a few other trades. So that’s if he drops to them outside of that. Okay. So I think there’s a really good chance that Yakonis will drop to the Toronto Raptors at nine. I’m going to be honest. I I was high on him at the beginning of the season and then he really hit a wall and against the higher level competition, he was not very good. His shot declined. He is a guy who can run the point. I could see him playing alongside Jamal Shed. I could see him playing alongside Grady Dick, Jacobe Walter. I I think he could fit in, but again, I’m not as high on him. So, and there’s the Raptors have a lot of guards and wings, and if I’m not super high on him, I’m I’m not going to be super pumped if the Raptors take him. After that, uh there’s uh Derek Queen. I think the Raptors could take Derrick Queen uh if they believe he’s the BPA. Uh he has a lot of defensive question marks. He could come off of the bench uh behind Yak and maybe just put up some stats, but I’m not a huge fan of that type of player. Uh centers who aren’t very good on defense, so I’m sort of similar. Uh Yakonis out there, not as big a fan of him. Uh now, we’re going to talk about the other picks at nine. So, there are a couple of reaches guys who are not projected in this range who could uh the rap I could easily see the Toronto Raptors drafting at nine. There are four guys who are possibilities here. I like Colin Murray Boils. His combine stats weren’t great. So, he’s uh 6 foot6, 6’7, uh standing reach of 810, which is pretty good. Uh but he’s a little undersized for the position, but I do like him. He can really play. Um he he would make sense off of the bench for the Toronto Raptors, but he can’t shoot. So, there’s him. Uh there’s Noah Essen. Noah Essen is a guy who’s been mocked in the teens. Um he is a really toolsy wing forward who plays overseas for Ratzio Farm uh in Germany. Uh he’s a pretty interesting player, has a lot of tools, could develop into, you know, a prototypical wing forward in the NBA. Uh Rasheir Fleming, his wingspan is for real. He was mentioning that he had a 75 wingspan. He’s 6’8. uh with the 75 wingspan that means I think he could play a little bit of center and he’s a good shooter. He’s uh takes a lot of shots and he shoots 39% from three. So he could be like a premier role player that the Raptors could be interested in drafting. I think he could come in. He’s a junior so he’s a little bit older but that might mean that the Raptors could just plug him in at that backup five spot and have him play significant minutes having a stretch five next to Scotty Barnes Brandon Ingram. That could make a lot of sense. I like him there. another guy, Aigor Demon, and a guy who I warmed up quite a bit on uh after watching him in the uh the tournament. He is not a stats guy. So, right now, his stats are pretty poor. He’s not a good shooter. Um he averages a lot of turnovers. His measurements at the draft combine were great. He is 68 uh with a 610 wingspan, uh 89 standing reach, and he’s a point guard. So this might be the guy that is the high upside swing at nine where you know maybe he can’t come in right away and contribute but he is very raptor Z. He has a high uh basketball IQ. He has excellent size for position. He’s a good athlete, good foot speed. He knows how to play. I could see him I could see the Raptors taking him at nine. And then there’s obviously a trade down scenario. I think that once you get to nine and if you know guys like common malawatch or coniple are off the board. Um then you could just go and get you know one of those guys that I just mentioned. Colin Murray Boils, Eigor Demon, uh Noah Asen, Rashier Fleming. I could see them going and getting one of those players at a later draft position. So, it might behoove the Raptors to make a draft day trade and they’re very reticent. I I can’t even remember the last time they traded down or traded up in a draft. So, it it really comes down to what they want. Um uh I think that the Toronto Raptors uh the only lock really that I have that I think just I feel it and am pretty confident in is that if common Malawatch were to make it to nine, I think that the Toronto Raptors would draft him. So, that is my analysis of this year’s draft. I have a whole ton of videos, scouting videos. Everyone I mentioned today, I have a video on. Okay, the links will be in the description. You will be able to see it. Just open it up. Uh, it says more at the bottom. You click on that and there will be a whole list of videos that you can take a look at. I go indepth on all of the prospects that I mentioned today. And so, I’d be very interested in hearing what you guys think. Ninth is a very interesting position. It wasn’t a great position for the Raptors to land in, but there are a lot of options. I think that the Toronto Raptors could really find if their scouting is top-notch and they do a good job, I think they could find some real talent. I think that this is a really good draft. I think this is one of the best draft in in years and there is talent. There will be somebody available at nine who will be a differencemaker. So, it’s really up to the Toronto Raptors to identify that guy and find out who he is and then and then bring him aboard and develop him. So, I’m interested what you guys have to say because that is the end of the video. Let me know who are your sleeper picks for this year’s draft. Who do you hope falls to the Toronto Raptors? Who do you think is a booby prize? Who do you think is the guy that if they pick him uh it’s going to blow up in their face? Let me know here in the comments and also on Twitter and Blue Sky where you can reach me at rapsreport. Uh always love talking to Toronto Raptors fans. We are the best. And uh let me know what you think about the playoffs as well. I’ve been really having a good time watching them this year. And if you haven’t already, please like and subscribe and hit the bell icon, all of that good stuff because that really helps the algorithm know that this is content that other Raptors fans need to see. So please do that. And as always, thank you for tuning in to Raptors Report, your source for in-depth Raptors content.

In this episode we discuss the draft lottery results as well as the different possibilities and permutations for who the Raptors could end up selecting in June.

Prior Draft Episodes:

Jase Richardson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE14jHPMA64
Derik Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG2enV-emmo
Collin Murray-Boyles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edCVh1QgMbI
Jeremiah Fears: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXQgRJZ2bwo
Danny Wolf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et6zjmfYlOc
Kon Knueppel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQn-mZ3yT0w
Rasheer Fleming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Rhjdk-KMo
Noa Essengue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hMb-j-tpiY
Tre Johnson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoTFVGs3_pM
Khaman Maluach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LxbcdoH-XE
Kasparas Jakucionis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy3yrMqqOGk
V.J. Edgecomb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEUKo5OLtpE
Dylan Harper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnNArfmhVbQ
Ace Bailey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuDV5xyDQAg
Cooper Flagg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUHt8k87dYk