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

After a particularly turbulent offseason, the Toronto Raptors have finished their first two Summer League games, giving fans their first few looks at Precious Achiuwa, Ishmael Wainright, and No. 4 overall selection Scottie Barnes.

The Raptors looked unstoppable for brief periods during their win against the division rival New York Knicks, but they fell to 1-1 last night after Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and the Golden State Warriors manage to barely take home a win despite Toronto mounting a furious comeback late.

While Summer League might not necessarily be the best indicator of long-term success in the NBA, it is a time to see which players are starting to either show flashes of the player that they will become this year or let off some warning signs that should get the team concerned.

It is time to play stockbroker and do some buying, selling, and holding. Which Raptors developments are trending up after a solid start in Summer League play, and which ones should get the fanbase concerned?

Buy, Sell or Hold following the Toronto Raptors’ Summer League start.

Buy

Precious Achiuwa

Achiuwa made his Raptors debut after coming over from Miami in the Kyle Lowry deal. With his 6-8 frame and raw style of play, it’s fair to wonder if Achiuwa can succeed as the small-ball center he is being billed as. At the very least, he got off to an excellent start against Golden State.

Achiuwa’s 13 points were tied for the second-highest mark on the team, and with 11 rebounds giving him a double-double, it’s easy to argue that he was Toronto’s best player. Athletic enough to go coast-to-coast and finish a layup, yet physical enough to secure the paint on both ends, Precious gave fans a ton of positives to hole on to.

Dalano Banton

Banton, the first Canadian ever drafted by the Raptors, came into the NBA with questions about his offense, though he’s done a superb job of answering those queries in Vegas. After scoring five points against the Knicks, Banton also recorded a double-double by scoring 10 points and securing a team-high 12 rebounds on the perimeter.

In addition to his confident offensive showing, Banton’s five steals and five blocks in the last two games prove that he can step right in and make some noise as a defender. If his jump shot becomes a bit more reliable, he could start earning even more rotation time during his rookie season.

Hold

Scottie Barnes

Forget comparing him to Jalen Suggs or Jonatha Kuminga. It is a pointless exercise. Barnes is here, and everything about his player profile suggests he will be a star. Having said that, he didn’t look as crisp against Golden State as he did in his debut against New York.

Barnes’ 13 points, eight rebounds, and eight made free throws were supplemented by some strong defense, but his 2-8 mark from the field isn’t the best. Even with that stat line, he started to show off his bag of offensive tricks by cooking Kuminga. Raptors fans should be pleased with what they have seen so far.

David Johnson and Justin Champagnie

Both two-way guys get some love here. Johnson, who was picked No. 47 overall, made his mark by scoring 10 points and pulling down four rebounds in just 18 minutes. While the four turnovers against the Warriors were a problem, Johnson looked more confident and aggressive on offense.

Champagnie, who signed his two-way deal after going undrafted, didn’t connect on one shot from the field after scoring 10 points against New York. Even with that, Champagnie’s two blocks and intense defense on players like Kuminga proved that he could see NBA minutes by impacting the game in a variety of ways.

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.