It is never too early for mock drafts, especially for a team like the Toronto Raptors, who are in a rebuild.
Currently, Toronto is 7-21 and are second last in the Eastern Conference. However, the Raptors are not that bad of a team. Injuries have truly derailed their season.
Regardless, this is their first full season embracing a youth movement. So, the expectation is to not focus on winning and to have their young core play together, but that simply has not happened yet.
In Bleacher Report’s latest mock draft, Jonathan Wasserman has the Raptors selecting Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 4.
There is plenty of college basketball to be played, but Jakucionis is having himself a solid start to the season. The 6’6″ point guard is averaging 16.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists.
Originally from Lithuania, Jakucionis is a multi-faceted guard who can do a little bit of everything. He’s currently shooting 42 percent from three-point range and 46.9 percent from the field through 10 games.
At Illinois, they trust Jakucionis to run their offense. He is able to operate well out of the pick-and-roll and he is capable of making quality decision out of it.
This could be an intriguing prospect to keep an eye on as someone who can relieve some of the ball handling duties from Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
But, if that is not in the cards in the NBA, Jakucionis can self create a little as well. He particularly loves his step back three-pointers and he can form a sharpshooting duo with Gradey Dick.
Raptors’ franchise value increased in 2024
Rebuilds are not pretty and tend to get ugly for a few years. Making it an unenjoyable fan experience at times, which Raptors fans have experienced first-hand.
However, despite this downtime, the Raptors’ franchise value actually increased in 2024.
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