The Toronto Raptors have been really great at picking talents in the NBA Draft and making sure they reach stardom. They did exactly that with OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and Pascal Siakam. Both stars got to step up to fill the Kawhi Leonard-shaped hole in the middle of their roster. NBA players apparently recognized this. It was even a main talking point in free agency and trade discussions. This is also what led to Stanley Johnson choosing to play for them, via the Run Your Race podcast by Tidal League.
“Development. I saw Norman Powell and OG Anunoby, that they developed them,” Stanley Johnson said about the 2019 Raptors squad. He also added what sets the program apart from any other NBA team, “Toronto is one of the most amazing places in the world.”
Johnson just came off a stint with the New Orleans Pelicans during that season. He had a big decision ahead of him. His choice to go to the Raptors did not bear much success. The coaching staff only gave him six minutes to play on 25 games. That meant his production would take a huge decline in the first year where he would only notch 2.4 points per game and 1.5 total rebounds on average.
His second year with the Raptors did get him more minutes but the increase to 4.4 points on average was fairly marginal. But, that does not mean that the Raptors system has been bad in skills development. They are currently working to improve their Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes-led core after Fred VanVleet's departure. Will they still be one of the best teams for youth development moving forward?
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