It wasn’t all that long ago that the Toronto Raptors were in a class of their own when it came to scouting and development.
Between 2015 and 2017, the Raptors were nearly perfect. They added rotation players with every single draft pick and signed Fred VanVleet as an undrafted free agent. It was an unbelievable stretch.
Since then, though, things haven’t gone so smoothly.
Save for Scottie Barnes’ selection, Toronto has found itself in a rut. None of their other recent draft picks have worked out and their league-renowned developmental program has stalled. It’s resulted in a team that’s been bereft of depth for far too long.
But maybe there are reasons for some optimism.
Gradey Dick, Toronto’s No. 13 pick from this past year has looked better of late, and Sunday’s 126-125 loss to the Atlanta Hawks suggested Jontay Porter and Jordan Nwora might have something to offer Toronto long-term too.
For a moment, it looked like Nwora might have been the hero for Toronto.
He forced a bad pass from Trae Young that allowed Toronto to go ahead by a point with seven seconds to go.
Dick found Barnes to give the Raptors a narrow lead before Atlanta called a timeout.
But the feel-good story for Toronto was not to be.
A missed shot from Young resulted in an offensive rebound opportunity for Saddiq Bey who threw down a reverse dunk to sink the Raptors.
With RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Jakob Poeltl all sidelined, Toronto looked lost early.
The Hawks were 12-for-14 in the paint in the first quarter and jumped ahead by as many as 12, taking advantage of Thad Young’s size inside.
