Raptors Will be "Aggressive" Adding Talent That Fits Their Mold
For 21 years the San Antonio Spurs were the gold standard of the NBA. While teams throughout the league ventured through the usual peaks and valleys of NBA life, the Spurs found a way to contently contend, making the playoffs every year from 1998 to 2019. They did it by finding overlooked, high character prospects who fit their system.
Today that's what the Toronto Raptors are trying to replicate. Since Masai Ujiri took over executive duties in 2013, the Raptors have made the playoffs every single season. They've done it by regularly hitting on late draft picks and undrafted players, turning no-name prospects into NBA contributors.
With the NBA Draft just over two weeks away, the Raptors are hoping to find success again with their patented scouting system, nabbing sleeper prospects at picks 29 and 59 who will fit Toronto's system.
"I think in the last few years it has been a little easier when you are looking talent vs. talent and you are like both of these guys are really really talented, you can kind of rely on fit a little more than you have in the past because you know what style of basketball we are going to play," said Patrick Engelbrecht, the director of global scouting and international affairs for the Toronto Raptors. "So I think with that, that has been a little bit of a competitive advantage."
So what exactly does a Raptors player look like?
Since 2013 the Raptors have made five first round selections: Bruno Caboclo (2014), Delon Wright (2015), Jakob Pöltl (2016), Pascal Siakam (2016), and OG Anunoby (2017). These players were generally known for their length, versatility, and either their rebounding or defensive skills. Toronto has also found on-court success with upperclassmen, including 2015 second round pick Norman Powell and undrafted free agents Fred VanVleet and Terence Davis II.
In such a strange draft year, upperclassmen should have a bit of an edge when it comes to scouting, Engelbrecht said.
"You have more information about that player in competitive environments, and you have a bigger sort of dossier on what this person's work ethic is — have they been knocked down before and have they got up again — versus a younger prospect," he said. "But again we're a pretty aggressive group and if we see an opportunity to take a very young prospect that maybe doesn't have the same level of experience, but we believe he's a talent that can change the course of our franchise, we're going to swing."
Engelbrecht said the Raptors plan to be aggressive this year. And frankly, if they want their guy, they might have to be. Without very many in-person conversations happening throughout the league, Engelbrecht said it's hard to get a feel for how other teams perceive certain prospects.
"It’s tough to get a consensus," he said. "You kind of know who the 40 players are, but you really have no idea what the order is. I think that kind of dovetails into strategy. If there’s somebody that you really like, it’s very difficult to put in a strategy to go get him because you have no idea where he’s going."
Regardless of if the team moves up in the draft, you can be assured the Raptors aren't going to stray too far from their recent history. Whoever they pick will certainly fit the same mold that has made the team so successful for nearly a decade.
