Raptors Draft Watch: Yves Missi

The real NBA draft can get weird, and the Raptors’ front office could lose their top three names off their draft board. If Yves Missi is the best prospect available, should the Raptors take a chance, despite being possibly “two years away from being two years away?”

Up next on our Raptors Draft Watch prospects who could be of interest at the 19th draft spot is Yves Missi, the Big 12 All-Defensive and All-Freshman team member who had an impressive freshman campaign as a Baylor Bear. Depending on how the draft shakes up before the Toronto Raptors are on the clock, Missi could be a potential value pick at the 19th spot.

Why Yves?

Physically, Yves Missi is an NBA-level player. That combination of size (6’10.75” w/o shoes, 7’2” wingspan, 229.4 lbs), athleticism (strength and explosiveness), and fluidity (good combination of motor, agility, fleet footedness, and coordination) doesn’t happen very often. He perfectly utilizes those attributes as a rim protector, blocking 1.5 shots per game. Those numbers might not look impressive, but as a comparison, Zach Edey’s per 40 minutes last season nets him 2.7 blocks per game, while Missi’s per 40 is at 2.6.

When you add the part that Missi’s got soft hands, a knack for finding the right route to roll to the basket, and an explosive vertical lob threat, we are definitely looking at:

“Rim-running big starter pack”

It’s not the prettiest player profile, and while every NBA fan would love to have an alien or, at the very least, a unicorn as their starting centre, but for decades, rim-running bigs, while limited, have shown excellent value towards winning on the right team. Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan, Clint Capela, Jarett Allen, and Nick Claxton all thrived as rim-running big, and there’s nothing wrong if that’s Missi’s best-case scenario.

As a screen setter, Missi makes good reads and adjustments on screen angles and quickly finds a “route” to open himself. What’s impressive is his knack for “availability,” where he quickly finds the best route to get open, coupled with an awareness of his position relative to the basket, soft hands to catch the pass, and the explosion to finish the play. That’s another interpretation of the quote, “Availability is the best ability.”

What’s next for Missi is either “Can he do more?” versus “Can he get better at what he does?” at the next level. Defense will get him NBA reps, and his tenure at Baylor exposed him to one of the best coaches when it comes to defensive schemes and adjustments. Heck, perhaps, if not for the “no middle” philosophy, Missi would have gotten more blocks (and probably more fouls). He’s shown glimpses of being able to defend in space, switches, and hedges. Still, he’s primarily a drop coverage type of big right now. However, you can see that he’s trying to process the play and make (albeit late) the right reads now and then, which is encouraging.

Offensively, Missi will give his future team a legit PnR option and a lob threat, whether off rolls or just by being active around the dunker’s spot. If he can work on his shot and handle, there’s a potential for an untapped occasional face-up game, which would be fun to see as he’s got explosiveness on his first step and in his takeoff, especially if he gets a solid runway. While Missi only shot 62% from the line as a freshman, there’s a noticeable month-to-month improvement during the season, starting at 51.4% FT% in November and finishing with 75% in February and 72.7% in March. Just look at his NBA Combine — did anyone see that coming? Shooting 48% on the 3-point Star Drill? He shot better than his teammate Ja’Kobe Walter!

Mock Draft

• ESPN: 24 (New York Knicks)
• NBADraft.NET: 23 (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Tankathon: 16 (Philadelphia 76ers)
• The Ringer: 21 (New Orleans Pelicans)
• No Ceilings: 26 (Washington Wizards)
• NBA Draft Room: 17 (Los Angeles Lakers)
• The Athletic: 19 (Toronto Raptors)
• Bleacher Report: 21 (New Orleans Pelicans)
• SB Nation: 19 (Toronto Raptors)
• CBS (Boone): 29 (Utah Jazz)
• CBS (Parrish): 21 (New Orleans Pelicans)
• CBS (Finkelstein): 20 (Clevelans Cavaliers)
• CBS (Cobb): 24 (New York Knicks)
• CBS (Branham): 24 (New York Knicks)
• CBS (Ward-Henninger): 26 (Washington Wizards)
• CBS (Salerno): 21 (New Orleans Pelicans)

Areas of Concern

Let’s start with the obvious. Yves Missi is a project. Is he “two years away from being two years away?” Probably not, as his NBA-level skill set should give him a look at a minimal role (PnR, catch lobs, and rim protection). However, as a prospect, he will likely spend a lot of time at the G League level for at least two years unless his development accelerates rapidly.

The wait time for Missi’s development comes with a big risk. On one hand, the Raptors have prior developmental experience dealing with late bloomers. The scary part is if he doesn’t figure it out — what if Missi’s fundamentals don’t improve enough? What if the NBA’s in-game speed is too fast for him to make reads and timely decisions?

There’s so much development work for Missi’s upcoming professional team that we don’t even know where to start. He’ll need to work on his shooting, for sure, as he’s a hack-a-Shaq candidate at the next level. As mentioned above, his fundamentals on both ends of the floor need improvement, and it’s the type of improvement that will require both good coaching and getting plenty of reps. There are plenty of reps to help him improve his offensive and defensive reads, decision-making, and putting to test the things he’s working on to improve his game overall.

Does the Raptors’ front office have an appetite to eat up Missi’s rookie contract in hopes that by the time he’s up for extension, we start seeing the fruits of their developmental labour on this prospect?

Raptors Fit

The center position has been a source of angst, disappointment, and, at times, rage for the Raptors fanbase since the departure of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. The Raptors front office tried and failed to bring in quality bigs to prolong the “compete-window” of coach Nick Nurse and his holdovers. The acquisition of Jakob Poeltl came in a little too late. Now that the team is pivoting towards a youth movement, Poeltl finds himself not fitting in with the timeline, with the team not having a young center that can grow with the young core they have right now.

Yves Missi might not be a stylistic fit alongside Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. Still, Immanuel Quickley will love him and help IQ improve as a PnR playmaker. Additionally, coach Darko Rajakovic’s offense requires its bigs to be part of the decision-making process, sometimes serving as the hub of the offense. Just look at how Precious Achiuwa looked like a “fish out of the water” at the nail when coach Rajakovic’s corner offence asked him to read and react to how his teammates and defenders were reacting to the play execution and expected him to make the right read. I’m unsure if Missi will be ready to do that by year three.

Another concern is if Missi gets stashed with the Raptors 905, which is very likely, as he needs A LOT of reps. The Raptors’ farm team has dropped the ball over the past few years in terms of developing young players and, more recently, a bit of a train wreck in terms of roster construction that should be conducive to developing their prospects.

Still, the Raptors’ fanbase was thirsty for Nick Claxton for a while, and Missi is a similar player. We’ve gone through a few years where the fanbase had to try really hard to get excited over Aaron Baynes and Freddie Gillespie, so if securing a future starting big is the best move when the Raptors are on the clock, that’s not a bad pick at all. Ignore the coaching system fit. Missi’s likely not ready by year three or four, and by then, perhaps, the coaching philosophy and the roster construct could look drastically different.