NBA Draft

You already know some of my thinking about which direction the Raptors will go in the upcoming NBA draft. I still think they will look to trade the pick for someone in the top 10 (preferably the top 5) and get an additional contributor right off the bat. If they are unable to swing such a trade, or if they make another trade with existing players which makes a swap of the draft choice unnecessary, then the thinking process changes.

Stuck with selecting first in the draft means the Raptors have to take a player with the least amount of risk. He has to be a player who will definitely make a contribution in year 1 and be a major part of the team for the next 5 years. They can't make a mistake by taking someone who could end up a bust. That includes any European player, and, in my opinion, Tyrus Thomas who, until this year was a redshirt freshman and still has to prove that he can be an effective offeinsive player in the NBA. Many of the top choices are "tweeners" without a true position and the Raptors don't need another one. There is only one player who truly fits the mold and that is Adam Morrison. By taking Morrison, the Raps ensure themselves of a player who can score double figures from the stary, get some rebounds and provide a positoive leadership role on the team. It would also free them up to trade Mo Pete and/or Joey Graham and get another starter which would begin to make the Raptors not only competitive, but reflective of the peronality of Bryan Colangelo, thereby distancing himself from the former regime of Rob Babcock.