The Toronto Raptors held their third pre-draft workout on Saturday, with Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell and UCLA’s Kevon Looney headlining the group.
Kansas forward Cliff Alexander and Utah guard Delon Wright were also slated to participate, but Alexander was unable to due to an injury he suffered in a prior workout and Wright was unable to complete his workout after tweaking “something,” according to a team official.
Also included in this group was Louisiana Tech forward Michale Kyser, who was getting a second look from the Raptors after first working out for them on Wednesday.
Happening on June 25, the draft is only 12 days away.
Here’s more on Harrell and Looney:
Montrezl Harrell
Seth Wenig/AP
Position: Power Forward
School: Louisville
Class: Junior
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 253 lbs
Wingspan: 7’4”
The Skinny: Harrell’s three-year Louisville career, which included a national championship in 2013, can be best summed up in one word: Ferocious.
A relentless competitor, Harrell has all the physical tools to succeed at the NBA level, blessed with explosive athleticism, a huge 7-foot-4 wingspan and the kind of tenacity that will make opposing teams miserable.
“Pure intensity,” Dan Tolzman, Raptors director of scouting, said of Harrell after Wednesday’s workout concluded at the Air Canada Centre. “He brings so much to the table. Instantly, by walking into the gym, he raises the level of competition and the physicality.
“He’s a lot like a Kenneth Faried-type guy that just runs the floor, bangs the boards, and he always is applying pressure to whoever is defending him.”
The biggest knock against Harrell is his height. At 6-foot-7 he’s more of a “tweener” than a true power forward, however, his wingspan does make up for this in some ways. Another issue is his offensive game. He lacks a reliable jump shot and his post-up game is still too raw to expect any real results from it just yet.
Harrell is expected to go between the mid-to-late first round so there’s a good chance he will be available at the No. 20 spot where Toronto is picking.
Kevon Looney
Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
Position: Power Forward
School: UCLA
Class: Freshamn
Height: 6’9”
Weight: 222 lbs
Wingspan: 7’3”
The Skinny: Looney is one of the more intriguing freshmen that declared for the draft solely for his level of versatility.
At 6-foot-9, a 7-foot-3 wingspan and a monster on both backboards, Looney looks every bit like a classic power forward, but his advanced perimeter skills make him more of the highly-coveted “stretch-four” type of player.
The largest thing holding him back is his physical strength. At the moment, he won’t be able to compete with the bruisers of the professional game and that will hurt his ability to rebound the ball.
Still though, with the way NBA is going, Looney will definitely have a place withing the Association.
“The way the NBA’s trending where the four-men aren’t as low-post driven anymore,” Tolzman said. “He fits in the direction [the league] is going.”
Most mock drafts have Looney going before the Raptors pick so it seems unlikely that Toronto will get to take him.