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“To hear guys wanna get drafted by us and, we try to go through that, we know that they’re probably wired the same way that the guys that we’ve had success with. It’ll be tough for him, but at the same time, it’s like, if he’s willing to put in that work, good things will happen.”

GOODWILLIE GETS BIG ASSIGNMENT

The Raptors have given longtime video coordinator Jon Goodwillie the chance to be the head coach at Summer League and he’s thrilled for the assignment.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Goodwillie said earlier this week. “It’s always a pleasure when you get an opportunity to represent a world-class organization like ours and to know that I have the trust of management and our coaching staff. I’ve learned a lot from Nick (Nurse) over the years and he’s got a lot of great coaching tips and philosophies that he’s shared with me and we’re trying to impart that upon these young players here this week.”

EVEN NETS BOSS SURPRISED

The NBA world was mostly stunned by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving deciding to go to Brooklyn. The Nets head coach was surprised, too.

The team didn’t even meet with Durant and Irving until after they had agreed to go to the Nets.

“Quite honestly, it did surprise me,” Brooklyn head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters on Tuesday.

“Obviously we improved a lot last year but it wasn’t a so-called star system. It was a group of guys that play really well together. I think it gives more credit to the guys that are coming here that say, ‘I like that style of play, I like the way they play.’ I think they want to participate in something like that,” he said.