The Toronto Raptors pick at No. 13 in the 2023 NBA Draft. Just days before the annual selection show, there are a lot of rumors out there about what the team intends to do. They can trade the pick or take one of the players they reportedly covet. However, the bold last-minute Raptors draft prediction here is that the team has to move on to Plan C, and it works out great for the franchise.

The last-minute Raptors draft prediction is the team picks Baylor guard Keyonte George

There are two major narratives that surround the 2023 Raptors draft.

One is that the team has a serious interest in trading up for the No. 2 pick in the draft for point guard Scoot Henderson. In any year without French sensation Victor Wembanyama, Henderson would likely be the consensus No. 1 prospect.

The Charlotte Hornets have LaMelo Ball at point, so they are shopping their No. 2 pick to any team that needs a PG more than they do. The Raptors definitely fit that bill, with Fred VanVleet turning down his player option and becoming a free agent.

At issue here is what the Raptors are willing to give up to jump 10 draft spots.

Pick No. 13 is a given, but the Hornets will also want players. Is Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby too rich to move up for Henderson? Probably. And that probably means the deal will not get done.

If the Raptors don’t move up, the team will likely sit at their current spot and make their pick. In that case, another narrative comes into play. Several reports note that Wembanyama’s Metropolitans 92 teammate, Bilal Coulibaly, has a promise that he won’t fall past Toronto.

Coulibaly is already an NBA-level defender and has the potential to become an excellent two-way player, which the Raptors love. However, the 18-year-old is flying up prospect boards in the final days before the 2023 NBA Draft.

It now seems like the Oklahoma City Thunder are interested in Coulibaly at No. 12, and if any other team wants him, they now know they will have to get up to No. 11 or higher. In that case, the Raptors’ Plan B pick probably goes away, too.

So, now Toronto needs to move on to Plan C, and that could be a blessing in disguise for the NBA team to the North.

With the 13th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors will select Baylor freshman guard Keyonte George.

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If Toronto keeps its current team intact, the biggest need is scoring, specifically from the outside. George delivers that as one of the best all-around scorers in this draft. He can shoot threes, and he gets to the rim, scoring layups and getting fouled. And once he goes to the line, he shot over 80% from the charity stripe.

George is also a solid defender, although, at 6-foot-4, he’s not equipped to lock down on the bigger, more athletic guards in the NBA. On the Raptors that isn’t a huge problem with Anunoby and Siakim alongside him.

The 19-year-old prospect can play on the ball or off, and as a replacement for VanVleet, George can handle the ball coming up the floor. Once over midcourt, he excels in running the pick-and-roll game and can take defenders one-on-one in isolation.

George can be VanVleet-plus in the NBA, and that is a perfect fit for the Raptors. He doesn’t have the massive, franchise-leading upside that Scoot Henderson does or the potential two-way wing ability that Bilal Coulibaly does. However, with his skill set, George could become exactly what the Raptors need to get back into contention in the Eastern Conference five years after winning their NBA title.

Bringing in George as a replacement for VanVleet can also help in other ways. Making this move and keeping all the franchise’s stars along with it signals that the Raptors aren’t in rebuild mode. That may mean that center Jakob Poeltl, who the team traded for at the deadline, will be more likely to re-sign.

That could give the Raptors a starting five of Keyonte George, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakim, and Poeltl, with Gary Trent Jr. coming off the bench as the sixth man.

Is that a playoff team? It absolutely could be. Is it an NBA title team? That remains to be seen, and how quickly George gets comfortable with the NBA game will have a lot to do with that.

In the end, picking George might not be the Raptors’ Plan A or even Plan B, but it is the last-minute Raptors draft prediction that makes the team best next season.