Growth comes from within; not without | Lowry gon’ get paid, but how much? | Speaking French is hard
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— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 30, 2019
Training Camp in Quebec City…
*dusts off French Immersion 101 textbook* #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/KWs1huPzrS
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 30, 2019
DeMar DeRozan, on what it was like watching Toronto celebrate a championship the summer after he was dealt away: pic.twitter.com/lwcdUxJIR3
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) September 30, 2019
There are two important lessons the team will draw from beyond the result of that Game 3 tweak. For one, VanVleet and Kyle Lowry started together in the highest-leverage of situations and survived. As the Raptors try to determine what their best starting five is around Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol, VanVleet figures to be given plenty of consideration as the de facto shooting guard. There are concerns like backcourt size and point guard depth behind them, but the Raptors also need to find out what VanVleet can do in a larger role ahead of free agency and starting your best players and figuring out the tweaks from there is usually a safe starting point for a rotation.
The bigger takeaway may be that Nurse, by nature, experience and reputation an experimenter, should be emboldened by the success of his fluid starting lineups a year ago. He’s already trying to put that message forward in training camp, balancing the benefits of a competition-based camp with a need to reestablish the mentality that roles and lineups should be dynamic.
“Well I haven’t felt it tough yet, but I think those days are ahead of me yet. I think nobody is really thinking about it much. I mean, I guess they are thinking about it but the games are still a ways off yet,” Nurse said. “Certainly we will mix things up in the preseason, probably way more drastically than we will in the regular season just for the heck of it and to give guys chances to see what things look like. I know it’s a sometimes sensitive topic, but again, it’s like we were changing our lineups all the way through to the end last year. We were starting one group with the first half and a different group for the second all the way to the end.
“I just want want to make it part of a little bit more of an acceptance type of thing than, I don’t know, I just don’t think it’s as big a deal as it has been made. We are trying to change the thought process a little.”
It should be familiar to readers by now, but there are a host of new players who won’t be used to a culture that minimizes the importance of starting roles. There’s value in those, to be clear – players can prepare easier staying in a routine based on the starter-reserve dynamic and there are familiarity gains from lineups playing together more. At the same time, rigidity doesn’t have much place in the modern NBA, and there is ample room to be both agile and familiar with lineups.
If VanVleet, who has plenty on the line ahead of free agency, is able to keep that perspective, it should trickle down to the rest of the roster by example.
“I’m never going to hurt the team in terms of what I want individually. That always comes after our team goals but those goals are there as well,” he said. “I’m gonna do a good job of keeping everything in perspective and just layering it and anchoring it in order. As long as you keep the team first, everything else will work itself out. I’m not gonna hurt our team with my own ambition. If they want me to start, I’ll start. If they don’t then I’ll be the best bench player I can be.”
I’d expect four different starting lineups across the four exhibition games, and possibly even across halves within those games.
Ranking the Most Important “Third Guys” for NBA Contenders This Season – The Ringer
8. Marc Gasol, Raptors
A lot could happen in the East this season, especially for Toronto, which is right in the middle of the conference with a still-competent roster sans Kawhi. This is still a really good team, with Kyle Lowry leading the way and Pascal Siakam primed for another leap. Gasol rounds out the trio by being an anchor on both ends of the floor. The Spaniard is coming off an absurd run after winning an NBA title in June and a World Cup in September. Without Kawhi, Toronto will need Gasol to be more aggressive this season (he took a career-low 7.2 shots per game during his post-trade deadline stretch in Toronto last season), and it will be interesting to see if his defense can remain at a high level 12 years into his career. The margin for error is far more slim now.
Masai Ujiri respects Kyle Lowry, but will he pay him? – Yahoo!
As for Lowry, the considerations go beyond dollar signs. His kids were born here, and his family is comfortable — what’s the price of disrupting that? It’s one thing if his career were incomplete, but there’s no longer a dire need to chase rings. Lowry has also established a legacy in Toronto, and he can further build his case as the best Raptor of all-time by overseeing the transition to the next generation. Lowry is already beloved, but he can become eternal. With a few more years here, Lowry’s case over DeRozan, Leonard, and Vince Carter as the greatest Raptor in franchise history will be set.
