"In light of the Raptors waiving Ulrich Chomche ( albeit due to unfortunate circumstances), it had me thinking of where Toronto's next steps will take them in terms of roster depth, construction, and allocating the minutes/roles from here on out. Now I know that Chomche was a super raw, untapped potential two-way prospect who hadn't quite established his footing within the Raptors' ranks, but he was still one of Toronto's few depth pieces at center."
"The Raptors looked to address the positional need this past offseason by taking a swing on Sandro Mamukelashvili, a switchable forward/center archetype who can catch an offensive flame at any given point. But again, as far as real centers were concerned last season, the Raptors only had Ulrich Chomche and Jakob Poeltl on the roster. Given Chomche's two-way role, raw nature, and missed injury time, he was essentially a non-factor. As a result, the burden was largely left on Poeltl's shoulders."
"Given Mamu's addition, coach Darko Rajakovic would note in his media day availability that the 26-year-old is " going to be playing backup five for us." I loved the Mamukelashvili pickup, but how about those third-string center minutes that could undoubtedly come up as a concern during the season, especially if one of Mamu or Jakob Poeltl goes down due to injury?"
Toronto waived Ulrich Chomche, removing a raw two-way center from the roster and exposing limited true-center depth behind Jakob Poeltl. Sandro Mamukelashvili projects as the designated backup five due to switchable forward/center versatility and scoring upside. The team will likely turn to Collin Murray-Boyles or Jonathan Mogbo for third-string center minutes based on preseason usage and coach Darko Rajakovic's style. Injury to Poeltl or Mamukelashvili would force reliance on small-ball lineups, forward-to-center conversions, G-League call-ups, or external additions via trade or free agency to stabilize interior minutes and rim defense.
Read at Raptors Rapture
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]