RJ Barrett

Raptors Notes: Brown, Barrett, Barnes, Walter, Chomche

Speaking to reporters at Monday’s media day, Raptors executive Masai Ujiri explained the decision to have Bruce Brown undergo arthroscopic surgery so late in the offseason, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Brown had the procedure done September 19 and is likely to miss most, if not all of the preseason.

“Bruce was cleared in the summer,” Ujiri said. “As he began to ramp up his knee flared up … all summer Bruce was good, he participated with the team (in off-season workouts). But when it flared up we made the decision collectively.”

Brown’s knee issues date back to last season, but he was hoping they would improve through a summer of rest and rehab. Brown has an expiring $23MM contract and could be a valuable trade piece by the deadline if the Raptors aren’t able to contend for a play-in spot.

There’s more from Toronto’s media day:

  • Head coach Darko Rajakovic is looking forward to a full training camp with RJ Barrett, who was acquired from New York last December, Grange adds (Twitter links). Rajakovic said Barrett adjusted to his new team very quickly after the deal, and the forward told reporters that he was eager to get back to his NBA responsibilities after Canada was knocked out of the Olympics. “Right after we lost, I was on the bus back to the hotel and called (Raptors assistant) Jama (Mahlalela) and got it figured out,” Barrett said. “… This is the Raptors, this my team, my home, I wanted to be there with my teammates. … I wanted to show that I’m all in.” 
  • Scottie Barnes has been focused on improving his shot creation skills throughout the summer, according to Grange (Twitter link). Barnes added that individual accomplishments are a byproduct of winning and said he’s willing to be patient as the team rebuilds. “Taking our time, don’t get frustrated throughout that process,” he said. “Of course we want to win and we know we can win, but it takes time, so don’t get frustrated through the process.”
  • Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter will miss training camp with a shoulder sprain, but Ujiri doesn’t expect it to be a lingering issue, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link).
  • Ujiri also expressed excitement about rookie center Ulrich Chomche, who signed a two-way contract after being selected with the 57th pick in the draft, relays Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link).“Very intriguing young player,” Ujiri said. “I remember watching him the first time at BAL, he showed incredible instinct defensively. Also work ethic, playing hard, that mindset. Those Cameroonian guys, they fight hard, it’s pride for them.”

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Celtics, Horford, Nets

The Raptors appear to be embracing a youth movement this season, with young players like Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett leading the charge.

In a mailbag, Eric Koreen of The Athletic says he doesn’t project that Toronto will achieve more than a potential play-in berth, but he does believe the club has enough depth that it could compete for a seventh or eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Koreen notes that Barnes needs to grow as a scorer, Quickley as a distributor, and Barrett as a defender.

Within the same mailbag, Koreen also projects the team’s starters, speculates on possible breakout surprises on the current roster, and more.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • The reigning champion Celtics look like the favorites to repeat in 2024/25, but it’s going to cost them. Keith Smith of Spotrac unpacks the club’s future salary cap situation, noting that Boston agreed to almost $514MM in new long-term contracts during the 2023/24 league year before extending Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser this offseason. By 2025/26, Boston is already committed to pay almost $445MM in combined salaries and luxury tax penalties for 11 players, Smith writes.
  • Celtics sixth man big Al Horford was recently honored with the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez, and Mella in the degree of Knight from Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, reports Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. “I knew I was going to come meet the president, but I didn’t know I was gonna get the highest award for the country,” Horford said. “So, very special for me, very special for my family. I feel very proud right now, very overwhelmed with a lot of emotion. Very, very special day for me today.” Across a decorated 17-year career, the 6’9″ center has made five All-Star teams, one All-NBA team and one All-Defensive team. He’s now an NBA champion as well.
  • The rebuilding Nets will boast a roster featuring several young players looking to carve out a niche in the league. In a new piece, Net Income of Nets Daily examines which five Brooklyn players have the most to prove heading into 2024/25, a list highlighted by former top lottery picks Ben Simmons and Killian Hayes.

