Why Raptors' Jalen McDaniels could be a pivotal rotation piece

Amit Mann and Asad Alvi look at what Jalen McDaniels offers on offence and defence along with how he uniquely fits into the Raptors' system. Listen to the full podcast on the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast feed.

Video Transcript

AMIT MANN: OK, so you mentioned Jalen McDaniels. I wanted to get your take on him because I-- oh, we should mention what you and Iman are doing, the Substack.

ASAD ALVI: Yeah. So we started-- we started Substack Prose and Claws, so P-R-O-S-E and Claws, C-L-A-W-S @substack.com. So you guys can check that out.

I wrote up a piece last week on-- last week or the week before-- on Jalen McDaniels. I actually did a full kind of breakdown. And it's in a nice summary format. So if you want to learn about Jalen McDaniels or you only want to learn a little bit, it's got, like, the easy summary stuff at the front of it. So you could read it for two minutes. You could read it for four minutes. You could read it for six minutes. However much you want to read, all-- it's formatted so that it just adds more and more detailed information as you go along. But even if you just read the front page, you'll get something out of it.

We break down, basically, what I think Jalen McDaniel's role's gonna be on the team, what my expectations of what he can bring to the team are, and what he's kind of good and bad at, pretty straightforward. But do check it out. We have a couple other pieces up, NBA side as well, kind of looking at the Damian Lillard saga, just, like, what the leverage is on each side and how it kind of plays out holistically.

I think we see a lot in media kind of where it flies left and right, but we don't fully understand, OK, well, what's the l-- why aren't they just doing the trade? Like, everyone saying this trade. Why? So overall, the goal with the Substack is we wanted to create, like, a place where any level of fan, like, whether you're a new fan, whether you're someone who only, you know, maybe interacts with the Raptors during the season, or if they're winning, or, you know, like, if you have some extra time, or if you just watch the NBA here and there, to, you know, the hard fans who are watching every day.

There's something for everybody there. And it's a safe space. You can kind of drop in, ask your questions, and get answers that you might want. So that's the kind of goal with it. Again, it's Prose and Claws, P-R-O-S-E and Claws, C-L-A-W-S dot substack.com. So you can follow us both on there. And you can subscribe for absolutely free. Everything's available for free, So.

AMIT MANN: Beautiful. Nice promo there. See people, an ad had no idea it was gonna come. But, yes, Jalen McDaniels, I'm actually a big fan of what he offers. Because I think that he's a-- he's a better role player for what this team currently needs. Because they have, I mean, deficiencies in shooting, but they just have a deficiency in players that can do something with the ball when they are run off the line or that opportunity isn't there.

And there's reasons to think that he's able to do that at a higher clip than some of the other guys, similarly because, you know, he's extremely athletic, at 6' 9". He's so versatile. And he's had a few different roles in the NBA. But overall, he seems like he's got a really good centered feeling on how he's gonna be successful.

ASAD ALVI: Yeah. Yeah, Jalen McDaniels is an awesome player. He's actually a really fun player to watch. He plays with a lot of energy. He's really bouncy and long. So he's, like, if you had, like, a small forward version of a Chris Bucha, maybe, in terms of, like, what you kind of see of him energy-wise. He's a really good defender. Like, you can kind of just throw him on anybody and he can really stick with people. He moves his feet well. He's able to stay with people, put a lot of pressure on the ball.

He's very long. Like, one of his-- one of his highlight plays that he-- you see a lot is a giant, you know, block from the help side. As a second defender, he comes over and just swats the ball as hard as he can. He also, really good at getting out in transition. Again, I'm saying a lot of things that we could say about a lot of Raptors players. So you know that he's a Raptors-- a Raptors type, for sure.

He is 6' 9". But--

AMIT MANN: But he can handle the ball too, a little bit.

ASAD ALVI: But he can handle the ball a little bit too. He can get a little turnover prone. I definitely don't think you want him to make decisions with the ball, per se.

AMIT MANN: Mm-hmm.

ASAD ALVI: But, like, in terms of, like, straight line, like, you know, pump fake and drive to the rim situations, he can definitely do that. And he can do that with quite a bit of athleticism. He's a decent rim finisher. He definitely does like to dunk the ball.

And one of the interesting things is that as a 3-point shooter-- so as a free throw shooter, he's improved over the last two seasons, which is always a-- always a good sign for 3-point shooting ability. As a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter, he's pretty much average. Like, he's at that 33, 34 range catch and shoot, which is, like, eh, on the border.

But something that's really interesting about him is that he shoots, like, the same percentage from every part of the 3-point line, where it's, like, he's not-- like, a lot of guys will sometimes only be corner 3-point shooters and then be 4 from above the break, but he's, like, you know, 33% to 36% in the corners and then 33% from above the break as well, which is the harder shot for sure, but definitely makes him, you know, like basically a Swiss army knife, where he can be a-- and that he doesn't have to necessarily be someone you park in the corner--

AMIT MANN: Yeah, sure.

