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The NBA Draft is still nine days away and since the Raptors have two picks available to them -- numbers nine and 27 -- it appears they are set on seeing every player possible. Today, the Raptors welcome six more prospects, working out right now as you read this. Who's in town? Take a look at the list.
|
Name |
Position |
Height |
College |
|
David Walker |
Guard |
6-6 |
Northeastern |
|
Michael Gbinije |
Guard-Forward |
6-7 |
Syracuse |
|
Alex Poythress |
Forward |
6-8 |
Kentucky |
|
Troy Williams |
Guard-Forward |
6-7 |
Indiana |
|
Daniel Ochefu |
Centre |
6-11 |
Villanova |
|
AJ Hammons |
Centre |
7-0 |
Purdue |
Among this group, the high ranking man (according to Draft Express, as per usual) is AJ Hammons from Purdue, a very large senior, in at number 42. Along with Hammons on the ranked list are Gbinije, Poythress and Williams. (Some great names in this group, is my takeaway so far.) Walker and Ochefu are not on the top 100 list. It should be mentioned that all of these players are coming from schools with some sort of pedigree -- with Poythress' Kentucky-filled resume a strong standout.
At this point, it's not entirely clear what the Raptors are aiming for here. The invitations extended to college seniors makes sense, since they are presumably looking for talent that can play right away. They're also probably looking more for big men than guards, seeing as the only forwards/centres under contract right now are Jonas Valanciunas, Patrick Patterson and Lucas Nogueira.
That said, all of these names project to be, at best, second round picks, so it seems unlikely the Raptors will have any serious interest at drafting them at number 27.
What do you guys think?