2024 NBA DRAFT THREAD 4

[dohboy_24]

Poeltl isn't going to be traded. The management wants to compete next season and they will only turn to development if the first half goes bad.

They'll probably try offering Brown for a pick in the late lottery and justify the cost with how weak the draft is.

Since our 2024 pick has been conveyed to the Spurs and our 2025 pick will be our own, we could decide to determine our own fate by prioritizing the development of our core (IQ, RJ, Scottie, Dick, Ochai) and trading either one or both of our most valuable non-core assets to the Grizzlies in a deal that would allow the Raptors to:

#1 - Get back into the top end of the 2024 draft (#9) to select another long-term prospect they can add to the core group of players aged 20-25 years old who fit the Scottie (age 22) timeline

#2 - Turn a long-term contract (Poeltl) into an expiring contract (Luke Kennard) or a Canadian (Clarke) signed to a less expensive deal ($7 million savings) for the same number of years

#3 - Package Bruce Brown with another player/contract (previously unable to be included as a result of the trade to acquire him)

#4 - Add more youth with potential - GG Jackson (19 years), Jake LaRavia (22 years), Ziaire Williams (22 years), Vince Williams Jr (23 years), Santi Aldama (23 years) - who can contribute as role players, continue to develop alongside the core, and be re-signed to cost-conscious, short-term (2-3 years) deals as restricted free agents when their current contracts expire

#5 - Compete for a play-in tournament spot and/or lottery selection in the 2025 draft to pick up another long-term prospect to add to the core

While we could wait until closer to the trade deadline to see how the team plays, I'd much rather trade Poeltl and/or Brown before the season starts if that means we'd get back into the lottery for the 2024 draft, pick up some players who fit the timeline of our core better than Brown and Poeltl, and better position the team to end up with a top 10 pick in the 2025 draft.

Given the success playoff teams like the Celtics (Tatum, Brown, Payton Pritchard), Sixers (Embiid, Maxey, Paul Reed), Cavs (Garland, Mobley, Okoro), Magic (Wagner, Banchero, Suggs, Black, Isaac, Anthony), Heat (Jovic, Adebayo, Herro, Jaquez Jr), Mavericks (Luka, Dereck Lively, Jaden Hardy, Josh Green, OMP), Timberwolves (KAT, Ant-Man, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid), Nuggets (Murray, Jokic, MPJ), and Thunder (Chet, J-Dub, Giddey, Wallace) have had selecting and retaining players through the draft, I would rather have two (2) lottery picks in the next couple of drafts and a couple of more former first round picks from the last few drafts to develop alongside our core than whatever Poeltl + Brown will contribute during the first half of next season...

[BoyzNTheHood]

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[OAKLEY_2]

I was onboard with keeping the pick. Now I am kinda glad it has moved to the Spurs.

I think Jakob is more valuable than anything we could have gotten at 8. I really like Yaks game & would be kinda sad to see him go.

Plus.......I think we can get good value at 19 & we retain a future asset for trades, etc.

I like Jak, but he is a stop-gap C. He is really good at a few things, but his lack of offense and poor freethrow shooting prevent him from closing games. I don't know of a lot of teams that would start him other than maybe the Warriors. The last two years, Jak's defense has even declined.

Raptors do have to look at the bigger picture at some point. If Scottie is going to be most effective in the paint and not a high level three point scorer, then we need to surround him with shooting.

Example, the Grizzlies had Steven Adams and with him they had great defense, but they made a decision to move on from him for salary relief. We can do better than that with Poeltl since he isn't coming off any major injuries.

In the draft, we could prioritize getting some better floor spacing like Kyle Filipowski if we are lucky, but there are other options as well.

I think JP does a lot of things really well at the C position. Really good at setting screens & rolling. Very good hands. Good finishing ability near the rim. Decent passer. Fairly high IQ player. Rarely out of position. Reliable defender. He helps the team run more smoothly because of these attributes.

I think the ideal situation would be to draft a big with higher offensive potential than Yak. Have Yak mentor him for a couple of seasons so that he can undertand the fundamentals of the game before earning the starting position.

He may be a stop gap, but he's a reliable one that this team currently needa.

