Mock Draft: Raptors Select High-Upside Forward with 19th Pick

Maybe it’s time for a home-run swing.

The Toronto Raptors should be in no rush to start winning games next season. There’s no need to draft some ready-to-play prospect with the No. 19 pick and hope for immediate impact. It might even be helpful to take the opposite approach and go after a developmental prospect with the kind of upside that could really impact the organization one day.

That’s what makes Tyler Smith such an intriguing prospect for Toronto at pick No. 19. The G League Ignite product is still raw in his development, but if it all clicks, the 6-foot-9 forward has a chance to be pretty special.

“His one season with the G League Ignite was up and down from a scouting perspective with how lopsided the games were against the Ignite, but Smith posed a pick-and-pop threat from behind the arc and improved his decision-making and shot selection coming off the bench,” wrote Yahoo’s Krysten Peek.

Smith averaged 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 36% from behind the arc this past season. His shooting stroke looks smooth and there’s no reason to believe his shooting numbers won’t translate to the NBA level.

The rest of his offense remains a bit of a work in progress, though. His lack of strength shows up in his limited ability to finish through contact. He’s good in transition and makes smart cuts that should allow him to fit well in Toronto’s offense down the road, but he’s mostly an off-ball tertiary player for now.

Defensively, Smith will have to put on some muscle to defend against NBA bigs, but he should be able to slide down the positional spectrum relatively well. His defensive know-how needs to be refined quite a bit and that’ll likely require some extended developmental reps in the G League.

Save for last year’s pick of Gradey Dick, Toronto has traditionally shied away from offense-first players with defensive questions like Smith. But the organization seems to be pivoting with more of an offensive identity these days and Smith is the kind of floor-spacing forward who would fit nicely alongside Scottie Barnes.

It may take some time for the 19-year-old to really be ready for NBA competition, but considering where Toronto is in its competitive window, that shouldn’t be much of a concern to anyone.