The Toronto Raptors are a team that has a mix of younger players and veterans, and the team has kind of been threading two timelines over the past few years. However, this clearly hasn’t worked out for the team, and they were eliminated by the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament this season.
Point guard Fred VanVleet recently sounded off on the Toronto Raptors’ development pains, noting that you can’t force a player to “grow up”. He admitted that he had to “go through” a lot as a young player to get to where he’s at, and it is clear that VanVleet understands that development is non-linear. Steve Bulpett of Heavy relayed the news.
“I’ve been screaming it for two years, you know what I mean? I think that at a certain point you can’t make anybody grow up. It’s going to happen at their own pace and their own speed, and that’s the frustrating part about maturity and just the development stage is that you can harp on it all you want to.
“The only real teacher is experience, so sometimes you’ve got to learn lessons the hard way. I think that a lot of these guys will be in great situations going forward. But even myself, there are a lot of things I had to go through as a young player to become the player that I am. That’s true for everybody. You’ve got to go through it to get through it.”
There’s no doubt that player improvement is not as easy as getting from point A to point B. There are a lot of steps in between, and sometimes players even have down years before reaching the next level. Hopefully, we see some of the Raptors’ young players blossom going forward.
Draymond Green Has Compared Scottie Barnes To Himself
The most prominent young talent on the Toronto Raptors is Scottie Barnes, and there is no doubt that the forward has a high ceiling. Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green once compared Barnes to himself, but added that the young prospect could become “a lot better” than that.
“He could be a lot better than me,” Green said. “I saw a tweet the other day that said, ‘Scottie Barnes’ floor is Draymond Green.’ And that’s a damn good floor. And I believe that. He’s such a special talent.”
“I love his game because it’s not predicated on sheer skill or sheer will,” Green said. “It’s a mixture of all of that. It’s a mixture of skill. It’s a mixture of will. It’s a mixture of smarts. It’s a mixture of length and athleticism.”
It will be interesting to see how good Barnes can actually become. He was the only untouchable player for the franchise going into the trade deadline, and it is clear that the Raptors eventually wants to make him the face of the team. Hopefully, he develops into a star player at some point in his career, and the Raptors certainly hope that will be the case.
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