The Toronto Raptors have the sixth-worst record in the NBA entering the All-Star break.
The Memphis Grizzlies upset the Milwaukee Bucks 113-110 on Feb. 15 and moved ahead of Toronto in the standings.
If the season ended today, the Raptors would have the sixth-best odds in the NBA lottery this summer.
That means Toronto would have a 34.8 percent chance to land a top-four pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and a 43.8 percent chance to keep their top-six protected first-round pick either as a top-four pick or as the No. 6 pick.
It is worth noting that the team with the sixth-best lottery odds cannot earn the No. 5 pick as the NBA’s lottery rules allow teams to move up into the top four.
If the Raptors do not finish with the sixth-best odds in the NBA lottery, there is a 56.2 percent chance the pick falls between No. 7 and No. 10. It would then be conveyed to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the trade last year for Jakob Poeltl.
Last February, the Raptors traded their 2024 first-round pick (top-6 protected) to the Spurs as part of a package to acquire Poeltl.
If the pick does not convey this year for the Spurs it would transfer to the 2025 NBA Draft.
At this point it seems likely that the Raptors will finish with the sixth or seventh-worst record in the league. They are three games up on the Portland Trail Blazers for the fifth-worst record, so they might be hard to catch.
How will the Raptors approach the rest of the season?
There has been a lot of talk about the Raptors tanking and trying to keep their 2024 first-round pick.
Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster talked about the Raptors first-round pick for this upcoming draft and the approach the team will take via Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Rose:
“We’re going to prioritize seeing this group play. If it ends up that we’re in the top six or out of the top six, especially the way that the new NBA rules are, to try and game that doesn’t make a ton of sense. At the end of the day, it’s going to be the lottery balls. So I don’t think there’s a ton of let’s do this or that, but I think the big priority for us is playing that young group together.”
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