That’s A Rap #154: Media Day and Training Camp reactions

If Media Day is like the first day of school for the media and every fan, training camp is the equivalent to players.

We were treated to tweet-worthy one-liners from Joel Embiid, Fred VanVleet, Michael Porter Jr., and so many others. That was followed by some wonderfully edited training camp videos to whet our collective appetite for NBA basketball. With the preseason around the corner — yes, there will be a professional basketball game being played in front of fans at Scotiabank Arena on Monday — the excitement and buzz around the city are palpable.

Enjoy the latest episode and make sure to leave your comments below!

In This Episode:

6:05 — Nuances

The Toronto Raptors will head into the season led by a 6-foot point guard with a bulldog mentality and is the unquestioned leader in the locker room. That’s where the comparisons end with Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. While Lowry had a history of short-changing media members, VanVleet embraces the moment and always leaves you with something thought-provoking.

16:23 — Goran for Good?

Has Goran Dragic flipped the script and started to become, dare I say, a fan favourite? He had a horrible start to his Raptor career by saying he didn’t want to play in Toronto (he has since apologized that his message was literally lost in translation). However, he’s done everything to turn the tables. From hanging out with his new teammates in downtown Toronto, to mentoring the rookies, to shouting out Steve Nash, Dragic is doing and saying the right things to endear himself to Raptors fans and teammates alike.

30:25 — It’s not about you

Recency bias aside, this may be the most eventful Media Day that I can remember. With several big-name players announcing their reluctance to getting vaccinated, it’s a troubling trend that’s taken over all the NBA headlines. The good news is that vaccination numbers have increased from 90% to 95% since Monday. The bad news is that the remaining 5%-10% of unvaccinated players are the loudest.

39:54 — Sixers deserve better

You, me, Jason, and Dre all have something in common with Ben Simmons today — none of got paid $8.25 million! The saga that is Simmons and the Sixers wages on (I know I said we wouldn’t talk about Simmons unless he’s traded, but I wasn’t in this week’s episode to stop the boys from getting sucked into the Simmons news cycle). Joel Embiid speaks about Simmons like they’ve broken up. Daryl Morey’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. But enough about his brain, how is Morey going to move Simmons when each passing day sees his trade value continue to fall?