The Toronto Raptors already have more guards than they know what to do with. They’re going to have one more in the near future.
Injured sophomore point guard Delon Wright will visit a doctor next week in hopes of getting cleared for contact drills, he revealed at practice on Wednesday.
“Feeling good. Feeling good. I’m just happy to be back shooting and working out with no restrictions,” Wright said at BioSteel Centre. ”
Wright has been sidelined since dislocating his shoulder and tearing his labrum at Summer League in July and has been aiming for a Jan. 1 return. He progressed to shooting in mid-November and is now doing everything short of contact drills. Once cleared for contact, his next step would likely be a rehabilitation stint with Raptors 905 in the D-League. That hasn’t been confirmed by the team, but it stands to reason they would take that approach given the difficulty in building up game-level conditioning outside of actual game action, and Wright himself told me during training camp that he was expecting a baseball-like approach to his return (and he seemed to be quite looking forward to it).
“It’s been real frustrating just because it’s my first injury and I never knew what to expect as far as the injury,” Wright said, noting he’d never missed a game in his career at any level before this. “It’s been a little annoying. As I’m getting closer, it’s way better because I’m able to shoot and stuff. It’s not too bad.”
It’s not immediately obvious what a clearance for contact would mean for his timeline to return to the Raptors, but it would be encouraging nonetheless. If the Raptors can pencil Wright in for January, they find themselves with an embarrassment of guard depth, with Wright likely to be waiting for an opportunity behind Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Cory Joseph, Terrence Ross, and Norman Powell, right alongside Fred VanVleet. Wright and VanVleet may seem like superfluous pieces, but considering the defensive acumen of all four point guards, the ability of each to knock down threes spotting up (Wright took strides in that area last year and has looked really good in pre-game workouts, VanVleet and Lowry have deep range, and Joseph’s stroke is finding some consistency), and Wright’s size, it’s possible he could find a way to minutes in multi-guard lineups.
“Last year, I didn’t play the whole year and then toward the end of the year I started to play when they rested games,” Wright said. “I feel like I did pretty solid. I think I can’t look at what’s going on right now. I’m just looking at how to get better and focus on what I can control.”
Some will jump to suggest the Raptors balance the roster better by sending out a point guard and bringing in another forward, but making a move just for the sake of it would be short-sighted. The Raptors are high on both Wright and VanVleet, and both would likely be capable of playing back-up minutes for an NBA team with lesser depth. Roster balance is great, but things can change quickly, and amassing the most talent is never a bad idea, especially at the end of the roster. The Raptors also have some options if they feel a push to get the young guards more time (they probably won’t, to be clear – Powell can’t even get regular run right now) – as the idea of them continuing to experiment with smaller, fluid, athletic, and quick multi-guard lineups is really intriguing in general.
Should the Raptors decide they do want to better balance the roster, it’s worth noting that VanVleet’s deal doesn’t become guaranteed until Jan. 10. He’d be a risk to get claimed on waivers and may not make it to the D-League as an in-season affiliate, so I’d be surprised if Masai Ujiri and company risk losing a player they like just to add a forward who won’t play much, anyway. (Now if a deal materializes that makes sense, obviously that’s a different story.)
Whatever the case, Wright nearing a return is great news. For him, for the 905, and for the team’s overall health and depth.
I wrote a lot more about Wright’s place on the team and how the injury impacts his development back in October, so check that out for more.
In other, somewhat older news I didn’t know where else to put, Jared Sullinger has progressed from riding around on his little scooter thing to hobbling on crutches. He has been, as always, in good spirits. There’s still no firm timetable for his return, and any guesses (the All-Star break, maybe?) would mostly be grasping at straws.
With files from Eric Koreen of The Athletic.
