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Locker clean-out notes and quotes: Lowry elbow, Casey extension, Biyombo option, and a lot more

Five players and Casey say goodbye for the year.

The Toronto Raptors held their final media availability of the season on Saturday, as players cleaned out their lockers at BioSteel Centre. The Raptors made six players and head coach Dwane Casey available. What follows are notes and quotes from each session. They’re kind of just a quote dump, because there’s a lot to get through.

Kyle Lowry

Lowry got things going off on the right foot by joking about getting everyone up too early.

On whether the accomplishment has set in yet: “Honestly, no. As I was driving over, I was trying to think of things, but I’m still disappointed. DeMar said it  best yesterday, we were talking, all the work you put in to get knocked down, and now you’re back at the bottom with everyone else….Once I get away and think about it, I’m sure it’ll be a joyous time, because I know we did some amazing things. I’ve just gotta wait and get the disappointment out. The disappointment won’t go all the way away.”

On growth of the team: “I’ve been here four years now. Every year, the team’s gotten better, and I’ve been a part of the growth of the organization. This team, this year, was probably one of my favorite teams all time.”

Lucas Nogueira interrupted Lowry’s availability looking super cool.

On what he’ll tell DeRozan in free agency: “Enjoy it as much as you can enjoy it. It’s a stressful time. But as a friend, I’m not even gonna give advice…He was unbelievable (when Lowry was a free agent), in a great way, and it was just being a friend…I’m his friend first, I’m going to love him no matter what he does. Of course, yeah, I want him back, but I’m his friend first.”

On offseason moves: “That’s not my area of expertise. I mean, it is, but. Naw, naw, naw (laughing). One thing about me is, I don’t get into all the ‘We need this, we need that.’ I don’t personally like doing that. I trust and believe in whatever they wanna do.”

On where the franchise is: “The state of the franchise is unbelievable. 56 wins, Eastern Conference Finals, lost in six…the expectations are different from four years ago…I think our franchise is in a great place…We made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. There’s no hiding under that.”

On the fan base: “Our fans are the best fans in the league, by far.”

On whether the Raptors have made themselves a better destination: “I think winning does a lot. So, that’s one thing. Winning kinda pushes everything along. I always think positively. With management, they can do anything.”

Lowry also said he’s set for his season-ending physical today and may undergo surgery to cut out the troublesome part of the elbow that’s bothered him. “It’s fine…It’s not a serious concern, but it’s a concern.” In other words, it’s something he could play through, but he was probably somewhere south of 100 percent.

DeMar DeRozan

Obviously, the first question was about his impending free agency. The general impression he gave was that he hasn’t given it a ton of thought yet, but he also made a few comments (loyalty, winning, the city) that suggest he’d like to stay.

On where he’s at right now: “Honestly, I have no clue. About to go through something new. All year, never crossed my mind…Every time I saw allegations about certain things, I always wondered where it came from.”

On his priorities: “I think that one thing that’s always greatly said about me is I’m a loyal person. That’s how I live my life. At this point in my career, it’s all about winning. It’s the only thing that matters.”

On potentially spending a whole career with one team: “I think that’s the most incredible thing you can do, me personally. That’s awesome.” Oh?

On Los Angeles: “I grew up in L.A. That’s my home. There’s not a part of L.A. I haven’t seen. I don’t get too caught up in it. I’ll let whoever comes up with that say what they want to say.” The only thing appealing to me is the things I’ve done in this organization and the things I can do…My mindset has always been Toronto.”

He also noted that he chose USC in part because it may have been his last time playing at home. So, take that as the answer to a question, not any suggestion he has eyes on L.A.

Asked if all of this is a commitment or an intent to commit, DeRozan laughed that he was being asked “some trick questions,” but “I’ve said that” since he’s been here and the questions started coming up.

“If DeMar said it, he meant it,” Casey said.

On the Olympics: “That’s big. That’d definitely be big.” (It’s rare for a free agent to suit up, but he’s been committed to the national program forever, so maybe.)

On the Toronto fans and the city: “For the fans that stood up on their feet and chanted We The North, you won’t see that nowhere else. They were on this journey just as well as we were, every step of the way.” He also mentioned he hears players talk a lot more often about coming to visit Toronto and experiencing it and enjoying it, which is awesome.

As a reminder, the Raptors hold the hammer with DeRozan – they can give him a five-year deal at an estimated $144.6M, whereas other teams can give him a four-year deal worth roughly $107.4M. That’s a huge difference. And there’s little value to a sign-and-trade in the new cap economy – players can’t receive a fifth year in a sign-and-trade, nor can they get as large a raise, and with so many teams possessing cap space, there aren’t many scenarios where it would make sense for cap circumventing, either.

Cory Joseph

On perspective: “It’s still pretty early but a little bit. We all know the rollercoaster…We set a lot of franchise records this year…but at the same time we didn’t reach our goal.”

Parallels to San Antonio, and how close the Raptors are: “For sure. To get to the Finals and be a championship team, it’s not a far separation from the finalist and the conference final. We were two games away…It’s not a huge gap between the conference finals and reaching the finals, and winning it.”

“It was great. We have some of the best fans in the NBA,” Joseph said of his home crowd. “It’s unbelievable what they do for us without them even knowing it.”

On going home, and DeRozan: “That’s not my job. I would love to have him as a Raptor again.” (He avoided the question, basically.) “Going home, for me, yeah. Every situation is different…I haven’t talked to him about that.”

On his role here: “I enjoyed it that much more because I’m from here. I’ve been part of those rollercoasters growing up, so to be able to put on the jersey for my home town…was amazing for me.”

On playing in the Olympic qualifier: “Yeah. When have I not been?”

DeMarre Carroll

On all his injuries: “Yeah, it was a lot of injuries. Obviously the first one was my knee. Having the knee surgery. First it was strange how quick it happened…had a couple of setbacks.” He wasn’t sure if he’d be back for the playoffs (some doctors said he wouldn’t). From there, things got worse. “My elbow, this series. It got hyperextended, a lot of swelling in the joint. First it was my elbow, then it was my wrist, then I had a hip pointer, then I twisted my ankle.”

Was he 100 percent?: “Realistically, at the best, I was probably 70, 75. At the best…Me not playing the whole season, my body didn’t get the strength that it needed…The biggest thing for me this offseason is to get healthy. I don’t even know what it feels like to play at 100 percent.” It sounds like the Raptors are sending people to work with him this offseason in Atlanta.

However he looked by the end, the dude definitely earned warrior status for playing through so much.

“He’s a tough guy,” Casey said. “I told him ‘Just get well, get healthy.’ That position, as you saw in the playoffs, is huge.”

On lessons from the struggle: “This was one of the hardest seasons I’ve ever had. But it was a positive one…I gave all I could give.”

On changing the team: “I think we finally found an identity for ourselves. We’re a physical, grimy, defensive team..When you think of the Raptors, you think it’s gonna be a physical night. That’s the type of identity you want.”

On playoff lessons: “When we have a chance to step on somebody’s throat, we have to do it.” He basically said the team did themselves no favors going so long in earlier series, and they were exhausted by the end.

On the crowd: “It’s amazing, man. You can’t even put into words…These fans gonna ride with you, night and day.”

On what’s next: “Rest assured, we’re not going to keep getting to the Conference Finals and not get to the Finals.” He said they’re a few pieces away and spoke a lot about the lessons the team’s learned in the process.

His interviews (and outfits) are the one’s I’ll miss most this summer.

Bismack Biyombo

On exceeding expectations: “‘I came here with no expectations whatsoever…My mindset and the way I worked out the past summer, I’ve never worked out that way. For me, it was about coming into the season to surprise people. At the end of the day, a lot of credit goes to my teammates and coaches (for finding a way to use him).”

On not getting qualified by Hornets: “The truth is, when I got on the phone call, I tell them whatever they’ve decided is going to be fine…When the opportunity to come to Toronto came, I felt it was going to be a perfect opportunity from the jump. I can’t be mad at them…I’m happy to be where I am.”

On free agency: “I love it up here. I think I’ve said it before. I love it up here. I would love to be back here. One thing that I believe is that in the office, there’s the right people…I think I’ve heard Masai say a couple of times, they’ll do whatever it takes.”

Reports last week had Biyombo’s annual salary potentially reaching $17 million, and ESPN’s Marc Stein confirmed the obvious late Friday, reporting that Biyombo is expected to decline his $2.94-million player option for 2016-17. Stein also reports that the “floor” on a Biyombo deal is expected to be $15 million per-year.

On the fans: “The love that the fans have given me and my teammates, you can’t describe it…There were times in the playoffs I could barely call coverage, and I’m the loudest guy on the team…It’s a blessing and we’re very thankful for it.”

