One of the biggest storylines following the Toronto Raptors this offseason has been the backup center spot, as the Raptors are currently without one.
Last season, that position was occupied by Sandro Mamukelashvili, and whether he stayed or left, it was clear Toronto needed a different answer in that role. Mamu was great in the regular season and a nice change of pace from Jakob Poeltl as a big man who could step outside and knock down a jumper. The issue was that he was undersized and not very physically imposing. Toronto needed someone who could crash the glass hard, extend possessions, and fill the void when Poeltl was off the court.
Someone like Jonas Valanciunas.
It looked like the Raptors were within reach of their ideal backup center as the Lithuanian center was waived by the Denver Nuggets, giving him the chance to choose his next home. To many of us, very few teams made as much sense as Toronto. With the Raptors, JV could get that storybook ending by closing his NBA career with the same franchise it started with. They could offer him playing time on a team with a real chance of winning it all if the Kawhi trade went through. Lastly, they offered comfort in his going to a city and an organization he had already dealt with.
Unfortunately, the team that posed the biggest threat wasn’t even one the Raptors will be competing against next season, as Lithuanian club Žalgiris Kaunas announced they signed Valanciunas on Wednesday.
The Raptors are running out of options at center
Valanciunas felt like the Raptors' last chance to land a high-level backup center, and now they risk entering the 2026-27 season without one completely.
Toronto, as currently constructed, would enter the season with Collin Murray-Boyles as its default backup center, which poses a ton of risk. CMB is very talented and showed in round one of the 2026 playoffs against Cleveland that he was more than capable of playing center and winning matchups against much larger frontcourt players. He’s strong, he’s physical, and is an elite defender and rebounder, but having him bang with bigs every night when he is traditionally a 6-foot-7 forward could really affect his longevity.
Many people, myself included, have pointed to the Raptors' summer league team as a source for Toronto to find their backup center, with Nate Bittle and Jamarion Sharp as the names to monitor. The issue with this is that neither guy is far enough along to be an everyday NBA player—otherwise, they would’ve already been on an NBA roster and not undrafted free agents.
By signing one of Sharp or Bittle, the Raptors would be betting more on long-term upside, not necessarily making a play to benefit Toronto in 2026-27.
Assuming the Raptors see their pending trade for Kawhi Leonard go through, expectations will quickly shift to championship or bust for Canada’s lone NBA franchise. However, it’s hard to see a reality where Toronto is a 1A serious championship contender if they continue to neglect their backup center spot and go into 2026-27 with Jakob Poeltl as their sole interior presence.
Add us as a preferred source on Google