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Spurs Notes: Graham, Birch, Sochan, Barlow

February 15th, 2023 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

Devonte’ Graham dropped 15 games and seven spots in the standings by virtue of the deadline-day deal that sent him from New Orleans to San Antonio, but the Spurs guard intends to make the most of his new situation, telling reporters after the trade that he has no problem playing for a rebuilding team.

“Rebuilding, but they play hard,” Graham said of the Spurs, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I had the same experience in Charlotte, so I kind of know what this feels like, trying to rebuild but just playing the right way, playing hard and continuing to try to get better.”

After seeing his minutes reduced significantly in New Orleans this season, Graham is also welcoming the opportunity to play a more significant role in San Antonio. He averaged 15.3 minutes per game in 53 appearances for the Pelicans — that number has jumped to 29.7 MPG in his first three games with the Spurs.

“It’s a new adventure, new team, new city,” Graham said. “Optimistic about it. I have always been good at adjusting. Grateful to be around this franchise, a legendary coach (Gregg Popovich) and this young group.”

Here’s more on the Spurs:

  • Veteran center Khem Birch, acquired from Toronto in the Jakob Poeltl trade, has a right knee issue that will keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Birch is with the Spurs on their current road trip, but won’t practice or play until being examined over the All-Star break by the team’s medical staff. “It’s going to be quite a while,” Popovich said of Birch’s timeline to return.
  • Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan doesn’t fit the mold of stoic former Spurs stars like Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, but the team doesn’t mind the rookie’s tendency to “talk crap,” as Popovich puts it. “He’s just so happy to be in the NBA and playing basketball,” Popovich said, according to McDonald. “That’s what he does. It’s his main interest. … Beyond what you see skill-wise out there and IQ-wise, he’s got that heart and courage. He’s not afraid of any situation. He’s not embarrassed to screw up. He just goes on to the next play. It’s a perfect example for how you’ve got to play.”
  • Determining how to properly evaluate prospects coming out of the relatively new Overtime Elite program remains a work in progress for NBA scouts. Still, Spurs two-way player Dominick Barlow has no regrets about his OTE experience and believes it helped prepare him for the next level, McDonald writes for The Express-News. “There are pros and cons, like you are not going to be able to play in college and get that kind of experience,” Barlow said. “That wasn’t a big thing for me. I really wanted to work on my game, that the jump I was able to make in a year was good enough to outweigh that (college experience). I was happy with it.”
  • In case you missed it, Charles Bassey signed a four-year contract with the Spurs that reportedly includes $5.2MM in guaranteed money.
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Eastern Notes: VanVleet, Barnes, Allen, Irving, Udoka

November 13th, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors guard Fred VanVleet will miss his second straight game on Monday due to a non-COVID illness, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. The Raptors are facing the struggling Pistons in Detroit. Forwards Pascal Siakam and Precious Achiuwa are also out of action, while big man Khem Birch is listed as questionable.

We have more from the Eastern Conference

  • Scottie Barnes had a rough shooting night in Indiana on Saturday and the Raptors need more from their dynamic second-year forward, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. Barnes is averaging 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game but he has only reached the 20-point mark once despite the team’s injuries. Teammate Thaddeus Young says Barnes will break out soon. “Sometimes guys have a bad streak of games, or sometimes they have a bad start to the season then they take off at some point,” he said. “Things will change; they always do.”
  • Jarrett Allen missed Sunday’s game due to ankle soreness but coach J.B. Bickerstaff indicated prior to the game the Cavaliers center will likely return this week, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic tweets. “The thinking behind it is having today will give him like four days of rest before Milwaukee (on Wednesday),” Bickerstaff said. “It’s just been sore and he’s been powering through it.”
  • Nets guard Kyrie Irving sent out a tweet on Sunday related to his suspension, Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays. Irving stated that he was not trying to incite racial disharmony or prejudice. “I was not put here on earth to participate in any religious/political wars or incite racial disharmony/prejudice within communities,” he wrote. “We are all equal under the sun and I am here to participate in the building of an Equal world and follow the Word from the Most High/GOD/YAH.”
  • The Celtics were willing to let Ime Udoka take the Nets job without demanding any compensation in return, according to Jay King of The Athletic. Now, the organization still has to decide what to do with Udoka after the season unless another suitor comes along. It seems likely Udoka will never coach the team again, King adds.
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Raptors Notes: Injury Updates, Koloko, Growth, Expectations

October 21st, 2022 at 6:58pm CST by Rory Maher

Raptors big man Khem Birch (offseason knee surgery) is available for Friday’s game against the Nets. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca relays (via Twitter), Birch said he sat out Wednesday’s home opener against Cleveland for precautionary reasons and his knee “is feeling better” after experiencing swelling. Birch did not require a follow-up MRI, Grange adds.

