VanVleet ready to lead Raptors back to prominence JLew1050 has MORE:
TORONTO – A little time and space has helped give Fred VanVleet some much-needed perspective on what he calls the worst stretch of his professional life.
“So, all of those things were just a big reminder of how much we should appreciate what we have on a daily basis, and to never go through that again. That’s what I told myself. I never want to do that again.” The notable difference between that team and this team is about 20 or so years of NBA experience. That was a team made up of veterans, basketball savants and champions. That team had Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol.
With more experience on the roster in previous years, Nurse would often opt for rest over practice time. Full team practices were few and far between as the season progressed. The young guys would get their reps in with the assistant coaches in the morning. The vets would come in for a short film session, maintenance and maybe some individual on-court work.
While the team’s other foundational pieces, Siakam and Anunoby, are soft spoken by nature, this is a role that should come more naturally to VanVleet. He’s spent most of his adult life preparing for it. Admittedly, he wasn’t always the leader he is today.VanVleet credits his mother and stepfather, as well as his high school coach, Bryan Ott, for helping him become more level-headed and to understand other points of view.
“We got a way of doing things around here and if you’re all about yourself and you don't really fit into the mould that we got you’re going to stick out,” VanVleet said. “Unless you're extremely good at your job to the point where we have to deal with it, then we will. But this franchise does a good job of hiring the right people, players and staff.”
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