Raptors Board Mock Draft - TOR is on the clock (#9)

[PhilBlackson]

Have to go with Essengue. I think he has the highest upside & a decent enough floor.

Could be a star. If not, he will still be a useful player & serves a positiom of need.

Checks all the boxes for me. The fact that he is European/ French is also a plus.

I know some people take it as “hating” but I genuinely don’t see it with Essengue.

Don’t get me wrong I think he will be a player that can find ways to contribute, I’ll give that much. But my honest assessment is I see a player who has a good understanding of where to be on the court and gets out in transition really well but I’m failing to see what specific skill or attribute makes him supposedly “high upside”?!

I feel like his insanely long and disproportionate legs fool people into thinking he’s longer overall than he actually is. 6’11 is not an impressive wingspan despite possibly being 6’10. Now if he had a 7’3+ wingspan or happened to be an explosive athlete at that height, I’d buy more stock. But to me there’s no real standout physical advantage or skill. He’s a bad shooter especially for a wing, has an average handle at best, not a stand out passer. There’s nothing about him stands out but again I get he finds ways to get buckets here or there.

I don’t put so much stock into the whole “he’s playing against grown men”, I mean sure….in what’s like the 3rd or 4th best league there (Killian Hayes was a “stand out” in that same league), like what caliber of players do people really think they are?! Do people also hype up the “2nd best league in America” with the G League that also has grown men with arguably more NBA calibre players?! Because when I tried to dig into watching some Noa highlights, there would also be video suggestions of absolute no names from that same league with “big numbers”.

So I’m not saying what he’s doing is nothing because he is a smart enough player that he finds ways to contribute but at the same time it feels a bit overstated to me and the important thing to me is my previous issue that I don’t even see anything that stands out, need we mention he’d play the same position as Scottie, so I’m just not seeing the value but maybe I’m really missing something.

[PushDaRock]

I'm good with Essengue. I like the combination of youth and production against high level competition and our organization is always confident in developing skill.

[niQ]

Raps double up on Jaks.

[canada_dry]

Im going to bat for jaku. I want him on the team.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[Jay_Hawk]

I don’t mind anyone on this list. But I’m still team Queen for now.

[elmer_yuck]

There are lots of players left who are in the same tier, so I’m drafting for need.
It’s either Queen, Sorber or Fleming.
I’ll go Sorber.

[TorontoRapsFan]

Really don't think the Nets let him drop but if they do, Carter Bryant. Hands down.

[earthtone]

Have to go with Essengue. I think he has the highest upside & a decent enough floor.

Could be a star. If not, he will still be a useful player & serves a positiom of need.

Checks all the boxes for me. The fact that he is European/ French is also a plus.

I know some people take it as “hating” but I genuinely don’t see it with Essengue.

Don’t get me wrong I think he will be a player that can find ways to contribute, I’ll give that much. But my honest assessment is I see a player who has a good understanding of where to be on the court and gets out in transition really well but I’m failing to see what specific skill or attribute makes him supposedly “high upside”?!

I feel like his insanely long and disproportionate legs fool people into thinking he’s longer overall than he actually is. 6’11 is not an impressive wingspan despite possibly being 6’10. Now if he had a 7’3+ wingspan or happened to be an explosive athlete at that height, I’d buy more stock. But to me there’s no real standout physical advantage or skill. He’s a bad shooter especially for a wing, has an average handle at best, not a stand out passer. There’s nothing about him stands out but again I get he finds ways to get buckets here or there.

I don’t put so much stock into the whole “he’s playing against grown men”, I mean sure….in what’s like the 3rd or 4th best league there (Killian Hayes was a “stand out” in that same league), like what caliber of players do people really think they are?! Do people also hype up the “2nd best league in America” with the G League that also has grown men with arguably more NBA calibre players?! Because when I tried to dig into watching some Noa highlights, there would also be video suggestions of absolute no names from that same league with “big numbers”.

