It has been a long grind for the Toronto Raptors, unprecedented and wild, intense and all-consuming.
It has been fun, the ups and downs and emotions of a run to the NBA Eastern Conference final well worth it, all things considered.
But for a faction of the organization, it has been a difficult process to get a grip on because it’s cutting into what would normally be a period of laser-like focus on the future instead of the now.
The NBA draft — the bread and butter time of the season for Toronto’s front office and scouting staffs — is just more than a month away and the clock is already ticking on choices for the No.