Atlantic Notes: Barrett, Raptors, Yabusele, Springer

RJ Barrett enjoyed his time with the Knicks, but he tells David Stol of Sharp Magazine that the chance to play for the Raptors in the city where he lived as a child is “a literal dream come true.” Barrett’s homecoming occurred last December when New York sent him to Toronto as part of a five-player trade involving OG Anunoby.

“I grew up with my dad taking me to games,” Barrett said. “[…] When I found out I was coming home, I didn’t know how to act. I was pinching myself and telling my people, ‘We’re really here. We’re playing for the Toronto Raptors.’”

Barrett became the focus of the Raptors’ offense after the deal, averaging a career-high 21.8 PPG in 32 games. He’s looking forward to his first training camp with the team and seeing what he can accomplish in a full season. He also has fond memories of his years in New York, where he helped to turn around a floundering franchise after being selected with the third pick in the 2019 draft.

“I think people forget that we really built something there,” he said. “When I arrived, we weren’t contending. We weren’t close, really. My sophomore year, we made the playoffs. Then, we just kept building. We gave the fans something to cheer for. And they deserve it, man. It’s a tough city but you earn their love. I’m glad we got there for them.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Not much is being expected from the Raptors as they look ahead to their 30th season, notes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. A lack of star power will likely limit Toronto to a play-in tournament spot at best, Wolstat adds, as Washington and Brooklyn are the only Eastern rivals that appear to be significantly worse. Wolstat also cites a difficult early schedule, with 22 of the first 25 games against teams coming off postseason appearances.
  • Guerschon Yabusele is probably in a better spot with the Sixers than he would have been if he had tried to return to the Celtics, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Yabusele signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia last month after a standout performance with France in the Olympics. Robb points out that his main competition for playing time as the backup power forward to Caleb Martin will be KJ Martin and Ricky Council. Robb also suggests the Celtics may have been more interested in Yabusele if they hadn’t reached new deals with backup big men Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman.
  • Jaden Springer is eligible for a rookie scale extension through October 21, but sources tell Robb that the Celtics aren’t likely to consider a new deal until the fourth-year guard has played a full season with the team.

Olympic Notes: Murray, Yabusele, Giddey, Barrett, More

There are concerns about Jamal Murray following a lackluster Olympic performance with Team Canada, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. After dealing with injuries during the latter part of the season, the Nuggets guard was limited to 36.6% true shooting and a 4.7 PER in four Olympic games.

While Hollinger admits that’s a small sample size, he notes that Murray wasn’t any better in Canada’s exhibition contests and didn’t look like the same player he was during Denver’s 2023 title run. Hollinger observes that Murray played without “zip” while having a hard time getting separation from his defender and finishing at the rim. If there’s a physical issue affecting Murray, it could be a significant story heading into training camp and the start of the season, Hollinger adds.

A report in late June stated that the Nuggets and Murray were nearing agreement on a four-year, $208MM extension. Hollinger wonders if the team might be reconsidering that offer in light of Murray’s recent downturn.

Hollinger shares a few more thoughts on the Olympics:

