The worst Toronto Raptors draft picks in franchise history

If you generally feel a bit shaky around draft season then you’re probably a Raptors fan.

The Raps’ draft history is, well, suspect. And while there have been a fair share of solid picks in franchise history (more on those later), more often than not it seems the team has whiffed on opportunities to select a game changer when given the chance.

In fairness, the draft is a crap shoot at best. The top three to five are usually an exception to that rule, but even then players like Anthony Bennett, Derrick Williams and Enes Kanter are proof that for all the scouting and prognosticating it is really, really tough to accurately project a prospect’s NBA success/failure before they’ve hit the hardwood at the game’s highest level.

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For any team, there are bound to be some questionable choices. And good golly the Raptors are no exception. So without further ado, and because I’m already getting a cold sweat thinking back to some of these moments, here is the list of the worst draft picks in Raptors history:

10. DEANDRE DANIELS (37th overall, 2014)

The only second-rounder on this list, the UConn forward was impressive in college, but his thin frame and undefined position made him a major gamble — even by second-round standards. As a general rule, you never expect much of anything from those drafted after the first, but Daniels makes this list because of the treasure trove of talent available right after him in what was a surprisingly deep field.

The next four picks after Daniels? Point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, Thunder forward Jerami Grant, slam dunk contest champ Glen Robinson III and future all-star Nikola Jokic.

9. CHARLIE VILLANUEVA (7th overall, 2005)

The 2005 draft was the first of the post-Vince Carter world, and with four picks — two in the first round — expectations were that the team could land a running mate for Chris Bosh and another potential franchise cornerstone to build around.

Mock drafts at the time pegged the Raptors to land future all-star Danny Granger at No. 7. Instead, they got Villanueva, who had a perfectly solid tenure in Toronto, averaging 13 points and 6.4 rebounds in his lone season in a Raptors jersey (highlighted by a 48-point performance versus the Bucks, the team he would be traded to after his rookie year).

In fairness, the ’05 draft was thin on future stars (you can argue that Chris Paul and, briefly, Deron Williams, were the only ones). But Charlie V never projected as anything more than ‘decent’ and his biggest impact for the Raps was in being the player dealt to acquire T.J. Ford from Milwaukee.

Then-GM Rob Babcock whiffed the year prior, selecting Rafael Araujo eighth overall, so the Villanueva pick was especially gutting for Raptors fans who had every reason to lose all hope in the draft process altogether. The silent dejection here says it all:

8. JONATHAN BENDER (5th overall, 1999)

Bender never played a game for the Raptors, and knee injures cut the high-school star’s NBA career short. He was selected fifth in a draft where players like Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry rounded out the top 10.

The only reason Bender isn’t higher on this list, however, is that on draft night he was traded to the Indiana Pacers for Antonio Davis, who became an absolute rock — and an all-star — for the Raptors, helping lead the team to three straight playoff appearances.

7. KAREEM RUSH (20th overall, 2002)

There are no guarantees when drafting in the 20s, but ideally a team can at the very least get a decent role player with starting potential. In Rush they got neither.

He was traded on draft night along with Tracy Murray and a 2003 second-rounder for Lindsay Hunter, Chris Jeffries and the pick that became Ramon Van de Hare (who also never played in Toronto).

6. JOEY GRAHAM (16th overall, 2005)

For all the reasons Villanueva cracked the list, Graham appears here, too. Except the selection of the Oklahoma State product stings even more given that the best player at his position, the aforementioned Granger, was selected directly after Graham by the Indiana Pacers at 17th overall.

Graham started 58 games for the Raps over four seasons but never left his mark with the team, posting a value over replacement of -1.8. Because of where he was drafted, he was always viewed in comparison to the far-superior Granger, who would have formed a mean 1-2 punch alongside Bosh. What could’ve been…

5. BRUNO CABOCLO (20th overall, 2014)

Is it too early to write the story of Caboclo’s Toronto tenure? Yes. Does that make his selection in the first round of the 2014 draft any easier to swallow at the moment? No.

