Everything 2022 Draft

[Primer]

Latest ESPN mock has us taking Peyton Watson. No idea why.

The next pick is Jaylin Williams who seems like a pretty good fit. Definitely need to develop his offense but he's already an excellent rebounder and shot blocker and surprisingly high assists as well.

He is a 73% FT shooter so I think Nurse could work his magic and really shore up his offensive game.

He's actually got center size at 6'10 240lbs. Good standing reach and wingspan. Short hands but 2nd widest in the draft. I'd be happy with him as the pick. He should be able to contribute off the bench in year 1.

Koloko is projected a few picks after that so he is likely available too.

Other favorites in here go before our pick like Terry and Laravia.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Latest ESPN mock has us taking Peyton Watson. No idea why.

The next pick is Jaylin Williams who seems like a pretty good fit. Definitely need to develop his offense but he's already an excellent rebounder and shot blocker and surprisingly high assists as well.

He is a 73% FT shooter so I think Nurse could work his magic and really shore up his offensive game.

He's actually got center size at 6'10 240lbs. Good standing reach and wingspan. Short hands but 2nd widest in the draft. I'd be happy with him as the pick. He should be able to contribute off the bench in year 1.

Koloko is projected a few picks after that so he is likely available too.

Other favorites in here go before our pick like Terry and Laravia.

I did not know he was 240

[DanH]

Jaylin Williams is a name that was brought up earlier and he sounds amazing but with one giant hole in his game - being completely unable to put the ball in the basket. That FT% is promising, and even though he couldn't hit a three to save his life he took 2 of them a game, so that's exactly the sort of bet the Raptors just love to make.

[LJ2]

Jaylin Williams is a name that was brought up earlier and he sounds amazing but with one giant hole in his game - being completely unable to put the ball in the basket. That FT% is promising, and even though he couldn't hit a three to save his life he took 2 of them a game, so that's exactly the sort of bet the Raptors just love to make.

I fear any big they draft in the 2nd round will be as unplayable as Nurse found the majority of the rotation to be last season. Really hope they find a back up big with some experience.

[DanH]

I fear any big they draft in the 2nd round will be as unplayable as Nurse found the majority of the rotation to be last season. Really hope they find a back up big with some experience.

They already have Precious and Khem for playable depth. That third spot being a young'un is very much in line with our typical roster build philosophy. And if they are good enough to leapfrog Khem, great.

[Primer]

I fear any big they draft in the 2nd round will be as unplayable as Nurse found the majority of the rotation to be last season. Really hope they find a back up big with some experience.

As Dan noted Khem is our backup big with experience. I don't see the other backup bigs being suggested as upgrades over Khem, they'd all be lateral moves.

Williams is a good upside pick that should be able to contribute rebounding and shot blocking out of the gate. He could replace Khem as our bench big after a season of development with the big team and 905.

[DanH]

Latest thoughts...

Christian Koloko (7'0" C, thin and needs to add strength but great rim protector and rebounder already, great touch around the rim, no range right now but his FT% is promising on that front, pretty decent passer, can defend man to man out on the perimeter with good footspeed - another guy who started basketball late like Pascal - upside swing here)
EJ Liddell (6'7" forward, plays as a big, but can shoot, big and strong and surprisingly athletic, decent playmaking, decent defence, very well rounded)
Dalen Terry (big PG - good shooting, good defensive metrics)
Wendell Moore (6'6" wing, great creator/passer, can shoot, decent defensively though not great, kind of Scottie Barnes lite with more of an offensive slant)
Jaylin Williams (do it all 6'10" C, can dribble, good passer, decent inside scoring but no real jump shot, decent FT% suggests there is upside there, good defender but not really a rim protector, I've been convinced on him)
Ishmael Kamagate (6'11" big, high upside swing, athletic big with developing skillset across the board, very raw, would be a long term bet, I've seen comparisons to Pascal's scouting report coming out of his draft year, though their playing background is different with Kamagate playing overseas)

...drop off in interest here...

