7 players that the Toronto Raptors gave up on too soon
By Tyler Watts
2. Damon Stoudamire
The first draft pick in franchise history was Damon Stoudamire, who is now the head coach at Georgia Tech, at seventh overall in 1995. They had yet to play a game, and the 5’10 guard was their best player and leading scorer as a rookie. They gave him the keys to the offensive immediately, and Stoudamire averaged 20.2 points, 8.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in his second NBA season.
He was the Rookie of the Year in 1996 and looked well on his way to being an All-Star before the Raptors traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1998. Stoudamire averaged 19.6 points in 41.0 minutes per game over his 200 starts in Toronto.
Damon Stoudamire was balling for the Toronto Raptors.
He immediately took a step back statistically in Portland, but the 5-10 guard did help the Trail Blazers reach the playoffs for six straight years, including two conference finals appearances.
He played 13 years in the NBA, but he never returned to producing the monster numbers he did in Toronto. The Raptors were not winning games, and Stoudamire sacrificed for the good of the team, but it is still worth wondering what would have been if the Raptors kept him and used him as a building block in the early stages of their franchise.