With the 2024-2025 regular season officially in the books, sights are now set on draft positioning.
As most were glued to the reverse standings all season long, the Raptors finished off the year with the 7th-best odds. This puts them in the range of Dukes’ other two standout players, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, with a look at Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears and Maryland center Derik Queen, according to tankathon.com mock drafts.
Raptors’ President Masai Ujiri covered almost everything when he addressed the media in his exit interview.
In a recent Raptors Rapture piece, we discussed how Ujiri highlighted the type of player he believes the roster needs to add. The Raptors' President responded by saying:
"“You know, in this draft, wherever we fall, we're going to go for the best talent available…I know it's the answer everybody gives or maybe will give…but it's a unique draft, and we feel that we will have a talented player available and we'll try to get one that fits our ball club.”"Masai Ujiri, April 16, 2025
After a pause and what seemed like the end of his statement, Masai then continued to elaborate on the topic, diving deeper into the Raptors' needs:
"“Yeah, we need another young big. We would definitely look at that, but it's not really, like, focused on that, to be honest. There are a lot of talented kids, again, I see in the draft.”"Masai Ujiri
So, there it is. Well, sort of.
Ujiri says Toronto needs a dose of youthful energy at the center position, but they will look to take the best available talent. This brings us back to the projected draft lottery, as Toronto could be looking at either Duke prospect in sharpshooting threat Kon Knueppel or talented big man Khaman Maluach.
Is Kon Knueppel or Khaman Maluach a better fit for this Raptors roster?
If we’re looking at the best player that could be available at the seventh pick, Kon Knueppel should warrant consideration. Throughout March Madness, he was referenced as one of the most talented players in this year's draft. This says a lot about Knueppel, as he was a big contributor on a Cooper Flagg-powered offense.
What’s even more impressive was his shooting efficiency in his freshman year. Knueppel went for 56.7% on 2-pointers and 40.6% from range with an effective field goal percentage of 59% according to basketball-reference.com. This is an area that the Raptors struggled in as they ranked 24th in the league in effective field goal percentage this season.
Everyone loves a floor spacer.
Khaman Maluach, on the other hand, addresses the need in the frontcourt while also providing a formidable defensive presence. Standing at 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Maluach delivers the crucial rim protection that teams crave, swallowing up his assignments and averaging 1.3 blocks per game (2.5 per 40 minutes).
We haven’t seen a whole lot of Maluach’s offensive versatility on display as he was mainly a play-finisher in Duke’s system. Maluach would finish 78% of his baskets at the rim, 84% in half-court set ups. There is a ton of untapped potential on both sides of the ball, especially since the South Sudanese prospect only started playing organized basketball at the age of 14.
So, if the Raptors end up with the 7th pick and both Duke products are on the board, who should the Toronto Raptors take?
The Pick: C | Khaman Maluach
Chances are, the Brooklyn Nets would not pass on Knueppel if he’s available at the 6th pick. We'll be able to evaluate this further on May 12th. However, considering the Raptors' needs, Maluach fits their mold perfectly.
While Knueppel is undoubtedly talented, he does have athletic limitations, which contribute to some weaknesses on defense. The Raptors are much more likely to opt for the two-way potential of a player with an impressive standing reach and trust in their development process.
The last time the Raptors selected a center in the top 10 of the draft was back in 2016 when they chose, you guessed it, Jakob Poeltl. Drafting Maluach would allow him to learn under the guidance of an established veteran.
As we've seen in the Masai era, the Raptors have a knack for capitalizing on high-end picks. If they decide to go big, it will surely be for the right reasons.