By Andrew Dubowec

Three former Toronto Raptor big men have completed their summer league season and it will be interesting to see if they will join an NBA training camp in October.

While various summer leagues had other ex-Raptors like Jermaine Jackson and Zendon Hamilton and a few virtual unknowns who had a cup of coffee with Toronto, there were only three players who had a legitimate shot at being on an NBA opening day roster.

Rafael Araujo, Michael Bradley and Pape Sow have all had disappointing pro careers and solid summer league performances could help rejuvenate their NBA futures.

               

Rafael Araujo joined the Jazz’ summer league team in Salt Lake City for the Rocky Mountain Revue, while Pape Sow and Michael Bradley played for the Phoenix Suns’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. Hoffa and Bradley were drafted in the first round and Sow was a second round selection.

Rafael Araujo: He played three games before getting an MRI done on his groin, which has been bothering him since the post season. The exam showed tendinitis, but not a tear. The injury forced him to sit out the final three games where the Jazz’ second round pick Kyrylo Fesenko (20 years old, 7’1”, 280 lbs.), played very well in limited minutes filling in for Hoffa.
 
In Araujo’s first summer league affair he finished with six points, but started the game by getting stripped on a post move, then committing a foul, and following with a defensive three seconds violation. Araujo totaled 10 turnovers in three games.

Hoffa played 19.3 mpg and shot a sparkling 7 for 11 from the field. He averaged 6.7 points per game. Araujo had only one offensive board, but added 13 rebounds on the defensive end in three games.

The options now  facing the Jazz are two-fold. Either re-sign Hoffa to be the team’s third center or negotiate a buy-out with Fesenko’s Ukrainian team and bring him over to the NBA.

Pape Sow:  He was involved in a terrifying fall which left him with a broken neck at last year's summer league as a member of the Raptors. To see Pape back and playing was an accomplishment in itself.   

Sow was his typical high energy self, even though reports were that he was at times out of control and unable to corral loose balls. Pape started five games and averaged 20.4 mpg, along with 5.4 points per game. He shot a disappointing .407% from the floor, but managed to average 6.2 boards. Sow played aggressively and averaged 4 fouls per game.

With the trade of Kurt Thomas, there may be an opening for Pape Sow at the end of the Suns’ bench. They can use an extra big man and Pape will come cheap which suits owner Robert Sarver just fine, on a team that is looking for salary flexibility.

Michael Bradley: Nicknamed the ‘Garbageman’ in his Raptor days based on his ability to clean the boards and pick up garbage around the rim, Bradley’s NBA future looks bleak after a summer league where he saw little court time.

Bradley played in only two and averaged only 8 mpg. Michael scored a total of three points and grabbed five boards in 16 minutes of playing time. While his board per minute rate was solid, it appears he is the odd man out in Phoenix in the race to grab that final bench spot to replace Kurt Thomas. It is never a good sign when you get almost no minutes in summer league!


Summary: None of the three ex-Raptor big men generated any significant buzz at summer league. Nothing in their performances stood out and media reports out their respective cities were focused more on other players.

It appears that Sow and Araujo may have a decent chance to catch on with the Suns and Jazz respectively. While not a sure bet, odds for both joining their NBA squads may run in the 60/40 range.

On the other hand, Michael Bradley looks like he will be headed back to Europe if he wants to continue his professional basketball career. If you don’t get PT in summer league, then the writing is on the wall as is the case with Bradley.