NBA Draft 2016: 5 players Toronto Raptors need to target
By David Rouben
Looking at who the Toronto Raptors should be targeting in the first round of the NBA Draft.
The Toronto Raptors have not had a good history when it comes to the NBA Draft. They infamously picked Andrea Bargnani first overall ahead of guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, JJ Reddick, and Rajon Rondo. But things are looking up for them, as they are just coming off a season that ended in the Conference Finals, and they have a GM in Masai Ujiri who knows how to swindle teams.
Thanks to Masai, the Raptors own the ninth pick in the draft despite finishing as a top four team in the league thanks to trading their draft bust Bargnani to the New York Knicks in 2013 in exchange for a first rounder this year, two second rounders in 2014 and 2017, Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, and Quentin Richardson.
And back when he was the Nuggets GM, the Knicks traded the right to swap first round picks with Denver as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal. Since the Knicks finished with the seventh pick and the Nuggets finished with the ninth, Denver moved up the draft board leaving New York with no first round picks this year.
It’s just one of many reasons why Masai Ujiri is so revered in Toronto. He helped turn the team’s fortunes around to the point where they gave Cleveland a run for their money, and now with both the 9th and 27th overall picks this draft, they have a lot of flexibility.
There’s no telling which direction they’ll end up going on draft night, since there’s nothing set in stone outside of Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram going one and two, but here are five players the Raptors should be targeting with their picks.
Next: 5. Cheick Diallo