It was not enough to keep the bench in tact. Williams left for Los Angeles as a free agent, while Tyler Hansbrough headed for Charlotte; Greivis Vasquez was traded to Milwaukee; Patrick Patterson will likely become a starter. That leaves James Johnson as the only likely holdover for the second unit. In particular, Williams’ output has to be replaced. “The first guy that comes to mind is Terrence Ross,” Casey said of the swingman who started most of the last two seasons, but will be replaced in the starting unit by DeMarre Carroll. “Not only just a scorer, but he’s got to come in and defend. He had an off year last year defending. He knows it. We know it.”
Raptors training camp report: Day 1 in Vancouver | Sportsnet.ca
Coach Dwane Casey said after the first morning practice that one of the team’s key weaknesses at this stage is verbal. “We’ve got to do a better job of communicating,” he remarked. Casey praised newcomers Luis Scola and Bismack Biyombo for their ability to communicate on the court. “Those two are our best talkers,” he said. While Scola’s ability to communicate is less of a surprise — he’s a 35-year-old veteran of the game, after all — it’s a little unexpected to hear that about Biyombo, who is just 23, Casey admitted as much: “I wouldn’t have guessed it,” he said of Biyombo’s communication gifts. It was the coaches in Charlotte who informed Casey of Biyombo’s poise, and the Raptors bench boss is expecting big things from the Congolese centre. “He’s probably going to be the captain of our defence as far as guys that can go vertical, block shots, communicate,” said Casey.
Patterson wants to start for Raps | Toronto Sun
Of the five different five-man units used during the regular season last year that included both JV and Patterson, none outscored their opponents and the two were right at the very bottom of that list with opponents scoring 14.1 and 11.2 field goals more than the Raptors while those particular five-man units were on the court. Patterson, though, isn’t willing to concede it will always be that way. He is confident those numbers can be improved on with better communication between himself and the young Lithuanian, and perhaps better understanding of what is needed from each. “It’s all about me and JV talking and communicating and finishing plays with rebounds,” Patterson said. “Me not solely relying on JV to get the rebound. Me making a conscious effort to go to the glass and finish with a rebound. Talking to him … It’s all about communication and talking.”
Raptors to alter team philosophy ahead of training camp | TSN
“We’re changing some things offensively, we’re changing some things defensively,” said Casey, speaking during the team’s annual media day festivities on Monday. “So making sure that we’re all on the same page of those changes is going to be a big challenge for us as a staff. To make sure we want to be a better ball-moving team. We definitely want to be a better defending team. We’re going to have some subtle changes defensively and there are things we’re going to do in certain situations. All of those things are going to be a bigger challenge than having added pieces.” While the most unrecognizable thing about this ball club in 2015-16 may be their approach, Toronto’s new faces should go a long way in helping them implement it. By design, Ujiri and his front office staff targeted “two-way” contributors this summer, bidding farewell to a couple more offensively inclined players from last year’s roster.
What to expect from Anthony Bennett | Internet scribbles on NBA basketball
It’s repeated ad nauseam, especially if you’ve read ANY basketball writing over the past three years, but the midrange area is something of a no-fly zone. Unless you’re LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki, or maybe Carmelo Anthony, the shot simply isn’t worth it. Bennett is nowhere near that level, and yet, 56 percent of Bennett’s attempts originated from the midrange are last season.
Raptors GM Ujiri sees Bennett ‘as a long-term thing’ – Sportsnet.ca
Perhaps as part of the first step in the Raptors’ development plan for Bennett, Ujiri stressed the importance of basically hitting the reset button on the Canadians’ dismal NBA career, thus far. “We want a new Anthony Bennett in a way where it’s not the pressure of being a No. 1 pick anymore — that’s gone,” Ujiri said. “We want to figure out the basketball player that he can become, not what happened in Minnesota or what happened in Cleveland. I think that’s all gone now. “I told AB, ‘hey, we have to figure it out here,’ and I think he’s settled in a little bit [in the] last day or so.” Bennett’s struggles have been well documented, but given his enticing talent, Ujiri sees no down-side to taking a chance on him.
