MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — No one can say for sure what the future holds for the Toronto Raptors, but it certainly looks like Delon Wright will play a big part in it.
But first he’ll have to bide his time.
Playing behind Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph, Wright has seen sparse playing time with Toronto this season — he’s logged 10 minutes total in four games played with the Raptors on the year.
“It’s tough. It’s part of being a pro, not playing,” the Raptors rookie said of his playing situation. “I just have to keep coming in everyday, work hard, control what you can control and just get better.”
The six-foot-five point guard prospect made his D-League debut on Wednesday in a 93-91 Raptors 905 win over the Idaho Stampede on Wednesday night.
The victory marks the club’s first-ever at home and just second in franchise history.
Bruno Caboclo had one of his best games with the 905, shooting 5-for-9 from the field for 12 points, while Jack Cooley poured in a game-high 24 for the Stampede.
This game was all about Wright, though.
“Delon’s down here to start and play the one and get good experience running a team and he’s going to be able to get to do that,” Raptors 905 coach Jesse Mermuys said before Wednesday’s contest.
Wright did more than just that, as he flat-out dominated, matching Cooley’s game-high 24 points on perfect 9-for-9 shooting, and a tidy 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
To go perfect from the field is a stunning feat and this is actually the second time in the 905 point guard’s basketball career he hasn’t missed a shot — he did it once before as a junior in college playing for Utah, scoring 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting against Grand Canyon.
Wright was best in the first half of this one, scoring 16 points, including a first-quarter sequence that saw him net six points in 15 seconds, fuelled by an impressive stolen inbounds pass.
“You’re going to see in the next 12-15 years that he plays in the NBA, he’ll probably get one of those steals on an inbounds every other game, if not one a game,” Mermuys said shortly after picking up the win. “That’s something he’ll do his whole career, because he’s really good at it, he’s got a knack to do it.”
Another flash of brilliance came late in the fourth quarter with the game tied and 905 having just blown a 20-point halftime lead. Wright drove the lane and delivered a bullet pass right into the shooting pocket of Scott Suggs who drilled a triple from the wing to put the home side up three. That just about sealed it.
“I just tried to use the ball screen into the paint because I was going to shoot at the last second but I kind of saw him open and I’m trying to make the right play,” Wright said after the game. “He made the shot, so I’m happy about that.”
With the exception of that game-defining dime he dropped, just about the only negative to be found from Wright’s performance was his meagre three total assists on the night. However, for the majority of the game he was so effortlessly getting to the basket that the best shot was the wide-open lay-up he gifted himself nearly every time he decided to drive to the hole.
Additionally, there’s still an adjustment period on his part with his new team and where his new teammates like the ball.
“That’s a hard position [point guard] to play in the NBA and the D-League,” Mermuys said. “Running a team, being an extension of the coach on the floor and kind of running the show out there.”
Taken 20th overall by the Raptors in this past June’s draft for his defensive prowess above all, the offensive skills Wright showed on Wednesday denote he will be more than just a stopper when given meaningful burn with the big club.
Lowry can opt out of his current deal at the end of next season and — barring an unforeseen dramatic drop in his production — he will command a max contract.
Will the Raptors want to pay that out?
It’s an interesting question to ask as, by that time, you’d have to think Wright would be primed and ready to step in with Toronto and play big-time minutes, something he’ll never be able to do as long as he remains No. 3 on the Raptors’ point guard depth chart.
In the meantime, Wright will be waiting in the wings, waiting for his time to eventually come.
And if he keeps playing like this in the D-League, don’t be surprised if his timetable gets bumped up.
