Raptors Draft Watch: Kyle Filipowski’s stylistic fit

Kyle Filipowski’s game is the most stylistic fit for coach Darko Rajakovic. He might not be the best prospect available, but is this a case of “best fit” far outweighs the “best prospect” drafting philosophy?

Kyle Filipowski is a consensus five-star recruit and a top-10 high school player in the 2022 class, ahead of the likes of Brandon Miller, Gradey Dick, and GG Jackson, to name a few. He’s done enough at Duke in two years to show that he’s an NBA talent, but not enough to keep him in the lottery range.

At the 19th pick, Filipowski might not be the best prospect available, but he could very well be the best fit. If he slides and becomes available for the Raptors’ 31st pick, the Raptors shouldn’t hesitate to pick him up, as he’s a steal if he falls to that range.

Why Kyle?

Kyle Filipowski is probably one of the most (if not the most) skilled big in this draft. He’s one of the few bigs that can potentially develop into the dribble/pass/shoot archetype, which is extremely rare for “bigs,” and that’s often found at the top half of the lottery range. Filipowski’s apparent weaknesses have brought his value down to the latter part of the first round. While other teams might not see great value in his game, with the right team, his skill set could help transform a team.

Filipowski’s offensive versatility is intriguing. While his perimeter shot is a work in progress, he looks like he can become a decent threat from the perimeter. He’s got a nice touch around the middy range, and he can finish with either hand around the basket. Filipowski’s handle, misdirection, footwork, and spin moves allow him to face up in certain situations, and he’s shown flashes that he can potentially incorporate a pull-up and a stepback into his bag. He’s got good footwork around the post and can finesse his way around the basket, leveraging his length and touch. Filipowski has the potential to be a PnR and PnP “big.”

Filipowski’s read-based passing is intriguing. While he often got caught with aggressive (and sometimes a bit advanced pass for the recipient) passes that resulted in turnovers, he’s quite capable of making simple reads, such as knowing when and who to kick out to, especially the timing, to buy the recipient of the pass more time. However, it’s rare to see someone that big execute passes based on reads and court awareness, especially on the move. Filipowski’s just got an excellent feel for the game offensively.

Filipowski’s not projected to be a menace around the rim as a defender like Yves Missi. If anything, he’s more of a positional defender — he will have to rely on using his smarts, positioning, competitive fire, and effort to compensate for his strength and slight build — and the lack of wingspan. Speaking of wingspan, we probably would have to go back to the 2015 draft to find a 6’10” big with a negative wingspan when Frank Kaminsy got drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. Filipowski’s -0.25 wingspan shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but his lack of vertical explosion makes it stand out even more.

Perhaps another reason to pick Filipowski, especially if he’s available at the 31st pick, is the “buy low” opportunity. He underwent hip surgery last year to repair malformed hip joints atop both of his legs, a corrective procedure that should allow him to be more flexible and help him prepare and fit in with the NBA’s style of play. He’s just over a year removed from the procedure and has only been playing on his new “specs” since December. At 20 years young, there’s definitely a path that he can get even better as he grows and gets used to his body.

Mock Drafts

• ESPN (Givony): 20 (Cleveland Cavaliers)
• ESPN (Woo): 24 (New York Knicks)
• NBADraft.NET: 33 (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Tankathon: 19 (Toronto Raptors)
• The Ringer: 31 (Toronto Raptors)
• No Ceilings: 12 (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• NBA Draft Room: 27 (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• The Athletic: 15 (Miami Heat)
• Bleacher Report: 28 (Denver Nuggets)
• SB Nation: 21 (New Orleans Pelicans)
• For The Win: 28 (Denver Nuggets)
• CBS (Boone): 12 (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• CBS (Parrish): 15 (Miami Heat)
• CBS (Finkelstein): 14 (Portland Trail Blazers)
• CBS (Cobb): 16 (Philadelphia 76ers)
• CBS (Branham): 22 (Phoenix Suns)
• CBS (Ward-Henninger): 30 (Boston Celtics)
• CBS (Salerno): 23 (Milwaukee Bucks)

Areas of Concern

My biggest concern is what would happen if Kyle Filipowski were a tweener in the wrong way. There’s a potential outcome here where he can’t reliably play backup center and is not good enough to play the power-forward spot. In two seasons as a “blue blood,” Filipowski struggled against more undersized bigs that could push and or lean on him. Worse, he can easily be displaced by a smaller guard going downhill when they initiate the contact and bump him. There were times when Duke played him with another big, like in the case of Derek Lively last year. It’s been an underwhelming experience on both ends of the floor, especially if he can’t hit his perimeter shots.

Filipowski’s rim protection will be limited until he gets stronger, and whoever drafts him should not pit him against the Joel Embiid-types, as they will back their way to the basket with little resistance. His negative wingspan and lack of vertical athleticism limit his rim protection. Suppose opposing players don’t find Jakob Poeltl’s rim protection intimidating enough. In that case, Filipowski’s not anywhere close at this point in his career.

It’s important to learn from the past and acknowledge the challenges faced by ‘tweener types’ like Luka Garza, Drew Timme, Killian Tillie, TJ Leaf, Henry Ellenson, and Frank Kaminsky. While they were more skilled than the Jaxson Hayes/Nic Claxton prototypes, they struggled to find their place in the rotation due to the difficulty of playing them at either position. This history underscores the need for a different approach when it comes to players like Kyle Filipowski.

Raptors Fit

Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri’s failure to find a credible big led to the collapse of the “compete window” of the remnants of the “Run it back” core. Even the addition of promising young big Christian Koloko was not enough to keep the core of Fred VanVleet-Pascal Siakam-OG Anunoby-Scottie Barnes, as his development trajectory didn’t align with the rising cost to keep the core under contract.

With the Raptors building around Scottie Barnes’ window, finding a young, cheap big that will complement his skills is crucial. Ujiri faces the same dilemma as finding the ideal big for Siakam: a plodding big that can’t shoot and will clog the paint “ain’t it.”

Kyle Filipowski meets (but does not exceed) the bare minimum qualifications for an ideal “big” team built around Scottie Barnes. He’s coordinated and fluid for his size. He has showcased offensive versatility, showing signs that he can show wing-type face-up moves now and then with his shooting, ball handling, passing, and finessing his way to the basket.

More importantly, since coach Darko Rajakovic will be around for at least a year, Filipowski’s strengths will be properly utilized with the Raptors. His impressive vision and court awareness, along with his processing, especially on the move, make him a much better fit in Darko’s offense, where bigs are part of the half-court offense’s decision-making process. Filipowski’s not Nikola Jokic or Marc Gasol. Still, he should be serviceable as a hub occasionally, similar to Nikola Vucevic, who can be trusted to execute plays at the very least or, as a bonus, make solid reads.