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Kobi Simmons Signs G League Contract, Joins Raptors 905

November 24th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA guard Kobi Simmons has signed a G League contract and is joining the Raptors 905, who acquired his returning rights earlier this week, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

Simmons, 26, appeared in 32 games for the Grizzlies as a rookie back in 2017/18 after going undrafted out of Arizona. He hasn’t played much in the NBA since then, having spent most of his career either in the G League or overseas (he played in Poland in 2021/22).

However, in addition to a single appearance with the Cavaliers in 2018/19, Simmons suited up for the Hornets in five games near the end of last season. He signed a two-way contract with Charlotte in March, then was elevated to the standard roster in April during the final week of the regular season. Simmons’ contract with the Hornets covered ’23/24 too, but his salary was non-guaranteed and he was waived prior to training camp.

Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 33.7 minutes per game (46 games) and had a shooting line of .489/.381/.810 with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate, last season. The Swarm traded his rights to Toronto’s affiliate on Wednesday in exchange for the rights to Sterling Brown and Gabe Brown.

While the Raptors now control Simmons’ G League rights, he remains an NBA free agent and could sign with any team if he gets an offer.

Justin Champagnie Earns Raptors’ 15th Roster Spot

October 14th, 2022 at 10:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Justin Champagnie has won the training camp battle for the Raptors‘ 15th and final standard roster spot, sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link).

Toronto has waived the three other contenders for the last spot on the 15-man roster, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Those players are Josh Jackson, D.J. Wilson and Gabe Brown, and they’ll clear waivers on Monday, assuming they go unclaimed.

Champagnie, 21, went undrafted last year after starring in two college seasons at Pitt. He signed a two-way deal with the Raptors as a rookie, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per night in 36 games last season.

Though his role with the NBA club was modest, Champagnie averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks on .489/.409/.778 shooting in 14 regular season games (35.9 minutes) for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate, and clearly made a strong impression on the organization. His contract was previously partially guaranteed for $325K, but now he’s set to have his $1,637,966 deal for 2022/23 fully guaranteed.

Wilson had a $250K partial guarantee on his deal, and the Raptors will be on the hook for that amount. Jackson’s deal was non-guaranteed, as was Brown’s, but unlike Jackson, Brown signed an Exhibit 10 contract, so he will earn a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905.

Raptors Notes: Starting Lineup, VanVleet, Last Roster Spot, Barnes

October 11th, 2022 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

When the Raptors face opponents with bigger frontcourts, they may switch up their lineup, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby will start most nights but it “doesn’t mean you always have to start your five best,” according to head coach Nick Nurse said.

“Do we really want Scottie, Pascal or OG guarding a really good, big five to start the game?” Nurse said. “I don’t think we do, so we’re going to have to make some adjustments to that, or it’s just going to be three minutes and we’re sending in a guy.”

We have more on the Raptors:

Fred VanVleet believes there’s good chemistry in the locker room, Michael Grange of SportsNet.ca writes. “I think you have to give credit to management and coaching staff. They have their hands full in terms of putting together a locker room that works before we even step on the court,” said VanVleet. “I think we have done a good job of building that back up. It feels more like a Raptors team now.”
Nurse may weigh potential offensive contributions a little more heavily when it comes to deciding which player gets the 15th spot on the roster, Grange tweets. Justin Champagnie, D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson and Gabe Brown are the candidates.
Barnes has been a little slow getting up to speed and there’s a good reason for that — the reigning Rookie of the Year was held out of training for the last three weeks prior to camp with a mild ankle sprain, Grange tweets. Nurse commented on that subject. “He’s playing a little bit of catch-up and it’s noticeable,” Nurse said, as relayed via a Lewenberg tweet. “I don’t think he’s shown a whole lot in the preseason… I think he’s just behind a little bit, conditioning-wise, feel-wise. We need to keep plugging away and get him feeling (like himself).”

Atlantic Notes: Harden, Melton, Raptors, G. Williams

October 11th, 2022 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

Asked by Joe Vardon of The Athletic if he believes he’s gotten the proper credit for taking a pay cut this season in order to allow the Sixers to sign other players, including P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, James Harden shook his head.

“Nope, but guess what? I don’t care,” Harden said. “There’s like a stereotype (of Harden) where people always want to talk. People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything. One thing I won’t do is give them any attention. I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care, because I’m comfortable and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court.”

Harden turned down a player option worth more than $47MM and accepted a $33MM salary for 2022/23, with a player option worth $35.64MM for ’23/24. Having sacrificed some short-term money for the good of the team, the former MVP told Vardon he intends to take the same approach with his on-court statistics this season.

