Raptors mailbag: On Jontay Porter, the NBA lottery and free-agent targets

For now, here’s this:

Hi Doug. Love the mailbag. If the Raps finish bottom six, do they automatically keep the pick they traded for Jakob Poeltl or do they have the choice to send it to the Spurs anyway? Perhaps something they might do considering the supposed weak draft. And, does where they wind up post-lottery affect any of this? Thanks.

— Gerry Bleau

They can’t decline the pick but they could certainly deal it on its own or in a package. And sure, where they pick may change its value, or it may mean whether they even have it. I’ll also say this now and likely repeat it 1,000 times before the draft: unless someone has a clear look to two or even three years into the future, calling this a “weak” draft is a guess.

Hi, Doug. Long time Irregular, occasional writer (but not for years now).

Really enjoyed Thursday’s Insider piece on Darko. Thank you. As the new young core develops under Darko’s expert handling and coaching, are you feeling any of the same excitement and anticipation as when the “Bench Mob” was tearing it up in the G League? We seem to have a nice mix of basketball IQ, work ethic and effort, skill and team chemistry starting to reveal itself.

And for the Irregulars, if you don’t mind, how about two quick “Top 5” lists? Top 5 current beverage preferences at “home” (at your local or on your deck/couch)? Is Samuel Adams Organic still at the top? And Top 5 food establishments this season, anywhere in the NBA universe (but hopefully including one from the GTA)?

Thanks! Your long-time fan.

— A.J. Falconer in Burlington

Not sure the same excitement, or even close. The Bench Mob had all-stars and all-NBA team award winners and NBA champions. No one I saw with this unsuccessful Raptors team showed me anything to think any of them might even crack the rotation next season. What Rajakovic has to do is make established NBAers better players.

I think we might have discussed the fives but, of late, there’ve been a few Sambucas (white because the local doesn’t have black), the odd Pilsner Urquell, a Sam Smith, a Canadian or two and a Dos Equis.

And I don’t travel nearly enough these days to have a current list but a bone-in rib eye at a Palm, pasta and clams at Tomasso’s in San Francisco, a pizza and bucket of beer at Mike’s in Miami and this Japanese place near the downtown Marriott in Philly would be on the list.

Here’s one close to you: I had a veal chop with Soppressata, fior de latte and parmesan at a Piano Piano in Oakville and it was the best restaurant meal I had this season.

I liked your scenario where the Raps are knocked out of the first round altogether. Always lots to think about. Assuming they keep both picks this year, do you see them adding two first-round picks to the roster? That roster is pretty thin after the first seven guys. Does finding a few cheap veterans make more sense? How do you see this playing out? Thanks.

— Tom

I expect them to have two first-rounds picks on the roster next year with two or three veterans they add. There’s nothing preclude them for doing both because I expect seven or eight new players here in September.

As the season ends, I won’t ask you to get in the heads of Bobby Webster and Masai Ujiri and predict the future. Instead a question about basketball traditions. When a player checks out, they slap or fist bump the hands of every coach and player. I remember Fred VanVleet once pointing out to Christian Koloko that he missed someone. Is this all an exercise in team building or is it just a league-wide superstition? Enjoy patio season!

— Ian in Toronto

That’s generally a league-wide thing, certainly not special to the Raptors.

And I appreciate not asking what Masai and Bobby are thinking. They haven’t shared their intel with me. Yet.

Hi Doug. The fat lady has sung and we eagerly await the future! The draft lottery, then the draft and all the trades and free-agent acquisitions between now and October.

Some questions:

1) Going into the playoffs, which team is most impacted by injuries? I feel for the Pacers and Knicks.

2) Time will tell but the Rudy Gobert trade looks better a season later, but the Damian Lillard trade? We played a relatively healthy Bucks team without Giannis and they were worse than the old Blazers. Or does Doc share some responsibility?

3) Not a Chris Boucher question! I think the emotion behind them is an appreciation for role players, especially with some of the lineups we’ve seen. You’d love to draft three Scotties, but gotta be happy to get a Malachi Flynn rather than a Jahmi’us Ramsey. Thoughts?

