The Raptors had virtually no meaningful 2018–2019 draft involvement because the franchise traded most picks to shed salary and acquire veteran talent. Toronto traded its 2018 first- and second-round picks and DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn as a salary dump, leaving only undrafted Jordan Loyd from that offseason, who played 12 NBA games. In 2019 the team traded DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a first-round pick to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and cash. The moves prioritized immediate title contention and directly enabled the franchise's first championship.
The NBA Draft was the least of the Raptors' worries during this time period, as the team was cashing in its chips in hopes of a championship. They made good on that promise, which was well worth punting on a couple of draft classes to achieve those heights. It does, however, make it harder to take a look back at these drafts after the Raptors were basically non-factors throughout the process.
Toronto shipped out nearly all of their picks during this time frame, beginning with trading the team's 2018 first-round pick (Džanan Musa), 2018 second-round pick (Rodions Kurucs), and DeMarre Carroll to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Justin Hamilton. This was a pure salary dump in the summer of 2017 to get off of Carroll's contract following a poor season, costing Toronto's entire 2018 draft class in the process.
Collection
[
|
...
]