Re: 2023 Draft Prospect discussion Part II

[Psubs]

If you want to hit a HR, I'd rather give Emoni Bates a chance over Lewis. If Bates can add strength over the next few years, damn!

Bates shoot 78% FTs and 33% from NBA range like Trae Young. Essentially a 6'9 Jamal Crawford.

Bates had a felony gun charge. With all the Ja Morant concerns, I don't think Toronto would even consider a guy like that. They dropped TD and Harris when they got into legal trouble, so I doubt they take on a guy with a recent history.

Bates also was a disaster in his recruiting process. Could have played for Michigan State then backed out, then even Michigan offered him a spot and he decides to play for Eastern Michigan. He has a world of talent but some serious character flaws. Perfect for Memphis if you ask me. Toronto just doesn't do headcases.

The character concerns are probably why Bates is mostly considered a second rounder. Toronto doesn't even have a second. Are you considering Bates as mid first rounder?

Nope, just stating where I would mock him. If had a 2nd pick, I'd gamble like on Banton.

[Rapsfan07]

Not seeing it. Turnover prone, bad shooting numbers, poor defender. There are better guys in that same range. I'd actually not like the pick if he was who we got in the first round. He seems like he'll need a lot of work to become a winning player.

Watched a fair bit more of Lewis and on second look there is something intriguing there. As Rejected' mentioned, he isn't that explosive (although he is over 20 dunks on the year), but he has that NBA scorer's knack of getting into the cracks of a defense. His build, and inside scoring remind me mostly of Shai just the way he can get to his spots. I see a Shai comp because when he drives it is pretty herky jerky. He goes left and then can suddenly stop and either pull-up or pumpfake. He has some really nice footwork, although it does seem to get him in trouble at times with refs who call travels on him. Obviously, a player like him will have to adapt to NBA length and defense, but he has some natural scoring skill.

Honestly, he could surprise people in the NBA. On a crap team like Pepperdine he has the whole team's attention. In the NBA people will leave this guy unguarded and I think he will be a deadly shooter with space. All his numbers seems to be quite efficient at the three levels - especially when he isn't guarded tight.

On the other end is the question. He hasn't always been solid there, but he has defensive length and size and at times can play pesky on ball defense. I want a 3 level scorer with this pick, and Lewis shows a lot for a sophomore player.

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The amount of tricks in his bag is impressive for a 20 year old. Can drive both ways and finish with both hands, hit catch and shoot shots from all over the court, can hit stepback shots, fadeaways, reverse layups, eurostep layups, spin move layups, can pump fake, hit bank shots, shows understanding as a cutter, etc..

He just has a lot of natural talent as a scorer, it's undeniable. Looks like a guy who if you envision a developed form of him might be able to get to his spots on the court easily and get shots off that the defense can't do much about. You wish his handle was tighter but hey that's why he's not a projected top 10 pick.

I have to agree. I think Lewis has a very deep back offensively with the ball in his hands and can even be used as an off-ball shooter and cutter. He's also a pretty decent athlete as well.

If he was playing for a winning program and was already even just decent on defense, the media would have him projected in the lottery.

[dozo]

I'm completely sold on Maxwell Lewis with the Raps' 1st rounder, just have to hope he is available and another team doesn't view him as a diamond in the rough. He shows flashes of EVERYTHING including making impact plays on defense. The Raps are all about internal growth and development so if you take him you have all the tools to work with regardless of his inconsistency thus far in his short collegiate career. He's long but agile enough to be a legit 2 guard in the league. He covers tons of ground with his stride even though he isn't an explosive athlete he's a good one and his stride helps him get from point A to point B quickly. He can drive both sides and finish with both hands. He legit has shown the ability to be a complete player, score at all 3 levels on offense while being able to move his feet and stick with his man on defense.

Also he sounds like he has a decent head on his shoulders, pretty well spoken in interviews.

