Raptors’ first-round pick Allen Graves impressed in summer league. He scored over 20 points in two of his four games, racked up ten assists in his last two games, was active on the boards, and knocked down 3-pointers at a good rate.
With Collin Murray-Boyles out, Graves was the focal point of many of the Raptors’ actions. He got to run pick-and-rolls and got many on-ball reps. However, that was likely more about seeing how he would respond and what his potential in that area is than preparing him for the role he would play for the Raptors in the NBA.
“They’re definitely not going to use him like that, certainly not in the first two years,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie said when discussing Graves’ summer league performance on The Game Theory Podcast.
Even if he’s used very differently in the regular season, Graves can still bring many of the things he showed in summer league to the next level.
Allen Graves can carve out a nice role for himself in the Raptors’ rotation
Graves may have been one of the best players on the Raptors’ summer league roster, but with Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Collin Murray-Boyles, Immanuel Quickley, Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter, and hopefully Kawhi Leonard, he won’t be anywhere near the top of the Raptors’ regular-season hierarchy. When he gets on the court, he will have to play a complementary role.
With this iteration of the Raptors, the easiest way to do that is to play good defense and hit 3-pointers. Graves promises to be very capable of both.
Defending college and summer league players is nothing like going up against NBA veterans, so Graves has to prove that he can be disruptive at the next level as well. Still, the chances of his defense translating are high.
His 3-point shot was on full display in summer league, as he went 11-22 from deep. Again, he will have to face better, faster defenders in the NBA, but it’s a good first sign that his 3-point shot will translate to the next level.
Defense and 3-point shooting are the main things the Raptors will need from Graves this upcoming season. But down the line, he could develop into a player who has the ball in his hands and is asked to make quick decisions more often. Graves is only 19 and played just one season of college basketball. There’s no reason for the Raptors to rush him and put him in uncomfortable situations in his first NBA season. They have enough talent on the roster to take his development slowly and view him as more of a long-term piece than someone who has to contribute at a high level immediately.
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