3 Young players Raptors should develop, 2 to give up on
The Raptors should develop Branden Carlson
The Raptors have a lot of options at shooting guard, and sorting through those players will take intentionality, but the number of options is something of a strength. The question marks in the frontcourt come from more of a place of weakness, including the center position.
Jakob Poeltl is entrenched as the starter, and while the Raptors may be better off long-term if they moved on from him, that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. Who will fill in behind Poeltl? And, if and when he gets injured or otherwise misses time, who would start in his stead?
Kelly Olynyk will likely play some minutes at center this season and is probably the "backup center" to start the year, but he has to be attached to Scottie Barnes or his defensive shortcomings are probably a death nell.
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What the Raptors need to do early on is throw rookie center Branden Carlson into the fire and give him rotation minutes at the 5, ahead of Chris Boucher and Ulrich Chomche, who was drafted 57th overall whereas Carlson went undrafted.
Carlson was a monster defending the paint in Las Vegas Summer League, and the all-time block leader at Utah has an NBA-ready skill to offer now. The rest of the skillset is more of a question mark: can Carlson defend well enough in space to survive? Is his 3-point shot reliable? How is his touch around the rim?
If Carlson is ready to play backup center now it answers a major question for the Raptors. If he's capable of more, the Raptors likewise need to know that as early as possible. The top-end scenario for Carlson is as a 3-and-D center, a 3-point-shooting and shot-blocking 5 who is an ideal fit with Barnes.
If he's not, and he can't defend well enough in space to match up with modern offenses and his 3-point shot is more of a novelty than a weapon, the Raptors need to know that soon so they can truly address the position. Boucher is on his way out of the league and Chomche will need a lot of time, but Carlson deserves minutes now to see what he is capable of.