Not seeing it. Turnover prone, bad shooting numbers, poor defender. There are better guys in that same range. I'd actually not like the pick if he was who we got in the first round. He seems like he'll need a lot of work to become a winning player.

Watched a fair bit more of Lewis and on second look there is something intriguing there. As Rejected' mentioned, he isn't that explosive (although he is over 20 dunks on the year), but he has that NBA scorer's knack of getting into the cracks of a defense. His build, and inside scoring remind me mostly of Shai just the way he can get to his spots. I see a Shai comp because when he drives it is pretty herky jerky. He goes left and then can suddenly stop and either pull-up or pumpfake. He has some really nice footwork, although it does seem to get him in trouble at times with refs who call travels on him. Obviously, a player like him will have to adapt to NBA length and defense, but he has some natural scoring skill.

Honestly, he could surprise people in the NBA. On a crap team like Pepperdine he has the whole team's attention. In the NBA people will leave this guy unguarded and I think he will be a deadly shooter with space. All his numbers seems to be quite efficient at the three levels - especially when he isn't guarded tight.

On the other end is the question. He hasn't always been solid there, but he has defensive length and size and at times can play pesky on ball defense. I want a 3 level scorer with this pick, and Lewis shows a lot for a sophomore player.

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I respect Barlowe's opinion but this was posted in January alot has happened. 2-14 in conference play looks bad on Lewis especially when he isnt leading his team in ever statistical category. He should be dominating like Pod is doing for Santa Clara. Lewis can't attack going right! To me he's a nice 3D prospects.

Full game of SCvPep. Lewis and Pod standout from the rest.

Watch on YouTube

I'm gaga for Riley Kugel.

-6'5 w/a good wingspan
-capable of playing on/off the ball,
-3 level scoring
-attacks left and right
-can finish with both hands
-talented passer
-has deep range
-good defender
-great athleticism

Read on Twitter

[Dalek]

Lewis conference stats are mediocre at best. He does show some talent but I don't see a well rounded game. Needs more progression in his offense.

He had a blazing hot 14 game stretch from November to December and then has tailed off.

I don't think he is a lotto lock given the number of new players like Hendricks and Cissoko making things interesting of late, so based on his current stock he will do a workout circuit and do the Combine. If he shines in those settings I could see him be in the 14-20 range which is where Toronto will be.

It just can't be understated how bad his team was. Lewis had all freshman and sophomores around him. I am also not a big fan of Lorenzo Romar who has not had a lot of winning teams the past 5-6 years.

[Dalek]

Read on Twitter

I respect Barlowe's opinion but this was posted in January alot has happened. 2-14 in conference play looks bad on Lewis especially when he isnt leading his team in ever statistical category. He should be dominating like Pod is doing for Santa Clara. Lewis can't attack going right! To me he's a nice 3D prospects.

Full game of SCvPep. Lewis and Pod standout from the rest.

Watch on YouTube

I'm gaga for Riley Kugel.

-6'5 w/a good wingspan
-capable of playing on/off the ball,
-3 level scoring
-attacks left and right
-can finish with both hands
-talented passer
-has deep range
-good defender
-great athleticism

Read on Twitter

[/quote]

Kugel looks great in video, but he is 6'5 with smallish wingspan and a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. He has shown some recent improvement where he is taking up the scoring load for Florida, but are we talking about combo guard? He seems too small to play up a position and he doesn't seem like a playmaker. It will be interesting to see what he does in the SEC tournament.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Watched a fair bit more of Lewis and on second look there is something intriguing there. As Rejected' mentioned, he isn't that explosive (although he is over 20 dunks on the year), but he has that NBA scorer's knack of getting into the cracks of a defense. His build, and inside scoring remind me mostly of Shai just the way he can get to his spots. I see a Shai comp because when he drives it is pretty herky jerky. He goes left and then can suddenly stop and either pull-up or pumpfake. He has some really nice footwork, although it does seem to get him in trouble at times with refs who call travels on him. Obviously, a player like him will have to adapt to NBA length and defense, but he has some natural scoring skill.

