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Toronto Raptors: Five potential first round prospects to keep an eye on

By Mark Birdsell

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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Adam Silver (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

The Toronto Raptors and the rest of the NBA are on hiatus as the world deals with the fallout from COVID-19. With so much uncertainty as to when and if the season will resume, we might as well turn our attention to the offseason.

The NCAA currently has a deadline of June 3 by which underclassmen will need to withdraw their names from draft consideration to remain eligible for college basketball. Jonathan Givony of ESPN recently reported that the league is bracing for the potential impact of a delayed 2020 NBA Draft.

There could also be significant ramifications on the pre-draft process. It is unclear whether the draft combine will take place (currently scheduled for May 21 to 24). Also, teams may not get the opportunity to conduct individual workouts.

While the primary concern is getting players safely back on the court. What cannot be overlooked is the importance of having rotation players locked into a four-year, rookie scale contract.

The NBA is a salary cap league. There is only so much money to go around. As a result, teams need to hit on draft picks. But it isn’t just about finding young, talented players. Teams must also put those players in a position to succeed.

A lot has been written about how the Toronto Raptors were the first team in NBA history to win a championship without having a single lottery pick on their roster. Other teams like the Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic or Detroit Pistons select in the lottery year and year but struggle to even make the playoffs.

Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster have done a masterful job building this team. As an organization they have decided to use the back-end of the roster to develop young players, instead of signing veterans trying to chase a ring.

This season’s success story has Terence Davis II. Davis went undrafted after four years at Ole Miss. But that didn’t discourage Davis. He parlayed one half of a summer league game into a two-year contract with the Raptors. Now Davis looks like he should have been a lottery pick.

The Raptors haven’t had a first-round pick in each of the last two drafts. One was used to shed the final two years of DeMarre Carroll’s contract. The other was packaged along with DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl as part of the Kawhi Leonard trade.

As things stand, the Raptors are poised to pick towards the end of the first round in this year’s draft. FiveThirtyEight.com projects that the Raptors will finish with the fourth-best record in the NBA at 57-25 records. If the season resumes and those projections hold the Raptors would select no. 27.

The 2020 NBA Draft isn’t expected to be the deepest in recent memory. However, just because there isn’t a LeBron James, Anthony Davis or Zion Williamson in this year’s draft, doesn’t mean teams can’t find a useful player or two.

As it is only March, draft boards are still in flux. But as things stand today, here are five players Raptors’ fans might want to keep an eye on.

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