Taking a swing on a veteran point guard
Again, another key point of weakness for the Raptors last season was their wonky point guard depth. The team began the year with Dennis Schroder leading the pack, while an unreliable Malachi Flynn was relied upon to play backup PG minutes. As the year progressed and both those names departed Toronto, the team shifted its point guard focus to newly acquired guards Immanuel Quickley and Bruce Brown.
While IQ showed a ton of promise, Brown’s fit with Toronto proved to be less than ideal, as he would play his natural shooting guard role and sub in for occasional point guard minutes. It seemed like Toronto was merely making the most out of what they had during that period, as actual point guard depth was severely lacking.
However, things would change this summer, as the team went out and struck a deal with Sacramento to acquire defensive-minded point guard Davion Mitchell to bolster their depleted roster. Likewise, Toronto opted for another defense-oriented guard in the 2024 NBA Draft, when they selected Jamal Shead out of Houston with the 45th overall pick.
While Mitchell and Shead could eventually carve out successful Raptors tenures, they’re largely unproven players stepping into the point guard role, akin to Malachi Flynn’s fit on the roster in the beginning of last season. This isn’t a knock on their talent as their hustle-first mentality is largely a Raptors staple, but it could’ve been beneficial for Toronto to sign a veteran point guard as worst-case scenario.
If by some odd chance, both Mitchell and Shead are borderline unplayable in the Raptors rotation, at least there’s a reliable third-string or possibly second-string point guard to step into that role. Ideally, someone of Tyus Jones’ caliber would’ve been the perfect role player, but it would’ve been arguably tough to entice his services as opposed to a championship-contending team (Jones ultimately signed with the Phoenix Suns).
For this position, it’s not even like Toronto needed to break the bank to make a move happen. There are a few noteworthy vets in free agency that could easily opt for a minimum deal or veteran’s minimum, including Ish Smith, Dennis Smith Jr., Jordan Goodwin, and Jacob Gilyard. Markelle Fultz, who remains a free agent at the time of this writing, would be another interesting addition to the Raptors club, although his asking price is relatively unknown.
Toronto clearly made their moves for Mitchell and Shead with a plan in mind, so it’s more than likely one of the two players will earn the backup point guard role heading into next season. But again, just as insurance, it would’ve been a smart move for Toronto to sign another point guard with more NBA tenure.