Honestly, he could surprise people in the NBA. On a crap team like Pepperdine he has the whole team's attention. In the NBA people will leave this guy unguarded and I think he will be a deadly shooter with space. All his numbers seems to be quite efficient at the three levels - especially when he isn't guarded tight.

On the other end is the question. He hasn't always been solid there, but he has defensive length and size and at times can play pesky on ball defense. I want a 3 level scorer with this pick, and Lewis shows a lot for a sophomore player.

Read on Twitter

The amount of tricks in his bag is impressive for a 20 year old. Can drive both ways and finish with both hands, hit catch and shoot shots from all over the court, can hit stepback shots, fadeaways, reverse layups, eurostep layups, spin move layups, can pump fake, hit bank shots, shows understanding as a cutter, etc..

He just has a lot of natural talent as a scorer, it's undeniable. Looks like a guy who if you envision a developed form of him might be able to get to his spots on the court easily and get shots off that the defense can't do much about. You wish his handle was tighter but hey that's why he's not a projected top 10 pick.

I have to agree. I think Lewis has a very deep back offensively with the ball in his hands and can even be used as an off-ball shooter and cutter. He's also a pretty decent athlete as well.

If he was playing for a winning program and was already even just decent on defense, the media would have him projected in the lottery.

The thing is that Lewis shows advanced on-ball ability and potential so if you draft him it's because you envision him as an eventual legitimate top option on offense and not just a catch and shoot guy since there are many other players who provide a better package of shooting+defense. It's undeniable he shows the ability to create his own offense and score efficiently. Has to work on his handle but it's not a bad handle by any means and just a modest improvement to his ball control which seems achievable, could pay off tremendously. Sasser could help him, dude uses tennis balls to practice his dribbling and coordination

[ItsDanger]

Watch on YouTube

Questionable defense. 3 pt shot form is improving. Need to see more offhand.

Saw him yesterday. Seems like more of toolsy guy than a skills guy. With the depth of prospects around that late first range, I don't think I'd consider Miller there.

Don't like his game at all. Good decision by him to go to the G-League though - his game is more suited there.

If he went to college, he'd struggle.

He might struggle at first but I bet his defense would be further ahead than it is.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Lewis conference stats are mediocre at best. He does show some talent but I don't see a well rounded game. Needs more progression in his offense.

He had a blazing hot 14 game stretch from November to December and then has tailed off.

I don't think he is a lotto lock given the number of new players like Hendricks and Cissoko making things interesting of late, so based on his current stock he will do a workout circuit and do the Combine. If he shines in those settings I could see him be in the 14-20 range which is where Toronto will be.

It just can't be understated how bad his team was. Lewis had all freshman and sophomores around him. I am also not a big fan of Lorenzo Romar who has not had a lot of winning teams the past 5-6 years.

Lorenzo Romar is a bum

[Mark_83]

Lewis conference stats are mediocre at best. He does show some talent but I don't see a well rounded game. Needs more progression in his offense.

He had a blazing hot 14 game stretch from November to December and then has tailed off.

I don't think he is a lotto lock given the number of new players like Hendricks and Cissoko making things interesting of late, so based on his current stock he will do a workout circuit and do the Combine. If he shines in those settings I could see him be in the 14-20 range which is where Toronto will be.

It just can't be understated how bad his team was. Lewis had all freshman and sophomores around him. I am also not a big fan of Lorenzo Romar who has not had a lot of winning teams the past 5-6 years.

I haven't really watched a lot of Lewis beyond the highlights. The offensive highlights are intriguing, but when I read inconsistent defensive effort, I think, this is not a guy Masai takes in the lottery.

[WuTang_CMB]

Saw him yesterday. Seems like more of toolsy guy than a skills guy. With the depth of prospects around that late first range, I don't think I'd consider Miller there.

