NBA Draft 2016: Grades for every team

Toronto Raptors

Picks: No. 9 Jakob Poeltl, No. 27 Pascal Siakam

After the dust settled on the draft order and everything the Toronto Raptors ended up with two first round picks in the 2016 NBA Draft, including the No. 9 overall pick. Considering that they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, that they also had a top-10 pick in the draft seemed to put them in a fantastic position to add a high-upside player that they could take the time to cultivate and develop properly. In addition, they also had their own pick at No. 27.

Instead of taking that type of player in the lottery, though, the Raptors elected to take Jakob Poeltl out Utah at No. 9. While he was projected as a lottery pick and this wasn’t a reach, it also wasn’t a pick that was too easy to get behind. Not only does Poeltl not fill an immediate need for Toronto, but he’s also a player with very limited upside. I just don’t see a world where the big man is going to develop into an All-Star or even someone better overall than Jonas Valanciunas.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the Raptors then capped off their draft near the end of the first round by taking Pascal Siakam out of New Mexico State. Despite being an intriguing prospect with some value, it was a huge reach for Toronto as Siakam was rated as a mid-second-rounder. So with those two picks happening in the same round, it’s quite hard to say the Raps maximized their value in the draft.

Final Grade: D

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