Raptors Assign Dalano Banton to G League 905

The Toronto Raptors are finally letting Dalano Banton get some in-game action.

On the heels of three straight benchings, the Raptors have assigned the rookie guard to the Raptors 905, the team announced Thursday.

Banton burst onto the scene early in the season, averaging 4.3 points in 13 minutes per game through the first 25 games of the year. He was a change-of-pace guard for Toronto who had usurped Malachi Flynn's playing time to lay claim to the backup point guard spot behind Fred VanVleet.

The good time, however, quickly came to an end as turnover trouble and defensive lapses have kept Banton out of the rotation for the better part of the last two months. Since returning from COVID-19, he's played in just six of Toronto's last 13 games and he's been held to all but mop-up duty recently.

The Raptors have traditionally been reluctant to keep young players on the bench for more than just a few games when they could be getting in-game reps in the G League. That's what had made their reluctance to send Banton to the 905 so strange.

Now the 22-year-old Torontonian will get a chance to develop in the G League for the next little while as the 905 play their next eight straight games at home.