Title: One-on-one with Raptors 905 GM Chad Sanders: Player development in a pandemic, 10-day contract decisions, more
Date: April 2, 2021
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I sat down (kinda) with Raptors 905 GM Chad Sanders to discuss a host of Raptors player development topics.
The decision to call Malachi Flynn back up to the NBA was not one that came easily.
The Raptors’ first-round pick was selected with development in mind. While it’s been somewhat rare for the Raptors to have a first-round pick the last few years, most of their prospects have followed a similar progression: Las Vegas Summer League in July, intermittent developmental camps throughout the rest of the offseason, preseason with the NBA club and then ample time with Raptors 905, the team’s G League affiliate just down the road in Mississauga, Ont.
Nothing about the player development system for the Raptors, or any other NBA team, has been the same this year. There was no Summer League. There was hardly an offseason or a preseason. And instead of providing 50 games and seamless back-and-forth for a coherent, unified developmental feedback loop, the 2020-21 G League season was 15 games long, compressed into 25 days without almost any practice time.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 