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After two seasons in Toronto, Banton signed a two-year deal with the Celtics shortly after Boston dealt Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies. At 6-foot-7, the 2021 second-round pick fits Boston's affection for tweener guards. One could argue there wasn't a true point guard on the roster until Boston made a surprise move to add Jrue Holiday before training camp. After all the offseason moves, Banton is slated to compete with shoot-first three-point gunner Payton Pritchard for backup minutes behind Holiday and Derrick White. At 6-foot-1, Pritchard is the lone "typical" sized guard in the rotation. FastPP's defensive labilities could open the door for Banton to see double-digit minutes per game. But 11 minutes per contest is probably Banton's ceiling on this very talented roster unless the other guards suffer injuries. If that happens, Banton will still need to improve his 41.1 career shooting percentage to receive major minutes.
Banton recorded just 11 minutes per game during his rookie season, rounding out as the 487th ranked player. While he did have some nice moments, it's hard to see him leapfrogging anyone in the rotation, at least to the point where he becomes fantasy relevant. Should the team suffer through a couple of injuries to their backcourt, perhaps he moves up the pecking order, making him a name to at least monitor in very deep formats.
Banton was selected by the Raptors with the 46th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Canadian guard spent his final two college seasons at Nebraska, where he averaged 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game last season. A unique, 6-foot-9 point guard, Banton's jumpshot is a mess (24.7 3P%), but he's an interesting prospect for Toronto to develop.