Grade the Trade: Raptors make another deal with Knicks, draft big in newest proposal

Grade the Pick: Raptors select DaRon Holmes II, Dayton

The Toronto Raptors will have a number of options with the No. 24 pick, in part dictated by what they decide to do with the 19th pick. They could package the two together to try and move up, but given the malleability of the draft order it seems like the Raptors have a better chance of landing a future rotation player or starter by taking two bites at the apple, and they have a small chance of landing two!

In this scenario, we'll assume that the Raptors took a shooting wing with the 19th pick, be that a smaller wing like Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter or a larger one like Miami wing Kyshawn George. That leaves the Raptors with a major need at backup center; luckily for them, the 15-25 range of the draft appears to be packed with big options, from Yves Missi and Kel'el Ware to Kyle Filipowski and DaRon Holmes II.

We will go with DaRon Holmes II for the Raptors with this pick, a 6'10" center from Dayton who brings some fascinating "unicorn" potential to whatever team drafts him. Defensively, he is a powerful shot-blocker who thrives in the paint and cleans the glass.

On offense is where the real upside presents itself. Holmes can excel as a pick-and-roll big, screening hard and rolling to the basket for pocket passes and lob passes. What's more, he significantly improved as a shooter this past season, shooting four times as many 3-pointers and improving his percentage north of 40 percent. Add in solid passing ability and good touch around the basket and you get a player who could put it all together and be a two-way starting center for a very long time.

There is downside, of course. Anytime you have a major shooting improvement in a player's final college season there is the question of how real it was. Holmes also played for a smaller school in Dayton and was largely untested against NBA bigs. Even so, the skillset he has already displayed would be perfect for the modern NBA and for playing alongside Scottie Barnes, so he would be an excellent pick at No. 24.

Grade: A-