With the 57th pick, the Raptors select Ulrich Chomche

[GreatWhiteStiff]

In 8 games, he's putting up 8ppg, 9rpg, 3.4bpg in only 24mpg.

His net rating is +6.9

Impressive stuff from the 19 year old.

Not to be a downer, but until he is dominating the G-League we should keep expectations in check.

Isaiah Hartenstein was a 25/15/5 guy in the G-League.
Chris Boucher put up 27/11 with 4 blocks and shot 7 3's a night (32% clip).
Hell, Bruno Caboclo eventually averaged 16/7 on 64TS% with 1.2 steals and 3.0 blocks a night in 28 minutes

The reality is that the only G-League guys who ever do anything in the NBA dominate the G-League. And even players who are NBA scrubs put up big #'s.

4 or 5 blocks with lots of rebounds a game of 36 minutes is already pretty big numbers. Big problem is he has about a 1:1 ratio of buckets to turnovers or not far off, slightly boosted because he made 2 threes.

[TGM]

No need to get overly excited about Chomche. Next season he will get some burn on the NBA roster, but until he starts to really light up the G league he is just a project. If he starts lighting up the g league we can call him a prospect. His ball awareness and positioning is still pretty bad. He makes some amazing plays once in a while, but hasn’t put it all together yet. Giannis’ feel for the game at the same age was completely night and day.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Sure, you could see it, but it doesn’t make it likely.

Hart was 19 in the g league putting up 10/7 in 18mpg 63ts%
Chom is 19 in the g league putting up 8/9 in 24mpg 57ts%

And Hart is already an outlier development path and he was above Chom at the same age.

The odds of Chom being an nba player are astronomically low. Not impossible, but incredibly unlikely

IH is an American who had the AAU circuit. Chomche is a farmer from Africa.

It's not the same bud.

Okay? It isn’t like just cause he’s from Africa he has some magical growth in him.

Yall just need to accept Chomche probably isn’t ever a nba player. If he even gives us a few years of bench play that’s a huge win.

Hartenstein wasn't so raw that he was being spoonfed the game to him.

per 36 he averaged 18/12/2BLKs and 5.8 PFs.

Chomche just turned 19 a few weeks ago. 11/13/5 and 4.9 PFs.

[CoinTossRoss31]

So many downers in this thread.
Was Koloko not a Junior when we drafted him at the top of the second round? Let's give the kid at least 1-2 more years and see

[Psubs]

So many downers in this thread.
Was Koloko not a Junior when we drafted him at the top of the second round? Let's give the kid at least 1-2 more years and see

Ya, right now he's like freshman aged still. He's somewhat comparable to a taller Thomas Sorber.

[YogurtProducer]

So many downers in this thread.
Was Koloko not a Junior when we drafted him at the top of the second round? Let's give the kid at least 1-2 more years and see

Not really a downer, just realistic.

I look forward tho to someone posting Chomche as a “miss” by Masai in 5 years

[ontnut]

How many years away from being 2 years away is he now?

[MEDIC]

He's ahead of where I thought he would be. I wasn't sure if he was even a G League level player at the beginning of the year but he definitely is now.

Agreed.

The current situation is simply about how quickly this kid can learn new information, grow and adapt. At the end ot the season, we will have a pretty good indication of his future as a prospect. It basically comes down to "can he make the NBA as a player or not".

He is starting to become impactful at the G-League level, which is a far cry from where he was in November.

Things are trending in the right direction. That's all we want to see at this point in time.

[Thaddy]

How many years away from being 2 years away is he now?

He's playable in the NBA at the end of the year. If we can play Gradey Dick, who's built like a 17 year old, then we can definitely play Chomche who has the physical tools down. I want to see him being able to hit 1.5 3P shots a game on average before we call him up. He isn't far from being able to do that.

[hype_2004]

Here's my prediction on Ulrich Chomche in 5 years he will be either out of the league or become the C version of LeBron and Giannis, there's no in-between with this kid his potential is through the roof with his physical profile alone. He will mature, get stronger, get more skilled and you will see a monster that will dominate the league just through his defensive impact, quote me on this in 5 years.

