Every Toronto Raptors fan knows the story of the 2020 NBA draft. The Toronto Raptors were coming off of an outrageous season. Despite dealing with the massive loss of Kawhi Leonard and another important player in Danny Green, the team rallied to the two-seed in the NBA and was thus awarded the 29th overall pick in the 2020 draft. With that pick, they selected San Diego State point guard Malachi Flynn with the player coming off of a Mountain West Conference player of the year and defensive player of the year season. The pick seemed like a smart one at the time but it is safe to say it really has not worked out for the player in the NBA thus far and it is a rare draft night blemish on Masai Ujiri’s resume. What makes this pick worse is seeing who went 30th overall, one slot behind the aforementioned Flynn in Desmond Bane.
This pick in hindsight was not a good one, but it made sense at the time. The real trouble for the Raptors has ensued beyond this draft and has had a direct correlation with this decision on draft night in 2020. This day was really a nightmare for the Raptors that was just getting started, they just had not realized it yet. So what really is the lasting effect the Malachi Flynn has had on the Toronto Raptors since their decision to draft him heading into their season in Tampa Bay? Jacob Gramegna gives you the full explanation in today’s video.
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0:00 – Overview
0:37 – The Toronto Raptors’ 2020 NBA draft
2:02 – Why the Raptors draft Malachi Flynn
3:54 – Who is really at fault for the selection?
4:49 – Who Toronto could have had instead
6:32 – The early signs of promise in Malachi Flynn’s game
7:43 – He is always right on the edge of success.. but never quite there
8:35 – How to be a successful role player in the NBA
9:30 – The REAL problem Malachi Flynn has caused in Toronto
11:16 – The impact Malachi Flynn has had on roster construction
12:47 – Where it really went wrong
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12 Comments
I don’t like these “hit pieces” bro, GS and Toronto are the best organizations in the world over the past decade, so ya.
That was 3 years ago…
Nurse never gave Flynn much playing time or even a role off the bench to develop. I don't see it as "the pick not working out" as you stated but instead see it as "the pick has not been worked out".
Honest question: What's the difference (if any) in playing time between the two since the draft?
i forgive them for that.. the problem was covid ruined a ton of scouting… we could have traded him last summer NOT THIS summer but last… I wanted NAW.. and we didn't do it.. people still are hoping he shows something… he is a symptom of the problem.. we are holding on to project pick assets like him for too long… guys like boucher should have been moved… precious.. I get the potential argument but when you have too many guys trying to figure out what they want to be and have too many pathways and your development staff is mid at best…. you are better off moving off them…
as for people saying its a "hit piece" its not you should be allowed to critique as you see fit.
Not sure if there would be a difference if the Raptors had drafted someone else under Nurse. Nurse was determined to run the starters to the ground to get some wins. He was under a lot of pressure to make it to the playoffs. Developing rookies was NOT his priorities. Similarly, the Warriors even traded away their lottery pick, Wiseman, for Gary Payton II. The Warriors couldn't find enough playing time for Wiseman and even Poole in the playoffs.
Just not sure what the Raptors would do with Flynn this year—we have a lot more guards on the roster this season.
Homie not every player works in teams schemes. That's why some guys leave those teams and shine in another system.
Raptors suffered from winners curse after winning in 2019. No way NN was going to let MF play meaningful minutes with his horrendous shooting and 905 team will full of potential. Then MF got hurt, and NN rode FVV to the bone. Now with FVV gone, we will finally experience a horrible start to the season. Think 5-15. Dick will be too new. Scottie will struggle. Boucher and Precious will be mediocre. Siakam and OG will be ok. And we’ll fight tooth and nail to get into the playoffs. That’s the season.
I agree with the video. It was a mistake draft Flynn ahead of Desmond Bane but the bigger error was keeping for this long. People can blame nurse for Flynn's struggle but Flynn has never over 40% from the field in season. It woulf better Flynn and raptors if Flynn was playing on a different team
I know it’s a slow news day but this is what we are discussing.
It was more of a nurse problem than Masai or Flynn problem
To be fair, the 2020 draft, was in the early part of the pandemic, skewed a bunch.
Teams couldn't see prospects in March madness, The Raptors had to figure out where they're were going to play. The team had way more to figure out in terms of logistics than other teams.
I feel like 2020 and 2021 were similar to something from the 1970s. Where you don't have much info on a player. Maybe there this small amount of old film
It's like the new era's way of old school drafting.
NN didn't play him. Simple as that.