Raps 2020 Picks (Prospect Watch, Update: Vecenie Mock Released)

[Dalek]

I know most people are leaning on size and athleticism, but looking at overall growth, court awareness, scoring and quick burst, it is hard to ignore Devon Dotson.

Watch on YouTube

He really reminds me of VanVleet in college with better speed and finishing ability.

In the clip you see him attacking the basket and kicking out to shooters, strip ballhandlers on defense, make post entry passes and be a one man fastbreak.

Despite looking about 6-1 he plays bigger than his size. It is mainly about playing with an edge. You can tell this guy would fit in here.

I think he's closer to Lowry in college. VanVleet was a subpar athlete, this kid plays a very athletic game and thrives in the paint. Definitely cut from the same cloth as these guys and has that "winner" vibe.

I could see that. I just like how this kid just plays with zero fear. I think he ends up a first rounder with a good tournament.

I think fit wise he would be great. He would be a back up PG/SG that is pure speed. Long-term he could be a nice fit in Toronto to be mentored under KLow and FVV.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Of course if he drops. He probably gets drafted before 25. Hopefully him or Jalen Smith!

I mentioned Paul Reed a few pages back. He'd be an obvious pick, but he's ranked much higher than where we're picking. So unless we're trading up he's likely out of reach.

Really? I've seen him in and around our range 24-30, I think he'll be in play when its our time to pick. Especially considering DePaul is struggling as a team. He definitely seems like a Masai type of player

Mocks may have him ranked a bit lower, but there's no chance he drops in the real world unless he gets hurt. I'd be willing to bet this kid is a lotto pick, but top-20 at worst. I could be wrong, but I strongly doubt he's there when we pick.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I could see that. I just like how this kid just plays with zero fear. I think he ends up a first rounder with a good tournament.

I think fit wise he would be great. He would be a back up PG/SG that is pure speed. Long-term he could be a nice fit in Toronto to be mentored under KLow and FVV.

Seems like a no brainer first rounder to me, but I feel like a lot of teams are going to overrate switchability this year and there's going to be a glut of undeserving small bigs and big wings that go ahead of one position players.

[BoyzNTheHood]

I've seen Xavier Tillman ranked in the 2nd round on some mocks. How is that possible? Is it just an age thing? If this were 10 years ago you'd say he was an undersized C, but in today's game he's not.

6'9" 240-250

15.4 PPG
11.6 RPG
3.4 APG
2.4 BLK
1.3 STL
Big10 DPOY

Those are the numbers of an all-around gem of a basketball player who has gone up against elite competition and succeeded. A winner.

I want to reference last season because he had a matchup versus Zion Williamson that should be noted. They weren't head-to-head for all of the game, but ended up matched up a lot. If you're not an NBA caliber player you'd probably have a subpar performance against elite competition like Duke. Remember, they not only had Zion, but also RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones who will be a solid NBA pro as well.

Michigan State beat Duke in the Elite 8 and Tillman had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 8-12 shooting.

Guys like Tillman, Cassius Winston and Devon Dotson may all be ranked in the 2nd round, but will produce like 1st rounders in the NBA.

[HeadtopChunes]

I've seen Xavier Tillman ranked in the 2nd round on some mocks. How is that possible? Is it just an age thing? If this were 10 years ago you'd say he was an undersized C, but in today's game he's not.

6'9" 240-250

15.4 PPG
11.6 RPG
3.4 APG
2.4 BLK
1.3 STL
Big10 DPOY

Those are the numbers of an all-around gem of a basketball player who has gone up against elite competition and succeeded. A winner.

I want to reference last season because he had a matchup versus Zion Williamson that should be noted. They weren't head-to-head for all of the game, but ended up matched up a lot. If you're not an NBA caliber player you'd probably have a subpar performance against elite competition like Duke. Remember, they not only had Zion, but also RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones who will be a solid NBA pro as well.

Michigan State beat Duke in the Elite 8 and Tillman had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 8-12 shooting.

Guys like Tillman, Cassius Winston and Devon Dotson may all be ranked in the 2nd round, but will produce like 1st rounders in the NBA.

Its probably because of his age and mediocre vertical explosiveness but I really like him too

I have him top 25 on my board, arguably both the best defender and passer among all the centers in this draft. He's a really smart player on both ends. Just needs to develop his 3pt shot and he fits that Al Horford type mold.

Would be a day 1 rotation player IMO

Read on Twitter

Heres him stopping Zion in transition which is a worthy highlight on his own.

[BoyzNTheHood]

I'm assuming this means the NBA will go forward with the draft as well! So let's analyze some prospects!

