Chris Humphreys – USA Today Sports Images
With the Toronto Raptors able to land Masai Ujiri, the reigning NBA Executive of the Year, as their new general manager, the Raps are going to be heading in a new direction, one that hopefully includes wins and the postseason. Ujiri has a knack for acquiring assets, pulling off big trades and making things happen, as he showed with the Denver Nuggets and with the Andrea Bargnani trade when he first arrived in Toronto.
Apparently Ujiri wants to bring in a familiar face from his Denver days, for training camp at least. According to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, former Nuggets guard Julyan Stone is one of the players that the Raptors and Ujiri plan to invite to training camp in the coming weeks.
Stone has been in the league for two seasons, but hasn’t received much opportunity. In just 26 career games he has averaged 1.7 points, 1.5 assists and 1.1 rebounds in only eight minutes per game while shooting a solid 45.5 percent from the floor.
In nine career games in the NBA D-League, Stone received a little more opportunity and was subsequently a bit more productive. In 18.1 minutes per game he averaged 4.7 points, 4.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game, though he shot only 31.6 percent from the floor.
What makes the 24-year-old Stone interesting as a potential NBA player is the size and strength that he offers at the point guard position. Though there’s not a long track record of success with moves like this, having a 6’6” point guard like Stone is something that has long intrigued teams.
Stone will have a chance to compete for a roster spot at training camp, despite the Raps having three point guards on their roster already. He has the physical traits to potentially make it in this league and to possibly move over to the two-guard. Either way, he’s a guy to keep an eye on at Raps’ camp.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.
