Northern talent ready to shine
Canadians will make an impact on this NBA season
Canada continues to supply a large chunk of NBA talent and the trend will not be ending anytime soon.
For the fourth straight year, Canada trails only the United States in NBA players. There are 108 international players in 2017-18, from a record 42 different countries and 12 of the players hail from the great white north.
Former rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins, of Thornhill, Ont., heads the list. All eyes will be on Wiggins, after he signed a max deal with Minnesota that was the second-largest ever signed by a Canadian, after Joey Votto’s gargantuan pact with the Cincinnati Reds (Wiggins will earn more per season.) Can he expand his game beyond just his gaudy scoring totals?
Kitchener’s Jamal Murray is expected to become one of Denver’s primary scorers as that team aims to make the playoffs; Brampton’s Tristan Thompson has taken one for the team and become a backup in Cleveland; Pickering ’s Cory Joseph will battle with Darren Collision for the lead guard role with the Indiana Pacers; Toronto-born, Kamloops, B.C.-raised Kelly Olynyk has moved from Boston to Miami, where he should fit in nicely; Brampton’s Tyler Ennis is now a rotation player with the Lakers at point guard; Toronto’s Dwight Powell could be the first big man off of the bench for Dallas; Mississauga’s Nik Stauskas will fight to stay in the mix on a far better Philadelphia team and Saskatoon’s Trey Lyles will do the same with the Nuggets.
Meanwhile, rookies Dillon Brooks (Mississauga), Khem Birch and Chris Boucher ( both from Montreal) will get their first taste of life as professionals. Brooks has the best shot at seeing playing time, while Birch matured while starring overseas and is eager to show well in Orlando. Boucher should spend his season developing for Golden State’s minor league affiliate.
More players are in the pipeline. Mississauga’s R.J. Barrett is considered the presumptive top pick in the 2019 draft and two of his countrymen could also crack the lottery that year. This summer, Toronto’s Justin Jackson could be a lottery selection and other Canadians also could get drafted.
There’s never been a better time to be a hoops player or fan in this country.
ALL QUIET
With so much money spent in the summer of 2016, most teams are on strict budgets. That’s part of the reason so few young players from the 2014 draft received lucrative extensions. Canadian standout Wiggins and his former Kansas teammate Joel Embiid got massive new deals, but only Gary Harris (Denver) and T.J. Warren (Phoenix) were also extended before Monday night’s deadline. Intriguing youngsters like Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart didn’t agree with their teams on the finances of extensions, while others like Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood and Zach LaVine probably will have to wait because of a mixture of injury concerns and monetary demands. Denver’s Nikola Jokic will likely be maxed out next summer.
The Raptors declined to extend Brazilians Lucas Nogueira or Bruno Caboclo. The team is facing luxury tax concerns in the 201819 season and is simply not in a position to pay up right now, even if either player had proven worthy of a big raise (Caboclo certainly has not, while the deep is loaded at centre).
Several 2015 second-rounders, including Toronto’s Norman Powell, were extended (second-rounders are eligible for the treatment, albeit for far less money, a year earlier than first-rounders).
SPURS INTRIGUE
From Day 1, LaMarcus Aldridge has not fit in seamlessly in San Antonio. He struggled through much of the playoffs and seems a bit like a round peg trying to jam itself into a square hole. So, it was a bit strange to see Aldridge and the Spurs agree to a three-year, $72.3 million extension earlier this week. On further inspection though, it’s a fair compromise for both sides. Aldridge could have opted out this summer of the $22.3 million left on the final year of his deal in search of a new pact elsewhere, but he probably would not have found a taker willing to pay him in the $20 million-plus range. Now, Aldridge gets his cash for two years and if he finds a groove, he can stay on for a third year. If not, the Spurs can pay him $7 million to go away in the third year or perhaps deal him first.
San Antonio is the most successful NBA franchise of the past 1.5 decades or so and still fancies itself as a contender and has been making tweaks throughout the postseason in order to optimize Aldridge’s fit.
“I feel really comfortable right now, and I think (head coach Gregg Popovich) has made some tweaks to help me feel more comfortable,” Aldridge recently told the San Antonio Express-News.
“I think it all goes to him. He’s made some different looks where I can touch it in different spots, and it’s been helping out.”
With Kawhi Leonard injured, Aldridge turned in the best pre-season of all the Spurs.
We’ll see what happens once the MVP candidate Leonard returns.