The Toronto Raptors have not likely ruled out a trade-up into the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft. Even though there are more financial obligations involved with acquiring a first-round pick as opposed to a second-rounder at No. 33 overall, a prospect like Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley is worth moving up for.
Toronto loves to add bigger guards, and the thought of bringing in a 6-5 dynamo with experience at both spots could appeal to Masai Ujiri and Nick Nurse. Wesley has some kinks to work out, but a Raptors team in need of more guard depth would fall in love with Wesley if he ended up north of the border.
Playing as both a playmaking lead option and an off-ball slasher for the Fighting Irish, Wesley showed that he is designed for a very long professional career. Acquiring him might be harder without a first-round pick, as making a move back near the top 20 could be the only way to guarantee a shot at him.
Wesley has had workouts with lottery or lottery-adjacent teams like the Wizards and Atlanta Hawks over the last few days, showing that he is valued as a late first-round pick with the potential to slip into the top 20. It would take a significant investment from Ujiri and the Raptors to get him, but there’s a lot to like about Wesley.
Here’s guard Blake Wesley of Notre Dame shooting some threes at his Wizards pre-draft workout. He’s a projected top-20 pick. pic.twitter.com/VFrXoR8fkK
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) June 13, 2022
Will the Toronto Raptors trade up for Blake Wesley?
What really stands about with regards to Wesley’s game is how advanced he appears to be as a scorer and distributor. An unselfish player that makes all sorts of unusual shots when called upon, Wesley profiles as a high-end backup in Year 1.
Ujiri likely won’t consider drafting you unless you’re a quality athlete, and Wesley brings a springiness to his game that is evident on both ends. With 14.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game despite a slow start in South Bend, Wesley has proven his quality on the collegiate level.
"My dream is about to come true, just got to stay focused." - Blake Wesley@blakewesley0 x @NDmbb pic.twitter.com/xXJmieudjM
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 14, 2022
Wesley can play a bit out of control sometimes, as he makes just 40% of his shots overall and 30% of his 3-pointers due to questionable shot selection. Wesley has had some solid moments on defense, but it will likely take some time before he ends up as a positive NBA defender.
The similarities between Wesley and Gary Trent Jr. are not hard to miss, even if Trent came into the league as a better shooter. From a physical point of view, there are very few fringe lottery prospects who would be as much of an instant success in Toronto as Wesley.