Don't like his game at all. Good decision by him to go to the G-League though - his game is more suited there.

If he went to college, he'd struggle.

He might struggle at first but I bet his defense would be further ahead than it is.

With a Rondae Hollis Jefferson offensive game. Nice. Just what we need at the 15th pick.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

You can't compare Podz and Lewis because the likelihood is that Podz is a lot closer to his ceiling whereas Lewis has a ways to go to reach his ceiling. Podz is a lot further along in his development at the same age.

If you make the argument that Podz isn't even close to his ceiling I don't know how that's possible as he will max out as a 40% 3pt shooter in the NBA if his form holds true and doesn't have the kind of first step or ability to draw contact to get to the line in the NBA more than he does right now in college. All of his college numbers should taper off in the NBA especially the 8.8 rebounds a game as a guard, against NBA athletes there's just no way he maintains this kind of statistical production. Same applies to his steal totals. He should still be able to rebound it and pick the ball off at a good rate for a guard but it's not like we're gonna see this guy fill it up even more in the NBA compared to what he's doing right now.

On the other hand I think Lewis absolutely can eclipse the kind of collegiate production he's outputting if he reaches his ceiling.

[srhcan]

Don't like his game at all. Good decision by him to go to the G-League though - his game is more suited there.

If he went to college, he'd struggle.

He might struggle at first but I bet his defense would be further ahead than it is.

With a Rondae Hollis Jefferson offensive game. Nice. Just what we need at the 15th pick.

Just select the best shooter available. Forget about the saying that shooting can be taught. That saying does not work in Raptors organization.

[ATLTimekeeper]

You can't compare Podz and Lewis because the likelihood is that Podz is a lot closer to his ceiling whereas Lewis has a ways to go to reach his ceiling. Podz is a lot further along in his development at the same age.

If you make the argument that Podz isn't even close to his ceiling I don't know how that's possible as he will max out as a 40% 3pt shooter in the NBA if his form holds true and doesn't have the kind of first step or ability to draw contact to get to the line in the NBA more than he does right now in college. All of his college numbers should taper off in the NBA especially the 8.8 rebounds a game as a guard, against NBA athletes there's just no way he maintains this kind of statistical production. Same applies to his steal totals. He should still be able to rebound it and pick the ball off at a good rate for a guard but it's not like we're gonna see this guy fill it up even more in the NBA compared to what he's doing right now.

On the other hand I think Lewis absolutely can eclipse the kind of collegiate production he's outputting if he reaches his ceiling.

You'd be lighting a first round pick on fire with Lewis at this point. Late hits are productive or come from outside the NCAA.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

You can't compare Podz and Lewis because the likelihood is that Podz is a lot closer to his ceiling whereas Lewis has a ways to go to reach his ceiling. Podz is a lot further along in his development at the same age.

If you make the argument that Podz isn't even close to his ceiling I don't know how that's possible as he will max out as a 40% 3pt shooter in the NBA if his form holds true and doesn't have the kind of first step or ability to draw contact to get to the line in the NBA more than he does right now in college. All of his college numbers should taper off in the NBA especially the 8.8 rebounds a game as a guard, against NBA athletes there's just no way he maintains this kind of statistical production. Same applies to his steal totals. He should still be able to rebound it and pick the ball off at a good rate for a guard but it's not like we're gonna see this guy fill it up even more in the NBA compared to what he's doing right now.

On the other hand I think Lewis absolutely can eclipse the kind of collegiate production he's outputting if he reaches his ceiling.

You'd be lighting a first round pick on fire with Lewis at this point. Late hits are productive or come from outside the NCAA.

Lewis is productive and his first half of CBB season stats were probably the most elite of any guard in the nation. He's also shooting the 3 from 40+% at home this year.

