What sort of players will the Toronto Raptors be looking at during this year’s draft?

Entering the 2014 NBA draft the Raptors front office had several needs to fill with the 20th pick, the team lacked rim protection, a defensive stopper on the wing, and a more defensively oriented backup point guard than Greivis Vasquez. Instead of addressing these needs Masai Ujiri swung for the fences with unheralded Brazilian rookie Bruno Caboclo in what may end up being the king of all boom or bust picks.

Fast forward to this year’s draft and the Raptors find themselves looking to use their projected 20th pick to acquire either (all together now) a rim protector, a defensive stopper on the wing (perhaps even more pressing given Terrence Ross’s regression), and a more defensively oriented backup point guard than Vasquez. I think you get the picture.

Fortunately, where last year’s draft was shallow in these areas the 2015 draft class appears to have a depth of talent. Drafting outside of the lottery is always a bit of a crap shoot but Ujiri has had success before, picking up both Kenneth Faried and Evan Fournier in his years in Denver. Early on, the top options for the Raptors look to be Duke’s Tyus Jones (a player whose clutch skills earned him the suburb nickname of “Tyus Stones”), Arkansas’ Bobby Portis, and Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell.

Harrell and Portis both have shown the ability to protect the rim and Jones essentially offers the Raptors a chance to draft Tyler Ennis again (they even share the same type of facial hair). However, each of these players brings some noticeable flaws to the table in addition to their skills and if the Raptors really fall in love with some of the draft’s more lauded talent I wouldn’t rule out trading up. Arizona’s Stanley Johnson already looks the part of an NBA forward/He-Man doll and could offer an excellent wing presence for years to come. While trading up could mean the loss of a starter the impact that Johnson or another lottery pick could have might prove too great to resist for Ujiri.

Best Case Scenario

Stanley Johnson falls to the Charlotte Hornets and Masai Manages to trade Ross for their pick in order to grab Johnson and give the Raptors a legit two-way monster. I am also not willing to rule out Masai pulling some classic Masai shenanigans in order to land a lottery pick for an even lower cost.

Worst Case Scenario

Tyus Jones is taken two picks ahead of the Raps, causing the front office to panic and draft George Lucas, an 18-year-old Brazilian point guard with sky high potential but little high level experience.