It's never too early to look to the future.
The 2024 NBA Draft is a month in the rearview mirror, and Las Vegas Summer League is nearly complete. That initial evaluation period of the 2024 Draft Class will take a rest until preseason begins and the build-up to "rookie rankings" begins. The upside present in each first-year player draws fan interest like few other things do, and understandably so.
Now add another layer of mystery and push that future even further back, and you get the draw of the 2025 Draft Class, still 11 months away from being selected. Yet those prospects are participating in events, gearing up for their seasons or at the least being evaluated by draft analysts now freed up from covering the 2024 class.
As things quiet down in the NBA calendar, therefore, it's the perfect time to start looking ahead to the 2025 NBA Draft. We took a quick look at the class a few weeks back, but Bleacher Report recently published a full 2025 Mock Draft, pairing prospects and teams through the entire first round.
The Raptors are looking ahead to the 2025 NBA Draft
The Raptors were projected to pick 8th, a painful mirroring of their performance this season but likely accurate to how they stack up to the rest of the league -- not good enough to lift out of the lottery, but not bad enough to be in position at the top of the draft for a difference-making talent.
With the eighth pick in the 2025 mock draft, the Raptors selected Australian center Rocco Zikarsky. In addition to having an excellent name, the 7'2" big man has some of the highest defensive upside in the draft class.
Zikarsky has played at both the club level and for the Australian national team, competing in training camp against the players Australia is sending to the Olympics, starring for the U17 team and competing in Asia Cup qualifiers.
He is playing for the Brisbane Bullets in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and posted a 12.2 block percentage despite being just 17; in the NBL, where veterans get the lion's share of the playing time and it's notoriously difficult for young players to get developmental time, that's an impressive feat.
Zikarsky is not simply a pure shot-blocker but overall projects to be an elite rim protector, with good mobility in the paint and the quick-jump ability that has buoyed the shot-blocking careers of guys like Kevin Garnett and Rudy Gobert.
If Zikarsky can add some level of skill on offense over the next year he could solidify himself in the Top 10; if not, the overall raw nature to his game and a weakness defending in space could push him a bit further back on draft boards when June 2025 rolls around.
The Raptors have Jakob Poeltl under contract for another few seasons, but they don't have an answer on the roster for either backup center or as his long-term replacement. Perhaps Ulrich Chomche or Branden Carlson develop into that player, but right now it seems that center will be a need for the Raptors a year from now.
It would be better if Toronto could find a center who not only walls off the paint but can space the court from beyond the arc, but it's not obvious that such a player will be available to them. If Scottie Barnes can't play with a pick-and-pop partner, perhaps a pick-and-roll lob finisher will have to do.
There is a lot of time between now and the 2025 NBA Draft, but on the other hand it's less than a year away and is reportedly one of the strongest classes in years. Wherever the Raptors pick, they will be hoping to add another difference-maker to the team. Perhaps Rocco Zikarsky is just what the doctor ordered.