Caboclo’s name didn’t appear on any mock drafts at the time, not even in the second-round. But it’s not hard to imagine what drew Masai Ujiri to the Brazilian prospect. Originally planning to select him with the 37th overall pick, the Raptors brass pulled the trigger and took him 17 picks earlier after hearing that the San Antonio Spurs were going to select him with their pick at the end of the first round.

It was one of the bigger draft-day gambles in history.

For the record, I’m not ready to dismiss Caboclo as a prospect, and his performance in the D-League Finals, where he was the best player on the floor as the Raptors 905 won a championship, is reason for optimism. He may prove to have an impact, but there’s no debating that the clock is ticking until his name climbs higher on lists like this in the future.

4. ANDREA BARGNANI (1st overall, 2006)

Obligatory statement: It’s not Bargnani’s fault he was drafted first overall. Typically a draft slot meant for franchise players and league-defining superstars, Bargnani was simply OK during his prime NBA years. Over time, he’s probably been unfairly remembered (it’s worth noting that Bargs was first in many mock drafts that year).

The seven-footer was a lousy and uninterested defender, but he was a legitimately good offensive player whose shooting touch from beyond the arc had then-GM Bryan Colangelo, and many scouts, comparing him to Dirk Nowitzki, which, in retrospect, is hilarious.

Looking back, if the Raptors were in the market for another big man to pair with Chris Bosh down low, LaMarcus Aldridge, who went second that year, should’ve been the pick. But it’s worth noting that despite the names that stand out in the class of ’06, none were in consideration for first overall. Brandon Roy was drafted sixth, and Paul Millsap, Rajon Rondo and Kyle Lowry were all non-lottery picks.

Injuries were a continual issue for Bargnani, who averaged 18 points per game over a four-year stretch between ’08-12, and only appeared in 86 total games during the last four seasons of his career before leaving the NBA before this past season.

3. MICHAEL BRADLEY (17th overall, 2001)

Built around a bona fide superstar in Vince Carter, the Raptors were in a position to add a legitimate rotation piece in the first round of the ’01 draft. Bradley, a power forward from Villanova, wasn’t that, and seeing other big men like Jason Collins (18th), Zach Randolph (19th), Brendan Haywood (20th), Gerald Wallace (25th) and Samuel Dalembert (26th) selected after him only makes the pick stand out more.

2. ALEKSANDER RADOJEVIC (12th overall, 1999)

The ’99 draft pool was remarkably shallow after the top 10, but that doesn’t change the fact that the seven-foot-three centre only played three games in the NBA for the Raptors. But hey, if it makes you feel any better, the next centre taken, Frederic Weis (15th overall), played exactly zero NBA games. So there’s that, which is nice.

1. RAFAEL ARAUJO (8th overall, 2004)

Some players on this list, like Graham, are here because of who was selected immediately after them. Others, like Radojevic, made it because of a lack of production. Araujo (aka “Hoffa”) is the rare draftee who checks both boxes.

The Araujo pick was legitimately shocking when it was made, although it’s worth noting that he was a first-rounder in nearly all mock drafts that came out that year. But at the time, as ever, the Raptors were in need of a dynamic small forward to pair alongside a star two-guard in Vince Carter (a situation that would be echoed in later years with DeMar DeRozan). The next pick in the ’04 draft? Andre Iguodala. Moments like the Hoffa pick are why Raptors fans will never feel safe.

That’s not to say Araujo’s Raptors tenure didn’t have its highlights — specifically, he had one shining moment in a Raptors uniform, when he tried to pick a fight with Bonzi Wells in 2005. I have been searching for that clip on YouTube for, literally, years.

Araujo averaged 2.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 111 games for the Raptors. He was out of the NBA after three seasons.

Click back to Sportsnet.ca tomorrow for a much more uplifting read, when we take a look at the best picks in Raptors history.

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