With upcoming free agents Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. sure to be dominating the summer storylines for the Toronto Raptors, the wise front office creates contingency plans.
Toronto’s record will likely put them in either the lottery or the fringes of the postseason. Despite the disappointing results in the win/loss column, they will be sure to land a top-shelf rookie to pair with young star Scottie Barnes.
This upcoming 2023 Draft will be headlined by the consensus top two prospects, Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, but that doesn’t mean elite-level talent isn’t available within the rest of the lottery.
This draft class is heavy on combo guards and forwards, the former being something the Raptors are really searching for. Not only as a backup plan in the event of a free-agent departure, but just to provide further backup depth in general. It may be time to look beyond Malachi Flynn.
Let’s dive into some of the lottery’s best guards and who could potentially be the latest boon to Masai Ujiri’s drafting resume.
Toronto Raptors draft: 3 potential Gary Trent Jr. replacements.
3. Anthony Black, Arkansas
On a Razorbacks team loaded with NBA talent, Black is a 6-7 guard/wing with a very smooth creating style. His jump shot is a little inconsistent but isn’t terrible. Most of what makes him great are between the ears.
Paired with a dynamic backcourt, Black elects to be more of a playmaker than a pure scorer. He has great vision and is a pass-first teammate. He uses his height to see over defending guards, and has strength to bully smaller opponents on the drive.
Black’s body is rare for an elite guard prospect. Listed at 200 pounds of muscle at the start of the season, you can tell just by looking at the game footage how strong his lower body is. He doesn’t have game-changing explosiveness, but he’s a very balanced athlete. He may not pull out a skywalking dunk, but he’ll finish with authority.
Anthony Black would fit the Toronto Raptors.
On-ball, Black doesn’t let the defense speed him up. He keeps his head up on the drive is has developed great chemistry with his Arkansas teammates. His 4.4 assists per game aren’t a result of him dominating the ball, but by making the most of his playmaking opportunities.
Within the Arkansas offense, Black operates at roughly a 20% usage rate but with a 21.8 assist percentage to go with it. An NBA player with similar rates? Scottie Barnes. Both want to find the extra pass, and those assists are a result of good passes rather than good shots.
One unsung skill Black has is his defensive prowess. He has the lateral quickness to defend the guard position, but the size and strength to switch onto wings and even some forwards.
Black’s been averaging two steals a game this season, and it speaks to the way he thinks about the game. His steals and assists are both a result of his basketball feel, peripheral vision, and anticipatory skills. These are all things that would make him thrive in a Raptors backcourt.
Player comp: Thick Lonzo Ball
2. Nick Smith Jr.
A long-armed guard with good size and three-point range, Smith has dealt with some injuries during the first half of his freshman season. When healthy, he is the most well-rounded offensive guard in college hoops.
While not a next-level passer, Smith keeps his head up and can read the defense well. He will find lob targets and kick out to shooters, but his greatest gifts are as a scorer. Smith is one of the best shooters in the nation, pulling up from NBA range off the dribble and off of screens.
He has an elite floater game and can hit them from ten feet. Long arms and a herky-jerky dribble style serves him well while attacking on the drive. He gets really low and rips great momentum on his fakes and crossovers. This can sometimes lead to Smith being off-balance, but there’s potential for a top-shelf handle if he can polish it up a bit.
Nick Smith Jr. fits the Toronto Raptors.
Smith may not be a crazy athlete in terms of end-to-end speed, but he can stop and start really well. He has “quick twitch” athleticism and an NBA frame at 6-5. His slight build at this stage means that he tends to avoid contact, but that’s mostly nitpicking.
With the Raptors, Smith would be a great addition because the team needs that brand of “bucket-getter” so much. He would fill a lot of what the team needs offensively.
Player comp: Rich man’s Bones Hyland
Gradey Dick
The man looks and sounds like a 40-year-old librarian, but make no mistake, Gradey Dick is one of the most dynamic players in college ball.
A deadeye shooter with deceptive athleticism, the 6-8 wing playing at Kansas has one of the most NBA-ready offensive packages in the draft. His selling point is his jumpshot, but he’s got some nice tricks with the ball as well.
He’s a man that likes to go for the highlight play, fancy layups and dunks and such, but that “can do” attitude isn’t the same as selfishness. Dick doesn’t let the ball stick in his hands. If he’s going to make a move, he’ll make it. If not, he’ll keep the play and the ball moving.
Lately, he’s been spending more time initiating the offense at Kansas, but most of his points come from that Reggie Miller-style scheme of weaving him through a series of screens and letting the jumper fly.
https://twitter.com/KUHoops/status/1627870307318128643
Gradey Dick gives the Toronto Raptors shooting.
Length helps him defensively on steals, but he’s still on the skinny side. So defensively, he could get pushed around against bigger wings. Even though small ball styles have typically sent players at the same height as Dick to the SF/PF positions, he’ll likely be a wing for the foreseeable future.
For the Raptors, Dick’s jump shot is the selling point. For a team looking to empower Siakam and Barnes as the offensive focal points, a man who can stroke the ball like Dick is the perfect fit between those two guys. A player who can shoot it like that will always have a spot on an NBA roster.
Player comp: J.R. Smith