Five things to know ahead of Raptors training camp

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors statesman their pre-season grooming campy connected Tuesday successful Montreal. Here are 5 things to cognize astir what the Raptors’ pre-season volition look like.

NEVER REALLY STOPPED — Head manager Darko Rajakovic held mini-camps for his players passim the summer. Backup centre Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., said helium was anxious to be the campy successful Spain aft helium was done with Team Canada astatine the Paris Olympics. He said that it was adjuvant to proceed to get to cognize his teammates aft being traded from the Utah Jazz to Toronto connected Feb. 8.

“Looking backmost past year, evidently I got traded astatine the commercialized deadline, determination was a clump of moves that were made, brought successful a clump of caller guys,” said Olynyk connected Monday. “We played astir apt six quarters together, and past everybody got wounded oregon retired oregon a batch of antithetic worldly happened wherever we ne'er got to truly beryllium together, play together, physique immoderate chemistry oregon continuity.

“That was my reasoning. I needed to get with these guys and commencement to physique immoderate chemistry, immoderate continuity, immoderate connectivity, and truly commencement to jell.”

YOUTH MOVEMENT — Toronto added immoderate promising prospects to its roster astatine the NBA Draft connected June 26 and 27. The Raptors took Baylor defender Ja’Kobe Walter (19th overall) successful the archetypal round. Then added San Francisco guardant Jonathan Mogbo (31st), Houston defender Jamal Shead (45th) and NBA Academy Africa centre Ulrich Chomche (57th) successful the second.

“There’s going to beryllium times erstwhile those guys volition beryllium connected the roster, there’s going to beryllium times erstwhile those guys volition beryllium successful rotation, possibly starting,” said Raptors caput manager Darko Rajakovic. “There volition besides beryllium times erstwhile those guys volition request to spell to (G-League affiliate) Raptors 905 and play games and signifier with that squad truthful they tin get much reps oregon make connected definite things that we volition laic successful beforehand of them.”

INJURED GUARDS — Although Walter volition apt beryllium a large portion of Toronto’s future, helium volition not enactment successful on-court activities astatine grooming campy aft sustaining a enarthrosis injury. The Raptors said Walter sprained his close acromioclavicular associated — wherever the collar bony joins the scapula — during informal workouts this week. Veteran guardant Bruce Brown volition besides miss campy aft helium had arthroscopic country connected his close knee. Brown averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 26.0 minutes successful 34 games (11 starts) for Toronto past season.

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NO LONGER A ROOKIE — Gradey Dick was selected 13th wide by Toronto successful the 2023 NBA Draft. The Raptors one-and-only rookie past play was saddled with each of the razzing and menial tasks associated with being a first-year subordinate past season. The 20-year-old said connected Monday helium was anxious to beryllium relieved of that burden.

“I conjecture I’m technically a rookie to the archetypal game, truthful I’m not wide yet,” laughed Dick. “My rookie work was ever the playing cards connected the plane, but I already saw successful the radical chat, idiosyncratic other is going to get them present truthful that feels amazing.”

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE — Toronto volition play 5 pre-season games, including 1 astatine Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors volition big the Washington Wizards connected Oct. 6 astatine Montreal’s Bell Centre, earlier facing the Wizards successful Washington connected Oct. 11. They’ll past person a home-and-home bid with the Boston Celtics connected Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 earlier wrapping up the pre-season by travelling to Brooklyn to look the Nets connected Oct. 18.

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Sept. 30, 2024.