Variances in draft boards are as extreme as I’ve ever seen
I know I told you I wasn’t go to write about the Toronto Raptors and the NBA Draft. I’m not really changing my mind with this post. Instead, I’m going to share with you my astonishment at the range of choices Masai Ujiri and his team are wading through. I’ve been writing about the NBA Draft, and offering suggestions for the Raptors, for a decade at least. The 2024 Draft is going to be one of the strangest and most surprising we’ve ever seen.
Let’s back up. Perhaps every second or third draft, there’s a no-doubt selection at the #1 spot. Victor Wembanyama last year was the latest example. Before him, in 2019, Zion Williamson was on everyone’s mock at the top spot; ditto Anthony Davis in 2012. When the Raptors for the only time in the team’s history enjoyed the #1 pick, in 2006, there were two names at the top. Bryan Colangelo ended up choosing Andrea Bargnani rather than LaMarcus Aldridge – oh well. When Chris Bosh was selected #4 in 2003, the top of the table was…LeBron James. (Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade were also in the top five; that was one of the greatest drafts). You get the point. Joe-on-the-street, and wizard evaluators like Jerry West, would make the same choice.
Why can’t we all get along?
Here we are in 2024, and I’ve been perusing mock drafts, which have sprouted like dandelions in the past decade. The opinions are wildly divergent. Several have Alexandre Sarr going first overall, others favour Zacharie Risacher. A pair of Frenchmen drafted 1-2, after Wembanyama last year? Is France taking over the NBA Draft? One draft has Nikola Topic of Serbia at #2, with Risacher seventh, and those three are part of a large overseas contingent.
The return of the big man is made more pronounced, not just by Sarr, but also Donovan Clingan of the NCAA-champion Connecticut Huskies. He’s moved past Canada’s Zach Edey, who has himself surpassed a bunch of prospects to find himself likely to be picked in the mid-teens. Whether either of these behemoths possess the footspeed required to earn minutes in the track meet of the modern NBA is most difficult to assess. Sarr, by far the most svelte of the three, doesn’t have that question lurking, nor is he as likely to suffer from excessive strain on his joints. FWIW: If I was choosing #1, I’d take the rara avis Sarr. There are lots of swingmen.
Stephon Castle, a swingman (as I was saying…) also from UConn, is, like so many other prospects, all over the map. I didn’t see much from him in the title game, but NCAA ball is hellishly difficult for me, at least, to project players from. The college game is micromanaged by the coaches, so a lot of kids, like Scottie Barnes (and before him, Pascal Siakam), toil in obscurity. Some mocks have Castle as a single-digit lottery choice, others place him in the mid-teens. Same with Dalton Knecht, who looks to me like this year’s Gradey Dick. Hoops Hype picks center Yves Missi at #12, other mocks have him in the second round.
Here’s all I know at the moment: this year’s draft is going to be filled with ‘reach’ selections, trades, and international selections. More to come from this corner.
- Tags: Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors
