Toronto Raptors draft: 5 times Raps passed on a star for a bust

NBA franchises are usually successful thanks to one of two philosophies, and the Toronto Raptors have been no exception to these rules. Teams have either moved assets for quality talent to win now, as Toronto did in 2018 to acquire Kawhi Leonard leading to immediate success in 2019, or built through the ranks of the NBA Draft.

The Hawks were an ECF participant this season by adhering to this, and the Suns made the Finals on the back of their own young core.

This year, for the third time in history, the Raptors will select fourth overall at the NBA Draft, potentially adding a generational, franchise-improving talent.

Since 2011, when Jonas Valanciunas was drafted and then the 2013 arrival of Masai Ujiri as general manager, the Raptors have gotten it right more often than not at the NBA Draft. Still, Toronto’s management team has had some classic and monumental failures over the years that hurt the team’s on-court development.

The Raptors have gotten it right a number of times, like when they drafted a future Hall of Famer and franchise player in Chris Bosh in 2003. Still, the franchise has also gotten it wrong at the NBA Draft plenty of times.

5 times the Toronto Raptors took a bust over a star at the NBA Draft.

5. The drafting of Aleksandar Radojevic in 1999

Glen Grunwald was the Raptors’ second general manager from 1997-2003. He was responsible for overseeing some great selections by the Raptors at the NBA Draft and the team’s first three playoff appearances from 2000-2002 with head coach Butch Carter.

While he gets credit for drafting Antawn Jamison and trading him for Vince Carter at the 1998 draft, he is also responsible for the bust that was Aleksandar Radojevic. Radojevic was acquired with the 12th pick at the 1999 NBA Draft.

At picks No. 13, 16, and 24, Toronto missed out on Corey Maggette, the man formerly known as Ron Artest, and Andrei Kirilenko. Manu Ginobili went in the second round.

Aleksandar Radojevic is one of the worst picks in Toronto Raptors history.

Radojevic only played three games in a Raptors uniform, averaging 2.3 points per game. After some injuries, he would spend the next four years playing basketball in Europe in Slovenia, Germany, and Greece before the Jazz gave him another shot in the NBA. That second stint lasted just 12 games.

Even then, some 22 years ago, the management for Toronto has struggled to figure out what to do adding talent in the center position.

A quick review of the Raptors’ roster in 1998/99, right before drafting Radojevic, reveals they had four centers under contract: William Cunningham, John Thomas, Michael “Yogi” Stewart, and an aging 36-year-old Kevin Willis.

4. The Michael Bradley power outage in 2001

In the 2001 off-season, Grunwald would make a big splash in the trade market, acquiring center Hakeem Olajuwon from the Rockets. The deal was not good for the Raptors, as an aging Hakeem could not stay healthy enough to contribute to the Raptors’ fortunes in the 2001/02 season.

He lasted one season in Toronto, but his contract had multiple years left, handicapping the team financially when the salary cap dropped in 2002. Key role players like Keon Clark were never resigned, and it would be five years before Toronto would return to the playoffs.

The Raptors were armed with the No. 17 selection at the 2001 NBA Draft and chose to acquire Michael Bradley with the goal of pairing him with Olajuwon.

Michael Bradley flopped for the Toronto Raptors.

The power forward would spend five mostly undistinguished years in the NBA playing 173 total games for six teams and two and a half seasons in Toronto. Bradley averaged 11.7 minutes, 2.8 points, and 3.4 rebounds per game.

What is disappointing about this mid-first round selection is the players they passed on to acquire the Villanova alum. Zach Randolph was picked 19th, Gerald Wallace went 25th, Tony Parker was nabbed 28th, and Gilbert Arenas was taken 31st. Who knows how different that 2001-02 season would’ve looked with one of them.

3. Double the disappointment in the 2005 NBA Draft

In 2005, the Raptors had two first-round draft picks at No. 7 and No. 16. Expectations were high at this draft for a franchise mired in the third of what would be five seasons of futility. With the seventh selection, Toronto grabbed UConn power forward Charlie Villanueva.

