With the NBA Draft’s final withdrawal deadline now behind us, we finally have a better picture of the prospects that could be available for the Toronto Raptors at the 33rd pick. Sadly, the talent pool understandably shrunk a bit for Toronto, with Leonard Miller and Terquavion Smith electing to take their name out of this year’s draft.
We looked at 13 popular, insightful draft boards that updated their mocks post-withdraw deadline, and the opinions are all over the place. The middle of the pack’s range is around the 21st pick up to the 42nd pick. Several prospects are seeing their stock rise; for example, Jalen Williams was a second-round pick before the Draft Combine, and now he looks like he’s out of the Raptors’ range. Canadian Andrew Nembhard’s stock is also on the rise, as he’s not pushing into the early second-round range compared to being a fringe draft pick a month ago (he is now the consensus 42nd pick on my recent tally).
What are the Mock Drafts telling us right now?
At the top of the draft, the first three picks are likely to be Jabari Smith Jr, Chet Holmgren, and Paolo Banchero, in that order, based on the draft sites that we reviewed. The betting odds at Draft Kings are in-sync, as Smith Jr is the favourite as the 1st pick at -190, Holmgren 2nd pick at -225, and Banchero at -500, as of this writing. The fourth pick may be where the money is if Shaedon Sharpe (+600) or Dyson Daniels (+1000) gets picked at this spot. It’s the Sacramento Kings, so who knows what will happen.
Predicting the Toronto Raptors pick at 33
After looking through the various mocks, here are the likeliest candidates for the Raptors to choose from at 33:
Mock Draft - Raptors’ Pick
Player | ESPN | Tankathon | No Ceilings | Bleacher Report | Basketball News | SI | NDN | NBA Draft Room | Rookie Wire | Net Scouts | No Ceilings | Outside Hire Big Board | Hoops Prospects | The Box and One | Rank | High | Low |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | ESPN | Tankathon | No Ceilings | Bleacher Report | Basketball News | SI | NDN | NBA Draft Room | Rookie Wire | Net Scouts | No Ceilings | Outside Hire Big Board | Hoops Prospects | The Box and One | Rank | High | Low |
Jaden Hardy | 25 | 21 | 22 | 33 | 23 | 22 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 15 | 21 | 15 | 33 |
Dalen Terry | 30 | 32 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 30 | 33 | 25 | 30 | 22 | 16 | 27 | 22 | 23 | 16 | 33 |
Bryce McGowens | 34 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 36 | 36 | 39 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 30 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 39 |
Max Christie | 45 | 38 | 30 | 44 | 33 | 29 | 21 | 33 | 37 | 41 | 42 | 42 | 29 | 34 | 21 | 45 |
Christian Koloko | 42 | 35 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 37 | 48 | 31 | 45 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 35 | 30 | 48 |
Ismael Kamagate* | 33 | 34 | 38 | 25 | 40 | 40 | 42 | 27 | 43 | 35 | 35 | 40 | 38 | 36 | 25 | 43 |
Trevor Keels | 26 | 33 | 40 | 37 | 30 | 34 | 49 | 56 | 36 | 32 | 25 | 36 | 45 | 38 | 25 | 56 |
Andrew Nembhard | 28 | 55 | 55 | 35 | 42 | 33 | 56 | 34 | 42 | 47 | 61 | 49 | 35 | 42 | 28 | 61 |
Justin Lewis | 47 | 50 | 39 | 42 | 48 | 32 | 61 | 50 | 44 | 61 | 37 | 33 | 41 | 43 | 32 | 61 |
David Roddy | 46 | 40 | 61 | 61 | 43 | 41 | 61 | 61 | 33 | 54 | 50 | 43 | 61 | 49 | 33 | 61 |
Two names stand out from this list: Bryce McGowens and Max Christie. They’re both dynamic guards that can provide near-immediate scoring punch from the bench. Surprisingly, the various draft sites thought that the Raptors’ need at this pick comes down to either scoring punch from the backcourt (McGowens, Christie, Dalen Terry) or rim protection, with ESPN picking Ismael Kamagate and No Ceilings picking Christian Koloko for Toronto.
However, almost “anything goes” at this point of the draft, so we get to see some outlier picks. Sports Illustrated’s got Andrew Nembhard at 33rd, but with McGowens, Caleb Houstan, Peyton Watson, Josh Minott, and even Gabriel Procida still available, it’s a long shot. Rookie Wire’s got David Roddy while Hoops Prospect picked Justin Lewis for the Raptors, but both looked like a reach at the 33rd. Between the two, I like Lewis a little bit more. For some reason, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman’s got Jaden Hardy slipping into the 2nd round for the Raptors, which should be a no-brainer, although I doubt he falls that far.
Draft Workouts
Information is trickling in on who’s scheduled or has worked out for the Raptors. This draft is also the first time Toronto’s hosting workouts in Canada after COVID forced the organization to host their workouts south of the border. With that being said, we will consider adding draft prospects to the list below if we see them posting that they are in Toronto (many thanks to all the other Raptors fans stalking these draft prospects’ IG).
