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I ponied up $15 to watch the Raptors' Summer League games and while I was pleasantly surprised by "The Quincy Douby Experience", I mostly tuned in to scout our shiny new draft pick, DeMar DeRozan (somebody tell Art Garcia that "DeRozan" is spelled with an "a"). Here were his "pros" and "cons", as I saw them.
Pros: Great athlete (natch), excellent body control on drives, good rebounder, decent mid-range shot
Cons: Doesn't move well without the ball, can't shoot the trey, weak handle, doesn't pass much, poor free throw shooter (10-for-20 from the line), lacks defensive awareness
It would seem that DeRozan's strengths and weaknesses are pretty much as advertised. There's no doubt he has great potential, but if you watched his five Summer League games and continue to think the Raptors should insert him into the starting lineup — I'm going to have to question your sanity.
Whoever gets the starting two-guard role at the beginning of the season, he's destined to be the fifth option on offence. Therefore, he's going to need to be able to contribute in other ways — meaning rebounding and defence. DeRozan can definitely crash the boards, but the coaching staff is going to have to develop his defensive abilities before he's going to be a good fit in a starting lineup where the other four guys make their bones at the offensive end of the court.
This is why Carlos Delfino would be such a valuable addition if he ever agrees to sign with the Raptors. He's a solid defender and an above-average rebounder for a guard. Delfino isn't going to drop 20 on anyone most games, but that's not what we need from that position, anyway.
Antoine Wright was reportedly the Dallas Mavericks' best perimeter defender, so he should be the fallback plan if Delfino doesn't return. I'm not crazy about this option, though, because he's truly putrid on offence and he doesn't rebound, either — his 3.2 rebounds per 36 minutes last season tied him with Jason freakin' Kapono.
Ultimately, I want DeRozan's playing time to be dictated by how much effort he puts into the non-glamorous parts of his job: playing D, setting picks and grabbing boards. For somebody who is used to being one of the primary offensive options, this is going to be quite an adjustment for the 20-year-old (he turns 20 in August). But I can't really make a case for giving him significant playing time early on unless he shows rapid improvement on defence and improves his shooting at the line and beyond the arc.
I know some of you will be in the camp that DeRozan should be thrown into the fire because that will be the quickest way for him to improve. I disagree because I think that would discourage him from doing the dirty work I want to see from him so that he earns that playing time. And yes, I haven't forgotten that Andrea Bargnani received more playing time than he probably deserved over his first two-and-a-half seasons before finally "clicking" in the second half of last season. Well, he's still a sissy about rebounding, isn't he?
Don't get me wrong, I'm still pretty pumped about the DeRozan pick and I'm excited to see what he's capable of on the big stage. It's just that he appears to be at least a season away from being NBA-starter material — of course, I'll be more than happy if he proves me wrong. 
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