It’s been an awkward year for the Toronto Raptors. Heading into the season, they had a bright young team with a savvy fleet of veterans manning the bench. Now, the former is still true, but the latter has been cast off throughout the year. Most notably, guys like Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown were flipped for Brandon Ingram (though he’s yet to appear in a game for the Raptors just yet).
As the season winds down, the Raptors will undoubtedly turn their attention to development and assessment. Their playoff hopes are all but gone, meaning all they can focus on is determining which players they want to be a part of their organization past this season, and who they want to give up on.
And one guy is beginning to throw his hat in the ring.
Jared Rhoden making case to be in future Raptors plans
Over the course of his last five games, Jared Rhoden has emerged as a potential piece for the Raptors to take an interest in, as the two-way player has been playing well above his contract.
Rhoden has begun to earn some rotational minutes in Toronto, and he’s been sure to make the most of them.
In his last five games with the Raptors, Rhoden has averaged 13.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 43.1% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the three-point arc. And perhaps most impressively, the Raptors went 4-1 in those games.
The 6-foot-6, 25-year-old forward has bounced around from team to team for the past few years, including short stints with the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets. But at the beginning of March, he inked a two-way deal with the Raptors after spending most of the season with Raptors 905, the team’s G League affiliate.
During his time in the G League, Rhoden appeared in 23 games this season, averaging 16.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 49.8% from the floor and 37.3% from deep.
Considering how up-in-the-air the entire Raptors roster is, Rhoden has a real chance to pique the interest of the organization down the stretch of this season. His play could help cement himself as a piece they want to consider keeping around moving forward.
If Rhoden continues to play at this level for the remainder of the year, Toronto may have another development piece to work with heading into the future.