Raptors notebook: Tyla Flexman replaces Teresa Resch, Ja’Kobe Walter on the mend

The Raptors have hired former Canadian field hockey international Tyla Flexman as vice-president of basketball operations, team president Masai Ujiri said Monday.
Flexman, who played for Canada from 2004-12, replaces Teresa Resch, now president of Toronto’s WNBA expansion franchise.
“A tough loss with Teresa, but she’s gone on to do bigger and better, and Tyla has come on to do bigger and better with us,” Ujiri said. “This position is very, very important, I think, in our organization with operations, with ideas, with creativity, with how we work. I think Teresa did an incredible job, and Tyla will even take it to another level.”
A shoulder injury to Raptors rookie Ja’Kobe Walter should not set him back too much.
“I don’t think there’s any setbacks with Ja’Kobe,” Ujiri said of the first-year guard who was injured during workouts last week.
“It’s very unfortunate he has this strain on his shoulder, but I just spent some time with him (Monday) morning and the last couple days and he’s doing well.”
Walter will not take part in workouts at training camp this week, nor will veteran guard Bruce Brown, who had minor knee surgery in September.
“Bruce had been good and he was working out and he participated with the team, and once he began to ramp things up, then it flared up,” Ujiri said.
Brown will miss at least a month.
Scottie Barnes said he tried to improve his communication skills over the summer, now that he’s assumed a significant leadership role with the Raptors. His style might mimic one of his teammates.
“I’m not really modeling my leadership after anybody … I feel like I’m just being myself,” Barnes said. “Of course, I see a lot of leadership in Garrett Temple, just the way he carries himself, the way he talks, the way he communicates.
“He’s a vet that has been in this league a long time and just seeing his impact on our team is so important. So that’s one of the guys I look up to and take notes and try to assert myself in some of the ways he asserts himself.”