They are in some odd way born anew, the Raptors are, almost fully together for the first time. Having survived a wretched time personally and professionally, they are anxious to see what might await them.
“I’m optimistic that it will look good, that it will work, that it can work,” Fred VanVleet said Thursday afternoon. “I’m not fearful. I’m not nervous about it. We’ve just got to see it. We’ve got to get out there in a game and put it together.”
Finally, though, they can.
The majority of a roster wracked by the coronavirus has now returned to practise and there is a reason for the sense of excitement that permeates the organization.