2023 NBA Redraft: Podziemski skies into the Top 10 as Warriors land forward

No. 13: Toronto Raptors select GG Jackson, South Carolina

Occasionally a player comes out of nowhere to make a name for himself in the NBA. GG Jackson was a top high school recruit who graduated a year early and chose to attend South Carolina, playing on a bad team as an overmatched 17 year old; he went from lottery prospect to second-round flier.

Then Jackson began to earn minutes for an injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies team, and suddenly there were flashes of what made him such a special high school player. Those flashes turned into stretches, into quarters and into games as he became a starter and began balling out down the stretch of the year. In the final game of the season he scored 44 points, the most any rookie scored this year.

Jackson still needs to prove himself a reliable scoring option and all-around player on a good team, but his upside as an on-ball scorer makes him worth a swing in the mid-first round. The Toronto Raptors could have gone in a number of directions here, but they take a shot at a long-term starter next to Scottie Barnes with the 6'9" Jackson.

Original Pick: Gradey Dick, Kansas

No. 14: New Orleans Pelicans select Gradey Dick, Kansas

The New Orleans Pelicans originally drafted a movement shooter in Jordan Hawkins with this pick, one slot after the Raptors chose Gradey Dick. This time they get their pick of the two, and either would be a perfectly fine selection at this point in the draft. Given their love of size on the perimeter they will take Gradey Dick this time around.

The 6'6" Kansas product had a slow start to the season but began to gain a rhythm as the year went on, hardly a surprise for a rookie overall but especially not given the Raptors' context; early in the year they were pushing for the playoffs, then when they let go of the rope there was more room for a rookie to get minutes. Gradey Dick took advantage, and between his repeatable 3-point stroke and 86.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line, he looks like a long-term success as a shooter.

The rest of his game will take some polishing, but he showed enough at Kansas to keep him in this range of the draft. If he can be a capable defender and attack closeouts he'll be the type of player coveted around the league.

Original Pick: Jordan Hawkins, UConn