Raptors draft: 4 prospects to watch during March Madness

1. Nick Smith, Arkansas

Smith is still a serious question mark, as injuries have ravaged him to the point that the player many thought was the top recruit in the 2022 class has started to slide down the boards due to injuries. That fall could be enough to help him land in Toronto if things break their way.

Smith is viewed by some as the most electric non-Henderson guard in this class with the ball in his hands, and that ability to be both a lead point guard and someone who can score 20 points per game regularly if his skills are accentuated make him such a unique talent that Toronto would be foolish to pass on him.

Nick Smith could change the Toronto Raptors.

Smith might start on the bench as a rookie, but the situation around OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam potentially having just one year left on his deal could create a path to him eventually sliding his way into the starting lineup without too much consternation.

The Barnes and Christian Koloko selections show that Ujiri is often willing to select the player he believes has the highest long-term ceiling and let things develop under the watchful eye of Nick Nurse. If he doesn’t address point guard in free agency, Smith could be headed north.