Unfortunately, Chris Boucher and Otto Porter, who are both dealing with hamstring strains, are still out, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter thread), head coach Nick Nurse said he’s not sure when Boucher will be back, but he’s nearing a return.

“He’s in pretty good shape. It should be soon,” Nurse said.

Porter, meanwhile, still hasn’t been able to practice yet, having been limited to individual conditioning and skill work. Lewenberg thinks a late-October or early-November return for the veteran forward “seems realistic.”

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • Pressed into duty in part due to the injuries of the aforementioned bench trio, rookie center Christian Koloko showcased a different look for the Raptors in their opener, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. The 7’1″ native of Cameroon finished with three points, six rebounds and a block in 15 minutes, and teammates felt his impact in the paint on both ends of the court. “Having him be really the only big we’ve got, it makes it stand out more when he’s out there,” Fred VanVleet said, per Koreen. “We’re definitely gonna lean on him when he’s out there.”
  • The Raptors have the “vibe of a young, growing team,” but a salary cap crunch could make the roster difficult to retain in the future, Grange writes in a story for Sportsnet.ca. As Grange notes, VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. can be a free agents next summer if they decline their player options, Precious Achiuwa will be eligible for a rookie scale extension, Pascal Siakam would be eligible for a super-max extension if he makes an All-NBA team again this season, and OG Anunoby will be a free agent in 2024.
  • Toronto is unlikely to make any significant moves early in the season, which is normal. However, the team’s front office is preparing for what could be a very active trade deadline, and the Raptors feature several interesting players with desirable contracts. According to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star, the Raptors expect to advance past the first round of the playoffs in 2022/23 after losing their first-round series to Philadelphia last season, and if they don’t, there could be a major roster shakeup next summer.
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Raptors Notes: Roster Battles, Porter Jr., Young, Barnes, Birch

October 1st, 2022 at 3:45pm CST by JD Shaw

The battle for the final roster spots on the Raptors‘ regular season roster is ongoing at training camp, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. The team currently has 12 spots believed to be locked in.

According to Lewenberg, Justin Champagnie, D.J. Wilson and Josh Jackson are expected to compete for the final roster spot, while Juancho Hernangomez and Dalano Banton will likely claim the other two.

“We do a staff vote every single day, and that vote changes every single day,” head coach Nick Nurse admitted.

The Raptors must trim their training camp roster down to 17 players (which can include two two-way players) by October 17 at 5:00 pm ET. Toronto has established itself as a team that prioritizes length and defensive versatility. The team went 48-34 last season, finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Here are some other notes out of Toronto:

  • Otto Porter Jr. recently tweaked his hamstring in camp, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Nurse said Porter may be out for a “little bit.” Porter signed a two-year deal to join the team this past summer. In addition, Grange relays that Thaddeus Young (knee) is day-to-day. Young is once again expected to provide frontcourt depth off the bench for Toronto this season.
  • Second-year player Scottie Barnes is impressing Nurse and the team in training camp, Lori Ewing of The Canadian Press writes (link via The Toronto Star). Barnes won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award last season. “It feels like it’s better and he’s making more in the rhythm of what we’re doing,” Nurse said. “He’s not hesitating to take them at all, the threes. He’s still doing the rest of the stuff. He’s got that long, slow, strong drive where he puts it in the basket. He’s got that pull-up thing when he has a size advantage. But the frequency with which he’s letting them go is certainly on the rise.”
  • Big man Khem Birch discovered he suffered a torn meniscus when he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee this offseason, Eric Koreen of The Athletic tweets. Birch isn’t 100% yet, but he’s working his way back. The 30-year-old appeared in 55 games with Toronto last season, averaging 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per contest.
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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.
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Khem Birch Undergoes Arthroscopic Surgery On Knee

May 26th, 2022 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors center Khem Birch underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the team announced today in a press release. The procedure took place at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, a day after Zach LaVine underwent a similar procedure there.

According to the Raptors, the surgery cleaned up “loose debris” in Birch’s knee. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to go for the start of training camp in September.

After joining the Raptors on the buyout market during the second half of the 2020/21 season, Birch signed a new three-year, $20MM contract with the club last offseason. Hampered by his troublesome right knee and other injuries in ’21/22, the 29-year-old appeared in just 55 games, starting 28 of them. He averaged 4.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG with a career-worst .485 FG% in 18.0 minutes per contest.

Still, Birch’s deal is fully guaranteed for all three years, so barring a trade, he’ll be back in Toronto next season. It’s unclear whether he’ll have an opportunity to reenter the starting lineup, however, given the emergence of young big man Precious Achiuwa, as well as the Raptors’ willingness to start three forwards – Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Scottie Barnes – in lieu of a center.

