Raptors: After star turn in summer league, second-round pick Norman Powell sets sights on NBA spot
BURNABY, B.C.— Norman Powell is no stranger to sitting and waiting and watching and learning, as difficult as that is, as frustrating as it once was.
A four-year American collegian at the UCLA, the 2015 second-round draft pick of the Raptors was seldom used in his first two years, a promising athlete forced to bide his time, the enforced viewing gnawing at him almost daily.
“With everything that’s going on, guys talking about being sent down to the D-League, how are you going to take it, are you going to be able to get the minutes you want . . . I’ve done that my first two years at UCLA,” Powell said after the Raptors wrapped up another practice session at Fortius Sport and Health here Thursday.
“Having to sit behind guys, feeling like you’re ready to be thrown in there with the wolves, to go out there and perform but there are guys in front of you who are better and more mature . . . you’ve got to watch and learn.”
The difference now is that the sixfoot-four Powell is sitting and watching NBA veterans rather than college teenagers.
He may have had a star turn in the summer league, leading Toronto in scoring while playing tenacious defence that caught the eye of coaches and teammates, but the NBA is vastly different to a summer in Las Vegas and Powell knows it.
“From my summer league performance, I feel like I’m that player, I just wanted to go out there and prove to everybody that I can be that . . . just to prove everybody wrong,” he said.
“I had to come here, maintain the same confidence and be the player who I am and just fit the roles that the coaches want me to do and don’t put any extra pressure on myself.
“I know what I can do, I know what my weaknesses are that I have to improve on, I have to just perform the way I need to perform.”
Powell is still a long shot to make the Raptors out of training camp and the pre-season — his non-guaranteed contract isn’t helping him any and he’s likely destined to start the season in the D-League — but he’s not going down without giving it his best shot.
“Norm is not your typical rookie mentally because he is a tough kid, mentally tough,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s not awed by the bright lights or who he is guarding.”
The 22-year-old from San Diego, twice an all-state high school player in California, does have a level of maturity that allows him to deal with his present situation. He’s brimming with confidence while also fully aware of his NBA prospects right now.
“I knew it was going to be competitive, I knew there’d be a lot to take in, a lot to learn and I feel like I’m doing a great job with that,” he said. “I’m learning from the coaches and following the vets.
“It’s all about being ready, it’s nothing new to me. I’m not going to be frustrated or upset. Whatever the coaching staff wants me to do, I’m going to do it.
“I know the opportunity for me to perform and be that guy is going to come if I continue to work.”