We’re waiting for the ping pong balls to fall happily
Normally at this time of year, I’d be avidly looking at film to consider draft selections for the Toronto Raptors. However, I’m going to wait until after the night of May 12, which is when the NBA will hold its draft lottery.
Why? The Raptors are in a strange space until then. The San Antonio Spurs are due for their final payment in draft capital on the February 20203 transaction which brought center Jakob Poeltl back to Toronto. The Raptors sent flotsam in the form of players to Texas, so needed to pony up a serious asset to make the deal happen. Masai Ujiri agreed to a first-round pick, but negotiated the condition of top-6 protection through 2026, otherwise the pick conveys immediately, i.e., this June.
What the Raptors need to happen, really badly, is for the ping pong balls (which determine the draft order among the non-playoff teams eligible for the lottery) to fall such that our team does have a pick among the first six. If that happens, then our guys will be enjoying the #5 (let’s say) selection, #17 from Indiana as partial payment for Pascal Siakam, and #31 from Detroit (convoluted story; from the Pistons to the Knicks, then to us as part of the OG Anunoby trade).
Consider how important this situation is. Assuming the balls are friendly, and the Raptors retain their pick, our team will have three new faces to compete for positions. [Masai claims to be monitoring the health of Christian Koloko, whose wretched health necessitated his waiver from the team in January. From that point on, we were cursed. Will Christian recover, and resume his hoops career in Toronto? Let’s hope.] Unless our management guys miss on all of them, which outcome I’m going to dismiss, the Raptors will be well-positioned to compete for a playoff berth in 2024-25. Should that happen, we’d surrender a draft pick to the Spurs in the late teens. As pain goes, that’s trivial.
I hate wasting my time
Back to me spending time on film. There’s a huge difference in watching mid-teens prospects versus top-five ones. I also don’t plan on wailing and gnashing of teeth about how underwhelming this draft class appears to be. We can’t know whether 2025’s candidates will be any better; more importantly, I’d rather be choosing #5 in a so-so class than #18 in almost any.
Of course, Masai will be in a splendid bargaining position with 3 picks rather than 2 in the top 31. He can bundle one or more to hungry rivals, in order to return the kind of proven talent our squad needs. So, my friends, I ask for your patience. I will start running draft-selection posts after May 12. We’re overdue for some good luck. Let’s hope the ping pong balls provide it.
- Tags: Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors
