The best thing that happened for the Raptors in the NBA draft might have been that the Chicago Bulls took a step back.

On a night that was far more fizzle than flash, the Raptors stuck with the 23rd pick — selecting Indiana’s Ogugua (OG) Anunoby, a London-born, United States-raised son of a Nigerian father — but what went on around them was of more significance.

Given that the Bulls routinely beat the Raptors and have for years, Chicago’s decision to start a rebuilding process by moving Jimmy Butler and No. 16 to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Khris Dunn and the No. 7 pick weakened one of Toronto’s Eastern Conference rivals and that can’t be a bad thing.

Toronto’s own pick, a 19-year-old coming off knee surgery in January that will likely keep Anunoby on the sidelines until at least training camp, is a look to the longer-term future.

“They told us he’s ahead of schedule, but what date that is, I don’t know,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “We’re going to get his program right from when he leaves here, from the press conference tomorrow.

“Alex McKechnie (Toronto’s director of sports science) is one of the best in the league. He’s got some of the best people in Los Angeles working for him . . . so we want to make sure we start him out right now in that program and get it going as soon as possible.”

The six-foot-eight Anunoby, who has a seven-foot-two wingspan, is considered a far more polished defensive player today, able to guard multiple positions through his season and a half with the Hoosiers.

“He fits in the way we want as far as switching is concerned. He can guard one through five, easily. As far as the way we want to switch, he fits into that.

“He’s a P.J. Tucker clone, practically. That’s something that gives us some toughness and ability to switch things defensively, the way the league is going where you can switch those things. His size and strength and athleticism is a huge plus for us.”

Anunoby averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 16 games with the Hoosiers before the injury in January. He shot 31 per cent from the college three-point line, but only 56.3 per cent from the free-throw line.

For a Toronto team that seems determined to be a better three-point shooting team next season, the pick is a bit of a mystery.

“His shot’s not broken. Like a lot of young players, he just needs repetition, to get in the gym and work on it,” Casey said.

“The shot is something a lot of young players have to work on, anyway. I have all the confidence in the world, because he’s a worker.”

Anunoby harbours no illusions about what his job will be when he’s fully healthy. He put a return to the court at October or November, which would knock him out of summer league and training camp.

“I think I bring a versatile wing defender that can defend multiple positions, and on offence hit open shots, cut to the basket, and then just create havoc on defence,” he told reporters in New York.

As is the case most seasons, the hours leading up to the draft were filled with reports of this team talking to that team, this player moving to that team, all surrounding some of the top draft slots.

The Philadelphia 76ers were the only certainty. They had targeted Washington guard Markelle Fultz since trading up from No. 3 on the weekend.

The top of the draft played out with little drama or surprise. The Los Angeles Lakers took UCLA guard Lonzo Ball second, Boston chose Duke forward Jayson Tatum third, Phoenix went with Kansas forward Josh Jackson at No. 4 and Sacramento took Kentucky guard De’Aaron Fox with the fifth selection.

The Orlando Magic picked Florida State forward Jonathan Isaac at No. 6 and after Minnesota took Lauri Markkanen for Chicago, the New York Knicks went with French forward Frank Ntilikina. Dallas took North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith to round out the top 10.

According to league sources, Raptors president Masai Ujiri was trying to move the 23rd pick in a package with Jonas Valanciunas as part of a reshaping of the franchise and with financial considerations in mind, but nothing more than a few whispers emerged.

Tying the remainder of DeMarre Carroll’s contract — about $32 million — to any trade was also on Ujiri’s wish list, according to league sources.

But the hard work for the Raptors barely began with Thursday’s draft. Facing a summer with more significant free agents to deal with than at any time in franchise history, Ujiri has to be mindful of who he wants to bring back and at what cost, while remaining among the top tier of Eastern Conference teams.

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Franchises were informed this week that the salary cap will dip from an expected $101 million (all figures U.S.) to $99 million next season, while the luxury-tax threshold will fall from about $121 million to $119 million.

If the Raptors are planning to bring back both Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka at big-ticket salaries, and with Tucker likely to command close to an eight-figure payday next year, saving money anywhere to lessen a tax bill would be in Ujiri’s best interests.

Ujiri can revisit trade talks once the July 1 free-agency negotiation period begins and teams take stock of what transpired in the draft as a whole.

Right now, the balance of power in the East hasn’t changed significantly from earlier in the week, but Butler moving from Chicago to the West — instead of to Cleveland, as was rumoured — and Paul George not yet dealt away from Indiana makes things better in Toronto, at least momentarily.

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