The Raptors just SWERVED the Entire Fanbase...

The Toronto Raptors just swerved the entire fan base as the back half of this year, we've been witnessing young players really show out and impress Raptors fans with their intensity and how they've been exceeding expectations. And of course, A.J. Lawson was rewarded for the strong performances he put in the back half of this year. But the Raptors went with a swerve and ended up making another multi-year signing to a guy that. Roster for a big chunk of this back half of the season, so we're gonna break down what the Toronto Raptors just did, how it impacts the flexibility in the roster moving forward into next year, and more importantly, what we can expect from the bench mob going next season. So we'll discuss that, including a little breakdown on the Mavericks game last night in this video. But before we dive into that, folks, we're getting a few new viewers back. So essentially, 55% of our viewers are subscribed to the channel. 44% have not. Over the past month or so, that number was in the 30s. So we're seeing more and more people be interested in Raptors content, checking stuff out. So you are a part of the 44% that haven't the subscribe button just yet, and are interested in daily Toronto Raptors coverage. Make sure you guys hit that subscribe button because we're giving it to you all as we inch closer to the off season. As Masai Ujiri puts together all the pieces as we make our triumphant return to the hopefully the postseason. So lots of stuff to break down in this video. As the Raptors, they made another signing as we expected, but it was a surprise to a lot of Raptors fans. Essentially, news came out that Allen Castleton is leaving the Philadelphia 76ers for a standard deal with the Toronto Raptors. So Blake Murphy gave some deeper insight in terms of what's going on. Essentially, Castleton will be back on the same deal as AJ Lawson, final game of the season, and next year, but. The 2025 2026 is fully non-guaranteed. So Lawson and Castleton will get the nod over Swider and Orlando Robinson for staying in the summer development program and early camp competition. So this is very very interesting because if you're not familiar with Colin Castleton, he was on the team for a stretch this season. He's a big man and he is a pretty effective. He impressed a lot of people. Now, of course, the more memorable guy this season has been Orlando Robinson because he has been on the team longer and had some more lucrative performances for the team. But Castleton did certainly impress. I was surprised they didn't bring back him back on a standard contract. Swider and stuff, but they just wanted to look at all these different people and we need to look at his stats over the course of the season. Nothing overwhelming, but 4.5 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, and shooting 12% from the three-point line, which we discussed at 6'11, 24 years old, still a young guy at the big man position that has a lot of upside out there in the NBA. And there are a lot of pros and opponents of him as an actual basketball player. So he is a really nice touch around the basket. He's efficient. And comparison to Orlando Robinson, I think he looks just from the eye test smoother finishing in the paint. We get less those ugly, weird, ugly shots that we sometimes saw from Orlando Robinson. He's a really effective rebounder. He had some monster rebounding games in limited minutes for this Raptors team. He's also sneaky good passer. We take a look at his stats, right as we just brought up. You know, 1.1 assists per game, but in the G League, he was averaging around three assists. So he's a he's a sneaky good facilitator out there at that center position. And that 1.1 is in limited minutes, and he provides solid rim protection and defense without fouls. So those are things that you look for out there in a big man as as a rim protector. Of course, he's not the most overwhelming athlete, but same way in the same vein, Jakob Pirtle is a really effective rim protector. It's from mobile, like out there in the paint, just good instincts, length, knocking, push off position. Castleton did impress in a lot of areas, but of course, he was not perfect in these games and isn't the perfect basketball player. So he would be available for this type of contract, but he's not extremely mobile or bouncing out there at the the big man spot. He's 6'11, sometimes in pick and rolls, this guy gets switched on to and things get messy. He's also not a proven floor spacer, as we saw 12% from behind the three-point line this season. So he's integrating that to his game. He's not a Completely hopeless from improving that three-point shot out there, developing in that area, but not a proven three-point. Like we shouldn't come in and expect him to be taking a step forward. Now Orlando Robertson wasn't the same boat, and in his last fifteen games, he was shooting over forty percent, I believe, from the three-point line. So things can improve, but he hasn't even shown that level of improvement. Same way his competitor was for the spot in Orlando Robertson, and extremely small sample size at that. Level performance, so he's been very effective in the G League, and we take a look at all the different stats and things like that because you know he's he's got some different stuff with these different teams and. Really effective rebounder, but it's limited sample size, right? Sixteen games out there in the twenty three twenty four campaign, and only twenty five games out there in this season, this year, with multiple different teams. So that's a that's what's going on with Caston. A very interesting piece. I'm not. Rotted that Orlando Robinson didn't get the nod. I'm just a bit surprised