Toronto Raptors: Buy, Sell, or Hold after 2 Summer League games

Sell

Freddie Gillespie

Gillespie recorded 13 rebounds against New York and the sick block you see below against the Warriors. That’s good. Essentially everything else has gone wrong for the second-year center, as he hasn’t done much to convince Toronto he should get minutes over Achiuwa or Khem Birch.

Gillespie went just 1-9 against the Knicks, and he scored just three points against the Warriors. In only 38 minutes of play, Gillespie has picked up nine fouls and a -20 plus-minus mark that is tied for the worst such figure on the team. He needs to pick it up fast if he is to get consistent NBA minutes.

The Raptors’ ability to create on offense

The Raptors finished the game shooting just under 36%, and that number is a bit of a misnomer considering their furious late comeback. Malachi Flynn torched the Knicks, but his 6-19 night showed that this collection of characters is deficient with regards to shooting from the outside and creating for themselves if Flynn is having an off night.

Given Nick Nurse and this coaching staff’s ability to get players on the right track from a shooting perspective, they should get this flaw fixed up in relatively short order. This team’s bench is going to struggle out of the gate on offense this year if the Summer League guys are forced to eat up heavy minutes.

However, in the immediate future, Toronto is not going to be as dynamic an offensive team as they were during the last few seasons if most of the players populating their bench end up shooting like this in the regular season. Whatever miracle cure Nurse has in his back pocket, he needs to administer it ASAP.