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It’s unlikely there’s ever been an NBA player more thrilled to be traded to the Toronto Raptors than Kelly Olynyk. The veteran big man was all smiles during a media session before his new teammates took on the Houston Rockets on Friday night in Toronto, Olynyk’s one-time home before he moved to Kamloops, B.C.
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“I knew there was a shot to come here, but didn’t know how serious it was and then it heated up and it was super exciting,” Olynyk said. “It’s a full circle moment. It’s really cool to look back at your life and everything that you’ve done up till now and how monumental the Raptors have been in my life. My mom was a scorekeeper here. My dad was an associate coach here for a year. Y’know, just being in the driveway pretending you’re a Raptor growing up … So to be putting on this jersey and you know, these shirts and hats and stuff. It’s like, it’s something that you can’t even put into words,” he said.
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Olynyk was dealt to the Raptors from the Utah Jazz on Thursday, alongside prospect Ochai Agbaji, who also talked about the trade.
“I mean, it’s a great city. Love it so far,” Agbaji said. “I got the news yesterday morning, I actually woke up to it. My agent called me and was like you’re probably going to be in a trade with Kelly to Toronto so just be prepared for that to happen. So, about 30 minutes later. I got a call from our GM and then Masai (Ujiri) called me. “He was basically saying, ‘you know, you’re with family now.’ I know him for five or six years now. And he’s really close with my dad. So they grew up together and kind of having those relations before being on the team and knowing him was good. So now being here and yeah, he’s right. It’s like being with family,” Agbaji said.
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For Olynyk, he literally is now with family (and friends), having spent much of his childhood in Toronto. He attended the first Raptors game in 1995 when his mother, Arlene, became the NBA’s first female scorekeeper. He was around the SkyDome, Maple Leaf Gardens and then the Air Canada Centre for the next 10 years.
“It’s really really special and I know how much it means and the support and love that this city, country, and everything has given to me it’s been phenomenal through my whole career,” he said. “Now to come here and now give back to them, play in front of them, and give your all to this organization franchises is something that I’m really blessed with this opportunity.”
Olynyk captained the Canadian senior men’s team this summer as the squad won bronze at the FIBA World Cup and qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 2000. Olynyk has played for Canada since 2010, when he was 19. Now he’s reunited in Toronto with one of that team’s young stars, RJ Barrett, the son of Canada’s general manager, Rowan Barrett.
“It’s crazy. I don’t know what are the chances of that are, that we both get traded to the same team, but it’s fun,” Olynyk said. “I play with RJ for a month every summer, but now I get to do it full-time. I know what he’s capable of and (will) keep pushing him to be the best he can.”
Olynyk will become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t ink an extension with the Raptors first. He said Friday he’d be happy to make this a long-term arrangement. “Yeah I would love to. I’d love to be here for the rest of my career, hopefully that plays out.”
@WolstatSun
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