The Raptors didn’t fill a need with a giant, but did add a potentially useful player late Wednesday night.
Toronto acquired centre Trayce Jackson-Davis from the Golden State Warriors for a 2026 second-round pick (via the Los Angeles Lakers). While he’s only 6-foot-9 (injured starter Jakob Poeltl remains the only Raptor taller than 6-foot-10 on the roster) and has a limited scoring game, Jackson-Davis fills an obvious need as a defender, rebounder and big man with an ability to pass, a necessity in head coach Darko Rajakovic’s system.
Impressive as a rookie (7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.2 assists in only 16.6 minutes a game), Jackson-Davis was not as good as a sophomore for the Warriors, but still made 37 starts and 62 appearances. This year though he’d become an afterthought in head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation, averaging 11.4 minutes and making only one start in 36 outings. The Warriors had other options up front and for their extra big decided to go with a shooter in Quenten Post.
The Raptors badly needed some help up front but didn’t want to surrender a first-round pick to get a more impactful player. Enter Jackson-Davis, the son of Indiana Pacers legend Dale Davis (who partnered with future Raptor Antonio Davis on some great Pacers teams), who only cost a late second-rounder (the Lakers entered Thursday ninth overall in the standings, meaning the pick could be in the 50s). Toronto also stayed under the NBA’s luxury tax after dumping Ochai Agbaji on Brooklyn earlier Wednesday for a 2032 second-round pick. Chris Paul was involved in that deal too, as were the Los Angeles Clippers, but Paul was never going to actually be a Raptor.
While Rajakovic said after practice Tuesday that he’s proud he and his staff get Raptors players better all the time through the work they do in practice, it will be interesting to see if they can do just that with Jackson-Davis. He isn’t a young player with little experience. He turns 26 in a few weeks and played four years in the NCAA at Indiana University after being Indiana’s 2019 Mr. Basketball. It’s possible he can develop further. If not, as is he can help in a few ways and is signed on a cheap deal that runs through next season.
The Raptors have long searched for centre depth, but events have conspired against them. Two young Cameroonian prospects, Christian Koloko and then Ulrich Chomche suffered severe medical issues, leading to them being cut (Koloko has since resurfaced with the Lakers and now the Atlanta Hawks) and then Jontay Porter, who had played well, was involved in a betting scandal and banned from the NBA.
Jackson-Davis will become only the second Indiana product to play for the Raptors, joining OG Anunoby, though the franchise’s first two general managers, Isiah Thomas and Glen Grunwald and a head coach, Butch Carter, all were Hoosiers.