The Raptors 905 announced yesterday that they have acquired MiKyle McIntosh and the returning rights of JeQuan Lewis from the Wisconsin Herd. In exchange, the 905 traded the returning rights of Shevon Thompson, who played under Jerry Stackhouse last year for the Raptors 905. The Raptors 905 waived Uche Ofoegbu to open up the roster spot for McIntosh.

Coming In:

JeQuan Lewis

Lewis is a 24-year-old 6’ point guard out of VCU. Even though Lewis went undrafted in the 2017 Draft, his production as a senior (15.2ppg, 36.7 3P%, 4.5apg, 1.5spg) drew enough interest for him to get a few pre-draft workouts with the Wizards, and later on was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks to an Exhibit 10 contract, and parlayed that as an affiliate with the Herd. Lewis had an OK season with the Herd, as he was stuck behind Xavier Munford, Brandon Jennings, Gary Payton II for the most part. He averaged a modest 9.2ppg 4.6apg 1.6spg while hitting 39.4% 3P%. He did not come back for the 2018-2019 season; instead, he signed with the Goyang Orions of the Korean Basketball League, and most recently signed with Kymi of the Greek Basketball League.

MiKyle McIntosh

McIntosh is a 24-year-old 6’7” forward who played his senior season at Oregon, averaging 11.8ppg, 6.1reb, shooting 35.6 3P%. Like Lewis, McIntosh went undrafted but in the 2018 draft. However, he was invited by the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers for a pre-draft workout. After going undrafted in 2018, McIntosh signed with the Blazers to play for their summer league team. After not receiving interests from NBA teams, McIntosh played for KBL’s Anyang KGC, posting 17.4pts and 7.6reb.

Interesting to note that McIntosh initially declared for the 2017 draft out of Illinois State, but pulled out to go back for his senior season with the Oregon Ducks. There seems to be some interest with McIntosh previously as the Raptors brought him up for a workout back in 2017.

Coming Out:

Shevon Thompson

Thompson had a successful year as a backup C for Jerry Stackhouse and the Raptors 905 last season. Thompson provided solid backup minutes behind Kennedy Meeks, dropping 10.5pts, 7.6reb, 1blk playing just a bit over 20 minutes per game. A traditional big, Thompson logged 10 double-double games for the Raptors 905, including a playoff win against his former team, Erie BayHawks where he registered 18pts, 16reb, 2blk.

Uche Ofoegbu

Ofoegbu cracked the Raptors 905 roster through a successful open tryout that earned him a training camp invite and outlasted then-Raptors 905 players Kethan Savage and Andre Washington.

Trade Analysis

Thompson would have been an ideal back-up/semi-starter C for the Raptors 905 this season; however, he signed with Turkish Basketball Super League’s Istanbul BB. The Raptors as an organization seems to be moving away from traditional lumbering big men at the C spot, as they opted to backup Boucher with a raw PF/C in Kadeem Lattin, who’s mobility and athleticism is similar to Montrezl Harrell-type of players. Both big men are always seen working on their three-point shot before their games. Stackhouse’s pet project Andre Washington — a tall Eddie Tavares-type of C — was waived before the season started.

A 6’4” guard out of UNLV, Uche Ofoegbu hasn’t seen a lot of minutes since the emergence of Rodney Pryor, who the Raptors 905 picked up earlier this season as a temporary replacement for Duane Notice. If you’re keeping track, Notice has taken some time off to play for Team Canada for the World Cup qualifiers.

JeQuan Lewis most likely won’t be suiting up for the Raptors 905 this season, as he recently signed with a team to play for the Greek Basketball League. GBL mirrors the duration of the NBA, so chances are, this is a move for next year in mind.

MiKyle McIntosh should bring in the size (6’7”, 230lbs, 6’10” wingspan) and add scoring for the depleted Raptors 905, as he’s got an excellent frame as a SF/PF. Similar to Alfonzo McKinnie, McIntosh is a traditional blue-collar PF that had to change his game as a small forward, so McIntosh should be a handful in the paint. With the Oregon Ducks, McIntosh showed that he can hit his perimeter and mid-range shots. With Boucher expected to see some extended run with the main club, the Raptors 905 are thin up front, with only Kadeem Lattin as the only C, Christian Watford (6’9”) is providing backup minutes in the middle, but his game is much more suited as a spot up three-point shooter.

There seems to be a logjam on the wings with Rodney Pryor, Duane Notice, Roger Moute A Bidias, Kyle Collinsworth who are all sharing the available SG/SF. Kyle Collinsworth and Deng Adel should get the bulk of SF/PF minutes, and the addition of McIntosh and the eventual return of Malcolm Miller will make it interesting to see how coach Jama Mahlalela will handle his rotation. We could probably see a McIntosh-Adel-Collinsworth/Miller small ball front court from time to time until Boucher comes back.