4) Is there another Miami-like run about to happen? Or are the Nuggets and Celtics already chilling the champagne?

Thanks for the insights on Darko’s plans and strategies for next season. Hopefully we’ll stay healthy enough to see them play out!

— Bernie M

Looks like everyone’s pretty healthy, but I know the Bucks can’t win without Giannis and if his calf is cooked, so are they. Doc is the man in charge of a failing team so part of the responsibility is his, for sure. But the big mistake was the Lillard trade and a GM trying to be the smartest guy in the room and trying to fix something that wasn’t broken. And I love Adrian Griffin, a really good guy, but for that team, the biggest surprise to me was a novice head coach getting the job rather than him being let go.

I get the Boucher love, too, and I have the greatest of respect for him. But people ignored the roster realities and look for hidden reasons that simply didn’t exist.

I don’t trust the Celtics, but I trust the rest of the pretenders less so who knows in the East. Out west, I don’t know which guy will carry his team farther, but I cannot wait to watch Playoff Kawhi healthy against Luka Doncic in the first round. Those two guys, and their teams, are big sleepers to me.

Hey, Doug.

Congratulations (and sympathies) on covering another Raptors season. Some questions:

Thanks for the insightful article about Darko. One recurring theme throughout this season has been the inconsistency of effort. Some nights, even though they lost, there was a real effort. Other games, not so much. The quote “You can’t teach height” is often repeated. Can you teach effort? If you can, has this been a shortcoming of Darko’s first year as a head coach?

The news about Jontay Porter possibly being banned for life for gambling transgressions is really sad. It seemed as though he might have been able to have a career here, and he may have tossed that away. Regardless how the NBA rules, do you anticipate seeing him playing for the Raptors again?

When I asked a few weeks ago about Gary Trent’s future here, you were uncertain. With the season over, if you were deciding, would you offer him the contract that will keep him here?

Finally, did you ever have any interaction with OJ Simpson? Any thoughts, now that he has passed away?

Appreciated as always.

— Phil

I’m not sure you can teach effort; it’s a skill that good players have. I guess the one thing you can do is “motivate” effort but even that’s hard. So I’d put it more on the individuals rather than the coaches.

Not only won’t we see Jontay Porter in Toronto, I don’t imagine we’ll ever see him in the NBA. Even if he doesn’t get a lifetime ban — and I think that’s the most likely result — I don’t think any team would touch him. As intriguing a prospect as he was, I don’t see any team thinking it’s worth it.

Gary Trent Jr. remains the enigma. I don’t think there’s room for him, Gradey Dick and Bruce Brown Jr. on the roster. But if they are going to move Brown or let him walk (the former much, much more likely than the latter), I might look at two years, $45 million at best for Trent.

Aside from being a bit of a Buffalo Bills fan growing up in the peninsula, that’s the closest I ever got to Simpson other than being enthralled by his trial.

Hi Doug.

Canadian Zach Edey has had a great NCAA tournament and it appears his stock is on the rise. I want to preface my question by saying I hope he gets drafted as high as possible and for a whole lot of reasons (being Canadian, a visible minority, having overcome people who didn’t believe in him, overcome racism and much more). I really hope he has a long and highly successful NBA career.

But it’s also known that NCAA skills don’t always translate into NBA skills, and “making noise” at a tournament sometimes won’t translate into long-term success. My question is: What NBA skills is he lacking/needs to work on to have a successful career? I’m assuming something is missing because even now, on mock drafts, it’s not like he’s ranked No. 1 — and in some cases not even in the first round. (Yes, the draft is a crapshoot — and mock drafts even more so.)

Thanks for all you do.

— MSG

I’m with you in hoping for him to have a long and lucrative career. There are legitimate questions, though.

The main one is whether he has the speed and athleticism to guard in space. He’s going to be put in every imaginable pick-and-roll scenario and he will have to guard forwards and guards away from the basket. He can’t camp under the rim like he did in college.

