Masai Ujiri Rebuffs Idea Of Weak 2024 NBA Draft Class

The next time the Toronto Raptors are going to make any major decisions is in June, when the 2024 NBA Draft rolls around. Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri could have as many as three picks in the top 31, if the team retains its top-six protected pick to go along with the Indiana Pacers’ pick at No. 19 and the Detroit Pistons’ at No. 31.

Draft experts might say that the Raptors made a mistake by choosing 2024 as the year to stockpile on valuable draft choices, as 2024 is considered by many to be one of the weakest draft classes in recent memory. The draft does not have any instant superstars like Victor Wembanyama, Zion Williamson or Anthony Edwards. It also doesn’t have some of the depth that classes like 2023 had.

However, Ujiri doesn’t buy into the idea of a weak draft class. He thinks that having as many throws at the dart board as possible gives Toronto a chance to find a star no matter what year it is, according to Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun:

“It doesn’t matter, I think players are found everywhere. I can guarantee you there are going to be two or three all-stars that will come out of this draft here.”

Ujiri continued by saying that every draft class produces some stars and that the Raptors are responsible for finding them.

“It happens every year happens all the time. It’s on us. The responsibility is on us to find those players wherever we pick. So we can complain about the draft or draft class as much as we want. I think maybe sometimes people will say that a bad draft class was Giannis’ class, but Giannis, Gobert, those guys got picked out of that class. So we have to do our jobs and it’s on us.”

The Raptors have developed a relatively strong reputation for their scouting department and have obviously shown evidence of their ability to develop young players. So the hope is that with three picks in the top 31, the Raptors can turn this weak draft class into a strong one.

Scottie Barnes details advice he’ll give to Raptors rookies

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, Scottie Barnes and Gradey 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.