[Psubs]

Here's my prediction on Ulrich Chomche in 5 years he will be either out of the league or become the C version of LeBron and Giannis, there's no in-between with this kid his potential is through the roof with his physical profile alone. He will mature, get stronger, get more skilled and you will see a monster that will dominate the league just through his defensive impact, quote me on this in 5 years.

Maybe he's Noah Clowney? Ah, Clowney is turning 21 this summer. That would be a good in between for the #57 pick.

[MEDIC]

Here's my prediction on Ulrich Chomche in 5 years he will be either out of the league or become the C version of LeBron and Giannis, there's no in-between with this kid his potential is through the roof with his physical profile alone. He will mature, get stronger, get more skilled and you will see a monster that will dominate the league just through his defensive impact, quote me on this in 5 years.

Best upside comp I have seen on here is a young Serge.

That's the level of arhleticism & length he has anyway....

[XTC]

Here's my prediction on Ulrich Chomche in 5 years he will be either out of the league or become the C version of LeBron and Giannis, there's no in-between with this kid his potential is through the roof with his physical profile alone. He will mature, get stronger, get more skilled and you will see a monster that will dominate the league just through his defensive impact, quote me on this in 5 years.

Best upside comp I have seen on here is a young Serge.

That's the level of arhleticism & length he has anyway....

Young Serge was insanely athletic, even more athletic than Chomche. People forget Ibaka was getting Kemp comparisions because of his leaping abilities... and I mean the dude effortlessly dunked from the free throw line.

He also had a 7-4 wingspan and a 9-5 standing reach... Chomche for example has the same wingspan, but only a 9-1 standing reach. Standing reach is more important for shot blockers and rebounding.

[canada_dry]

I saw he's shooting 37% from the free throw line....

inconvenient truth...we're too good! -Phil Blackson

[Ell Curry]

IH is an American who had the AAU circuit. Chomche is a farmer from Africa.

It's not the same bud.

Okay? It isn’t like just cause he’s from Africa he has some magical growth in him.

Yall just need to accept Chomche probably isn’t ever a nba player. If he even gives us a few years of bench play that’s a huge win.

Hartenstein wasn't so raw that he was being spoonfed the game to him.

per 36 he averaged 18/12/2BLKs and 5.8 PFs.

Chomche just turned 19 a few weeks ago. 11/13/5 and 4.9 PFs.

Hartenstein is averaging 4 assists a game.

My hopes are for a Kessler/Timelord/Capela kinda guy who gets blocks and has few touches on O type thing. 2.5x the number of blocks with less fouls and the same rebounds than Hartenstein at the same age is promising stuff. Kessler can't switch at all, either, and Chomche has the mobility to do so.

Timelord was still a hugely impactful player before he got hurt all the time. Like advanced stats had him better than very similar rim-runner/shot blocker types in Capela/Jarrett Allen/Mitchell Robinson. If we got a $20M centre like that with the 57th pick, that's a huge win. Saves us using a first on a center in 2026 or we do anyways, maybe a skilled 5 who can shoot, and we can move Poeltl, or just trade the first instead of using it on a "center of the future" in the RJ Barrett trade I dream of nightly, lots of options.

If he's Bismack 2.0, he's still a great pick, but that's a 3rd center really, or a backup center/4th big if your 3rd big can play 4 or 5, like if we can trade for or find a younger Olynyk or current Aldama/Mo Wagner type with the PDX 2nd (an Ivisic, Broome, Wolf, I'm probably missing another guy) and have Bismack 2.0 as backup options for a starting center (Poeltl for now) and Barnes at the 2 big spots, we'll have a good NBA frontcourt, though we'd likely have to use a 2027 or 2028 first on a Poeltl replacement (either trade or picking a center).

[Thaddy]

Okay? It isn’t like just cause he’s from Africa he has some magical growth in him.

