Raptors Signing Incoming... Toronto Linked to 3 New Prospects

Last Saturday, the Toronto Raptors did something weird. They had two two-way roster spots open and decided to cut all those Exhibit 10 players and only fill one of those two-way positions. Now, this confused a lot of people, but then we found out that Bobby Webster did it on purpose. Blake Murphy explained why. About 100 players were about to get cut from around the NBA, and the Raptors wanted to be the first ones to get a good look at them. Well, now it's the middle of this week, all those cuts have happened, and now Jake Fisher has revealed the three players the Toronto Raptors are now interested in. One of them is a former first-round pick that has been in a multitude of trade rumors over the past few years. The other is a guy that's been the G League Rookie of the Year, and another one that's a defensive wing that got squeezed out by Memphis. So in this video, I'm breaking down all three players that could potentially fill that final two-way roster spot. We'll break down who they actually are, how they'd fit inside of this Toronto Raptors team, and why this year compared to other seasons it's most important that they get this decision right i also want to note specifically one of these guys fixes a problem that we saw on opening night for this raptors team even in a 43 point win but we have to leave things off with why this roster spot matters so much because most of the time people don't really care about those two-way contracts but this season it is most certainly different the raptors are hard capped at the first apron for this entire year because of how they took on the salary of Kawhi Leonard in that blockbuster trade over the summer. They're about $960,000 under that line, so the cheapest standard contract in the league is more than that number. So if the Toronto Raptors want to sign a standard contract, the card just declines. But the thing about a two-way contract is it doesn't affect the cap. So the Toronto Raptors, with this open two-way spot, can add a talent, can add a piece out there to this team and it doesn't affect their salary situation. So right now, even after game one, where our depth looks intense, our depth looks elite, this squad is going to need a bunch of bodies ready to step up because guys like Kawhi Leonard, other of the vets on this roster, they're going to be resting. They're going to be injured. There's going to be a lot of stuff that's happening. The Raptors want to compete right now. So having a platoon of guys ready to roll is going to be crucial over the course of an 82 game season. And the two-way guy can be active for up to 50 NBA games. If Kawhi sits those back-to-backs, someone rolls their ankle in January, that is the guy that you're going to be calling. And the market is moving fast. Earlier this week, we speculated about Musa Cisse being a potential fit. The Dallas Mavericks decided to keep him. And Masai Ujiri, he is moving fast here as well as he just grabbed Walter Clayton Jr., the 18th pick in the 2025 NBA draft for their last two-way spot. And it's getting tighter and tighter by the day. Hoopsrumors came out and said that there are only three teams left in the entire NBA that have an open two-way roster spot, Sacramento Kings, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Toronto Raptors. So the clock's ticking, and the first name on this list is certainly the biggest one. We're leading it off with Dalton Knecht, a guy the Lakers have been trying to trade for years now at this point. He's a 6'5 wing, 25 years old, and the Lakers took him with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. A little reminder for folks, Jacoby Walter was picked just two selections after Knecht in that year's draft. His path to the NBA was pretty wild. He was a five foot eight high school sophomore. He started at his junior college in Colorado, then Northern Colorado, and then only got to Tennessee in his fifth year as a senior that one season, he averaged 21 points per game was an SEC Player of the Year and a consensus first team, all American. And for a few weeks as a rookie, he looked like the steal of the draft in November 19th in 2024 against Utah. He had 37 points, nine threes, and that tied an NBA record for threes in a game by a rookie. And honestly, his entire rookie season, he looked fairly impressive. He averaged nine points per game, 37% from the three-point line, and almost 44% on corner threes. And as a spot-up shooter, which is exactly what the Toronto Raptors would want him to do here, he was in the top 96th percentile in the NBA in points per play, out there on those three-point shots. And then it all fell apart. In February, the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams, and two days later, the trade got rescinded over Mark Williams' physical. So Dalton Connect had to walk back into the Lakers' locker room after the team already tried to trade him. And last season, the numbers