Who Should Be The Raptors Fifth Starter

 I truly can't wait for basketball to begin again. I hope that my girlfriend is enjoying all this free time I have in the evenings because in about a month I will be once again consumed by the wonders of NBA basketball. My favorite team of course, the Toronto Raptors, has a big question to answer coming into the next season: who should be their fifth starter? The first 4 starters should be fairly set in stone for the season, barring injuries or crazy unexpected breakouts. The foursome of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl played great together last season, albeit in only 234 minutes. The 4 listed above had a net rating of 10.8, proving they can hang with anyone in the league. The fifth last season in most of those lineups was typically Gary Trent Jr. With Gary now in Milwaukee, the Raptors have multiple options they can go to that can fill that slot.

The Favorite Option: Gradey Dick

I've written before about Gradey Dick's up and down rookie season. Through the first 20 games of his career, the unanimous "best shooter in the draft" shot just 24% from deep and 28% overall. The youngster really turned it around in the latter half of the season averaging 12ppg on 34% shooting from deep while contributing in other areas as well. Gradey was brought in primarily for his ability to shoot. While 34% isn't exactly lighting the world on fire from deep, his stroke looks smooth and repeatable and he still projects to be a good shooter at this level. The thing that impressed me most about Gradey was his basketball IQ. As a rookie, Gradey appeared to instantly understand how to move without the basketball to get open on the perimeter or make smart cuts to the rim. Gradey would keep the ball moving if his shot wasn't there, rarely forcing a bad shot. The eye test suggested that while Gary Trent Jr was a good shooter with the Raptors, Gradey had a better feel of getting to his spots and keeping the ball moving on offense. Shooting is going to be important for the Raptors' fifth starter adding spacing around Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, and Gradey projects to be able to deliver just that. 

Gradey's defense is a concern in this spot. At 6'6, Gradey isn't a short player for a shooting guard, however at just 21 years old Gradey entered the league at 200lbs and was physically outmatched in a lot of matchups. The Raptors will be starting a small PG in Quickley and an undersized SF in Barrett, adding Gradey Dick to this lineup may be a recipe for trouble on the defensive end. Gradey did seem to have good feel for the game on defense but his physical limitations will hold him back from ever being a lockdown guy. If Gradey can put on some weight in the offseason, he can be seen as more of a threat on both sides of the ball which will be gigantic for the Raptors season.

The Vet: Bruce Brown

Bruce very well might get the start right out of the gate. At 28 years old, Bruce is actually one of the older Raptors entering this season. He's played 6 seasons in the NBA including winning a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. All this to say, Bruce brings experience that other players that could fill this slot simply do not. In Bruce Brown's career he's been used in a large variety of ways. At 6'4 he's guarded point guards all the way to centers. He's been asked to be the primary ball handler in some lineups and more of a cutter/dirty work guy in others. This all projects to be an ideal fifth starter on an NBA team. The issue with Brown is that he has a tendency to go off script. There were multiple games last season where Bruce would play great, creating chaos on both ends and being the ultimate glue guy. There were also multiple games last season where Bruce would play terrible, creating chaos on both ends and being the ultimate un-sticker guy? Need a good word for that. These types of players are useful, particularly on the Raptors who don't necessarily have a lot of depth, but they tend to do better off the bench where their mistakes can be minimized. 

Brown is a streaky shooter who rarely takes them at high volume. He can put up a corner 3 here and there, but he definitely doesn't have the upside of a Gradey Dick at that particular skill. While Brown is a better defender than Dick currently, he has the same limitations standing at 6'4 in an already small lineup. There is also the looming possibility that he is involved in a trade, on an expiring contract in a potentially rebuilding year for the Raptors. Brown might be the best man for the job on the roster at this point in time, but I expect the Raptors to lean towards developing one of their young guys in this spot while having Bruce hold down bench lineups. That being said, I wouldn't be shocked if Bruce Brown is on the floor to close games in crunch time. 

Max Defense, Who Needs Offense: Ochai Agbaji

This one is more of a dark horse, and will rely heavily on Ochai improving from last season. The Raptors are at their best defensively when Scottie Barnes can be a rover helping on the weakside with someone else guarding the opposing team's best player. As it stands today, none of Quickley, Barrett, or Poeltl are well suited to guard the apex predator wings of the league all game, pushing that responsibility to Scottie Barnes. Enter Ochai. If Agbaji has any high level NBA skill it's perimeter defense. Although he only stands at 6'5, he has a 6'10 wingspan and is built like a linebacker. Still working on his feel for the game on that end, Ochai showed flashes last year of being an elite NBA defender, something that will give him multiple chances in the league. 

Where Ochai struggles tremendously is on offense. Ochai is a streaky corner 3 shooter, if you can even call it that. Until he proves otherwise, fans are going to wince whenever he puts up a shot. He has limited to no ability to attack off the dribble, and when he does, his floor vision is severely lacking often forcing up bad shots at the rim. He has found some success as a cutter, but in a lineup with Scottie Barnes shooting needs to be a priority. Ochai will be used this season as a defensive specialist, but until he improves on offense it is hard to see him taking on this fifth starter role long term.

Honorable Mentions: Davion Mitchell, Chris Boucher, Kelly Olynyk

None of the three listed above have a high likelihood of cracking the starting 5, but all 3 should get looks in closing lineups depending on matchups. Davion's only limitation for this spot is that he's only 6'2. The Raptors likely won't be starting two undersized point guards alongside RJ Barrett this season but I could see scenarios against some of the smaller teams in the league where Davion gets the look to close the game. 

Chris Boucher is the last remaining Raptor from the championship winning team. What he brings to the table is all out hustle, all game, every game, no matter what. Nobody can question Chris Boucher's heart when he's out there. What he lacks is decision making, on both sides of the ball, something that led to him falling out of coach Darko's rotation entirely last season. If he's used, Boucher is better served as an energy guy off the bench rather than the starting lineup.

Kelly O brings veteran leadership to the team as well as spacing, and playmaking at one of the big man positions. There will certainly be games where the Raptors need offense and will be opting for Kelly Olynyk in place of Jakob Poeltl to close games. It is hard however to see the two playing together as they're both slow footed and beg to be attacked in pick and rolls. Kelly's lack of rim protection at the 5 spot will keep him out of the starting lineup when Jakob Poeltl is healthy, but expect to see him as a key glue guy in bench lineups this season.

Damn ok I guess I just talked about pretty much the entire roster. Here's hoping for a good season, I think any of the players mentioned bring their pros and cons to the starting lineup and it will be interesting to see how Darko uses them.