Raptors NBA Draft Rumors: What’s Real, What’s Smoke, and What to Watch

The Toronto Raptors are going into the NBA Draft with a lot on the line as they look to take the next step as a team.

Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner warms up before a game against the Toronto Raptors. | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors are a team to watch in the first round of the NBA draft with the No. 19 overall pick.

The Raptors are expected to stick with the selection, but there is a lot of smoke surrounding them making a possible trade. Here's a look at some potential rumors circulating ahead of the NBA Draft.

What's Real: Gradey Dick Could Be Traded

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson dribbles against Toronto Raptors guard/forward Gradey Dick. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Raptors are figuring out how to get their roster balanced going into free agency, which begins on Monday. The Raptors have long been linked to the idea of trading Gradey Dick, their No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Dick could be traded as soon as the first round of the draft, but suitors for him aren't quite established yet. Teams may wait until after the draft to see what they have before calling the Raptors about acquiring Dick with one year left on his deal.

What's Smoke: Raptors' Interest in Domantas Sabonis

Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis takes a shot before a game against the Washington Wizards. | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Trade rumors involving Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis are picking up once again, but it doesn't look like Toronto is a prime candidate this time around.

The Raptors were reportedly interested in acquiring Sabonis at the February trade deadline, but the two sides never got close to a deal.

"Similarly, league sources have connected the Raptors to Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis— similar rumours were prevalent at the trade deadline — but, in previous reporting, the sense was most of the discussion around that was being driven by Sabonis’s camp, working to get the 30-year-old three-time all-star out of the rebuilding situation with the Kings," Sportsnet insider Michael Grange wrote.

What to Watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks and the Fallout

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts following a play during the second quarter against the Brooklyn Nets. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Raptors and the rest of the league are waiting to see whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will be traded to the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat. A deal is expected to come before the NBA draft. Once it does, the Bucks could be in fire-sale mode.

If the Bucks are open for business, the Raptors could get a piece of the action with Myles Turner, according to Sportsnet insider Michael Grange.

"A couple of league sources have suggested that the Raptors could be interested in Bucks centre Myles Turner if the Bucks go into fire-sale mode after a potential Antetokounmpo trade," Grange wrote.

"Mileage may vary on whether the 30-year-old Turner, coming off a down year and with three years and $83.8 million remaining on his deal, is an upgrade on Poeltl, but his profile as a floor-stretching rim protector (he’s averaged 1.9 blocks and 1.8 threes per game on 38.3 per cent shooting from deep over the past four seasons) might fit the Raptors’ needs better than the non-shooting Poeltl, whom the Cavaliers refused to guard outside 10 feet during the playoffs and created spacing issues for the likes of Barnes and Ingram."

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