There’s no sense in the Raptors locking themselves into a repeat of the Chris Paul situation, because bad contracts only end in divorce. Lowry doesn’t wield nearly the same leverage as Paul had over Houston, and the market for him won’t be that robust, anyway. When Lowry last tested free agency in 2017, he wasn’t exactly raking in offers. San Antonio had a gaping vacancy at point guard, but they passed in favor of re-signing Patty Mills. Ujiri actually did Lowry a solid by signing him to a generous three-year deal at the max, which was only fair since Lowry was such a steal in previous seasons.
Next summer, the only teams projected to have more than $20 million in cap room will be Atlanta, Cleveland, Memphis and Charlotte, who are all lottery teams unlikely to splurge on a veteran guard. Besides that, there is Denver (who have Jamal Murray signed to the maximum), Phoenix (a perennial disaster) and New Orleans (who have both Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball). Where exactly are the offers coming from? Lowry would either have to join a flawed situation, or take a discount to compete. Besides, most teams want to keep their cap for the summer of 2021, when the likes of Antetokounmpo and Leonard become available.
The best situation for Lowry would be stay put. Something like a two-year deal in the range of $40 million makes complete sense on both sides. For the Raptors, they’ll have Lowry to oversee the transition, without ruining their flexibility (they will still have maximum cap room in 2021, even after paying $20 million for Lowry and a hefty extension for Siakam), and for Lowry, he gets to stay in a winning organization in a city where he is beloved, while getting paid what he is worth. At a salary of roughly $20 million, Lowry is sandwiched between Eric Bledsoe ($17 million) and Malcolm Brogdon ($21 million) which shows proper deference to both his production and his importance to the franchise.
What must be avoided at all costs is an ugly split over money. Lowry is the foundation for this entire era, and he needs to be taken care of. They can’t go from losing DeRozan and canning Casey, to seeing Leonard walk, and then severing ties with Lowry in three successive summers. It’s one thing to be a team in transition, it’s another to be without an identity. Whether he’s the leading man or just the bridge to the next generation, future iterations of the Raptors need to adopt Lowry’s mindset: The Raptors may be overlooked, but they’ll never be outworked.
Raptors’ Fred VanVleet isn’t looking back when there’s still so much he wants to achieve | The Star
“I think the respect I’ve been getting from my peers and from opposing teams and franchises and GMs around the league over the last few years has grown, I think that people are starting to see it a little bit,” he said after the Raptors went through the second day of their training camp at Laval University on Monday. “But it’ll always be the same, I’ll never be a darling so to speak. Not sure I really want that, either.
“I like to go out there and put everything on the line every time I lace ’em up, and that’s something that gives me a competitive advantage every time.”
It is precisely that — the desire to find and exploit a competitive advantage — that has set VanVleet on course for a long and solid NBA career when some wondered whether he’d even have one.
He fought his way onto the Toronto roster in 2015 after four years at Wichita State; he got there because of his work ethic and a steadfast belief in himself. And now that he’s been on a team that reached the pinnacle of the sport, he’s not going to slow down.
It’s not in his nature.
“I would think I’m moving up in a little in terms of (status in franchise history) and my value and what I bring to the table but that honestly started Day 1,” the 25-year-old VanVleet said. “From my first day being here — just keep climbing. I’m a very ambitious guy and work my butt off to continue to grow and get better each day.
“Hopefully there’s new levels for me to keep reaching. It’s not gonna all happen at once but I think the future is bright.”
It seems to be, and that’s creating a conundrum for Raptors general manager Bobby Webster and president Masai Ujiri. VanVleet and his backcourt counterpart, Kyle Lowry, could both be free agents next summer and, while their coupling has been excellent for the better part of two seasons, it’s unlikely the franchise will want to pay them both what they perceive as true market value and try to keep them both happy with playing time and responsibility.
VanVleet a rising star in NBA | Toronto Sun
Some 31/2 months and more than a few celebrations later, VanVleet’s NBA status has altered.
“Coming in here as an undrafted guy trying to make the team four years ago, I would think I’m moving up in a little in terms of that and my value and what I bring to the table but that honestly started Day 1. From my first day being here, just keep climbing, I’m a very ambitious guy and work my butt off to continue to grow and better each day.
“Hopefully there’s new levels for me to keep reaching, it’s not gonna all happen at once but I think the future is bright,” VanVleet said.
Certainly around the league, VanVleet is noticing a difference in how he is perceived.
