Best players available for the Toronto Raptors to draft in the second round

No. 3: Johnny Furphy, Forward, Kansas (23rd)

When evaluating extremely raw draft prospects, there are two basic stances to take. One is that a raw player is a blank canvas, untapped potential, unshaped clay. The other is that such a player is impossible to evaluate; once they gain experience they may or may not be the kind of player who is worth plugging into a rotation.

Heading into the draft most of the buzz seemed to suggest teams thought Australian forward Johnny Furphy fell into the former category, but after he fell out of the first round it now seems to be the latter.

It's very possible Furphy would have stayed in college and played for Bill Self and Kansas if he had known he wouldn't go in the first round, but hindsight is 20/20 and he is in the draft and on the board now. At 6'7" with a 6'8" wingspan Furphy has fine but not remarkable physical measurements. Much like another Kansas prospect a year ago in Gradey Dick, Furphy was frequently targeted defensively and Kansas often had to pull him off the court when it got truly bad.

Furphy has a good shooting motion even if it only went in 35.2 percent of the time, and he can finish well inside with good touch and enough athleticism to attack the rim vertically. The potential is there for him to develop into a difference-maker, but he could also completely flame out of the league. His positional value will ensure he is drafted early in the second round, but it's not out of the question things fall apart and he is out of the league in the few years. At the same time, it could also all come together and he starts on a contender one day. That upside is worth a shot at some point.