15 Mar
Position: G
Born: 08/20/91
Height: 6-3 / 1.91
Weight:185 lbs. / 83.9 kg.
Salary: $7,630,000
Born: 08/20/91
Height: 6-3 / 1.91
Weight:185 lbs. / 83.9 kg.
Salary: $7,630,000
And the reviews are in. Sabonis is living up to his family name — and building a new NBA family of his own. Lance Stephenson says Sabonis makes the game easy. Cory Joseph says he appreciates how Sabonis throws his body around and gets loose balls. Turner, who is a month and a half older than Sabonis, says he is learning from his new teammate. “Man, he’s f—ing terrible,” laughed Victor Oladipo, who came over from the Thunder with Sabonis in the George trade. “I’m just playing. He’s awesome, man. I mean, I’ve been watching Damo since he was at Gonzaga and then he joined OKC last year with me. To see his growth over just a year span is amazing.”
Jeremiah Johnson: Darren Collison OUT (knee soreness) Cory Joseph will start for the @Pacers
DeMar DeRozan says Cory Joseph is “the smoothest” guy to have come through the Raptors organization in the nine years DeRozan has been with the team, and that’s high praise because smooth is cool. Fred VanVleet said he couldn’t have a more helpful and professional mentor in his rookie season than Joseph. And Dwane Casey? Well, the coach doesn’t pull any punches. “Cory’s just a beautiful young man.”
Joseph may be gone after two years with his hometown team but his influence remains and his DNA is still all over the franchise. The first hometown player to have a significant role with the Raptors and one of the quiet leaders on the roster through the best stretch in franchise history, Joseph led by quiet example, always professional and always aware of the responsibilities of being from here. “You got that sense that this is his city,” DeRozan said. “This is his town, his country and everything. It was great to have him over here. The energy he brought, his vibe and everything, was always a positive. You rarely saw Cory being upset or mad about anything. When you have that kind of aura around you, it’s contagious on the court and off the court.”
