A lot has been said about the Raptors’ first round picks by the fans and the pundits alike. Some bad, some good, but the Toronto front office seems cool, calm, and collected about their decisions.
The Raptors have taken Allen Graves and Jaden Bradley with the 19th and 50th overall picks, adding the forward and the guard to the upcoming year’s squad. In the case of Graves, Bobby Webster has stood firm on him fitting the Raptor’s draft strategy: “It’s always been best available two-way players, right,”
he said, during last night’s presser, when discussing the addition to the Raptors another part of “vision 6’9″”, alluding to the type of player that the Raps have favoured of late. “I think sometimes you get into a little bit of a trap if you try to take for fit in the first round or too high in the draft,” he said, with this ringing true: the Raptors drafted more for fit later, taking Bradley, a guard, in the second round.
Webster, recently extended and granted a promotion to executive VP, looked collected and talked smooth last night. When asked about the analytical rationale behind drafting Graves, he joked, saying that he was “not smart enough” to answer the question, but came back around, arguing that “we watch so many games in person, but we don’t watch every game,” and that “in some ways, you know, the analytics watch every game.” Evidently, the Raptors were willing to trust the numbers, in part, when taking a swing at the forward.
Dan Tolzman spoke to the media about picking Bradley, echoing much of the same about the Raptors’ valuation of two-way play that the guard could bring. He called the rookie “a very accomplished player” who “has pretty much seen it all”, without having played a single NBA game. The Raptors seem uncertain as to whether or not Bradley will be joining the roster directly, or on a two-way deal at this point. Despite the number of point guards that the Raptors currently have on the team, Tolzman said that “he’s not just going to take a back seat” regarding the player’s personality and work ethic. He described this as a motivational strategy, where “we bring in more competition for the guys ahead of him”. Indeed, the Raptors bringing in another dogged defender at the guard spot can alleviate some ball-handling responsibility from Quickley and Shead, while serving as an experienced backup.
Toronto has both brought on another one of it’s favoured big wings, as well as another point guard, all the while maintaining true to their philosophy of true two-way contention that won them their championship in 2019.
