Raptors 905 power forward Ronald Roberts is ranked as the D-League’s No. 1 prospect in the league’s latest Prospect Watch, released Wednesday.
A panel of four rank the D-League players each week on “their appeal as a potential Gatorade Call-Up to NBA teams.” That means players on assignment from the NBA or players already called up on 10-day contracts are ineligible. Roberts leads the way, followed by recent Memphis Grizzlies 10-day recipient Elliot Williams, former Pelicans and Grizzlies guard Russ Smith, recent 905 opponent Jimmer Fredette, and undrafted UTEP forward Vincent Hunter.
The rankings aren’t exactly Teflon – Jordan McRae was called up by the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday despite ranking 15th – but Roberts’ perch at No. 1 matches a lot of what those following the D-League, including Raptors Republic, have been saying for some time. I ranked Roberts as the third most-likely call-up following the D-League Showcase earlier this month, and both the names ahead of him (Sean Kilpatrick and Erick Green) have since gotten the call. Our pals at Upside & Motor ranked Roberts second in their weekly update Tuesday, just behind Williams, who is lapping the D-League with 29.7 points per-game.
Roberts currently ranks 16th in the league in scoring at 18.8 points per-game, shooting a higher percentage from the floor (60.9) than anyone in the top-50. He also ranked second in rebounding at 12.4 per-game and 10th in blocks with 1.6 a night. What’s more, the 10-18 905 have outscored opponents by 18.3 points per-100 possessions when Roberts is on the court, a far cry from their -3.3 mark overall. If advanced metrics are more your thing, Roberts ranks seventh in the league in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP), providing an estimated 4.9 wins despite missing six of the team’s 28 games.
He’s a terrific rebounder, a remarkable athlete, and a strong finisher, and the skill aspects of his game, namely passing and finesse in the post, have been coming along. He’s a solid man defender or in help scenarios, and his bounce and length allow him to play some center despite measuring 6-foot-7 without shoes. With a 7-foot-1 wingspan, 8-foot-10 standing reach, and 40-plus inch vertical, his functional size is much larger than his height would suggest, and the Raptors’ organization has been forthright that they know losing him is a real risk.
To be blunt, it remains a surprise every time Roberts takes the floor for the 905. He entered the season with “a foot and a half” in the door, and I wrote ahead of the Showcase that it seemed unlikely he’d return from Santa Cruz with the team. The NBA’s cut week cast some misfortune on him, as few teams who wound up with a roster spot are in need of a big, but there could still be plenty of roster churn ahead of the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
Roberts turned down an offer from Maccabi Tel Aviv that I’m told would have paid him more than the prorated NBA minimum the rest of the way, believing he was close enough to the NBA to warrant staying. There, he would have been in front of a heavy NBA scouting presence as a teammate of top European prospect Dragan Bender, but it would have rendered his NBA dream null for the remainder of the season. Instead, he’s left to wait for a spot to open up, either in Toronto or elsewhere. (I think that was a smart move, given how close he appears to be.)
With regards to his standing with the Raptors, I’ve been asked a lot by readers why he hasn’t gotten the call.
The Raptors liked him enough out of summer league to give him a $75,000 guarantee to come to training camp, effectively supplementing his D-League salary, and he had the inside track on the team’s 15th roster spot. When Anthony Bennett was waived, the Raptors opted to use that spot for him, instead acquiring Roberts’ D-League rights in a trade. Roberts is now free to sign with any NBA team. Bennett, meanwhile, has played sparingly at the NBA level and has disappointed in a D-League sample that’s probably too small to fairly judge him (he’s on assignment now for games Friday and Saturday, which will push him past 100 minutes, at least). Ostensibly, the Raptors believe Bennett has a greater long-term upside, but Roberts has more utility right now, which may matter for a team in second in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors could call Roberts up, but doing so would mean creating a roster spot somehow. They could cut Bennett and, if he clears waivers, make him an in-season affiliate with the 905 to continue his development, but that may be something they’d prefer to do after the deadline, in the event they need an outgoing player to match salaries. There’s also the possibility a roster spot could open up in a multi-player trade or through some other scenario.
This all may be a little premature. My feeling is that is makes sense to wait until the trade deadline to see what may materialize on that front before burning a potential asset. It’s risky in the sense that the organization could lose Roberts to another club, but the Raptors don’t have a pressing need in the frontcourt, and the available minutes even if they were to call Roberts up would be limited.
Still, this is a playoff team that’s committing multiple roster spots to prospects and is generally running with a nine- or 10-man rotation. There are worse ideas than adding a 24-year-old who can contribute with energy, defense, and rebounding if needed and represents an upgrade on an in-house option.
