Dial 905: We return with a roster, as the G League warms up

With the Toronto Raptors proper beating up on opponents left and right, it might be easy to forget about the future of the organization happening in Mississauga.

Yes, the G League season is returning soon — this Saturday, in fact — as the Raptors 905 begin another campaign that’ll last into late March. The season opener is against the Delaware Blue Coats, a home game at Paramount Fine Foods Centre (haha) at 2 p.m.

Last Friday the 905 played their lone preseason game, a 141-102 victory over the Erie BayHawks. The game didn’t count, but it certainly augured well for the coming regular season.

Now, let’s meet the team that’ll take the court to start the 2018-19 campaign.

The Two-Way Players

Headlining the 905 this year are the Raptors’ designated two-way players: Chris Boucher and Jordan Loyd.

Boucher has already seen a couple minutes of garbage time with the Raptors, and the 6’10” power forward is a classic Masai Ujiri asset — long arms, athletic frame, with a potential jump shot coming somewhere down the line. It was Boucher’s 25 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks that led the way in the 905’s aforementioned preseason game. An older rookie last year with the Golden State Warriors, the 26-year-old Boucher will likely be the first called up if injury issues abound.

Loyd, meanwhile, is a 6’4” guard who also jumped in for a couple minutes this season. The 25-year-old was undrafted in 2016 after playing at the University of Indianapolis, then played for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League before heading overseas to the Israeli League. This time around, he’s looking to stick with the 905, and has shown he can be a sound combination guard in Summer League and other G League action.

Other Affiliate Players

While not under contract with the Raptors, Kay Felder, Deng Adel, and Malcolm Miller all have affiliate player status heading into 2018-19. Miller is the most notable name and will still be recovering from a shoulder injury at least early in the season. The 6’7” wing played 15 games with the Raptors last season, averaging 2.5 points, 1 rebound and 0.2 assists.

Kay Felder will be best remembered for his time on LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016-17, where he played 42 games and averaged 4 points and 1.4 assists. After some time with Chicago and Detroit last year, Felder settled in the G League with the Grand Rapids Drive and is possibly on his last #proveem stop at just 23 years old. Other teams will be watching his performance with the 905, as affiliate players remain free agents for any team to sign.

Deng Adel is another project player signed to an Exhibit 10 deal. The 6’7” forward is 21 years old, played college hoops at Louisville, and is Sudanese-born but grew up in Australia. This is the affiliate player we know the least about, but Adel has shown promise as a small forward with the potential of adding range — he scored 24 points including 3-for-3 from distance in the 905’s lone preseason game. We shall see.

The Other Guys

A quick summation of who else is here! Kyle Collinsworth, who played in the preseason with the Raptors, was signed with returning rights and will surely get minutes as he did in the preseason opener. There’s Myck Kabongo for your Canadian content, who joined the team through open tryouts and last played for STB Le Havre in France. Toronto’s Duane Notice is also on the roster, who has bounced around since playing for South Carolina in the NCAA Final Four in 2017.

The rest we’ll get to know as time goes on. Here’s the full roster, we’ll check back in with our friends in Mississauga on Tuesdays for the Prospect Report and Thursdays here in Dial 905.