On Wednesday, Jake Fischer mentioned Walter Clayton Jr. as a candidate to be waived by the Memphis Grizzlies. So I immediately jumped to my laptop and began typing. Clayton Jr.’s shooting, age, and the fact that he plays a position the Toronto Raptors lack depth in were all reasons he felt like a perfect target. Unfortunately, just a day later, Marc Stein crushed those hopes, saying Fischer passed along that the former Florida Gator appears to be safe in Memphis.
With that, I started looking at the other players Memphis has been rumored to potentially cut ties with and started to talk myself into the idea of D’Angelo Russell in Raptors red.
DLo could be a perfect No. 3 point guard for Toronto
Now, NBA life hasn’t been great for DLo recently. The then 29-year-old signed with the Mavericks last summer to play the point in place of an injured Kyrie Irving. That experiment only saw 26 games before he was dealt to the Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Russell sat out with the Wiz in hopes of a buyout that never came and then was dealt this summer as part of a six-team, 11-player trade to the Grizzlies.
As of today, Russell is one of the top names for the rebuilding Grizzlies to waive as their backcourt is already packed and he doesn’t fit into their long-term future. Obviously, he is far removed from the All-Star or starting guard he’s been in his career, but for the Raptors, he could be a fun third-string point guard.
In his short time with the Mavericks, DLo posted decent numbers: 10.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. The concerning number was his 29.5 percent three-point figure, especially for a team like the Raptors, who had their fair share of shooting struggles last season. But I choose to be optimistic and logical. Russell is a career 36.3 percent three-point shooter, so he didn’t just forget how to make shots from deep in his 11th NBA season.
For the Raptors, Russell could be a marginal boost to their floor spacing, but more importantly, he would provide a viable third-string point guard. We saw with Immanuel Quickley last season that bad timing with injuries can sink your team in the postseason. IQ went down at the end of the regular season, and Toronto lacked another lead guard outside of Jamal Shead to shoulder his workload.
I’m not suggesting Russell at this age and stage of his career could replicate what Quickley gives Toronto. But he can be another source of creation and playmaking that Darko Rajakovic can lean on if the Raptors were to experience backcourt injuries again next season.
Russell would have to understand that by coming to Toronto, he would be accepting a role as a non-everyday player, which may be hard to swallow. However, this team has championship upside and could allow him to be part of winning at the highest level. The other thing to factor in is whether DLo really has a better option waiting. His NBA career does feel like it’s on the ropes.
After the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through, the Raptors will have two open roster spots, and if Russell is available, they should give him a look. This team needs depth at the guard spot, and DLo could be exactly that.
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