Title: Freeman-Liberty needs to be step back toward Raptors’ player development success
Date: April 13, 2024
Original Source: Sportsnet
Synopsis: In my latest at Sportsnet, I wrote about the Raptors’ player development system, it’s prior success and where it fell off, and where it needs to get back to.
The final Toronto Raptors game played at Scotiabank Arena in 2023-24 had very little in common with the first. Expectations had been erased, nearly the entire roster turned over, the present and future direction of the franchise shifted, and the quality of play had, to be kind, decreased.
There was one stark similarity, though. In both games — a pre-season contest against Australian side Cairns and a drubbing at the hands of the playoff-bound Indiana Pacers — Javon Freeman-Liberty stood out in a field of developing players hoping to make their case as a part of the team’s long-term plan.
Back in October, Freeman-Liberty was on a two-way contract. Signed after a standout Summer League performance with the Chicago Bulls, Freeman-Liberty was fairly secure in his roster spot but hoping to impress early, possibly earning early-season bench minutes at the NBA level or, likelier, just starting his Raptors 905 season on the right foot. He took full advantage of his minutes, and while 15 points in 14 minutes doesn’t mean a ton against a non-NBA team, Freeman-Liberty’s knack for the paint as a cutter, offensive rebounder and second-side attacker was obvious.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 