D-League Showcase Preview: Talking Raptors 905 with Upside Motor

The D-League Showcase takes place this week (Jan. 6-10) in Santa Cruz, Calif., home of the Santa Cruz Warriors, the affiliate of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors. All 19 D-League teams will be on hand to play two or three games in front of a wealth of scouts and executives, providing a huge opportunity for players and a fun experience for teams.

Raptors 905 play Thursday at 8 p.m. against Sioux Falls and Saturday at 8 p.m. against Rio Grande Valley. The former will be on NBA TV and streamed on YouTube, while the latter will be strictly a YouTube stream. We’ll have plenty of D-League coverage this week as a result.

To help set the stage, we reached out to Chris Reichert of Upside Motor. Chris is a friend of the site and the foremost authority on all things D-League, covering the league exclusively and often breaking news like the 905 acquiring DeAndre Daniels and Greg Smith on Tuesday. Chris created the incredibly useful NBA D-League FAQ, which I leaned on heavily in creating our Raptors 905 Primer. Not to pump his tires too much, but if you care at all about the D-League, he’s a must-follow.

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Blake Murphy:Let’s talk D-League Showcase. This is like Christmas for you, is it not? At a high level, what is the showcase and what can fans expect from the week, on-screen or otherwise?

Chris Reichert: I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, for sure. Not only is it a mid-season event, but it coincides with 10-day contracts becoming available and that’s when the fun starts! Last year, 52 of the record 63 call-ups occurred after this point so get ready!

Note from Blake: NBA teams can sign players to 10-day contracts as of Tuesday. It’s likely there will be a great deal of movement between then and Sunday, when an estimated 36 contracts around the league become guaranteed if they’re still on the roster (Bobby Marks says 38 on Twitter, I count 36, but either way). Those players need to be waived by 5 p.m. on Thursday to clear waivers in time to avoid the guarantee kick-in.

The Showcase is a five-day event where all 19 teams are in one location and more importantly execs and scouts from all 30 NBA teams are in one location as well. These guys need opportunity first and foremost so this is a huge jumping-off point for the rest of this season.

Not every player in the NBADL is NBA ready, so keep in mind there will be numerous international scouts there ready to snatch up talent, as well.

Note from Blake: D-League players are subject to a buyout, but teams will often grant players their release to pursue other opportunities, as the 905 did with Nick Wiggins.

As a fan you can expect top level play on the court, an exciting atmosphere and the first chance to watch the D-League on live TV (NBATV).

There are 3-4 guys I don’t expect to leave the Showcase a D-League player so it’s gonna get interesting…

Blake Murphy: Sounds awesome. I’m disappointed I couldn’t figure out a way to go, as 5 days in Cali sounds pretty nice, particularly when filled with ball.

You mentioned a few guys who may not leave the Showcase with their teams. Raptors 905 big man Ronald Roberts has to be chief among them, right? I know Elliot Williams and Sean Kilpatrick have been great, but among big men that can help in a role now, I’ve got Roberts at No. 1. You?

Chris Reichert: You’re tellin me! I had plans to go that fell through due to unforeseen circumstances, but there’s always next year.

You’re right Ronald Roberts is one of the guys I don’t see coming back after the Showcase. He’s a bit undersized at 6-9ish but his wingspan and athleticism more than make up for that “lack of height” at the next level. He’s added a fluid mid range jumper to his arsenal this year, and he plays solid defense both on-ball and on the weak side. He’s an NBA forward and that’s all there is to it.

Blake Murphy: Alright, it’s settled then. Next year, we’re doing it. It’ll be like the blogger swarm on Vegas for Summer League, except just two of us and less karaoke.

Glad to hear you agree with my assessment of Roberts. Everyone in the organization raves about him and even a couple of the NBA guys mentioned wanting him to get a shot. Lucas Nogueira wants him called up just so he can be in the NBA Dunk Contest (he said he wouldn’t do the D-League one, because his personal goal was that the “next” contest he did would be the NBA one).

Do any other 905ers stand out to you as potential call-ups? I know you were high on Scott Suggs entering the year, and I’ve thought Axel Toupane has shown a lot defensively.

Note from Blake: Check out Suggs’ D-League Diary at Upside Motor.

Chris Reichert: Hopefully it’s still in Cali next year too!

Man, if he was in the D-League contest it would be bananas. I’m assuming DJ Stephens (!!!!), J.P. Tokoto and Jarvis Threatt will be in that and it’s going to be epic because those guys all have silly bounce.

I digress. Love Suggs and I think he brings a professionalism a lot of guys in the NBADL don’t possess yet. At 6-6 I think he could play SG or SF in the NBA and be a quality end of the bench player for years. He can shoot it with accuracy — 41.5% from 3 so far — and he plays solid defense.

The other guy I like is Jay Harris. I don’t think he’s an NBA guy but I’m just drawn to him whenever Jesse Mermuys gives him minutes. He’s an impact guy off the bench and I love his innate scoring ability.

Toupane has been okay, I just want more consistency from him.

Blake Murphy: Ha, you watch, it’ll be in Mississauga or Delaware or something in 2017.

Harris kills me up-close. He’s incredibly emotive and always seems to be having a blast. It’s really easy to root for him. I think he’s a ways away, as right now he struggles navigating scoring versus distributing and is a bit turnover prone. Kind of the common “two in a one’s body” syndrome, but he’s got plenty of time to figure it out.

Do you have any thoughts on the 905 in general? They’re an incredibly young expansion team and they’ve really struggled in the win-loss column, but I’ve been mostly encouraged by the direction they’re trending as a team and as individuals.

Chris Reichert: Yeah, the 905 have been the enigma of the league for me in the sense that I expected them (perhaps I was naive) to be good immediately.

Four of their top six guys in terms of mpg are NBA guys on assignment, so inherently that should give them a large advantage. However, chemistry is rough to come by and while they mesh well, they’re young, as you said.

Two years ago Delaware went 12-38 as expansion team and last year Westchester went 10-40, so the 905 are right there with ’em in terms of wins. If they lose Roberts to the league we could see them finish with around 10-13 wins as well.

Blake Murphy: The 905 draw Sioux Falls for the 100th time in the last three weeks on Thursday, then Rio Grand Valley on Saturday. Assuming Jarnell Stokes is mercifully kept away from Santa Cruz, who should be looking out for on those two teams?

Chris Reichert: Sioux Falls is really, really good. They have quality vets in Liggins, Kelley, Benson, and Mullens but the prospect to watch there is Greg Whittington. He’s been out with a wrist injury but I’ve heard he should be good to go for the Showcase.

Rio Grande Valley has a wealth of talent. Raphiael Putney had a 30/20 game in their loss to Reno Monday, Jaron Johnson is making Sportscenter weekly now and Cummings and Walker make them quite formidable. I think they might rival Grand Rapids in terms of talent level from top to bottom. Also, Mermuys vs. Brase should be great. They’re childhood friends, played at Arizona together, and came into coaching together, too.

Should be fun to watch but the 905 might leave 0-2.

Blake Murphy: “Will be fun to watch but the 905 will probably lose” is going to be written on my tombstone after my Homage to Catalonia D-League season is the end of me.

I’m excited to see Whittington, that’s great news. I mean, it’s terrible news for the 905, but it’s fun. I didn’t clue in to the Brase angle, that’s awesome. Can’t wait to talk to Mermuys about that when they’re back here.

Any other Showcase thoughts? Can we get a top-five most likely call-up ranking?

Chris Reichert: My pick to win it all is Sioux Falls.

Note from Blake: The winner is determined by record at the tournament, with Net Rating as a tie-breaker.

Here are my top-five call up guys: