The Toronto Raptors should draft forward Tyler Bey

The Toronto Raptors will be selecting towards the end of the first-round in this year’s draft. Whenever the draft does occur, one prospect that the team needs to strongly consider is Tyler Bey.

The NBA and the Player’s Association agreed to push back the deadline to void the current CBA until September 1. The draft lottery and combine have been suspended indefinitely for the NBA and the Toronto Raptors. It has been reported that late August or early September is being considered for the draft. Depending on how the rest of the season plays out, the draft could be moved even further.

If the NBA season is going to resume, there is no way the draft occurs until after a champion has been crowned. Adam Silver said he is aiming to make a decision in the next two to four weeks.

Due to the coronavirus and social distancing, this year’s draft is going to be very different. NBA teams are currently prohibited from conducting in-person workouts. Until further notice, teams are permitted to conduct up to four hours of virtual meetings per prospect during the pre-draft process.

Practice facilities have been slowly reopening. As such, it is possible that the NBA could loosen its restrictions. No more than four players are allowed in the gym at any given time. It is also limited to individual workouts.

If the NBA were to extend this to draft prospects, teams could at least bring players in for one on none workouts. The difficulty is that would still require draft prospects to fly around the country in order to work out for multiple teams. The NBA has also discussed the possibility of a virtual draft combine.

The Toronto Raptors have a first-round pick for the first time in three years. Before the season was suspended, the Raptors had the third-best record in this NBA. Assuming they maintain that position, the Raptors would end up selecting no. 28 overall.

The 2020 NBA Draft isn’t projected to be particularly deep. It is unlikely that the Raptors are going to uncover a superstar towards the end of the first round. Yes, the Raptors selected Pascal Siakam at no. 27 back in 2016. However, even Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster would tell you that they didn’t anticipate Siakam was going to be this good.

One of the most valuable assets for a team in the modern NBA is versatile wing players. A number of 3-and-D prospects should hear their names called out on draft night. That list includes Isaac Okoro, Aaron Nesmith, Devin Vassell and Patrick Williams. Unfortunately for the Raptors those players are likely to be off the board when they are selecting.

The draft tends to flatten out towards the end of the first round and early into the second. Talent-wise, players are often very similar, how the draft shakes out depends on the preferences of each individual organization.

There are a number of prospects that the Raptors could select when the time comes. However, there is one player that stands out above the rest and is someone that the Toronto Raptors should seriously consider. That individual is Tyler Bey.