The Toronto Raptors find themselves in a bit of a difficult situation thanks to their lack of offseason backcourt additions. The Raptors addressed the lack of great size on the roster, but they didn’t find a backup point guard who can take some of the pressure off Fred VanVleet.
Dalano Banton seized that role last season, but he saw his playing time start to drip away after his offensive game started to show the warts he came into the league with. Malachi Flynn is dominating the pro-am circuit, but will he become a rotation player in his third season?
The Raptors need to make sure that 2021-22, where VanVleet started to erode due to injury and an unfair burden of minutes, doesn’t happen again. Figuring out who will lead the team when their first-time All-Star VanVleet gets a breather is the first real rotation question Nick Nurse needs to answer.
The Raptors need to look at these three players in order to find a solution that fixes the point guard question once and for all. Think of how many extra wins Toronto could pile up if they get bench consistency in an area that was impossible for them to nail down last year.
3 top options for Toronto Raptors’ backup point guard spot.
3. Dalano Banton
Banton was born to play point guard for Nick Nurse, as he is a 6-9 lanky perimeter player with strong defensive intuition and athletic ability. Banton rode that combination to early rotation time, but he quickly fell out of favor thanks to some poor shooting skills.
Banton shot just 41% from the field and 25% from 3-point range last season. While he has been extremely impressive in Summer League play, showing off a jumper that looks more effective than what we’ve seen in the past, he’ll still need to prove it in real NBA minutes.
Dalano Banton needs to prove his skill to the Toronto Raptors.
Banton doesn’t need to be the most high-volume scorer ever, but the Raptors have shown that they are not going to throw him out there if he is an offensive liability. Even making slightly above 30% from deep would be a godsend for the Raptors’ bench.
Banton has quickly become a fan favorite, as the Rexdale product will forever be remembered as the first Canadian player Toronto ever drafted. He could be even more beloved if he works on his shot, but he’s probably the furthest semi-reasonable PG option away from regular playing time.
2. Malachi Flynn
Flynn has put on one of the most showstopping performances any Raptors player has ever exhibited in the pro-am circuit. Flynn not only dominated a showcase that Scottie Barnes attended, but he put up an insane 73 points in a CrawsOver game. The San Diego State product has his swagger back.
Flynn has been a pesky defender when the moment calls for it, and he’s shown that he can handle the ball and distribute at an NBA level. However, the scoring quality that helped make him Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in 2021 has never shown up consistently enough to become a long-term contributor.
Malachi Flynn must improve for the Toronto Raptors.
It’s easy to pile up the points against LA Fitness superstars, but the Raptors need to see something more tangible before they are fully convinced. After holding onto Flynn despite being given every opportunity to move off him in the last few months, Masai Ujiri seems confident he will turn things around.
Flynn’s playing time was wildly uneven last year. He’d go from a valued rotation member to a Raptors 905 mainstay in the blink of an eye. Giving him consistent minutes will be the best way to finally unearth all of the potential he has inside.
1. Scottie Barnes
With limitless offensive potential and the defensive versatility that the Raptors could get from throwing Banton out there, Toronto seems willing to lean into the Barnes at point guard experiment more this season. Barnes had limited success in that role last season.
While Barnes was billed as a ball-handler because that was the role he played at Florida State, he made his mark as a skilled interior finisher during his rookie season. If his jumper is clicking and he’s a step faster this season, using him to run point could help the Raptors bludgeon their foes with oversized bench lineups.
Scottie Barnes could unlock the Toronto Raptors’ offense.
The Rookie of the Year’s 3.5 assists per game were simultaneously impressive for a 20-year-old rookie and slightly inaccurate, as it didn’t show how he was an even more impressive passer than the numbers indicate. Both in terms of consistency and degree of difficulty, Barnes’ sharp passing will help him thrive as a primary conduit.
Barnes will eventually be given the keys to the kingdom when VanVleet and Pascal Siakam start to slightly take steps backward with age. While the Raptors drafted Barnes as high as they did due to how mouth-watering his forward skillset could be, using him as a guard would be a matchup nightmare for a decade.