TORONTO – It was a light schedule for the Toronto Raptors’ pre-draft work schedule Thursday afternoon, with the club only bringing in two prospects, one whom they already got a look at the day before.
Mississauga, Ont., native Stefan Jankovic returned for his second workout with the Raptors in as many days, while Marquette freshman forward Henry Ellenson was also on hand at the BioSteel Centre with Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, freshly-extended head coach Dwane Casey, and numerous staffers looking on.
With the 6-foot-11, smooth shooting Jankovic and Ellenson in house it’s apparent the Raptors are interested in potentially adding another stretch-four to their roster, looking very aware of the direction the NBA as a whole is heading in.
“I think with the way the NBA is trending nowadays it’s all about shooting. We brought in a couple of large shooters, essentially,” Raptors Director of Scouting and Raptors 905 general manager Dan Tolzman said after the workout. “They’re big men who can stretch the floor and they can do a lot of things like rebound, grab the board and push the break, and do a lot more than what your typical big can do.”
Given the NBA is all about the three-point shot now, teams need almost everyone on their roster to be able to stretch the floor. The Raptors, in particular, could use the help as three-point shooting was a real issue for the club during the playoffs.
With key players Jonas Valanciunas, Kyle Lowry and, should he re-sign in Toronto, DeMar DeRozan requiring room to operate on the court, perimeter spacing is paramount for the future success of the club.
“We understand these types of players can be complements to JV,” Tolzman said. “And it isn’t just JV because you think about guys like Kyle and DeMar who a big part of their game is getting to the rim and finding seams. Those creases don’t exist if you don’t have guys who can stretch the floor and pull the defenders out away from the paint.”
Armed with the No. 9 and 27 picks in the draft, the Raptors bringing in Ellenson makes a lot of sense since he’s been projected to be close to where the Raptors are picking.
Jankovic, on the other hand, doesn’t show up on many mock drafts, even as a second-rounder so to bring him in twice, the club either knows something about him that a lot of other people don’t, they brought him in as a simple courtesy given his home roots, or they’re possibly targeting him for the 905.
Here’s a little more on Ellenson and Jankovic.
Henry Ellenson
(Morry Gash/AP)
Position: Power Forward
School: Marquette
Class: Freshmen
Height: 6’11”
Weight:242 lbs
The Skinny: The prototypical stretch-four, Ellenson checks off basically everything the Raptors were in need of at the power forward position this past season, with one glaring omission.
Big East Freshman of the Year this season, Ellenson is a strong three-pointer shooter, has good rebounding instincts and has the kind of handle and playmaking skills that would allow the Raptors to use popular sets that involve big men as ball-handler and guards as the screener in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop more consistently.
His inside game is still a bit of a work in progress, but he boasts the necessary skill and size to add to it, making him a potentially dangerous versatile weapon.
“I was always growing up playing out on the perimeter,” Ellenson said. “I was playing point guard until eighth grade and then a coach during my sophomore AAU season was like, ‘you’re six-nine, time to go on the block.’ So I was able to take that summer and find a good mix of inside and outside.”
Unfortunately, for all his “position-less” offensive gifts, Ellenson will likely struggle on the defensive end against players similar to him at the next level. He’s not a great athlete and his lateral quickness is good enough that he, according to Tolzman, “shouldn’t be a liability at all” at the next level, he’s absolutely no threat as a shot-blocker so he’ll only really be able to defend half of the pick-and-roll with any amount of competency.
A lot of his issues on defence can be resolved when he puts on weight, but at the moment, he isn’t ready for NBA-style rotations.
Stefan Jankovic
(Lenny Ignelzi/AP)
Position: Power Forward
School: Hawaii
Class: Junior
Height: 6’11”
Weight: 235 lbs
The Skinny: The Big West Player of the Year, Jankovic led the Rainbow Warriors to a conference championship and a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
He declared early for the draft, something that may end up backfiring on him as it’s increasingly looking like he will go undrafted. With that said, his game would perfectly translate overseas, where he would still be able to make a very good living as a professional.
Jankovic plays a game very similar to Ellenson, just with a lot more polish. He shot an excellent 39.3 per cent from deep last season and runs the floor very well. Like Ellenson, defence will be an issue for him, but he won’t become a pro because of his D.
After the workout on Thursday, Jankovic expressed gratitude to the Raptors for bringing him in and even hinted that he’ll be involved with Canada Basketball, after taking time away from the national team for quite a while.
“The fact that they brought me in is huge for me,” Jankovic said. “I haven’t been home since August, so to see my parents, to see my family, probably see my friends in the next couple days or whatnot it’s huge for me.
“I used to go to Raptors games growing up for five, six years straight. VC [Vince Carter] was here back in those days when I was a little kid playing OBA.”
