Could the Toronto Raptors trade up in the NBA Draft?

The NBA Draft is now two weeks away, and many are curious whether or not the Toronto Raptors will try to move up into the lottery or stay where they are. As it currently stands, Toronto owns the 19th and 31st picks in the draft, after losing their original lottery pick to the San Antonio Spurs.

As Toronto continues their rebuild, the speculation about whether or Raptors President Masai Ujiri and General Manager Bobby Webster will opt to trade up in the draft is starting to spin.

On the Kevin O’Connor’s podcast on The Ringer they speculated on whether or not Toronto could be a team to trade up in the draft — but it was just that, speculation.

While Toronto comes up every year as a team shopping the market ahead of the draft, it’s rare they actually do something about it. In multiple interviews and press conferences over the past few seasons, Ujiri has expressed his preference for working within free agency as opposed to trading — yet he does have a history of success within the NBA draft. Success he’s surely hoping to repeat after a rough few years both for the team’s performance AND draft prospects.

What Does Toronto Have to Offer?

When it comes to the Raptors trade prospects at the current moment, one name immediately comes to mind — Bruce Brown. Brown’s presence on the roster alone is a point to make in favour of the Raptors making some sort of trade before the season begins this fall.

Brown came to Toronto as a part of the Siakam deal to the Indiana Pacers, but his performance to end the season in Toronto was lack luster. Many around the league, including those on the Toronto beat, speculate that the Raptors are keen to trade Brown sooner rather than later. Basically, while his draft stock is still high.

Pair him with one of the Raptors current draft picks, and that could be an enticing package to a team currently holding a lottery pick in the draft.

Why They Wouldn’t Make the Trade?

First things first — Ujiri has already called this a “weak draft” and explained in his end of season press conference in April that good talent can be found anywhere in the draft. Think about how they picked Pascal Siakam 27th overall or O.G. Anunoby 23rd overall.

With the 19th overall pick in an already less than exciting draft, Masai could try to create another “late first round” success story. There wouldn’t be much shock, especially this year, if Masai believed he could pick just as talented a player at 19th as he could at 10th or even lower, for example.

He could also be holding his Bruce Brown card to use next month, when free agency begins, or even closer to the season. Once the big names of free agency are spoken for and the focus trickles down to players the Raptors are in the market for, Ujiri could use Bruce Brown as part of a sign and trade or even a trade with another team looking for a veteran bench player.

It will really depend on what the Raptors want to accomplish in this draft, as well as what they think they can do in free agency.

What Are the Stakes?

It’s been a precarious few years for Ujiri and Webster, and it seems like they will have a spotlight on them for the next year, at least. After the less than ideal trade for Kyle Lowry, the moves Toronto has made since haven’t been the most well received by the public.

There was losing Fred VanVleet last year in free agency for nothing, the criticism of the Siakam deal, the failure Jontay Porter turned out to be. The mishandling of Malachi Flynn, the signing of Jalen McDaniels, the odd Jakon Poeltl trade. Sure, the Anunoby trade seems to be working out for both sides, a much needed win for this front office, but there is still a lot to be desired from Raptors fans when it comes to reconstructing this roster.

For all these reasons, the moves the Raptors make in the next year are going to be crucial. We creep closer and closer to Scottie Barnes’ first free agency, and it seems like that’s an ominous deadline to have a solid plan to be a winning team again.

So, will the Toronto Raptors opt to trade up in the 2024 NBA Draft?