Dalano Banton Discussion / Appreciation

[Johnny Bball]

Was Banton even on any other team's mid-late 2nd round radar? If we hadn't drafted him, what were the chances that he wasn't going to be selected at all? I wish we would move on with this obsession with "length" and "potential", despite the glaring limitations of these platers. I wish Masai and Bobby would for once just draft or acquire a skilled athletic baller, and not some unexplosive and raw "longboi".

Agreed. There’s almost a zero percent chance you will find a diamond in the rough with these offensively challenged players. If you draft players with some offensive skill (like Norm Powell) you are at least giving yourself a chance.

Teaching shooting at a decent rate is much easier than teaching character, drive, handle, defense, height, length, smarts etc.

We were half the round down from Powell almost.

I still think banton has a decent chance to stick.

[HiJiNX]

Was Banton even on any other team's mid-late 2nd round radar? If we hadn't drafted him, what were the chances that he wasn't going to be selected at all? I wish we would move on with this obsession with "length" and "potential", despite the glaring limitations of these platers. I wish Masai and Bobby would for once just draft or acquire a skilled athletic baller, and not some unexplosive and raw "longboi".

Agreed. There’s almost a zero percent chance you will find a diamond in the rough with these offensively challenged players. If you draft players with some offensive skill (like Norm Powell) you are at least giving yourself a chance.

Teaching shooting at a decent rate is much easier than teaching character, drive, handle, defense, height, length, smarts etc.

We were half the round down from Powell almost.

I still think banton has a decent chance to stick.

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

[C_Money]

He’s been mostly garbage in the G League this year. Literally none of our young players have improved since being brought in.

[Hackett]

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

What? Are we watching two differing timelines? Powell consistently made the right pass and shot in game, so much so that Raptors would go on positive runs with his substitution. He was the perfect example of a player turning his on floor time into an overwhelming actions speak louder than words resume as to why he deserved to stay with the team and get more minutes. Even when the whole team was bricking it, Powell was al?Iways the guy you could count on for some positivity, and taking it to the rim when guys were shooting too many jumpers... and I am not speaking about his D which was solid from the get go.


this, "it took him 4 years to not suck" is one of the most flagrant falsehoods I have seen posted on this forum. What time dimension are you from? This is so blatantly wrong.

[Thaddy]

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

What? Are we watching two differing timelines? Powell consistently made the right pass and shot in game, so much so that Raptors would go on positive runs with his substitution. He was the perfect example of a player turning his on floor time into an overwhelming actions speak louder than words resume as to why he deserved to stay with the team and get more minutes. Even when the whole team was bricking it, Powell was al?Iways the guy you could count on for some positivity, and taking it to the rim when guys were shooting too many jumpers... and I am not speaking about his D which was solid from the get go.


this, "it took him 4 years to not suck" is one of the most flagrant falsehoods I have seen posted on this forum. What time dimension are you from? This is so blatantly wrong.

Powell also had some weird randomly good performances against the Bucks in the playoffs regularly.

Banton gets run off the floor his +/- is so low that it's very concerning. He doesn't look like he belongs, he needs to find ways to make impacts on the floor. He's good in transition but he needs to rely on being a great defensive player to generate those opportunities.

I don't ever see him being better than 33% from 3Pt range. He will have to become a great defensive player, that can stick the open three, push the ball in transition, and probably play SF.

[WaltFrazier]

Last year he dominated in G League, this year not as much. I watched part of last night, he looks the same, no improvement. Couldn't beat guys off the dribble in halfcourt.

Only second game back from injury but still.

[DangerZone13]

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

Definitely agree with you here. Banton shows flashes of a pretty damn good player every once in a while, followed by some headscratchers just like Norm did. It'll take a couple more seasons, but I still have a feeling Banton will be a quality bench piece.

[Wise80]

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

What? Are we watching two differing timelines? Powell consistently made the right pass and shot in game, so much so that Raptors would go on positive runs with his substitution. He was the perfect example of a player turning his on floor time into an overwhelming actions speak louder than words resume as to why he deserved to stay with the team and get more minutes. Even when the whole team was bricking it, Powell was al?Iways the guy you could count on for some positivity, and taking it to the rim when guys were shooting too many jumpers... and I am not speaking about his D which was solid from the get go.


this, "it took him 4 years to not suck" is one of the most flagrant falsehoods I have seen posted on this forum. What time dimension are you from? This is so blatantly wrong.

The guy was getting solid playoff minutes from year one on. He definitely didn't suck.

[hype_2004]

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

Definitely agree with you here. Banton shows flashes of a pretty damn good player every once in a while, followed by some headscratchers just like Norm did. It'll take a couple more seasons, but I still have a feeling Banton will be a quality bench piece.

He won't be next year damn guarantee you and we will cease to discuss his name from these forums.

[ItsDanger]

All the signs point towards this guy being a bust. Kind of useless in the half court and the little value he adds in transition just isn't enough. I just haven't seen the development in his game at all. Don't see the intensity or the fight from him either. A new crop of young players arrives in a few months into the league.

[God Squad]

You know it's bad when Nurse was searching for any sort of production from the bench, and Banton still wasn't ready to provide anything. He might put it together and become a nice bench piece, but I'm not holding my breath.

[GreatWhiteStiff]

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

Definitely agree with you here. Banton shows flashes of a pretty damn good player every once in a while, followed by some headscratchers just like Norm did. It'll take a couple more seasons, but I still have a feeling Banton will be a quality bench piece.

I totally disagree, Normas a second year player had a 17/4/2 per 36 season. He showed he could score at the rime with 50% two point percentage. You could and they did play him for half the minutes a starter would play. He was a rotation piece. Also it was a situation where, probably, we had decent bench players, rather than few playable options/depth at his position causing overuse of starters.

The idea that he was some guy trying to stick on the end of the roster like Banton is wrong. But maybe Banton takes a big step up next year and makes it seem like I'm wrong here. But he'll need to take a big step to get to early Norm level.

The other thing is we do know Norm eventually pans out to a very good sixth man/decent starter with efficient scoring inside and out and at least decent nba defence, so maybe his earlier seasons are tainted by that.

[Indeed]

Also, Powell sucked for awhile. He showed flashes, yeah, but it took him four years to learn how to stop rifling layups off the glass and to be a consistent shooter with a half decent handle.

Banton has instincts that you can’t really teach. That alone gives him a chance. I think he is an NBA player but he needs more development and actual game reps. In fact, one might argue that he needs confidence in the same way Norm needed confidence at the beginning stages of his career.

Definitely agree with you here. Banton shows flashes of a pretty damn good player every once in a while, followed by some headscratchers just like Norm did. It'll take a couple more seasons, but I still have a feeling Banton will be a quality bench piece.

I totally disagree, Normas a second year player had a 17/4/2 per 36 season. He showed he could score at the rime with 50% two point percentage. You could and they did play him for half the minutes a starter would play. He was a rotation piece. Also it was a situation where, probably, we had decent bench players, rather than few playable options/depth at his position causing overuse of starters.

The idea that he was some guy trying to stick on the end of the roster like Banton is wrong. But maybe Banton takes a big step up next year and makes it seem like I'm wrong here. But he'll need to take a big step to get to early Norm level.

The other thing is we do know Norm eventually pans out to a very good sixth man/decent starter with efficient scoring inside and out and at least decent nba defence, so maybe his earlier seasons are tainted by that.

Not sure I see the difference between Powell and Banton on their second season (PER 36):
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=bantoda01&p1yrfrom=2023&player_id2=powelno01&p2yrfrom=2017

Meanwhile, the size of Banton can play more positions, while Powell is undersize for the wing.

[Thaddy]

Definitely agree with you here. Banton shows flashes of a pretty damn good player every once in a while, followed by some headscratchers just like Norm did. It'll take a couple more seasons, but I still have a feeling Banton will be a quality bench piece.

I totally disagree, Normas a second year player had a 17/4/2 per 36 season. He showed he could score at the rime with 50% two point percentage. You could and they did play him for half the minutes a starter would play. He was a rotation piece. Also it was a situation where, probably, we had decent bench players, rather than few playable options/depth at his position causing overuse of starters.

The idea that he was some guy trying to stick on the end of the roster like Banton is wrong. But maybe Banton takes a big step up next year and makes it seem like I'm wrong here. But he'll need to take a big step to get to early Norm level.

The other thing is we do know Norm eventually pans out to a very good sixth man/decent starter with efficient scoring inside and out and at least decent nba defence, so maybe his earlier seasons are tainted by that.

Not sure I see the difference between Powell and Banton on their second season (PER 36):
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=bantoda01&p1yrfrom=2023&player_id2=powelno01&p2yrfrom=2017

Meanwhile, the size of Banton can play more positions, while Powell is undersize for the wing.

Powell is probably in the 99th percentile in terms of height to wingspan ratio. Powell literally finishes at the rim as efficiently as some centers. If he stayed a Raptor and was given the opportunity he would have easily been a 20+ 60 TS% scorer for us. I would argue he could get up to 25+ due to the scoring inflation and how well he understood our system.

[Indeed]

I totally disagree, Normas a second year player had a 17/4/2 per 36 season. He showed he could score at the rime with 50% two point percentage. You could and they did play him for half the minutes a starter would play. He was a rotation piece. Also it was a situation where, probably, we had decent bench players, rather than few playable options/depth at his position causing overuse of starters.

The idea that he was some guy trying to stick on the end of the roster like Banton is wrong. But maybe Banton takes a big step up next year and makes it seem like I'm wrong here. But he'll need to take a big step to get to early Norm level.

The other thing is we do know Norm eventually pans out to a very good sixth man/decent starter with efficient scoring inside and out and at least decent nba defence, so maybe his earlier seasons are tainted by that.

Not sure I see the difference between Powell and Banton on their second season (PER 36):
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=bantoda01&p1yrfrom=2023&player_id2=powelno01&p2yrfrom=2017

Meanwhile, the size of Banton can play more positions, while Powell is undersize for the wing.

Powell is probably in the 99th percentile in terms of height to wingspan ratio. Powell literally finishes at the rim as efficiently as some centers. If he stayed a Raptor and was given the opportunity he would have easily been a 20+ 60 TS% scorer for us. I would argue he could get up to 25+ due to the scoring inflation and how well he understood our system.

Sure, but that doesn't mean Banton doesn't have his strength (eg. passing), and doesn't mean Banton can't be compared to him.

[WuTang_CMB]

Read on Twitter

“I just feel like that stretch of the summer I was playing a lot of games, staying sharp just with Summer League then going to FIBA then training camp and then preseason right after that. So I think it definitely kept me sharp,” Banton told Sportsnet.ca during Thursday’s locker clean out day about the start of his season. “And also my second year going back into training camp, I kinda had a feel for it already and kind of knew what to expect. There was a lot of new things. But I definitely was more prepared.”

Head coach Nick Nurse called Banton the "as good as anyone on the floor out there today" after the first training camp practice in Victoria, B.C. in September, and Banton played a role in 15 of the Raptors first 16 games to start the season. He capped off that impressive run of play with a career-high 27-point performance against Detroit on November 14th where Banton showcased all of his burgeoning skills, making three three-pointers after being asked to play off the ball more, and weaponizing his length as a defender with three steals and two blocks.

Unfortunately, Banton injured his ankle the very next game, missed the next three games with a sprained ankle, and injured his hip and thumb in January and February, respectively. He never found his rhythm or his way back into the Raptors rotation, failing to play in more than two straight NBA games the rest of the season. Meanwhile, other players like Malachi Flynn, Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Will Barton got their chances at filling in his shoes at backup point guard — minutes that eventually went to Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam when it mattered.

[DreamTeam09]

my favorite player

[WuTang_CMB]

This was a glimpse into what he can do off the bench next season. Kid needs to play

Watch on YouTube

[Raptorfan2012]

I am willing to bet we will use our MLE this season on a back up guard (who can play point and shoot), so its really Banton and Dowtin fighting to be the 3rd guard in the rotation.

[Brinbe]

Gotta keep working on that 3 PT shot. If he can shoot he's got a career. He's made progress but not good enough yet.

Gotta get up to around 35% at least.