A kid I am impressed with is PJ Hall. Probably a 4 in the nba. Does a bit of everything. I'd throw #31 at him. Worst case scenarion is no guarantee but this kid is strong. Long. Has an offensive game and other than 5 positions Scottie we have no 4's. Just the kind of big man depth we need. If we want to take upside risk pick Carrington at 19 or Collier.

[BoyzNTheHood]

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[redraptor77]

Grizzlies are reportedly shopping #9 pick for an upgrade at C.

Poeltl for #9? Would Masai go for it?

No

The trade to acquire Poeltl:
Khem Birch + 2024 1st round pick (#8 - TBD) + 2023 second round pick (#44 - Sidy Cissoko) + 2025 second round pick (TBD)

If we could trade Poeltl for the #9 pick in the same draft we'd only be dropping down one spot from the Spurs pick, so what else would Memphis need to add to the deal to make up for what we gave up in the original deal (Birch + 2 second rounders)?

Considering the Steven Adams trade exception ($12.6 million), players and contracts Memphis could add to the deal, I think Masai would pick up the phone and listen to what they have to offer if they value Poeltl as a C to compliment JJJ and play alongside Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, and Desmond Bane in the starting lineup more than what they can get at #9 in the draft and these players can continue to contribute as role players off the bench:

Brandon Clarke: #21 pick in the 2019 draft | 6'8", 215 lbs | 11 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast | $12.5 million (2024-25) with 2 years remaining
Luke Kennard: #12 pick in the 2017 draft | 6'5", 205 lbs | 11 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast | $14.7 million (2024-25) with 0 years remaining
GG Jackson: #45 pick in the 2023 draft | 6'9", 210 lbs | 15 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast | $1.9 million (2024-25) with 2 years remaining
Vince Williams Jr: #47 pick in the 2022 draft | 6'4", 205 lbs | 10 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast | $2.1 million (2024-25) with 2 years remaining
Jake LaRavia: #19 pick in the 2022 draft | 6'8", 235 lbs | 10 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast | $3.3 million (2024-25) with 1 years remaining
Santi Aldama: #30 pick in the 2021 draft | 6'11", 225 lbs | 10 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast | $3.9 million (2024-25) with 0 years remaining
Ziaire Williams: #10 pick in the 2021 draft | 6'9", 215 lbs | 8 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast | $6.1 million (2024-25) with 0 years remaining

Considering Jakob Poeltl makes $19.5 million (2024-25) with 2 years remaining on his contract, there are lots of combinations the Raptors could work with to make a deal that would include almost any combination of the above players expect for Clarke and Kennard together since the $$ wouldn't work without Bruce Brown being added to the deal.

Should the Raptors be willing to include Bruce Brown along with Jakob Poeltl in any deal with the Grizzlies, a deal that would include all of the above players would still work under the CBA, so I think Memphis would make an ideal trade partner with many different options Masai and Bobby could consider to improve the long-term potential of the team.

I’m fairly certain we have two player exception (can’t recall the amounts) also to absorb a separate deal with them. As you mentioned they also have exception. So this gives way more flexibility.
I would definitely look at this if raptors can nab santi and or Jake for some size. I really don’t want to see Barnes play the five anymore.

[Dalek]

After the two scrimmages, I would say the guys who improved their stock were the NBL guys.

Trentyn Flowers is huge and athletic and really plays with a load of energy. I believe he went 5/5 and 1/1 from three. He had a couple NBA level dunks.

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AJ Johnson with 14 points and 4 assists in short time showed some high level play. I gotta believe that him and Scottie know each other well from Jalen Green's summer runs.

Other notables were KJ Simpson who is a walking bucket and that Enrique Freeman kid can really board and be athletic. Also, Mogbo was my favorite player of the day with his energy. He can really handle the ball well at his size and his floor vision is great.

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[ontnut]

Edey at 7' 3.75" height, 300lbs 7'11" wingspan, 9'7" standing reach.

That's one big boy. And he seems to be able to move pretty well at the combine, along with a surprisingly decent stroke....

[JShuttlesworth]

Masai takes Edey at #19 if he's on the board, I would be pretty surprised if he doesn't

[Mark_83]

Still haven't made up my mind about Bub. For fans of his, are you not worried that he almost never gets enough separation to get to the rim and leans a little too much on that pull-up? Do you think it's something that gets sorted as he learns the game more and adds strength?

