SportsBasketballRaptors

Several players fighting for Raptors roster spots keep hanging around Toronto

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Jun 13 2023, 9:06 pm
Several players fighting for Raptors roster spots keep hanging around Toronto
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors officially put an end to their lengthy head coach search today, officially introducing Darko Rajaković as their 10th head coach in franchise history, three days after reports first surfaced of his hire.

Step one of the offseason is now complete.

But what about the rest of Rajaković’s roster?

Well, it appears that six of the players are competing to impress their new boss.

 

Raptors players Joe Wieskamp, Dalano Banton, Jeff Dowtin Jr., Ron Harper Jr., Christian Koloko, and Precious Achiuwa all showed up to Scotiabank Arena to support their newly hired head coach at his introduction.

Of the six, Achiuwa and Koloko are the only two players with a guaranteed contract for next season. Wieskamp is on a non-guaranteed deal, while Harper, Dowtin, and Banton are unsigned for next season, though we should get more clarity on their future soon as free agency opens next month.

“It’s [an] amazing privilege to be part of such [an] amazing roster,” Rajakovic told the media today.”I would like to thank… all the guys that are here today, but also all the players that I have been in touch with the last couple of days.”

Without reading too much into Rajakovic’s comments — or the players that were in attendance — it seems to suggest that the players have been kicking around Toronto to keep working on their games with the team’s remaining staff.

Wieskamp was spotted recently at the organization’s OVO Athletic Centre practice facility. Banton has been out and about at Brampton Honey Badgers CEBL games, while Dowtin and Koloko were both in attendance at the first-ever WNBA preseason game in Toronto last month. With the possibility to spend their offseasons, well, not in Toronto, the Raptors appear to be putting in the effort to continue developing their bench for next season.

Toronto’s 28 points per game from their bench was 29th in the NBA last season, with reserves averaging just 14.1 points per game. For the new coach, who has worked with four different organizations before coming to Toronto, improving player development was a key component of his hire.

“This is not about me. This is not about getting one player better, this is about all 17 players, how we can improve those guys. For me, the season doesn’t start in October, the season started three days ago [when I was hired],” Rajaković added.

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