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Raptors Notes: Siakam, Anunoby, Bench

October 20th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by clarkcrum

Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes how the Raptors locking up Pascal Siakam to a long-term extension may be a byproduct of how the Spurs ended up losing Kawhi Leonard, the player that helped the Raptors win the franchise’s first ever championship last season.

Like Leonard when he was in San Antonio, Siakam was destined for a maximum contract after the Raptors won last season’s title. Like San Antonio had then, Toronto has plenty of cap space this upcoming summer.

Unlike the Spurs, the Raptors didn’t wait to lock up Siakam. As Koreen writes, they want him around and they want him happy. The long-term benefits outweigh the short term repercussion of less cap space.

There’s more this afternoon from Toronto:

  • Per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, forward OG Anunoby, in a rare podium session, says that he lost 15 pounds following the rupture of his appendix just as last season’s magical postseason run got underway.
  • Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet provides some more details on the incentives in the rookie-scale contract extension signed by Siakam, writing that the 25-year-old forward will receive a starting salary worth up to 30% of the cap (not the typical 25%) if he earns First or Second Team All-NBA or is named the MVP this season. That would make Siakam’s four-year extension worth as much as a projected $155.9MM instead of $129.9MM.
  • Head coach Nick Nurse still appears to be rather displeased with some of his newly-signed bench players, reports William Lou of Yahoo Sports Canada. Nurse lauded Stanley Johnson for his defense and effort and Matt Thomas for his offense, but seemed less than enthusiastic about the other side of the ball for both players.
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Raptors Notes: Ujiri, Camp Battles, T. Davis, Lowry

October 4th, 2019 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri reportedly drew interest from the Wizards this spring when Washington was in the market for a new head of basketball operations, and will likely continue to be targeted by teams making front office changes.

However, speaking to Frank Isola of The Athletic last weekend about his job status, Ujiri made it clear he intends to remain in Toronto at least through the end of his current contract in 2021, if not longer.

“The most important thing is that when you sign a contract you’re obligated to serve it,” Ujiri said. “I signed the contract and I have time left on that contract and I will serve the time. This place has been unbelievable to me. It’s been just a blessing.”

Here’s more on the Raptors:

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Raptors Pick Up 2020/21 Option On OG Anunoby

October 4th, 2019 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have exercised OG Anunoby‘s fourth-year rookie scale option well ahead of the October 31 deadline, according to Blake Murphy and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move locks in Anunoby’s $3,872,215 cap charge for the 2020/21 season.

[RELATED: Decisions On 2020/21 Rookie Scale Team Options]

Viewed as a potential breakout candidate entering the 2018/19 season, Anunoby instead took a step backward, enduring a rough sophomore year that saw him battle health issues and cope with the passing of his father.

After averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 67 regular season games (20.2 MPG), the young forward didn’t play at all during the Raptors’ championship run, having undergone an emergency appendectomy just before the postseason got underway.

The Raptors still have high hopes for the 22-year-old, however, and he’ll get a chance to potentially reclaim a spot in the starting lineup this year in the wake of Kawhi Leonard‘s and Danny Green‘s offseason departures. Even if he comes off the bench, Anunoby is expected to have a significant rotation role.

With several sizeable expiring contracts on their books, the Raptors project to have more cap space than virtually any other NBA team during the 2020 offseason, so guaranteeing Anunoby’s salary will have little impact on the team’s flexibility. Toronto still has less than $20MM in guaranteed money on its cap for 2020/21, though that figure doesn’t include Stanley Johnson‘s $3.8MM player option or a potential extension for Pascal Siakam.

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Raptors Notes: Siakam, Lowry, Anunoby

September 28th, 2019 at 8:32pm CST by Luke Adams

A report this week indicated that the Raptors and Pascal Siakam‘s representatives have engaged in preliminary discussions about a potential rookie scale contract extension. Speaking today to reporters, president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri confirmed that there have been conversations between the two sides and expressed no doubt that a deal will get done either by the October 21 deadline or during the 2020 offseason, when Siakam would be a restricted free agent.

“We’ve had conversations with Pascal’s representation,” Ujiri said (video link via Sportsnet.ca). “We’re excited. Whether it’s going to be this fall or whether it’s going to be in the summer, he’s somebody we’re definitely going to keep for a long time here.”

It remains to be seen what sort of price the Raptors will have to pay to lock up Siakam long-term, or whether they’ll end up waiting until the summer of 2020. The NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player said that he’ll leave the negotiations up to his agents, but he’s looking forward to being a Raptor for the foreseeable future.

“I love Toronto,” Siakam told Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). “I love being here and I’m definitely hopeful we can get it done.”

