Raptors: 4 non-Scottie Barnes players to watch in Summer League
By Mike Luciano
3. SG Ashton Hagans
Hagans was a former 5-star recruit who chose to buck the trend and spend two years in Kentucky. After averaging 11.5 points per game and being named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Hagans got his NBA career started off on the wrong foot, and he will look to rectify that with Toronto.
Hagans played in just two games for the Timberwolves before Minnesota sent him to the G League. He was waived in February for breaking the G League bubble’s COVID-19 protocols. So, yeah, not the best. Can he convince Toronto he is worth a role with either Raptors 905 or the big-league club?
Former Kentucky point guard Ashton Hagans will join the Toronto Raptors summer league roster, a source told ESPN. Hagans was SEC defensive player of the year in 2019.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) July 30, 2021
Will Ashton Hagans show off an improved jump shot?
Hagans was never the best scorer or perimeter shooter in college, so working on that will be key for him if he wants to make it in the NBA. Luckily, due to his lockdown defense and blinding speed with the ball in his hands, he has plenty of positive traits to show off with the shooting excluded.
The Raptors have enough guards that can handle the ball and pass between Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn. What they need are perimeter 3-and-D players behind Gary Trent Jr. in the rotation. Hagans has the “D” part down, and if he starts hitting jumpers in the Summer League, Toronto might try to make him a two-way player.