Toronto Raptors: 3 players to trade up for in NBA Draft second round

1. Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky

Bassey already has a connection to Masai Ujiri due to the Giants of Africa foundation, but even without Ujiri having known Bassey in the past, his play over the last few years with the Hilltoppers warrants the pre-draft hype, His ability to dominate down in the paint against C-USA competition was astonishing.

Bassey was a double-double machine, averaging that over the course of his final season at Western Kentucky while piling up a 3.0 blocks per game tally. It goes without saying that if this production can translate over to the NBA, Toronto’s backup center issues could be solved overnight.

Charles Bassey could be a solid fit for the Toronto Raptors.

Bassey is still working on an offensive game outside of the paint, and with that comes learning how to add some finesse to his game, as some of the accountants that he was playing against in college will offer less resistance to his power than some of the best centers in the game.

If the Raptors can hang their hat on anything over the last few years, it’s the fact that they have been able to develop non-lottery picks into players that are so good they can win a championship. It might take a while before Bassey finally kicks it into high gear, but the results could be deadly.