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I recently got really excited about the prospect of the Toronto Raptors drafting Devin Booker, who I saw as lottery-level talent hanging around the late first round on draft boards. Unfortunately for the Raps, his excellent performance at the 2015 draft combine is probably going to push him out of the team’s draft range (they will pick at No. 20). Stop being so good, Devin!
However, there’s always another fish in the pond. Today’s fish? Louisiana State Tigers standout Jarell Martin. Martin is floating around the mid-20s in mock drafts, and thus will likely be available for the Raptors to pick. Moreover, Martin is a power forward, the Raptors’ most glaring hole from a roster construction standpoint.
Martin has three of the traits I love most in an NBA prospect: athleticism, NBA length and an underused but solid jump shot. Martin posted very nice agility scores at the combine and threw down some of the most vicious windmill dunks in the NCAA this year. To be honest, the Raptors haven’t had his caliber of athlete at power forward since… actually, I’m not sure they’ve ever had this caliber of athlete at power forward.
Martin also moves quite well with the ball for an athlete projected to go late in the first round. He’s not Tyrus Thomas out there, and he’s not Thomas Robinson. Both of those players are great athletes, but both have suffered dearly in the NBA in part because they can’t do much with the ball in their hands on offense. Now, Martin is no Blake Griffin, and a couple drives against college players are by no means a guarantee of NBA success, but he really does move with fluidity. He’s even hit a few pullup jumpers out of isolation plays.
From what I can tell, Martin would make a great pairing with Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas isn’t a horrible athlete, but he probably tops out at average in that department, so a big-time leaper like Martin should complement him well on defense. Martin also forms a nice one-two punch with Patrick Patterson: if the Raptors want shooting, they play Patterson at power forward. If they want help on the glass, they play Martin.
Things will change between now and the draft, but as of now Martin looks like the best power forward that will be available for the Raptors at No. 20. If I were GM Masai Ujiri, I’d pull the trigger.
Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham
