Raptors Draft Malachi Flynn
Initially projected outside of their range, the Raptors seized the opportunity to select PG Malachi Flynn 29th overall. Seemingly a redundant addition, Flynn will arrive perfectly fitting Toronto’s guard blueprint. Regardless of the VanVleet contract; Kyle Lowry is still knocking on 35-years old. Flynn will be a sponge around these two; learning how to succeed as an undersized guard in the league.
After two seasons at Washington State, Flynn transferred to SDSU, leading the team in assists (5.1 APG) and scoring (17.6 PPG). He did so shooting 44.1% from the field and an impressive 37.3% from three. Flynn is a gifted ball-handler as well, providing Toronto with a needed boost in the pick-in-roll. For a player on the smaller side of 6’2”, Flynn still gets physical on boards (4.5 RPG) and is a defensive menace (1.8 SPG). He also took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in the West Mountain Division.
Numbers aside, Masai and Bobby found another ‘chip-on-his-shoulder’ personality in 22-year-old Malachi Flynn. There’s been an existing rapport between the two parties, as he worked out with the Raptors recently. His Asst. Coach Chris Acker even claimed; “I think Toronto would be a great fit for a guy like him. He's a blue-collar guy, so like I said, I think people are gonna really really fall in love with him." Acker also went further likening his competitive spirit to that of VanVleet.
After watching film, these claims seem eerily accurate. Flynn will be a clone alongside Lowry and VanVleet. I was anticipating the Raptors selecting a big-man like Oturu or Carey Jr, but I’m increasingly excited about Flynn. Hopefully this means positive things on the Ibaka front, but I leave all trust in Masai. For the time-being, Raptors Nation should give a warm welcome to Malachi!
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Following this has been one of my favorite come up story. Glad to see the rise of this whole thing
Great article, really looking forward to Flynn. He solves a few issues we had last season: outside of Lowry, we lacked another player that could create their own shot and he's another ball handler off the bench. He's going to be a perfect fit in Nurse's system as a player that competes at both ends, knows when to gamble for steals and was the 96th percentile as a PnR guard. Minor correction: He averaged 5.1 APG at SDSU, not 4.1.