It's been an ongoing storyline all season, but the Raptors are dealing with young guard/forward depth chart that's pretty clunky and overlapping in a bad way. No one in the current conversation has really made their name as an undeniable standout.
The players I’m talking about are Ja'Kobe Walter, Gradey Dick, and Ochai Agbaji. For most of the 2025-26 season, these three have been the swingmen options Toronto has used, and they've all had their ups and downs. Agbaji has definitely been the most disappointing of the three, Dick continues to be inconsistent in his third NBA season, and while Ja'Kobe Walter still catches my eye with potential — he’s still very much unproven to warrant a significant role.
I understand that Toronto is kind of in a tough spot, trying to develop hidden gems like Dick and Walter, especially since they were recent first-round picks. But after the disappointing weekend that just took place, I feel like a ticking time bomb is about to go off in Toronto's face if they don’t take a risk and start changing things up. They need to rethink their rotation and what they prioritize on their roster before things get worse.
Raptors must pivot from their current crop of young rotation pieces
The Raptors 905 are definitely on the rise right now and looking way better than their main roster counterparts. Down there in the G League, standouts like Chucky Hepburn, Alijah Martin, and AJ Lawson are thriving. Meanwhile, a guy like Jamison Battle is just riding the bench without any sort of consistent role, even though he's proven to be a sharpshooter.
I get that Agbaji, Walter, and Dick all have some clear advantages over these guys in the pecking order. But should that pecking order be set in stone when there's no real guarantee that their spots are safe? What happened to Darko Rajakovic preaching last year, even before the season started, about how there’s no room for favorites and guys need to be ready to be called upon at any moment? I keep a close eye on these kinds of sentiments being spread, but then it often turns out to be a completely different story with the Raps.
In my opinion, Ja'Kobe Walter might be the only one of the three who still deserves some leeway and development time with minutes. On the other hand, it's probably time to completely move on from Agbaji. I also believe it's becoming quite obvious that Dick is just a step behind the speed of the evolving NBA game, which makes it hard for him to stand out. They’ve had plenty of time to step up and secure their spot in the rotation, but now, as the Raptors face adversity and a tougher outlook, it’s worth considering that it might be smart to see what guys like Lawson, Hepburn, Martin, and Battle can actually bring to the table.
I’m not just talking about giving them five or ten minutes here and there — I mean taking significant minutes away from guys like Agbaji and Dick, or even removing them from the rotation entirely, to see what the next men up can do. Even if it demoralizes them, then so be it. Let’s go back to Rajakovic’s point about not being here to please everyone like an ice cream man. They had their shot, and now it’s slipping through their fingers.
If that’s not a feasible option for the coaching staff, then the next move would be to start trading for new players to fill those roles, especially if they’re not interested in going the internal route. But it's time for the Raptors to shake things up, step out of their comfort zone and assert some authority: Who will step up to the plate and maximize the opportunity?