Yall just need to accept Chomche probably isn’t ever a nba player. If he even gives us a few years of bench play that’s a huge win.

Hartenstein wasn't so raw that he was being spoonfed the game to him.

per 36 he averaged 18/12/2BLKs and 5.8 PFs.

Chomche just turned 19 a few weeks ago. 11/13/5 and 4.9 PFs.

Hartenstein is averaging 4 assists a game.

My hopes are for a Kessler/Timelord/Capela kinda guy who gets blocks and has few touches on O type thing. 2.5x the number of blocks with less fouls and the same rebounds than Hartenstein at the same age is promising stuff. Kessler can't switch at all, either, and Chomche has the mobility to do so.

Timelord was still a hugely impactful player before he got hurt all the time. Like advanced stats had him better than very similar rim-runner/shot blocker types in Capela/Jarrett Allen/Mitchell Robinson. If we got a $20M centre like that with the 57th pick, that's a huge win. Saves us using a first on a center in 2026 or we do anyways, maybe a skilled 5 who can shoot, and we can move Poeltl, or just trade the first instead of using it on a "center of the future" in the RJ Barrett trade I dream of nightly, lots of options.

If he's Bismack 2.0, he's still a great pick, but that's a 3rd center really, or a backup center/4th big if your 3rd big can play 4 or 5, like if we can trade for or find a younger Olynyk or current Aldama/Mo Wagner type with the PDX 2nd (an Ivisic, Broome, Wolf, I'm probably missing another guy) and have Bismack 2.0 as backup options for a starting center (Poeltl for now) and Barnes at the 2 big spots, we'll have a good NBA frontcourt, though we'd likely have to use a 2027 or 2028 first on a Poeltl replacement (either trade or picking a center).

Siakam was a bad passing big at the college level and he's pretty good now. Similarly Chomche is newer to basketball compared to a player like IH who's been in the AAU circuit and playing basketball his whole life, the guys dad is also a basketball player. He's showing improvement very quickly and it's very possible he becomes better than IH. I would also add that IH's production is higher than what it has been because he's playing on a very good team with a MVP level talent.

[YogurtProducer]

Hartenstein wasn't so raw that he was being spoonfed the game to him.

per 36 he averaged 18/12/2BLKs and 5.8 PFs.

Chomche just turned 19 a few weeks ago. 11/13/5 and 4.9 PFs.

Hartenstein is averaging 4 assists a game.

My hopes are for a Kessler/Timelord/Capela kinda guy who gets blocks and has few touches on O type thing. 2.5x the number of blocks with less fouls and the same rebounds than Hartenstein at the same age is promising stuff. Kessler can't switch at all, either, and Chomche has the mobility to do so.

Timelord was still a hugely impactful player before he got hurt all the time. Like advanced stats had him better than very similar rim-runner/shot blocker types in Capela/Jarrett Allen/Mitchell Robinson. If we got a $20M centre like that with the 57th pick, that's a huge win. Saves us using a first on a center in 2026 or we do anyways, maybe a skilled 5 who can shoot, and we can move Poeltl, or just trade the first instead of using it on a "center of the future" in the RJ Barrett trade I dream of nightly, lots of options.

If he's Bismack 2.0, he's still a great pick, but that's a 3rd center really, or a backup center/4th big if your 3rd big can play 4 or 5, like if we can trade for or find a younger Olynyk or current Aldama/Mo Wagner type with the PDX 2nd (an Ivisic, Broome, Wolf, I'm probably missing another guy) and have Bismack 2.0 as backup options for a starting center (Poeltl for now) and Barnes at the 2 big spots, we'll have a good NBA frontcourt, though we'd likely have to use a 2027 or 2028 first on a Poeltl replacement (either trade or picking a center).

Siakam was a bad passing big at the college level and he's pretty good now. Similarly Chomche is newer to basketball compared to a player like IH who's been in the AAU circuit and playing basketball his whole life, the guys dad is also a basketball player. He's showing improvement very quickly and it's very possible he becomes better than IH. I would also add that IH's production is higher than what it has been because he's playing on a very good team with a MVP level talent.

