Raptors Mailbag: RJ Barrett Trade Value, Summer League Takeaways, Toronto’s Plans

An exciting Summer League is now in the books for the Toronto Raptors who wrapped up their trip to Las Vegas with a loss in the semifinal. It’s never a very good idea to read too much into July results, but Toronto’s defense-first identity certainly became clear.

Now comes the quiet part of the offseason. The roster looks close to set and training camp is still a couple of months away. In the meantime, there are a few lingering questions worth answering.

Let’s dive into this week’s Raptors mailbag. If you have a question for a future edition, send it in on Instagram @aaronbenrose.

What’s gonna be the Raptors next big move? – Raptorsforlife12344555

Hiring a president.

I don’t anticipate anything big getting done until the Raptors decide who will lead the organization forward. That person will then have some decisions to make around the trade deadline and next offseason. I’m not expecting any major trades this summer.

What’s one thing that you learned from Raptors Summer League? – 587lucas2k20

The Raptors have a really clear defensive identity with almost everyone coming off their bench. They can throw tough on-ball defenders at opposing teams one after another when the second unit checks in. They’re going to need to, too, because offensively there isn’t a real shot creator in that group right now.

Is Mogbo going to get outplaced with the emergence of younger CMB? – @sartaj_r10

It’s definitely possible. That’s OK too. I think back to what Darko Rajaković said during his season-ending media availability: “If I wanted to keep people happy, I would be selling ice cream. I would not be a basketball coach.”

This is the NBA. It’s survival of the fittest. If Mogbo doesn’t develop more offensively, he’ll get left behind. If he does, he can beat out Collin Murray-Boyles for playing time. This isn’t house league basketball.

What does the rest of the summer look like for the Raps? – @grahamslagt

They’ll go their separate ways and get in a ton of individual workouts with private trainers or Raptors assistant coaches. We probably won’t hear much from them until October.

What do you think RJ’s trade value is? – @orenp_113

All indications are that he has little to no trade value, possibly even negative value. That’s not to say RJ Barrett isn’t a skilled player, but the $57 million owed to him over the next two seasons outweighs his on-court impact.

It’s a reflection of the new financial landscape in the league that has squeezed out the middle class and made every dollar more valuable.

We’ve seen reporting from Jake Fischer that Toronto offered Barrett to the Pelicans instead of Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk, but New Orleans chose the latter. Fischer also reported that Toronto offered Barrett and the No. 9 pick to Boston for Jrue Holiday, but Boston preferred Anfernee Simons’ expiring contract.

All of this suggests other teams don’t value Barrett highly. And clearly, Toronto doesn’t either, or they wouldn’t have made those offers. I checked in with Fischer who confirmed it’s Barrett’s contract that’s dragging down his trade value.

Chomche has outplayed Castleton by far. Any chance he gets a shot at serious minutes? – @franchise_77

I don’t expect Chomche to start the season as the backup big. That said, everyone will get an opportunity at some point. When Chomche gets his, it’ll be on him to make the most of it. He had a very good Summer League, but I’m not ready to pencil him in for a rotation role just yet.

Post Summer League, please clarify who’s signed, who’s on a two-way, 905 option, who may be waived? – @inthebeaches

Ja’Kobe Walter, Jamal Shead, Babacar Mogbo, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Jamison Battle are on guaranteed standard contracts. AJ Lawson and Colin Castleton are on standard non-guaranteed deals.

Alijah Martin, Chucky Hepburn, and Ulrich Chomche are signed to two-way contracts. Cliff Omoruyi has reportedly been signed to an Exhibit 10 and is a Raptors 905 option, though that hasn’t been officially announced yet. Everyone else from Summer League is likely a G League candidate with no immediate path to training camp.

How does Darko balance the bench defensive intensity with the starters’ offensive capabilities? – @therounder

Good question. There does seem to be a different identity between the two units.

Rajaković will need to balance how many non-shooters are on the floor at once. I expect Scottie Barnes to lead a lot of bench units as he did last year, giving the Raptors a ball handler when Immanuel Quickley sits.

Ochai Agbaji shooting in the high 30s from deep again would be huge. Gradey Dick also needs to keep improving. The bench should defend, but the big question is whether it can score.

Now that Summer League is over, are we satisfied with the pick? Khaman or Queen were bigs we needed – @jaymartincomic

It’s way too early to make any judgments. Collin Murray-Boyles showed who he is: a high-IQ, versatile defender and offensive role player with some questions as a floor spacer. That’s what you’re betting on long-term.

How good is our bench going to be this year? How does it compare to the old Bench Mob? – @jbbeauso

I hate to kill the vibes, but we should probably retire the Bench Mob comparisons.

That group had future All-Stars, max players, and long-time NBA starters. It helped lay the foundation for the 2019 championship.

This bench looks promising, especially defensively, but has major offensive limitations. Not all of these guys will pan out. Ideally, a couple of them become real rotation players and the rest move on. That’s just how it goes in the NBA.

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