Finishing with the eighth overall choice was not exactly the path the Toronto Raptors were hoping for when they chose to use last season as a “building” year.
The Raptors pulled off a pair of upsets over the final fortnight of the season, which potentially cost them the chance to move up at least two spots in the NBA Draft Lottery.
We can wax poetically about what could have happened but it’s more important to look at what happens next for the Raptors.
This is a loaded draft class but you have to wonder if the Raptors need to add another rookie to the rotation next season. Especially when you consider that last year’s top pick Jonas Valanciunas is expected to join the team.
It certainly sounded like Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo didn’t feel that adding another rookie was the ideal situation when he spoke to the media shortly after the lottery results were announced.
“I don’t think there are any options that we shouldn’t look at,” Colangelo said noting they could use the pick, trade it, or as part of a package of a larger deal.
“We’ve got a lot of different balls up in the air.”
It would be surprising to see the No. 8 pick in a Raptors uniform next season. Perhaps even a disappointment for any Raptors fan hoping to see this team take a step forward.
If they choose to hold onto the pick, Colangelo believes there will be some value at that spot.
“In the eighth spot, we feel we are going to get a good player,” Colangelo said.
And the Raptors won’t be afraid to consider “stacking”.
So, if the best player available happens to be a power forward, Colangelo will select a power forward despite the fact the team already has Andrea Bargnani and Ed Davis at the position.
The Houston Rockets stacked effectively in the past by loading up pieces to use as trade bait but the flip side is watching the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been unsuccessful, as they seem to select a point guard almost every season.
At the moment, the Raptors hold three picks in the June NBA Draft – No. 8, No. 37 and No. 56.
With his first second-round pick, Colangelo thinks he might be able to add a valuable piece to the roster.
“There are some players there that get you a little bit excited,” he said.
Teams have already had a chance to look at some of the players expected to be available in the second round at a recent camp in New Jersey.
It’s unlikely that Toronto will use the final pick, at least on a player that will join the roster next season.
Colangelo explained that “the later pick is something that will be in play.”
The Raptors could add a player that could spend a year or two in Europe or they could sell the pick.
“Adding three young players is not the end of the world but it is not the ideal situation for our coaching staff,” he said.
At the trade deadline, the Raptors dealt veteran guard Leandro Barbosa to the Indiana Pacers to create cap flexibility. They now have the cap space to pull off a trade and don’t have to wait until July 1 when Barbosa’s contract would have come off the books.
It sounds as if the Raptors are ready to use that flexibility.
“We have the flexibility to explore all options and that’s something that we worked hard to get,” Colangelo said. “We’re one of the few teams that can do that.”