Alex Len: 'Everybody Knows About the Player Development in Toronto'

The Toronto Raptors' reputation for developing international players lured Alex Len to sign a one-year deal with the organization

When free agency opened up last month Alex Len thought he was going back to Sacramento. Had he re-signed with the Kings, it likely would have continued a trend that has haunted Len throughout his career: Playing for losing teams.

But then the Toronto Raptors called and everything changed.

"I just jumped on board," Len said during his Thursday media availability from Tampa. "It was not about the money, just the opportunity to play for a top-notch great organization. It was just an amazing opportunity for me going forward, playing in the playoffs, being a part of a winning culture."

NBA players know what's going on around the league. They see the little things, like who has success developing players and who doesn't. It's in part why bad teams stay bad and good teams stay good.

On paper it's pretty simple: Build a winning culture and players will come.

For Len, that's what sold him on Toronto. Since being selected fifth overall in the 2013 draft, he's only once played for a winning team. The Raptors were offering an opportunity to change that and develop him into the kind of player so many people projected him to be coming out of Maryland.

"I feel like every international player that came through always got better," Len said of the Raptors organization. "They came and then in a few years you see them flourishing and just developing. So I was always interested and intrigued by that."

Toronto has always been a destination for international players. When Americans wouldn't move north, skeptical of taxes, cold weather, customs, or any one of the other ridiculous complaints about the city, international players would. At times — moreso recently — they've flourished.

"Like Pascal [Siakam] came through, I remember playing him four years ago and he was just a guy who was running the floor, catching, and finishing, then you see him three years later and he’s doing everything, putting it on the floor, he’s an all-star," Len said.

"Even [Fred] VanVleet came in," Len added. "Nobody knew about the guy and you see three or four years later, he’s an all-star, all-star-type player. So player development, everybody knows about the player development in Toronto, that’s for sure."

Coming out of college, NBA teams saw Len as a dominant big who could protect the paint and score inside. Physically, he had everything, a 7-foot frame, and a 7-foot-3.5 wingspan. But after two ankle surgeries at Maryland, it took him some time to get healthy and things never quite clicked in Phoenix.

"I kind of had a slow start, but I feel like if I had a better opportunity, it would be a different story," he said. "But it's all in the past."

The Raptors will offer Len an opportunity to start over. While the league has changed a lot since scouts viewed him as a Roy Hibbert type there's still a need for a strong inside presence and Len has been working to develop his game, adding a bit of a 3-point shot to his repertoire.

Ultimately, 27-year-old Len is hoping to find the same success other international prospects have found in Toronto. If he can, he'll be able to hit the market next offseason a better, more developed centre.