RAPTORS SIGN JA’KOBE WALTER, JONATHAN MOGBO AND JAMAL SHEAD TO ROOKIE DEALS
The Toronto Raptors have signed three of their picks from the NBA Draft to rookie deals, the team announced on Thursday.
First-rounder Ja’Kobe Walter, 31st pick Jonathan Mogbo and 45th pick Jamal Shead were all inked to their rookie deals, with Walter receiving the standard rookie scale contract.
Mogbo, meanwhile, signed a three-year, $6.11 million deal that comes with a team option in the final year according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
Shead signed the same deal worth $6.11 million with the first two seasons guaranteed, according to the Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Walter, 19, played his lone collegiate season at Baylor and averaged a team-high 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 34.1 from 3-point range. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and led all Big 12 freshmen in scoring.
Mogbo, 22, is a senior from University of San Francisco. He’s also a good friend of Raptors face of the franchise Scottie Barnes. In his final college season, the 6-foot-6 small-ball centre averaged 14.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per game.
Shead, a six-foot-one guard, spent four years at the University of Houston and was the winningest player to be called on draft night, finishing with a collegiate career record of 120-18. In 2023-2024, he averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds, along with 2.2 steals and 0.5 blocks – all of which were collegiate career highs.
Despite the 21-year-old’s smaller frame that sees a six-foot-three wingspan, he has turned into a lockdown point-of-attack defender resulting in an 89.2 defensive rating and 3.2 defensive win shares — the most in the Big 12. This past year, his defence helped lead the Cougars to a number one seed while ranking second amongst NCAA team defensive ratings, just behind the eventual national title winner, the UConn Huskies.
The Manor, Texas native is a decorated college athlete, earning spots on the All-Big 12 team, Consensus All-America team, and was a finalist for the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award as the best player in college basketball last season. He was also named the Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, as the best defender in college basketball.
After the Raptors resigned Immanuel Quickly as well as trading for Davion Mitchell, Shead could potentially suit up as a solid third-string guard for the upcoming season. If not, he’ll most likely be looking at sizeable minutes with Raptors 905.
2024-07-04T19:41:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd