2020 NBA Draft: 5 Players the Toronto Raptors could be targeting

Paul Reed

Paul Reed is an incredible athlete with a big-time motor and he turned quite a few heads this season with the way he applied those skills to both ends of the floor but specifically on defense. As you’ll see throughout this list, most of the prospects on this list bring some serious punch on the defensive end of the floor but no one possesses the ability to change a game on D as much as Reed.

After winning the Big East Most Improved Player in the 2018-19 season, he followed up with an All-Big East 2nd team selection in 2019-20.

Defensively, Reed has the ability to cover for his teammates’ mistakes with his speed and athleticism alone but under the tutelage and Nick Nurse and co., could sharpen a burgeoning defensive-IQ. While Reed will be able to easily handle man, zone, or switching schemes one day, it will take proper development and patience, two things Toronto has in spades.

On that same note, Reed is by no means an outside shooter but has the skills to develop into one in the right place. He shot 30.8% on a career-high 52 3-point attempts in the 2019-20 season and is a 73.9% free throw shooter for his career. Similar to current Raptors star Pascal Siakam, Reed can work on his jumper with an increased amount of attempts each year and know he has a solid infrastructure behind him.

For Masai Ujiri, Reed provides a little bit of insurance in case of the departure of Serge Ibaka and/or Marc Gasol. And in any event, a Reed-Chris Boucher pairing in the frontcourt could be a big spark for Toronto’s already impressive bench unit.