Can Justin Champagnie, Dalano Banton prove they're too good for Summer League?

Justin Champagnie and Dalano Banton have their eyes set on roster minutes with the Toronto Raptors. The first step is proving they can be leaders and execute in the Raptors system at Summer League. Full preview looking at other players competing in Vegas is on our YouTube and the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast feed.

Video Transcript

AMIT MANN: Moving onto breakout potential, and in here, I put Justin Champagnie and Dalano Banton, both guys who played in Summer League last season, both guys who played a lot of time in the 905. And both are players who are hoping to get rotation minutes with the Toronto Raptors. What are you looking for from-- let's start with Justin.

KATIE HEINDL: Mm-hmm. Well, for both, I'm looking at them to be leaders because this will be their second time around at Summer League. They've had the in-game minutes and experience this past season to be able to put that to use.

And when you look at the rest of this team, they're going to need leaders on the floor. So if you could see that, I think that might come a little bit easier to Champagnie, just because of his playing style. I'm not saying Dalano Banton doesn't have the potential to step up as a leader. But in what I've seen of Champagnie, it kind of fits his game more. He's very comfortable telling people where to go.

He's such a hustle player. He's everywhere kind of all at once. He reminds me of Kyle Lowry in that way. He does a little bit of everything, right?

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

KATIE HEINDL: And I think Dalano is just a little bit more of a introspective guy, like personality. Which I know sounds not true, but I feel like-- because he's a very big personality.

AMIT MANN: Yes.

KATIE HEINDL: But I feel like in his game, he's happy to kind of watch and be a team player. So yeah, I'm looking, first and foremost, to see how these two step out and kind of bust out, especially if they want to get rotation minutes with the team. They've got a bus out of these previous, sort of like, identities that they've built for themselves within the Raptors.

AMIT MANN: Yeah. It's a tricky one because with Justin, I think there's an easier path for him to get minutes with the Raptors because what they need are things that he could actually do. They want cutting. They want 3-point shooting. They want some defense. And they want rebounding. And he could do all of that. He's already doing that at a pretty decent clip already with the 905.

And that's actually how he's had such a good season. He averaged 21 points on 48% shooting, 40% from 3, 8 rebounds. Justin's already doing that stuff. If he's able to elevate his catch and shoot game, then he could actually carve out a role with the Raptors. We'll see what kind of team they have because there's a lot of things in the air. But he could actually get a legit role if he's able to show out here in summer league and have a really good camp.

So this is a really big moment for him. I am curious what he's able to do on the defensive end, one-on-one, a reliable defender being able to rotate and hedge and recover and stunt in the recovery and just get that physicality to his defensive game.

I think he has it offensively. He's able to bowl people over. The way he's able to maintain balance when he's driving to the basket is actually really impressive. It's one of the things that has been so impressive to me about him is that he bowls into people. He's able to still stay upright and stay vertical. It's really interesting.

When I spoke to him a few months ago and I asked him what his goal was for this upcoming season, it was, he said, I wanted to be a rotation player on the Toronto Raptors. This is your moment to start that journey. I'm not sure if he's ever really stopped working out because every time I look at his IG Stories, he's working out. He wants this. He really wants this badly. It's time to show out.

And with Dalano, I mean, there's a lot of things to talk about with Dalano. He's a really interesting prospect. With where he's trying to get minutes, it's pretty murky.

KATIE HEINDL: Yeah. Yeah, and another thing I would say I'd like to see from Dalano Banton would be patience, kind of waiting for his spots a bit more. Even in the in-game minutes he's get with the Raptors this season, he does kind of have a tendency, because he's such a frenetic player-- he can't get ahead of himself. And that's the energy that you love and that, so often, the Raptors need.

AMIT MANN: Yeah, I love it. Yeah, exactly.

KATIE HEINDL: But that said, if he could kind of funnel and target that energy at times, I think it will go a lot farther for his gameplay and also just for the way that he can be a facilitator for the team.

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

KATIE HEINDL: So I'll be looking for that too, I think.

AMIT MANN: Yeah. Shooting splits were amazing in the 905. His numbers were like Chris Boucher, peak Chris Boucher 905. They were really good. But to your point--

KATIE HEINDL: Yeah, that's not a problem.

AMIT MANN: No. But to your point though, he averaged 3 turnovers a game. He does have a very frantic game. And that's what you love. When he's running down the court, a couple of dribbles, and he's at the basket. And I'm not even sure if he's able to process.

It's like Russell Westbrook. Is he able to process how fast he's going? Is he able to make decisions on the go? Because he's pedal-to-the-metal. But finding that composure with his decision making would be the best way to look at it.

I mean, sometimes it's not about the harder pass. Sometimes it's about the kickout pass that's open for a 3-point shooter. It's little things like that. And if he's able to harness it, then he's probably going to be able to-- maybe he's able to find a way to get some minutes.

And I did want to note that he's listed as a guard-slash-forward for Summer League. So I'm curious how the Raptors deploy him. He's obviously 6' 8", right? That sounds like a forward to me. And it kind of fits. If he's able to be a secondary ball-handler on the Raptors, it could be an interesting match-up.

KATIE HEINDL: That's something he's talked about that he did in college. He's played point before. So I'd be curious. I think he did a couple times at Summer League last year, if I remember correctly.

AMIT MANN: Point and forward?

KATIE HEINDL: Yeah.

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

KATIE HEINDL: So I'd be kind of intrigued to see it, honestly. If they also just want to throw a bunch of stuff out there-- and that's what Summer League's for, right, to see what happens and what works?

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

KATIE HEINDL: I wouldn't mind seeing it. And that would kind of force the composure that we're both talking about that would be an advantage.

AMIT MANN: Exactly. And if-- the bigger question about him trying to play forward in the NBA is, where is his 3-point shot at? If you don't have a 3-point shot, you can't be a forward in the NBA. And well, I mean, he had his moments in the 905. But overall, if he's able to up that, then he's really going to be able to carve out a really interesting place for himself in the NBA, not just with the Raptors, because who knows what happens with this team?

They've got all kinds of prospects, all kinds of up-and-coming players that are going to get very expensive very, very soon. So who knows? But if he's going to be able to be a point guard to small forward slash power forward who can dribble and shoot and drive and all that, now you're talking about a very expensive player in the NBA. So it would be in his best interest as well to develop those--