Raptors Draft: 3 Shockwaves from disappointing Lottery that will shape the future

No. 2: The Raptors have more future flexibility

The silver lining of conveying their first-round pick this year is that they are now free from the obligation to the Spurs. If they had stayed in the Top 6 and retained their pick the obligation would have rolled over to next year, and so on until the pick conveyed.

The Raptors are now free to trade any of their future first-round picks, as many as four full picks and three first-round swaps. If they wanted to go all-in for a superstar player, they could offer first-round picks in 2025, 27, 29 and 31. That's a massive package to bring to the negotiating table.

That's not to say the Raptors will or should make such an offer, but clearing the pick owed to the Spurs gives them the flexibility to make any number of offers. If the pick had rolled over, the Spurs would be limited to trading three first-round picks this offseason, and the protections on those picks would be influenced by the possibility of the pick owed to the Spurs continuing to roll over through 2026.

By virtue of losing the pick the Raptors also will have more cap space this summer, as they will not need to carry a cap hold for the player they draft. That will open up anywhere from $6.2 to $10.5 million depending on where the pick landed. They can use that money to better improve the team in free agency or on the trade market.