I had hoped that the Toronto Raptors pre-season would provide some clarity on an issue which has been a head-scratcher for months, to wit: what are the Raptors plans at the center position?
Since the drafting of 7-footer Jakob Poeltl in 2016, the Raptors have employed 3 centers: the young Austrian, incumbent Jonas Valanciunas and Lucas (Bebe, The Apprentice) Nogueira. While the summertime news clips were filled with speculation about JV being shipped out of Toronto, that didn’t happen. In the Raptors’ 5 pre-season games, JV has looked excellent, and has earned praise from coach Dwane Casey.