The Toronto Raptors used to love prospects like KJ Simpson.
The Colorado point guard is tough and feisty and has somehow overcome his 6-foot stature to turn himself into a legitimate NBA prospect. He proved to be a lights-out three-point shooter as a junior and looked comfortable running the offense for the Buffaloes this past season.
For a team desperately in need of a backup guard behind Immanuel Quickley, Simpson profiles as the kind of steady hands that should be able to help on Day 1.
“KJ Simpson backed up the big stat lines at Colorado with a handful of blow-by drives, tough finishes and shotmaking during NBA combine scrimmages,” wrote Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman who has Simpson expected to go to Toronto at No. 31 in his latest mock draft. “He also got up for a 40.5-inch max vertical, which could help make up for the fact that he only measured 6’0″ without shoes.”
This past season was a breakout year for Simpson who averaged 19.7 points, 4.9 assists, and somehow snagged 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 47.5% from the floor and 43.4% from behind the arc. He’d proven as a sophomore he was a very good free-throw shooter, but a 16 percentage point jump in his three-point shooting was the real difference for the 21-year-old
What Simpson lacks in size, he makes up for with quickness and a high basketball IQ. He posted the best time in the lane agility drill at the NBA draft combine last week and showed off an impressive 40.5-inch vertical.
But Simpson’s size is hard to ignore, especially for a Raptors team that is already undersized. He’ll likely get picked on by opposing offenses and his smaller stature creates roster-building constraints with so many undersized players already under contract.
Considering Toronto’s track record with smaller guards like Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, it’s hard to say Simpson’s upside is limited, but compared to other prospects in this year’s draft, he’d be more of a high-floor, low-ceiling kind of prospect.
For where the Raptors are in their developmental cycle, it probably makes more sense to take a high-upside prospect than Simpson. It’s increasingly hard to overcome that lack of size in the modern NBA. But if Toronto wants to genuinely try to contend next year, a player like Simpson would certainly help stabilize the second unit.
