Raptors Share Excitement & Scouting Report for New 1st Round Pick

The Toronto Raptors saw Ja'Kobe Walter as the best player available at No. 19 and jumped at the opportunity to take the Baylor freshman in Wednesday's draft

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Ja'Kobe Walter arrives for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors could hardly wait.

As the lottery picks began to come off the board there was a growing sense of anticipation in Toronto's draft room Wednesday night. ESPN had thought Ja'Kobe Walter might go at No. 12 to Oklahoma City. Another mock draft had Walter going at 13 to the Sacramento Kings.

"We’re sitting there at 12 or 13 and ‘okay is Ja’Kobe still going to be there,’" said Raptors general manager Bobby Webster following the opening night of the NBA Draft. "Some people had Ja’Kobe in the top 10, or some people had him in the lottery."

When the Orlando Magic took Colorado's Tristan da Silva at No. 18, Toronto knew it had its guy.

There wasn't much conversation in the moment, Webster said. It didn't matter that Walter hadn't come in for a workout during the pre-draft process because Toronto had done its due diligence. The Raptors had sent a scout to Baylor for a week to watch Walter and had been keeping tabs on the 19-year-old shooting guard since his days in high school.

So who is Walter?

The answer for now is a little unclear.

Walter had been one of the most highly-touted prospects coming out of high school but his freshman season had somewhat mixed reviews. He averaged 14.5 points on 37.6% shooting with a 34.1% three-point stroke. Those numbers don't jump off the page and scream first-round pick but that didn't worry Toronto. Frankly, had they been better, the Raptors probably wouldn't have landed Walter in the first place.

"I think that's why It's important to scout on an amateur level," said Webster. "I think maybe if you look at the splits, it's a little bit different early in the season. And he may have been dealing with some knee stuff. You gotta make shots in this league. You can't just (survive on) the reputation of a shooter. You have to do it. So, I think obviously that's our bet with him."

Walter's shooting stroke looks smooth and there's not much concern about his ability to make shots at the next level. He shot 36.7% on catch-and-shoot three-pointers at Baylor and made 39% of his catch-and-shoot looks as a senior in high school, per The Athletic.

At worst, Walter should be a floor-spacing shooting guard with some size. He moves well without the ball, makes smart cuts, and should pair nicely alongside Scottie Barnes moving forward.

The rest of Walter's game still needs work, though.

He settles for more pull-up jumpers than he should because he lacks the burst and quickness to beat defenders to the hoop. It's why he's not a very good finisher at the rim, converting just 47.1 percent of his field goals near the hoop, according to The Athletic, and his pull-up jumper isn't efficient enough to settle for tough shots.

Defensively, Walter has the size to be a solid defender. He pairs a 6-foot-4.25 frame with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and looks like someone who should be able to defend most backcourt players. He lacks the quickness to be a high-level on-ball defender right now, but he's shown a willingness to step up and take on perimeter assignments.

“I think there's just sort of an inner toughness when you watch him," Webster said. "(He's) not afraid to kind of stick his nose in there."

The plan for Toronto is to treat Walter the same way the organization did with Gradey Dick after his one-and-done season at Kansas. He'll come in and bounce between the Raptors and the Raptors 905 as the organization works to develop his physical traits as he matures with time.

For Toronto's roster, Walter is a bit of a redundancy right now. The organization had said it wanted to fill holes at backup point guard, backup center, and add a defensive wing with length this summer and Walter doesn't quite fit into any of those boxes. He's more like a younger version of Gary Trent Jr. with Ochai Agbaji's defensive abilities than anything else.

"I think we're still in sort of the best available. I'm not sure we have enough talent to say, 'Hey, This is what we're going to go forward with' and can start picking and choosing," Webster said. "I think we're still sort of amassing the group. And then we can let them battle it out and compete against them as opposed to saying we took this position and now we need to have it affect our future decisions."

Now the Raptors will look to do that again.

Those same needs they had when the draft began Wednesday night remain as Day 2 begins Thursday afternoon but Toronto isn't going to pivot in its strategy with the 31st pick. One of those prospects who slid out of the first round will likely be coming north shortly after 4 p.m. ET.