“At this point, (big) numbers are great, but whether I’m averaging 22 or 28 (points per game), I think it’s more that I’m making an impact on the game each and every night,” Harden said. “I don’t really think about numbers. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about numbers, honestly. … Ultimately, it’s winning a championship. The numbers don’t really mean anything, individually.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

De’Anthony Melton is looking forward to showing what he can bring this season to the Sixers and is grateful that Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman traded him to a favorable landing spot, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Zach and I have a good relationship to where I know he wouldn’t send me to a bad situation,” Melton said. “He wouldn’t do anything that he doesn’t feel like is a good situation for his organization and for me. You don’t get that in a lot of GMs. So that’s why the care factor was there. I could be wrong. I could be right, but that’s what I felt, given the situation.”
Dalano Banton‘s place on the Raptors‘ regular season roster looks increasingly secure after another solid performance vs. Chicago on Sunday, but the team’s 15th spot remains very much up in the air, says Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. As Grange notes, Justin Champagnie got a late start to the preseason, but hasn’t fallen far behind in the battle for the No. 15 spot, since none of D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson, and Gabe Brown have run away with it.
In a mailbag for NBC Sports Boston, Chris Forsberg makes a case for why the Celtics and Grant Williams should be able to get a rookie scale extension done before next Monday’s deadline, arguing that a deal in the range of $12-13MM per year would allow Williams to earn more than the mid-level and let the team lock up another member of its core.

Raptors Notes: Harris, Koloko, Trent, Birch

August 23rd, 2022 at 12:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors have several options with Jalen Harris now that they’ve reportedly extended a two-way qualifying offer, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes in a mailbag column. Harris, who was dismissed from the NBA in July of 2021 for violating the terms of the league’s anti-drug program, was reinstated last week.

The QO makes Harris a restricted free agent and gives Toronto the opportunity to match any offer he might receive. He can also be signed-and-traded, although Koreen believes that’s unlikely considering his year-long absence.

The Raptors are likely targeting Harris for their G League affiliate, but first he would have to sign an Exhibit 10 contract or enter the G League draft. Toronto currently has 19 players under contract, and Koreen expects the final spot to go to Arizona center Christian Koloko, who was taken with the 33rd pick in this year’s draft. However, rookie forward Gabe Brown has an Exhibit 10 deal and appears ticketed for the G League. Once he’s waived, there would be an opening for Harris.

There’s more from Toronto:

Contract considerations may affect how the Raptors utilize Gary Trent Jr. this season, Koreen adds in the same piece. Trent holds an $18.56MM player option for the 2023/24 season, so Koreen believes the team may be reluctant to move him to a full-time sixth-man role, which could reduce his desire to remain in Toronto. Koreen also notes that the Raptors will eventually run into salary issues, so they might not be planning to pay Trent as a starter beyond his current contract. Trent put up career-best numbers in his first full season in Toronto, averaging 18.3 points and 2.0 assists in 70 games.
Khem Birch expects to be ready for training camp after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in late May, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Injuries limited the 29-year-old center to 55 games last season.
The Raptors are a “sleeping giant” in the East, according to Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. Golliver notes that the organization is set up well for the future with no bad contracts on its books and all its future first-round picks available. Toronto has two current All-Stars in Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, a potential franchise player in Scottie Barnes and a group of rotation players who are all younger than 30.

Raptors Sign Gabe Brown To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 3rd, 2022 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have signed rookie free agent forward Gabe Brown, the team announced today in a press release. According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Brown received an Exhibit 10 contract.

Brown, who declared for the draft this spring after spending four years at Michigan State, became a full-time starter for the Spartans as a senior in 2021/22, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .382 3PT% in 36 games (28.9 MPG). His performance earned him a spot on the All-Big 10 Third Team.

Brown suited up for the Thunder’s Summer League team last month, recording 11.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .421/.370/1.000 shooting in four Las Vegas contests (21.8 MPG).

Oddly, previous reports indicated that Brown had reached contract agreements first with Oklahoma City and then with Denver. Either one or both of those reports were erroneous, or Brown has had one or two changes of heart this offseason as he weighed where to begin his professional career.

The Raptors now have 19 players under contract, with second-round pick Christian Koloko still unsigned. Given the team’s roster crunch, Brown doesn’t have a clear path to a spot on the regular season roster, but his Exhibit 10 deal would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate.

Gabe Brown Signing Exhibit 10 Deal With Nuggets

July 29th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted free agent rookie Gabe Brown is signing an Exhibit 10 contract to go to training camp with the Nuggets, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link).

Brown, who declared for the draft this spring after spending four years at Michigan State, became a full-time starter for the Spartans as a senior in 2021/22, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .382 3PT% in 36 games (28.9 MPG). His performance earned him a spot on the All-Big 10 Third Team.

Brown suited up for the Thunder‘s Summer League team this month, recording 11.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .421/.370/1.000 shooting in four Las Vegas contests (21.8 MPG).

Zagoria reported last month that Brown would be signing a “partially guaranteed” contract with Oklahoma City and Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.com later said it would be an Exhibit 10 deal, but based on Zagoria’s newest report, it seems as if that deal fell through.

An Exhibit 10 is a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that counts toward a team’s 20-man offseason roster limit, but doesn’t count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. It can be converted into a two-way contract or can make a player eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Denver doesn’t currently have a two-way slot available, so the team may envision Brown as an affiliate player for the Grand Rapids Gold.

Thunder To Sign Gabe Brown To Exhibit 10 Contract

June 24th, 2022 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

After going undrafted on Thursday, Michigan State forward Gabe Brown has reached a deal to sign with the Thunder, reports Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). While Zagoria categorizes Brown’s deal as partially guaranteed, Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.com tweets that it’s an Exhibit 10 contract.

