Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick have both been integrated into the culture of Toronto Raptors basketball. The Raptors finally picked a direction and have entered a rebuild, leaving Barnes and Dick as two pillars of the franchise.
Barnes is a cornerstone that has already shown star potential. An injury that cut his season short prevented him from experiencing a true breakout campaign, but he still put together his best year as a pro prior to the injury. Dick, in his first NBA season, has shown flashes of what the team believed he could be when they selected him out of Kansas in 2023.
The 2024 NBA Draft is the next time the Raptors will be a major part of league discourse, as they could have as many as three picks in the top 31. They have a 45.8 percent chance of keeping their own top-six protected pick, and they own the Indiana Pacers pick at No. 19 overall and the Detroit Pistons pick at No. 31 overall.
And when all those picks are eventually made, Barnes and Dick are to be among the first to greet the newest members of the north. Barnes spoke about what advice he would give to those new players, via Daily Hive’s Adam Laskaris:
“We’re gonna work hard; we’re going to try to do everything we can to win. We’re going to be ready to listen, have attention to detail. We’ve got a big summer ahead of us; we’ve just got to be ready to work. Listen to every detail that a player has to give, a coach has to give, someone on the staff has to give, and take that a long way.”
Dick, meanwhile, is hoping to pay forward the FaceTime call that Barnes gave him on draft night per Laskaris:
I’m all for that. If they want to FaceTime me, I’ll be right there. Scottie did a great job with that, and I’m excited to see who comes here.”
Whoever the new Raptors draftees are, they are entering a strong culture led by Barnes and Ujiri. And while the Raptors haven’t yet done any winning with their current core, they are hopeful they have the foundational pieces in place to start the winning process as soon as next season.
Raptors land No. 19 pick in tiebreakers
The Raptors came up with the short end of the stick following the 2024 NBA Draft tiebreaker results.
Toronto now knows that it will have the 19th pick in this year’s NBA Draft via the Indiana Pacers. A tiebreaker draw determined the post-lottery order for teams that finished with the same record in the regular season.
The Pacers finished with the same record as the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic at 47-35 in the regular season. Unfortunately for the Raptors, the Pacers lost the lottery, which dropped them down to the 19th spot in the NBA Draft.
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