Jalen Williams (6'6" playmaking wing, smaller and with an established shot, maybe a little less known for the defensive end)
Keon Ellis (3+D SG, good shooter, high steal rate, not as much for playmaking or volume scoring)
David Roddy (6'6" forward, heavy and strong, decently mobile, 6'10" wingspan, great volume scorer and shooter in college, solid rebounder and playmaker, active defensively - 2.5 stocks per 36, height/mobility combo a bit of a drawback but decently athletic)
Walker Kessler (7' C, known for smart defence and quick feet, not quite a switch onto the perimeter guy, Poeltl type, long ways to go in terms of jumper, but Raps love to make that bet)
Jake LaRavia (big wing, less athletic than our usual pick, but good impact numbers on both ends, all around contributor and can shoot)

[TrueTorontoFan]

Latest thoughts...

Christian Koloko (7'0" C, thin and needs to add strength but great rim protector and rebounder already, great touch around the rim, no range right now but his FT% is promising on that front, pretty decent passer, can defend man to man out on the perimeter with good footspeed - another guy who started basketball late like Pascal - upside swing here)
EJ Liddell (6'7" forward, plays as a big, but can shoot, big and strong and surprisingly athletic, decent playmaking, decent defence, very well rounded)
Dalen Terry (big PG - good shooting, good defensive metrics)
Wendell Moore (6'6" wing, great creator/passer, can shoot, decent defensively though not great, kind of Scottie Barnes lite with more of an offensive slant)
Jaylin Williams (do it all 6'10" C, can dribble, good passer, decent inside scoring but no real jump shot, decent FT% suggests there is upside there, good defender but not really a rim protector, I've been convinced on him)
Ishmael Kamagate (6'11" big, high upside swing, athletic big with developing skillset across the board, very raw, would be a long term bet, I've seen comparisons to Pascal's scouting report coming out of his draft year, though their playing background is different with Kamagate playing overseas)

...drop off in interest here...

Jalen Williams (6'6" playmaking wing, smaller and with an established shot, maybe a little less known for the defensive end)
Keon Ellis (3+D SG, good shooter, high steal rate, not as much for playmaking or volume scoring)
David Roddy (6'6" forward, heavy and strong, decently mobile, 6'10" wingspan, great volume scorer and shooter in college, solid rebounder and playmaker, active defensively - 2.5 stocks per 36, height/mobility combo a bit of a drawback but decently athletic)
Walker Kessler (7' C, known for smart defence and quick feet, not quite a switch onto the perimeter guy, Poeltl type, long ways to go in terms of jumper, but Raps love to make that bet)
Jake LaRavia (big wing, less athletic than our usual pick, but good impact numbers on both ends, all around contributor and can shoot)

for what its worth koloko also killed the shooting drill at the draft. Dalen Terry is solid but may not be there. Jaylin Williams is very interesting but doesn't have the versatility of defensive tools right now mainly is a positional defender..



I actually really really really like Jake. or Koloko or Terry.

[golden]

They already have Precious and Khem for playable depth. That third spot being a young'un is very much in line with our typical roster build philosophy. And if they are good enough to leapfrog Khem, great.

If we're valuing defense, then there are a number of free agent (or trade target) centers who would be significant defensive upgrades over Birch. Guys like: Javale McGee, Mo Bamba, Nerlens Noel, Isaiah Hartenstein, Hassan Whiteside, Mitchell Robinson, etc...

[DanH]

If we're valuing defense, then there are a number of free agent (or trade target) centers who would be significant defensive upgrades over Birch. Guys like: Javale McGee, Mo Bamba, Nerlens Noel, Isaiah Hartenstein, Hassan Whiteside, Mitchell Robinson, etc...

I guess. Not sure they are net upgrades, and definitely not sure they are all available for what we can offer. There's also the question of limited resources - if you already have a perfectly fine backup C, do you spend your MLE on that or on more shooting/guard play?

[The Great One]

I haven't paid any attention to all the centers that could be available at 33. Why? because we don't need a C. We're fine with Precious as the starting C. Could we use an upgrade like Ayton? sure. But Ayton is unrealistic.

We need WINGS. Scorers or playmakers that can shoot.

