Delon Wright has been a key part of the Raptors bench this season, giving them a solid 20 minutes a night — they were comfortable enough with his play at the point they could let Cory Joseph go over the summer. He’s averaging 7.6 points per game and has a good true shooting percentage of 67. Wright worked hard over the past couple of seasons to get to this point.
Now the Raptors will have to get by without him for a while after dislocating a shoulder Tuesday night, getting tangled up in a rebound with DeMarcus Cousins. Wright was in obvious pain at the time and went straight to the locker room.
As we feared, Delon Wright dislocated his right shoulder (same shoulder he dislocated and had surgery on in the summer of 2016). The team is awaiting his test results to determine next step but he'll miss time
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November 16, 2017
Write was drafted 20th back in 2015, but spent most of his first season in the D-League. He was set to get more run last season, right played sparingly as a rookie after being selected 20th overall but made an impression with Raptors 905 of the D-League that year but showed real progress. Then at the 2016 Summer League in Vegas, he dislocated that same shoulder, Write had surgery to repair a torn labrum and was out most of that season (although he looked good for the 27 games he came in at the end.
He worked hard to get back after the injury, which is why this is disappointing. Whether he will need surgery again is not known.
With Wright out, expect to see more Fred VanVleet, plus Dwane Casey may try some no point-guard lineups.