“I think the respect I’ve been getting from my peers and from opposing teams and franchises and GMs around the league over the last few years has grown,” he said. “ I think that people are starting to see it a little bit. But it’ll always been the same, I’ll never be a darling so to speak, not sure I really want that, either. I like to go out there and put everything on the line every time I lace ‘em up and that’s something that gives me a competitive advantage every time.”
VanVleet is in the final year of his contract as is starting point guard Kyle Lowry. How all that shakes out remains to be seen.
But for now the decision that looms is whether VanVleet begins the year as a starter or continues to come off the bench as he did most of last season, when he had a total of 28 starts.
VanVleet could start alongside Lowry in an all point-guard backcourt or the starting role could go to Norm Powell. With head coach Nick Nurse’s penchant for fluid lineups it probably matters very little but there’s still the cache, not to mention, value that being a starter in the NBA brings.
VanVleet ‘reaching for the stars’ personally but will always put team first – Video – TSN
Fred VanVleet has established himself as one of the most reliable players for Nick Nurse, especially in closing time. If you ask him, he would tell you he believes he is a capable starter but whatever his role evolves into this season, he says he will always be a team guy, even if he thinks he deserves to be a starter.
If we’re being honest, it’s been this underlying sentiment that’s proven to be the defining and durable identity for Toronto over the years — even if we don’t like to admit it. In years past, the Raptors’ never-say-die attitude read as vaguely delusional, each player striving for an impossible goal, often in the face of truly insurmountable odds. The seasons prior to their championship win each ended in disappointment and defeat, but they also somehow led to a renewed resolve, each member of the team committing themselves to return better than before. It’s an admirable stance in retrospect, especially when considered against those dark summers of the past six years, and the many hopeless times before then.
During this most recent run prior to the championship, the closest any Raptor came to admitting something approaching defeat was back in 2017 — and it came from the most unlikely source. After the Raptors had been dismantled again by LeBron and the Cavaliers to find themselves in a 3-0 hole in the Eastern Conferenc Semi-Finals, the heart and soul of the team, Kyle Lowry, said: “They’ve got LeBron James. Nobody’s closing the gap on him. I mean, that’s it right there: They’ve got LeBron James and nobody’s closing the gap on him.” Of course, even in that dark moment, Lowry wasn’t quite ready to give up entirely, adding: “But that’s basketball. You’ve got to find a way to beat the best.”
It was one of the few times Lowry would open himself like that. Few athletes will, since all have to consider themselves the best, impossible to beat, never to fail. When Lowry took to the podium yesterday, a smile on his face and a bounce in his step, he was asked what he hoped for in the coming year. The pressure is off now, a career of hard work has paid off, he’s got nothing left to prove to anyone — least of all himself. Without missing a beat, Lowry had his answer. What did he want for this season?
“Another championship. It’s always the same goal for me. I’m more motivated than ever.”
Raptors relying on internal growth to fill void in starting lineup – TSN.ca
While Siakam steps into the spotlight, VanVleet and Anunoby will have a chance to earn their way into the starting lineup, filling the two spots left open after Leonard and Green departed.
As Nurse has already confirmed, it’s unlikely that they’ll stick with a set group of starters through the season. The Raptors’ second-year head coach prefers to keep things fluid and experiment with different lineup combinations. Still, VanVleet and Anunoby should be considered the early favourites to get the most starts at the shooting guard and small forward positions, respectively.
Mature beyond his years, both on and off the floor, it’s easy to forget VanVleet is just 25 and still growing as a player. Like Siakam, he’s going into this season with a level-headed approach, even though it’s a big one for him. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career next summer and, despite having his coming-out party in the Finals last year, he still has something to prove: he’s more than just a bench player.
“I’ve been vocal in saying that [starting is] something I would like to do in my career,” VanVleet said. “If I end up being a bench player my whole career then so be it, but that’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m reaching for the stars. I don’t put limits on myself. I think the world of myself, and I put the work in to think the world of myself. So, it’ll happen, and whenever it happens I’ll be ready for it. Like I said before, I’m not going to hurt our team with my own ambition in trying to out-do people and belittle my teammates. If they want me to start, I’ll start, and if they don’t then I’ll be the best bench player I can be.”
Raptors assistant coach Donaldson’s greatest trait might be that she got game | The Star
Brittni Donaldson has a long and impressive resumé that helped get her a job as a Toronto Raptors assistant coach. It includes analytic analysis and video work and one skill that Raptors head coach Nick Nurse might appreciate more than the others: She can play.