An Exhibit 10 is a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that counts toward a team’s 20-man offseason roster limit, but doesn’t count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster.

A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate, which may be the partial guarantee Zagoria was referring to. A player can also have his Exhibit 10deal converted into a two-way contract before the start of the regular season.

Ranked by ESPN as the No. 22 prospect of the undrafted rookies, Brown entered the starting lineup on a full-time basis for the Spartans as a senior in 2021/22, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .382 3PT% in 36 games (28.9 MPG). He earned a spot on the All-Big 10 Third Team before going pro this spring.

Brown’s deal with Oklahoma City can become official after the new NBA league year begins on July 1.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Mills, Kyrie, Knicks, Burks, Celtics

June 22nd, 2022 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Tuesday about what the Raptors‘ offseason might look like, general manager Bobby Webster suggested it might be a fairly quiet summer in Toronto, but didn’t rule out the possibility of that changing if favorable trade opportunities arise.

“You look at it two ways: We have a couple free agents, we have a mid-level (exception). Maybe in that sense it’s just adding to the group,” Webster said, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “Obviously if you have trade discussions, it’s different. There are kind of just two different paths you can go.”

OG Anunoby has been at the center of some trade rumors this offseason, with one report indicating the Raptors forward wants a bigger role on offense going forward. Asked about Anunoby, Webster dismissed the idea that there’s any real tension between the team and the 24-year-old, but he also didn’t exactly slam the door on the idea that Anunoby could be traded.

“We have great communication with OG,” Webster said. “He’s even up here (in Toronto) now. For one, it doesn’t make sense to comment on all the trade speculation. If we talked about every call we got or every player we discussed we’d be here for hours, so I don’t think it’s all that noteworthy.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Nets guard Patty Mills still hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll pick up his $6.2MM player option for 2022/23, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Insider link). In a story for NetsDaily, Collin Helwig looks at what Mills could bring to the table for Brooklyn next season if he returns and is slotted into the role the team envisioned for him last year, before Kyrie Irving‘s extended absence resulted in him being thrust into the starting lineup.
Speaking of Irving, both Fred Katz of The Athletic and Ian Begley of SNY.tv explored whether the idea of the Nets guard joining the cross-town Knicks this offseason is realistic. A Shams Charania report on Monday linked Irving to the Knicks, but New York is believed to be more focused on Jalen Brunson and Malcolm Brogdon, while there’s a belief that Kyrie and the Nets can still work out a deal.
Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News provides a few more details on Alec Burks‘ foot surgery, reporting that the affected left foot had been bothering the Knicks guard for a while. Burks, who previously underwent procedures on his left ankle in 2015 and 2016, has seen his trade value negatively affected by the surgery, league sources tell Bondy.
The Celtics brought in Michigan State forward Gabe Brown on Wednesday, just a day before the draft, for a second workout, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Brown, the No. 78 prospect on ESPN’s big board, could be a target for Boston with the 53rd overall pick or as an undrafted free agent.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Blazers, Wolves, Nuggets

June 15th, 2022 at 5:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Sources told Tony Jones of The Athletic that “there is a world where the Jazz keep most of their top-seven core with the hope that a new coach energizes them.” Jones explores the potential cost of a Rudy Gobert trade to Chicago with fellow Athletic writer Darnell Mayberry, but stresses that Gobert won’t be traded just for the sake of shaking up the roster, noting that the asking price for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year will be very high.

Utah is casting an extremely wide net as they seek a replacement for Quin Snyder. As our head coaching search tracker shows, Sam Cassell became the 15th candidate linked to the Jazz after it was reported that he’ll interview for the vacancy.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

The Trail Blazers are hosting a pre-draft workout with six prospects on Wednesday, including a couple of potential lottery picks, tweets Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian. Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 7 prospect on ESPN’s big board, headlines the group, followed by Jeremy Sochan (No. 15), Dalen Terry (No. 25), John Butler (No. 67), Jamaree Bouyea (No. 79) and Jordan Hall (No. 87). Portland holds the Nos. 7, 36 and 59 picks in the draft.
The Timberwolves are also hosting workout of draft-eligible players on Wednesday, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). The group features multiple potential second-round picks, including Hugo Besson (No. 41 on ESPN’s board), Michael Foster Jr. (No. 49), Jean Montero (No. 52) and Gabe Brown (No. 78). It also includes Nysier Brooks, who is unranked, and David Roddy (No. 30), as Wolfson previously reported. The Wolves hold the Nos. 19, 40, 48 and 50 picks, but aren’t expected to have four rookies on the roster next season.
Peyton Watson (No. 34) headlines a group of six prospects working out for the Nuggets on Thursday, as Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports relays (via Twitter). The other five players are Florida’s Anthony Duruji, UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton, Flagler’s Jaizec Lottie, Marquette’s Darryl Morsell and Buffalo’s Ronaldo Segu, all of whom project to go undrafted and are unranked on ESPN’s board. After reaching an agreement to trade JaMychal Green to the Thunder, Denver now controls the Nos. 21 and 30 picks in the 2022 draft.