Watanabe, Gillespie, Dekker, Bonga, or Wainright: Raptors Will Have Tough Battle for Final Cuts

The Toronto Raptors will have tough cuts to make with Yuta Watanabe, Freddie Gillespie, Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and Ishmail Wainright fighting for roster spots

Author:
Aaron Rose
Publish date:
Aug 30, 2021 12:24 PM EDT

The Toronto Raptors learned an important lesson last season: bench depth shouldn't be taken for granted.

For the better part of the last decade, the Raptors have been known for their strength in numbers. They rarely had the best player on the court — save for Kawhi Leonard in 2019 — but they often had bench depth few teams could contend with. Year after year they seemed to fill their bench with valuable players: Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell, Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl, C.J. Miles, Terrence Ross, and plenty of other quality bench players.

Then last season, in a year in which bench depth proved more valuable than ever before, Toronto's depth seemed to evaporate. Nick Nurse tinkered with things all season, trying Matt Thomas for a brief stretch, then DeAndre' Bembry, Stanley Johnson, Yuta Watanabe, Paul Watson Jr., and on and on. It was a mess. Nurse was never able to find the perfect mix en route to a disaster 27-45 season.

Now the Raptors are looking to shake things up this summer. They've almost completely rebuilt their bench with young, versatile, and intriguing prospects. The departing group has been replaced by Precious Achiuwa, Goran Dragic, and the recently signed Svi Mykhailiuk who will be joined by some combination of Isaac Bonga, Sam Dekker, Ishmail Wainright, and the returning Freddie Gillespie and Yuta Watanabe, who will be fighting for Toronto's final three roster spots.

Here's how those final five players stack up:

Yuta Watanabe

The 26-year-old Watanabe seems the most likely of this group to crack Toronto's final roster. He played the most NBA minutes last season of anyone trying to make the roster and showed the kind of skills Nurse is always looking for. He's a versatile and smart defender who showed some shooting skills last season when he was healthy. If he can be a little more decisive on offense there will likely be minutes in the rotation for him this season.

Sam Dekker

Dekker, the former 2015 first-round pick, is coming to Toronto after two seasons overseas. He averaged 15.4 points per game in the Turkish league last year while shooting 45.2% from three-point range. His shooting will be his make-or-break skill with the Raptors. Toronto certainly could use some more floor spacing and Dekker has recently shown he can be that kind of scorer. The addition of Mykhailiuk could complicate things a little bit, but if Dekker can shoot and defend adequately there should be a spot for him on the roster.

Ishmail Wainright

The 26-year-old Wainright is another overseas product who fits the mold for Toronto as a savvy defender and high-character person. Without much of a three-point shot, Wainright might be a little too similar to everyone else on the Raptors' roster. He's 6-foot-6, can defend multiple positions, and is a high-effort player, but Toronto has a bunch of players who fit that bill too. If the Raptors really want to go all-in on versatility and defense, keeping Wainright over Dekker makes sense, otherwise, it might be tough for Wainright to stand out.

Isaac Bonga

The 21-year-old Bonga is the biggest wildcard in this group for the Raptors. He's an upside play for Toronto with a 6-foot-8 frame, a 7-foot wingspan, and the kind of raw skills to do a little bit of everything. His three years in the NBA haven't shown very much to get excited about, but Toronto's developmental program has found diamonds in the rough before. His spot on the roster is simply going to come down to whatever the Raptors see in him long-term. If there's some untapped potential, he'll stick around, otherwise, he doesn't project as the kind of player to help the Raptors too much this season.

Freddie Gillespie

Gillespie is one of the few returning bench players for the Raptors heading into training camp and that should give him a leg up on the competition. He knows what Nurse is looking for and was impressive enough last season to get invited back for training camp this year. Gillespie, however, did not look very good in Summer League, scoring just 11 points total in his five games while shooting 5-for-22 from the field. While Toronto could certainly use his rebounding and size, he's no longer a lock to make the roster especially if his offensive woes continue.