Raptors look at the opportunity to move up in a major upcoming NBA draft

The Toronto Raptors have some considerations in mind for Thursday night’s draft.

Toronto has only one pick and sits at the back of the lottery in 13th place in the first round. But with some unknowns surrounding the roster as free agency approaches, assistant general manager and VP of player personnel Dan Tolzman said the team is looking at several options, including moving up.

“Quite a lot,” Tolzman said when asked how much attention there is to moving up the ranks. “Our whole design operation is to try to at least know all kinds of choices, just in case something comes up on the table that’s too good to pass up.

“Now that we’re getting to know our choice at 13, we’re also really looking at the players in the top five, top 10, whatever, just in case. And then the same thing with chances to go back.

Tolzman added that going up would not, in his mind, be a sign of “a major change of direction”.

“Whoever we’re going to get, we can see them helping the Raptors in the long run,” he told reporters at the Raptors’ practice facility, the OVO Athletic Center. “Whatever it takes to get them, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

“It’s definitely not something we’re looking to change our direction in any way. Just more of those conversations, where they’re going and what it takes to have them and then the assets coming back.

“If we see that as an improvement for our team, whether it’s next season or seasons to come, those are the ones we debate over and over and really think about.”

The Raptors face the potential of losing two key starters in point guard Fred VanVleet and center Jakob Poeltl. VanVleet pulled out of his $22.8 million player option last week, while Poeltl was brought in at the trade deadline in the last of a three-year, $26.25 million deal he signed with the San Antonio Spurs.

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Tolzman said the team’s approach to design won’t be based on what the roster might look like post-free agency.

“We just try to focus on the best players on the board,” Tolzman said. “We just can’t make roster decisions in the design based on the current roster just because so much can change.”

Toronto is coming off a 41-41 season, finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference. It missed the playoffs for the second time in four years after falling to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament.

The Raptors fired head coach Nick Nurse on April 21 and hired former Memphis Grizzlies top assistant Darko Rajakovic as his replacement on June 13.

Tolzman calls this year’s lesson “pretty deep.”

“Everyone’s going a little crazy about the top of the draft, which seems like it’s as good as it’s ever been,” he said. “However, we feel very comfortable with a lot of players in this draft.

“We like where we’re at 13 and we also get a lot of offers or things coming across the table for picks throughout the draft and there seem to be a number of different places in this draft where there are players to have.

“It’s a pretty deep journey, we feel, and we’re pretty happy with where we are right now.”