because again we've taken a look at his stats and what he's been able to provide. You know, seven points per game versus the five different minutes, different sample sizes, different games. But the three point shooting is something that really impressed me from Orlando Robinson. I, it's a wash in terms of kind of their height and length and stuff like that. But basically, I was surprised because Orlando Robinson. Got the edge on him in regards to that final roster spot. Like Castleton was waived, and then Robinson got the minutes, and then of course now in terms of the summer looks in that it's Castleton. Now there could be some things on the go behind the scenes, and it's not a surefire thing that he will be on the roster for the entire next year. The Raptors do have two draft picks coming in. You know this year's NBA draft at very reasonable positions. Like of course the seventh pick will not get. It will guaranteed be on the roster. Thirty nine, uh, the way that Toronto Raptors draft should expect to be in a in the roster as well. So, uh, that's two roster spots that are going to be board competition. You know for this Raptors team next season, we'll see what happens. The free agents like Chris Boucher, Garrett Temple, in terms of other roster spots out there on the team. But you also have the factor and of the Toronto Raptors wanting to compete next season. We have player out there on the free agent market. So. It's not a guaranteed, surefire thing that Castleton, AJ, Loss, and these types of players will be out there in the mix. But they do have their rights. They do have the opportunity now to look at these guys over the course of the season and see where things go from there. So. Surprising move, I would say. I would have predicted it would have been Orlando Robinson out there at that center spot to get that position, the big man position. But Castleton ended up getting the way, and I'm excited to see how he develops. I'm excited to hear the developments over the course of the off season terms of his potential impact out there on the team. But that's not the only thing we're talking about in the game, as this has Raptors fans fired up as the team did take an L to the Dallas Mavericks last night, and it wasn't that you know in terms of box score, in terms of everything like that, wasn't the most exciting game by any stretch of the imagination. But there was one thing that certainly got a lot of Raptors fans fired up, and it was the performance of our guy Ochai Abaji. We can get that that stat up there. 24 points for Ochai Abaji, six of seven from the three point line, nine of 12 from the field. Of course, always playing solid defense, nine rebounds, three steals in tonight's game. Really effective on the offensive and defensive end. Ochai Abaji, it's it's a player coming into this year. We weren't sure about his future. Here I say the NBA, without poorly he was shooting in the back half of last season. So, uh, he had a hot start to this year, and then back half of the season, it feels like t here is been a lot of other development projects that the Raptors have been focused on. But Ochai has been very, very good. He's been very, very good this season. Has been very, very effective, and I like in the back half of this year, Ochai had a had a big booming game because it feels like he's been. Just overlooked by a lot of Raptors fans, just how the season's been going because Ochai Abadi is the perfect type of player you want on a winning team. On these types of rosters where he's expected to carry an offensive load or have an impact in those types of ways, that's not his best usage. So it's been tough to really grade Ochai Abadi and the impact that he can have out there on these games. But I don't know. I like that he did have an explosive because, frankly, I think he's going to be a crucial piece in this team's next factor, if you will, in terms of our ability to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture next season. Scotty Barnes also had a pretty solid game. Not super efficient. Didn't have the the free throw shooting is brutal from Scotty right now. Two of eight from the free throw line, but twenty six points, nine rebounds, three assists, a good a good game for Scotty, which you like to see. But other than that, no great performances. Jamal Shedd, you know, the shed head's a little bit a little bit sad out here in this this game tonight. Not the most effective game for Jamal Shedd. Efficiency, proper energy, defense, then, which is always good, but that is what it is. Battle hit three threes, but wasn't effective in a lot of other areas. You know, played some defense stuff. Jonathan Mobo, you want his touch to improve around the basket, but eight eight and eight, you can't really complain about that. A J Lawson off the bench, you know, showing some intensity, some fire out there, the rebounding position, but again. Last night was not an efficient night for this entire team. Garrett Temple had 12 points as well, 0 five from the three point line from the vet, but got some buckets around the basket. 33 minutes. Surprise, no Chris Boucher. We'll be talking about Chris Boucher a ton over the off season, so I haven't dove too much into that story the back half of this year. But surprise that you know when when you're running seven deep, Omaru got some minutes in this game. But surprise that they didn't didn't give Chris Boucher some burn. But that is what it is. I'm I'm not stressing about these wins losses the back half of the season. Let me know what you guys think about this. It's always positive to see at least one guy have a have a solid performance. But again. Hit that subscribe button if you don't miss a single thing with Raptors coverage. I'm signing out.