Raptors Discuss Plan For Ja'Kobe Walter as Rookie Continue to Be Sidelined

The Toronto Raptors have been working with Ja'Kobe Walter to expand his game as he continues to tend to an offseason shoulder injury

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Ja'Kobe Walter arrives for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

This was not how Ja’Kobe Walter’s rookie season was supposed to start.

When the Toronto Raptors selected Walter with the No. 19 pick in the NBA Draft earlier this year, the organization wanted to put him on the Gradey Dick plan. The hope was he’d get some early preps in the rotation to start the season and then be evaluated from there.

“I think that's probably more the expectation is he may be able to come in right away, but can he kind of sustain it throughout the course of the season,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said after Toronto picked Walter. “We're obviously taking these kids because we think they can come in and play.”

Last season Dick began the year as one of Toronto’s top bench players before getting bumped out of the rotation and eventually sent down to the G League after some early-season struggles. It wasn’t until mid-season that Dick re-emerged as a rotation piece for Toronto and someone who had grown enough to be a valuable contributor for the Raptors.

Walter was supposed to be on a similar trajectory, someone who could slide into Toronto’s backcourt as a depth guard who could fill the void left by Gary Trent Jr. Nobody was expecting him to be a sure-fire important contributor on Day 1, but Toronto wanted to see what he could do.

But then came a shoulder sprain just before training camp.

Walter has not been able to get into any preseason action for the Raptors so far, and it sounds unlikely he’ll be fully ready to go when the season tips off next week. In the meantime, though, he’s been able to work on developing his game alongside Toronto’s coaching staff.

“He's been working on some stuff that he would not be focused (on) at this point,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Wednesday. “He's really focusing on his footwork, getting stronger, getting in a better balance, working your defensive movements as well.”

Toronto is making the best of a not-so-great situation for Walter and has developed a “strategic” plan for him to ramp up once he’s ready to go for regular season action, Rajaković said.

In more informal settings, Davion Mitchell has tried to help his fellow Baylor protégée with the developmental process. Walter had a tough time trying to go up against Mitchell’s on-ball defense earlier this year and Mitchell gave him some tricks of the trade to help him take the next step against feisty defenders.

“He's trying to do everything the coach says, but he’s also got to be a basketball player too,” Mitchell said. “Like, if someone's pressuring you 90 feet, you have the speed and athleticism to get by him and make a play. Like you're good enough to do that. So teach him little things like that.”

Even in games, the two have been talking and going over different tactics while Walter recovers on Toronto’s bench.

“He's asking me questions, like, ‘Yo, how do you cut him off here?’ Like, ‘Yo, when I get back we got to play one on one,’ things like that that we talked about when I was at Baylor,” Mitchell said.

In the long run, Walter’s injury won’t make any sort of difference in his career. It’s a shame for Toronto that he’s been unable to ramp up ahead of the season and get in some important reps before his rookie year. Ultimately, though, this time off will help him pick up a few more tips for whenever he does get on the court down the road.