The 2014 NBA Entry Draft was ticking right along as most folks thought. No real surprises through the lottery selections as the players were coming off the board in the area of their pre-draft projections. The lottery teams concluded their selections and typically this is where things can get a bit wacky come draft day as teams might really value a prospect despite of their ranking.

This is precisely what occurred as the Toronto Raptors submitted their pick to Commissioner Adam Silver. Silver stepped to the podium and announced that the Raptors were selecting Bruno Caboclo from Brazil. This pick took even Silver by surprise as he clearly hadn’t counted on needing to pronounce this name in the first-round; yet here it was thrust before him to announce to a global audience.  

Draft pundits, fans and scouts alike all took pause at this selection as Caboclo was previously seen as being a late second-round talent or perhaps not a draftee at all. Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri didn’t and hasn’t batted an eye on this pick and he has stood by his international project player as one who could be an impact player in the Association down the road.

Let’s take a look at this pick and try to delve into the biggest kept secret that was in the Entry Draft and perhaps we will see a glimpse of the talent that prompted this startling selection.

First let’s start with what we know and that is during last season with the Brazilian Club Pinheiros, Caboclo played in 20 games and started only six of those. During his game action he averaged an underwhelming 13 minutes per night. What is equally unimpressive is the rip line of 5.15 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 0.75 blocks per game. Not to pile on but he also shot just barely over .500 from the field and was a pedestrian .750 from the charity stripe.

It’s not like Cabolco has benefited from a wealth of experience at the international level either as he has no National team experience with Brazil and his entire post-high school experience consists of 20 games and 13 minutes a night.

Now some positives to this young man. He does measure a long 6’9” in height and is sure to grow a couple more, which is nice but what is truly captivating for scouts and general managers is the ridiculous 7’7” wingspan on him. Such a disparity is virtually unheard of in scouting circles and that genetic feature alone warrants a closer look.

Now the competition here was not spectacular, nor was it even good for the most part; however, Caboclo was named Most Valuable Player of the Basketball Without Borders 2014 tournament. As one can see from the video, the talent is akin to a decent pickup game at the YMCA, not exactly stuff of legends out here, but nonetheless it says something to be the best among a group of competitive athletes.

Masai Ujiri has defended this pick vigorously as he certainly has faced some criticism over it. He makes no bones about it, Caboclo is a pick for the future not for the now. He did state though that Caboclo would be on the roster and that he would be playing in the D-League this coming season as well as the summer league team.

Given his lack of experience, I’m expecting Cabolco to look like a lost puppy who accidentally wandered onto the court where some grownups were playing ball. But with time and conditioning he could evolve into a player that the Raptors could use.

It’s easy to see why Raptor fans questioned this pick. They just rode the excitement of seeing their team take home third place in the Conference and an Atlantic Division title and hopes were high that a piece could be added via the draft to further the clubs playoff chances come next season. To see an international prospect who can be best classed as a project or work-in-progress who wouldn’t be contributing to the club for at least a year and maybe two was a let down.

In drafting Cabolco the Raptors have basically committed $2.45 million in salary to him over the next two years. Even if Cabolco never plays a game in the Association, that money is guaranteed to him. The third year which comes at team option would cost the Raps $1.23 million and a fourth year, also at team option, would be roughly $2.3 million. Considering that the Raptors recognize freely that Cabolco is two years away from being two years away from making an impact in the league; one would think that spending close to $6 million for that privilege might be a bit far fetched.

There is no doubt that this pick of Bruno Cabolco was the most intriguing pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. It will likely be years before we see how it turns out for the Raptors as the young man has a long way to go before breaking into the league. As a gamble pick here it was a good one, no doubt about it. Huge potential, freakish measurements, athletic, could play a stretch-four like few others and could be an impact defensively.

On the more realistic side of things the Raptors did themselves and their fans a great disservice here. The team needs immediate help on the bench to push this team through the playoffs. Their bench depth was exposed and their lack of playmakers was an issue. The need for the now is to draft a player who can help, someone who could either step in and play some minutes or spend some limited time in the D-League before getting called up.

Masai Ujiri, his group of scouts and the internal basketball lackies all started to believe this kids hype. It is clear that they had all made up their mind long before draft night as to who they were going to take and because of their blindness they took a player that they could have had later in the draft while still using their first-rounder to better todays roster. For this I give the Toronto Raptors an epic fail rating for this past draft.