Signed within a day of Kawhi Leonard’s announcement that he was joining the Los Angeles Clippers, Stanley Johnson’s arrival in Toronto came with a bit of comedy. One small forward was entering the building just as another was exiting, with the obvious talent gap between the two sitting as the punchline.
Taken as a wider snapshot, though, Johnson’s place on the team is way more complex than just one man in and another out.
As the Raptors’ roster has filled out, all the threes and fours appear interchangeable on the wing right now — with the exception of Serge Ibaka, who will spend more time at centre anyway.