Not to mention his defense and shot selection leave a lot to be desired. Yes, he hits tough shots off the dribble, but at terrible percentages and on volume. A lot of that is out of necessity cause his teammates aren’t that good, but is he going to be able to make better decisions as a 3rd or 4th option on the floor to start his career and still be effective? This is reminding me of the Terquavion Smith hype from a year ago, which shows just how desperate we are for shot-makers.

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I don't see much of a comparison at all. Terquavion Smith was basically a pure scorer with no point guard skills that also happened to be one of the slightest players in combine history. He measured out at 6'2.25 and 165 pounds. Carrington at least has basic PG skills and just measured at 6'3.75 and 195 pounds.

I agree that I'd like to see Carrington get all the way to the hoop more, but I think it's something that he can be taught to improve on, unlike Smith, who was just way too small to battle in the paint.

As for his defence, he obviously makes a lot of mistakes, as you would expect for almost every 18-year-old, but when he digs in, I actually see someone with a bunch of potential to be a long-armed point of attack defender. When he's locked in, he can really stay in front of his man, and I've seen him do a great job of fighting around screens. He just needs to work on consistency which, again, you should expect for kid who will play his whole rookie season at 19-years-old.

He's not my favourite of the guys I like who might be available at our range, but I like him, and he's definitely on the list.

I didn't compare them as players, I compared the outsized hype for them on this board based on their dribble shooting potential despite their poor shooting numbers. Stylewise Smith is more similar to a guy like Dillingham, but that was not my point. FWIW Smith actually shot better from three as a freshman than Bub, and on higher volume.

Terq was getting a ton of hype on this board along with Branham for many of the same reasons Bub is, because we desperately need a go-to scorer. I'm not against drafting him, especially in light of his measurements. But I'm finding the hype around him a little much based on what I see right now.

[Dalek]

Ighodaro very smart player. Most teams should at least be interested as 3rd C.

It is hard for a player like Oso Ighodaro to stand out in this type of setting because he is a guy that works well in complex offenses/schemes. Still, he did what he does best 8 points / 5 assists / 2 steals / 1 block. The guy just plays with ultra poise on court. The problem is the shooting, but the passing and defense are great. You can also tell he is a leader on court talking to guys.

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If Toronto wanted a guy for Poeltl to mentor this guy is a perfect fit. To me, Ighodaro and Poeltl are cut from the same cloth. Given that we have KO and Poelt and had an extended run with Jontay Porter, I can say we like high IQ bigs over straight rim runner types. I am comfortable with Ighodaro and Mogbo at 31.

Just caught the measurements are up on NBA.com - Oso Ighodaro had a small wingspan of 6'11 to match his height in shoes, but had a 39.5 max vert and 35 standing vert. He is a very solid athlete.

[SpezNc]

Bronny really cant play in these scrimmages
shoulda went back to college

I am all in for Lakers drafting Bronny at 17

I am kidding as they own pick #55 and can simply wait for #55.

Or chaos fun scenario, should they dont draft him at #17 we should threat the Lakers to draft Bronny at 31.

Give me a futur unprotected 1st round pick or we draft Bronny at 31!

Therefore you should draft him at 17 and our pick 19 become virtually pick 18 .

I am kidding as i would bet two dollars that the Lakers will draft Bronny at #55. Virtually at zero cost !

[PoundTown]

Ighodaro very smart player. Most teams should at least be interested as 3rd C.

It is hard for a player like Oso Ighodaro to stand out in this type of setting because he is a guy that works well in complex offenses/schemes. Still, he did what he does best 8 points / 5 assists / 2 steals / 1 block. The guy just plays with ultra poise on court. The problem is the shooting, but the passing and defense are great. You can also tell he is a leader on court talking to guys.

/edit added a clip from today:

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If Toronto wanted a guy for Poeltl to mentor this guy is a perfect fit. To me, Ighodaro and Poeltl are cut from the same cloth. Given that we have KO and Poelt and had an extended run with Jontay Porter, I can say we like high IQ bigs over straight rim runner types. I am comfortable with Ighodaro and Mogbo at 31.

