When you can just straight up spend Larry Tanenbaum’s not-so-hard-earned money to buy a pick in the draft, you may as well use that pick to draft the youngest player and hope you have something there after a couple years. That’s exactly what the Raptors did with the 57th pick, when they purchased it from the Timberwolves for a measly million dollar fee and selected big man Ulrich Chomche from Cameroon. Hey, MLSE keeps raising ticket prices and Rogers keeps raising their telecom prices. They should be doing shit like this more often, show us our money is at least doing something besides paying for Ed Rogers’ yacht.
The final piece for the 2024 NBA Draft cycle will be starring the 57th pick, Ulrich Chomche. Please check out the previous scouting reports in this series (for example; Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo, and Ja’Kobe Walter) if you haven’t already.
Ulrich Chomche | 6’11.5 | Big | NBA Academy Africa | 18 y/o
The Intro
As previously mentioned, the Raptors got the youngest player in the class. At the same time, the Raptors are also getting the player who is likely the rawest in the entire draft class. This can be both a gift and a curse, because while it’s often fun to bet on young, athletically gifted players; it’s not as fun to have to deal with the discourse around them and with some assuming that youth is directly correlated to upside. It’s not fun to have to keep waiting for something that may never come.
Ulrich Chomche currently does nothing at an NBA level, but the Raptors clearly know that and they aren’t drafting Chomche for what he is now, but for what he might be able to turn into in a couple of years. He’ll be a key building block in rebuilding the developmental pipeline for the Raptors 905.
Let’s take a look.
The Offence
One quick glance at Chomche’s stats and one could think “38% from behind the arc on over 7 attempts, he must be a really good shooter!”
Well, not really.
I won’t deny that Chomche has stretch potential but it’s pretty much just theoretical at the NBA level. First, the sample size of 3 games he played at NBA Academy Africa is far too low to take seriously when it comes to his shooting (8/21), a skill that he hasn’t shown a high level of aptitude for outside of that sample size. His form needs some mechanical tweaking and it’s slow, but there are some encouraging flashes. Chomche did make one three against Denver in Summer League so far, but again it’s hard to draw much from one shot made against sub-NBA competition.
If we want to suggest that we should be taking these numbers seriously, you have to look at the rest of his shot diet as well. He’s not going to be camped on the perimeter throwing up shots like he’s Steph Curry in the NBA. In that 3 game sample, he only took 4 shots per game inside the arc compared to 7 outside, so there was a clear misusage of role there. Ideally you’d want a good chunk of Chomche’s offence to come from plays like this, where he can get out and run in transition after a successful defensive possession.
Chomche’s shown some pretty impressive playmaking reads on occasion. I wouldn’t expect him to be a Poeltl or Olynyk level playmaker, but he’s someone who keeps the ball moving and can find open guys. He plays within his role which is an encouraging sign for his development. What hasn’t been so encouraging is the number of turnovers he’s been racking up in Summer League, but again, baby steps.
The handle is rough by NBA standards but for an 18 year old big, it’s farther along than most would expect. I’d be interested in seeing more handling reps for Chomche with the 905 to see how he fares against increased defensive pressure. His first step is fairly quick and if he can tighten his handle, it could open up new opportunities for him offensively.
Chomche sets solid, strong screens, rolls well, and I would expect that to continue with the 905.
The Defence
The defensive side of the floor is where Chomche has the most upside. He’s not an NBA level defender yet, but has shown encouraging flashes of athleticism and quick footwork to a point where you can see him providing some defensive relief off the bench within the next couple years.
His mobility on the perimeter and athleticism when it comes to recovering is quite impressive. Chomche will need to learn how to read plays in the NBA, because as it is now he mostly just operates off instinct and doesn’t really react well to set sequences.
The 7’4 wingspan combined with his solid leaping ability should set him up to be an effective rim protector in the G-League. Like the rest of his game, he needs to learn when to jump and how to react to different play types. In this clip here, Chomche gets lucky that the offensive player doesn’t kick out to his wide open man in the corner. The attacking player had three of Chomche’s teammates already collapsing in on him. An impressive defensive highlight here would turn into an easy defensive mistake in the NBA.
Ulrich has taken a lot of poor fouls so far in Summer League, especially when you look at his lower minute total.
Ultimately, Ulrich has the skills and tools to be a positive defender. He simply needs to learn the finer aspects of the game and get reps against better competition. While it’s one thing to have long arms, it’s another thing to know how to use them effectively.
Brendan’s Take
I was definitely in favour of paying money to buy another pick in this draft. Trey Alexander, Isaiah Crawford, and Zyon Pullin were all names who I had my eye on once several of my preferred prospects flew off the board in the 30’s and 40’s. To my total lack of surprise, the Raptors opted to select a raw prospect with positive physical intangibles from Cameroon. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
If you follow me on Twitter you’d know that I wasn’t really a fan of the pick from the jump. I basically repeated some of what I’ve written here, but I took those tweets down because shortly after making them I started receiving death threats. Personally I can’t imagine making burner accounts and sending threats over Ulrich Chomche of all people but hey, whatever floats people’s boats.
I’m still not the biggest fan of Chomche as a prospect, but I understand the play here. This draft isn’t good, and if you can spend a cool milly to buy a pick and select a guy who you hope can become a rotation player down the line, then it makes sense to do it. It makes even more sense with Chomche being the youngest player in the class. The multi-year two-way deal means the Raps can stash Chomche with the 905 and keep an eye on him for the next two years while he works on his game, because he’s definitely not NBA ready in any respect as it stands. His upside is pretty theoretical at this point and I would urge caution when it comes to expectations for him because of that. In the meantime, the 905 can start to rebuild their development pipeline.
At his best, I can see an intriguing utility big who can come off the bench and give you some positive defensive play with some hidden playmaking upside if they choose to really focus on developing that aspect of his game. Maybe average a shot attempt from beyond the arc. At his worst, he’s out of the league in short order. But the Raptors didn’t send any assets (besides cash, which doesn’t matter) to get him, so his acquisition has zero impact on the team’s long-term outlook. If they end up hitting on Chomche – it’s a pretty solid win. If he flames out, you shrug and move on. I’m rooting for him nonetheless.
This is the final piece of this year’s draft cycle. I’m already looking forward to next year’s class where the Raptors will likely have a top 10 pick in a stacked year. Cooper Flagg, come on home.
Thank you all for reading this year’s series, and remember to keep following college ball, international ball, and the draft because it’s really fun to see the young prospects enter the league and develop over time.
Until next summer,
Brendan
