Toronto Raptors’ Two-Way Class Season Preview

Jamison Battle was the biggest winner of the Raptors’ training camp, as he joined DJ Carton and Ulrich Chomche as the third Two-Way contract player. Let’s have a look at what their season could look like.

Now that the training camp is over, the front office made the mandatory cuts to pencil in the opening night roster. DJ Carton, who was picked up as a Two-Way contract player by the Toronto Raptors last season, managed to keep his spot, and we all know that Ulrich Chomche isn’t going anywhere, and not because he’s a son of an NBA superstar.

The only casualty was Branden Carlson, who the Raptors tabbed as a Two-Way contract player after going undrafted in this past draft. Carlson lost his spot to Jamison Battle, who had a solid, steady Summer League and preseason run. It remains to be seen whether Carlson will be back with the Raptors (via Raptors 905) — perhaps he can be considered as an “Affiliate Player” so that he can bypass the NBA G League draft and join the Raptors 905. There’s precedence to this; more recently, the Dallas Mavericks signed Mike Miles Jr. to a Two-Way contract last season but ended up waiving him before the end of the training camp. Miles Jr. rejoined Dallas via Texas Legends (Mavericks’ farm team) as an affiliate player. NBA G League teams may carry up to four affiliate players, and with Jared Rhoden getting a Two-Way contract from the Charlotte Hornets, that could potentially open up an Affiliate player spot for Carlson.

Now that all three Two-Way roster spots are settled, let’s look at what the season could look like for them.

Ulrich Chomche – Year 1 of 2 years away….

If not for Bronny James, Ulrich Chomche would have been the most hyped draftee at the bottom of the barrel of this past draft, and it’s not because of his lineage. Chomche’s really raw, as in “two years away from being two years away” raw, but at 18 years old, his 6’11” frame and 7’4” wingspan, combined with his athleticism, motor, defensive instincts, and budding offensive tools make him one of the most intriguing prospects at the Bronny James draft range because of his potential “low risk, high reward” upside.

Despite the potential, Chomche, as showcased during the Summer League and preseason games, will show flashes of his potential mixed with several plays that make him look like he’s not NBA-ready. Chomche is a long-term project, and he’s probably an Exhibit A as to why 1., the NBA should bump the Two-Way contract salary and 2., Allow teams to sign players like him for more than two years, all because it will probably take at least three years to see some dividends on the developmental investment on Chomche.

Still, it would be intriguing and fun to keep an eye on Chomche’s development with the Raptors 905, where he’ll likely spend the entire season unless something drastic happens with the main club’s roster. Chomche will probably be the Raptors 905’s starting big, paired with at least one, if not both, Jamal Shead and DJ Carton, which should be a blessing for him as both guards are excellent pick-and-roll operators.

Jamison Battle – “Mr. Know your role”

Jamison Battle’s minutes and touches weren’t guaranteed during the Las Vegas Summer League. There were at least three other players off the bench that were either of a higher priority or the team needed to have a closer look at due to their contract situation. Despite that, Battle remained true to his game, doing what he’s good at (hitting perimeter shots) and always being shot-ready whenever his number gets called.

Battle’s got size, standing at 6’7.25” without shoes and a decent 6’9” wingspan. His shooting is elite, making 43.3% from the perimeter on six attempts per game as a senior at Ohio State. By the way, he also shot 92.6% from the free-throw line during the same year. Battle had a solid Las Vegas Summer League campaign, scoring 7.4 points and hitting 60% of his trifectas in 14 minutes per game throughout five games. His size allowed him to pick up some rebounds occasionally, and he has also shown flashes of good passing reads.

Despite being a long shot to make the roster, that Summer League stint probably gave Battle a template for fulfilling his NBA dreams, and during the preseason, he did just that: in ten minutes per game, Battle put up 6.4 points while shooting 57% from the perimeter. Battle essentially took off his warmers, caught a few passes, swished almost two trifectas, grabbed a couple of boards, made a couple of good passing reads, and got back to the bench and put on his warmers back.

Ever since Danny Green left, the Raptors struggled to find a shooter that can come in “cold” and hit perimeter shots like he’s been doing drills for an hour. Remember Matt Thomas? Svi Mykhailiuk? Juancho Hernangomez? Jalen McDaniels? Malachi Flynn? All of these guys struggled to come in and be productive given a short leash, and yet, for Battle, he looked comfortable playing the part, at least up to the level that we’ve seen so far. For us to see whether he can do the same at the “real” NBA level, he’ll need to work on his defense.

Battle is more of a “stretch four” in college, but he’s a “tweener” at the NBA level. Defensively, he doesn’t have the lateral to keep up with the shiftier players and is not big enough to bang with bigger power forwards at the next level. Battle will need to transform his game to be at least a neutral 3/4 defender, as his shooting is clearly at the NBA level. His shooting and ability to come in and hit perimeter shots with no warm-up needed is an elite skill set in today’s NBA.

Battle will likely be with the Raptors 905 for the most part, but don’t be surprised if we see him get some look here and there, especially if the main club couldn’t provide enough shooting around Scottie Barnes.

DJ Carton’s Road to the 6IX

DJ Carton parlayed a couple of successful seasons with the Iowa Wolves into securing an NBA G League call-up, initially landing with the Raptors with a 10-day contract, and was impressive enough to convince the Raptors to convert the initial contract into a Two-Way contract.

It’s worth noting that Carton did not have an NBA contract while toiling away at the NBA G League for three seasons, so his growth as a combo guard is remarkable, as he was never one of the focal points of these farm teams’ development. He did not let the constant moving parts affect his growth — adapting to the opportunities available to him when the prospects were with the farm team while taking advantage of the minutes and reps whenever the team was shorthanded.

Last season, Carton might have stumbled upon the formula (and perhaps the right team) on how he could potentially translate his Two-Way contract into a standard contract: It’s a small sample size, but in four games with the Raptors, Carton showed flashes of how he could be a good fit on coach Rajakovic’s system as a combo guard that can score on and off the ball and provide adequate point guard play.

Carton survived the training camp and kept his two-way spot despite averaging less than five points in five preseason games. However, he also managed to showcase how pesky he can be defensively and showcased composure down the stretch in hitting four clutch freebies to stave off the Boston Celtics’ late rally.

With a glut of guards with the main club, it’s a given that Carton is Raptors 905 bound. The only question here is whether he’ll have the keys to the team as QB1 or share that role if Jamal Shead starts the season with the Raptors 905. Regardless of the starring role or not, Carton will need to keep working on his perimeter shooting (1-7 3P in the preseason), defence, and keep sharpening his bag as if there’s anything that he’s probably better than Davion Mitchell and Jamal Shead, it’s his scoring instinct.

Now that DJ Carton’s in the league, could he be interested in joining the Dunk Contest, perhaps pulling an East Bay dunk while wearing a retro Vince Carter jersey?