Toronto Raptors start, bench, cut: Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher, Christian Koloko

Bench: Christian Koloko

The Raptors were willing to throw Koloko right into the fire, exposing his strengths and weaknesses immediately. The rough parts of his offensive game were fairly obvious, as he struggled to contribute much outside of finishing easy putbacks and dunks. The rim protection, however, was very impressive.

Koloko not only used his 7-1 frame to keep the basket protected, but his mobility helped him hold his own against some of the more athletic big men out there in the NBA. Koloko started quite regularly last year, and he didn’t look out of place at all on defense.

Christian Koloko has potential for the Toronto Raptors.

Koloko needs to commit a handful of post moves to memory, and that might be enough to help him lock down a long-term role with the Raptors. Much like with Achiwua, Toronto is expecting Rajakovic to get the most out of the Arizona product.

Given the fact that Rajakovic has had success with big men like Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the past, Koloko could learn from someone who has become a semi-expert in the field of gargantuan centers. Koloko’s raw talent is too valuable to ditch entirely in Year 2.