3 Raptors free agent PG targets after Dennis Schroder snub

2. Elfrid Payton

Payton has bounced around the league over his first few years in the league, establishing himself with Orlando before moving to the Knicks. Spending last year with Phoenix and averaging just 3.0 points per game, Payton is running out of locations where he can jump-start his career.

Payton, who has worked out with the Warriors, was a double-digit scorer in all but one of his seven seasons before last year’s Phoenix debacle. Payton averaged 6.2 assists per game in his career if you exclude last year, showing that he is a proven fantastic distributor at the pro level. The big issue is shooting.

Man, does it need some work.

Elfird Payton could improve for the Toronto Raptors.

Luckily for Payton, Nick Nurse and the Raptors have a history of taking in players that struggle from deep and working with them. Payton might be fairly far into his career, but there’s still time for him to learn some new tricks. If he fails, Toronto has enough leeway to ditch him and pretend it never happened.

Payton may not have many NBA opportunities left, so Toronto giving him the chance to compete for a spot at the end of the bench could be one of the best options on his plate. Payton is one jump shot away from sticking long-term, though it’s been almost a decade, and he hasn’t been able to add that arrow to his quiver.