Title: Draft profiles: 6 more players the Raptors could select with the No. 28 pick
Date: June 16, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about six more players the Raptors could take a look at with the No. 28 pick in the draft, as requested by readers.
How wide open is the 2020 NBA Draft when you get to the end of the first round? Well, over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at 18 different options and the response has included “What about X?”
It sure seems like there are a lot of ways the Toronto Raptors could go if they hang on to their first-round pick for the first time since 2017. That’s true not only because the draft lacks consensus throughout, but also because the Raptors have shown they won’t hesitate to reach for their guy, not to mention move in or out altogether. Covering the entire draft field in detail is the province of Sam Vecenie, but it’s not like we don’t have the time right now to cast a wide net from a Raptors perspective, too.
When I rolled out the first three groups of draft profiles, I did my best to split by functional position (guard, wing and big instead of the five traditional positions) and focus on players who had been requested in the comments. The lines between guard/wing or wing/big might be thin for some players, as is the line between consideration at No. 28 and No. 58 in a draft like this. It was just a means of sorting a large pool of players into smaller buckets.
As promised, today we double back on some other options at No. 28 (or wherever the Raptors land after eight re-seeding games). I chose this next batch based on who got requested/suggested in the comments, so if there’s still a player you’re interested in not listed here, it’s your fault. (I kid. Keep asking. We’ve got plenty of time before October.)
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 