The Raptors Are Handcuffing Themselves With Jeff Dowtin on a Two-Way Deal

The Toronto Raptors have left themselves in an awkward position with Jeff Dowtin Jr. still on a two-way contract for the final stretch

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Let's start with this: Jeff Dowtin Jr. is not the savior for the Toronto Raptors.

The 25-year-old backup point guard has played in just 18 games this season, scored 44 total points on 44% shooting, and has seen the Raptors outscored by 10 points in his 159 minutes this year. He is not some high-impact player.

What he is, though, is someone who could help, if not for his frustrating two-way contract.

Despite only appearing in 18 games, Dowtin has been listed as active for 43 of Toronto's 72 games this year. Per NBA rules, two-way players are only allowed to be active for 50 games and are ineligible for post-season play.

So why hasn't Dowtin played lately?

"Jeff's a tough one," Raptors coach Nick Nurse told reporters last week. "He's played very well for us, I think, but he's only got seven games left to dress for us. So we're trying to play that as we can play it. I don't know how that's all gonna work out. But I feel like we should probably save those (final seven games)."

This is only a problem if Toronto chooses to make it one. Converting Dowtin to a standard contract would make him eligible to play down the stretch and permit him to play in the postseason. The hiccup in all of this is the Raptors don't have a roster spot open to convert Dowtin's contract, but, really, that shouldn't be all that difficult to overcome. Neither Malachi Flynn nor Dalano Banton has seen rotation minutes in over a month and Joe Weiskamp hasn't played in the rotation since mid-January when he signed a 10-day contract with the Raptors.

When Toronto opted to add Jakob Poeltl at the trade deadline it signaled to the league that the organization wanted to contend for a play-in spot or better. The Raptors went even further in that direction, adding Will Barton as a backup guard upon his buyout from the Washington Wizards. 

So far, though, the Barton experience hasn't been pretty. He's shooting just 7-for-28 and Toronto has been outscored by 48 points when he's been on the court, the most on the team since he joined the Raptors on Feb. 28. On Sunday, he was 0-for-6 and a minus-10 in a game Toronto lost by seven.

It's fair to wonder whether or not Dowtin would fair better in those same minutes as Toronto's backup point guard. No, Dowtin might not have a career's worth of shotmaking that Barton has under his belt, but at this point the Raptors need wins. Dowtin has shown he can play steady basketball in limited minutes.

Keeping him on a two-way contract is simply handcuffing the roster with valuable games still up for grabs.

Further Reading

Raptors go toe-to-toe with Bucks in potential first-round playoff matchup

Raptors continue to show progress, handling their business against shorthanded T-Wolves

Raptors take a step toward some consistency with blowout victory over Thunder