The 2024 NBA Draft is quickly approaching, and as it does the draft order is beginning to take some shape. The relative “flatness” of the prospects introduces chaos and haziness to the task of projecting the picks out, but in a general sense, the ranges for players and who might be available at any given pick is coming into focus.
The Toronto Raptors enter the draft with the No. 19 pick, acquired from the Indiana Pacers in the Pascal Siakam trade, and the No. 31 pick they picked up in the OG Anunoby deal. Their own pick landed at No. 8 in the Draft Lottery and so went to the San Antonio Spurs from the Jakob Poeltl deal, while their own second-round pick was originally sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Marc Gasol trade in 2019 and has since changed hands multiple times before ultimately landing with the Pacers.
Which prospects should the Raptors be targeting with the 19th pick from among those players expected to be available in that range? Conversely, who should they avoid? What about at No. 31? Let’s look at four players, two on each side of the ledger, as the draft picture begins to gain clarity.
The Raptors should avoid Isaiah Collier with the 19th pick
The Toronto Raptors expect to re-sign Immanuel Quickley this summer, locking down the starting shooting guard position for the foreseeable future. The rest of the perimeter depth on the team is more in question, including a clear need at backup point guard. That could lead the Raptors to look at USC’s Isaiah Collier.
On the one hand, Collier was the No. 1 player in his class heading into his freshman season at USC, is confident handling the ball and attacking the basket, and fights defensively despite his 6’2″ size.
He is also a streaky shooter with poor shot mechanics, is not composed as a passer and his small size, mediocre wingspan (6’4″) and average athleticism mean he will get picked on defensively and can easily be taken out of games offensively if an opponent puts length on him. To become a no-doubt rotation player Collier would need to be a Top 5 percent shot-maker, and that’s a longshot that Toronto should avoid taking.
The Raptors should target Devin Carter with the 19th pick
If the Toronto Raptors would like to find their backup point guard and in the process land someone who could work his way into lineups alongside Immanuel Quickley, the player they should target with the 19th pick is Providence’s Devin Carter.
While Carter is the exact same height as Collier, his wingspan is another four inches longer, he is exceptionally strong for a guard and was one of the best defenders in the Big East last season, if not the country. He plays like a defensive player who also plays offense and takes it personally when he is scored on.
That isn’t to say he is an offensive slouch, either; Carter was the lead option on Providence and averaged 19.1 points per game last season, shooting 37.7 percent from deep on largely difficult attempts. He loves to set teammates up with hit-ahead passes or drop it off to the big after he gets into the paint. He attacks the glass (8.4 rebounds per game as a 6’2″ guard) and finishes hard at the rim.
He’s not perfect; he isn’t a dynamic passer, and his shooting last season was a significant step up from previous seasons. Drafting Carter would give the Raptors a guard who would thrive as a role player fighting to earn minutes, and his ability to guard up would allow him to fit in a variety of lineups. Carter’s stock is rising, and he could rise right past the Raptors at No. 19, but if he is on the board he should be strongly considered as the pick.
The Raptors should target Tyler Kolek with the 31st pick
If Devin Carter was the second-best guard in the Big East last season, Tyler Kolek was the first, a classic point guard who thrives as a playmaker setting up his teammates with on-target passes. If the Raptors draft a different position at 19, or even if they take Carter, they should snatch up Kolek if he is available with the 31st pick.
Kolek is a floor general through and through, but in addition to excellent passing vision and elite accuracy with his delivery, Kolek’s strength as a passer stems from his ability to get into the paint and force defenses to rotate. He has a tight handle and a hyper-quick first step. If defenses don’t react he has a deep bag of finishes to unleash at the rim, including a lethal floater, but if defenses step up he nails 3-point shooters or tosses gentle lobs to his bigs.
Kolek is a knockdown 3-point shooter off-the-catch, which would make him an ideal fit alongside Scottie Barnes as a secondary playmaker. He also projects to be valuable in the relocation game, getting off the ball and then sprinting off screens to get open on the perimeter for a catch-and-shoot triple.
Defensively Kolek plays hard and deploys lightning-quick hands, but he is also a good-not-great athlete who stands 6’1″ with a 6’3″ wingspan. He will get targeted, and that limits his long-term upside. Even so, Kolek is a player who could easily be available at 31 but who deserves to be in the mix much higher. He would be an ideal pick as a long-term backup point guard with the upside to be even more.
The Raptors should avoid Bronny James with the 31st pick
This is not a statement on the media firestorm that would descend on the Toronto Raptors were they to draft Bronny James; the Raptors are a professional organization and could handle that. At the other end of the spectrum, taking Bronny James would not be a ploy to land his father; LeBron James is not moving to Toronto.
The Raptors should avoid drafting USC guard Bronny James because he’s not worth using the 31st pick on. Because of the spotlight on him his stock is rising in the pre-draft process; that always happens to players who get talked about the most in these months leading into the draft. That doesn’t mean he has earned that.
Bronny James is an excellent athlete with a 6’7″ wingspan, plays with a high motor and should generate defensive events at a solid clip. He’s also just 6’1″ so his impact as a defender at the high end will be limited. He’s not his father pinning shots at the rim and switching 1-through-5.
Evaluating his offense should lead draft analysts to question why Bronny is in consideration as a potential first-round pick, or potentially even why he would get a second-round pick outside of his famous name. He is an abysmal shooter, he can’t handle despite being just 6’1″ and has no avenue to creating his own shot. Defense-only players make it in the NBA when they are 6’8″ or have a seven-foot wingspan; they don’t make it when they are 6’1″ and can’t do anything valuable on offense.
The Toronto Raptors should use the 31st pick on a player who can actually help them, not on a low-probability prospect who is only rising up draft boards because of hype unrelated to his basketball ability. It’s not fair to Bronny, but it was never going to be given his heritage. Toronto should look elsewhere with their pick.
