The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will take place on May 12.
The Toronto Raptors have the 7th best lottery odds after a 30-52 finish to their season.
If the Raptors end up picking at No. 7, they may in fact go with a big man. They Raptors have a clear need for a backup big and they can use their pick to address that void.
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman put out his latest mock draft and he has the Raptors taking Duke center Khaman Maluach at No. 7:
“Without room for any young wings to play and develop, the Toronto Raptors could be higher on Khaman Maluach than most.
He was having a strong NCAA tournament before running into Houston. In 21 minutes, he converted one basket, grabbed zero rebounds and picked up four fouls.
It wasn’t the type of performance that’s going to help convince NBA teams that he’s going to be ready for regular minutes next season.
Rebuilding or patient teams won’t likely be bothered. There is still plenty of optimism out there in the long-term potential tied to his 7’2″ size and mobility for finishing, rim protection and shot-contesting.
And given the pre-Duke flashes of shooting range and this year’s 76.6 percent mark from the free-throw line, Maluach may be able to strengthen his case further during workouts.”
Maluach had a disappointing finish to the NCAA Tournament. He put up just 6 points and had 0 rebounds as Duke fell to Houston in the Final Four. However, overall the big man showed a lot of promise. Through 39 games, he averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.1 minutes per contest for the Blue Devils.
Maluach averaged 10.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game across five NCAA tournament games. He would be a nice fit for the Raptors and would slate in behind Jakob Poeltl for next season. Given his defensive upside, Toronto could take him at this spot.
Masai Ujiri talks about Raptors lottery odds & hints at Draft plans
With the Toronto Raptors 2024-25 season in the rear view, their focus now shifts to the upcoming draft.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri talked about the team’s current lottery odds and their early draft plans.
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