Struggling Raptors providing opportunities for unheralded players

Early in the fourth quarter on Saturday, Javon Freeman-Liberty corralled his own miss, surveyed the floor, and found Jahmi’us Ramsey open above the break for a three. Ramsey sank the triple, extending the Raptors’ lead to four points and sending the Washington Wizards calling for a timeout to regroup.

Some 20 days ago, the plan was for this type of thing to take place with Raptors 905.

Freeman-Liberty’s two-way contract had been exchanged for a full-time NBA contract, and Ramsey was added on a 10-day contract. The Raptors organization is spending the final weeks of the season focusing on development and figuring out who should be a part of their summer (and potentially 2024-25) plans, and securing a player they know they like in Freeman-Liberty, while taking a flier on a physical, toolsy player like Ramsey, is par for the course. 

While NBA reps are incredibly valuable, the initial thought was that Freeman-Liberty and Ramsey could share a backcourt in the G League for a while, seeing what chemistry they can build and which shows more capacity for expanding their point guard responsibilities. Even as recently as Tuesday, they were slated to start together for the 905 before Ramsey was pulled as a late scratch in case the Raptors needed him Wednesday.

Things changed quickly. In addition to a number of injuries and personal situations for key NBA rotation pieces, D.J. Carton — signed on a 10-day and subsequently on a two-way deal — was also hurt, leaving the parent club without a point guard. And so before they could get more than a few reps together in Mississauga, Freeman-Liberty and Ramsey saw themselves sharing the NBA backcourt for heavy minutes this week.

On Saturday against the Wizards, the results were mixed. The Raptors lost, 112-109, but Ramsey was a game-high plus-9 and continued to show the type of toughness and physicality that makes him an intriguing defensive prospect. Freeman-Liberty, meanwhile, shot the ball poorly but was second on the team with four assists, looking like the only player outside of point-centre Kelly Olynyk capable of completing a pass undeflected.

Nobody will be hanging the Raptors' success and failures on a pair of G League guards, nor should they. Not only is that not pragmatic, it would also fail to recognize that the duo are being asked to play outside of their normal role and skillset. Both players got a start this weekend, the first of their respective NBA careers and certainly not something that was on the radar for either this time last year.

Right now, they are playing a form of combo-guard that leans closer to point guard, with a lot of the offence running through Olynyk (and to some extent Bruce Brown) but a share of the traditional lead-guard duties falling to them. This is a big change for Ramsey, who was never much of a point guard prospect through college and the G League and whose developmental jump has centred on his shooting progression and his defence. Freeman-Liberty, meanwhile, has nearly doubled his assist rate in his second G League season but was coming off the bench in the G League a year ago as a slashing two-guard, so the jump here is significant.

Players on the fringes of the league can’t be picky about their opportunities.

“I'm grateful for it,” Ramsey said Friday. “I'm trying to make the most of it. Yeah, it was probably more than probably you expect for a 10-day, but I'm happy, I'm ready to play.”

Garrett Temple, who turned a series of 10-day contracts, a season in Italy, and standout G League play into a 14-year NBA career, has been in the ear of young players about making the most of these chances and, if they can, focusing on what they can control.

“I've been in your position, brother,” Temple said of his message. “There are not many people that can look in you in the eye and say, ‘I know exactly what you're going through.’ So for me to be able to have the opportunity to talk to guys like Jahmi’us and D.J., when he came on before he got the two-way contract, and tell him it's not about you shooting the ball, you know, Jahmi’us was upset, he's not making as many shots. I'm like, ‘Bro, it's not about that. You're affecting the game in a way where everybody can see it, with your defensive tenacity, your ability on that end of the court. The shots are gonna fall.’”

Temple’s career is instructive for Ramsey. He shot 38 per cent on threes over three G League seasons but just 31 per cent in his call-ups. Ramsey was shooting 40.4 per cent on threes in the G League this year — a nice jump for him, and almost entirely on tougher above-the-break attempts — but is 6-for-22 (27 per cent) during his two 10-day deals.

One of the toughest challenges with an NBA call-up is finding the right balance between playing a small, sometimes modest role and showing out to make sure you make the most of the chance you’ve been given. Some players get too passive, others too aggressive. Some shoot arrows at the bench of their former team.

Ramsey has struck the middle ground effectively. He has not been incredibly efficient, but everything he’s done except the cold 3-point shooting affirms what the Raptors liked about him: He can clearly defend at the next level, he plays much bigger than his six-foot-three height on both ends, and he’s able to at least get a foot in the paint within the flow of an offence. He’s not a point guard — nobody healthy on the team right now is — but he’s a talented player who may fit better as the team gets more healthy and he moves back off-ball more.