Donaldson, who will move from the video room to the bench this season as the 10th female assistant coach in the league and the first in franchise history, was a legendary high school and university player and shooter in her native Iowa, a trait Nurse loves.
“She is a great shooter, which will help her be able to teach shooting at some point in her in her career, which I highly value,” Nurse said Monday. “I think it’s a big huge missing link in basketball coaching — people that are expert teachers in shooting.”
Donaldson was all-state at North High School in Sioux City, Iowa, and spent four seasons playing at Northern Iowa before finding her way on the coaching merry-go-round. She spent two seasons as a data analyst for the Raptors before being promoted.
And while Nurse raves about her shooting ability, she jokes it hasn’t been tested by her colleagues.
Is she the best shooter on staff?
“That’s a good question,” Donaldson said Monday. “I think we’re about to play, so I don’t know. They might let me shoot every now and then. They haven’t yet.”
The best player? “I’m going to plead the fifth.”
There won’t be a lot of decisions early at Raptors camp | The Star
Of course, maybe Masai and Bobby get the extension deal done with Pascal – Masai alluded to it on Saturday and the conversations are moving ahead – but I think that’s likely to happen, if it does, after they get back from Tokyo in a couple of weeks.
I will say, though, that this might turn into a nice trip in one regard because it’s always nice to be made to feel welcome and to the good burghers of Quebec City, I say merci for this.
Speaking of, the gastronomic part of the journey is off to a rousting start. Found a place in old Montreal with a gaggle of colleague and the Asian-inspired meat loaf encrusted with sesame seeds and a soya-infused sauce on the a bed of soba noodles was a solid choice.
(I cannot believe I just typed: “Asian-inspired meat loaf encrusted with sesame seeds and a soya-infused sauce on the a bed of soba noodles.”)
I’m gonna like this city; got tons of recommendations already but we’ve got maybe four more dining-out nights ahead of us so do what you do and help a fella out).
There have been lots of team athletes in our immediate area who are having, or have had, excellent seasons right now, no question.
Armstrong: Experience and winning culture will form Siakam’s growth – Video – TSN
Pascal Siakam’s natural growth last season will be expected to continue in an upward trend this year and according to Jack Armstrong, the experience of winning a championship will only help fuel his ascension. Armstrong also joins Josh Lewenberg to discuss the role that Fred VanVleet will occupy this campaign, both as a starter and key man off the bench.
Siakam ready to be targeted by opposing defences this season – Video – TSN
Pascal Siakam enjoyed playing a bit under the radar last season with Kawhi Leonard soaking up the attention of the opposing team’s defensive schemes on a nightly basis, but both he and the Raptors expect that to change this season, as he becomes the focal point of Toronto’s offence.
NBA Trade Rumors: Top 5 Best Destinations For Jaylen Brown – Fadeaway World
The Raptors are known to be an aggressive team and a team that likes to take risks. We saw this firsthand as last offseason, they traded their franchise player in DeMar DeRozan in exchange for Kawhi Leonard, who at the time was in the last year of his contract. They also fired their Head Coach in Dwyane Casey, who was the Coach of the Year, and they made all of these moves after winning the most games in a season in franchise history with 59 wins.
The risks they made turned out to work in their favor as they were able to win the NBA championship this past season. This excitement from Toronto fans only lasted about a month as the player that has carried them through the playoffs, Kawhi Leonard, had left Toronto for the Los Angeles Clippers.
This upcoming season for the Raptors will be an interesting one as they will have a lot of decisions to make within the next year. With Pascal’s emergence, the plethora of players with a year left on their contracts, and with Masai Ujiri’s aggressiveness, I would be shocked if this team looks at the same at the end of the season.
Trading for Jaylen Brown would make a lot of sense for Raptors as it would give them another young player to pair alongside Pascal and would speed up the rebuild. The trade would more than likely be centered around Marc Gasol as the Celtics are currently in desperate need for a big man.
For the Raptors, you would be getting a great young player alongside Pascal to hopefully speed up a potential rebuild and a player who would help your team return to contention.
For the Celtics, you would be receiving a very good defensive center in Marc Gasol who is also a winner and an amazing locker room presence. It is worth noting though that this trade wouldn’t happen unless the Raptors are around the bottom of the Eastern Conference at around the mid-season mark.
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