The Toronto Raptors vaulted right into the No. 4 spot in the 2021 NBA Draft order, giving them a chance to potentially draft a new franchise point guard like Jalen Suggs. This would be the second consecutive year that they go in that direction, as they added Malachi Flynn with the 29th pick in last year’s draft.
While his early-season play was downright putrid, Flynn turned on the jets in the second half of the season, winning Rookie of the Month and showing that he can be a part of the Raptors’ future after improving on the offensive end.
While there was a somewhat realistic possibility of Flynn overtaking the starting point guard spot should Kyle Lowry leave in free agency, getting a pick this high means that they will likely either make Suggs their long-term point guard or add Jalen Green while booting Fred VanVleet over to point guard.
However, while the thought of trading Flynn for a veteran could creep into their minds, the Raptors should do everything in their power to resist that urge, instead choosing to continue to make Flynn into one of the best sixth men given his profile.
Malachi Flynn, the Eastern Conference's rookie of the month for April, did not receive a vote for either All-Rookie team. 22 players got votes.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) June 18, 2021
Apparently voters stopped watching in March.
Malachi Flynn could be a perfect backup point guard for the Raptors.
From April onwards, which coincidentally coincided with Flynn being given an increased role in the starting lineup, the San Diego State product averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Considering that he was sent to the G League early in the season, shooting 40% from the field is a major improvement.
The Raptors will try to add some studs on their bench, as doing so could be the best way to make sure that they don’t end up with a re-run of last year, when they were scrapping and clawing for anyone with a pulse to potentially take over and eat up minutes as a reserve.
Flynn is a pestilent defender, solid distributor, and, as of very recently, a scorer who can get you a few clutch buckets. He’s only going to get better with age. Why would Toronto give up on that for a veteran? Sure, you don’t want to draft backups with your first-round pick, but Flynn becoming a key rotation for years to come validates that selection.
Even though Suggs or Green would eat into Flynn’s playing time, he has become a fan favorite in Toronto for his style of play, and that style could work even better if Nick Nurse trusts him with running the second unit, Flynn is almost ideal for this role, meaning that any team trying to call the front office and inquire about should receive nothing more than quick disconnect.,