Raptors looking for good players and good dudes
TORONTO — There have been a few times over the course of the pre-season when Nick Nurse has talked about the kind of personalities he likes to have on his roster, putting aside for a moment the ability to shoot, defend or handle the basketball.
Good dudes, is how he’s put it. The Toronto Raptors head coach talks about positive attitudes, smiles, pleasant demeanours for the most part.
Just good dudes.
And given the demands of a long and arduous season, the close quarters that players live in for almost 200 days a year, the need to have men who are adaptable and friendly and smiling more often than not makes entire sense.
“It’s such a long season, right?” he said.
“It’s certainly serious business, but it’s no sense that we all have to be miserable doing it. … I think there’s some certain attitudes and certain guys that can feed some positive energy, and that keeps you going through an 82-game schedule.”
Now, the ability to shoot, defend, pass and dribble are, of course, desirable, but if the conversation is about someone who might be 13th or 15th or even 17th on the roster, the ability to get along with everyone is paramount.
They may not be “glue guys” as much as they are good guys.
“There’s a lot of long moments, travel, and games, and stretches, and to have some of those guys around to bring positive energy is great,” Nurse said.
His discussion of those traits has often centred on veteran big man Greg Monroe, who seems to have the personality the coach appreciates. But Monroe has a guaranteed contract which basically assures he’ll be around. It’s the rest of the end of the roster players who have to have that combination the coach seeks.
“He’s kind of a cheery, chipper, positive attitude type of guy, which every team needs,” Nurse said of Monroe. “You can’t have enough of that.”
As it stands heading into the final two games of the exhibition season, given the contractual situations up and down the roster, there really is only one twoway spot up for grabs.
General manager Bobby Webster and president Masai Ujiri may have some transaction up their sleeves but that would be out of character. It’s all but certainly going to come down to either Montreal’s Chris Boucher, youngster Eric Moreland or Deng Adel taking that last spot.
It’s not that huge a deal — we’re talking about guys destined to spend most of the year with G League Raptors 905 — but if they are going to be around the big club, they’d better have the characteristics that Nurse wants.
Compounding the situation is whether that last guy on the roster would ever be asked to play now or be groomed for the future.
“I think a lot of personnel decisions come down to who’s the best player today, like if we had to throw ’em in a game today, versus what could their upside be 18 months from now,” Nurse said. “A lot of times, those are two different answers. That’s the difficulty of player personnel.”
The decision will ultimately be Webster’s and Ujiri’s to make, although Nurse will be consulted and have to live with whatever final roster he’s given. And with all the pressures that go with being a head coach in the NBA, perhaps it’s best that a couple of other sets of eyes are involved.
“I think there’s always enough right in front of me worrying about who’s playing the minutes tomorrow, but you’ve always got to have an eye on a year or two from now and what those guys will do if you think, well, let’s give them a full year at the 905 and see how they progress,” the coach said.