Raptors hoping to find rotation player with 33rd pick in upcoming draft

TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO – A year ago, the Toronto Raptors were getting set to make the kind of high-leverage decision that could alter the future of a franchise.

Thanks to what team president Masai Ujiri has cheekily referred to as their “Tampa Tank” season, they had the fourth-overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and were gifted the opportunity to add an elite prospect.

As a front office executive, there isn’t a better feeling than hitting it big at the top of the draft. With good scouting and at least a little bit of luck, that’s where you can find the transcendent talent that most lottery teams crave, a player that can help expedite any rebuild, or retool, and set you on the path to becoming a contender.

Needless to say, it couldn’t have gone any better for Ujiri and the Raptors. In Scottie Barnes – a selection that wasn’t universally popular at the time – they would find a budding superstar and the league’s eventual Rookie of the Year.

The stakes are different this year.

Toronto’s first-round pick, which turned out to be 20th-overall, now belongs to the Spurs as a result of the deadline day deal that sent Goran Dragic to San Antonio in exchange for Thaddeus Young. They also received a second-rounder, via Detroit, which became the 33rd-overall pick. That’s where they’ll select from on Thursday night.

It should be a more familiar position for them to operate out of. In nearly a decade at the helm of the organization, the Ujiri-led front office has only drafted in the lottery twice. They have far more experience hunting for undervalued talent late in the first round, throughout the second round, or outside of the draft altogether. They also have a strong track record there, which is one of the