  • Guerschon Yabusele helped his NBA prospects tremendously with his Olympic performance, but Hollinger is skeptical that he’ll join the league this season. A league source confirms to Hollinger that Yabusele has a $2.5MM buyout in his contract with Real Madrid. Any NBA team that signs him would have to pay that amount, which would count against the cap above the $850K maximum international buyout, along with Yabusele’s salary. Hollinger sees a better chance for Yabusele to return to the NBA next summer when he’ll be a free agent.
  • Australia used Josh Giddey as its primary ball-handler, a role he’ll assume with the Bulls this season. Hollinger points out that although Giddey could have used better outside shooting around him, he was effective running the offense. He made 11 three-pointers in four games, easing some of the concerns about him in Oklahoma City, while taking on a 30% usage rate.
  • Hollinger believes Raptors swingman RJ Barrett could be headed for a breakout season. Playing for Canada, Barrett ranked fourth in the Olympics in scoring at 19.8 PPG with 58/44/84 shooting splits. Hollinger adds that Barrett was impressive after being traded to Toronto last season and should have a high-usage role on a rebuilding team.
  • Khem Birch may have sparked NBA interest after being Canada’s top center in France, per Hollinger. Birch will be 32 by the time training camps open, but Hollinger suggests he could fill a role as a third center.
  • Mathias Lessort, who helped France reach the gold medal game, could be a “last-resort option” for the Knicks next summer if they still haven’t found a reliable backup center, Hollinger states. The 29-year-old big man is under contract with Panathinaikos in Greece this season.
  • Isaac Bonga is a free agent after wrapping up a strong Olympics with Germany. Hollinger notes that Bonga is only 24 and could return to the NBA and a three-and-D specialist, even if it doesn’t happen right away.

Olympic Notes: Quarterfinalists, Canada, Australia, Japan

While not every men’s basketball team at the Paris Olympics has even played two games yet, three of the eight quarterfinal clubs have been set. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press details, Germany, France, and Canada have clinched their spots in the single-elimination stage of the tournament.

Germany and France are 2-0 in Group B play, having each won their games against Brazil and Japan, while Canada is the only 2-0 team in Group A. None of those teams will finish pool play with a record worse than 2-1, which is out of reach for Brazil, Japan, and Greece (also 0-2). And since at least five teams from Groups A and B must advance to the quarterfinals (the top two teams in each group, plus at least one third-place finisher), Germany, France, and Canada are assured of finishing among those five, even if they don’t win their respective groups.

Australia and Spain, each 1-1, would clinch quarterfinal berths with wins on Friday over Greece and Canada, respectively. If either team loses, it could open the door for one of the current 0-2 clubs to advance via tie-breaking rules.

The winner of the USA/South Sudan game on Wednesday will become the fourth team to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals, Reynolds notes.

Here’s more on the Olympics:

  • RJ Barrett‘s strong second-half performance with the Raptors during the 2023/24 season has carried over to the Olympics so far, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, who suggests that Barrett has been the biggest beneficiary of Andrew Wiggins‘ exit from Team Canada. Barrett has scored a team-high 47 points on 16-of-27 (59.3%) shooting through two games. “I’ve been playing with RJ for a long time, and RJ’s a dog,” teammate Luguentz Dort said. “He’ll always show up, he’ll always be aggressive. We need him to play like that, so he’s been doing a great job.”
  • Kane Pitman and Olgun Uluc of ESPN share their takeaways from Australia’s Tuesday loss to Team Canada, evaluating Dante Exum‘s return from a finger injury and exploring what the Boomers’ go-to five-man lineup should look like.
  • Japan wasn’t able to pull off the upset over France on Tuesday, but their ability to push the host nation to overtime reflected the growth of the country’s basketball program, writes Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. “We’ve been on a mission to show that Japan plays good basketball,” national team head coach Tom Hovasse told Urbonas. “We had a good run in the World Cup, and the Japanese fans are really behind us. … I’m glad we could showcase our talents on the world stage so a lot more fans could see it. Japan basketball is definitely on the rise, and I hope it becomes one of the top two (sports) in Japan. That would have seemed impossible ten years ago, but we have a chance now.”

Olympic Notes: Curry, Giannis, Dort, Barrett, France, Germany

While Steve Kerr‘s decision to not play Jayson Tatum in Team USA’s Olympic opener grabbed the headlines, the head coach has a bigger task heading into Wednesday’s matchup with South Sudan — he needs to get his Warriors’ superstar going, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.

Stephen Curry was underwhelming on Sunday against Serbia, scoring eight of his 11 points when the game was well in hand. He added three assists, three rebounds and one turnover in 21 minutes.

