The regular season is still over a month away, plenty of time for the Raptors to make their final additions to the team. In the spotlight at the moment is Power Forward Reggie Perry, a former member of the Raptors G-League team, the Raptors 905.
Perry averaged 19.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while making 48% of his shots. He came into the league looking like an easy double-double every night and with quality rebounding and a good mid-range scoring game. Perry was a top prospect coming out of college where he starred for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, putting up close to 18 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Perry’s NBA career has been short-lived, after playing just 26 games for the Brooklyn Nets during his rookie season. Perry went on to play ten games for the Indiana Pacers and Portland Trail Blazers last season where he averaged a solid 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest but was not picked up for a contract extension, which was puzzling to many. Perry joined the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2022 NBA Summer League where he played sparingly.
The Raptors reportedly want to sign Perry to an Exhibit 10 contract after they are able to carve out some room for him on the team. It is not quite clear at the moment who will be dropped from the team in order to make room.
Considering all of the talent the Raptors have found from unlikely sources in the past few years, it doesn’t seem that unlikely that Perry would be able to make a big impact. At just 22 years of age he has time to grow and definitely has the size and athleticism to be a good player in this league.
Other Raptors Roster Changes
The Raptors have been busy this offseason, attempting to climb out of the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. The team re-signed veteran PF Thaddeus Young and Center Chris Boucher, bolstering the front court and setting up a solid core to collect boards. The team went on to make a number of key free agent signings as well, picking up Small Forwards Otto Porter Jr and Josh Jackson to help out with their scoring and perimeter defense.
With the current roster, the Raptors look like their one big pickup away from competing for a Championship. VanVleet and Siakam have both shown that they add tremendous value to the team but have not yet proved that they can shoulder the responsibility of being the first choice on offense. After winning the NBA title in 2019 with the likes of Kawhi Leonard leading the way, the Raptors will likely be looking for another top 10 player to help lead the team deep into the playoffs.
