There is no more difficult job to get in professional sports than an NBA roster spot.
There are only 450 full-time positions spread among the 30 teams. It’s an exclusive club with not a lot of turnover.
A good portion of the jobs are reserved for veterans on guaranteed contracts and younger players still on their entry-level deals, which are also guaranteed. Then there are matters of positional need: An experienced backup point guard is usually a must-have and some teams also like to have a third who can mind the store in an emergency.
Even as the role of big men has been diminished somewhat with the rise of small-ball and emphasis on the three-point shot, most teams like to be two and even three deep among seven-footers.
The net effect is usually four or five wing-type players in a battle for one or two end-of-rotation positions with teams making decisions based on perceived potential versus veteran experience or offensive skill and ability versus defensive acumen and athleticism, the reality being the players who check more than one of those boxes at an NBA standard are already working.
That’s where the Toronto Raptors were at the start of their training camp, with Canadians Andy Rautins and Kyle Wiltjer in the mix along with additional camp invitees Alfonzo McKinnie, K.J. McDaniels and Kennedy Meeks.
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Rautins and Wiltjer skewed more to the offensive end of the spectrum, which each having track records as strong three-point shooters but who might not have other skills that would readily translate into the NBA, while McDaniels and McKinnie are both long and athletic wings expected to be impactful defensively while working to become reliable perimeter threats. Meeks, a skilled big man, was a bit of a wild card.
With the Raptors already having 13 players with guaranteed contracts there were two spots available – or maybe even one if the Raptors tried to keep a roster spot open to sign a player who gets bought out or stay under the luxury-tax threshold by season’s end.
In other words: five players going for one job, or maybe two. It’s been competitive.
With the midway point of camp approaching it appears the battle has been whittled down to two guys for one spot – presuming the Raptors go with a 14-man roster: McKinnie and McDaniels.
Gone are Rautins, Wiltjer and Meeks, although Meeks is expected to land on Raptors 905, Toronto’s G-League entry. Wiltjer might too but should have some lucrative offers in Europe. Rautins, a veteran, is expected to resume his professional career overseas.
The inside track if the Raptors stick with 14 players seems to belong to McKinnie if only because he’s earned minutes in every pre-season game. It’s been a long road to get here for the 6-foot-8 McKinnie, a late-blooming 25-year-old who was undrafted out of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2015, spent a season playing in Luxembourg and then in Mexico before making a splash in the G-League a year ago. He paid his own way to an open tryout with his hometown Windy City Bulls and became a G-League all-star by averaging 14.9 points and 9.2 rebounds a game on the year as an energizing sixth man.
The Raptors were attracted by his length, jumping ability and all-out effort and invited him to camp on a non-guaranteed deal. It’s his first NBA camp and he’s made an impression.
In the Raptors’ loss to Portland on Thursday he chipped in 13 points, eight rebounds, and four steals while knocking down three triples in just 24 minutes.
“This whole process, I’ve just been trying to do what I can do just to solidify a spot,” he said Monday as the Raptors worked out in advance of their pre-season game Tuesday night against Detroit at Air Canada Centre; their only home game before the regular season starts on Oct. 19. “We started with five guys competing for a spot or two and now it’s down to me and K.J. But I mean, I still come in with the same mindset that I’ve been coming in with this whole summer, just coming in and trying to do what they want me to do, shooting the corner three, getting as many reps up as I can, just playing hard, rebounding, and just being that spark of energy when I do get my call and I come in the game.”
McDaniels didn’t get to play against Portland and has only appeared in one of the Raptors’ three pre-season games, but has the advantage of some pedigree. An elite athlete, he’s played 148 NBA games over three seasons with three teams after being taken in the second round by Philadelphia in 2014.
With the roster whittled down, it’s likely McDaniels will get a good look against Detroit Tuesday. The Raptors aren’t looking for a big dose of playmaking from the fringes of their roster – the willingness to play within a scheme for the moment is enough, although some longer-term potential would be nice too.
“Fitting in, offensive and defensive execution and just doing the things we need them to do at that position,” was Raptors head coach Dwane Casey’s recipe. “There’s right now no clear-cut favourite going into this week. We have this week to really evaluate.”
It could come down to money. Keeping 15 players – both McKinnie and McDaniels – could tip the Raptors into luxury-tax territory, something they would almost certainly want to avoid for the sake of carrying 15 players and not 14. Working in their favour is that the luxury-tax bill isn’t calculated until after the end of the regular season. McKinnie’s and McDaniels’ contracts wouldn’t be guaranteed until Jan. 10 so they could keep them both for now and decide later.
While neither are expected to massive contributors in the early going, there are some opportunities given rookie OG Anunoby (knee) hasn’t played in any exhibition games yet and Bruno Caboclo has been less than inspiring in the three games he’s played.
As well, the Raptors have shown their willing to invest in the development of their players. Even as the team was waiving three camp invitees, they were announcing a four-year contract extension for Norm Powell, a second-round pick in 2015 who was not on the radar out of camp as rookie but who pushed his way into the playoff rotation by the end of the season and is now pegged for sixth-man minutes at minimum. Fred VanVleet was an undrafted rookie free agent a year ago and he ended up with a two-year deal guaranteed through the end of this coming season.
“I see Norm every day working out, from the summer to now, see [he’s the] first one in the gym working out, just the strides that he’s taken,” said McKinnie. “Me watching him last year playing with the Raptors and seeing how he played and seeing his role in the team now, and his contract extension, it’s kind of motivation for me.
“I look at guys like Fred, too, who came into the same situation last year who had to come in and compete for a spot and he worked his butt off and look at him now. [He] might get some good minutes this year. I’m just trying to follow in those guys’ footsteps, actually, I look up to those guys a lot coming into this program.”
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