Raptors rookie class deserves passing grades, but uncertainty looms moving into next season

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For the record, the four rookies who have been given an opportunity to play extended minutes on a Raptors team that will miss the playoffs for yet another season have shown encouraging signs.

Moving forward, no one knows how each will fit — or if they’ll fit at all — into the rotation when the season begins anew this coming fall.

Expectations will be high knowing anything short of making the playoffs should result in changes to the front office and coaching staff.

The good news, for those who prefer to embrace the glass-half-full mentality, is that Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo and Jamison Battle haven’t looked out of place.

If the above quartet had looked out of their element, the alarm bells would have sounded.

Perspective and context, as always, must be exercised.

Shead has been asked to start nine games. In Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon against a very bad Nets team, he recorded his second double-digit assist game of the season.

Anytime a player, let alone a rookie selected with the 45th-overall pick whom the Raptors acquired in a trade with Sacramento, posts a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, he must be applauded.

Keep in mind it was Brooklyn, whose intent for months has been to lose as many games as possible, knowing the reward might get reaped at next month’s NBA draft lottery.

It was Shead’s first double-figure assist game since Dec. 22. In his past eight games, Shead has dished off 53 assists, while turning it over nine times.

The youngster defends and leaves everything out on the floor, whether he’s getting the rare start on nights Immanuel Quickley has either been hurt or has been asked to sit out for rest reasons.

At the same time, the kid needs to work on his perimeter jumper. In his past 11 games heading into Wednesday’s home finale against Charlotte, Shead has gone 14-for-50 from distance.

With Brandon Ingram, the Raptors will be a different team when it gathers at training camp — and a better team. With the star forward, there’s the real possibility Shead is used mainly as a situational player when stops are required or when a change in pace is necessary.

Jonathan Mogbo, another member of the rookie four, is coming off his first double-double of the season and has made 15 starts. But, if anyone can identify his precise position, please raise your hand.

Toronto’s first-round pick, Ja’Kobe Walter, has started 18 games and, like the rest of his Raptors rookie class, he has shown flashes.

On Sunday, he attempted six shots, each launched from beyond the three-point arc. He made two.

The Raptors figure to be deep at the wing position next season and Walter is a wing player who seems best fitted to play at the off-guard spot.

Unless RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick are traded this summer — scenarios that cannot be dismissed — minutes for Walter will be an issue.

Lest anyone forget Ochai Agbaji, another wing player who defends and who has shown to be competent when he’s in the starting lineup or properly slotted when coming off the bench.

And then there’s Jamison Battle, an undrafted rookie who provides a shooting element the Raptors desperately need. Battle has seen his name in the starting unit eight times this season.

Even the most staunch supporters of Battle will concede that he’s not a starter and he isn’t exactly known as a lock-down defender.

He’s a spot-up shooter who will occasionally put the ball on the floor when defenders are over-aggressive on their close outs.

Four players who each have acquitted themselves during stretches of games, four players rebuilding teams would certainly covet, four players who bring different skill-sets to the table.

The Raptors were a rebuilding team this year and an injury riddled team that led to the likes of Shead, Mogbo, Walter and Battle getting playing time.

But the Raptors won’t be a rebuilding team when the 2025-26 season tips off.

Regardless of what awaits the Raptors on May 12 when the draft lottery is held, an additional rookie will be added to the roster.

For the record, one more Raptors win — which should come as early as Wednesday — or a Nets loss, and Toronto can’t finish lower than seventh in the NBA’s reverse standings.

Additionally, a Raptors loss or a San Antonio win assures Toronto of the seventh-worst record.

There has been no pressure on whatever unit has been rolled out on to the floor this season and certainly no pressure on any of the rookies.

There will be pressure to win and to compete for a top-six seeding in the East next season, which should be the goal knowing Ingram will be in the fold.

The first time fans of the Raptors will see Ingram sporting a Toronto jersey will be next season.

When he was acquired and subsequently had his contract extended, some questioned Ingram’s fit on the team playing alongside Scottie Barnes.

By now, it is abundantly clear Barnes can’t shoot from beyond the three-point arc and is hit-and-miss when heaving deep shots inside the arc.

But he’s an elite facilitator and a beast when operating out of the mid-post and a virtual one-man break when controlling a defensive rebound. He’s also a very good and versatile defender.

Ingram is the superior offensive player and it would behoove the Raptors to showcase Ingram as the go-to player.

Ingram’s presence has the potential to unlock many options that simply did not exist this season.

His presence will also have an impact on this year’s quartet of rookies.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com