“A slow start for Steph (against Serbia),” Kerr admitted. “But you see the impact he makes. He comes flying off a double (team), and LeBron (James) throws it into Jrue Holiday for a layup because they’re terrified of Steph. So the beauty of Steph is that whether he makes shots or not, he impacts the game because he scares the other team. Just the threat of Steph impacts the game.”

We have more on the Olympic tournament:

  • Greece is 0-2 in the tournament after losing to Spain and Giannis Antetokounmpo left the arena without speaking to the media, Amick writes. Antetokounmpo missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the final minute. He finished with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds and three assists. Greece needs to beat Australia on Friday to even have a chance to reach the knockout round.
  • The Boomers are 1-1 in pool play after falling to Team Canada, 93-83. Following the loss, Australia’s coach, Brian Goorjian, compared the NBA-laden Canadian squad to the tourney favorite. “To me, [Canada] are a version of Team USA,” Goorjian said, per BasketNews. “They play differently than the Europeans and than what we played against Spain. There’s a lot more one-on-one, there’s a lot more spread game, a lot more going at the weak defender and bringing them to the on-ball and spread. Then the physicality defensively was a level that we haven’t played against so far on all of these teams that we’ve played to date. Multiple guys are coming in that can put heat and pressure on the ball. And I thought that was the difference in the game tonight.”
  • Luguentz Dort and RJ Barrett lifted Team Canada to Tuesday’s win, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen. Dort, a surprise starter on the team, was a defensive pest while posting 11 points and three steals. Another mild surprise has been Barrett’s offensive output — he has led the team in scoring in both of its wins.
  • The host nation barely survived against Japan, capturing an overtime win. Team France is now 2-0 in the tournament. “It’s the Olympics. It’s the 12 best teams in the world, so it’s no easy game. You can see that from the beginning; there’s no blowout, except for the USA team. But pretty much every game is close. That’s why you love the Olympics, why you love basketball—to play those games. It was fun tonight,” Nicolas Batum said, per Aris Barkis of Eurohoops.net.
  • France’s next opponent is Germany, which is also 2-0. Germany topped Brazil, 86-73, led by Dennis Schröder, who had 20 points and six assists, and Franz Wagner, who supplied 17 points.

Team Canada Finalizes 2024 Olympic Roster

The Canadian national team has formally announced its 12-man roster for the Paris Olympics, making its final cuts ahead of Wednesday’s exhibition games against Team USA.

Team Canada’s 12-man squad is as follows:

While the group obviously isn’t as star-studded as the U.S. roster, it’s headed up by a 2024 MVP finalist (Gilgeous-Alexander) and a guard who was the second-best player on the 2023 NBA champions (Murray). In total, it features 10 active NBA players, and all of them played regular roles for their respective teams in 2023/24.

The only two non-NBA players are Birch, who spent six seasons in the league but now plays in Spain, and Ejim, a former Iowa State standout and a Team Canada veteran who has been a productive contributor for several teams in Europe since 2014.

Andrew Wiggins is among the notable names missing from Team Canada’s squad for Paris. He was on the original training camp roster but withdrew right before camp began due to what the Warriors referred to a mutual decision. Various reports, however, suggested that Golden State was the party driving that decision.

Grizzlies rookie Zach Edey also removed his name from the training camp roster in order to focus on Summer League and his first NBA season.

Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe and Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, both of whom were coming off injuries that ended their 2023/24 seasons, were among the players who attended training camp but weren’t in the mix for roster spots for the Paris Olympics. Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller was in that group too.

This will be the first time Canada has been in the men’s basketball event at the Olympics since 2000.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Murray Headline Canada’s Preliminary Olympic Roster

Canada Basketball has formally announced its preliminary roster for the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris. The 20-man group will have to be trimmed to 12 players for Paris.

