With the Raptors in the obvious market for a big man; whether it be a selection of a big at #13 in next Thursday’s draft, a selection of a big if/when the Raptors acquire a second pick, or acquiring a big man via one of the many possible trade scenario’s out there, the question has been asked: What about Joey Dorsey?

Much like I said about Weems before last season, his acquisition seems to be flying under the radar with some Raptor fans, who would undoubtedly be more excited if we acquired him via the draft.  As a mid-season acquisition of a player who has already bounced around the D-league, his signing came with little fan fare.

Joey Dorsey, much like Reggie Evans, is an excellent per-minute rebounder and has excellent defensive skills as his two Conference USA defensive player of the year awards can attest to.

A comment on Joey Dorsey’s strengths from ESPN Insider:

“Dorsey is an incredibly strong low-post player with explosive athleticism. Can be a beast on the boards. Good offensive rebounder. Good shot-blocker. Physical defender.”

Joey Dorsey is a do the dirty-work defender, who is a plus rebounder on both ends of the court and is someone who will quickly endear himself to Raptor fans if given the chance.  He is nothing much to get excited about, but already has a 12 rebound game under his belt (in less than 19 minutes).

Compared to Ben Wallace coming out of Memphis, and being extremely short for the C position at 6’7 he slid all the way to the 2nd round despite having late first-round, and guaranteed contract potential. He does not have much of an offensive game to speak of, but is exactly what the doctor ordered on the defensive end for the defensively deficient Raptors.

With that said, he will never be a starter and is nothing more than a 15-20 min a game role player, but those will be a highly-efficient, hustle category minutes with a solid, if unspectacular defensive presence.

Joey Dorsey provides the Raptors with some of that much needed toughness on the inside the Raptors so badly crave and we would be glad to see him back with the Raptors next season; especially since news broke about him already being in Toronto working out with Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems and Amir Johnson.