The Toronto Raptors got a steal with the No. 23 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. OG Anunoby is a massive, athletic forward with high upside who fills an obvious roster need.
Toronto Raptors fans are happy. This is the rare case where a team's front office did exactly what its supporters wanted. The NBA blogosphere was begging for a team to draft OG Anunoby – whose name alone is tremendous – and Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri obliged.
Draft Express ranked Anunoby as the 14th best prospect, but last night, the Indiana product just kept falling. He didn't seem thrilled to end up in Toronto, probably because the 23rd pick is far from his projected range, but he'll soon learn he ended up in an excellent situation.
With both Patrick Patterson and P.J. Tucker entering free agency, the Raptors lack depth at forward and wing. If he's ready to play now, Anunoby fills an immediate need. Many fans wanted to fill that need with Semi Ojeleye or T.J. Leaf, but that was before Anunoby dropped.
So can Anunoby contribute right away? It's certainly possible. He's nearly 6'8″ and a sturdy 232 pounds with an absurd 7'2″ wingspan; his body isn't just ready, it's damn near perfect. And he already uses it to devastating effect on defense.
"Defensively is where Anunoby has a chance to be an absolute difference maker at the NBA level," writes Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. "He has prototypical physical tools with his elite combination of size, length, strength and mobility, and demonstrated the ability to defend all five positions at the college level when he was dialed in and operating at maximum intensity."
Anunoby's ideal size gives him the theoretical ability to guard 4's like Paul Millsap and Kevin Love, yet his quickness and experience on the perimeter allow him to envelop guards. Here, he shuts down Frank Mason, one of the best players in college basketball last season:
Even if Anunoby isn't an elite defender as a rookie, teams won't be able to target him on that end, even in the highly tactical NBA playoffs.
Sometimes, physical tools are all you need to play one-on-one against the very best. Those tools also give Anunoby high defensive potential that – if realized – will make him a bargain at No. 23.
At some level, this pick is already terrific value. Anunoby and Norman Powell could eventually be a terrifying defensive duo, and they're on the Raptors because of a peripheral 2015 trade that can now be described as a heist:
Final accounting of the Greivis Vasquez trade…
Raptors: Norm Powell and OG Anunoby
Bucks: Lieutenant Dan Vasquez pic.twitter.com/QQdOWeVjj3— FrankMadden (@fmaddenNBA) June 23, 2017
Of course, massive questions remain. Anunoby went down with a likely ACL tear in January and you can never truly know how a player will return from a serious injury. That being said, in all likelihood, any athletic dip will be marginal.
The greater question surrounds Anunoby's offense. Givony writes, "Anunoby is best suited playing a compact role offensively," which basically means he is limited. "Limited" is fine if he can shoot, but he canned just 31.1 percent of his threes last season on only 2.8 attempts per game.
That's not ideal if he plays next to DeMar DeRozan, but it's less of a problem if he plays small-ball 4 alongside Serge Ibaka. Even so, Anunoby will need to carve out a role that keeps him from being a passenger on offense. Without much ball-handling ability or experience setting screens, it's difficult to see what that role is.
Nevertheless, Anunoby is just 19 years old and landed on an ideal team. The Raptors are good, and will stay that way if Ibaka and Kyle Lowry re-sign. That would mean head coach Dwane Casey won't need to throw the youngster into a sink-or-swim situation. He can cut, snag boards and defend against elite players in spurts while he continues to learn the game.
The Ringer's Draft Guide called Anunoby "moldable," which is spot-on. He has elite defensive tools, which you don't find at No. 23. On offense, he has the physical assets to become something, if not legitimately useful.
Toronto had a few needs: Wing defense, elite talent and shooting. Well, Anunoby is one of the best defensive prospects in the draft and has upside that the current roster lacks. No, he's not a reliable shooter, but he has time on his side. He could be serviceable right now at a position of need. He could be much more than serviceable in the future.
The Raptors got a steal, and that steal happened to be an ideal fit. Life is good in Toronto, at least until July 1.
Grade: A
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