It appears Davion Mitchell has fallen out of the Toronto Raptors rotation.
Mitchell was a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) on Jan. 6 when the Raptors got blown out by the Milwaukee Bucks 128-104.
Jamal Shead has been the first guard from off the bench for the Raptors and has seemingly overtaken Mitchell as the point guard to lead the second unit.
The rookie has gone through some growing pains, but overall he has done a nice job of organizing the second unit’s offense and he has been good defensively. It seems like he’s going to get consistent playing time going forward.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic spoke about going with Shead over Mitchell in the rotation, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg:
“I think Jamal had some really good games for us. He’s a young player. He’s the future. We’re going to take a look at him. That doesn’t mean that Davion will not be playing in the future but we can’t play them all at the same time.”
With Mitchell now in a bench role, he may be a name that pops up on the trade block for the Raptors ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. He is a restricted free agent this summer and the Raptors could look to get something in return for him.
Mitchell is a better on ball defender than Shead, but he hasn’t shown any promise as a playmaker or a capable outside shotmaker to make him an effective part of this team’s long term plans.
With Toronto in a rebuild it makes sense for them to prioritize giving more minutes to their rookies like Shead.
It’s something to keep an eye on with how much playing time Mitchell gets from here on out, but with how things are shaping up, it seems like he is the odd man out and could be on his way out of Toronto soon.
Raptors waive Bruno Fernando
Bruno Fernando’s time with the Toronto Raptors is over.
The Raptors are waiving Fernando, per Sportsnet’s Michael Grange.
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