With the 2022 NBA approaching on June 23rd, we want to take a look back at the Raptors draft history; giving a bit of an accounting of the state of the Raptors, what we thought of the pick in the moment and in retrospect. Each day we will examine the Raptors significant pick(s) and additions in each draft, and frame it in the context of what was going on during that year. You can find all the pieces in this draft history project here.
The State of The Raptors Heading Into The Draft
Ok, now things are cooking. Raptors move into a new arena (ACC), throwing a coming out party for The Rookie of the Year / 1st All-Rookie Vince Carter; a future All-Star SG/SF in Tracy McGrady; and an up and coming two-way SG in Doug Christie; and hosting their first playoff game against the Knicks (losing the 1st round playoffs 3-0).
Butch Carter did a phenomenal job developing and mentoring Carter, and reversed all the damage Darryle Walker inflicted on McGrady who was probably the best Raptor in that Knicks series (game 1 would have been an absolute nightmare without McGrady who was opportunistic, letting the game come to him than pushing where appropriate).
That combination of good fortune quickly put an end to all the front office turmoil, and had us day dreaming about an insanely bright future with foundational pieces.
The season was the first transitional one where things flipped with the Raptors going from an expansion team happy to be here to one that had an actual future. The ingredients were all there with the only thing the Raptors needing was some front court help in the form of veteran leadership to shore up the defense in the paint.
From a roster perspective, notable moves included:
January 21, 1999
Signed Michael Stewart as a free agent.
As part of a 3-team trade, the Toronto Raptors traded Chauncey Billups and Tyson Wheeler to the Denver Nuggets; the Denver Nuggets traded Dean Garrett and Bobby Jackson to the Minnesota Timberwolves; the Denver Nuggets traded a 1999 1st round draft pick (Jonathan Bender was later selected) to the Toronto Raptors; and the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Željko Rebrača, Micheal Williams and a 2000 1st round draft pick (Morris Peterson was later selected) to the Toronto Raptors.
– Chauncey wasn’t Chauncey yet, so trading him for what was shaping up to be a high 1st round pick was nice (which later that season was turned into Antonio Davis). The only thing notable about Michael Stewart was his nickname “Yogi”…I got nothing.
January 25, 1999
Sharone Wright retired.
– A sad end; injuries and weight issues derailed a promising career.
August 1, 1999
The Toronto Raptors traded the 5th pick (Jonathan Bender was selected) to the Indiana Pacers for Antonio Davis.
– Kevin Willis and Charles Oakley were too old and didn’t defend the rim well enough (Oakley was also slow af and like to shoot too many effing mid-range jumpers for our liking). Antonio was the better half of the Davis-brothers (no relation) in Indiana, and had the ingredients and willingness to do what was necessary for the team.
The Draft
9 All-Stars and 7 NBA champions were selected in this draft; a very deep class. We were a bit torn heading into this draft as the trade for the pick was already made (didn’t close until August 1st), and the last thing the Raptors needed was another high schooler with upside.
That said, Shawn Marion, Richard Hamilton, and Metta World Peace – Ron Artest at the time – were the players I was pining for (in that order). Shawn Marion especially, The Matrix was drafted criminally low and not only was a steal for the Suns at 9, but was a menace on both ends of the floor.
The real miss in the draft was not grabbing Metta or Maggette at the 12th spot instead for Aleksandar Radojević. Either of those guys would have been a perfect SF to just slot in, really bloody casually. Think of the lineup that year: Carter, McGrady, Oakley, Davis, Mugsey with Metta, Dee Brown, and Dell Curry off the bench. That would have been a serious team.
What happened to Radojević you may be asking? Nothing. He played 3 uninspiring games, got injured, and never played in the NBA again. His only value to the team was being a part of a trade that saw Keon Clark (a fan favourite and an all time “what could have been?”) and Tracy Murray come to Toronto. Not every part of this draft was perfect for Toronto.
In the Moment
While we needed a big more than another dynamic wing (sounds insane to say that out loud now, but that era was different, and we were weaker at the 5 than this years Raps) it was definitely a hard pill to swallow at the time.
Davis was an athletic, undersized center, who played more like a power forward, but filled in admirably at the 5. He patrolled the paint, a bit plodding in the post, but happy to have someone there who knew what he was doing. With Oakley, they were a formidable front court who protected our young stars and provided savvy veteran leadership.
What It Meant for the Raptors
Davis contributed from the first game, turning in the best season of his career till that point. He had a solid playoffs, averaging about 14 points and 8 rebounds per game against the Knicks, displaying all the things the Raptors hoped they were trading for when battling a tough Knicks team (that magically went on to the finals in the lockout shortened season).
The following season, he turned in the best season of his career, averaging about 14 points 10 rebounds and 2 blocks on his way to his first and only All-Star selection. That year, the Raptors finished 47-35, good for second in the Atlantic, and meeting the Knicks in the first round. They would grind out a tough 3-2 win on the road. And came within a missed Carter three at the buzzer from beating Allen Iverson and the Sixers and going to the conference finals against the Bucks (who the Sixers beat). Davis had the best playoff showing in his career during that 2001 run.
In a different world, the Raptors would have made the finals that year, losing to the Lakers almost certainly, but imagine going from expansion to the finals in five years?
As a Raptor, Davis’s real value came in the 2001-02 season. This was the first year of the Wince Carter era, when questions about Carter’s health and commitment to the franchise started to creep into the vernacular. With the Raptors record at 28-40, Carter injured, and the playoffs out of sight, Davis put the Raptors on his back and averaged 19 points 10 rebounds, and all the chutzpah any one person could muster, leading the Raptors to a 12-2 record to finish the season 40-42.
The Raptors met the Pistons in the first round, and Davis’s regular season heroics continued, forcing a hard fought five-game series that came within three points of back-to-back second-round appearances. Trading Bender for Davis was a monstrous move for Toronto, and even though Radojević didn’t work out, the team still made huge steps forward. Consider this a win.
As for Bender, his career didn’t work out. Injuries plagued his career, but he did earn about $30m in salary, and last I heard he’s been having success as a businessman. I didn’t take the 2 minutes to conduct a Google search to confirm, but lets go with that.
So while the season after this draft ended with a bummer loss to the Knicks in the first round, we had ourselves a team showing constant growth. Everything happens for a reason, and while the Raptors could have kept the pick and taken a Shawn Marion or Ron Artest or something, all clearly better players than Bender, the Davis trade shored up the team, getting us three playoff appearances before the dark days took hold. We’re not in them yet, of course. To this point, all is gravy.
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