The Raptors’ search for backcourt help has already taken one turn after another, and D’Angelo Russell has suddenly become a name worth circling.
The idea started with Walter Clayton Jr. On Wednesday, Jake Fischer floated Clayton Jr. as a possible waiver candidate for the Memphis Grizzlies, and that immediately pointed Toronto toward a guard who fit a clear need.
He was young, he could shoot, and he played a position the Raptors don’t have much depth at. But that opening closed quickly.
A day later, Marc Stein reported that Fischer said the former Florida Gator appears to be safe in Memphis.
Once that path disappeared, the focus shifted to the other Memphis players who have been mentioned as possible cut candidates, and Russell started to make more sense as a fit in Toronto.
Russell’s recent NBA ride has not exactly been smooth. He signed with the Mavericks last summer to handle point guard duties while Kyrie Irving was out, but that stint lasted only 26 games before he was sent to the Wizards in the Anthony Davis trade. He then sat out with Washington while hoping for a buyout that never happened, before landing with the Grizzlies this summer in a six-team, 11-player trade.
Now he’s one of the biggest names being discussed as a possible waive candidate in Memphis, where the backcourt is crowded and his place in the long-term picture doesn’t really exist.
That doesn’t mean he’s the player he once was. Russell is no longer the All-Star or steady starter he’s been at points in his career.
But for Toronto, that may be beside the point. The Raptors don’t need him to be the centerpiece.
They need depth.
In his short Mavericks run, Russell averaged 10.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. The shot that jumps out in the wrong way is the 29.5 percent mark from three, especially for a Raptors team that had its own shooting problems last season. Even so, his track record is still there: Russell is a career 36.3 percent shooter from deep, so one rough stretch in his 11th NBA season doesn’t erase the bigger sample.
For Toronto, that could mean a small bump in spacing. More importantly, it would give Darko Rajakovic another ballhandler he can trust.
Last season showed how quickly injuries can wreck a team’s guard rotation. When Immanuel Quickley went down near the end of the regular season, the Raptors were left without another lead guard beyond Jamal Shead to absorb the load.
Russell wouldn’t be a replacement for what Quickley brings. That part matters. But he could still offer another layer of creation and playmaking if Toronto gets hit again in the backcourt next season.
The catch is role acceptance. Russell would need to understand that coming to Toronto would mean signing up for a non-everyday role, and that’s not always easy for a veteran with his background.
Still, the Raptors do offer something else: a team with championship upside. And there’s also the basic question of whether he has a better option waiting for him.
At this stage, his NBA future does feel like it’s hanging by a thread.
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Gradey Dick Suddenly Faces A Real Clippers Roster Threat
The Raptors have been watching the ripple effects of the Kawhi Leonard trade, and one of the more interesting names in the conversation is Gradey Dick. Brandon Ingram appears safe in Los Angeles for now, but Dick's situation has become much less settled as the Clippers sort through the rest of their roster and figure out how the new pieces fit.
For Toronto, the intrigue is not just whether Dick stays in place, but what kind of value he still carries around the league. His expiring contract gives a team something to work with if it wants flexibility, and the Clippers could decide he is more useful as a movable piece than as a long-term fit. Nothing is decided yet, but the fact that his name is already part of that kind of roster talk says plenty about how quickly the picture around him can change. [Read more 🡒]