On the chance to start: “It’s not that big a deal. At the end of the day, I just want to win…For me, it’s about winning. Starting or not starting, it doesn’t matter. I know it can start, but that being said, it’s not the most important thing to me.” He did admit he thinks he’s done “more than enough” to show the league he’s a starting caliber center.

I’m gonna miss this guy when he’s on the Lakers or Blazers or something next year.

Dwane Casey

On appreciating the year: “I’ve said this numerous times. It’s a process. I think we’ve appreciably gotten better.”

On where the team needs to go: “The playoffs were an indicator of where the league is going…It’s a wing and point guard driven league right now. We’ll hopefully have an opportunity to look at your roster…See where we can improve. Most of all, there’s guys here that can improve and do some of the things we’re looking at.” He specifically mentioned Valanciunas stretching his range to the 3-point line, citing Meyers Leonard as an example of a 7-footer who added the requisite range for a modern five.

On plans from here: Casey said it’s back to work next week. Draft workouts begin next week, and Casey also mentioned beginning the annual process of trying to “steal as much as possible” from other coaches. “We’re all thieves,” he quipped. He specifically mentioned going to Europe to steal from some of those coaches, and possibly bringing some in for the summer.

On specific changes: Casey declined to answer pretty much any roster/free agent/draft questions.

On what they’ve built: “You want to build a culture first…we know what kind of team we are.” He spoke a lot about rules and discipline and buy-in, and while some of it sounds unnecessarily specific, “it’s about buying into the team.” As for where they are overall? “We’re probably a year or two ahead of schedule.”

On what they’re building toward: “We’re building something special. It’s not a finished product yet, but our goal is to win a championship.”

On the crowd: Casey said someone from the league called him to talk about LeBron mentioning the crowd last night. “There’s no place like that in the NBA,” Casey said. “It’s unbelievable, the energy, the passion, the togetherness that they bring to the table, that helps push you through…They were the sixth man in those two Game 7s…We have probably the number one fanbase in the NBA.” He also said the crowd gave him goosebumps last night. Same, man.

On his contract status: “I’ll let my agent handle all that. That’s the last thing on my mind, as far as wanting to sit down and talk about that right now. That won’t be the first subject I hit on, it will be ‘How can we make our team better?'”

How much a few weeks can change things. Zach Lowe of ESPN recently wrote that a first-round loss to Indiana “would have raised questions about Casey’s job security — even with Toronto holding a 2016-17 option they were leaning toward picking up regardless of the Pacers series.” Now, Stein reports that the Raptors happy enough to go beyond picking up the option, and they’re expected to open up extension talks sometime soon. (Failing that, the team seems likely to at least pick up their $4-million team option for 2016-17.)

“That man is the all-time winningest coach here. He’s been great,” Lowry said. “He’s grown every year since I’ve been here. He’s been amazing and I feel like he’s still trying to get better as a coach, and every year we’ve got better.”

“Coach has been amazing, I can tell you that. He allows players to be themselves. He allows you to make mistakes and learn from it,” Biyombo said. “The coach has been amazing, and the results speak for themselves.”

Assorted

*Norman Powell wants to play in Summer League. I have no idea if that’s in the plans but I don’t see why they wouldn’t let him, unless they’re worried about fatigue. Someone compared my grind to Powell’s in a comment and I can’t remember ever receiving a higher compliment – he told reporters Friday that he was already asking to get back in the gym Saturday and work.

*”Kyle wants to be a future GM one day, that’s his aspiration in life.” – DeRozan, when saying he doesn’t need any input into the roster.

*Lowry had jokes about the locker room:

“It’s amazing,” DeRozan said of the group, before listing off a bunch of things he loves about

“It’s just the locker room. The energy around the locker room was great,” Biyombo added. “After practices, people would stay around the locker room just to have conversations. Sometimes the conversations might sound stupid, but we enjoy it…This is the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been in the league.”

“I really feel like we had a special locker room…I’ve been coaching since 1979 and this was one of the special, connected teams,” Casey said. He highlighted the necessary buy-in up and down the roster to survive injuries and changes and beat adversity. “The loyalty to each other, the loyalty to the team…it was huge. And that’s hard to find.”

*A final note from Lowry:

*And one final note from Casey that he left the players with, courtesy a message on Barack Obama’s desk.

“Hard things are hard.”

Tattoo it.

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