Raptors 905 roster taking shape, camp opens Monday

It’s been a busy week for the new D-League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, Raptors 905.

As the organization continues to find its footing ahead of the Nov. 14 franchise opener and the Nov. 19 local debut, Raptors 905 general manager Dan Tolzman and crew are wrapping up what’s surely been a tireless abbreviated offseason. Friday brought with it several trades, Saturday was the D-League draft, and the 905 are still just a few weeks removed from the expansion draft.

With the team’s inaugural training camp set to open Monday in Mississauga, 16 players have been invited to try to make the club. What follows is a quick rundown of who they are and how they landed in the Raptors organization.

NBA players
NBA teams are not allowed to assign NBA players for D-League training camps. So as much as head coach Jesse Murmuys may be itching to once again work with Bruno Caboclo, Caboclo isn’t likely to be assigned until much closer to the team’s opener. The assumption here is that Caboclo is set to spend plenty of time in the D-League this year – an article for another time but something I’ve been suggesting was likely the plan since the moment he was drafted – but the team has been fairly quiet about how much time others will spend there.

Norman Powell and Delon Wright are rookies who don’t figure to see much rotation time at the NBA level, and while the team needs active bodies, an occasional assignment to get a heavy workload isn’t out of the question. Teams like Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have leveraged a close geographic affiliate to send players down on very short assignments. Cory Joseph, for example, is familiar with the process of being sent down for a game or weekend to play 30 or 40 minutes, only to be called right back up to re-join the parent club. There’s a chance, too, that Anthony Bennett sees some time in the D-League for additional seasoning and work.

What’s in store for Lucas Nogueira is less of a question mark. He was one of the Raptors’ two inactive players to start the season and doesn’t figure to play much at that level. He’s played sparingly since joining the Raptors, and Nogueira and Caboclo have essentially been viewed as a pair. That’s not necessarily fair considering Nogueira has serious reps in the Spanish ACB league, likely the second-best league in the world, but he’d certainly benefit from the same extended playing time and full-time hands-on tutelage Caboclo is set for.

But again, these are considerations for after camp.

Affiliate players
NBA teams are allowed to designate as many as four players they cut during NBA training camp as D-League “affiliate players,” so long as their rights aren’t owned by another D-League team. Shannon Scott, Axel Toupane, and Michael Kyser have all been acquired under this system and will join the team for camp.

Being an affiliate player does not mean the Raptors have exclusive domain here. Affiliate players are free to sign with an NBA team if an NBA-level contract becomes available. Failing that, though, they’ll stay within the Raptors’ organization. It’s not only a setup geared toward helping the players – conceivably, having a team more familiar with you and you with their system would be a boon toward landing a 10-day contract or future camp invite – but it also gives teams a means other than the draft for filling the roster with players they’re familiar with and interested in.

Scott, Toupane, and Kyser all received $25,000 guarantees on their training camp deals, helping supplement their (estimated) $25,500 D-League salaries and helping make the decision to stay stateside an easier one.

Ronald Roberts
The Raptors also cut Roberts in camp after giving him a $75,000 guarantee to attend. The belief was that he would eventually head to the D-League, but the Raptors didn’t initially own his rights (teams can hold rights on a player for up to two years). Raptors 905 acquired the rights to Roberts on Saturday, along with a 2016 third-round pick, in exchange for a 2015 second-round pick, a 2016 first-round pick, and the rights to Kevin Jones.

Roberts isn’t listed on the camp roster but is expected to “join the team at a later date.”

Sim Bhullar
As covered late Thursday, the Raptors also acquired the rights to Sim Bhullar for the rights to Ricky Ledo. You can read more about the Bhullar deal here.

Draft picks
Raptors 905 made six picks in the D-League draft on Saturday. 24-year-old two-guard Mike Anderson became the first pick in franchise history at No. 19, and he was followed by Jar Harris (2nd round, PG, 23), Kourtney Roberson (3rd round, PF, 25), Melvin Johnson (3rd round, SG, 25), John Puk (4th round, C, 24), and Shaquille Keith (5th round, SF, 22). Keith is a Brampton native who played at Kilgore College and Cape Breton University, by the way,

Rights, camp invites
Raptors 905 filled out the camp roster by inviting six players, including Canadians Kevin Thomas, Ashton Smith, Keanau Post, and Jabs Newby. The Raptors owned the rights to Scott Suggs from the expansion draft, and he’s the only player acquired in the expansion draft who will attend camp.

Other player rights
The Raptors hold the rights to several players through the expansion draft. Should any of the 12 additional players the 905 have the rights to decide to sign a D-league contract in the next two years, the 905 would have first crack at them. The 905 traded the rights to Earl Clark, Kevin Jones, and Ricky Ledo, but there are still some interesting names on the list, including Luke Harangody, Mustafa Shakur, and Michael Watt.

The roster
The 12-man D-League roster will consist of players from this list. I’ve included player rights to show an entire snapshot of the organization, but for the most part, they can be ignored entering the season. If any player on the roster is called up by an NBA team during the season, the 905 would retain their rights in the event they are waived at the NBA level.

D-League teams can have 12 players on their roster, 10 of whom are active. This does not include players on NBA assignment, who don’t require a subsequent roster move and who can push the number of dressed players allowed to 12. The Raptors are only allowed to send up to three players on assignment at a time, by the way.