Read on Twitter

[Mark_83]

I've seen Xavier Tillman ranked in the 2nd round on some mocks. How is that possible? Is it just an age thing? If this were 10 years ago you'd say he was an undersized C, but in today's game he's not.

6'9" 240-250

15.4 PPG
11.6 RPG
3.4 APG
2.4 BLK
1.3 STL
Big10 DPOY

Those are the numbers of an all-around gem of a basketball player who has gone up against elite competition and succeeded. A winner.

I want to reference last season because he had a matchup versus Zion Williamson that should be noted. They weren't head-to-head for all of the game, but ended up matched up a lot. If you're not an NBA caliber player you'd probably have a subpar performance against elite competition like Duke. Remember, they not only had Zion, but also RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones who will be a solid NBA pro as well.

Michigan State beat Duke in the Elite 8 and Tillman had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 8-12 shooting.

Guys like Tillman, Cassius Winston and Devon Dotson may all be ranked in the 2nd round, but will produce like 1st rounders in the NBA.

Its probably because of his age and mediocre vertical explosiveness but I really like him too

I have him top 25 on my board, arguably both the best defender and passer among all the centers in this draft. He's a really smart player on both ends. Just needs to develop his 3pt shot and he fits that Al Horford type mold.

Would be a day 1 rotation player IMO

Read on Twitter

Heres him stopping Zion in transition which is a worthy highlight on his own.

The number of deflections this guy gets is unreal. He reads the play so well and his anticipation and positioning is superb. He could have a Draymond lite impact defensively.

Watch on YouTube

[BoyzNTheHood]

I've seen Xavier Tillman ranked in the 2nd round on some mocks. How is that possible? Is it just an age thing? If this were 10 years ago you'd say he was an undersized C, but in today's game he's not.

6'9" 240-250

15.4 PPG
11.6 RPG
3.4 APG
2.4 BLK
1.3 STL
Big10 DPOY

Those are the numbers of an all-around gem of a basketball player who has gone up against elite competition and succeeded. A winner.

I want to reference last season because he had a matchup versus Zion Williamson that should be noted. They weren't head-to-head for all of the game, but ended up matched up a lot. If you're not an NBA caliber player you'd probably have a subpar performance against elite competition like Duke. Remember, they not only had Zion, but also RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones who will be a solid NBA pro as well.

Michigan State beat Duke in the Elite 8 and Tillman had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 8-12 shooting.

Guys like Tillman, Cassius Winston and Devon Dotson may all be ranked in the 2nd round, but will produce like 1st rounders in the NBA.

Its probably because of his age and mediocre vertical explosiveness but I really like him too

I have him top 25 on my board, arguably both the best defender and passer among all the centers in this draft. He's a really smart player on both ends. Just needs to develop his 3pt shot and he fits that Al Horford type mold.

Would be a day 1 rotation player IMO

Read on Twitter

Heres him stopping Zion in transition which is a worthy highlight on his own.

The number of deflections this guy gets is unreal. He reads the play so well and his anticipation and positioning is superb. He could have a Draymond lite impact defensively.

Watch on YouTube

He could have an impact similar to Antonio Davis imo. Solid defensively and offensively, and will just play smarter and harder than most of his opponents. Underrated passer as well.

[Syd-TK3]

What's our most needed position?
I'd assume pf/sf

Although I'm pretty high on Oshae and see no reason to believe he doesn't become a permanent rotation piece next year so maybe it might just a be a best available talent pick

[HeadtopChunes]

Its probably because of his age and mediocre vertical explosiveness but I really like him too

I have him top 25 on my board, arguably both the best defender and passer among all the centers in this draft. He's a really smart player on both ends. Just needs to develop his 3pt shot and he fits that Al Horford type mold.

Would be a day 1 rotation player IMO

Read on Twitter

Heres him stopping Zion in transition which is a worthy highlight on his own.

The number of deflections this guy gets is unreal. He reads the play so well and his anticipation and positioning is superb. He could have a Draymond lite impact defensively.

Watch on YouTube

He could have an impact similar to Antonio Davis imo. Solid defensively and offensively, and will just play smarter and harder than most of his opponents. Underrated passer as well.

i'd argue hes an elite big man passer tbh, can pass at a high level from any situation you'd want from a big. Post, Elbow, Short Roll etc

Heres a good snapshot

Read on Twitter

[HeadtopChunes]

What's our most needed position?
I'd assume pf/sf

Although I'm pretty high on Oshae and see no reason to believe he doesn't become a permanent rotation piece next year so maybe it might just a be a best available talent pick

I think you can make a good argument for any position, id lean towards forward or big but I can see why drafting a guard or wing could be smart too. Nearly the entire team is facing free agency soon so really anything is justifiable.

