A few days ago, I covered how the Raptors handled their slowly filling roster by waiving Colin Castleton, a young center Toronto had brought in on a non-guaranteed, rest-of-season deal back in March. Castleton didn't accomplish anything too extraordinary during his time with the Raptors; to put it simply, he was a solid hand at the big man spot as Toronto wound down the remaining moments of their tumultuous 2024-25 regular season campaign.
I didn't expect Castleton to stick around long in Toronto anyway, but if the Raptors waiving him opens a silver lining for the next man up at that same position, I feel the window of opportunity has just become even wider for their recent free agent pickup, Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Sandro Mamukelashvili must grab brass ring in front of him with Raptors
The Raptors are already heavily lacking in concrete backup bigs, as their solution last season relied on many small-ball lineups when veteran starter Jakob Poeltl wasn’t available. When Orlando Robinson was still on the roster, they played him, but if it wasn’t O-Rob, it was mostly rookie forward Jonathan Mogbo filling that role. And in a small sample size, Castleton also saw minutes at that spot.
It's precisely why I was beyond ecstatic to see the Raptors go out and take a chance on a player like Mamukelashvili, who might not seem special to the casual fan, but I believe he can fit right in and serve as a reliable backup (and occasional starter, if need be) ... someone who truly embodies the measurements of a true big man.
Again, I didn't have Castleton high on my radar for making it to the main roster come October, but with his departure, it leaves Mamukelashvili (along with young Ulrich Chomche) as the only real bigs left in the depth chart behind Jakob Poeltl.
The Raptors could still explore running small-ball five lineups with guys like Mogbo or rookie Collin Murray-Boyles holding down the fort, but I think, given how little competition Mamukelashvili has on paper, he's being set to impress and needs to maximize the moment.
If he can just demonstrate consistent shooting near the basket and beyond the arc during his Raptors tenure, I think all parties involved are happy campers. What more could you ask for from a guy of Mamukelashvili's stature? Anything on top of that is just icing on the cake and surely beats what Toronto has experimented with in years past, including guys like Aron Baynes, Alex Len, and Bruno Fernando.