completely fell off a cliff. He averaged 4.2 points per game in about 10 minutes of action. He shot 34% from three in just 10 minutes a game, and also had a pretty significant stint out there in the G League. And on Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to cut him. Not Bronny James, they decided to cut Dalton Connect. He cleared waivers yesterday, so he can sign anywhere right now. And they're still paying his $4.2 million this season. So I'm sure he's just looking for the best fit to revive his NBA career. And it's not just Toronto who's been named, as Mark Stein said multiple teams are pitching him a two-way contract spot. Jake Fisher says Sacramento is in on it, and Minnesota has been called as a prime suitor. Again, Dalton Connect is a guy that's had some highs, had some big moments out there in the NBA, but was in a very strange situation with the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, things aren't perfect. There's questions about how he fits out there on the court, his basketball IQ, a lot of different things regarding Dalton Connect that make him a little bit of a risk to bring out there onto your team. But when it's a two-way contract, when it doesn't affect the salary cap, a player that had significant trade value at one point thrown in out there in the Mark Williams trade Dalton Knecht is an interesting player and for a team that needs more shooting that needs more pieces out there behind the three-point line he'd be an interesting spot to slide in at that two-way position and a quick point before we dive into the next guy because there's a two under the radar players that honestly are very interesting for this Toronto Raptors team if you're enjoying this video make sure you guys hit that like button so next guy so the next guy we're looking at is Sean Patula, a 6'1 point guard who just turned 24 years old. He was undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2025. And then he went to the G League and absolutely lit it up. 23.6 points per game, 6.8 assists per night, and 37% from three. Also in February, the man had a 46-point game, which made him the NBA's G League Rookie of the Year. The Clippers gave him a two-way contract in February and seven NBA games. Then along with Jamarian Sharp, who's now back in the Toronto Raptors system, they let him go in August and Houston signed him. And then Monday, Houston waived him as well to make room for the two other guys that they converted. And it's not empty scoring. In his last college season at Ole Miss, he shot 39% from three and got almost two steals per night. That's the type of player that screams Toronto Raptor. And in the G League, he made 84 and a half percent of his free throws so the guy can definitely shoot and Mark Stein says that he clears waivers and he's fielding fresh interest Jake Fisher says Sacramento wants him on its open two-way spot too with Ben Simmons out for the season after his torn achilles given the fact that they do need a guard now at this point so he's definitely an elite talent that's fielding a lot of interest across the NBA but the issue with him getting picked up by Toronto is the current roster situation you have Emmanuel Quickly you have Jamal Shead you have Jaden Bradley who I know a lot of people aren't super high on which makes this less of an issue specifically for me but even at the two guard spot you have players that are looking for minutes like Elijah Martin behind RJ Barrett Jacoby Walter all these dudes so it's a tough spot it's a tough sell on that two-way position when a team like the Sacramento Kings that's more opened up it has a more attractive destination which is crazy to say because the Raptors are contenders and the kings are the Sacramento Kings he might be the best pure scorer of these three players but the fit makes it a tough question for Toronto to answer how they're going to be able to recruit him to this team. The final name we're looking at is Micah Peavy. He's a 6'6 wing, 25 years old, and a guy that was a second round pick in 2025. He played five college seasons at three different schools and at the last one, got him drafted. At Georgetown, he averaged 17.2 points per game, 2.3 steals a night, and shot 40% from three, which made him all for Big East first team. One night against Creighton, he had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and seven steals. His rookie season was in New Orleans, and it was pretty rough. He played 61 games, 4.3 points per night, and he made just under 26% of his threes. But if you watch the end of that New Orleans Pelicans season, which I don't even think New Orleans Pelicans fans did, there was something sneaky there to watch for Peavy. Over his last five games, he averaged 10.8 points, including a 20 piece on 9 of 13 shooting against Utah and 21 against Minnesota. Then in September, they traded him to Memphis. He hurt his ankle before camp and missed the whole preseason. So on Monday, the Memphis Grizzlies cut him. So