I could see them being into a rim running type, if said rim running type had some passing chops. A guy like Boucher doesn't work too well in this offence, but getting someone that is a rim runner that also has some IQ could be a good fit. Offensively, Poeltl doesnt do a whole lot other than pass and score inside, so guys like Claxton and Jarrett Allen could, because they are decent passers. Khem Birch also was a decent enough passer, even if pre-injury Birch was a good bench fit rather than a fit in the SL. He could make quick decisions with the ball is all I am saying.

[TimeForChange]

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Wow he grew! Someone said his previous official measurements were 6'4.5"

If this is true he's now a legit 6'7" in shoes

Top 5 pick

[Dalek]

I could see them being into a rim running type, if said rim running type had some passing chops. A guy like Boucher doesn't work too well in this offence, but getting someone that is a rim runner that also has some IQ could be a good fit. Offensively, Poeltl doesnt do a whole lot other than pass and score inside, so guys like Claxton and Jarrett Allen could, because they are decent passers. Khem Birch also was a decent enough passer, even if pre-injury Birch was a good bench fit rather than a fit in the SL. He could make quick decisions with the ball is all I am saying.

Both Ighodaro and Mogbo have passing skills along with high level finishing. The problem is they aren't NBA level huge, but both are solid and I give an edge to Ighodaro because he has played in a higher conference and in a NBA style motion offense. I am less sure about other bigs in the class. I checked advanced stats and these two the only draftable guys with 15 AST% 3 BLK%.

Ighodaro had 62 dunks compared to Mogbo who had 86 so both are high level play finishers.

[Sandman88]

Bronny James is the play

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Now that I don't have to think about #6 or top 4, I'm all in on Yves Missi at 19 if he's there. Develop the **** out of him and he could end up what theoretical Okongwu was supposed to be.

[dohboy_24]

Now that I don't have to think about #6 or top 4, I'm all in on Yves Missi at 19 if he's there. Develop the **** out of him and he could end up what theoretical Okongwu was supposed to be.

His shooting performances in the NBA Combine drills were better than expected. Both him and Clingan shot well from the 3 point line during those drills.

With his ability to rim run and block shots, he'd be a solid C beside Scottie in the long-term.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Now that I don't have to think about #6 or top 4, I'm all in on Yves Missi at 19 if he's there. Develop the **** out of him and he could end up what theoretical Okongwu was supposed to be.

His shooting performances in the NBA Combine drills were better than expected. Both him and Clingan shot well from the 3 point line during those drills.

With his ability to rim run and block shots, he'd be a solid C beside Scottie in the long-term.

I don't read too much into those drills, the bottom line is that he's a freak athlete, good IQ and production relative to experience and hard worker. It's a no-brainer. It'll be a miracle if he's there at 19 and if he is we don't even have to think twice.

Even if his offense doesn't come around he could still provide tremendous value as an all-around defender and rim protector. He's really good and really explosive and fluid in his movements.

[links135]

Masai takes Edey at #19 if he's on the board, I would be pretty surprised if he doesn't

I can see him at him at #31.

Something tells me he selegrs Johnny Furby at #19. Instead of the splash Bros its the Ghost Face Killas ft. Dick.

[PhilBlackson]

Masai takes Edey at #19 if he's on the board, I would be pretty surprised if he doesn't

I can see him at him at #31.

Something tells me he selegrs Johnny Furby at #19. Instead of the splash Bros its the Ghost Face Killas ft. Dick.

I've only seen some highlights of his offence and he seems like he has a lot of the same strengths as GD but not quite the level of shooter, but slightly more athletic & longer. So offensively yeah I see his fit but it's the same question...what's his defence like???

I admit idk enough about Furphy yet but I'm guessing he's average. I'm just not sure that works if we have IQ, RJ or Dick as the other perimeter defenders unless Furphy is at least a really solid defender/above average. Realistically we need at least a good defender to take off that load as a primary perimeter defender. Makes me more tempted to just wait until the 2nd and draft someone like Flowers instead. Then hopefully a good PG prospect falls to us (ie/ McCain, Collier, Carter). If not I'm still probably favoring Ware of Chomche's upside long term and each give the possibility to be the long term answer as not only a defensive anchor but a NECESSARY floor spacer from the position to open up things for Scottie & RJ.

Offensively I really like the fit....defensively I'm not sure you can be a true top team if you have a bunch of weak perimeter defenders see ironically the Pacers.