Rawle Alkins makes a great decision to sign with the Toronto Raptors

Hours after the 2018 NBA Draft, according to Jeremy Woo, Rawle Alkins signed a deal with the Toronto Raptors. Seems to be a great decision.

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The 2018 NBA Draft was the draft of the Big Man. The first three picks were Deandre Ayton (7-foot), Marvin Bagley III (6-foot-11), and Jaren Jackson (6-foot-11). Just when you thought the NBA teams figured out they wanted to be guard heavy to win championships like the Golden State Warriors are and do, they switched it up. That said there were a number of guards left out of the draft, and two were Wildcats in Rawle Alkins and Allonzo Trier. Alkins as a free agent decided to take his talents to the 905, or the Toronto Raptors.

Confirming this Big Man draft phenomenon, The Lakers GM Rob Pelinka (via Lakers Nation) said post draft, “The game requires bigs that can spread the floor.” Pelinka drafted fellow Michigan Wolverine Moritz Wagner at No. 25.

So many thoughts came to mind after the draft, but I had to let it set in. What the heck does the NBA want? Doesn’t the Conference matter? Don’t they take into account the level of competition the players faced in college? How about Combine performance? Doing what the NBA told you to do, and returning? Back to back Conference Championships? Started in most games he played for one of the elite teams in the country? What?

I don’t think the NBA knows what they want quite frankly, most teams don’t get it right, and a lot of lottery picks never make it. After speaking to a number of insiders, it seems that maybe there was a run on big men this year, and the fact that no player trades transpired was astonishing! Did you know that of the last six picks in the draft, five of the six were 6-foot-9 or taller (including UCLA’s Thomas Welsh at 7-feet)?

I was not alone in my world of shock. Wildcats fans and others took to Twitter and Instagram, and they still are commenting, to state their shock that Alkins name was not called. Just search Alkins on Twitter and you will see countless fans showing their support. Along with Wildcats fans, there were plenty of NBA fans showing their support for him as well, wishing and hoping their team would draft him.

Someone even hinted that the Raptors asked teams to leave Alkins alone since they didn’t have a draft pick. Draft picks don’t always make the team. Draft picks have to compete with the current young players, the draftees and some current G-league players to make it back on a roster.

Hours after the draft, it was announced by Jeremy Woo that Alkins signed a training camp deal with the Toronto Raptors. It was then confirmed via Tweet that he signed a one-year Exhibit 10 NBA agreement according to Blake Murphy. (NOTE: Adam Zagoria reported Friday night that he has not signed a two- way or Exhibit10 contract, we confirmed Alkins is with the Raptors.)

We reached out to Murphy, Managing Editor of the Raptors Republic, to find out what it would mean exactly. Murphy told ZZ that the Raptors would hold Rawle’s NBA rights for the time being, as an Exhibit 10 deal is technically an NBA contract. If Rawle would end up getting cut in training camp, if he signed a deal like this, and then lands in the G League, other teams would be free to sign him. An Exhibit 10 or Two-way contract can be converted to an NBA contract.

“The benefit with an Exhibit 10 is usually $50K guaranteed and a chance to make the actual roster, plus getting to get into the team’s development system now rather than waiting to see if you can get a 2-way later. It’s really a personal/agent preference thing if you’re a fringe NBA guy,” explained Murphy.

All that has been confirmed is that Rawle will play in the Summer League for the Toronto Raptors. My guess is that this is a way any NBA team that sees him play can sign him to a roster and he won’t be tied to the Raptors. This would give incentive to the Raptors to sign him to the roster and not the G-League. A “Camp Deal” is probably just that, and this leaves Alkins options open.

Why are the Raptors a good choice? Toronto did not have a pick in the draft, although they tried to make some trades to get into the draft. The Raptors GM mentioned that all the teams held on to their players during the draft, “I don’t think one player got traded tonight.” He thought it was the first time that happened and that he is looking forward to Free Agency.

The Raptors are the ONLY NBA team in Canada, it is Canada’s team. They have the greatest fan base including musical artist Drake. We guarantee Drake that King Rawle will entertain fans, that’s for sure!

Toronto Raptors NBA Beat Reporter Josh Lewenberg just Tweeted that Alkins was a player the Raptors may have taken in the first or second round.

Murphy just published a piece stating that he thought Alkins was, “The second-best undrafted free agent in my database.” He also had this positive thing to say:

"All told, there’s a lot to like here. He has good positional size, a track record of strong individual defense in a major conference, is the type of “motor” guy teams love on the undrafted pile, and his some shooting reliability from profiling as a potential 3-and-D weapon. Given how valuable those are, how scarce good wing players are in general, and the holes the Raptors may have to fill in the rotation if their offseason breaks in certain directions, Alkins seems like a worthwhile name to bring into the system."

Since the Raptors don’t seem tied to any of their players, it would seem that picking Toronto was a good choice since Rawle would have a chance to beat out other players. The Raptors weren’t successful during the draft to trade for a draft pick, but Marc Steins Tweet seems to suggest that they are open-minded. And if anyone can make a great impression on a team and on the court, it’s King Rawle.

The Raptors have moved players onto the roster from this type of deal before. Daniel Reynolds of SB Nation pointed out that the Raptors have moved a player from this type of deal in the past. “ Raptors signed Fred VanVleet as an undrafted free agent back in 2016. He too fell out of the draft despite being a player with some talent.–Now, of course, FVV is a mainstay on the roster,” wrote Reynolds.

Justin Searles Johnson, from our sister site Raptors Rapture, had mentioned the Raptors should go after Alkins three months ago since they worked him out last year. Props to Justin!

Coach Miller supported TJ McConnell through the same process Alkins will go through, and now the Sixers can’t live without him. Every time the experts thought McConnell’s career was over, it was TJ who proved them wrong. TJ started with the Sixers in Summer League followed by Training Camp. TJ beat out the Sixers draft picks to win a spot on the pre-season and regular season roster. He has had to fight along the way to keep his job, and fans fell in love with him. The rest is history.

There is so much opportunity for Alkins, just look at last season’s undrafted Wildcats. Kobi Simmons wasn’t drafted but ended up playing in the NBA for the Grizzlies. Chance Comanche, also not drafted but he will play with the Orlando Magic in Summer League. Kadeem Allen played on a two-year two-way deal for the Celtics and he saw playing time in the NBA as well. Miller believes his players will find a way.

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The Raptors know they have a sleeper, now it is up to Alkins to do his thing and kill it in Summer League and Camp. As he said himself in a Tweet after the draft, “Make em believe (100)… All good! It’s not how you start it’s how you finish! Summer of separation time  #SAVAGELIFE.” We all know if anyone can make believers out of fans and coaches, it’s our guy King Rawle. We will all be pulling for him!