There have been great picks and there have been natural disasters. From Vince Carter to Alex Radojevic, these are the men acquired by the Raptors on draft night and form the basis of the organization.
2009
- DeMar DeRozan, USC – 1st round, 9th pick
- Arsenalist says: The Raptors had decided on DeRozan three weeks before draft day and so far the rookie has lived up to the athletic expectations. His mid-range game and composure made a mark on the Las Vegas Summer League and the rookie will look to stave off Antoine Wright for starting duties come opening day.
2008
- Roy Hibbert, Georgetown – 1st round, 17th pick
- Nathan Jawai, Australia – 2nd round, 41st pick
- Roy Hibbert was traded to the Indiana Pacers along with TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston for Jermaine O’Neal
- AltRaps says: Another hodge podge year of comings and goings leading into a season that could make or break management. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: Pointless since we were picking for another team, but if we had kept our picks: 18-JaVale McGee, 22-Courtney Lee, 25-Nicolas Batum, 28-Donte Greene, 40-Chris Douglas-Roberts, 43-Patrick Ewing Jr
2007
- The Raptors did not have a pick in the draft.
- AltRaps says: Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: Again, pointless but: 1-Greg Oden, 2-Kevin Durant…
2006
- Andrea Bargnani, Treviso, Italy – 1st round, 1st overall
- P.J. Tucker, Enloe HS – 2nd round, 35th pick
- AltRaps says:
2nd time with a #1 pick, first time we could actually use it. Jury is still out on its return value. Big time. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 2-a box of towels, 2-LaMarcus Aldridge, 6- Brandon Roy, 8-Rudy Gay, 42-Daniel Gibson
2005
- Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut – 1st round, 7th pick
- Joey Graham, Oklahoma State – 1st round, 16th pick
- Roko Ukic, Croatia – 2nd round, 41st pick
- Uros Slokar, Slovenia – 2nd round, 58th pick
- AltRaps says: 4 picks and all 4 have garnered half decent results or are starting to. In a draft that wasn’t considered deep, we did pretty well using a fishing pole. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 10-Andrew Bynum, 17-Danny Granger, 21-Nate Robinson, 30-David Lee, 37-Ronny Turiaf, 40-Monta Ellis
2004
- Rafael Araujo, BYU – 1st round, 8th overall
- Acquired Pape Sow and a 2005 second round pick from the Miami Heat in exchange for the draft rights to Albert Miralles
- AltRaps says: Again, foreshadowing. Pick a big body a bit early in the draft and he can’t handle the pressure. Then trade for..wait for it…a thin strangly guy who doesn’t do much but shows flashes. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 9-Andre Iguodala, 11-Andris Biedrins, 15-Al Jefferson, 31-Anderson Varejao
2003
- Chris Bosh, Georgia Tech – 1st round, 4th pick
- Remon Van de Hare, Netherlands – 2nd round, 52nd pick
- AltRaps says: May be the strongest pick in our history, in one of the strongest drafts in history. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 5-Dwayne Wade, 7-Kirk Hinrich, 8-TJ Ford, 21-Boris Diaw, 29-Josh Howard, 31-Jason Kapono
2002
- Kareem Rush, Missouri – 1st round, 20th pick
- Rush was traded on draft night along with Tracy Murray to the L.A. Lakers for the draft rights to Chris Jefferies (27th pick) and G Lindsey Hunter.