Here’s more out of Toronto:

  • Siakam isn’t the only extension candidate in Toronto. Kyle Lowry confirmed at Media Day that his people have talked to the Raptors about a new deal, adding that he’s not worried about his upcoming free agency, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic. The veteran point guard said his contract situation is an “ongoing conversation,” tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.
  • As Murphy writes in his full round-up of Raptors Media Day, Ujiri admitted that the team will likely treat Lowry’s upcoming free agency a little differently than it would for other veterans on expiring contracts, given his legacy status with the franchise. Murphy suggests “it sure sounds like” Toronto wants to retain Lowry beyond 2019/20.
  • Serge Ibaka said that he gave Kawhi Leonard space to go through free agency without trying to influence his decision, tweets Lewenberg. “After he made his decision, we spoke on the phone,” Ibaka said. “I said, ‘You know what bro, I’m a little sad you’re leaving us, it’s disappointing as a friend, but I’m happy for you.'”
  • OG Anunoby, who received praise from Ujiri and head coach Nick Nurse today, isn’t lacking any confidence in the Raptors’ ceiling even with Kawhi no longer on the roster, as Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets. “I think we’re gonna repeat,” Anunoby said. “We have a really good team and we believe in ourselves, and that’s all that matters.”
  • Some of Anunoby’s teammates expressed their confidence a little more cautiously. “I think it’s a very hungry team,” Marc Gasol said, per Lewenberg. “We all understand what Kawhi meant to the team and how well he played in the playoffs. But we also understand how good we can be as a team. So we are going to invest everything needed to be that team.”
  • Anunoby also said that he didn’t get his energy back until mid-July after undergoing an appendectomy last spring and said that winning the starting small forward job will be a priority for him this fall (Twitter links via Lewenberg).
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Raptors Rumors: Siakam, Lowry, Gasol, Ibaka

September 27th, 2019 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have engaged in “preliminary” discussions with Pascal Siakam‘s representatives about a potential contract extension, sources tell Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Lewenberg cautions that there’s no indication a deal is imminent.

Siakam, who is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie scale contract, is eligible to sign a new deal up until 5:00pm CT on October 21, the day before the regular season begins. If he and the Raptors don’t reach an agreement by that point, he’d be on track for restricted free agency next summer.

After a breakout year in which he earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player award – and helped Toronto win its first championship – Siakam and his camp figure to be seeking a deal worth the max or close to it, Lewenberg notes. Based on the league’s latest cap projections, a four-year, maximum-salary contract for Siakam would be worth just shy of $130MM, while a five-year max would be worth $168.2MM.

With a pretty clean cap sheet for the 2020/21 season, the Raptors can afford such an investment and figure to pull the trigger at some point. However, it remains to be seen whether the two sides will strike a deal in the coming weeks, and exactly how much it’d be worth.

Here’s more on the defending NBA champions:

  • Although Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka have expiring contracts that could make them intriguing trade chips, league sources tell Sean Deveney of Heavy.com that the Raptors are happy with their situation and aren’t entertaining trade inquiries on those veterans.
  • One source with knowledge of the team’s thinking tells Deveney that the Raptors want to return to the postseason this spring, in part to sell the club to potential free agent targets. “This is where they always wanted to be,” that source said. “[President of basketball operations] Masai [Ujiri] was always going to rebuild things around Siakam and OG (Anunoby) and the other young guys eventually. He’s going to have a ton of cap space. But he’s got to be able to get free agents to go there and it’s still a tough sell, getting guys to go to Canada. So they’ve got the ring, if they can get to the playoffs again, he has something more to sell when that cap space comes available.”
  • In a separate article for TSN.ca, Lewenberg examines whether Anunoby is primed for a breakout season, explores what Toronto’s roster and rotation might look like, and touches on a handful of other Raptors-related topics.
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Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Draft, Anunoby

June 17th, 2019 at 5:33pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers want to select someone in the mold of Landry Shamet with the No. 24 overall pick.

“[Shamet has] always been an overcomer and mature and very very self-aware,” senior director of scouting Vince Rozman said (via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “…I think those are the guys that tend to make it in that range, because they know their role and they know what’s going to be asked of them.”

Pompey suggests that Cameron Johnson fits the profile and speculates that the UNC product may slip in the draft because of his age. Johnson turned 23 in March.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

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OG Anunoby Questionable For Game 1

May 29th, 2019 at 9:39pm CST by clarkcrum

Despite Raptors head coach Nick Nurse saying Monday that forward OG Anunoby was still about 10 days away from being able to play, the team is now surprisingly listing Anunoby as questionable for Game 1 of the NBA Finals tomorrow night, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

Anunoby, who has missed the entire 2018/19 postseason after undergoing an emergency appendectomy in early April, still didn’t have a timetable to return as recently as a week ago, when Nurse said as much. But now, it appears as though a timetable has appeared and shortened within the span on a few days, with Nurse’s 10-day prediction upgraded to a questionable designation for tomorrow evening.

Anunoby could provide some much needed depth for the Raptors against the Warriors after the team relied on an eight-man rotation against the Bucks. This is especially true if Kevin Durant returns from injury, as Anunoby would give teammate Kawhi Leonard some much needed breaks from defending the all-time great.

