Carlos Morais Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Carlos Morais To Play In Angola

December 26th, 2013 at 9:38am CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors training camp invitee Carlos Morais will play for Recreativo Libolo in his native Angola, agent Adão Costa tells Angola’s Radio 5, according to Desporto (translation via Sportando). The deal is for two years, Costa said, though it’s not clear whether it includes an NBA out.

The 6’3″ guard appeared in three preseason games for Toronto and scored six points in a total of 21 minutes before the Raptors cut him prior to the start of the regular season. NBA teams passed him over when he was eligible for the draft in 2007, and Morais had never played in an NBA summer league, so it was surprising to see the Raptors bring him to camp. He led Angola to the gold medal in the FIBA Africa Championship this past summer.

It may not have worked out with Morais this fall, but his presence on the Raptors camp roster could signal a willingness on the part of Nigerian-born GM Masai Ujiri to tap the African market for talent. Morais played for Petroleos in Angola last season, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows.

Raptors Waive Carlos Morais, Chris Wright

October 26th, 2013 at 6:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have released Carlos Morais and Chris Wright, the team announced today in a press release. That will leave Julyan Stone as Toronto’s 15th man, and the only non-guaranteed player on the roster.

Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun had reported (via Twitter) that Stone was expected to survive this weekend’s roster cuts. The former Nuggets guard reached an agreement with Toronto earlier this summer, which was nixed when he failed a physical. It seems the team, and new GM Masai Ujiri, still liked him enough to offer a non-guaranteed contract and a regular season roster spot.

Raptors Sign Stone, Wright, Morais

September 19th, 2013 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 19TH: The Raptors have officially confirmed the signings of Stone and Wright, via a press release. The release also includes confirmation of Carlos Morais' deal, which we heard about over the weekend.

SEPTEMBER 13TH: The Raptors have 14 players currently on guaranteed contracts, but figure to have at least 17 players in camp next month, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (via Twitter). Smith identifies two of the team's camp invitees as Julyan Stone and Chris Wright.

Stone agreed to terms with the Raptors earlier in the offseason, but that deal fell through when the 24-year-old failed a physical with the club. A report last month indicated that the two sides had remained in touch, and the new arrangement suggests that the Raps still have interest in bringing Stone to camp if little or no guaranteed money is involved. As I noted when Toronto first reached an agreement with the guard, the presence of new GM Masai Ujiri in the team's front office was likely a significant factor in the signing the former Nugget.

As for the Raptors' other invitee, there are two Chris Wrights with NBA experience, so we'll have to wait for further word from Smith or confirmation from the team to be 100% sure which one is heading to Toronto. But I'm assuming the Wright in question is the forward from Dayton, rather than the guard from Georgetown. The Dayton product participated in camp with the Raps a year ago, so it makes sense that the team would bring him back for another look, and perhaps to give him another shot at a regular-season roster spot.

Odds & Ends: Kings Arena, Kobe, Raptors

September 14th, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Spencer Lund

The number of signatures necessary to vote on the public subsidy of a new Kings arena in Sacramento appears to be closing in on the minimum needed for the 2014 ballot, reports Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee.

But the success of that ballot measure hinges on the ability of Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork (STOP) to find the thousands of signatures financed by Chris Hansen. Hansen was recently fined $50K for contributing $100K to STOP in an effort curb Sacramento's plan to fund a new arena in an effort to buy the team and move it to Seattle.

Here are some some more links from around the league during a slow Saturday in September as most of the NBA world is watching the Mayweather-Alvarez fight…

Nike PR Director Heidi Burgett shared a video of a Nike talk, via Twitter, where Kobe Bryant discussed what was going through his head after he tore his Achilles tendon during the April game that ended his 2012/13 season prematurely (h/t SI's Ben Golliver).
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star confirms Angolan media reports that MVP of the African championships Carlos Morais will be in training camp with the Raptors (Twitter).
Former Mavs and Pistons player Mark Aguirre told the Star-Telegram's Full Court Press blog that basketball on both coasts has shifted with the Clippers overtaking the Lakers in Los Angeles and the Nets overtaking the Knicks in New York.
Star-Telegram beat writer Dwain Price adds, in a tweet, that when asked about the Heat's chances for a 3-peat, Aguirre said, "I don’t know if any of the other teams that are pushing them 4 the title understand how 2 win the big game.''
Matt Moore of CBS Sports believes there would have been a more formal investigation if the revelations are true about three members of the 1981/82 Knicks colluding to throw games for their drug dealer.