Latest Mock Draft Has Raptors Taking Duke's Sharpshooter in 1st Round
The Toronto Raptors are projected to take Duke's Jared McCain with the 19th pick in the first round, according to ESPN
A new name has emerged as a player to keep an eye on for the Toronto Raptors when the NBA Draft rolls around this summer.
By now Matas Buzelis, the 6-foot-10 do-it-all forward, has been well-documented as a player the organization will likely take a look at if Toronto keeps its first-round pick this summer. Even Virginia’s Ryan Dunn has been mentioned as a player worth monitoring later in the draft as the Raptors look to add some defensive know-how to the organization.
But maybe it’s worth also keeping tabs on Duke’s Jared McCain in the middle of the first round. ESPN’s latest mock draft has the 6-foot-3 point guard tabbed to the Raptors at No. 19, the pick Toronto acquired from Indiana in the Pascal Siakam trade.
McCain is a lights-out three-point shooter who nailed 41.4% of his 210 three-point attempts this past season. He can work on or off the ball and looks comfortable pulling up for threes or nailing catch-and-shoot looks as more of a two guard. Both The Ringer and The Athletic consider the 20-year-old McCain as a Steph Curry-type of prospect and the type of player who can contort opposing defenses thanks to his three-point shooting prowess.
The issue with McCain is going to be his size.
He’s a crafty finisher in the paint but he’s not particularly explosive and his lack of height may cause problems for him at the next level. It’s also raised questions about how his defense will translate to the NBA game. While McCain has shown some feistiness at the point of attack, he’ll likely have a hard time in matchups against bigger players at the highest level.
"The key for McCain will be showing he can impact games in other ways," The Athletic's Sam Vecenie wrote of McCain. "He rebounds well for a small guard and generally makes good decisions, but there isn’t much margin for error for him considering he’s 6-3 and doesn’t possess a ton of length."
Toronto could certainly use more three-point shooting this summer, but for an organization that is already on the smaller side, McCain may not be the ideal fit for the Raptors moving forward.
