NBA Summer League in Las Vegas begins this Sunday and the Toronto Raptors will help kick things off with a contest against the New York Knicks at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet ONE.
Las Vegas Summer League, as a whole, will run from Aug. 8-17, with teams each getting an opportunity to play five games. After every team plays four games, the two teams with the best records from the first four games will then meet in the Championship Game. The other teams that don’t make the championship game will then be scheduled for a fifth game afterwards.
For the Raptors, Summer League is an opportunity to see what some of their new, rookie players can do, and to take a look at guys who might fit into their future plans – particularly on Raptors 905.
Here’s a quick primer on what you need to know about the Summer Raptors.
Raptors’ Summer League Schedule
Aug. 8: Toronto Raptors vs. New York Knicks at 4:30 p.m. ET (on Sportsnet ONE)
Aug. 11: Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors at 8:00 p.m. ET
Aug. 12: Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets at 8:00 p.m. ET
Aug. 14: Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets at 7:00 p.m. ET
Aug. 16 or 17: Fifth game TBD
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Raptors Summer League Roster
Here’s a look at the Raptors’ 15-man roster, including the squad’s head coach, Patrick Mutombo from the 905:
The Raptors have announced their Summer League roster.
They begin play this Sunday against the Knicks at 4:30 p.m. ET on SN1. pic.twitter.com/fw3rJwKQFj
— Steven Loung (@loung_s) August 5, 2021
Major storyline to watch
The biggest reason to tune into Summer League is to see what a team’s newly drafted players can do, and the Raptors this year are no different.
Gauging the development of players like Malachi Flynn, Freddie Gillespie and Yuta Watanabe will, of course, be important. But this Summer League will be all about names like Dalano Banton, David Johnson and, especially, Socttie Barnes.
Barnes was taken No. 4 overall and expectations for him are reasonably high.
A player known as an elite athlete with playmaking skills and immense defensive potential, but lacking a jumper at the moment, we’ll see if any of that proves to be true against NBA competition – lesser though it may be – at long last.
Summer League isn’t known for its defensive intensity, but if Barnes can show some of those defensive skills of his during Summer League that would be a very encouraging sign for him and the Raptors. As well, since he likely isn’t to see much resistance, we may be in store for some fierce attacks of the basket and, more importantly, some good looks at his jumper and if he’s managed to shore up some of the mechanical issues he appeared to have with it during his lone year at Florida State University.
Summer League for the Raptors this year will revolve very heavily around Barnes.
One sentence for each player on the Summer League roster
As mentioned before, there are 15 players on the Raptors’ Summer League roster. For a little more on each of them, here’s a single sentence on each of them.
Jalen Adams: A six-foot-three point guard who played his last two seasons in the G League, Adams looks to have a real NBA skill with his sharpshooting three-point stroke – he’s shot 39.4 per cent from deep over his last two seasons with the Erie BayHawks.
Dalano Banton: The first Canadian the Raptors ever drafted, I took a more in-depth look at Banton before he was drafted in this piece.
Scottie Barnes: The No. 4 overall pick from this past draft, Barnes looks to have all the physical tools to become at least a high-level starting calibre player, but he might be a little raw at the moment.
Justin Champagnie: An undersized combo forward, who crashes the glass hard and plays with relentless energy (more info on him here).
Zaccheus Darko-Kelly: A 24-year-old six-foot-six wing player who played his college in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) where he played well being named and NAIA All-American First-Team selection twice.
Malachi Flynn: Entering the sophomore season, Flynn will be looking to build off a pretty strong end to his rookie campaign with the Raptors, and is certainly looking a lot bigger and stronger as he begins Year 2.
Freddie Gillespie: Gillespie flashed some solid potential as a high-energy reserve big, as he earned a spot for himself on the Raptors last season, and as long as he continues to show that in Summer League he should be part of Toronto’s plans moving forward.
Ashton Hagans: A former five-star recruit who played two seasons at Kentucky before going undrafted in 2020, Hagans fits the mold of the kind of player the Raptors like in that he’s a six-foot-three point guard, with a six-foot-eight wingspan and some athletic ability.
Rayshaun Hammonds: A big (six-foot-seven, 235 pounds) wing player who spent three years at Georgia before declaring for the draft in 2020, went undrafted and played last season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the G League where it seems like he didn’t get much of an opportunity to show what he could do as he only played about 12 minutes per game.
David Johnson: A big guard with the kind of measurables that the Raptors appear to be chasing, coupled with the promise of the multi-positional versatility that Toronto’s front office covets (more info on him here).
Anas Mahmoud: A seven-foot Egyptian centre who played his college ball at Louisville and just spent his last three seasons playing for Egyptian pro club, and NBA-run Basketball Africa League (BAL) champion, Zamalek, Mahmoud comes with some hefty accolades from this past season on his résumé as he was named BAL Defensive Player of the Year, was an All-BAL First Team selection and was the Egyptian League MVP.
Isiaha Mike: A Scarborough native who had a strong career at SMU and played last season in Germany, Mike is another six-foot-eight combo forward who projects best to maybe become a reserve three-and-D wing at the NBA level — if he’s able to get his shooting stroke back on track.
Matt Morgan: Morgan, a crafty six-foot-two point guard with a penchant for making clutch shots, is a veritable Raptors 905 legend, having spent two strong seasons with the Raptors’ G League outfit.
Ishmail Wainright: Best known for his four-year career at Baylor, Wainwright is a six-foot-five, 250-pound concrete block of a man who can defend multiple positions and set bone-rattling screens.
Yuta Watanabe: Watanabe is coming off a strong showing with the Japanese national team at the Olympics where he was used as a primary scoring option, forcing him to be more aggressive than he ever showed with the Raptors last season to the tune of a 17.7 points-per-game average across Japan’s three Olympic games.
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