Malachi Flynn talks bumpy Raptors tenure in candid interview

The Toronto Raptors, as an organization, can’t be too thrilled with the progress of point guard Malachi Flynn. While Desmond Bane, picked one choice after him in the 2020 NBA Draft, has become a star with the Grizzlies, Flynn is not even in the Raptors’ rotation at the moment.

Flynn might not be on the team next season, as Toronto’s directive to get more dynamic offensively could spell the end for the San Diego State product. Even though Flynn may not be dominating, it was certainly not for a lack of effort.

The excellent Esfandiar Baraheni and Flynn went over a wide range of topics in their sitdown interview at Toronto Metropolitan University, including Flynn’s mindset after being excommunicated from the rotation. Flynn said that his daily preparation habits and overall mindset have not been impacted by his inconsistent role.

“I just act like I’m not going to play, and then when I do, I’m ready for it, “Flynn said. “I’m just going into it, getting a good workout in…and then when you get on the floor, just play confident and go from there.” Flynn may not be getting minutes, but this stretch has not eroded his individual performance.

Malachi Flynn is still working hard for the Toronto Raptors.

Flynn did mention that VanVleet was an incredible leader who gave him a ton of advice early in his career about succeeding “kind of understand what [the situation] is.” It has to be tough for Flynn to watch other young players get chances in the rotation across the league.

Flynn is still a very good ball-handler that can make some impressive passes and pull off some isolation buckets that will make the pure hooper community bang the table for him until they are blue in the face. Like many young players, the lack of consistency has been his downfall.

VanVleet and Flynn may not be 100% analogous situations, but it took Fred much longer than he would have liked before he finally became a rotation player. The best way for Flynn to get back on track is to keep chopping wood and show up every day with a positive attitude.

The last few games of the Raptors’ season will be about talent evaluation nearly as much as they will be about the competition needed to make the postseason. There is an opening, albeit a small one, for Flynn to win over hearts and minds heading into a pivotal offseason.