I’m not sure Dan Tolzman slept last night. After the Toronto Raptors couldn’t move into the draft on Thursday, they’ve moved quickly to sign Rawle Alkins and add a pair of names they worked out in the pre-draft process to their Summer League squad. The first was Andrew Rowsey, and Michael Scotto of The Athletic now reports that Giddy Potts will be joining the team, as well.
Not only is “Giddy Potts” a tremendous name, he brings a similar elite skill as Rowsey with deep range on large volume. He, too, was unranked in all of the top-100/top-60 lists I canvassed. Here’s what I wrote about Potts when the Raptors had him in for a draft workout:
That name, though. Potts can really shoot the ball and has range beyond the college arc, making it a fairly projectable skill. He knocked down over 40 percent of a high volume of threes as a senior at Middle Tennessee this year and shot 41.7 percent over a four-year career that provided a 686-shot sample. There’s almost no doubt he can shoot it at the next level, and he shows some flashes of being able to add a little more with his ability to create for himself and strong rebounding numbers for a 6-foot-2 guard. He didn’t look the part of point guard, mind you, and didn’t really get to the line, so he might be in a weird position and role limbo until he develops further. The 22-year-old will probably look to show he can be a real point guard through these workouts and Summer League, and his shooting will help him get a foot in the door.
It seems as if Rowsey and Potts could be in a bit of a competition to turn the Summer League roster spot into a training camp invite, as whatever happens with the point guard position this summer, the Raptors will likely want at least one player – either via two-way contract or G League affiliate player – helping provide point guard depth with Raptors 905. Potts is a remarkably good shooter with range well beyond the college 3-point line, can create his own shot off the dribble, and contributes beyond just scoring, as he he’s a plus rebounder for a point guard and uses his 220-pound frame well to account for a relative lack of size. He doesn’t have all of the requisite point guard skills honed quite just yet – he’s more scorer than lead guard – but there’s certainly enough here to warrant a longer look at Las Vegas to see how his ability to score can translate and whether the Raptors can turn him into more of a natural point man.
The Raptors’ Summer League roster now stands at eight:
PG: Rowsey, Potts
SG: Richardson, Alkins
SF: Anunoby, Miller
PF: McKinnie
C: Thompson
Last year’s full Summer League roster came out late in June, so look for more names in the coming days.
