There is a big void the Raptors must fill this season, literally and figuratively, and it will not be a seamless process.
Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol were sage veterans whose absence will be felt in the locker room and in the dynamic of the team. They were also the anchors of the team’s defence and integral parts of what happened on the court.
As the first day of practice showed, it’s going to take some time to figure out how to replace that.
“It wasn’t as smooth and pretty as it has been sometimes, with guys we’ve been playing with for years, but we’ll get there,” Raptors guard Fred VanVleet said after the team held its first full workout at Saint Leo University, just north of Tampa.