[dozo]

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I respect Barlowe's opinion but this was posted in January alot has happened. 2-14 in conference play looks bad on Lewis especially when he isnt leading his team in ever statistical category. He should be dominating like Pod is doing for Santa Clara. Lewis can't attack going right! To me he's a nice 3D prospects.

Full game of SCvPep. Lewis and Pod standout from the rest.

Watch on YouTube

I'm gaga for Riley Kugel.

-6'5 w/a good wingspan
-capable of playing on/off the ball,
-3 level scoring
-attacks left and right
-can finish with both hands
-talented passer
-has deep range
-good defender
-great athleticism

Read on Twitter

Kugel looks great in video, but he is 6'5 with smallish wingspan and a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. He has shown some recent improvement where he is taking up the scoring load for Florida, but are we talking about combo guard? He seems too small to play up a position and he doesn't seem like a playmaker. It will be interesting to see what he does in the SEC tournament.

He had a great finish to the season(8 games). From what I read he's planning to stay @ Florida. He's a lottery pick in 24

Its his 3 level scoring potential that has piqued my interest. As prominent point of attack slasher the a-T-to ratio is concerning. At 6'5 he should be able to defend both guard positions and switches in the NBA.

[Yallbecrazy]

I like Podziemski more as a point guard at the next level than a SG. He needs to work on his handle a bit, but I don't see that being too much of a problem. Problem with being a 6'5 SG is he's a little slow and maybe slightly undersized too, where as he could make up for his lack of athleticism by being really big as a pg. He also seems to be a really good passer with an excellent feel for the game which is evidenced not just by the ast/to ratio, but also the rebounding numbers.

I see him fairly similar to Malcolm Brogdon, but with more off the dribble shooting ability and possibly less open set shooting despite the better percentages because his free throw % isn't nearly as good. The rebounding numbers also show a little more tenacity than Brogdon.

[Dalek]

He had a great finish to the season(8 games). From what I read he's planning to stay @ Florida. He's a lottery pick in 24

Its his 3 level scoring potential that has piqued my interest. As prominent point of attack slasher the a-T-to ratio is concerning. At 6'5 he should be able to defend both guard positions and switches in the NBA.

I typically like Florida players because they tend to defend well and stick in the league. Still waiting on Tre Mann to break out, but he will get there.

If Kugel stays another year he could go pretty high. 2024 is wide-open. This year, unless he goes nuts in March, it may not be enough to get him drafted. My bet is Miami gets him at some point. They have the inside scoop on these Florida guys.

[WuTang_CMB]

Charlotte gonna draft him lol

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpgljXJj8UR/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Mark_83]

ESPN has Bilal Coulibaly as a projected top 10 pick in 2024 (if he doesn't enter this year).

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/35707557/2024-nba-mock-draft-why-bronny-james-projected-top-10-pick

It's pure speculation on my part, but with Coulibaly projected to go late in the 1st this year, is it possible Masai has him on the radar for our pick in the teens?

For one, why would we keep our pick this year in the Yak trade when we planned to hurt that pick by making the playoffs? Secondly, why would we trade our pick in 2024, which, if we decide to blow it up, will be much better than our pick this year.

Again, just speculating, but it seems like Masai has no intention of blowing it up after the season if this team underwhelms. If that was in the plans, then he would have just traded this year's pick, which we know will be in the teens, rather than a future pick, which could be anywhere.

Masai must believe either that the talent in the teens this year is equivalent/interchangeable to talent he would have been picked in the lottery before the Yak trade, or, that there's a talent available in the teens this year, who would likely be a lottery pick in the next year if he chose not to enter (kind of like Porzingas, who would likely have gone late 1st the year before he actually entered the draft and became a lottery pick the following year instead).

I'm a big fan of Bilal, and seems like ESPN thinks he has lottery talent if he waits a year. If he enters this year he's likely to go later in the first round, but Masai could swoop in and take him at an earlier pick and end up with a lottery-level talent.