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And-Ones: BIG3, Canada, Hezonja, Coaches

May 24th, 2022 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Ty Lawson, Corey Brewer, Jordan Crawford, Jonathon Simmons, Norris Cole, Festus Ezeli, and Jordan Hill are among the many former NBA players whose names are in the BIG3 draft pool for the 2022 season, per the league’s official website.

The BIG3 will hold its draft on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles as it gears up for the coming season. As we previously relayed, the first games of 2022 are scheduled for June 18 and this will be the first year in which the BIG3 holds an All-Star Game.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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Raptors Notes: Anunoby, Siakam, Barnes, Birch, Achiuwa

March 15th, 2022 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward OG Anunoby, who has been sidelined since the All-Star break due to a fractured right ring finger, was reevaluated on Monday, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

“It’s kinda the same,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Anunoby’s finger injury. “It’s not fully healed. He’s got a decision to make.”

According to Nurse, the plan is for Anunoby to practice on Tuesday and see how he feels — the team will know more at that point about his status. Nurse’s comment about Anunoby having a “decision” to make suggests that playing through the injury before it has fully healed could be an option if the pain isn’t too bad.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • As Eric Koreen writes for The Athletic, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes are both technically forwards, but their versatile skill sets allows them to function as de facto point guards at times, and they’re developing intriguing chemistry together. “I think we have kind of like similar skill sets, and we always feel like we have a mismatch every time down the floor,” Siakam said over the weekend.
  • Noting that Toronto enjoyed success in Denver on Saturday with a shooting-deficient lineup made up of Barnes, Khem Birch, Thaddeus Young, Chris Boucher, and Dalano Banton, Eric Koreen explores Nurse’s unconventional rotation decisions, dubbing the Raptors the NBA’s “delightful weirdos.”
  • Birch appreciates the Raptors’ willingness to stick with him as a rotation regular and a frequent starter, given how much time he has missed this season due to injuries and illnesses. “Honestly, I feel like with any other team I probably wouldn’t even be playing right now,” said Birch, who has missed 26 of 68 games (link via Doug Smith of The Toronto Star). “The fact that they just have that type of confidence in me despite all the injuries I’ve had, all the setbacks, and I’m still getting minutes tells a lot about how they feel about me, and it gives me a lot of confidence to keep going despite my injury.”
  • Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com examines the progress that Raptors center Precious Achiuwa has made in his second NBA season and the areas where he still has room to improve.
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Raptors’ OG Anunoby Fractures Right Ring Finger

February 25th, 2022 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward OG Anunoby has been ruled out for Friday’s game vs. Charlotte due to a fractured right ring finger, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Anunoby’s finger was sore “for a while” before the All-Star break and X-rays this week showed a small fracture.

It seems safe to assume Anunoby will miss some time beyond tonight’s game due to the injury, which affects his shooting hand, Lewenberg notes. Eric Koreen of The Athletic tweets that the plan is for the 24-year-old to rest while the team further assesses the injury.

Anunoby has averaged a career-high 17.5 PPG in 42 games (36.7 MPG) for the Raptors this season, though his shooting numbers (.436/.351/.748) have dipped a little as he has become more of a focal point in the offense. He has also averaged 5.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.5 SPG.

Beginning tonight, the Raptors play six games in eight days — they have back-to-back sets tonight and Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and next Thursday and Friday.

As Lewenberg tweets, the Raptors may lean on newly-acquired forward Thaddeus Young to play an increased role in Anunoby’s absence, though Khem Birch is probably the favorite to take Anunoby’s place in the starting lineup.

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Lakers Sought Trades With Knicks, Raptors, Celtics

February 10th, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rival executives tried to take advantage of the Lakers’ predicament, which ultimately led to VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka standing pat at the trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Bill Oram.

Other teams wanted the Lakers to take on bad contracts or give up their limited draft capital, including their 2027 first round pick, to facilitate potential deals, according to Oram.

The Lakers were unable to gain any traction on a potential Russell Westbrook deal. They tried to put together some lower-level deals, including a proposed three-way trade with the Knicks and Raptors. Toronto big men Khem Birch and Chris Boucher and Knicks wing Cam Reddish could have been on the move, but those fell apart after the other two teams couldn’t agree on draft compensation.

The Lakers also mulled a possible reunion with Dennis Schröder, though there was some pushback from some members of the organization. The Lakers still pursued a deal with the Celtics but Boston’s high asking price ended those negotiations. The Celtics wound up trading Schröder to Houston.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis were consulted on potential trades and understood why Pelinka chose to stand pat, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“You can’t force another team to present yourself with a deal that is going to make your team be better. That’s up to them,” Pelinka said. “And throughout this process we had different things we looked at and like I’ve done in the past had conversations with LeBron and Anthony about it and I would say there’s alignment here. And that’s all that matters.”

The Lakers will monitor the buyout market but would have to waive a player since their roster is full.

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