3 free agents Raptors should have signed over Otto Porter Jr.

The Toronto Raptors have found themselves mired on the fringes of the play-in tournament rather than challenging for 50 wins. This came as a result of unreasonably betting on the team’s core and making Otto Porter Jr. the team’s marquee offseason addition.

Porter was fresh off a season in which he helped the Golden State Warriors take home a championship, but the injury history that has consistently taken the former No. 3 overall pick off the path to success has reared its head again. Porter played in just eight uneventful games before a foot injury ended his season.

Toronto is both situated in a market that is historically very challenging to attract free agents to and right up against the luxury tax. The Raptors need to have a very high success rate when it comes to their free agent signing, and Porter is looking like quite the mess right now.

The Raptors would have been much better off using the money spent on Porter and funneling it toward one of these three veterans. Toronto would have gotten more short-term utility out of one of these names than Porter has provided in his abrupt debut.

These Toronto Raptors free agent targets would have outdone Otto Porter Jr.

3. Patty Mills, Brooklyn Nets

While Mills, who has a great relationship with Sean Marks, was likely not going to leave a Nets team that (in the preseason) thought to be a contender without getting paid above market value, the Australian point guard could have had his opinion changed if the Raptors came out swinging with a substantial offer from Masai Ujiri.

Mills may be averaging just 6.1 points and 1.4 assists per game, but the fact he is one year removed from a career-best scoring season crystallizes the fact that he would have been a much better backup point guard option than Malachi Flynn or Dalano Banton ended up being.

Patty Mills would have helped the Toronto Raptors.

While Porter would have undoubtedly been a boost to Toronto’s much-maligned perimeter shooting if he was healthy, he didn’t do much to alleviate the concerns surrounding Toronto’s fetish for 6-8 forwards. Mills would give them a different look.

When it comes time to select a player in the 2023 NBA Draft, Toronto may need to look for a player that can be as effective a shooter and leader as Mills. They had a chance to land the real thing in the offseason, but they ultimately opted to ride with the underperforming Flynn.