Within the haul the Toronto Raptors are receiving from the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat, you’d probably call Precious Achiuwa the crown-jewel piece coming back in return for their franchise icon.
Achiuwa turns 22 in September and will be entering his sophomore year with the Raptors, meaning, from a development standpoint, he aligns very well with 20-year-old rookie Scottie Barnes, whom the Raptors took No. 4 overall in this year’s draft, to possibly form the Raptors’ foundation for the future.
During his one year in college at Memphis in the 2019-20 season, Achiuwa was named the 2020 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Later in 2020, he was taken in the first round, 20th-overall by the Heat.
Still quite raw and moldable as an athlete, Achiuwa fits the archetype of player the Raptors have apparently been targeting.
And, as a final note about him, Achiuwa is Nigerian like Raptors vice chairman and president Masai Ujiri. His parents — mother, Eunice, and father, Donatus – are both Pentecostal ministers.
Here’s a little more on the type of player the Raptors are getting in Achiuwa.
Welcome to the family, @PreciousAchiuwa! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/Vn8xcomLfS
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 6, 2021
Age: 21
Former team: Miami Heat
Position: Power forward/centre
Height: Six-foot-eight | Weight: 225 lbs
2020-21 stats: MPG: 12.1 | PPG: 5.0 | RPG: 3.4 | FG%: 54.4
A defensive monster in waiting
First and foremost, if you think the Raptors are adding some kind of young potential scoring machine you’re going to be disappointed.
Achiuwa’s primary strength coming out of college remains the same heading into his second NBA season: His monstrous potential on the defensive side of the ball.
At six-foot-eight, a chiselled 225 pounds with a near-seven-foot-two wingspan and remarkable athleticism, Achiuwa looks like he could become the perfect modern-day defender, capable of defending all five positions and able to switch onto guys with impunity.
Additionally, though he has yet to show it much in the NBA, Achiuwa has excellent timing and his athleticism and strength allow him to get up and make some truly spectacular blocks.
During his rookie season with the Heat, Achiuwa started with a larger role that slowly diminished to the point where he missed seven of Miami’s last 13 regular-season games and clocked about 12 minutes of total playing time during the post-season.
Simply put, Achiuwa looked a little overmatched adjusting to the NBA game at times and wasn’t afforded many opportunities to make mistakes on a Heat team that was struggling and desperately trying to find its footing all season long after making a Finals appearance in the bubble.
It wasn’t a great situation for Achiuwa to learn and develop in, and as a result, he wasn’t able to show all he could do on the defensive side of the ball.
Hopefully, with a full training camp with the Raptors, Achiuwa’s defensive potential can shine through this coming season.
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Appears limited offensively at the moment
Take a quick glance at Achiuwa’s stats and you can plainly see they don’t paint the prettiest of pictures.
Yes, he didn’t got a ton of opportunity as his minutes dwindled, but even if he was given the keys to the car in Miami last season, he likely wouldn’t have done much offensively as he just isn’t there yet in his development.
Right now, as an undersized centre, the best Achiuwa can do is act as a cutter from the dunker spot or a hard roller/lob threat out of the pick-and-roll.
His jumper isn’t developed enough to be reliably used and, worse yet, it looks like he has a lot of work still to do on it.
Last season he shot just 50.9 per cent from the free-throw line (on 110 attempts), indicating that his shooting mechanics aren’t very sound right now.
On the bright side, we know that Achiuwa plays with a relentless motor and is an extremely hard worker, but the fruits of that labour may not become apparent until later down the line.
Raptors have a lot of this type of player on the roster
Stop if you’ve heard this before: Achiuwa is a long, super-athletic player with readily apparent defensive chops, developing offensive skills with a high motor and capable of playing and defending multiple positions.
Sounds a fair bit like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Barnes and even second-round Canadian rookie Delano Banton, doesn’t it?
It’s apparent the Raptors have a specific type they like and they may be way ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the NBA in collecting players of such similar abilities, but there has to be some concern with regards to scoring the rock, no?
In Achiuwa, the Raptors have apparently added another defensive specialist while they look like they could falter offensively with who they currently have on their roster.
And while Achiuwa may very well become a better shooter, how long will that take? Like with Barnes, the development of Achuiwa’s jumper might not align well with the competitive windows of core Raptors players Siakam and Fred VanVleet – who are both 27.
There’s a lot of untapped talent and potential with Achuiwa, but you have to wonder if putting him on a team with players who seem to do similar things that he does to varying degrees is the best fit for himself and the Raptors as a team.
We’ll find out soon enough.
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