Toronto Raptors Dwane Casey finally has a team that meets his defensive desires | National Post
Ujiri chose to keep Casey around, but his off-season moves — and you can add the acquisition of backup centre Bismack Biyombo, an excellent rim protector who brings little else to the table — put pressure on the coach. This roster is a lot closer to Casey’s ideal. When asked if this roster fit Casey better, DeMar DeRozan answered in the affirmative. “He’s a defensive coach,” Joseph added when asked of his first impressions of Casey. “He’s very defensive-minded, just like (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) was. I have no complaints.” Now Casey is going to have to prove it, and the roster is still far from perfect. For one thing, the Raptors will rely on Jonas Valanciunas to make defensive leaps, and nobody can say whether or not he is capable of making them. Last year, Casey regularly benched Valanciunas in the fourth quarter because he did not trust him to be able to guard pick-and-rolls with one of the Raptors’ weak defensive guards, and with good reason.
DeRozan is going to miss Amir | Toronto Sun
“You miss the continuity that Amir brought,” Casey said. “You knew what you were getting from Amir each and every night. You will never change that and you can’t replace that. He was just like an old blanket. Always there and we will miss him. His continuity and his closeness with DeMar and the rest of the guys is unprecedented. He will always be loved in the city because of his love for the city.”
DeMarre Carroll as the face of change for the Toronto Raptors | Hardwood Paroxysm
“From when I came here in day one, all I heard [about the Raptors] was iso, iso, iso,” Carroll said (last season, the Raptors ranked second in isolation frequency). “And then if you came in here a couple days ago, ‘cause I’ve been here two and a half weeks, you’ll see how the ball moves. It’s a good thing, I think it’s going to be a different type of basketball. It’s not going to be that iso, iso, pound the basketball. It’s gonna be more movement, kinda something I’m used to coming from Atlanta, and just passing up a good shot to get a great shot [more often].” For Carroll to bring that mentality over (and the same could be said for Joseph, who played with the San Antonio Spurs last season) should play a big role in changing an offense that was often criticized for its stagnancy last season. Other moves will, too: even after a Sixth Man of the Year-winning campaign, the Raptors let Lou Williams go in the offseason without making him a contract offer. In similar vein, they traded Greivis Vasquez to the Milwaukee Bucks during the draft. Those players were largely triggermen within last season’s offense, finishing third and fifth respectively in field goal attempts for the team.
Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri: ‘I’d Give DeMar An Extension Right Now’ | VAVEL.com
“If DeMar wants an extension, I’ll give it to him right now at this second,” said Ujiri. He continued on to say it didn’t make sense for DeRozan, as Ujiri thinks he is worth way more than what he can give him with the extension. Ujiri claims he was misinterpreted when he said there will be no talks with DeRozan on a contract extension this season, and that it was blown out of proportion. He expects to wait until after the season to negotiate a contract extension with DeRozan and doesn’t think this is what DeMar wants either, business wise. Reports are that DeRozan will be expecting max money at the end of the season, but at the Raptors media day on Monday, he was more focused on this upcoming season and said he hasn’t thought much about his contract.
Raptors’ Bismack Biyombo carved his own path in life | Toronto Star
“I just wanted to get out there and learn and see how the world is outside of my family,” the new Raptors centre said. “You grow up with your family and it’s great, but you get to live by yourself and understand the meaning of life. “It was a gamble but at the same time it was a challenge. I told my parents, ‘If I ever fail, I think I will come back to school and finish school and be a good citizen.’ “My goal also wasn’t to go and fail, my goal was to go and do it. I got out there and did what I had to do and I’m thankful it turned out to be the way it did. “I embraced every single moment.”
Raptors Exercise 16-17 Options On Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira | RealGM Wiretap
The contracts for Caboclo and Nogueira are now guaranteed through the 2016-17 season. In accordance with the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Raptors had until October 31 to exercise their option on both players.
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