With Media Day taking place for many NBA teams on Oct. 2, opening night for the 2023-24 season inches closer.
Training camp kicks off for the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 3, and they play their first preseason game on Oct. 8.
However, Toronto will be without big man Christian Koloko for the foreseeable future:
Raptors announce that centre Christian Koloko is out indefinitely, and will not participate in the team’s 2023 training camp in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Koloko continues to deal with ongoing respiratory issues.
— Vivek Jacob (@vivekmjacob) October 2, 2023
This is certainly not the way the Raptors wanted to kick off training camp.
The Raptors said Koloko’s condition will be updated as appropriate. But, it seems he will miss a sizeable chunk of the regular season with this update.
The 7’1″ center came out of Arizona and was a the No. 33 pick of the second-round in the 2022 NBA draft. Koloko has showcased his defensive capabilities in a small sample size last season.
He averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 58 games in his first season with the Raptors.
Fortunately, Toronto has Jakob Poeltl, Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa to fill in for Koloko’s absence.
Siakam weights in on his future in Toronto
One of the main question marks heading into the season is Pascal Siakam and his future with the team.
The two-time All-Star found himself in trade rumors during the offseason and now heads into the final year of his current contract.
Siakam averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 71 games for Toronto last season. The Raptors need to decide what they’re going to do with him. The Raptors have to pick a direction sooner or later.
When asked about his pending future with the team, it seemed that Siakam is keeping his options open outside of Toronto. Depending on how the season pans out, Siakam could find himself back in the rumor mill closer to the NBA Trade Deadline.
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