The Coin Flip That Changed The Toronto Raptors Forever

A coin flip. Something as luck-based as a coin flip should never change a franchise significantly, right?

Wrong. We’re talking about the coin flip that determined whether the Golden State Warriors or Toronto Raptors would get the 7th pick in the draft. Of course, nothing ever goes the Raps’ way, and they lost the coin flip, secured the eight pick, and drafted Terrence Ross.  Now, it’s easy to go back and say, in hindsight, the Raptors should have taken (whoever you want/think). But, this is a case in which the Raptors were most certainly not going to draft Terrence Ross. Harrison Barnes would instead be wearing white and red, cap space would be a major asset, and this #tankforWiggins thing, probably could be attainable. (For the record, not here saying tanking is good, just the team would be losing).

Now, to summarize what I’m saying here, winning a coin flip would have changed what this Raptors team looks like now, and possibly for the future. Sad, but it’s the truth.

First, Harrison Barnes is an obvious talent, proven throughout the NBA season and the past NBA playoffs, he is NBA ready with the ability to defend, shoot from the perimeter, and use his athleticism to attack the rim. These 3 skills are what Terrence Ross was projected to do, but than again, he has had a minimal number of games in his rookie year where he was able to perform at an above average level. Harrison Barnes during the season averaged 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on 44% field goal percentage, 36% from three, and 76% from the free throw line. Throw in Terrence Ross’s stats, where he averaged 6.4 points, 2 rebounds per game on 40% field goal percentage, 33% from the three, and 71% from the free throw line. Now, obviously there’s a big margin difference in minutes played (25 to 17 minutes respectively), but this will give you food for thought.

Harrison Barnes is also a pure small forward, based on his size and his abilities – 6’8, 210 pounds – and because of him being a small forward, he would have been able to fill that hole the Raptors have been looking for, possibly since the beginning of this franchise. Had Barnes been drafted, Rudy Gay would not have been acquired in order to fill this hole because of Barnes likely being the future of the position. This also meant the Raptors would not have had to eat the max – arguably overpaid – contract of Rudy. The financial flexibility Bryan Colangelo – former Raptors’ GM – was bragging about, was erased in essentially when DeMar DeRozan had been extended, but the cap space was hit incredibly hard when Rudy was acquired. Drafting Barnes means no Rudy Gay, meaning a future and cheap option at the position, and even with the DeMar extension, the Raptors would have been well under the cap. Not at the position where the Raptors currently are at – fearing the luxury tax.

No Rudy Gay, also means no trading assets or players, and that would mean Ed Davis is still a Toronto Raptor, and whatever your opinion or feel is for Davis, he played extremely well for the Raptors, improved significantly, and looked like a piece of the future.

Now, looking at the roster, and the arguable core IF Barnes had been drafted, this is what we’re looking at:

PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: Harrison Barnes
PF: Ed Davis/Amir Johnson/Quincy Acy
C: Jonas Valanciunas

Harrison Barnes, regardless of his talent, would not have been able to create a playoff team in the Raptors. With such a young core, and young assortment of players, this team would still continue to undergo losing because of inexperience, and lack of great talent. With Barnes in the picture, the Raptors would go through the rebuilding process, and they would continue to accumulate as much talent as possible, but with no picks in 2013, and still fairly small cap space, no big additions are expected. That’s where the 2014 NBA Draft becomes the main target, with big time prospects such as Jabari Parker, Aaron Gordon, the Harrison twins, and of course, Canada’s own, Andrew Wiggins. This team wouldn’t intentionally lose for the #tankforwiggins campaign, but the talent and inexperience would result in some losing for the future. Now, Wiggins is a small forward, but with a good pick, adding young players and most especially, great young players to build in a core is what seems to be now the recipe for creating successful teams.

In reality, who knows what would have happened if the Toronto Raptors had the 7th pick, instead of the 8th pick. All we know, is Barnes would have been cheaper, been a helper in terms of accumulating young talent, and an asset or piece in the future build of a hopefully successful team. One pick, one player, really changed what this franchise might have looked like forever. Not for the better or worse necessarily, but it’s certainly interesting to think about.

I’ve heard the nickname ‘Coin Toss Ross’ before, and when you think about it, it’s a perfect fit.