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I have trusted Chad Ford implicitly…that is until his last two mock drafts. They were both actually pretty good save except for his selections for the Raptors. In his latest mock draft he has pegged Jan Vesely to the Raptors at No. 5 overall. Here are Chad Ford’s comments regarding the mocked selection for the Raptors: “Analysis: I’m still trying to get the pulse of what’s happening in Toronto. Now that Bryan Colangelo has his extension, he can afford to take more risks. The question is…who does he gamble on? Last week we had Valanciunas here. He’s still in the mix, but I’ve been told that Vesely is even higher on his list.
A terrific athlete, Vesely is ready to play right now and adds great size to Toronto’s front line. Kemba Walker is also a legit option here and if for some reason Brandon Knight falls, he won’t slip past the Raptors.”
With all fairness Ford has acknowledged that Walker and Knight are options here if available and mocking Vesely to the Raps makes it easier to slot Kemba to the Kings where he would be an ideal fit. Here is what I had to say about Vesely when I mocked him to the Wizards in our previous mock draft: “With both Nick Young and Jordan Crawford looking like good potential building blocks on the wings, the Wizards will pass on Kawhi Leonard and opt for Czech big man Jan Vesely. Vesely embodies the typical European big man as a power forward who has range out to the three-point line and struggles rebounding and in the post. With that said he has a great motor coupled with mentionable leaping ability and a desire to finish in the paint.
He has the chance to be something special on this team with his ability to spread the floor and with John Wall feeding him the rock. At 6’11 and 240 lbs Vesely has to put on some muscle but he appears to have the frame to eventually become force in the paint. Vesely is a good defender and is capable of guarding multiple positions on the floor.”  This is what ESPN Insider has to say about Vesely: Nice body
Good athlete
Good finisher at the rim
Runs the floor well
Solid perimeter game
Shooting range out to the three-point line
Decent ball handler for a big man
Good motor
NBADraftnet
"Possesses a terrific combination of size and length for the SF position…Offensively, he improved his low post game and is looking to post up more this year; he can post up smaller defenders and uses his height advantage to score over defenders; has a height/length advantage on almost every player in Europe … Jan has good motor and excellent ability to run the floor (most of his points are off of dunks, put-backs and points in transition)…Good hands around the basket … Facing up to the basket, he is able to get to the rim quickly due to his quickness and good first step. Very explosive off the floor when attacking the bucket and finishes strong.
As a shooter he improved since last year and feels more confident taking shots outside the 3pt line and creating off the dribble; his mechanics and follow-through look fluid; good elevation on his shot … If he catches the ball and his feet are set and pointed towards the basket he usually will knock down shots … Defensively he is good, thanks to his length and can guard multiple positions … His lateral quickness is impressive for his size and he does a solid job at moving his feet (good P&R defender and closes well on the perimeter staying in front of guards) … Plays with lot of emotion … A competitive player that hustles for loose balls and brings energy on the court."
What is interesting to note is that NBADraft.net has him pegged as a small-forward prospect, a position at which he becomes a much more valuable prospect due to upside. At the three Vesely could become the match-up nightmare that Andrea Bargnani was supposed to be and unlike Bargnani he actually has the defensive skill to guard his position in the NBA whether it be power forward or small forward (depending where he lands). Reaction Jan Vesley at No. 5 overall is a reach for the Raptors, who have bigger needs.
For a team like the Wizards, even if the picks were flip-flopped he makes mores sense due to the fact that the Wizards are set in the backcourt and thus do not need help there so a reach for a player like Vesely makes more sense as he can help space the floor for John Wall. In his previous mock Ford had Vesely mocked to the Warriors at No. 11 overall, a six spot jump is a big one, and if someone like Biyombo, Vesely or Valanciunas is to be the pick, look for the Raptors to trade down to make the selection. Vesely is a very intriguing pick for the WIzards at No. 6 or for another team after eighth overall as he has amazing upside if he can be a starter at the three spot. Is he a good fit for the Raptors? If the Raptors decide that he can truly guard small forwards in the NBA, then Vesely is a good selection for the Raptors. He is not Andrea Bargnani and can defend and looks to finish at the rim. He still needs work on his post game but playing at small forward he should have a size advantage as NBAdraftnet has put forth above. In the end, Vesely is a good fit for the Raptors at small forward but an absolutely terrible fit at power forward. No. 5 overall seems like a bit of a reach for Vesely if drafted by the Raptors, and if Bryan Colangelo decides Vesely is his man than look for him to trade down. This article and other offseason Raptors talk can be found on Raptors Digest.
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