Shooting range is a bit of an issue, but that can be taught and people who have seen him in practice say he’s a passable shooter. Purdue didn’t want him to — or let him — stray from the basket.

All that will come out in the individual workouts he’ll have in the next couple of months.

Besides the obvious, that rosters can be fragile, what did Darko learn in his first season as an NBA head coach?

— Paul M

We’ve asked him a couple of times in passing and he’s said he’s learned time management (there are a lot of tugs on a head coach) and after working hard to get a lot of his plans in place that go to things like pre-game scouting, off-day practice, player development needs he’s more comfortable delegating responsibility.

Doug, I enjoy the reporting and insight of games on radio. I listen to a lot of U.S. radio, and not sure what your view is on this, but I am getting a bit tired of JJ Redick, every time he is on radio being interviewed, telling a national audience that he was flown to Toronto to interview for the head-coaching job. Heard it again last week on Dan Le Batard Show. Enough already. Based on what experience? Coaching his kid’s 10-year-old team?

I can see why minority candidates get frustrated with guys without bona fides and thin (non-existent) resumes jumping the line. And seriously. What exactly is Masai thinking?

— Craig Christie

The guy played almost 1,000 NBA games over a decade and a half, is obviously knowledgeable on how the game is played and was well respected wherever he played. The dude probably forgot more basketball than some coaches have ever had. If he had interest in a coaching future, Masai would have been negligent by not at least talking to him when he cast a very wide net in his search — a search that included every imaginable minority.

Is it my imagination or do the Raptors dribble too much? I think that they should dribble down the court, pass and shoot. Instead of all of the missed layups, shoot more field goals and three-pointers.

Ann Selemba in Hamilton

On the odd occasion they might be guilty of getting to the offence too slowly but, mostly, the pesky defenders impede them.

As the season for Toronto wraps up, I would like to go on the record as maybe the only one saying trading a first-round draft choice for a starting centre in the NBA is a no-brainer. Geez, half the kids drafted won’t make it. And there will be gems that were never considered lottery material (Kobe, Kawhi) or even first-round worthy (hello, Manu Ginobili). The draft is a crapshoot.

Therefore my questions are: would the Raps have a realistic shot at a backup point guard like Markelle Fultz or similar and is there a free agent, even a restricted one, that’s long and athletic and defensive minded enough who might develop a shot to pursue?

Also, if the Raps do keep their lottery pick, could you see them trading down to get their guy lower for less money or is that being silly? Thanks.

— Tom

I had no problem whatsoever with the Poeltl trade and the cost. The fourth year on his free-agency contract was a bit much, but I guess it was the cost of business.

I don’t think they have a legit shot at Fultz, but there will be options like that. It’s finding the right piece, convincing him to come and the role that will be determining what happens.

If the Raptors want a guy, they should draft him. No moving back, no trying to game the system to save a few inconsequential dollars. If he’s the guy, take him.

Hey Doug, since arriving in Portland at the trade deadline our Rexdale neighbourhood hero Dalano Banton hasn’t missed a game and has been getting consistent minutes from recent Hall of Fame inductee Chauncey Billups. In fact, since he arrived I think he has more total minutes than any other Trail Blazer.

In the past month, Dalano is leading the NBA in points off the bench. In his past six games he’s averaging 22 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Do you think he will be invited to Team Canada any time soon? Also, where do you think he will land in the NBA next year with his non-guaranteed contract of about $2 million, I believe?

— R. Cochrane in Haliburton

You might want to look at (a) Portland’s injury and out list, and (b) its record before there’s any suggestion that Banton sparked some renaissance for a good team. That said, I hope and presume he’ll get maybe two guaranteed years with maybe a third team option at somewhere north of $4 million a year. And, because I’ve had great respect for Chauncey and his abilities, I hope it’s in Portland.

Team Canada? Zero chance this year. Less than zero. If his game improves and he commits, 2026 World Cup or 2028 L.A. Olympics are slight possibilities.