Raptors Draft Watch: With the season over, all eyes turn to the draft

A miserable season could not guarantee the Raptors a lottery pick, and draft pundits call this draft weak. But have you seen the Raptors’ roster?

With the Toronto Raptors’ 2023-24 season over, we now focus on the draft coming up in June.

The disastrous season left many questions regarding the Raptors, such as whether the front office is sleeping on the wheel or whether coach Darko Rajakovic was a terrible hire.

Still, one thing’s clear after watching this team the entire season: this team needs to upgrade the roster’s talent level. With at least two—perhaps three picks in this coming draft, the Raptors have some options.

Outgoing Roster Analysis

The Raptors’ 2023-24 opening night roster had the carry-over holes on its roster if you would consider the position, skill set, and overall talent. It became even more apparent when the team played away from their strengths to implement the new system. At the end of the day, the team was missing a few ingredients that could have made the key returning players work better in a new system, and the “cash-out trades” and the injuries exposed the lack of talent once we went past the 8th roster spot.

Keep in mind that a team can (and the Raptors did, for the most part) carry up to 18 players, including three Two-Way contract players.

Over the past 2-3 years, it’s evident that the team’s cupboard is empty. The front office has been raiding Value Village every year to see if there are any reusable cups, mugs, or other decent drinkware they can restock and make the cupboard look decent.

From the roster that ended the season, Scottie Barnes, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, and Ochai Agbaji are the only players under 25 years old with a guaranteed standard contract next season. For now, they represent the bulk of the team’s core. Immanuel Quickley turns 25 this June and is an RFA this summer. Given his growth and the team’s investment in him, Quickley’s very much part of the team’s core.

Ochai Agbaji is a project offensively but requires NBA-level reps to hasten his development. Once you get past that, the cupboard is bare if you look at young talent. There’s nothing in the pipeline for a backup big shooting guard or a point guard.

The team has tried and failed to replenish its young talent by dipping into the second-rounders, “second draft,” and the undrafted talent pool. Or maybe their developmental team’s also sleeping on the wheel, or perhaps they need more patience to see these prospects figure it out (exhibit A - Dalano Banton).

Bruce Brown has a team option that the Raptors should pick up to make him one of the best trade chips as soon as that option gets picked up. Chris Boucher and Jalen McDaniels’ contracts are salary ballasts as best, and it doesn’t look like either player is considered part of the team’s future.

Kelly Olynyk is the only vet guaranteed to be part of the team’s future. In contrast, Jakob Poeltl’s future as a Raptor remains a big question mark. It remains to be seen whether Gary Trent Jr., Jordan Nwora, Garrett Temple, Malik Williams, and Javon Freeman-Liberty will be back next season, as they are either free agents or on a partial guarantee.

Raptors Wishlist

Based on who could be back next season, the Raptors could use this draft to address some of the holes on their roster.

Should the Raptors get a versatile combo guard who can provide stability when Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes pass the PG baton? Or look for the team’s future guy in the middle?

Maybe add more shooting, but that feels like a foreign concept for the Raptors. Heck, perhaps the best move is just to get the best player available, regardless of the position.

Point Guard Play

The Raptors’ point guard play this season made the fanbase miss Fred VanVleet, who was the scapegoat from the previous season. Dennis Schroder’s thirst for being “the man” led him to a more frustrating hero ball than VanVleet. Malachi Flynn could not take advantage of the rope that he was given.

Barnes was under (or even mis)utilized as the point for the first half of the season. Expect Quickley and Barnes to share most of the minutes at the point next season, but injuries happen.

It’s always good to have a point guard prospect who can slide in and take some PG minutes when called upon. Even Darko’s offense, which doesn’t rely on the PG to do a lot of heavy lifting, could not mask how bad the no-PG lineups they had, which is also detrimental to the development of the other guys at the end of the bench. Several options, depending on where the Raptors pick, include Nikola Topic, Rob Dillingham, Jared McCain, and Isaiah Collier.

Guard Play

Any team could never have enough shooting, and with Gradey Dick as the only pure shooter with a contract next season, It would be wise for the Raptors to bolster the one skill set that’s eluded them for years.

There’s Ja’Kobe Walter from Baylor and Dalton Knecht from Tenessee. There are options for combo guards, which is another hole in the Raptors’ skill set, as shot creation from the backcourt is very limited without Immanuel Quickley on the floor. UConn’s Stephon Castle and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard immediately stand out for that archetype. Still, there are other interesting names in the draft as well.

Man in the Middle

Christian Koloko was supposed to be the Raptors’ future C, but a career-threatening respiratory illness derailed that plan. Given Chris Boucher’s maltreatment this past season, he doesn’t figure into the team’s future.

Jakob Poeltl should be back for the season, but his fit with Barnes and Barrett is awkward at best. We’ve seen the extent of what he can do as the “hub” of coach Rajakovic’s offensive system.

Kelly Olynyk is a perfect fit for coach Rajakovic’s offense offensively. Still, his defense and rebounding had been underwhelming even when he was younger, and now, at 33, he is what he is at this point.

Mo Gueye is not a centre at the NBA-level; he even had to split the centre minutes at the Raptors 905 with Makur Maker and Jontay Porter for the most part. It would be good for the Raptors to invest in getting a young big that they can slowly develop.

Should the Raptors land the first pick overall, Alex Sarr would be a no-brainer option, providing the team depth at the centre position. Donovan Clingan and Zach Edey should be on the radar if the Raptors’ pick land elsewhere.

Best Player Available?

Of course, you don’t want to be the GM who drafted for need and gets burned for passing up on the best player available, whether immediate or potential. That’s where players like Ron Holland, Matas Buzelis, Cody Williams, and Zaccharie Risacher might factor in.

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Next week: Mock draft roundup