Raptors Discussion: v97 Raptor's 2023-2024 Season complete - 19th and 31st overall picks

[canucksfan]

Seems like a decent pick.

 

[al secord]

Nice. Nice.

 

[Leaf Rocket]

 

[GoonieFace]

Good pick

 

[Dr.Funk]

Undersized wing player but huge wingspan for his size.

 

[leafsfan2point0]

Great pick! Of course they go to commercial right before our pick and right after. Classic lol.

 

[Habsfan18]

That’s probably the GTJ replacement. Very similar, but with better defense.

 

[Fonzieleaf]

I think he was the best available on that draft list.

 

[Dr.Funk]

I think he was the best available on that draft list.

He was but I would have liked Missi or Filipowski

 

[Byron Bitz]

Have to imagine they wanted a guard but all the good ones were off the board and we couldn’t let Walter fall any further

 

[Fonzieleaf]

He was but I would have liked Missi or Filipowski

Maybe with the 31st.

I remember Walter was ranked 6th overall at one point on mynbadraft.

 

[The Nemesis]

From Sam Vencinie's draft guide on The Athletic:

(Forgive the formatting. I'm not going line-by-line to adjust the structure)

Walter was ranked 23rd

STRENGTHS: Walter has good measurements for an off-ball 2-guard at 6-4 1/4 with a 6-10 wingspan. He has a long, lean frame with broad shoulders and has
continued to put on weight as he ages. He should have no problems adding more strength over the course of his career. He consistently plays hard and seems to want
to play the right way by being effective with or without the ball.
His game is very polished, especially as a shooter. Though he made just 34.1 percent of his 3s, Walter is confident and comfortable firing from distance, having
attempted 6.3 shots per game from long range. His shot prep off the catch is superb; he gets his body square to the rim and maintains balance with his entire body in
alignment. He sways forward slightly on his shot, with his right leg drifting in front of his left, but his motion is consistent. He can take 3s directly off the hop or with 1-
2, left-right footwork. His elbow stays directly underneath the ball, creating a beautiful high trajectory on the shot’s release. He should knock down shots from NBA
distance consistently. His 36.7 percent off the catch from 3 came on high volume, and he made 39 percent of his 106 catch-and-shoot 3s at Link during his senior high
school season, per Synergy.
I love the way Walter moves without the ball, particularly as he flows into his shot. He made the 32nd-most 3s off screening actions in the country this season and
drilled 40 percent of those shots. He knows how to run around curls and how to come off screens to get free from his defender. He gets his feet underneath him well
off movement and can fire quickly to generate his usual high finish. In general, Walter has an excellent understanding of spacing, with an innate sense of the most
dangerous areas for him to relocate. He generates many of his 3-point attempts by sliding subtly across the perimeter and presenting himself as an option to his
teammates. Despite his so-so college percentages, I believe in Walter becoming a high-level marksman from 3 in the NBA.
Walter uses the threat of his shot to create offense on his drives. He has a nose for the bucket and an understanding of how to score in those situations. He’s best
when he can attack a closeout in a straight line after a teammate creates an advantage. His footwork and handle in those situations are polished, and he changes
speeds effectively. He has shown flashes of a solid floater game; his 42 percent mark on those shots was solid for a freshman.
His defense has a chance to be impactful even if it was hit or miss last season. He’s a solid team defender who makes the right reads, tags rollers effectively and
understands where he needs to be. Many of his off-ball gambles come through with steals because he regularly keeps his arms up. He had some positive moments on
the ball, although he does sometimes struggle there.

WEAKNESSES: Walter won’t be a plus athlete by NBA standards. He’s a bit stiff, lacking high-level vertical explosiveness and quickness. He keeps things simple, which
is a good indicator he can be a good NBA role player. But some scouts wonder if he has the upside to do more and whether he can add significant additional skills as
he ages.
He’s not particularly shifty on the ball, so don’t expect him to break anyone down in isolation situations unless he’s setting up a stepback jumper. He has a polished
handle but struggles to take it anywhere on the court due to his lack of shake or quickness. The result: He rarely turns the corner on defenders and his drives tend to
loop if he lacks a clear advantage. He attempted less than two shots at the rim per game in half-court settings last season and only made 47.1 percent of his attempts
at the rim overall. Both are startlingly low numbers that should concern teams.
The result is Walter settles for a lot of contested pull-up jumpers when he’s forced to create for himself. He made 25 percent of his 3-point attempts off the dribble,
per Synergy, and just 32.7 percent of his pull-up 2-point jumpers. He's not a creative passer and rarely forces enough help to get opponents into rotation and make
plays for teammates. He tends to require a gather before making a pass, rather than being someone who delivers them off a live dribble. He showed improvement in
this area as the season progressed, and I don’t think he’s selfish or possesses poor vision. But he is often too late in making those reads, which leads to more
contested pull-up 2-pointers than ideal.
If the hope is for Walter to become a 3-and-D player, his defensive tape at Baylor was not encouraging. He plays too stiffly, without great hip flexibility, and comes up
too high in his stance. His closeouts are too hoppy — he often drops his hips a beat late, which results in him getting beat, sometimes even in a straight line. He gets
turned around on multi-stage moves, sometimes over-pursuing the initial one and unbalancing his feet. He has the potential to be a fine defender given his length
and willingness to battle, but he’s not a plus on the ball now and needs to be.

SUMMARY: I want to like Walter more than I do because I’m a big fan of prospects with legitimate size, length and shooting ability. Walter is the kind of physical
archetype a team can sell itself on physically playing off the ball next to a primary shot creator, then potentially cross-match to annoy the opponent’s best on-ball
players on the other end of the floor. However, he's not there as an on-ball defender yet. Maybe he can improve — we’ve seen guys with this body type make that
kind of leap before — but he has a long way to go. That deficit is on top of him not being a monster athlete, high-level passer or effective driver. I have a first-round
grade on Walter because I believe in him becoming an excellent shotmaker given his adeptness off movement. But to be a difference-maker rather than just an NBA
rotation player, he must make a defensive leap.

