DeAndre’ Bembry is looking to fulfill his potential in a new home after his first four seasons in the league didn’t go as planned.
Drafted with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Bembry only saw slightly under 10.0 minutes per game as a rookie for the 43-win Hawks. However, with Paul Millsap leaving town after the season, Atlanta had slipped into a rebuild and there was a real opportunity for the former Saint Joseph’s Hawk to spread his wings.
Yet, a string of lousy luck would derail his trajectory. Bembry fractured his wrist on opening night of the 2017-18 season (six points, six rebounds through 18 minutes before the injury). Then, while on the rehab trail in the G League months later, the wing suffered a groin injury, sidelining him even further.
By the time his third season came around, Atlanta had a team full of young talent, including Trae Young and Kevin Huerter, which cluttered Bembry’s path to taking on a more meaningful role and prevented him from showcases an under-the-radar part of his game—his playmaking ability.
“People enjoy my defense so much they might overlook that I can play with the ball,” Bembry said (via Josh Lewenberg of TSN). “I’m a real good cutter, but I mean, I don’t mind being under-the-radar, I’ve been under-the-radar a long time in my life. So, I think I’ve just always tried to find a way and it just always seems to work out for me.”
The 26-year-old signed a two-year deal with the Raptors this offseason after a shorted 2020-21 season that always felt like a lame-duck year for Bembry in Atlanta. While he’s not guaranteed a role with the club initially, he’s fighting hard for that chance.
“I’ve always brought an edge to the game and just a hunger,” Bembry said. “And then I can guard one through three, I can play one through three, I can get in the paint, make some plays in the paint.”
Through two preseason games, the Raptors are encouraged by their recent signing.
“He makes a lot of good plays and he might be a fit,” Nurse said. “He looked like he was a good fit out there. [We’re] still learning him and he’s learning us, but I like what I’ve seen so far.”
