Toronto Interviewed Typical Raptors Prospect Miles McBride at Combine
From Kyle Lowry to Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn, it's easy to see the Toronto Raptors have a point guard mold. They're an organization that doesn't care so much about guard size, but instead prioritizes toughness, intellect, and experience. This year, few players in the 2021 NBA Draft class fit that mold better than Miles McBride, who interviewed with Toronto during the draft combine process.
Traditionally, McBride would be the kind of player the Raptors would be targetting late in the first round. He's a 6-foot-1, 195-pound guard out of West Virginia who averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 assists, with 43.1% shooting, and 41.4% three-point shooting as a junior. This year, however, things are a little bit different for Toronto who holds the fourth pick in the draft. While McBride doesn't make much sense for the Raptors at the very top of the draft, Toronto's two second-round picks this year give the Raptors some flexibility to move around the draft board and target a player like McBride.
"He looks like a Raptor because of his effort level and 3 and D ability as a point guard," said Wesley Brown, an independent NBA scout. "He's an undersized combo guard that picks up 94 feet and is a tenacious on ball defender."
The question about McBride, much like it was with VanVleet and Flynn, is his size and his ability to hold his own against bigger NBA guards.
"While his size presents some limitations, his competitiveness and intangibles stand out, and he’s played his way into late first-round consideration as a potentially useful bench piece," Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo wrote. "Though more scorer than a playmaker, McBride should capably defend point guards and supply enough punch off the bench to stick on a roster. His focus and composure on the floor should be endearing to playoff teams."
It's possible McBride will be sitting there at 46 and 47 when the Raptors will make their second-round picks, but if Toronto sees McBride as another backup point guard for the future, it might be worth trying to move up a few picks to ensure the Mountaineer is still on the board.
Further Reading
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Raptors doing due diligence on Texas' Kai Jones
Isaiah Mobley explains what makes his brother Evan so special
