1st-Round Picks Galore: Here's a Look at Toronto's Draft Pick Situation

The Toronto Raptors have their full allotment of first-round picks as they head into next month's trade deadline

Aaron Rose | Jan 25, 2022

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Remember Malachi Richardson?

It's OK if you don't. The 6-foot-6 guard, acquired by the Toronto Raptors for Bruno Caboclo in 2018, played 23 games in Toronto, mustered 108 total minutes in his Raptors career, and tallied 32 points. No shame in forgetting.

Richardson's lackluster Toronto tenure will, however, have a small impact on this year's Raptors squad because back in 2019, Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster decided to ship Richardson and a future second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for cash considerations. That pick is coming due this season.

Toronto is one of just a handful of playoff-caliber teams with its full allotment of first-round picks. In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are the only other teams in the playoff picture with all their first-round picks still at their disposal.

The Raptors don't, however, have all their future second-round picks. The Richardson deal in 2019 cost them their 2022 second-round pick and the Marc Gasol deal cost Toronto its 2024 second-round pick.

That leaves Toronto in pretty good shape heading into the trade deadline. Second-round picks are pretty easy to acquire if need be. The Raptors turned Terence Davis and Matt Thomas into the second-round picks that became Dalano Banton and David Johnson at last year's deadline.

But even with all those first-rounders, don't expect the Raptors to package picks unless a superstar comes their way, especially considering Ujiri has never traded multiple first-round picks in a deal dating back to his days as the general manager of the Denver Nuggets.

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