Will the Toronto Raptors be able to fight their way into the playoffs next season?
The Raptors finished with a record of 41-41 during their 2022-23 campaign, good enough for fifth in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference. Forward Pascal Siakam and guard Fred VanVleet led the team in scoring with 24.2 and 19.3 points per contest, respectively, while center Jakob Poeltl led the team on the boards in the 26 games he played for Toronto that season.
Siakam, along with forwards OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher and Scottie Barnes, are listed on Spotrac's 2023-24 Salary Cap grid for the Raptors. VanVleet and guard Gary Trent Jr. are listed with player options. Poeltl will become an unrestricted free agent in 2023 if Toronto chooses not to re-sign him.
The Raptors chose center Christian Koloko with the 33rd pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft. Koloko saw time in 58 games and 19 starts for Toronto during the 2022-23 season, gaining averages of 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and one block in 13.8 minutes per outing.
Who could the Toronto Raptors try to target with their No. 13 selection in the 2023 NBA Draft? And will they be able to make enough of a contribution to comfortably break the roster?
3. Nick Smith Jr.
Smith Jr. was once the No. 1 rated player and combo guard in the nation by 247Sports.
He took spots over three Duke recruits, forward Dariq Whitehead, center Dereck Lively II and center Kyle Filipowski, in the site's 2022 basketball recruit ratings. He chose to play for a 2022 Arkansas recruiting class that featured two other 5-star recruits in guard Anthony Black and forward Jordan Walsh.
Smith Jr. suffered a knee injury in the preseason that held him out early on, according to The Athletic NBA Draft Senior Writer Sam Vecenie.
“It's hard to see him falling out of the top 20 given how good he was at prep levels,” Vecenie wrote about where Smith is expected to be taken in a March article. “But I don't know that he's a certainty to be taken in the lottery even in spite of his struggles, either.”
The 6-foot-5-inch guard played in 17 games and started in 14 for the Razorbacks during the team's 2022-23 season. He averaged 12.5 points, grabbed 1.6 rebounds and dished 1.7 assists in 25.8 minutes per game. He will have to work on his efficiency if he starts to take on a more significant scoring load with Toronto, but his scoring potential could make him an exciting player to think about at No. 13.
2. Jordan Hawkins
In a class with plenty of guard talent to choose from, the Raptors could take a chance on a solid scoring guard in UConn's Jordan Hawkins.
Hawkins was a former 4-star recruit from Gaithersburg, Md., who placed second on the Huskies in points per game with 16.2. He shot at a 40.9% clip from the field and at 38.8% from the 3-point line. Only forward Adama Sanogo, a 2022 First Team All-Big East selection and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Finalist, was able to add more points than Hawkins at UConn.
The 6-foot-5-inch guard scored 16 points during the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game in April, hitting five of his nine shot attempts and two of his four 3-point tries as the Huskies took a 76-59 win over San Diego State in NRG Stadium.
Hawkins met with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. He also met with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets, according to NYT Sports Contributor Adam Zagoria.
Should the Raptors choose to re-sign Poeltl and go after a potential backup guard in the draft, Hawkins can provide a good mix of college experience and scoring talent to a Toronto squad whose bench placed 30th in the NBA with a 50.2 offensive rating.
1. Keyonte George
If push comes to shove, and one or both VanVleet and Trent Jr. choose to move on to different teams, the Raptors will have to begin the search for new young guards to lead their squad for the foreseeable future.
George, a former 5-star recruit from Lewisville, Texas, had a productive scoring season during his lone year with the Baylor Bears. He scored 15.3 points per game in 33 games played and started. The 6-foot-4-inch guard will need to improve from the 37.6% he shot from the floor and his 33.8% from the 3-point line if he is going to shoulder a larger responsibility with the Raptors, but he rebounds well for his size, bringing down 4.2 boards per contest.
“I think he's more of a scorer than he is a shooter, but he's a solid shooter,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.
“He's like Cam Thomas in that regard, but he's a better defender. He can get to his spots. I think he can be a good sixth man in the NBA. At first, he reminded me of Eric Gordon a little bit, and maybe he can play that kind of a role in the league.”
George could provide a solid boost on offense off the bench for a team whose reserves scored 30 points per game, putting them at 29th in the league.
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