DeRozan, Lowry hungry for more success as Raptors open NBA training camp

“Me personally, I think it’s time,” Lowry said matter-of-factly. “I want a ring, I want to win a championship.”

They kicked off the new campaign with Monday’s traditional media day, an assembly line of photos and interviews before flying to Vancouver, where they’ll open training camp on Tuesday.

DeRozan, who goes into the season with a new US$139-million contract, and a new baby daughter, teamed up with Lowry to help the U.S. to Olympic gold in “something that will go down in my family’s legacy forever,” Lowry said. “I’ll always be known as a gold medallist, an Olympian.”

But even then, the two all-stars were itching to get back on the NBA court, to get back on that wave of last season’s success.

“As crazy as it sounds, even during the Olympics as we were playing and practising, at the same time I was working toward this season, understanding what I need to do to get better,” DeRozan said. “Working on my body, working on everything that needs to be done for me to be able to withstand another long season and get back to the point we were at. It was great having my teammate there at the same time and being able to talk about what we need to do to be better.”

Coach Dwane Casey said the continued maturation of his two “old heads” is important on a team that features 10 players under the age of 25.

“They are growing up,” Casey said. “The experience they had in the summer is the best graduate course they could take in basketball and in life is to be a part of a gold medal team, and be a part of the Olympic movement, and I can just see the confidence.”

The Raptors maintained their core from last season, Bismack Biyombo being the one major loss. They acquired Jared Sullinger, and the former Boston Celtics has impressed Casey so far.

“I’m not going to commit to it, but right now today, I would say Jared Sullinger, (the starting spot) is his to lose,” Casey said.

Sullinger, who joked with his new teammates Monday — he made like a reporter sticking a mic in one interview scrum — said he’s always been impressed with the Raptors’ “will to win.”

“You look at Kyle and DeMar, when they had bad shooting nights. You look at someone like JV (Jonas Valanciunas) that had his ups and downs, DeMarre (Carroll) had his ups and downs. These guys didn’t care about that. They cared about winning and they found a way to win every night,” Sullinger said.

“I think that’s what separates them from a lot. . . it’s the will to win, the will to fight.”

It was the first media day ever held at BioSteele Centre, the posh practice facility they moved into last winter. The move to BioSteele Centre was part of a whirlwind last season that extended beyond their post-season run. They also hosted the NBA all-star game. And their D-League team — Raptors 905 — played its inaugural campaign.

“Incredible year, it was go, go, go, go, go. You name it, we did it,” president Masai Ujiri said. “It was a unique year and we’re proud of it, to achieve those things. To me, that’s a blessing for us and we have to keep growing from that.”

The Raptors tip off the pre-season against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in Vancouver, then face the Denver Nuggets on Monday in Calgary.

They open the regular season Oct. 25 at home, against the Detroit Pistons.

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

DeRozan, Lowry hungry for more success as Raptors open NBA training camp

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