The final part of the NBA season has arrived. The All-Star Break is the rearview mirror, and March represents the last full month of NBA games before the regular season ends on April 14. The Toronto Raptors will play the final 22 games of their season over the next six weeks to close out the 2023-24 season.
With Scottie Barnes out for much, if not all, of this final stretch, making the Play-In tournament probably isn’t in the cards for Toronto; they are four games behind 10th-place Atlanta, with the Brooklyn Nets between them as well. Their playoff hopes are all but extinguished.
That means the rest of this season will largely be an evaluation period for the players on the roster. Who will the team prioritize building moving forward? Who will be cut, traded or not retained once the offseason arrives? A strong finish to the season could be the difference between securing their future and losing their job, whether with the Raptors or in the NBA entirely.
Let’s look at four players in particular whose futures are uncertain and discuss how a strong final quarter might be needed to save their jobs.
Over the summer, one of the small “wins” won by Toronto’s front office was the signing of Jalen McDaniels, a lanky 6’9″ wing who started in a solid rotation role with the Charlotte Hornets two seasons ago, then found his way to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he struggled last year. The Raptors had acquired a player with the right tools to be a useful rotation wing.
Instead, McDaniels’ time with the Raptors was a major disappointment. He’s averaging just 8.6 minutes per game in 35 appearances, serving more as an injury replacement than a full-time rotation player. He’s shooting just 32.7 percent from the field, a truly atrocious number; of all NBA players who have participated in at least 30 games, who ranks last with a ball.
Scottie Barnes injury opens the door to consistent minutes for McDaniels, but he’ll have to earn them. Whether through intense defense, improved shooting, or other means, McDaniels may be on his last shot to prove he’s a player worth putting on a roster. Otherwise, he could then be relegated to minimum contracts fighting just to make a roster.
