The Toronto Raptors have assigned point guard Delon Wright to Raptors 905 of the D-League, the team announced Tuesday.
The No. 20 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Wright has played sparingly with the parent club as the team’s third point guard. With Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph proving healthy and effective, Wright has been relegated to mop-up duty, playing 10 minutes over four appearances. In those minutes, he grabbed four rebounds, committed one turnover, and missed all four of his field goal attempts.
Head coach Dwane Casey suggested before the team’s west coast road trip that players on the main roster other than Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira could see short stints with the 905 in order to get expanded playing time. With Nogueira recalled to cover for the Jonas Valanciunas injury and the Raptors playing one game in a five-day stretch, now is as good a time as any to get Wright some run. The 905 are at home for the bulk of the next few weeks, so brief assignments for Wright, Norman Powell, and even Anthony Bennett may be in the cards. It’s a good way for these players to keep their conditioning up at a full-game level while also providing the organization with a chance to see how their development in practice is translating to game situations.
At 6-foot-5, Wright has the requisite length to fit in two-point guard lineups, a must with the current Raptors’ roster construction. He needs to add strength to be able to capably guard twos, but his length and defensive acumen both suggest it’s something he’ll be able to do. His defense was one of the primary strengths entering the draft, with the two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team player standing as “NBA ready” as it pertains to guarding opposing ones. (Note: There is rarely such a thing as “NBA ready” for rookies.) We haven’t seen enough of Wright to know if his defense is carrying over to the NBA yet – guarding Lowry and Joseph in practice should certainly help – but he should be able to help lift head coach Jesse Murmuys’ squad at that end.
Offensively, Wright is a dribbling amoeba, never attacking the same way twice. His outside shot needs refinement if he’s ever going to play off the ball in the NBA, but he has the driving and distributing instincts you look for in a backup point guard. His style of play is fun to watch and his forays into traffic a treat, and he should be able to carve up most D-League defenses at the point of attack. That will help create easier points for teammates in an offense that has struggled through four games.
Wright impressed in two summer league appearances, and we did a full scouting report on him here back in mid-July. He averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 assists in those games and averaged three points and one assist in seven preseason games. He was a more robust stat-stuffer at Utah, where he averaged 15 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.3 steals over two seasons in a more substantial role, showing a good comfort level operating a more pro-style pick-and-roll offense.
The 905 expect Wright to be in uniform when they host Idaho on Wednesday. His assignment is yet another example of the value of having a D-League team nearby, as he’ll be able to get 30 minutes on short notice and, if necessary, return to the Raptors quickly.
