Ideal Raptors draft target offically declares for 2023 NBA Draft

Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri is likely hard at work trying to figure out which players could be worth burning a first-round pick on in the 2023 NBA Draft. As every Raptors fan has been screaming for the last few months, shooting and offensive creativity are needed.

Even though the injured Otto Porter Jr. is under contract for next season, there is a very good chance that the Raptors take the L on his contract and move him somewhere else. If that is the case, adding a forward that can snipe from the perimeter and defend well might be high up on the priority list.

There are many players that can fill that void, with UConn wing Jordan Hawkins standing out as someone that Ujiri may end up having a crush on. If he is not available whenever Toronto picks, or if the Raptors want to trade down and move into the early 20s, they could target Pepperdine wing Maxwell Lewis.

Lewis officially declared for the draft after his second year with the Waves, betting on his two-way potential. No player the Raptors invest a first-round pick in can afford to be a bad defender, and Lewis’ skills in this area make him someone that Toronto feels very comfortable with drafting in the first round.

Toronto Raptors draft: Will Masai Ujiri take Maxwell Lewis?

Lewis is fresh off averaging 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season while making 47% of his shot and 35% of his 3-pointers. With a more defined role beyond “primary offensive creator who has to do everything” on offense, Lewis could be an even more productive player.

What stands out the most about Lewis is his ferocious defense. With genuine length and switchability baked into his style of play, Lewis is an above-average shot-blocker for the position and a player that should have next to no trouble with adapting to the rigors of on-ball NBA work.

Lewis will have to prove that he can still be an effective scorer when he’s playing the Celtics and 76ers, not the University of the Pacific and BYU on a 9-22 Pepperdine team. The fact that he is not an elite athlete from an explosion or verticality point of view, something Toronto has typically emphasized, could be concerning.

Lewis might be another slow-burn type of prospect that becomes better down the line than he is immediately. However, considering that Toronto’s two best players are a No. 27 overall pick from New Mexico State and an undrafted 6-0 guard from Wichita State, the level of competition he faced might not deter them.