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It didn鈥檛 happen. A truly crazy lottery saw Dallas and San Antonio climb to first and second, while front-runners such as Washington and Utah tumbled mightily in what was a cautionary lesson: leaving franchise hopes to the vagaries of luck聽鈥� like the millions of regular people who pony up multi-millions every week, only to repeatedly come up empty聽鈥� is a fool鈥檚 errand, and the Raptors came away with the ninth pick in the June 25 draft.

The ensuing panic was predictable.

Predictable and not necessary.

They won鈥檛 get Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper, and they won鈥檛 get third or fourth picks that would have certainly enhanced trade possibilities, but it鈥檚 not time to shovel dirt on the franchise just yet, for many logical reasons.

If there was one overriding conversation around the lottery聽鈥� in the interminable hour-plus after the draw was over and before we were all freed from lock-up purgatory聽鈥� it鈥檚 that there is special depth to this draft class and the talent at three, four or five may eventually be as good as the talent at No. 9.

One, if not of both, of the bigs thought to be the best centres available聽鈥� Khaman Maluach and Derik Queen 鈥斅爏hould still be there at No. 9, if that鈥檚 who Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster like best.

Most likely they鈥檒l go off the board, and would have anyway. I bet no one can find a 2024 mock draft that linked Ja鈥橩obe Walter to 海角社区官网at No. 19, or a 2023 mock that had Gradey Dick to the Raptors at No. 13. So it鈥檚 entirely reasonable to think that some unlikely soul the Raptors coveted 48 hours ago will be theirs with the ninth choice.

Maybe that鈥檚 all they want, and all that the existing roster needs.

No one selected ninth would be expected to start right away, or even play a lot, and no one should be looking over his shoulder or see a trade coming. 鈥淚 bet RJ Barrett鈥檚 breathing a bit freer today,鈥澛爋ne exec said here this week.

And given the way the Raptors interacted last season, with the seemingly seamless inclusion of Brandon Ingram, not messing much with what is a cohesive group isn鈥檛 a bad idea.

Whether or not Ingram fits in a lineup with Scottie Barnes and Barrett is a discussion to be had once anyone sees it in person on the court for the first time. And besides, that鈥檚 an issue for coach Darko Rajakovic to deal with in September, not to stress about this week.

How Rajakovic makes that work and pares down a glut at the two and three are far bigger questions to be answered than the draft.

Moves on the periphery are also now possible. Because of the tumble to No. 9, the Raptors will not be forced to exceed the luxury-tax threshold 鈥� unlike if they had to make a bigger salary commitment to a pick in the top four. Heck, there was even chatter here that bringing back Chris Boucher on a much smaller contract is now possible. Given the palaver over his absence from the rotation at the end of last season, that alone might placate some fans.

Look, it鈥檚 undeniable that getting No. 1 and Flagg would have been wonderful, and it looks like presumptive second pick Harper would have been a tremendous addition. Even moving to third or fourth would have opened more opportunities.

But it didn鈥檛 happen; there are no quick fixes coming. The necessary improvement will have to come through growth by an interesting group that has never played together, a bit of luck, the continued maturation of Rajakovic and a wee move here and there. That was going to be necessary whatever went on Monday night, and it鈥檚 a bigger part of the solution now.

Plus, the Raptors are still in the East, which got a whole lot more muddled this week.

Picks No. 1 and 2 went to West teams, while the East is still pretty bad and verging on worse with Boston鈥檚 Jayson Tatum (torn Achilles) now out for a calendar year, Milwaukee looking at pulling the pin on the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga and Philadelphia one blow-up between Joel Embiid and Nick Nurse away from another implosion.

Not winning the lottery was tough, but Ujiri told us Monday, and reiterated again Tuesday, that he鈥檚 fine with where they are and sleeping well these days.

Everyone else should be, too.