Thriving: Norman Powell
Norman Powell was another player who was drafted late and the Toronto organization developed into a top contributor. The 46th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Powell went from small-minute wing depth on the title team to a high-octane scorer for the Raptors in the next few years, before Toronto flipped him to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gary Trent Jr.
In Portland Powell shot the lights out and scored at a high clip, earning a massive contract and becoming one of the league's best wing shooters. The LA Clippers added him in 2022 and he has been their best bench player the past few seasons, finishing fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting two years in a row. He is shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range in Los Angeles and has found his niche.
Fell Flat: Serge Ibaka
One of the core pieces for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the early Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook years, Ibaka reinvented himself playing stretch center for the Toronto Raptors and helped them to win the 2019 Championship. He hung around for one more season and averaged a career-best 15.4 points in Toronto in 2020, then left in free agency and signed with the Clippers.
Ibaka's career as an effective player essentially ended there; he battled injuries and aging and while he had a few good months here and there, he quickly descended into being a bit player. The Milwaukee Bucks inexplicably gave up Donte DiVincenzo for him in 2022, only to find he had nothing left in the tank, and his last game in the NBA was at the age of 33.