 

[Dr.Funk]

Okay Masai. Filipowski fell. Do the right thing @ #31

 

[Emerica]

Can’t believe they are making this a two day thing.

People will watch this year bc of Bronny but after this year ain’t nobody going to tune in to watch the 2nd round

 

[stats1]

Great pick! Of course they go to commercial right before our pick and right after. Classic lol.

I wouldn’t call it a great pick. It’s a mid pick just like this team a bunch of mid! Just how Masai has been operating since the championship. Can’t even get something half decent for Bruce Brown lol.

 

[Dr.Funk]

Can’t believe they are making this a two day thing.

People will watch this year bc of Bronny but after this year ain’t nobody going to tune in to watch the 2nd round

It's in the afternoon too

 

[beleaf101]

We should draft LeBrons kid. It would piss the Lakers and the NBA off.

 

[613Leafer]

Okay Masai. Filipowski fell. Do the right thing @ #31

A centre who was projected to go in the mid 1st - can't say I know the prospects well at all, but on paper he addresses a massive team need, and based on draft projections, should be one of the BPA. But who knows what our scouts think.

 

[aingefan]

Sounds like Walter has a good attitude about contributing on both sides of the ball, and improving his ball skills. You can see the fit alongside Scottie.

I guess the knock on Filipowski is strength, on the glass and on the D side. He’d fit the offensive scheme though, can stretch the floor.

Who knows how they’ll go at 31, sounds like they’re considering all options.

Tyler Smith is a good guess. Size and athleticism at the 4/3, mocked anywhere from mid-first earlier in the year. Can stretch the floor, play above the rim.

Bona is an option as an athletic 5, who can play D. Comche too.

Mogbo is a high motor athlete.

Kolek can probably step in, help with distributing the offence. Nunez is in this mold too.

Edit to add: Claxton off the FA board, resigning for 100/4.

 

[Bjindaho]

Walter has great dimensions (wingspan, standing reach), but isn't a great athlete.

His 3P% was not very good last year, but he admittedly was throwing up a lot of lower percentage 3s. He does not turn the ball over a lot, but isn't known for explosive drives.

There are things he needs to work on, but it seems like he could step into a GTJ type role right away. The Raps will need to work with him on defensive consistency, but he seems like he could fit into a rotation.

For 31, there are a few guys that could fit.

Filipowski
-Pros: Stretch ability, 7 footer, playmaking ability (like an Olynyk)
-Cons: Biggest one is arguably phsyiology (wingspan is only .5" longer than Walter), will play smaller than 7' defensively

Bona
-Pros: Motor, raw athleticism
-Cons: He's older and his game is very raw

Chomche (seems like a very Raptors pick btw if they moved back a few spots)
-Pros: Athleticism, Size
-Cons: Hasn't faced as high a level of competition, not as much data on what he's done

Smith
-Pros: Athletic, projectable 3 point ability
-Cons: Defense? (I put a question mark because he played for Ignite)

Mogbo
-Pros: Athletic, good passing, very good in close offensively
-Cons: No 3 point game, older

There's a great excerpt on him on Round 2 NBA mock draft: Why the Blazers, Pacers and Spurs are teams to watch


Furphy (this is the guy teams are likely going to try to trade up to get)
-Pros: Excellent shooter, good size
-Cons: Strength (he's basically a Dick clone)

And just for fun
Bronny
-Pros: Work ethic, athleticism, defensive ability
-Cons: Raw offensive game, plays like a 2 guard playing the 1 at times

The thing about Bronny is that if you take him, you are taking a 19 year old who is going to get better. He lost most of his freshman season, and arguably should have gone back to school, but if he did, there is a real chance that he's a lottery pick next year.

In terms of raw ability, Bronny is actually significantly better than people give him credit for. He is athletic and shows signs of having much better skills than his stats demonstrate. What a team would need to do is to take him and put him through situations where he can maximize that ability. Maybe start him as a combo guard on the floor with someone who can play the 1, so that he doesn't feel the pressure to create all of the offense. Give him more catch and shoot 3s. Basically, all of the things that the Raptors were trying to do with Dick last year (though Dick has more positional versatility).

 

[Bjindaho]

Going through the finalized papers, it looks like NYK got 6 2nds for 24 in the aftermath (26 + 51 originally, then 26 for a 2025, 2026 and 3 2027). The first deal is okay for NYK but arguably better for Washington, but the 2nd one makes no sense for OKC. Basically, NYK know that they are going to be close to the 2nd apron, so they can start adding huge amounts of 2nd rounders that don't count.

 

[Byron Bitz]

More I read up on Walter the more I like this pick. For free agency I would target Valancuinas and Tyus Jones

 

[Bjindaho]

More I read up on Walter the more I like this pick. For free agency I would target Valancuinas and Tyus Jones

I don't think either are available to Toronto. The former will either want a starting role or a contender and the latter is already linked with the Magic and will likely command more than a MLE (and doesn't necessarily fit). Toronto needs younger guys for their rotation.

 

[as Pure as Evil]

Will be dissapointed if we don't draft k filipowski with 31 if irony is available 5 picks later take a gamble but a guy that was top 15 heralds in the second round better be drafted next

 

[Bjindaho]

Will be dissapointed if we don't draft k filipowski with 31 if irony is available 5 picks later take a gamble but a guy that was top 15 heralds in the second round better be drafted next

I expect the Raps to trade the pick