3 Young players Raptors should develop, 2 to give up on

The 2024 NBA Draft took place a month ago, and Las Vegas Summer League is now in the rearview mirror. As the basketball world turns its gaze to the Paris Summer Olympics, teams like the Toronto Raptors have to continue working on the vision for the year ahead.

Toronto is in a quasi-rebuild, which means they now have a roster filled with young players they hope to develop into meaningful contributors. Development doesn't just happen in a vacuum, however; a team has to commit time and resources, including giving minutes in NBA games to gain real experience.

How should the Raptors allocate those resources? Which players on the roster should they focus on developing this season, and where should they make the difficult decision to move on? It's safe to assume that Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley will get plenty of developmental focus as both young players and the foundation pieces of the team.

Of the other players, let's look at five and decide how the Raptors should prioritize their development.

The Raptors should develop Ja'Kobe Walter

This first prospect may seem obvious, as the Raptors just used a first-round pick on Ja'Kobe Walter; of course they are going to develop him. This is not simply a general wave of the hand, however; the Raptors should hand Walter minutes early.

The future role for Walter in the NBA is as a 3-and-D wing; if he can provide more, that's great, but he first needs to establish himself in his primary role. At Baylor he operated as more of an on-ball shot creator, as he did at times in Las Vegas. If all of his playing time next season comes in Mississauga he'll likely lean into the on-ball creation role again.

Toronto shouldn't anoint Walter the starter (more on that in a moment) but he needs to be in the rotation from day one, getting minutes alongside Quickley or Barnes and growing in his role as a 3-and-D wing, which is exactly what this team needs.