No man, it simply isnt "very possible" that Chomche becomes better than a starting center on a top 3 NBA team.

It is actually "very possible" that Chomche never plays a meaningful NBA minute in his life. In fact, the odds are VERY stacked against him and it is more likely he is is out of the league in 24 months than it is that he is a rotational piece.

If Chomche becomes Hartenstein that is like the top 1% of Chomche outcomes. That would be an insane development for the Raptors and would be one of the greatest late 2nd round picks of all time.

We just need to PUMP the breaks a bit here. Intriguing prospect? Yes. "very possible" to be better than IH? **** NO.

[Ell Curry]

It is actually "very possible" that Chomche never plays a meaningful NBA minute in his life. In fact, the odds are VERY stacked against him and it is more likely he is is out of the league in 24 months than it is that he is a rotational piece.

If Chomche becomes Hartenstein that is like the top 1% of Chomche outcomes. That would be an insane development for the Raptors and would be one of the greatest late 2nd round picks of all time.

We just need to PUMP the breaks a bit here. Intriguing prospect? Yes. "very possible" to be better than IH? **** NO.

IH is probably a top 20 2nd rounder of all time (the list I found starts in 1977 when the first round went up to 20 players, seems fair, it was like 8 before then, had a top 10 and then 6 or 7 guys better than Hartenstein, and then it's sort of personal taste, you could have Hartenstein like 16th or 25th) so the odds that we've made a pick that good are always low.

That said, I'm optimistic on Chomche. He might never make it, like Bruno, if he's too much of a liability on O and just an average rebounder. But I'm definitely encouraged by him being a legit shotblocker (I think he's like 2nd or 3rd in the G-League per minute?) already, and he's not a stiff in terms of mobility and so far he isn't some weird Ayton/Koufos/Mullens big who's addicted to taking midrange shots he shouldn't. I think the odds are he'll be more skilled than Biyombo.

For some reason we've had very few shotblockers in the 30 seasons here. T-Mac's final season is the 5th highest single season blocks one we've had. Scottie's best year has him 11th. That seems crazy. I think we might just not be used to the value a generic shot blocking center can provide.

For Walter to get to 20M in value (in current money) he has to shoot 40% from 3 and play fairly good defence. The bar for a center is much lower, which I'm not sure makes sense. But we saw what we had to give up to get Poeltl, and how the Suns season has been derailed by terrible center play, and that we can't seem to win a game without Poeltl. Missi is a ROY contender and he's 18 months older than Chomche. Anchored the worst Baylor D in many years IIRC. Hopefully at the start of the 2026-27 season he's at Missi's current level.

[bonjovi0308]

So many downers in this thread.
Was Koloko not a Junior when we drafted him at the top of the second round? Let's give the kid at least 1-2 more years and see

Of course, as most of us here are not GM nor even scouts so the majority of them only judge a player based on raw stats in an NBA game and how much they love Toronto. Remember how many people hate we traded away Demar for Kawhi? How many people still boo Vince Carter today? How people always think they are a better basketball player than Scottie Barnes is?

[RoteSchroder]

So many downers in this thread.
Was Koloko not a Junior when we drafted him at the top of the second round? Let's give the kid at least 1-2 more years and see

Of course, as most of us here are not GM nor even scouts so the majority of them only judge a player based on raw stats in an NBA game and how much they love Toronto. Remember how many people hate we traded away Demar for Kawhi? How many people still boo Vince Carter today? How people always think they are a better basketball player than Scottie Barnes is?

I would think it's better to evaluate a player's situation, production and ability rather than play the "remember..." game. I don't even know what the Demar/Kawhi trade and VC have to do with Chomche.

Remember how fans loved Pape Sow and all the dumb Bargnani homers? Remember fans chanting for Bruno Caboclo?

Secondly, odds are against Chomche, it would probably be better not to hype him up, pile up pressure then have fans hating on him when he doesn't live up to the hype that you generated.