Villanueva would have a solid, albeit inconsistent, NBA career, he was traded for TJ Ford after just one season.

But while Villanueva could be frustrating due to a perceived lack of consistency from a very talented player, it was the Raptors’ second first-round pick at 16 that really hampered this team.

Toronto ended up with small forward Joey Graham, who was drafted ahead of Danny Granger, Indiana’s star player until knee injuries cut his effectiveness and career short. Gerald Green, drafted at 18, spent 14 years in the NBA, while star guards like Monta Ellis and Lou Williams were taken in the second round.

Joey Graham struggled to dominate the game at the highest level.

Graham was built like Hercules, but his play suffered from what looked like a lack of confidence. Graham’s play could be described as a player struggling to understand the flow of the game, and rather than react to opportunities on the court, he was pondering his next move.

He would start in 58 games over four seasons for Toronto and play for three teams in six years.

In a draft where Toronto had two first-round selections, Villanueva was gone after one year and Graham would never really materialize into a reliable role player, much less rise to starter status. Ouch.

2. 2010 draft pick wasted on another ineffective big man

In 2010, the Raptors held the No. 13 selection at the draft, and it was used on another big in North Carolina’s Ed Davis. If there is one theme with the draft day misses by Toronto management, it has been their assessment on the quality of big men.

Davis’ addition to this list may seem unfair to some, as he has toiled in the NBA for just over a decade now and still maintains employment in the NBA.

However, Davis played just two and a half seasons for the Raptors for a total of 176 games. Averages of 6.2 points and 6.6 rebounds are not what you’d expect from someone selected that high.

A better choice at the 2010 Draft may have meant better returns in a superstar’s trade.

It isn’t so much that Davis was a bust or that there was a plethora of greater talent selected after him. Still, Toronto, under Colangelo’s guidance, did miss out on guards Eric Bledsoe at 19 and Avery Bradley at 21. Even Patrick Patterson was drafted at 14, right behind Davis.

Eventually, Toronto did trade to acquire Patterson, who helped the squad’s performance from 2014-2017 on playoff rosters.

So while Davis wasn’t a monumental bad choice, he didn’t improve the team much, and they could’ve done better by adding a young guard.

1. The worst draft choice in franchise history.

Rob Babcock was hired as the Raptors general manager in early June 2004, approximately two weeks before the draft. If Babcock is the worst GM in franchise history, his first draft selection in that role for the Raptors was infinitely worse.

With the franchise needing to keep Vince Carter happy and focused, Glen Grunwald was let go as the general manager after the team missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons.

Carter wanted Dr. J, an ABA and NBA legend, to helm and right the Raptors as Grunwald’s replacement. As recounted in this GLOBEANDMAIL.COM article, Carter said of Dr. J:

"“He’s No. 1, plain and simple,”"

Instead, management chose Babcock. Then it got worse. Babcock used the 2004 draft pick, eighth overall on center Rafael Araujo. It’s been well documented that immediately after Araujo was chosen at No.8 the 76ers selected Andre Iguodala at No. 9. Iguodala is still playing, and he is a multiple-time NBA Champion (3) and a Finals MVP (2015).

In comparison, Araujo played in 111 games with 75 starts as a Raptor, never averaging more than 3.3 points per game. This is all-time bust material.

If Babcock was insistent on the team acquiring a big, Al Jefferson was available before he was selected at No. 15 by the Celtics. Players like Kevin Martin, JR Smith, Tony Allen, and Jameer Nelson were all passed on in favor of Araujo.

Whether the hiring of Babcock or the drafting of Araujo or a combination of things, it’s unknown what was the final nail in the coffin for Carter demanding a trade away from Toronto in 2004. However, these incidents only inflamed the strained relationship between management and its star player.

The truth of a draft selection is always in hindsight, as is the case in the 2016 NBA draft. Toronto selected Pascal Siakam with their second first-rounder 27 overall and wound up with one of the best players in that draft.

The Raptors just need to hope that they don’t fall victim to the same mistakes in this draft.