“I hate that, honestly,” DeRozan said in a one-on-one interview. “I never speak about it. With me, I’ve always been that one player: I’ve been loyal. I’ve been every single thing you can think of here. I think people don’t understand how much pride I take in playing (in Toronto). A lot of times when I do get asked that, it kind of frustrates me. “Everyday I wake up, I take pride in being the longest Raptor here. People bring up third or whatever in franchise scoring — there is so much stuff like that.”
DeMar DeRozan lets the world know: He doesn’t want to talk free agency | FOX Sports
The good news for DeRozan is that the Raptors, like most teams, will have cap space with which to work as the TV money rolls in. If the team is inclined to keep one of their longest-tenured players around, there should be plenty of room to make both sides happy.
Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett hopes to revive career with hometown Raptors | Yahoo! Sports
For the Raptors, there is little risk and huge potential in Bennett. Toronto needs help at the power forward position. There is no promise of him being in the playing rotation, but he will be on the regular-season roster. “We look at giving Anthony an opportunity to actually grow and be a player,” Ujiri said. “It’s not a one-year thing here. It’s going to take time. All that No. 1 pick and all that stuff, we had a conversation with him. Let’s move on from that. Now it’s about how you become a very good NBA player, which we all know he can be.” Raptors coach Dwane Casey says Bennett reminds him of Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Bass, who he coached with the Dallas Mavericks, and is impressive defensively. Casey doesn’t plan to use him at small forward. “He came in refreshed a little bit,” Casey said. “The [pressure] is off. Just come in and play basketball. There are no expectations. We don’t expect him to come in and be the so-called No. 1 pick. Coming back to Toronto having to live up to that, I thought that would be the biggest hurdle. It hasn’t been. “All that pressure has been lifted by being bought out, almost hitting rock bottom so to speak. Now he’s getting another chance to come out and play.”
Early observations on the Raptors’ pre-season | Toronto Sun
They may not have the kind of shot making they had with Lou Williams and even Greivis Vasquez a year ago, but whatever they lost in that department they more than gained with the aggressive dribble drive game of DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph. Both Carroll and Joseph, particularly in the second pre-season game in San Jose on Monday, showed a real penchant to go right into the teeth of the opposing defence and get to the rim. The finish wasn’t always there for either but you can tell these guys are comfortable battling through defenders to get to the hoop. And to be clear, it’s not like they’re poor shooters either. Carroll is a career 46% shooter and was almost 49% from the field last year. Joseph is a career 47% shooter and 50% from the field a year ago. Rookies Norman Powell and Delon Wright share some of that same attacking style, although whatever role they have with this team remains very much in the determining stages. Powell probably finished at the rim better than any of his teammates on Monday.
Everything You Need to Know About the Toronto Raptors’ 2015-16 NBA Season | Bleacher Report
The difficulty of the Raptors’ current aim—leaping from good to borderline great without a superstar—is so incredible that all of the players on the roster could qualify as X-factors. But fourth-year swingman Terrence Ross best fits the label’s traditional definition. He has freakish natural gifts and is a one-man highlight reel when his stars align. But his three-point shot and defensive effort are both marred by inconsistency.
Eye on Basketball Podcast: In Defense of the New Raptors | CBSSports.com
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Free Association: Diamond Dallas Page, Raptors preseason | Sportsnet.ca
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