The NBA broke their draft-order tiebreakers via random drawing on Tuesday, and the Toronto Raptors will select 23rd in the 2017 NBA Draft.
As explained last week:
Where the Raptors pick wasn’t as simple as where they finished in the standings, though. Two years ago, the Raptors dealt Greivis Vasquez to the Milwaukee Bucks for the second-round pick that would become Norman Powell and a future first-round pick from the Los Angeles Clippers. A week before the trade deadline this year, the Raptors packaged a first-round pick with Terrence Ross to acquire Serge Ibaka from the Orlando Magic. But the Raptors didn’t package a specific pick – they’re sending the less favorable of their two first-round picks (their own or L.A.’s) to the Magic.
That means that the Raptors are insulated from ending up at the back end of the four-way tiebreaker. Because Toronto would just pick the other pick if one landed at 26, the Raptors can’t pick lower than 25th. Their pick, then, could be as high as 23 or as low as 25, with 23rd their most likely landing spot.
The NBA won’t decide the tiebreakers for a few days, which they’ll do by random draw.
The tiebreaker saw the Clippers land 23rd and the Raptors land 25th, meaning the 25th pick will go to Orlando while the Raptors keep No. 23. The Raptors also dealt their 2017 second-round pick away in the P.J. Tucker trade.
This year’s draft takes place on June 22.
