Title: Draft prep: Explaining our approach to the Raptors draft in 2020
Date: May 13, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about how I approach the draft as a beat writer and how the current situation could change the Raptors’ draft approach.
It is admittedly a little strange to be back in draft preparation mode in May.
For the last few years, this has been the time where I’m deep into covering a playoff series or, if a certain team was unceremoniously swept earlier than expected, sneaking in a vacation since said team had no picks, anyway. Under normal circumstances, we could be preparing for the Eastern Conference finals right now and I’d be sneaking away to OVO Athletic Centre for pre-draft workouts where the playoff schedule allowed. Instead, I’m sitting around fluctuating weight even more than usual and catching up on a lot of prospect research for the 2020 draft.
In The Athletic era for the Raptors (October 2016-present), they’ve been pretty light on draft picks. The lone year they did have a first-round pick, I was freelancing here part-time. And so before we get too into the weeds, player by player, I wanted to provide a bit of background on how I approach draft season as a Raptors beat writer and how the Raptors’ own approach to the draft in this front office era informs that process.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 