For Makur Maker, Sunday afternoon will be a bit of a homecoming, if you will. The 6-foot-10 Toronto Raptors forward will take the court against a few familiar faces, a return to his National Basketball League days as the Raptors get set to take on Australia’s Cairns Taipans.
It’s been two years since Maker, who grew up in Australia, played for the Sydney Kings and a lot has changed. If the NBA is the subject of what seems like constant roster turnover, the NBL and much of international basketball take that to the extreme. But even as the names change, the brand of basketball remains the same.
“The NBL is a tough league,” said Maker, a 2022 NBL champion. “It’s very fast, a very fast-paced playing style.”
It should be a fun game for Toronto, even if the competition is far from NBA standard. The Taipans were just blown out 145-82 by the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, but it’ll allow the Raptors to play some younger players, Maker included, in a game that might not be all that competitive.
“It’ll be fun to go play against those guys,” said Maker who Toronto signed to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal earlier this month. “It’s always fun to play against the Aussies.”
Maker is one of three players, alongside Ron Harper Jr. and Jeff Dowtin Jr., who did not appear in Toronto’s first preseason game at the coach’s discretion. Both Maker and Mouhamadou Gueye are not expected to make the Raptors roster this season but will likely be kept with the Raptors 905 this season.
Harper, Javon Freeman-Liberty, and Markquis Nowell are all on two-way deals that will see them bounce back and forth with the 905 and Toronto’s big club, likely spending most of the year with the developmental staff.
For Dowtin, though, Sunday is a crucial game as he remains Toronto’s only player on a traditional non-guaranteed deal with no obvious route to landing a roster spot. He should see more playing time against the Taipans and he’ll have to make the most of it to impress Toronto’s front office.
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