Mock Draft: Luck Could Help Raptors Land Ideal Frontcourt Prospect
The Toronto Raptors have about a 9% chance to land Alex Starr with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft
The Toronto Raptors have essentially clinched the sixth-worst record in the NBA and with that will have nearly a 46% chance to land a top-six pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.
To dive into that a little deeper, the odds look like this:
So while most mock drafts these days have Toronto selecting at No. 6, there's actually a better chance the Raptors land the No. 1 pick. And what if they do land the top pick?
Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer previews what the draft might look like in that situation:
No. 1: Alex Starr (Perth Wildcats)
Alex Starr seems to be the consensus No. 1 or No. 2 pick in this year's draft and while he's not nearly as impressive as most other No. 1 picks, the 19-year-old Frenchman is certainly a prospect to get excited about.
The 7-foot-1 Starr is one of these modern uber-athletic forwards who mixes speed, fluidity, and size like few others. He can handle the ball, playmake both for himself and others, and is more than comfortable switching up or down multiple positions.
While his stats in the Australian league aren't gaudy, his 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds are impressive for a player of his age seeing limited action in a league full of grown men.
Starr's shot is going to be the biggest question in his game. He's shooting just 29.8% from three-point range this season and his 71% free-throw shooting is a little underwhelming.
"There is no perfect fit atop this class, but Sarr’s two-way versatility and upside would fit the profile of players Masai Ujiri has historically chosen, such as Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam," O'Connor wrote.
The chances of landing Starr and the No. 1 pick may be slim, but Toronto has gotten lucky on draft lottery night in the past and some luck on Mother's Day would go a long way to making this disaster of a season feel a whole lot better.
No. 16: Isaiah Collier (USC)
With Indiana's pick, O'Connor expects Toronto to go with USC's Isaiah Collier to add some depth to the team's point guard ranks.
Collier was once considered among the top prospects in this year's class, but an inconsistent freshman season has left scouts a little sour on the 6-foot-4 guard. He struggled with turnover issues, averaging 3.3 per game and shot just 33.8% from behind the arc.
Few prospects have the kind of explosiveness Collier can provide in transition and shows flashes of being a good playmaker, it just didn't quite come together the way his No. 2 ranking out of high school would have suggested.
But Toronto could use another point guard to back up Immanuel Quickley and there may be untapped upside in Collier who likely won't fall much further than the middle of the first round.