ASAD ALVI: --on offense. He can kind of be in any spot on the arc, which is really cool about his game. And I think even more so than that is that he's not even necessarily, like, a low-volume 3-point shooter. Cause he's had a ton of games where he's shot, like, a high volume of 3's, like, someone who can get six to seven attempts up in a game, like, if he's starting in a pinch.

So I-- like, maybe people see him as, oh, they just added a guy who might come off the bench or might not play. But I think he's more of the role of almost definitely coming off the bench and maybe able to start, if a starter's injured. Like, whether it's a Gary or an OG that's injured, maybe he can step in there and give you something, especially if Dennis Schroder's also in there and whatnot.

But he's definitely someone who can be a spot starter for you as well, very, very fun player. And he's, like, what, 25? So--

AMIT MANN: 25 years old, yes.

ASAD ALVI: --he's also got-- he's also got some-- a little bit of age to go with him.

AMIT MANN: Yep. So how many minutes does he play next season? What's your prediction? As you said, I mean, there's reason you could say that he'll have games where he maybe plays 25 minutes. Other times, it could be 15. It's gonna depend on-- on the game. But he's so interchangeable. And, like, he can guard so many positions.

And you could-- he could be that person that comes in when OG Anunoby needs a breath, and he's gonna guard a point guard. Or maybe you're gonna guard Devin Booker. Or maybe it's gonna be Jayson Tatum. He has that kind of versatility on him. So what do you think for his average minutes per game next season? What are you guesstimating?

ASAD ALVI: Honestly, like, it does really do depend if, like-- I'm assuming that Otto Porter Junior's not part of the rotation. Like, that's just, like, a safe assumption I'm gonna make

AMIT MANN: Damn.

ASAD ALVI: Cause, like, he kinda-- he kinda changes all the math. Like, Otto Porter Junior changes a lot of math because he's really good when he's healthy. So, like, you kinda have to play him, like. But regardless, I do think Jalen's probably, like, at least a 12 to 15-minute guy. He can always-- so-- but you could also see him becoming a 20 minute bench guy as well. Like, if he could be anywhere from that 12 to 15 range to maybe a 20 to 24 minute bench guy as well.

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

ASAD ALVI: I think he played significant minutes when he played in Philly this past season. He started a few games as well. I think he started a number of games. But, like, he's a quality player. Again, they have him on, like, the biannual exception. So usually with teams, like, your contract does a little bit determine where you are in the hierarchy of things.

AMIT MANN: Yep.

ASAD ALVI: So there may be other players that they just play ahead of him, for the simple fact that, oh, this is a rookie on expiring. We got to play him. Or we just have more invested in him. But in terms of player quality, I would think that he'd be playing from 12 to 24 minutes a game, like, in that range, like, anywhere where if he really hits, then, boom, like, he's got to play.

And if they're trying to, you know, get development minutes in for younger guys or they're still trying to work in a Chris Bucha regularly to keep his trade value up potentially, then maybe you don't see him playing as many minutes at the beginning of the season. But I do think he's a long-term bench piece, for sure, on the Raptors team that should be playing a significant piece of minutes.

AMIT MANN: Yeah. And if [? Ibaka ?] is going to be used as more of a-- as an offensive hub, than someone like him is a perfect fit. Because while other players are able to cut, but he has the additional 3-point shot. He's just faster. He's quicker.

ASAD ALVI: Yeah.

AMIT MANN: He changes direction a lot faster.

ASAD ALVI: He's an awesome cutter. He is just such an active player.

AMIT MANN: He's really good.

ASAD ALVI: On offense and defense, he's just constantly moving. Like, you're seeing him just, like, where, like, shots go up and he's just in the lane. Whether it's offense or defense, he somehow made his way into the lane, whether he took the shot or not. And it's like, well, [INAUDIBLE] his hands, he's very long. So he's always getting his hands, like, in the vicinity of the ball. And, you know, he's great at deflecting the ball as well.

So, like, it's just a guy who, all around, is, like, a high-activity player when he's out there. So those high-activity players in a more motion system is definitely-- like, I can see the vision. I could see the vision there around him. If the Raptors end up reverting to playing a very static style basketball, maybe he's much less useful. But I would assume that they will-- they will not be playing much more static basketball anymore.

AMIT MANN: We all can dream. He shot 15 of 27 in the short mid-range area with the 76ers. And he's got this floater that has some legs to it, obviously. So that's where you see where he can be a bit of a difference maker with some of the other players on the Raptors benches that he could take two dribbles to finish at the rim. Or he's got that floater. And just, those extra little bits are gonna make them a lot more versatile. And it could give him a leg up on some other players. But obviously, money, your status with the Raptors obviously is a factor. But I think he's a great pickup.