Toronto Raptors assistant general manager Dan Tolzman spoke to the media in a pre-draft availability on Tuesday, where he laid out the team’s off-season plan after an appearance in last year’s playoffs.
The Raptors own the 19th pick in next Tuesday’s draft, and Tolzman said that while the team is taking a ‘best player available’ approach, he did identify a particular area the team hopes to address in the off-season.
Tolzman said a lob threat or rim-protecting big is something the team hopes to address - either in the draft or in free agency - per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg.
The Raptors’ front court was anchored by Jakob Poeltl when healthy last season. The 10th-year centre started 44 of 46 games he was healthy enough to play in last year, but saw his minutes dwindle down the stretch as rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles continued to impress.
Poeltl averaged just 19.1 minutes per game in seven starts in the Raptors’ series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs, seventh most on the team.
While Murray-Boyles was effective in the role, he stands at just 6-foot-7. That size disparity allowed the Cavaliers to dominate in the paint, with their starting front court pairing of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley combining to average 29.5 points and 16.9 rebounds per game.
The Cavaliers outrebounded the Raptors across the series, averaging 44.7 rebounds per game against 40.3 for Toronto.
Tolzman also explained that the Raptors’ draft process has remained largely unchanged under new head of basketball operations Bobby Webster, who served as general manager from 2017-2025 before he was promoted to replace long-time team president Masai Ujiri.
Tolzman also said that the draft is considered wide open after the top 10 or 12 picks, and that the cost to move up is considered high at this point. Tolzman said the Raptors are comfortable with keeping their pick and making their selection at No. 19.
