Delon Wright out at least 4 months following shoulder surgery | Raptors Republic
The timeline suggests Wright is going to miss time well into the season. It’s Aug. 1 today, camp opens Sept. 27, the season usually begins in late October, and Wright’s time table wouldn’t have him back until at least December. Wright wasn’t set to see a ton of time out of the gate despite appearing ready for backup minutes at the NBA level – he played just 229 minutes with the parent club a year ago – but he seemed poised to at least play beyond garbage time at some point this year. The surgery not only derails the start of his sophomore campaign, it also threatens to limit his biggest offseason task, adding size and strength, something that was coming along quite well before the injury.
This ostensibly leaves the Raptors with only two point guards in Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph, and so while at one time it seemed unlikely that Fred VanVleet could make the roster as a fourth guard, it now becomes a lot more reasonable a use of the team’s 15th roster spot. VanVleet is on a partially guaranteed deal that will see him in camp with the team, where he’ll compete with Jarrod Uthoff and any other signings. Instead of using the final roster spot for forward depth, the Raptors may be in a position where they feel the need to keep an extra point guard, at least until Wright can return (VanVleet’s deal wouldn’t become fully guaranteed until Jan. 10).
The Raptors really like VanVleet and see him as an NBA-caliber player, so they’d likely be comfortable with him as the third-string point guard. He’s a steady hand with deep range who plays mostly mistake-free basketball, which is all you really ask for from a depth piece, and his role would be minimal given the names ahead of him on the depth chart. For those who questioned why the team would sign VanVleet given their existing guard depth, well, things like this tend to happen sometimes, and locking in a player they liked to a flexible, team-friendly deal now seems quite prescient.
Raptors will have to wait for second season with Delon Wright | Toronto Star
Wright being sidelined should present an opportunity for Fred VanVleet, whom the Raptors signed just two days after Wright’s injury occurred. VanVleet is a six-foot, 195-pound guard who put up 6.2 points, three rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Raptors’ Summer League team.
Raptors guard Wright out four months after shoulder surgery | Sportsnet.ca
He sustained the injury on July 16 during a Las Vegas Summer League game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The estimated timeline of his return would see Wright be back with the club at the beginning of December, meaning he will be out of the lineup for at least the first month of the season.
This is a tough blow for the 24-year-old who already was struggling to see floor time. Last season, his rookie year, he spent the bulk of it with Toronto’s D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, and was only able to get in 24 games with the big club where he averaged a measly 3.8 points per game in just 8.5 minutes per contest.
Report: Jerry Stackhouse to coach Raptors 905 | Raptors Republic
As affable and quotable as they come, Stackhouse only has a year of experience on an NBA staff, having landed with the Raptors last summer. He does, however, bring some experience coaching at the AAU level, and he got a taste of running a team at Las Vegas Summer League last month. During his freshman season as an assistant, players spoke highly of working with Stackhosue one-on-one, particularly on the offensive end of the floor, and it’s clear his personality helps provide some amount of necessary levity at times.
It’s hard to get a gauge for how effective Stackhouse may be as the man in charge, and it will be interesting to see how the young players respond to him. (The 905 run the parent club’s schemes at each end of the floor, using largely the same playbook, but Stackhouse may ditch the Raptors’ offense in favor of nothing but long twos.) If nothing else, it should be a lot of fun to see and hear Stackhouse trash-talking from the sidelines.
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Stackhouse in line for Raptors 905 head coaching job | Toronto Star
tackhouse, 41, would fill the void left by Jesse Mermuys, who coached Raptors 905 in its inaugural season before accepting an assistant coaching role under Luke Walton with the L.A. Lakers.
The 2015-16 season was Stackhouse’s first on an NBA sideline, after an 18-year career as a player that saw him named an all-star twice. After retiring, he coached his own AAU team before landing on Casey’s staff.
In his first days on the job with the Raptors last season, Stackhouse spoke of wanting to climb through the ranks of coaching, rather than seeking out a head coaching gig the second he retired.
“I would have loved to have coached the Brooklyn Nets. That was a team I knew very well. I think I was better prepared because I’d been coaching AAU basketball for three or four years,” he told the Star. “But everyone’s path is different. Now that I’m actually in it, I don’t think I was necessarily as ready as I could be, if I’d just learned a little more and observed more.
“Between the lines, you’re not going to lose me there. But kind of … auxiliary things, where I’m seeing and figuring out how I would do this or that, would I do this the same way or would I treat it different? I’m making those mental notes.”
Stackhouse also said the varied experience of his career would help him as a coach.
Sources: Raptors 905 to name Stackhouse new head coach | Upside & Motor
The Toronto Raptors used their expansion D-League team a lot last season as Anthony Bennett, Bruno Caboclo, Delon Wright, Lucas Nogueira and Normal Powell combined for 77 games played in Mississauga.
Stackhouse will now have ample opportunity to help develop young players, including those on the Raptors’ roster, for future chances in the NBA. He played 18 seasons in the NBA, so he certainly knows the ins and outs, and what it takes to be a professional. Now we get to find out if he’s able to effectively pass that knowledge on to the next generation of upon us.
Raptors’ championship push – making haste slowly | Raptors Rapture
Let’s face it, Raptors fans: the 2015-16 season and playoffs were the most successful in the team’s history, by far. Yet our guys ran up against a Cavaliers juggernaut and fell short. Are we on a treadmill? Is our team fated to make another memorable run to the EC finals, only to be brushed aside once more?
To answer my own question – that’s the most likely outcome. If the Raptors and Cavaliers, as currently constituted, met in Game One tomorrow, I wouldn’t put our chances of winning four games before they did at better than one in five. But I’m confident GM Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey are mulling this matter day and night.
There are some reasons for optimism. By the time the playoffs roll around, LeBron will be 32. While he’s aging gracefully, there’s no doubt coach Tyronn Lue will carefully monitor his meal ticket’s minutes. LeBron averaged 35.6 minutes per game in 2015-16, which is his lowest usage rate ever. James has started an absurd 986 regular season games, and 199 more in the playoffs, in the 13 seasons of his Hall of Fame career to date. That’s a lot of wear and tear.
Raptors in Need of Consistency from Terrence Ross | Raptors Rapture
Undoubtedly contributing to Ross’ inconsistent statistics is his often questionable shot selection. Ross has a tendency to create his shot off the dribble while he is a more efficient shooter off the catch. Fans would like to see him improve his shooting percentage by taking smarter and higher quality shots. Terrence Ross is already a talented offensive player; consistency is what he is missing to truly certify him as a reliable player. One of the main worries fans have about Ross is the lack of physicality on the defensive end. Despite having a smaller build, being a great defender requires a willing demeanor and a disruptive style of defense; physical build is arguably a mere addition.
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