TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors are either the youngest old team in the NBA or the oldest young team, take your pick.
Sure, they had the third-youngest roster of the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs last season with an average age of 24.71, but they also had a relatively mature starting lineup, featuring a pair of 10-year veterans (Jakob Poeltl and Brandon Ingram), a seven-year veteran (RJ Barrett), and a sixth-year player (Immanuel Quickley). Even Scottie Barnes — only 24 at the end of last season — was in his fifth NBA season.
But elsewhere, the team had a large contingent of players in their first three NBA seasons, the exception being Garrett Temple, the designated veteran who was a major influence on some of those younger players as a 40-year-old veteran who spent the last three years of his 16-year career with the Raptors before becoming an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks.
While adding Kawhi Leonard, heading into Year 15 at age 35, as upped the average age and experience level of the roster somewhat, the Raptors still wanted someone who could bring a little of what Temple brought to the second unit and the younger set in the locker room.
They landed on Kyle Anderson, who is similar to Temple in that his reputation as a consummate pro with an easy, open-armed locker-room presence preceded him, but perhaps a little different in that the 33-year-old starting his 13th season could have a larger on-court role than Temple did.
The six-foot-eight forward from New Jersey has never been a big numbers type — since becoming a rotation player in his second season, he’s averaged seven points, 4.3 rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes, mostly in a bench role — but as a high-IQ playmaker has typically found ways to make teams better as indicated by the fact he’s been on a playoff team the past six seasons and nine of his previous 12.
He also brings some special qualifications to the job in addition to the ability to move with the ball at what seems like half speed — his nickname is "Slow Mo" for good reason.
Anderson was a teammate of Leonard’s in San Antonio for four seasons at the start of his career and got to know Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic when Rajakovic was an assistant with the Grizzlies, in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
“He’s not shying away of from talking to the guys, and you can call that mentorship, leadership, you can call that keeping each other accountable, whatever it is, Kyle has always been about the right things,” said Rajakovic. “He’s a very coachable player; this is not the first team he’s trying to integrate with and to understand his teammates and to see what the biggest gaps are he can help with. His voice is being heard right away with our team and our guys have a lot of respect for him.”
Anderson was nursing a knee bruise through the first week or so of the Raptors pre-season preparations but has been full go since the team returned from its training camp in Quebec City, and will likely be available when the Raptors play their second pre-season game in Vancouver on Saturday.
Anderson spoke after practice on Wednesday about his career and his expectations for the season to come.
On his relationship with Leonard, going back to Anderson’s rookie season in San Antonio, in 2014-15:
Kyle Anderson: I mean, I can't tell the difference. Obviously, very efficient in his time there back then, not much has changed. Still one of the best players in the league. Still doing it at a very high level. You see what he was able to do last season with the Clippers. So, not much has changed.
Is he different off the floor?
KA: No, he hasn't changed; still the same. We spent four years together in San Antonio, fast forward to now and things haven't changed, really. Same person, same dude.
What are your early impressions of the Raptors?
KA: They remind me a lot of my teams in Memphis (Anderson played for the Grizzlies from 2018-19 to 2021-22), where we're super close off the court. Like, you could see the camaraderie with the young guys. They all click. They like each other off the court, in the weight room. We're joking around. We're talking to each other. We spent a lot of the summer together. So you know that just always leads to wins, good chemistry on the court, being able to handle success, being able to handle losses, so I see a few similarities with that.
What did you think of the Raptors before you signed in Toronto?
KA: I watched them a lot last year. Honestly, Jamal (Shead) was one of my favourite players to watch in the league. I always got like a group of young guys that I enjoy watching in the league, and Jamal, every time I would watch him, he was able to affect the game without scoring, something that I do. So I just enjoyed watching him. I liked how they played hard, played together. Always being in the gaps and the passing lanes. So I enjoyed watching it last year.
How has Darko changed as head coach compared to him as an assistant?
KA: You know, I think that it’s just in his nature to help guys get better. He's so keyed and locked in on the details. As a player, it’s tough to see the whole landscape (but I) think he does a great job of seeing that and (seeing) what will help you get better in the game. And then he does a great job of relaying the message to you. Some coaches have trouble relaying the message or what they want. He does a great job with all that stuff.
What has he told you about your role?
KA: I think he wants me to come in here and use my veteran experience. You know, help out. We have a young team, so help out the young guys. Just be there for them. It's a long season. We know how it goes. You don't want to get too high or too low … we've been through a lot. I think he knows that I know a few things about the regular season and the post-season. So you know he just wants me to come in here and be vocal, not necessarily be a leader, but you know be there for the young guys with whatever I can help with.
Have you personally connected with any of the young guys?
KA: We spent a lot of the summer together, … more time than NBA teams usually do spend together in the summer. So, yeah, I always enjoy checking out the next generation of guys. It's a whole generation after me that came in, I had to learn them. Jaren Jackson and all those guys, Ja Morant, all those guys (in Memphis). So now it's like a whole new generation with Ja’Kobe (Walter) and CMB (Collin Murray-Boyles). These guys are 22 years old, so that's crazy to me. So I've enjoyed my time with them.
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