So I’m not saying what he’s doing is nothing because he is a smart enough player that he finds ways to contribute but at the same time it feels a bit overstated to me and the important thing to me is my previous issue that I don’t even see anything that stands out, need we mention he’d play the same position as Scottie, so I’m just not seeing the value but maybe I’m really missing something.

That's far from hate, those are some pretty fair concerns imo. I'm a lot higher on Essengue, but I get the skepticism.

I think the pitch on Essengue is his combination of size + youth + productivity. His wingspan isn't crazy, but a 9'3" standing reach for a wing is absolute outlier status. Seems like he has very long arms but very narrow shoulders which is why the standing reach is so ridiculous but the wingspan is mediocre. The arms being long also shows up on tape even if it doesn't on paper, he's active in passing lanes and is really disruptive on-ball. He's definitely not the most explosive, but his length + fluidity are pretty rare.

He may not be the most eye-catching offensive talent or able to break down defences off the dribble, but he's always in the right place and always takes good shots. He's in the 93% percentile of transition scorers and 88% percentile of scoring efficiency across all of Europe as an 18-year old. He creates a ton of rim pressure by cutting without the ball, and he's pretty effective as a straight line driver even though he doesn't really have any counters or off-the-dribble juice rn.

He has really high feel for the game on both ends, and has shown the ability to be productive and be (arguably) the best player on a good professional team, while still having a ton of room left for physical and skill development. If the board shakes out like it did on this mock, Essengue would be my pick pretty comfortably. I see him as a high floor + high ceiling type of guy.

[CoinTossRoss31]

Really don't think the Nets let him drop but if they do, Carter Bryant. Hands down.

If Bryant gets taken at 8 by the Nets I would imagine Maluach is there at 9

[WuTang_CMB]

Really don't think the Nets let him drop but if they do, Carter Bryant. Hands down.

If Bryant gets taken at 8 by the Nets I would imagine Maluach is there at 9

Depends on New Orleans. They could go Maluach (which I think they will)

That would mean Kon could also be there at 9

[Pointgod]

Give me Queen. A player that can create his own shot and playmake is more valuable than a 3 and D player. Worst case scenario, Queen is a fun player off the bench

[DreamTeam09]

If the board played out like that I'd trade down for 2 picks hopefully & leave with Flemming or Will Riley

If that's not an option take Noa, but I'd be pissed.

[DreamTeam09]

Really don't think the Nets let him drop but if they do, Carter Bryant. Hands down.

If Bryant gets taken at 8 by the Nets I would imagine Maluach is there at 9

Depends on New Orleans. They could go Maluach (which I think they will)

That would mean Kon could also be there at 9

Drafting 2cs b2b years doesn't make all that much sense. Especially two similar C's b2b

[WuTang_CMB]

If Bryant gets taken at 8 by the Nets I would imagine Maluach is there at 9

Depends on New Orleans. They could go Maluach (which I think they will)

That would mean Kon could also be there at 9

Drafting 2cs b2b years doesn't make all that much sense. Especially two similar C's b2b

If Dumars thinks Maluach is BPA he's taking him. New regime.

[Raptorfan2012]

I think we trade this pick, but if not then let's go with Carter Bryant. 3 & D is extremely valuable.

[S.W.A.N]

I think its carter or jak here

I wouldn't sleep on Noa. I think this trio most likely in this scenario

[mihaic]

I will pick other. I think we will trade the pick for a star. Book it!

Book'er up, Masai. Giannis is OK too.

[Rapsfan07]

I'm thinking Jak's talent and potential is a little too much to pass up here but it would also be really hard to pass up on Coward.

If the hype is real, and there's reason to believe it is, I think passing on him could wind up being a huge long term mistake.

I like Fleming but I think Coward and Jak have high ceiling.

[Potential]

Crazy how it can just be anyone we all have no idea what Bobsai is gonna do. I'm prepared

[OhCanada]

Cedric Cowards combination of length, shooting and athletisism has never been seen before by any draft prospect except Jalen Williams of OKC. He's truly a unicorn. You have to take a chance on him.