- AltRaps says: Good flip on Rush. Nothing lost…almost a dead swap for Jefferies and Lindsey Hunter was a nice throw-in. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 23-Tayshaun Prince, 24-Nenad Kristic, 35-Carlos Boozer, 40-Juan Carlos Navarro, 56-Luis Scola
2001
- Michael Bradley, Villanova – 1st round, 17th pick
- AltRaps says: Probably a smart pick thinking a young big would learn under Antonio. What Bradley lacked in talent, he had in heart. Heart doesn’t win you an NBA career, though. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 18-Jason Collins, 19-Zach Randolph, 20-Brendan Haywood, 25-Gerald Wallace, 26-Samuel Dalembert, 27-Jamaal Tinsley, 28-Tony Parker, 31-Gilbert Arenas, 38-Mehmet Okur
2000
- Morris Peterson, Michigan State – 1st round, 21st pick
- DeeAndre Hulett, Las Vegas, IBL – 2nd round, 46th pick
- AltRaps says: If ever there was a draft pick that seemed to fit into this city and seem to be genuinely happy to be here and have the fans return that favour, he came to us this draft. DeeAndre Hulett had some promising flashes pre-draft, but turned into a pancake when he put on an NBA uniform. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 23-DeShawn Stevenson, 25-Jake Tsakalidis, 29-Mark Madsen, 30-Marco Jaric, 37-Eddie House, 38-Eduardo Najera, 43-Michael Redd
1999
- Jonathan Bender, Picayune HS – 1st round, 5th pick
- Aleksandar Radojevic, Barton County CC – 1st round, 12th pick
- Jonathan Bender was traded to the Indiana Pacers for F/C Antonio Davis.
- AltRaps says: The second cog in the wheel of the shaping of this franchise was when we moved yet another thin strangly high school kid to a farming community in exchange for the opposite of a thin strangly kid. Antonio Davis came to town and added force to the front court. Radojevic fit into our goal, but not into our plans. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 6-Wally Szczerbiak, 7-Richard Hamilton, 8-Andre Miller, 9-Shawn Marion, 10-Jason Terry, 13-Corey Maggette, 16-Ron Artest, 18-James Posey, 21-Jeff Foster, 24-Andrei Kirilenko, 40-Gordan Giricek, 57-Emmanuel Ginobili
1998
- Antawn Jamison, North Carolina – 1st round, 4th pick
- Tyson Wheeler, Rhode Island – 2nd round, 47th pick
- Jamison was traded on draft night to Golden State for the draft rights to Vince Carter (5th pick) and cash.
- AltRaps says: The move that shaped the franchise. A hat swap that will go down in history as something that may have even saved this franchise. Uncertainty and dwindling hope received a kick in the butt that night and, as it would turn out, make this franchise one of the hottest tickets on the road. Oh, and no idea what Tyson Wheeler did. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 9-Dirk Nowitzki, 10-Paul Pierce, 11-Bonzi Wells, 15-Matt Harpring, 17-Radoslav Nesterovic, 19-Pat Garrity, 15-Al Harrington, 32-Rashard Lewis, 39-Rafer Alston, 41-Cuttino Mobley
1997
- Tracy McGrady, Mt. Zion Christian Academy – 1st round, 9th pick
- AltRaps says: Third year of a young franchise…hey, why don’t we draft a high schooler that has never been away from home and bring him to a foreign country!!!! Better yet, let’s do it while we have a coach that is horrible at nurturing. Brilliant! Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 10-Danny Fortson, 13-Derek Anderson, 16-Brevin Knight, 19-Scot Pollard, 21-Anthony Parker, 27-Jacque Vaughn, 43-Stephen Jackson, 48-Alvin Williams, 55-Mark Blount
1996
- Marcus Camby, Massachusetts – 1st round, 2nd pick
- AltRaps says: Our Picks: Tall, thin, could fall over if he stood in front of an 18” electric fan. Sign of future picks maybe? Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 4-Stephon Marbury, 5-Ray Allen, 6-Antoine Walker, 13-Kobe Bryant, 15-Steve Nash, 17-Jermaine O’Neal, 20-Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 44-Malik Rose
1995
- Damon Stoudamire, Arizona – 1st round, 7th pick
- Jimmy King, Michigan – 2nd round, 35th pick
- AltRaps says: Safe and sure for the inaugural year. Of course Damon seemed a steal as he was named Rookie of the Year, an award that meant even more since he was the floor general for castoffs and jailbirds. Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda: 10-Kurt Thomas, 15-Brent Barry, 16-Alan Henderson, 18-Theo Ratliff, 21-Michael Finley, 43-Eric Snow, 47-Tyus Edney, 52-Fred Hoiberg