As new Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic tries to instill a “Point-Five” offensive philosophy, he doesn’t need to look any further than Jeff Dowtin Jr. for a willing example in his next film session.
On Sunday, Dowtin saw his first game action of the pre-season and immediately displayed what Rajakovic wants to see in his team’s offensive decision making. Awaiting a pass from Markquis Nowell, Dowtin had quickly sized up Cairns Taipins wing Lachlan Anderson and surveyed a defence that was in man coverage with five bodies around the perimeter.
Dowtin caught the pass and quickly burst to his left, past a flat-footed Anderson and into the paint, and finished his layup through Anderson and a help defender coming over from the strong corner.
It was a fairly simple example against an opponent that, admittedly, doesn’t make for a great litmus test. Still, this is the type of quick read — a pre-read, even — that Rajakovic wants to see often this year. The “Point-Five” mentality suggests a player who gets the ball should pass, shoot, or dribble within 0.5 seconds of receiving it, otherwise he has given the defence too much time to recover. Without the benefit of elite one-on-one players to break defenders down, the Raptors want to be able to turn small advantages into slightly larger and then even larger ones. Let a small advantage dissipate because of indecision, and you’ll need to recreate it; decisiveness is key, whether it’s with the aim of scoring or facilitating or just keeping the defence scrambling.
This is a mentality that Dowtin has needed to personify this pre-season. While someone tied for 17th on the team in pre-season minutes so far might not be a natural avatar for a new coach’s philosophy, Dowtin’s entire Raptors career so far has been predicated on attacking every opportunity, however small.
Dowtin’s contract status
Dowtin entered training camp in the most precarious position on the Raptors’ roster. Of the 21 players under some form of contract, Dowtin is the only one who isn’t allotted to a specific role for the coming year.
This is somewhat unexpected. Dowtin spent the 2022-23 season on a two-way contract and made a very strong case to have that deal converted to a standard NBA contract by the end of the season. The Raptors opted not to do that, leaving him ineligible for the play-in game despite the fact that he’d been in the rotation at times late in the regular season. Instead, Dowtin became a restricted free agent, and it was presumed the Raptors would re-sign him to a standard NBA deal early in the off-season.
Unfortunately, Dowtin required surgery in mid-May to remove loose bodies from his right ankle, which cost him a couple of months of development time in the team’s off-season program and the chance to audition — for the Raptors and the 29 other teams — at NBA Summer League in July.
That appeared to have cost Dowtin a spot, as the Raptors filled their roster with 15 guaranteed contracts and three two-way contracts, the respective maximums when the season begins.
In late July, though, they signed Dowtin, as well. Dowtin is in camp on a one-year contract without any guaranteed money. If he makes the opening night roster, his deal guarantees for $900,000, and if he were to last until Jan. 10, it would become guaranteed for the full $2.02 million.
What are the Raptors’ options with Dowtin?
The contract situation has Dowtin playing from underneath in camp.
Technically, the Raptors have enough space under the NBA’s luxury tax that they could keep Dowtin and waive one of the players with a fully guaranteed contract. The Raptors would still owe that player his money, but they could still keep Dowtin without nudging into the tax.
(The luxury tax line is usually treated like a hard cap if you are close to it. Below-tax teams receive a distribution of the tax payments made by every other team, so a contract that pushes you just past the tax line could end up costing you significantly more money. So, while the Raptors don’t need to stay below the tax, going over the luxury tax amount would have cost them over $15 million in payouts last year.)
So, yes, the Raptors can waive or try to trade a player in order to keep Dowtin. They are allowed and have the space to do so. It becomes a question of whether Dowtin can make enough of a case in a small pre-season window to force the Raptors’ hand.
If the Raptors instead cut Dowtin, it’s likely his next stop will be elsewhere. Because of how G League player rights work, Dowtin couldn’t go directly to Raptors 905. His G League rights were acquired by Delaware (the Philadelphia 76ers’ affiliate) this off-season. A player’s G League rights don’t matter if he’s on an NBA or two-way contract — that’s why Dowtin could play for the 905 last year despite the Lakeland Magic holding his rights — but once a player is a free agent, he has to return to the team that holds his rights if he re-enters the G League. It’s a bit complicated, but the short version is that a G League stint for Dowtin would come in Philly’s organization.
It’s also possible Dowtin would be claimed or signed to a two-way contract before he even makes it to the G League. There are 16 open NBA roster spots right now, which are open either due to camp competitions for them or as teams try to lessen their luxury tax bills by using a shorter roster. There are also nine open two-way contracts around the league, and there is usually some churn in those spots right before the season.
Could the Raptors change up their two-way spots?
There is one other path for Dowtin, though he may not be amenable to it: The Raptors could waive Dowtin and one of their two-way players, then re-sign Dowtin to a two-way deal.
This is possible because Dowtin’s contract has no guaranteed money, whereas, say, a $100,000 camp guarantee would have left him ineligible to sign a two-way later.
There are some complications with this route. The primary concern is that Dowtin would have to clear waivers, which is no sure thing. The Raptors would also lose what would have been Early Bird rights on Dowtin for next off-season, though those matter a bit less for end-of-roster players. You would also lose one of your current two-way players, none of whom you hold the G League rights for. (Ron Harper Jr. and Markquis Nowell would have to enter the G League Draft, while Javon Freeman-Liberty’s rights are held by the Windy City Bulls.)
In this scenario, Dowtin would go from a $900,000 guarantee on opening night to a $560,000 total salary for the year as a two-way, only half of which can be guaranteed. Given Dowtin’s service time, he would stand to make $114,000 if he got a 10-day contract at any point. Would Dowtin be open to another year on a two-way contract, waiting to be converted to a standard deal after the trade deadline? Or would he prefer to take his chances in the G League as the No. 1 point guard available if an NBA team needed a call-up? It’s a tough decision.
Other Raptors camp contract implications
The ability to waive a two-way player and fill that spot with someone else is relevant for Mo Gueye and Makur Maker, too.
Those players are in camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, which give the Raptors the right to convert them to a two-way contract, if they decided that they liked one of those players better for a two-way spot than the three players they have under two-way contracts. There will also be a number of Exhibit 10 and two-way types on the waiver wire later this week, and the Raptors have gone that route in the past to fill a two-way spot.
Even if the Raptors liked Gueye or Maker, it might not be pragmatic to switch them into a two-way spot. This is where G League rights come up again. The 905 hold the G League rights to Gueye and Maker, having acquired them in trade this off-season. Even once cut, those players are 905-bound, and because they’re on Exhibit 10 contracts, they’ll receive a $75,000 bonus if they stay in the G League long enough. Those players are already locked into your system, whereas Harper, Nowell and Freeman-Liberty, if cut, would revert to the draft or their prior team.
All of that is to say, with how things are currently structured, the 905 would have Gueye, Maker, Harper, Nowell and Freeman-Liberty (plus Kevin Obanor and Darry Morsell, who signed Exhibit 10 contracts and were waived earlier in the summer). If you made a change in one of the two-way spots, you’d risk losing one of those players from your system. There’s no strong incentive to convert Gueye or Marker (or anyone else from the 905) to a two-way unless there is a threat of another NBA team signing them. Usually, in those cases, an agent would give the Raptors a heads up and the opportunity to sign them first (similar to what happened with Paul Watson Jr. in 2020).
The Raptors also have two Exhibit 10 contracts remaining. I mention this because it’s possible that you’ll see Gueye and Maker waived, then two new players signed and waived later this week. We’ll break down those 905 implications when they happen, but for now, just know those would be 905-oriented moves.