he's a 25-year-old wing that plays really good defense, played a lot of minutes last season for the New Orleans Pelicans, and he's been too injured to show what he worked on, what he improved over the course of the summer. That's exactly the kind of guy that's available this time of year for a two-way position, but actually gives you some interesting upside as a player. And fun fact, Anthony Black of the Orlando Magic is his step brother. And that's basically in the scouting report as well. He's a long switchable guard that defends first with the jumper being a question mark. So how is Bobby Webster going to pick between these three players? Well, it all starts with the Toronto Raptors needs and especially what we saw on opening night. Now you might make the take the Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls by 43. You don't need anything here right now, but the team still went 10 for 30 from behind the three point line. And if you take out quickly and Kawhi, the rest of the team just went four for 16. CMB said it directly, the team wants to get up about 35 three-point attempts per game, and you need people who are going to make them. If you look at the two-way players they already have, Malik Smith, he is a guard. Nate Biddle is a center, and he's coming back from his foot injury. The missing piece is a wing. And that's why on my list, Padula is probably the last guy I expect the Toronto Raptors to go after. He's a great scorer, but at the wrong position. Now, for the people that aren't believers in Jaden Bradley, which it feels like the Toronto Raptors are, they might be looking at this guy as the number one option, but realistically, I don't expect the Toronto Raptors to go down that route. Next on my list is Peavy. He is second because the guy plays defense, he plays the right position, and fits what the Toronto Raptors usually do. Darko Rajaković trusts guys that play elite defense that come out and are dogs out there on that defensive end, but of course, the shooting is a question mark and the reason why I'm not 100% sold on the Raptors going full tilt in this direction. So in this list, it might feel generic because he is the big blockbuster name, but it is Dalton Connect, who as a guy, that's a big name that played for the Lakers. You know, people know about him, but he's the player that already makes jump shots. It's the one thing you know you're going to get from Dalton Knecht. He shot 37% from the three-point line as a rookie and was in the top 4% in the NBA in those spot-up shots. And need I remind you, we're not giving up first-round picks for Dalton Connect. His value feels a little overhyped because of the ridiculous asking price the Lakers have been calling for this guy for years at this point. This costs nothing for the Toronto Raptors. If it works out, you have a backup wing that's able to knock down three-point shots, get you buckets at a really solid rate, but if it doesn't work out, you know, you lose that roster spot, which is fairly important, but you get a guy that's going to knock down some threes out there for the Raptors 905. And one thing to also note on this situation is the Raptors still have their final roster spot open but they can't really sign it right now but they will be able to later in the season we've broken it down on a couple videos but these rookie contracts that you end up signing end up getting pro rated so if they want to convert a two-way contract in the middle of the year when the contract amount that hits towards your cap is under the amount that would affect the first apron the Raptors can convert a Dalton Knecht, a Nate Biddle or one of these Malik Smith players to a real standard contract so as crazy as it might seem to be like oh a two-way guy that can only play 50 games why are we even thinking about his fit around Kawhi around Scotty around these different players as the season goes along if they impress they can get converted and the Raptors are kind of built to do that come around december or january the lakers situation was a mess in its own right for a lot of young players and then you add in the fact that Dalton Knecht was traded for the team and then brought back it was a tough spot for him to succeed he showed some talent he showed some promise at the NBA level I'm not saying he's going to be a superstar he's going to be a perfect fit and if the Toronto Raptors get him that you know it's going to be a fit made in heaven but he's a guy that's worth taking a risk on he provides a need that the Toronto Raptors are looking for and I think it's a risk worth taking so as of recording none of these guys have signed anywhere yet but the T-wolves and the Kings are aggressively pursuing all three of these players so in the comments let me know who are you looking for Knecht, Peavy, Badula let me know comment down below and if you're interested in checking out how the Toronto Raptors did in the first game of the season check out this video right here