The Toronto Raptors uncovered a gem in the last draft. What can we reasonably expect from overachiever Norman Powell in his sophomore NBA season?

Expectation When Drafted

There weren’t a lot of expectations put on Norman Powell when he was selected in the second round of the 2015 NBA draft (pick 46 overall). The expert talk was he was a solid defender who needed to work on his shot. In fact, the Raptors have never really hit success drafting in the second round. Some examples include: Jimmy King, DeeAndre Hulett, Roko Ukic, Uros Slokar, Tomaslav Zubcic and DeAndre Daniels. However, unlike these players Powell quickly showed promise in summer league when he dominated the competition. After summer league, I remember thinking Powell would push Terrence Ross for minutes this season. That didn’t happen in the first half of the season at all. However, Powell found minutes in the NBA Development League. He showed dominance in just 8 games for the Raptors 905. That dominance translated into gaudy numbers which included 24.9ppg, 5.1rpg, 4.4apg, & 2.1spg. The Raptors knew it was time to promote Norman Powell to the active NBA roster.

Performance this Season

Powell started getting significant minutes post all-star break this season. In those 25 games, Powell played 23mpg averaging 9.6ppg (shooting 46.6% from the field & 45.5% from 3), 3.4rpg, 1.6apg, 0.8spg, & 1tpg. For a rookie who supposedly couldn’t shoot, to shoot that well and not turn the ball over is fantastic. Powell didn’t put up fantastic stats in the playoffs, but he sparked a few runs in the Pacer series. I am convinced without Norman Powell the Raptors would have lost to the Pacers in the first round. For a second round pick to have that kind of impact in his rookie season is amazing. However, after that series Powell quickly fell out of the rotation in the next two series against the Heat and Cavs.

Expectations Next Season

Assuming DeRozan is re-signed and none of the Raptors wings get traded I would expect Powell’s minutes to increase by 2-3mpg. However, I think there is a scenario where Terrence Ross gets traded. Ross has never been consistent and is about to start the first year of a pricey extension. Furthermore, if the Raptors are looking to fill the massive hole at power forward Ross may end up being part of a package that yields one in trade. A potential trade scenario could be Terrence Ross, pick 27, and a future pick for Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets. If Ross gets moved, Powell’s minutes could come in close to 30mpg with Carroll & DeRozan splitting the other 66 minutes on the wing. So Powell would get the opportunity to play significant minutes beside DeRozan or Carroll. Norman Powell may not be one of the big 3 (Lowry, DeRozan, & Valanciunas), but he will get the opportunity to play an important role for the Raptors next season.