Who Should The Raptors Pay Attention To At #9?

Maluach? Jakucionis? Fears? Who are you hoping brings their talent to Toronto?

Having fun watching Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby go back and forth in the East Finals?

This New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers series has been a classic so far and it’s cool to think Raptors fans will soon either see Anunoby get the opportunity to play the NBA Finals after missing out in 2019 or Siakam will get a second appearance in the Finals.

If the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder win their respective series, I do wonder how many Raptors/Canadian basketball fans will try and make the trip to Indianapolis to catch a Finals game. You can watch newly crowned MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander along with Luguentz Dort on one end. On the other, there’s Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and a former Raptor in Siakam.

Let’s face it, it’ll be a lot cheaper to watch a Finals game there than in any of Toronto, New York, Boston, or Chicago. Just a thought that crossed my mind.

Let’s get to more pressing matters.

The 2025 NBA Draft is a month away and this is when I start to crank up my draft research.

Over the course of the next four weeks I will really focus on who the Raptors might hone in on at No. 9. I’ll also spend a bit of time figuring out what’s happening at No. 39, Toronto’s second pick in the draft. Remember, this year the draft will transpire over two days with the first round on June 25th and the second round on June 26th.

I also thought I’d share my process in how I prepare for the draft. To start with, I get a feel for who I need to watch by taking an average of several different mock drafts like below. With this method, I also find I’m able to track risers and fallers in mock drafts better as well.

So, how should you look at the above table? The players are listed in order of their average, nothing more or less. It’s not projecting where they will be picked and isn’t factoring in things like which team is drafting where and how they would assess fit. I’ll be saving that for much later when I have much more complete opinions on the players.

The outlets I’ve used are ESPN, The Athletic, The Ringer, Draftnet, Draftroom, CBS, Yahoo, and Tankathon. With CBS, they have four different analysts who each provide their own mock draft. This year, I’ve opted for Gary Parrish who hosts the college basketball podcast for CBS Sports.

Small things to point out right now. You may notice that I have Nolan Traore listed as the 31st pick for The Ringer. They only have their top 30 picks listed and Traore surprisingly doesn’t feature. As a result, I’ve assigned him 31 for now. In the case of Jase Richardson and Nique Clifford, they both have the same average. I’ve listed Clifford below him for nothing other than the significant age difference. I won’t be focusing on these players until later, anyway.

I won’t be thinking much about the top six as it’s extremely unlikely they drop to ninth. It’s still unlikely that Jeremiah Fears drops but I think there’s enough interest from Raptors fans to keep tabs on him.

If you’re wondering why I go as low as 20 for a ninth pick, it’s mainly because the draft does have a lot of variance and so it’s best to prepare that way. It also allows me to create a tier of players who may be worth trading down for. Centre Thomas Sorber is my early sleeper.

For my next draft post, I will be focusing on Fears, Khaman Maluach, Kasparas Jakucionis, Derik Queen, and Carter Bryant. I like to start with those closest to the Raptors’ range first and then work my way out.

Do you have anyone in particular you’re keeping an eye on? Any thoughts on my process? Let me know!