TORONTO - The Raptors are in advanced talks to bring an NBA Development League franchise to the Greater Toronto area as early as this coming season.
The always excitable Tim Leiweke, outgoing president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, let the cat out of the bag Wednesday afternoon, but may have done so prematurely.
"The Raptors will have a D-League team playing in the Greater Toronto Area this year," Leiweke boasted at an unveiling of the 2016 NBA All-Star logo. "A commitment toward development, a commitment toward the first D-League team in the history of Canada and clearly an acknowledgement of the growth and support of basketball in Canada."
According to a team source, talks with the D-League are still ongoing and while the hope and expectation is to have a local affiliate in place come the fall, it is not yet official.
Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri first revealed his intention to purchase a D-League team earlier this month, confirming that MLSE's board had approved the venture, but gave no indication of where it might be located.
This would be a coup for Ujiri, who has prioritized internal growth since taking his post atop Toronto's front office, primarily at the back end of the roster where he prefers to develop younger players rather than stashing underutilized veterans.
A single affiliate in the D-League could allow the Raptors to do just that while continuing to strive for sustainable success at the NBA level.
Last year, Toronto was one of 13 NBA teams to partner with the Fort Wayne Ants, the only shared D-League club (the other 17 D-League franchises were each owned by a single NBA team). As a result, they were handcuffed in the development of rookie Bruno Caboclo, the 19-year-old Brazilian and long-term project they selected with the 20th overall pick in last summer's draft.
Caboclo was limited to spot minutes at the tail end of eight blowout games last season, forced to learn from the coaches in practice, where he was far from the top priority for a winning team with playoff aspirations. Yet, the Raptors were understandably reluctant to send him down to Fort Wayne and lose almost all control over his daily work habits - what he is learning, who he is learning from and so on. Moreover, the Mad Ants coaching staff would have little incentive to force feed the young forward court time at the expense of their own, more polished players. Without an allegiance to the Raptors organization - or any of the other 12 NBA clubs that could send them prospects - their primary goal was to build a winning program.
In two brief stints with the Mad Ants, Caboclo appeared in seven games and played under nine minutes per contest.
Owning a D-League affiliate would allow the Raptors to hire their own staff (coaches, trainers), emulate Dwane Casey's system and oversee the development of Caboclo as well as the team's other young players. Situating it in or around the city eases the burden of travel and permits them to make frequent call-ups when necessary, even on game days.
If their D-League team is in place for next season, as expected, Caboclo could see significant time there. So could fellow sophomore Lucas Nogueira, the team's 20th pick in June's NBA draft and rookie forward DeAndre Daniels - last year's second-round selection who spent this past season playing in Australia.
Daniels has been working out with Caboclo and Nogueira in Toronto this month and should be in the mix for the Raptors' final roster spots coming out of training camp.
In addition to annual pre-draft workouts, the Raptors will hold a two-day free agent camp in June, presumably beginning the process of scouting talent to fill out a D-League squad. They'll host domestic and foreign players from various leagues, including some with D-League experience.
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