A while back, Josh Cornelissen of Raptors Rapture published a piece about how the team quietly parted ways with a player from last year: Jared Rhoden. Rhoden has seemingly been on the Raptors' radar for a while now, first being brought in for 2024 training camp before being cut prior to the season start, then joining Raptors 905 in December 2024, and later getting a shot to prove himself on a 10-day contract in February 2025, eventually earning a two-way deal with the team in early March 2025.
Although Rhoden was a back-end reserve for the Raptors last season, he maximized the playing opportunities that opened up as Toronto embraced the tank, delivering two impressive showings against Philadelphia and Charlotte during that stretch. In fact, during that game against the 76ers on March 12, 2025, Rhoden logged a whopping 42 minutes and 46 seconds on the court, which, with all due respect to his talents, reflects the Raptors’ focus at that point in the season — as they had their eyes set on the lottery.
In late April, unfortunate news became apparent for Rhoden as the team announced he had undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum injury, which to me looked like the beginning of the end for his time in Toronto. Alas, as Josh Cornelissen would write, the Raptors chose to move on from Rhoden when they waived him on July 1, 2025. But wouldn't you know it, the Raptors once again brought Jared Rhoden back to the team after completing their training camp roster in late September.
Jared Rhoden is back with the Raptors, but how long will this stint last?
It's not often a team gives a player multiple chances to prove himself, and I think that speaks to how much the Raptors organization is fond of Jared Rhoden. The only issue is that Toronto has too many mouths to feed on the roster, and it's expected that some players will get lost in the shuffle or have to be cut to sort things out — and Rhoden has been one of those guys. In his preseason appearances so far, Rhoden hasn't been the most impactful in terms of box score stats, but it's noteworthy that he's been responsible for the Raptors' last two game-winning victories (over Boston and Washington, respectively) thanks to his passing vision, even though those were his only assists in those games.
But, quality over quantity, am I right?
I have largely viewed Canadian standout AJ Lawson as the most likely candidate to earn the final 15th man spot on the roster because of his impressive efforts in the late season stretch and post-Summer League. Lawson will be a tough player to beat out, but Toronto's urgent need for guard depth could work in Rhoden’s favor. Although he’s more of a score-first guard than a pass-first type, the Raptors might bring him in to strengthen that position.
Even if the Raptors choose Lawson or someone else for the last main roster spot, I could definitely see a scenario where the former Seton Hall product simply continues his journey with the Raptors 905, where he looked very strong last year.