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Why Raptors acquired Kyle Anderson, and where he sees himself fitting in

28 0
07.10.2026

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors are either the youngest old team in the NBA or the oldest young team, take your pick. 

Sure, they had the third-youngest roster of the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs last season with an average age of 24.71, but they also had a relatively mature starting lineup, featuring a pair of 10-year veterans (Jakob Poeltl and Brandon Ingram), a seven-year veteran (RJ Barrett), and a sixth-year player (Immanuel Quickley). Even Scottie Barnes — only 24 at the end of last season — was in his fifth NBA season. 

But elsewhere, the team had a large contingent of players in their first three NBA seasons, the exception being Garrett Temple, the designated veteran who was a major influence on some of those younger players as a 40-year-old veteran who spent the last three years of his 16-year career with the Raptors before becoming an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. 

While adding Kawhi Leonard, heading into Year 15 at age 35, as upped the average age and experience level of the roster somewhat, the Raptors still wanted someone who could bring a little of what Temple brought to the second unit and the younger set in the locker room. 

They landed on Kyle Anderson, who is similar to Temple in that his reputation as a consummate pro with an easy, open-armed locker-room presence preceded him, but perhaps a little different in that the 33-year-old starting his 13th season could have a larger on-court role than Temple did. 

The six-foot-eight forward from New Jersey has never been a big numbers type — since becoming a rotation player in his second season, he’s averaged seven points, 4.3........

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