As a Raptors fan, I’m so happy the Celtics only get a few days under the limelight before all the attention moves over to the NBA draft.
I can’t lie, I’m already there. While Jayson Tatum is on his cornball quote tour, I’m dialed in on who the Raptors will be selecting at 19 and 31.
Draft time is one of the funniest times of the year. The NBA draft expert who follow the prospects year-round get their one to two months of shine, while at the same time, everyone who barely follows college basketball watches a few YouTube highlights and acts like an expert.
I’m going to be fully honest with you at all time. That is my promise right now, at the start of our relationship.
I am not your guy to go to for draft content.
I love college basketball and am a huge Gonzaga fan, but I mainly watch college basketball for the teams and the season itself.
So I know a lot of the draft prospects, and have a strong understanding of their games, but could not break down their profile as draft prospects.
One thing I do feel confident about is my ability to breakdown players who have been draft by the Toronto Raptors.
Masai Ujiri joined the Toronto Raptors as their General Manager in May of 2013. I know his title has changed a few times, but he remains somewhere near the top of the Raptors’ decision making.
2013 though, is a long time ago, and that gives us a long list of evidence on if a Masai Ujiri lead front office can be trusted heading into the 2024 NBA Draft.
2013
The Toronto Raptors did not have any draft picks in Ujiri’s first year with the Raptors.
This pick was traded to get the GROAT, Serge Ibaka.
Just Kidding, Kyle Lowry.
2014
20 – Bruno Caboclo
37 – DeAndre Daniels
59 – Xavier Thames
Humbly, these were all misses.
The idea of Bruno Caboclo will go down as a success, while the execution not as much. Masai came to Toronto swinging for the fences and ended with a high fly ball.
Although you could never forget Bruno’s electric first showing.
2015
20 – Delon Wright
Solid pick. A key contributer to the bench mob, and an even keyer addition to the Marc Gasol trade.
Since leaving the Raptors, he’s been alright. Serviceable but bouncing around.
2016
9 – Jakob Poeltl
27 – Pascal Siakam
Probably Masai’s best year as the Raptors’ drafter.
As of right now, Siakam is probably Ujiri’s best selection, and Poeltl has been a very good NBA center twice for the Raptors.
It would be so sad if the Raptors traded Poeltl away for a win now move, got him back, and then traded him again in an effort to tank. I really hope the Raptors just hold him and give our young guards and wings strong center play to develop with.
As for Siakam, my personal favourite Raptor of all time, the trade was sad and I’ll never get over it.
Signing Fred VanVleet undrafted also deserves some love here.
2017
23 – OG Anunoby
Caught a sleeper on this one.
Anunoby coming off a knee injury slipped down draft boards and Ujiri was quick to jump on him.
Strong Raptors career, a number of injuries, one of the best defenders in the league, got us A HAUL in the trade this past season. That about sums it up.
2018
lol
2019
59 – Dewan Hernandez
Dewan I say it, the less I like it.
Nope, that didn’t make sense.
Also the first round pick this year got the Raptors someone by the name of Kawhi Leonard.
2020
29 – Malachi Flynn
59 – Jalen Harris
I still think Malachi Flynn was a solid pick here. I know Desmond Bane was selected one pick after, but has Bane dropped 50? Didn’t think so.
In all seriousness, it isn’t Flynn’s fault that he was drafted as a pick-and-roll point guard into “Vision 6-9.” I think he has potential as a solid backup point guard in the NBA.
Jalen Harris, I thought the Raptors HIT on. I won’t dive into what happened here, but he seems to be doing well in the CEBL.
2021
4 – Scottie Barnes
46 – Dalano Banton
47 – David Johnson
As soon as Scottie was drafted, I was shocked like the rest of the world. As well, a little sad as a Zags fan.
But I did immediately say “I trust Masai.” And boy did that turn out to be true.
2022
33 – Christian Koloko
Funny enough, this is exactly who I wanted the Raptors to pick at 33 this year.
I loved his defensive upside at Arizona, and thought he was exactly what NBA teams look for at center now a days. Some alright minutes for the Raptors in his first season, i was looking forward to year two.
An issue with blood clots held him out of the season, and eventually resulted in him being dropped.
I pray the best for his health, and hope he can one day do what he loves to do again.
2023
13 – Gradey Dick
This brings us to the Dick Pick.
I like it. You need shooting in the NBA and his rookie year showed a lot of growth.
I love how reactionary NBA fans are.
Talking about how the Raptors are lucky he started to show promise. How about you just don’t overreact to a 19/20 year olds first 50 games in the toughest league in the world?
I want to hear what you think.
Does Ujiri’s draft record give you confidence?
I have always said that the draft is his strongest trait as a GM, and I believe the picks outlined above would prove that.
I’ll have to get some experts on The Raptors Cage Podcast to break down some of the prospects.
Off the cuff, I like Kel’el Ware, Tyler Kolek and Isaiah Collier. I strongly believe we need to invest in backup point guard.
