There are flashes of brilliance in his game. He nailed a pair of pull-up three-pointers against the Orlando Magic earlier this year and it’s not hard to see why he’s put up multiple 30-plus point performances in his career. At times, he has the kind of scoring package that the Toronto Raptors could really use.
But far too often his impressive scoring bursts are overshadowed by questionable decision making and lackluster defense.
“Defence is something that in the past, he did not do a good enough job,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said earlier this year. “I’m really challenging him on that. … His focus and attention and effort has got to be on (a) much higher level.”
It just never quite came together for Nwora.
The 25-year-old forward was in and out of the rotation despite Toronto dealing with a slew of injuries and personal absences over the final few weeks of the season. Now he’ll head into unrestricted free agency, and it won’t be surprising if Toronto looks to go in another direction.
Nwora just didn’t seem to fit what the organization was looking for. His assist-to-turnover of 1.3 to 1.2 was alarming and despite being a league-average shooter, his defense left a lot to be desired.
Toronto could look to re-sign Nwora on a minimum deal, but it seems more likely that the two parties are heading for a divorce. By moving on from the 6-foot-8 forward, the Raptors can clear his $5.7 million cap hold off the books, creating a little more wiggle room in free agency should the organization opt to part ways with Gary Trent Jr. and Bruce Brown.
It’s an unfortunate situation for Toronto considering Nwora was part of the package the Raptors acquired for Pascal Siakam. He wasn’t expected to become a regular contributor for the organization, but his lack of development in Toronto leaves the return for Siakam looking even more disappointing.
