A new season of hope and optimism beckons for the Toronto Raptors. Despite having many of the same pieces, there are many new additions to the roster. Despite some uncertainty there is a quiet confidence in relation to how the upcoming season will unfold, not the emotion you’d expect from a team that has lost in the first round of the playoffs in consecutive years, most recently being swept as the higher seed.
If there’s one thing you can pin that confidence on, it’s the team’s depth, something they have in abundance and more so now than at any other time in the history of the franchise. Unlike last year, Dwane Casey has a competent starter and back-up at all five positions.
In most cases, the back-up offers a different dimension than the man ahead of him on the depth chart—not just strength in numbers but in roles. On Monday morning the coaching staff presented their players “role cards”—one for their locker, one for their pocket for reference at all times, and one in case they lose one. Inscribed on these cards is what is expected of each player—the tangible ways they can impact team success. There is no confusion about what they’re being asked to do.
One player in a new role is Toronto native Cory Joseph. The free-agent acquisition is assuming a bigger role with the Raptors, but is being asked to do the same things that made him a valuable cog in San Antonio.
So what was on Joseph’s role card?
“Just being a leader on that second unit. Coming in, keeping the energy and making sure there is no letdown from the first unit to the second,” Joseph says.
“I’m older now, I understand the game more in the NBA. When I see opportunities, I attack. And when I don’t, I just make good decisions.”
One of the benefits of being a Spur was getting to watch Manu Ginobili, arguably the best sixth man in the history of the game, go to work every night. Joseph dutifully studied Ginobili’s process.
“There was no big exchange when that first and second group switched off the court because of him. That’s what I want to do here. I want to bring energy with that second unit and uplift because that’s what we are going to need. Manu brought energy, but also a sense of calmness to the second group and managed time and score,” he says.
Joseph isn’t only looking forward to the new responsibilities—he’s looking forward to the consistency.
“In San Antonio, because I didn’t know from a night-to-night basis if I was going to play or not, I always stayed ready, so that helped me prepare mentally. Having said that, with consistency you build confidence, and confidence is huge in this league,” he says.
The longest-tenured member of the team, DeMar DeRozan, is impressed with what he sees in one of the newest Raptors.
“He’s very smart, never in a rush—you can’t make him play at your pace. He’s going to play at his pace and take what you give him,” DeRozan says. “I think you can credit that to coming from a great organization under a great coach and having a ring under his belt. Very unselfish, all about the team—just doing whatever he can do to make the next player better.”
One of the more interesting ways Joseph can be utilized is by playing him at DeRozan’s shooting guard spot with Kyle Lowry in small-ball lineups.
“I think it is great—it brings a new dynamic to this team,” Joseph says. “We can play at a lot faster pace, which a lot of teams are doing right now. Whoever gets the ball can bring it up the court. I’ve played the two before in my NBA career. I think it’s a great look for this team.”
Joseph has been so focused on basketball he hasn’t even had time to find a permanent residence in his hometown—so far, he’s been crashing with family members in between work days at the ACC. He’s just recently started his search for a home, ideally something downtown, to avoid “the crazy traffic in this city.”
He’s already found a home in the Raptors rotation. His role is to be the first off the bench to check into the game—and the first one up off of it to offer encouragement to his teammates. He’s back in “the 6” as the sixth man and Joseph’s No. 1 goal is making his hometown a winner. That’s what his personal role card says.