Dream Fit: Celtics. Heat, Pistons

Overall Grade: 52.68

Projected Position:

Strengths:

• Good 3pt range & shotmaking ability

• Great lateral movement for a big man using speed & long strides to cover ground

• Comfortable handle

• Good arsenal out of post-up looks

• Good rip move & pump fake from the perimeter

• Quick & accurate crosscourt passes

• Good burst off of dribbles

• Quick hips & change of direction

• Good physicality to get to his spots on drives

• Solid step through & side-step

• Good upright contests

• Good functional athleticism

• Uses his length well to get rebounds

• Can score over defenders easily due to length

Weaknesses:

• Weak hand fighting to ward off defenders when posting-up

• Can overcommit his body to someone on drop coverage without fully commiting to defending their shot

• Can force reckless shots

• Lack of physicality on shot contests

• Doesn't adjust much to rebounds

• Handle still developmental, clunky at times & exposes the ball too much

• Commits to the ball handeler too high on drop coverage

• Closes off his body on drop coverage not affording him the ability to rotate once he commits

• Poor touch on his push shots

• Poor control through contact

• Can trust his teammate too much in the paint & not help

• Bad shot blocker

Scouting Report: Maxime Raynaud

Position: Center
Height/Weight: 7'1", 250 lbs
School: Stanford University

Draft Projection: Early second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

Overview:
Maxime Raynaud is a skilled and versatile big man from France who has made a significant impact during his college career at Stanford. Known for his rebounding, shot-blocking, and scoring ability, Raynaud has developed into a reliable presence on both ends of the court. His international experience and leadership qualities further enhance his profile as a prospect.

Strengths:

• Rebounding Dominance: Averaged a double-double in his senior season, showcasing his ability to control the boards.

• Shot-Blocking: Excellent timing and instincts make him a strong rim protector.

• Scoring Versatility: Can score efficiently in the post and has shown the ability to stretch the floor with his shooting.

• Basketball IQ: Makes smart decisions and reads the game well, both offensively and defensively.

• Leadership: A vocal leader on the court, known for his work ethic and team-first mentality.

Areas for Improvement:

• Three-Point Consistency: While capable, improving his shooting from beyond the arc will make him a more versatile offensive threat.

• Lateral Quickness: Needs to refine his footwork to guard quicker players effectively.

• Physicality: Adding strength will help him handle the physical demands of the NBA.

Player Comparisons:

• Marc Gasol: For his basketball IQ, passing ability, and defensive presence.

• Jonas Valančiūnas: For his rebounding and scoring in the post.

• Kelly Olynyk: For his ability to stretch the floor as a big man.

Summary:
Maxime Raynaud is a well-rounded center with the potential to be a valuable contributor at the next level. His rebounding, shot-blocking, and scoring make him a strong candidate for teams looking for a versatile big man. With continued development, he could carve out a significant role in the NBA.

MAXIME RAYNAUD

HISTERICALCHEES COMBINE APPROVED

Position/Archetype: Mobile Stretch 5

College: Stanford

Pros:

• Mobility: One of the most important assets for the modern big and really increases the ceiling of a player, he moves pretty effortlessly as a confident 7 footer staring at 7'1. It's definitely his most interesting skill to me, helps him guards the perimeter well for his height, gonna be good at that and then moves more athletically in transition and finding space.

• Three-Point Shooting and Stretchability: One of the more confident shooting centers in the draft, definitely someone i'm high on in that style, 5-6 attempts a game shooting about 34% is pretty good with the depth and speed of his shots, seems pretty translatable. But I will say I think that lower body form is a little Wide but hey he's confident and it falls so.

• Progressing Interior defense: Raynaud recently said in an interview that he had not been taught blocking technique to a good level in college and recently started getting professional help outside of college, since that happened he has improved his BPG in March, now that is a low amount of games but I think that with his year by year improvements Its something to note.

• In game and general IQ: He's a smart in game player, his passing is pretty smart, he cuts well and moves well, his knowledge of the game fro. interviews and how he talks is very impressive, and then out of the game he is a very interesting personality and smart guy, I think he majors in Computer Science which is very hard so big ups to him.

• Leadership: Reportedly big in Training, loud guy points out a lot, talked shit to Khaman Maluach once in an interview, stands up for himself and points out stuff to his teammates, I guess this is all reported stuff and I can only judge what I hear directly from him but I think this is something that'll keep him in the league long term if his playstyle conveys.

Cons:

• Strength: One of the more annoying things to have since he is an older guy so he really doesn't have the time to fill out as much and probably would have by now, but he isn't strong and leads to two big weaknesses I think we will get to next but a real concern with how well he will translate to the NBA.

• Paint scoring: He does shoot a pretty low 46% from the field as a 7 footer, this really is attributed to his lesser strength in the paint and is pretty dependant on his height and length as well as off ball movement and mobility to get his open shots.

• Turnovers in the Post: He ends up giving the ball away in the post a lot purely from not being strong enough with his handle in the post, again its derived from his lack of strength but when he gets closer to the rim, his handle becomes a problem when outside of that he seems controlled.

• Age: 22 year old, gonna be 23 entering the NBA so little room to change stylistically or do much to his body but he's also pretty inexperienced in general, starting to play in middle school which tells me he probably has more room to grow with his game smarts although he has already strong game IQ.

NBA Pro Comp: Kelly Olynyk, Old Brook Lopez

Projection: On one end I can see him being a confident starter in the NBA, on the other he could crash out pretty early, and is gonna fall somewhere in that, pretty large range for this guy

CHEESE FINAL BOARD RANKING: (coming soon)

https://youtu.be/OfIBf0Hr6D8?si=uxK4GoZlkAqkR6l9

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Big, long center who can playmake and score in the post and hit the open 3. He isn't a great defender for someone of his size and length.

NBA Comp: Alex Len, more athletic Brook Lopez

Comp: Quinten Post/Luke Kornet

• really solid stretch big; 35% 3PT on 2 attempts per game this past season

• good face-up scorer at the elbow or low block; really likes to use his height and high release point to get to the midrange there

• great IQ as a ball screener; great popper and is athletic enough to punish late rotations as a roller

• good coordination and vertical for someone of his size

• really solid ball handle

• not great at creating post position advantages and struggles to punish other centers by backing them down

• not great shot selection

• really poor overall defender due to bad lateral foot speed, a lack of positional strength, bad instincts as a rim protector, and mediocre rebounding

• nba ready but very limited ceiling

(18/5) TBC

A senior, just turned 22 in April.

Good footwork and mobility for his size. Slides his feet well when pulled out to the perimeter.

Still skinny and doesn't have control in the post. If his shooting takes another step then he doesn't need to pack on pounds, but might help defensively.

Obviously his big pull is his 3 point shooting, which exploded in his senior year. He shot 5.5 a game, at 35%. Showed high level of confidence, technique, depth, all that.

Took more long 2s than close 2s. This is worrying for a center, but does prove his shooting is pretty real, since he made them. Still, low 2PT% on the season at 53%.

His interior defense is solid, another thing which has really improved over his college career. Not a super shot blocker but ended the season at 1.5 BPG.

Good awareness and IQ in general, especially on offense. Makes good passes, even if not in high volume. Extra intelligence points for going to Stanford for 4 years.

Comp: Kelly Olynyk