Raptors’ Draft Workout List
Player | Age | Position | Height | Wingspan | ESPN Mock | Tankathon | No Ceilings | Bleacher Report | Basketball News | SI | NDN | NBA Draft Room | Rookie Wire | Net Scouts | No Ceilings | Outside Hire Big Board | Hoops Prospects | The Box and One | Rank | High | Low |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Age | Position | Height | Wingspan | ESPN Mock | Tankathon | No Ceilings | Bleacher Report | Basketball News | SI | NDN | NBA Draft Room | Rookie Wire | Net Scouts | No Ceilings | Outside Hire Big Board | Hoops Prospects | The Box and One | Rank | High | Low |
Ismael Kamagate* | 21y 4m 29d | Big | 6' 11" | 7' 3" | 33 | 34 | 38 | 25 | 40 | 40 | 42 | 27 | 43 | 35 | 35 | 40 | 38 | 36 | 25 | 43 |
Caleb Houstan* | 19y 5m 6d | Wing | 6' 8" | 37 | 52 | 45 | 46 | 29 | 38 | 30 | 42 | 25 | 49 | 43 | 52 | 32 | 39 | 25 | 52 | |
Josh Minott | 19y 6m 21d | Wing | 6' 8.75" | 6' 11.75" | 49 | 43 | 58 | 45 | 36 | 52 | 53 | 45 | 39 | 40 | 36 | 41 | 27 | 40 | 27 | 58 |
Peyton Watson | 19y 9m 4d | Wing | 6' 6.75" | 7' 0.5" | 36 | 42 | 29 | UD | 38 | 34 | 57 | 48 | 41 | 37 | 45 | 53 | 47 | 41 | 29 | UD |
Andrew Nembhard | 22y 4m 30d | Guard | 6' 3" | 6' 5.75" | 28 | 55 | 55 | 35 | 42 | 33 | 56 | 34 | 42 | 47 | UD | 49 | 35 | 42 | 28 | UD |
Justin Lewis | 20y 2m 3d | Wing | 6' 6.25" | 6' 10" | 47 | 50 | 39 | 42 | 48 | 32 | UD | 50 | 44 | UD | 37 | 33 | 41 | 43 | 32 | UD |
Jaylin Williams | 19y 11m 17d | Big | 6' 8.75" | 7' 1" | 43 | 49 | 49 | 41 | UD | 46 | 28 | 40 | 55 | 43 | 46 | 56 | 44 | 46 | 28 | UD |
David Roddy | 21y 2m 19d | Big | 6' 4.5" | 6' 11.5" | 46 | 40 | UD | UD | 43 | 41 | UD | UD | 33 | 54 | 50 | 43 | UD | 49 | 33 | UD |
Dominic Barlow | 19y 2m 20d | Big | 6' 8.75" | 7' 3" | 51 | 51 | UD | 49 | UD | 58 | UD | 32 | 57 | 51 | UD | UD | 36 | 52 | 32 | UD |
Hugo Besson | 21y 1m 20d | Guard | 6' 4.5" | 6' 5.5" | 35 | 48 | UD | 47 | 50 | UD | UD | 47 | 56 | 48 | 54 | UD | UD | 53 | 35 | UD |
Julian Champagnie | 20y 11m 17d | Wing | 6' 6.25" | 6' 10" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 55 | 46 | UD | UD | UD | UD | 45 | UD | 62 | 45 | UD |
Leonardo Okeke | 18y 10m 30d | Big | 6' 9" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 56 | UD | UD | 80 | 56 | UD | |
Gabe Brown* | 22y 3m 10d | Wing | 6' 8" | 7' | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 90 | UD | UD |
Michael Devoe^ | 22y 5m 29d | 6' 4" | 6' 6" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 91 | UD | UD | |
Izaiah Brockington* | 22y 11m 3d | Guard | 6' 4" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 99 | UD | UD | |
Marcus Bingham Jr* | 21y 11m 1d | Big | 6' 11" | 7' 4" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 103 | UD | UD |
Lester Quinones* | 21y 6m 30d | 6' 5" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 123 | UD | UD | ||
JD Notae^ | 23y 7m 19d | Guard | 6' 2" | 6' 6" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 125 | UD | UD |
Trent Frazier* | 23y 9m 7d | Guard | 6' 2" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 139 | UD | UD | |
Brandon Horvath* | 23y 2m 12d | Big | 6' 11" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 140 | UD | UD | |
Jamal Bieniemy* | 22y 7m 7d | Guard | 6' 5" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 141 | UD | UD | |
Mouhamadou Gueye^ | 23y 11m 9d | Big | 6' 11" | 7' 3" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 142 | UD | UD |
Dallas Walton* | 24y 8m 8d | Big | 7' | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 143 | UD | UD | |
Kenneth Lofton Jr^ | 19y 10m 1d | Big | 6' 6" | 6' 11" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 144 | UD | UD |
Theo John* | 23y 9m 21d | Big | 6' 9" | 7' 4" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 145 | UD | UD |
Jabari Walker* | 19y 10m 16d | Big | 6' 8" | 6' 11" | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | UD | 146 | UD | UD |
More than half of the workouts are projected to go undrafted, so they are either 2-way contract/exhibit 10/Raptors 905 prospects. Almost everyone is at least +3 on the wingspan column, and there’s no one listed shorter than 6’2”. The Raptors are bringing quite a few bigs, but they’re not your traditional immobile bigs. Kamagate, Marcus Bingham Jr, Leonardo Okeke, and Mo Gueye all have the tools and promise to become a modern-day big man that might fit the Raptors’ defensive philosophy. In the next Raptors Draft Watch issue, we will take a bit of a deep dive into these prospects and assess their Raptors’ fit.
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