Given Nurse’s original estimate about Anunoby’s return, it still seems unlikely that we will see him in Game 1, but the questionable designation does breed hope for an earlier return, perhaps in Game 2 on Sunday.

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Raptors Hope OG Anunoby Can Return During Finals

May 27th, 2019 at 1:16pm CST by JD Shaw

MAY 27: Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said today that Anunoby is about 10 days away from being able to play, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

“He’s doing better,” Nurse said. “He’s on the court. He’s moving around. He’s not 100%, but he’s healing.”

If Nurse’s estimate is accurate, Toronto could be aiming to get Anunoby back on the court for either Game Three or – more likely – Game Four in Oakland. Game Four is scheduled for next Friday, June 7, which is 11 days away.

MAY 26: The Raptors are quietly optimistic that OG Anunoby could return at some point during the NBA Finals, which are set to tip off in Toronto on Thursday night, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.

Anunoby has missed each of the team’s 18 playoff games while rehabbing from appendectomy surgery. He underwent the emergency procedure six weeks ago, never receiving a firm timetable for his return.

For the Raptors, Anunoby provided depth off the bench in 67 games this season, averaging seven points, 2.9 rebounds and 20.2 minutes in his second campaign. Toronto managed to secure a birth in the Finals despite his absence and will soon square off with the defending-champion Warriors, a team that’s earned nine days of rest between their last contest and Game 1.

The extended timeline between Saturday’s Game 7 and Thursday — along with the spacing between each Finals game — are two key reasons why Toronto is hopeful Anunoby could return soon, Wolstat notes. If it reaches seven games, the series would run until June 16.

Anunoby, a chiseled 6’8″ defensive-minded forward, was drafted by the Raptors with the No. 23 pick in 2017. He’ll earn $2.28MM in 2019/20, with Toronto holding a $3.87MM team option on his contract for the 2020/21 season.

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Raptors Notes: Nurse, Leonard, Anunoby

May 26th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Fresh off his team’s Game 6 victory over the Bucks which sent Toronto to the Finals, Raptors coach Nick Nurse has apparently achieved another honor. He will coach Canada’s national team at the FIBA World Cup in China, Peter Yannopoulos of TSN tweets.

Canada Basketball, which hasn’t officially confirmed the coaching change, began courting Nurse prior to the postseason, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

Nurse, who was an assistant for Team Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, would replace Hornets assistant Jay Triano as Canada’s coach, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets.

We have more on the newly crowned Eastern Conference champions:

  • Toronto president Masai Ujiri had a strong response for Kawhi Leonard during their first meeting after the blockbuster trade with San Antonio last season, as Michael Lee of The Athletic details. Leonard asked Ujiri why he made the trade despite Leonard’s intention to opt out of his contract after the season. “Because you’re the best player in the league,” Ujiri told Leonard. That bold gamble has paid off, Lee notes.
  • The Raptors are optimistic that OG Anunoby will play at some point in the Finals, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. Anunoby has not played since an emergency appendectomy last month. The last appearance by the reserve small forward was April 9th. The gaps in-between games should also help Leonard, who is dealing with a leg injury, Wolstat adds.
  • Nurse’s G League success — he won championships with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Iowa Energy — prepared him well for the Raptors gig, Adam Johnson of 2Ways10Days.com details in a story originally posted prior to the season.
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Nurse: Leonard OK, Lowry Hurting, Anunoby Out

May 22nd, 2019 at 8:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors coach Nick Nurse had a mixed report on the status of three key players as his team prepares for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, relays Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Even though Kawhi Leonard has been noticeably limping during the past two games, Nurse expressed confidence today in a conference call with reporters that his star forward will be ready for tomorrow night.

“He’s feeling good,” Nurse said. “No concerns at this point. He’s good.”

Leonard was outstanding as Toronto won back-to-back games on its home court to even the series, scoring 36 and 19 points and playing effective defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Kyle Lowry is also expected to play tomorrow, even though he is still feeling the effects of a left thumb injury that he suffered in the series against the Sixers. Lowry has been using a specially designed “oven mitt” to help with the healing process, but he still battles pain every time he takes the court.

“Kyle’s hand is not great,” Nurse said. “You know, he’s — it’s hurt and it’s sore and it causes him a lot of pain. But he seems to be able to manage it through the game and do what he can do. He’s obviously scoring and playing great on top of the other things he always does, and we’re really [seeing] a heck of a lot of toughness and again, the spirit that he just wants to be out there and help his team any way he can.”

Bontemps adds that the Raptors seem resigned to finishing the series without OG Anunoby, who is still recovering after an emergency appendectomy in mid-April.

“OG does not have a timetable for coming back,” Nurse said. “He is being more active every day. I think we are getting closer to a point where we’re — you know, unpack is the next step for him. He’s moving pretty good, he’s shooting, etc., but still a ways away from being able to take hits and contact in the areas that he needs to test out, I guess.”

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