3 Fringe Raptors roster players who deserve to return next season

The Toronto Raptors are going to bring back their young core next season. Scottie Barnes will be back and fully healthy after fracturing his hand and missing the last 20 games. Immanuel Quickley will be re-signed and join RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick. Jakob Poeltl seems highly likely to be retained to start at center.

From there, the questions begin to populate. Which players outside of the core will be back? Which players will move on, either by walking in free agency or being included in a trade?

We discussed those players who look like they are definitely leaving earlier in the week, but what about those who are staying? We can discuss the core another time, but instead let's look to the edges of the roster.

Which fringe players on the Raptors deserve to return next season? Let's look at three names and discuss why each should be brought back next season.

No. 3: Mouhamadou Gueye

We will start with a name that few basketball fans even know, let alone have any idea how to pronounce. Mouhamadou Gueye is a New York native who went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft and spent the last two years playing in the G League. In February he signed a 10-day contract with the Raptors and the team offered him a two-way contract after that.

Gueye has great size at 6'9" with a long wingspan and showed off shades of Chris Boucher with his shot-blocking prowess. Gueye averaged 1.6 blocks per game in just 11 minutes per game, which would have translated to 5.4 blocks per 36 minutes; his block rate of 13.2 percent would have been first in the league with a bullet if he had sustained it over more minutes.

Already 25 years old and very limited offensively, Gueye has some work to do just to prove himself worth of a full roster spot. On a two-way contract, however, he can continue to add reps in the G League and work his way toward a shot at being in the rotation later on next season.