Toronto Raptors: Will Bone Spurs Save Terrence Ross?

Terrence Ross is one of the Toronto Raptors who could get moved at any time this summer. His contract isn’t as untradable as naysayers would have you believe and no one knows if general manager Masai Ujiri is planning on keeping the young swingman around.

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There was buzz at the trade deadline this past season that Ross might be moved, but the team held onto him and stated that they kept him because of his unbridled potential. I myself have been a fan of keeping Ross, but if he continues on the path he’s on currently with little development in terms of his basketball IQ, he will simply have to go.

Ross has all of the tools to be very, very good. He is extremely explosive, has a sweet shooting stroke and, when engaged, can play solid defense. His handle and finishing ability need some work, but aren’t terrible or impossible to improve.

It’s his mentality that needs the most refinement. I mean, holy crap, this is the same guy who scored a franchise-record tying (matching Vince Carter) 51 points in 2014!

Still, it seems that most fans have already started letting Ross go; tossing their attachment to him out the window. There were plenty of times during this season when Twitter was afire with people calling for his head on a silver platter, as if he was the only issue with the squad (spoiler: he wasn’t).

Then, when Terrence didn’t perform as expected (or maybe he did?) in the playoffs, it seemed that the majority of people just gave up on him. That was also the moment when his being gone this offseason seemed inevitable.

And yet …

Now we know that Ross played through the playoffs (and the latter part of the season) on a bum ankle. He had bone spurs that were only just removed via surgery this past Friday.

Will this news save him from being moved this summer? If he wanted, Ujiri (as well as Ross himself, although players don’t often do this) could credit Ross’ poor play late in the season to the bone spurs. He could then do his best to convince us all that Ross will be better, just as he did at the trade deadline.

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And maybe he’s right. Maybe Ross would’ve played better if he had been healthy. Maybe he would’ve driven more or shot better.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Betting on Ross at this point is a dangerous thing. So far he’s given Ujiri very little reason to hold onto him despite his overwhelming potential. If he’s kept for the 2015-16 season and doesn’t show signs of improvement before the deadline, it’s likely he won’t be in a Raptors uniform for long.

So Ross has his excuse. He can attribute everything when it mattered to this injury. It may save him, and it may not. But one thing is already for certain: if it does keep him around, this will be Terrence Ross’ last shot in Toronto.

I hope he takes it and shows out.

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