As far as Oshae I'm not sold on him offensively enough to not draft a forward.

[Indeed]

What's our most needed position?
I'd assume pf/sf

Although I'm pretty high on Oshae and see no reason to believe he doesn't become a permanent rotation piece next year so maybe it might just a be a best available talent pick

I assume Forward spot with excellent lateral quickness and wingspan, and Centre spot with excellent vertical and height.

Forward (big fast SF) has been the most impactful position in game, so I think we will continue to acquire talent qualify for those criteria.

As for the C spot, it seems we lacked a big C against other traditional C. Over the year, Gasol has been injured due to his age, then Ibaka played too much at C against traditional C and need rest for few days for his knee, while RHJ may not be the best backup C. Perhaps looking for a 6'11/7' big defensive C (with capable of stretching the floor) would be the other priority.

I think Brissett would be fine, may take over RHJ or McCaw role in 2 years in a backup role.

[casual_raps_fan]

The number of deflections this guy gets is unreal. He reads the play so well and his anticipation and positioning is superb. He could have a Draymond lite impact defensively.

Watch on YouTube

He could have an impact similar to Antonio Davis imo. Solid defensively and offensively, and will just play smarter and harder than most of his opponents. Underrated passer as well.

i'd argue hes an elite big man passer tbh, can pass at a high level from any situation you'd want from a big. Post, Elbow, Short Roll etc

Heres a good snapshot

Read on Twitter

This guy is projected as a late 2nd? I must be missing something because he looks really good to me.

He checks all the boxes on the defensive end to be a good defender and he also is showing he can move the ball well from the center position. Sounds like a nice role player for any team in the NBA.

[HeadtopChunes]

If the Raptors want to make a pure upside play than Aleksej Pokuševski is an interesting target

He's a couple of years away at best and playing in the same league Giannis was inside high school gyms.

7ft tall 7'3 wingspan and currently rail-thin. Poku brings an interesting combination of skills for a 7ftr that can either result in Darko or being the best player in the draft.

Basically has a wing skillset and fluidity in a 7ft frame. Can run PnR. initiate offense, shoot off the dribble and off movement and have been an elite steals and blocks guy everywhere he has played. It's not hard to see a really valuable player here if he puts it all together.

Problem is that he's rail-thin has 0 strength, struggles to finish in the paint because of it and is largely untested playing some bad competition relative to everyone else in the draft.

[HeadtopChunes]

He could have an impact similar to Antonio Davis imo. Solid defensively and offensively, and will just play smarter and harder than most of his opponents. Underrated passer as well.

i'd argue hes an elite big man passer tbh, can pass at a high level from any situation you'd want from a big. Post, Elbow, Short Roll etc

Heres a good snapshot

Read on Twitter

This guy is projected as a late 2nd? I must be missing something because he looks really good to me.

He checks all the boxes on the defensive end to be a good defender and he also is showing he can move the ball well from the center position. Sounds like a nice role player for any team in the NBA.

He's a 3rd-year college player and will be 21 during the draft so he gets bumped down due to that, if he was doing this as a freshman he'd def be a lottery pick.

I think ESPN is too low on him though, the Athletic has him at 32 which i think is much more reasonable

[casual_raps_fan]

I would be weary of any wing prospects in this draft. I think management we'll take a hard look at Brissett and Paul Watson. If either gets converted to a 1 way or remains on 2 ways with us, I feel like we'll be invested in their development. Both have shown a ton of growth over the duration of the season.

To me, we need to add size, rebounding and some sort of scoring option from 3/4 spot off the bench. I am thinking any offensively skilled guys that have projectable defensive ability is what management goes after (historically we have favoured the opposite as it seems we really trust our development system to get guys to catch up offensively).

I expect these guys to be in the rotation next year:

TD,Thomas, Boucher, Mccaw

- Brissett and Watson are super interesting and I think Brissett has a chance to crack the rotation. Hernandez to me has lost a year of development due to injury so I expect a lot more 905 reps next year. We're going to need a 4/5 with size to give us insurance as I expect we'll be bringing back at least 1 of Marc/Serge

You really think Thomas and Boucher are going to be in the rotation?

It felt like Nurse wasn't happy with Boucher this season. He can play but he doesn't bring the things Nurse likes (on court awareness, consistency). I don't even think he will be brought back.

Thomas hasn't really shown that he is able to stay on the court aside from specific situations. His shooting is nice and his defence has
improved but he still lacks the ability to get his shot off consistently and is still a pretty big liability on defence.

