Nick Nurse Acknowledges OG Anunoby Wants a Bigger Role, Says He 'Certainly Can Help with That'
For all the talk about OG Anunoby potentially being unhappy, disgruntled, upset, whatever the term is, in Toronto, what's been made clear this summer is that the Toronto Raptors still view Anunoby as a foundational piece for the organization and a player who a lot of long-term value.
Not only has Toronto repeatedly turned down offers for the 25-year-old Anunoby, but the organization has repeatedly praised the forward as a valuable 3-and-D player with plenty of room to grow.
"Listen, I think OG is really good," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said on NBA Draft night. "I really like him. Like he is a tremendous person and a great two-way player."
More recently, Nurse acknowledged that Anunoby is looking for a bigger offensive role this season. That's not to say Anunoby is upset, let alone looking for a trade, just that he, like so many other players throughout the league, is looking for more touches.
"I've [had] really good discussions with him a lot, had a really great and a season meeting with them etc," Nurse told Justin Termine of NBA Today on Sirius XM Radio. "He wants to be more a part of the offense. So I certainly can help him with that. I can design plays, I can get him in situations, etc, but it's kind of a working relationship that he's got to go take some of that, right."
Part of the problem for Anunoby and the Raptors, if you can even call it a problem, is the depth of talent the organization has at the top of the roster. Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, and Gary Trent Jr. all deserve touches and there are plenty of mouths to feed. Balancing that and keeping everyone happy is going to be the key for Toronto moving forward.
"There's a lot of guys out there, five guys out there, and on our team and all of them can score and we just got to, you know, maybe distributed a little bit more and get him involved a little bit more," Nurse added. "I think we can. I think he's good enough to do it."
That'll come down to health and development for Anunoby who has shown steady progress throughout his career so far but has yet to play a fully healthy season.
"He's talented enough to do it," Nurse said. "His starting and ending drives, you know, three years ago were shaky. Now his first step is better, he gets to the finish and puts you in the basket."
Further Reading
Report: Nets 'wouldn't consider' Kevin Durant offer from Raptors without Scottie Barnes
Raptors knock off Heat but fall short of Summer League finals
D.J. Wilson shows why Raptors signed him with a breakout Summer League showing