I already listed some of my fav wings that could be available at 33: Terry, Braun, Christie, McGowens, Houstan, Watson, Moore. These are the guys i'm looking at.

[golden]

I guess. Not sure they are net upgrades, and definitely not sure they are all available for what we can offer. There's also the question of limited resources - if you already have a perfectly fine backup C, do you spend your MLE on that or on more shooting/guard play?

Is Birch "perfectly fine" though?

Not saying LEBRON is the be-all/end-all advanced stat, but Birch ranked 89th in LEBRON for centers, just ahead of Alex Len and behind Ed Davis.

He had a negative rating in both O-LEBRON (-1.26) and D-LEBRON (-0.84). The negative D-LEBRON rating would be even more concerning, since Birch would be surrounded by much better defenders on the Raptors, with a defensive-minded coach, yet he still posted a sub-par defensive rating.

[DanH]

Is Birch "perfectly fine" though?

Not saying LEBRON is the be-all/end-all advanced stat, but Birch ranked 89th in LEBRON for centers, just ahead of Alex Len and behind Ed Davis.

He had a negative rating in both O-LEBRON (-1.26) and D-LEBRON (-0.84). The negative D-LEBRON rating would be even more concerning, since Birch would be surrounded by much better defenders on the Raptors, with a defensive-minded coach, yet he still posted a sub-par defensive rating.

LEBRON is a bit of an outlier here. Other impact stats think Birch is pretty average (49th percentile EPM, 234th in the league in RAPTOR which is like 7-8th guy range). And more importantly, he did fine in terms of lineup success when he played this year which is all you really look for from a low minutes player, and heck he had the best on/offs in the playoffs so no reason to think he's any sort of real priority to upgrade.

Their insistence on using him as the starter after Precious had taken the leap was weird and they should not keep doing it but he's pretty obviously absolutely fine as a backup. No issue adding more depth with another depth C signing if there's an easy upgrade on him available, but my point was just that if there is an interesting young C in the draft I'm not hesitating to draft them because I have a need to fill right away, Birch was signed precisely to be a catch all plug in C to avoid rushing guys to have to start, rushing prospects to have to be able to provide minutes right away, etc, and he's done exactly that thus far.

[saints91]

Below are the standing reach of some of the bigs we've been discussing (and Mark Williams, because it's nuts):


Mark Williams has a 9'-9" standing reach lol.

John Butler Jr. - 9'-4"

Patrick Baldwin 9' - 2.5"

Walker Kessler and Koloko both have 9'-5"

Orland Robinson 9'-3"

Jaylin Williams - 9'-0.5"


Precious has a standing reach of 9'-0.5", but he's also a freak athlete. Scottie, Pascal are around the same, and OG and Birch are 8'-11.5". Boucher's is 9'-2.5".

I also read that the Warriors are trying to move their pick for tax reasons, could be a good opportunity to move up if we need to. They could alway draft and stash a guy with our high second.

[golden]

LEBRON is a bit of an outlier here. Other impact stats think Birch is pretty average (49th percentile EPM, 234th in the league in RAPTOR which is like 7-8th guy range). And more importantly, he did fine in terms of lineup success when he played this year which is all you really look for from a low minutes player, and heck he had the best on/offs in the playoffs so no reason to think he's any sort of real priority to upgrade.

Their insistence on using him as the starter after Precious had taken the leap was weird and they should not keep doing it but he's pretty obviously absolutely fine as a backup. No issue adding more depth with another depth C signing if there's an easy upgrade on him available, but my point was just that if there is an interesting young C in the draft I'm not hesitating to draft them because I have a need to fill right away, Birch was signed precisely to be a catch all plug in C to avoid rushing guys to have to start, rushing prospects to have to be able to provide minutes right away, etc, and he's done exactly that thus far.

Just a guess, but I would expect that being league wide average for a perimeter defender might be okay, but that’s not good for a center. Centers, as a group, tend to rank much higher in these stats, probably because they have a bigger impact (good and bad) as the last line of defense.

Birch being league-wide average for all position players, I would expect him to rank below the median for centers.