Raptors 905 announced an 11-man roster as they broke camp on Thursday, two days before their inaugural season opener.
Here’s the team, per Raptors905.com:
The 905 brought 16 players in to their first ever training camp, which began last Monday in Mississauga and included one official exhibition game and two scrimmages against Canadian teams.
The primary note here is that three training camp invites made the roster over players presumed to have a spot. Canadian centre Keanau Post (Victoria, B.C.), Scarborough native and former Brampton NBL player Ashton Smith, and Walter Pitchford all made the team as invites, knocking off third-round draft pick Kourtney Robertson, fourth-round pick John Puk, and fifth-round pick Shaquille Keith, another Canadian.
Sim Bhullar, acquired in a trade just ahead of camp, makes it three Canadians on the roster alongside Post and Smith.
The roster is constructed of three players selected in the D-League draft (Mike Anderson, Jay Harris, and Melvin Johnson), one player selected in the D-League expansion draft (Scott Suggs), three affiliate players cut in Raptors training camp (Axel Toupane, Shannon Scott, and Michael Kyser), three camp invites who cracked the roster (Post, Pitchford, and Smith), and Bhullar, acquired in a trade.
There are no major surprises on the list, and it’s expected that Ronald Roberts, who was ineligible for camp due to entering the D-League player pool late, will be added to round out the 12-man roster. The Raptors acquired the rights to Roberts from the Santa Cruz Warriors before training camp after the parent club Toronto Raptors had given Roberts a $75,000 guarantee to attend training camp. It’s clear the Raptors are high on Roberts’ potential as a high-engergy power forward following a strong summer league showing.
As explained in our D-League primer, the 905 can have up to 12 players on their roster, 10 of who can be active for each game. If the Raptors opt to assign players to the D-League, those numbers can expand to 15 and 13, respectively. The Raptors can assign up to three players at a time, as many times as they like, for as long or as short a stay as they want, so long as the player is within his first three years in the NBA. Players with more service time than that can be assigned with their permission and permission from the NBPA.
It initially looked like Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira could be headed to the 905 as soon as Saturday’s regular season opener, but injuries on the main roster may confuse that plan some. DeMarre Carroll and Terrence Ross are both sidelined, which not only stands to make the Brazilian Buddy Cops active each night but means Caboclo could conceivably see playing time on the wing. If it’s not this weekend, expect at least Caboclo to be assigned soon, and often. Delon Wright could also see an early-season assignment given how little he’s played at the NBA level, and Norman Powell and Anthony Bennett stand as potential short-term assignees if the Raptors want to get them extended run at any point. But Caboclo’s the primary suspect for assignment, the presumed Face of 5ive, as the next step in his multi-year development plan likely involves further tutelage under head coach Jesse Murmuys and expanded playing time for the first time ever, really.
As things stand, the 905 rotation probably looks something like this to open the year:
PG – Scott, Harris, Smith
SG – Suggs, Johnson, Anderson
SF – Caboclo, Toupane, (Johnson)
PF – Roberts, Kyser, Pitchford
C – Bhullar, Post, (Pitchford)
That’s assuming Caboclo gets assigned and that there are no hold-ups with Roberts joining the team. And it doesn’t matter much, anyway – Murmuys’ rotations will surely be fluid to begin the year, as a 10-day training camp without two key players is hardly enough to lock things down.
The one common theme on the roster is athleticism, as manager Dan Tolzman and Murmuys wanted to build a team predicated on defensive versatility, ball movement, and the transition game. Smith, Suggs, and Johnson are all very fast, Toupane and Roberts are great athletes, and everyone but Bhullar is fairly mobile. This is a team that will defend the perimeter aggressively, hunting for turnovers to push the transition game, and one that will try it’s best to spread the floor for a drive-and-kick attack, even if there isn’t an elite shooter in the group (Johnson and Suggs are their best marksmen).
They should be a lot of fun to watch, if nothing else, and the presence of three Canadians, three affiliate players, and potential assignees will make games worth tuning in for. They open the season with a Saturday-Sunday back-to-back in Fort Wayne before returning to The 5ive for their first ever home game next Thursday.
