Latest Mock Drafts Reveal Potential Raptors Targets
Is it too early to start looking ahead to the NBA Draft?
For the Toronto Raptors, the answer is probably not. It’s been that kind of season for the Raptors who sit at 19-36 with 27 games still to go following the All-Star break. What’s worse, the organization may not even have a lottery pick for its troubles this year.
But even without its own first-round pick, Toronto will have at least two picks in the 2024 Draft, a first-round pick from Indiana currently pegged at No. 17 and Detroit’s second-round pick at No. 31 if the season ended today.
Here’s what The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie thinks Toronto might do with those picks:
No 17: Yves Missi (Baylor)
The Raptors are expected to have two older centers on the roster next season with Jakob Poeltl and Kelly Olynyk expected back, but the loss of Christian Koloko this year has left Toronto without a developmental big man in the system.
The 7-foot Yves Missi out of Baylor can help fill that void.
The 19-year-old freshman has been a role player for the Bears this season, averaging 11.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. He’d be an upside pick as an intriguing prospect who still needs to refine his skills at the highest level. He can work as a pick-and-roll lob threat and can move his feet well enough to switch out to the perimeter in a pinch defensively.
Like Poeltl, though, he’s not much of a shooter and has yet to attempt a single three-point shot at Baylor this season. His 57.9% free-throw shooting should be a concern that there’s not a ton of shooting potential still to be untapped.
Missi has been mocked as a mid-first-round pick as high as No. 12 to the Oklahoma City Thunder by Bleacher Report and as low as No. 22 by ESPN.
No. 31: Oso Ighodaro (Marquette)
If the Raptors want a big who may be more NBA-ready than Missi, the 21-year-old Oso Ighodaro fits the bill.
A 6-foot-11 forward out of Marquette, Ighodaro is a versatile and intriguing big man with the kind of playmaking chops Toronto’s new offensive scheme should be looking for. He’s averaging 14.2 points,7.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game as a key player on the No. 7 ranked Golden Eagles.
Ighodaro is another non-shooter, having attempted just two three-pointers this season and his 63.7% free-throw shooting raises questions about his upside in shooting development. That said, he’s a savvy playmaker out of the pick-and-roll with a terrific floater and impressive passing skills. While he's not the kind of rim-protecting presence of Missi, he'd offer more defensive versatility as someone better suited to switch onto the perimeter in the right system.
He’s been mocked as low as No. 37 on ESPN or as high as No. 18, ahead of Missi, by The Ringer.
