QUEBEC CITY – The vibes in the early stages of the Toronto Raptors training camp have been on the immaculate side, which would only be a story if it were otherwise, really. 

Training camp is for vibes building as much as anything else. But the Raptors seem to be hitting all the right notes in the project. 

So far we have the normally taciturn Kawhi Leonard doing a very convincing impression of a guy who is making a point of enjoying his second tour with the Raptors. 

Second-year forward Collin Murray-Boyles is slim and trim and playing with even more energy and bounce than he did as a rookie, which is kind of hard to imagine. Word filtering out of the closed practices is that Scottie Barnes has been devouring ball handlers as a point-of-attack defender and setting the tone for those around him.

Jakob Poeltl’s balking back? 

But perhaps the best feel-good story at the beginning of a year that everyone with the Raptors hopes will feel good at season’s end was news Thursday that third-year point guard Jamal Shead signed a three-year, $24-million contract extension. The deal kicks in for the 2027-28 season and runs through 2029-30, the final year being a team option. 

He is just as happy as everyone else. 

“It’s awesome we got it done early,” said Shead after the Raptors' open scrimmage at the University of Laval on Thursday night. “These guys believe in me, they believe in what I bring to the team. It feels good to be wanted, so I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t go to waste, but I’m excited.”

There was never much chance that Shead wasn’t going to stick with the Raptors, who acquired him on draft night in 2024 as part of the deal that also landed Davion Mitchell. Shead was the 45th player taken in the draft that year after a stellar four-year career at the University of Houston. 

The two sides have been talking for months. 

In two short years with the Raptors, Shead has proved himself as a culture setter on the floor with his........

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