Raptors' D-League team paying immediate dividends Even with a number of key free agent signings, Josh Lewenberg writes that the Toronto Raptors' biggest addition last summer might have been that of Raptors 905 - the club's D-League affiliate - and it's already paying dividends.

Josh Lewenberg TSN Raptors Reporter Follow|Archive

TORONTO - Masai Ujiri had a busy summer, remodelling the Raptors' roster with the likes of DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo and Luis Scola. But his most overlooked addition should have the longest-lasting impact.

Raptors 905, Toronto's Mississauga-based D-League affiliate, concluded its inaugural season last week. With a record of 23-27 they failed to make the playoffs, but - as those involved in the expedited process of purchasing this team knew from the get go - their success was never going to be defined by wins and losses.

"It's just not that way here, that's not the goal," said Jesse Mermuys, head coach of the 905 and former Raptors assistant, ahead of the team's first home game at the Hershey Centre back in November. "Really, if we start getting guys called up, then we're having success. If [our young players] are able to enter an NBA game this season, for whatever reason, and perform at a decent level, then it's a success."

"We're just going to really focus on the players," he continued," put the players' development in the forefront and that's a hard thing for a coach to do but I'm fully aware of it, I'm committed to it."

The job that Mermuys and his staff signed up for is truly one of the toughest and most unique in professional sports: teach on the fly, compete while prioritizing growth, build and maintain a foundation with a revolving door of players. It can be a thankless gig, but the fruits of their labour are evident in the guys they've helped groom and now, more than ever before, the parent club is reaping the benefits.

"That was a godsend for us as far as development of our young guys," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said following a Monday afternoon practice session. "You see the example of [Norman Powell] and what the 905 did for him. If he had been here just playing on the practice floor, you would not get the production you got from him. There’s the improvement of Delon [Wright], the way he came in and played against San Antonio. All those are by-products of the coaching and teaching they got playing with the 905."

With their all-star duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan getting a night of rest, Powell and Wright played key roles in the Raptors' narrow defeat to the Spurs over the weekend. To this point, Toronto's two rookies have had very different years.

Powell, who inexplicably fell to the 46th pick in last summer's draft, played eight early-season games in the D-League, where he immediately looked like a man among boys. Still, his NBA opportunity came earlier than expected, mostly out of necessity due to Carroll's injury and the inconsistency of James Johnson. The 22-year-old has been a revelation. Making his 18th start of the campaign, Powell showcased his defensive acumen, knack for finishing in transition and improved jumper, scoring 17 points against San Antonio, his sixth straight game in double figures.

Wright, the Raptors' first-round selection, is stuck behind Lowry and Cory Joseph at the point guard position and, as a result, has spent twice as much time with the 905, which shouldn't be construed as an indictment of his progress. Spelling Joseph in Lowry's absence, the 23 year old looked the part of a back-up, recording 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes Saturday.

Like Powell - and even Lucas Nogueira, who stepped up with Jonas Valanciunas out earlier in the campaign - Wright was ready when called upon, a credit to the work they've been able to get in with the conveniently located 905.

"It's helped a lot because I would just be a guy having to play 2-on-2 or something in practice instead of having a team to go play with and stay sharp," Wright said. "So it really helped me stay ready and work on some things."

"I think it's really good," Powell added. "Not only for the organization, but for the players, to be so close to home, not having travel or be away from the team and get to go down there and work on your skills. So I think it's really good for us and our development."

Prior to purchasing their exclusive affiliate, the Raptors shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with almost half the NBA. They were reluctant to send players down, knowing they'd have no control over what those guys were learning or how much they would be playing.

With no North American basketball experience under his belt, Bruno Caboclo - Toronto's intriguing, albeit very raw long-term prospect - spent most of his rookie season in a suit, watching from the bench. He was assigned to the Mad Ants twice, logging an average of nine minutes in seven games, much to the dismay of Ujiri, who made the pursuit of a single affiliate his top priority.

The whole process came together in a hurry. The Raptors unveiled their new D-League team at the end of June and vowed to be innovators in the way they operated it. Nobody has used their affiliate more this season, making 46 assignments, 11 more than any other NBA team.

Caboclo made 17 trips up and down from the D-League, more than any other NBA player. He averaged 34 minutes in 37 games and, as you might expect, the results were mixed. He still has a ways to go - a few months away from being two years away, as some might say - but he's starting to show flashes, like his career-high 31-point performance last week, for instance. What Caboclo has taken from the D-League experience is different than what the more NBA-ready Powell, Nogueira or Wright got out of it, but Mermuys and company have helped them each take the next step in their individual development process.

"I think it instilled confidence in my game," Powell said. "When I first went down to the 905, I was just focused on scoring, but Jesse told me that coming up here my role was going to be to make plays for other guys and hit open shots, so that's what I really worked on and I think that's what helped me when I came back up and started getting minutes."

"It’s going to be a huge part of the program here for a long time - the developmental part," said Casey. "You can’t put a price tag on that. If you were a big corporation, that’s your research and development department and it’s going to pay huge, huge dividends for a long time."