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Now that we know who was available at #9, who would have been your pick when Raptors were on the clock?

I only have one rule: be honest.

My choice was Bryant.

I had Coward the highest, but would've been happy with any of Coward, Maluach, CMB, Essengue, Bryant.

I would have tried to trade pick with Maluach there at 9. I didn't love him enough and always felt like I was convincing myself to like him for "NEED". If I kept the pick it'd be Noa or Coward, but I'm not mad about CMB.

I say Maluach just because he's the guy that was hyped all year. TBH I have no clue who I'd have selected as they're all talented, but flawed players in the same tier.

With hinsdsight on how the draft actually played out, I might've tried to make a move with Brooklyn to move down and select Jakucionis and Yang. But it seems like Yang got selected higher than he was projected, while Jak kinda dropped a bit, so maybe that wouldn't even have worked out.

Samson Folk seems elated about the CMB pick. So there's that.

I think Maluach’s shooting will pan out, so I would have went that route. We talk a lot about Turner on this board and I think Maluach will end up about at that level.

CMB is the better player right now and probably has the higher upside, so I get why we went that direction and he has both the higher upside and floor. He carries tweener risk so he may end up just a bench big, but there are definitely NBA skills and he probably contributes more for us in the next 1-2 years than Maluach does.

One thing ill say is once we got to like the 5th/6th pick i immediately noticed that Jay Bilas(hr knows what hes talking about with prospects) had CMB at the top of his best available players list. He was higher than Tre Johnson, Fears, Maluach. Thats a big deal cause ive seen him ranked high on some other experts mocks as well but I personally didnt know that much about him. I think a lot of people, myself included would have taken Maluach, not just because of positional need but because of measurements. 7'2" with almost an 8' wingspan with a guy like Wemby in the league just makes too much sense. Hes one of the few guys that would have some size that could potentially give him some trouble, hard to pass on

but when it comes to the draft, we all should know by now, trust this front office

Maluach

Lol at Queen not getting a single vote and NO giving up an additional unconditional FRP for him

Maluach. I liked him as a lob threat.

We'll see on CMD but it's obvious how many of us just reeled once they saw a bad shooting analytics darling being taken, joining our other bad shooting, analytics darling front court players.

The FO needs to prove they can make these types of players work.

Got to go with Coward.

Excellent measurements, excellent shooting, good athleticism, stuffs the stat sheet and competes on both ends.

Drafting him would have spaced out our team a whole lot more and potentially even made Barrett replaceable with a much better player. Instead, we drafted a 6'6 center.

I actually think Memphis basically replaced Bane with Coward long term and in a few years, we're going to be asking ourselves why we overthought this very simple selection.

CMB/Coward

Yang Hansen all day.

Am I allowed to trade down?

I would have taken Sorber, but I don't think he's a better prospect than CMB, and there's a strong case to be made that CMB was BPA at our spot. I would have been trying to trade down with San Antonio, OKC, or Memphis, and then take Sorber in the 14 to 16 range.

If I had traded back to 16, and then got sniped by OKC taking Sorber at 15, I would have happily taken Hansen Yang at 16. I personally am a huge Hansen Yang fan, and for me, he's the coolest player in the draft. Did you see him come walking down out of the crowd with that S Tier fit? AURA.

CMB is a very good prospect though, and my reaction to us sticking at 9 and taking him was to simply nod and say "that's a very Masai pick." Masai has been great at drafting, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if CMB has a better career than Sorber.

RapsFanInOhio wrote:I think Maluach’s shooting will pan out, so I would have went that route. We talk a lot about Turner on this board and I think Maluach will end up about at that level.

CMB is the better player right now and probably has the higher upside, so I get why we went that direction and he has both the higher upside and floor. He carries tweener risk so he may end up just a bench big, but there are definitely NBA skills and he probably contributes more for us in the next 1-2 years than Maluach does.

I was rooting for Maluach too, since we need a C.

But the final series got me thinking. I think the ability to dribble drive toward the basket, mobility, defend multiple positions, toughness(ability to play with contact), and instinct are really important. CMB provides all that sans 3pt. In today’s game, the importance of a traditional C are fading.

CMB is a big forward who can pinch in as a small C, so he can fill in as a backup C too.

Last year, RJ played a lot of minutes as PF because he was the best option when SB is not available. CMB gives us another option on the bench right away.

Right now I am not sure if Maluach is a better pick.

I'm fine with whatever the Raptors scouts picked....they have a big team of people that follow these prospects around for many years

I did want a center (Maluach) like most since the backup is a big hole, but the backup PF spot is also weak so I'm not mad at the CMB pick....he will still fill in a role that's weak since Mogbo is more of a 3rd stringer type of player at the moment. Mogbo can be a small ball center for now until the FO figures out how to get a real backup center.....or maybe they think Chomche will fill that role.

Maluach has high bust potential....and the fact that Masai passed on him says alot.

I dont know what the obsession with KM is, other than drafting for "need" instead of who you think will be the best player.

Malauch. Keep it simple. Thought it was a case of need and BPA nicely coinciding and the fact that I got sick of watching this severely undersized team get pushed around so much.

Voted Maluach but it’s close between him and CMB for me. I think Maluach’s ceiling is Rudy Gobert with a jumper, which would be an insane piece to have. Both seem like great culture guys. I’m not sure about CMB’s ceiling but his handle, body and switchability definitely give him a high floor.

Coward/Mal/CMB in that order. They all ended up getting picked opposite order so wasn’t far off! They were clearly the best 3 left on the board. I actually would have been fine passing on Mal though, looking for some on ball skills. Being deep at Center is becoming more valuable these days though so we lost out a bit there.

Pre-research, I was all for the Maluach pick. I believe the upside is there for him, and the Raptors could've easily benefitted from what I believe he could've showcased in his rookie season. With that being said, I did some more research on CMB, as I'm sure we all have, and I'm intrigued by his potential. IF he can become a better catch-and-shoot three point shooter, then this pick looks like GOLD. CMB's skillset outside of his shooting is good-to-elite.