One of the biggest question marks for the Toronto Raptors heading into the offseason is whether or not Fred VanVleet will be with the team whenever the 2020-21 season starts.
VanVleet is set to get a huge payday which he earned in his time in Toronto going from undrafted rookie to starting in the backcourt next to Kyle Lowry.
MORE: How good will Terence Davis be at his peak?
What happens with VanVleet remains to be seen, but the Raptors may have another VanVleet-like player already on the roster to continue to develop in Terence Davis II. Davis was the only Raptor to appear in all 72 regular-season games. When the postseason came around, however, Davis saw limited action only featuring in six of Toronto's 11 playoff games.
Rotations shrink in the postseason for most teams and the Raptors were no different with head coach Nick Nurse deciding to ride with his more proven and veteran players in the biggest moments. Nurse however does identify that Davis presents the same qualities he saw early in VanVleet that turned him into the player he is today.
“He’s got some specialness to him," Nurse said via Eric Koreen of The Athletic. "To come in and do what he did (during the regular season), and to be able to vault up and take and make shots like he can from where he came from, to be able to drive down the lane and dunk on four people.
“He’s got some specialness to him and that was kinda my message to him. It just takes some time, a little bit of growth and just get better and understand that.
"I said the same thing about Fred (VanVleet). Fred’s a special guy. He’s got something special inside him, and I was trying to convey that same message to Terence.”
Davis averaged 16.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals shooting 38.8 percent from 3-point range per 36 minutes this season. He was named to the All-Rookie second team for his efforts this year.
The best-case scenario is for the Raptors to find a way to keep VanVleet in Toronto, but that doesn't mean Davis won't be an integral part of the potential success of the team going forward. With Lowry ageing, Davis would be a great backup plan to promote to the starting guard role alongside VanVleet when the time comes.
If Davis ends up developing the way that VanVleet has, the Raptors might not have any backcourt worries for years to come.
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