Even TD I wonder. He's obviously one of our most talented prospects but there are so many guys ahead of him in the rotation who are way more reliable than him (Lowry, Fred, Norm). He will get the leftover minutes but if he doesn't gain Nurse's trust, we can expect to see heavy minutes from Lowry, Fred, Norm again (even McCaw).

[casual_raps_fan]

If the Raptors want to make a pure upside play than Aleksej Pokuševski is an interesting target

He's a couple of years away at best and playing in the same league Giannis was inside high school gyms.

7ft tall 7'3 wingspan and currently rail-thin. Poku brings an interesting combination of skills for a 7ftr that can either result in Darko or being the best player in the draft.

Basically has a wing skillset and fluidity in a 7ft frame. Can run PnR. initiate offense, shoot off the dribble and off movement and have been an elite steals and blocks guy everywhere he has played. It's not hard to see a really valuable player here if he puts it all together.

Problem is that he's rail-thin has 0 strength, struggles to finish in the paint because of it and is largely untested playing some bad competition relative to everyone else in the draft.

Watched a few clips of him and I will pass. I can see why he might draw some attention but I think it's far more likely he is going to bust than pan out. For the type of player he is, he has absolutely no explosiveness, looks lethargic and lazy with his movements. Even if he adds strength, there are too many things he has to improve on.

[casual_raps_fan]

Of course if he drops. He probably gets drafted before 25. Hopefully him or Jalen Smith!

I mentioned Paul Reed a few pages back. He'd be an obvious pick, but he's ranked much higher than where we're picking. So unless we're trading up he's likely out of reach.

Really? I've seen him in and around our range 24-30, I think he'll be in play when its our time to pick. Especially considering DePaul is struggling as a team. He definitely seems like a Masai type of player

I just checked out some of his footage. He looks really good. He would fit in really well on the Raptors. I'm not sure about his ceiling but his floor looks pretty good since he looks like he would be a good NBA defender and can run the floor and finish around the rim well.

I would like to see if he can learn to do more with the ball in his hands. His motor and ability to finish around the rim show he could have some scoring potential.

[HeadtopChunes]

You really think Thomas and Boucher are going to be in the rotation?

It felt like Nurse wasn't happy with Boucher this season. He can play but he doesn't bring the things Nurse likes (on court awareness, consistency). I don't even think he will be brought back.

Thomas hasn't really shown that he is able to stay on the court aside from specific situations. His shooting is nice and his defence has
improved but he still lacks the ability to get his shot off consistently and is still a pretty big liability on defence.

Even TD I wonder. He's obviously one of our most talented prospects but there are so many guys ahead of him in the rotation who are way more reliable than him (Lowry, Fred, Norm). He will get the leftover minutes but if he doesn't gain Nurse's trust, we can expect to see heavy minutes from Lowry, Fred, Norm again (even McCaw).

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't bring Boucher back at all tbh, he's okay but at his age too inconsistent, I think we can get a better prospect to replace him either via draft or free agency that give us roughly the same production. Thomas' limited athleticism makes it hard to project too much growth defensively, maybe increased awareness can help but probably remains a specialist.

Already stated not I'm not that high on Brisset, not sure what to make of Watson either since we haven't seen him play any NBA minutes.

I'd be disappointed if TD wasn't a rotation player next season, I think he's got big talent and he will be more consistent on both ends next year? (or whenever the NBA is back)

I expect McCaw to be more or less the same next year hopefully he grows his offensive aggression a little to at least Delon levels (which isn't asking much tbh)

Stanley Johnson is also on contract but he's gotta find some way to provide offensive value to crack our rotation, maybe an entire year working with our staff will have him ready for the next season ??

Watched a few clips of him and I will pass. I can see why he might draw some attention but I think it's far more likely he is going to bust than pan out. For the type of player he is, he has absolutely no explosiveness, looks lethargic and lazy with his movements. Even if he adds strength, there are too many things he has to improve on.

Yeah, I definitely think it's much more likely he busts than becomes a positive player. Still the upside is intriguing and IMO the Raptors are the best development team in the league, so maybe burning the 28th pick on him wouldn't be too big a risk. Maybe a second-round pick would make more sense, he's only 17 right now, probably won't be ready for 4-5 years if at all to be a winning player.

[casual_raps_fan]

I'd be disappointed if TD wasn't a rotation player next season, I think he's got big talent and he will be more consistent on both ends next year? (or whenever the NBA is back)

Just to be clear, I expect TD to be a rotational player. I just haven't seen enough of Nurse as the head coach yet to confidently predict his future decisions.