Saturday was the final day of Ramsey’s second 10-day contract, which means the Raptors now have to make a decision on him. They can sign him for the remainder of the season, they can sign him to a two-year deal (usually with a small guarantee for the second season, like Freeman-Liberty’s has) to make sure he’s in the system for the summer, or they can return him to his former G League team and try someone else on a 10-day.

In a vacuum, Ramsey has shown enough for an extended look. If there’s a factor in his way, it’s that the Raptors might want to try a more traditional point guard for 10 days to see how that looks, especially since Freeman-Liberty is already signed through next year and is in a similar off-guard tweener spot. However it shakes out, Ramsey’s made the most of an unexpectedly large window of on-court opportunity.

Player quick-hits

In addition to providing great leadership, Temple has played more the last two games than he had in the two months prior. He was quite good Friday, and had two blocks for the first time since December of 2021 on Saturday. … Gary Trent Jr. returned from a minor back injury to match a season-high with 31 points. He aggravated the back late, getting stuffed by the rim but stayed in the game. It took him 26 shots to get to 31, but they were all necessary, as he remains the only non-cutting source of Toronto offence right now. … Ochai Agbaji completed a solid back-to-back with a really nice game as a defender and with some solid finishing in the paint. The 3-point shot remains a work in progress. … Gradey Dick had an excellent block at the rim late, scored 17 points on 13 shots, and generally looked solid at both ends. … Mo Gueye got a few minutes with Jontay Porter out for personal reasons. He had an awesome dunk and a block, yet otherwise looks a bit sped up and out-muscled, as you’d expect for a rookie in his first few NBA reps.

10-game losing streak

This marks the tenth loss in a row for Toronto, just the eighth time in franchise history that has happened. The last time the Raptors lost 10 or more in a row was 2010-11, when they lost 13 straight on their way to a 22-60 record and a No. 5 overall pick that became Jonas Valanciunas.

The longest losing streak in team history is 17 games, which was early in the 16-win 1997-98 season. The extended losing in the franchise’s infancy resulted in Damon Stoudamire asking for a trade and head coach Darrell Walker resigning mid-season. The lesson here: It can always be worse.

Double tank

For those looking at the reverse standings, tonight’s game counted double. Not only did the Raptors lose, putting them a full game “ahead” of Memphis for the sixth-worst record in the league, Washington winning also helps. Detroit has now once again passed the Wizards for last place, meaning Toronto’s second-round pick (initially Detroit’s) is back to 31^st.

Raptors 905 with two games to go

The 905 lost, 105-85, on Saturday, dropping them to 11-21 in the “regular season” portion of the season and 15-33 overall. They have home games remaining Wednesday and Friday to conclude their season.

It’s been a difficult season all-around for the 905. A lot of that has to do with a terrible run of health, including two of the team’s three initial two-way contracts being injured and replaced, and a half-dozen games where they were playing with emergency call-up players. The NBA Raptors have also been heavily injured, leaving the 905 with very few appearances from assignment players and two-way contracts.

Some of this is just life in the G League, where rosters are always in flux. And the 905 could argue that they’ve had a successful season at the individual level, as they are near the top of the G League in players promoted to the NBA this season. Having acknowledged that, the Raptors have long believed that learning in a winning environment is a key component of development, and they’ll surely want to get back to their track record of G League success next year.

There are two factors potentially working in their favour to that end. First, the Raptors will have multiple draft picks in the 2024 draft. Beyond that, Mo Gueye and Carton are both on two-year, two-way deals, and Freeman-Liberty’s contract is a two-year pact. This means a number of this year’s developmental players will be in the pipeline all summer and heading into camp next fall.

I want to note, too, that despite the on-court challenges, the 905 game-day experience remains a very fun one. I sent some friends and their young daughters to Saturday’s game and they had a blast. The 905 provide an intimate and family-oriented production, closer to the action than you can usually get at the NBA level, and things like Stripes the mascot helping children deliver the game ball before tip-off is a great touch to help develop life-long fans.

Programming Note

The Raptors Show with Will Lou (and me) is changing time slots this week. We’ll still be 2-4pm on Monday, but from Tuesday onward we’ll be 11am-12pm, available on all the same platforms as usual.

I’ll also be relaunching Jays Talk Plus this week — What’s My Ainge Again? — with podcast-only episodes Monday and Tuesday and a live 11am-12pm show Thursday. The full-time launch date for JT+ is April 18.