Here are the 20 players vying for spots on Team Canada’s Olympic roster, which will be coached by new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez:

All 12 players who helped Canada clinch an Olympic berth and claim a bronze medal at the 2023 World Cup are included in the preliminary roster, along with several notable newcomers, including Murray, Wiggins, Lyles, and Nembhard.

Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe and Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, whose seasons ended earlier due to injuries, will also attend training camp with Team Canada, but won’t be in the mix for roster spots this summer, according to today’s announcement.

Even without Sharpe or Mathurin in the mix, the Canadians can put together a formidable NBA-heavy squad that should be in contention for a medal in Paris. Gilgeous-Alexander, Barrett, Brooks, Dort, Powell, Olynyk, and Alexander-Walker were the top seven players on last year’s squad and look like relatively safe bets to represent Canada again. If Murray, Wiggins, Lyles, and Nembhard were to join them, that would leave just one open spot for the remaining nine invitees.

One notable omission from the 20-man preliminary roster is veteran guard Cory Joseph, who spoke to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca earlier this week to express his disappointment about being left off the list. Joseph was unable to compete for a spot on the World Cup team last year due to a back injury, but was among the 14 players who made a commitment in 2022 to be part of Canada’s “summer core” for the current Olympic cycle.

“I took the honor of playing for your country very seriously and did it many times over the years,” Joseph told Grange. “This is not me complaining, I’m not a complainer. But there were times when I put FIBA basketball and playing for my country over my NBA situation at the time, whether I was in a contract year and I had no contract at the time and I went to go play for my country, whether I had little bumps and tweaks, I was there. Whether guys came or not, I always thought we still had a chance. For me it’s a little disheartening to be like, ‘Wow, I wasn’t even given an opportunity to compete for whatever position?’

“… I had planned to go to camp, and when you’re talking about the (last three or four spots) on the roster, there’s a pool of talented guys you could put on the roster, (but) I don’t see, in that situation, where I wouldn’t at least be invited to camp to be one of those guys (to compete for a spot), so that’s where my disappointment is with the organization. … I don’t want to take away from the fact that Canada Basketball is in a great place. This is not that. I love all those guys. I want them to do well. Quote that. I just think I should have been invited to camp at the very least, 100 per cent.”

Team Canada will hold its training camp in Toronto from June 28 to July 7 before heading to Las Vegas for an exhibition game vs. Team USA on July 10. The Canadians will also play exhibition matches with France on July 19 and the winner of the Puerto Rico Olympic qualifying tournament on July 21.

Canada will be in Group A at the Olympics, along with Australia. The group will be filled out by the winners of the qualifying tournaments in Spain and Greece.

Injury Notes: Leonard, Barrett, Quickley, Mitchell, Ingram

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will miss the team’s game on Tuesday against the Kings due to right knee soreness, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Leonard, who played 37 minutes and scored 23 points against the Hornets on Sunday, returned to Los Angeles on Monday for treatment. His status for Thursday’s game against the Nuggets is uncertain.

The fact that Leonard’s flared up is a troubling development for the Clippers, who are pointing toward to a deep playoff run. Leonard has appeared in 68 games this season, his most since the 2016/17 campaign. Norman Powell will move into the starting lineup in his place, Youngmisuk tweets.

We have more injury-related news to pass along:

  • RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley are active for the Raptors’ game against the Lakers tonight, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Barrett hasn’t played since March 11 due to personal reasons and re-conditioning. Quickley has been out since March 17 for the same reasons.
  • The Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, who has been battling a sore left knee, will miss Tuesday’s game against Utah, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. It’s the first game of a back-to-back, with Cleveland facing Phoenix on Wednesday. Mitchell has appeared in 51 games this season and is ineligible for postseason awards.
  • There’s optimism that Brandon Ingram will be back in action for the Pelicans next week, The Athletic’s said Shams Charania during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run It Back program (video link). “Brandon Ingram is going to be reevaluated at the end of the week, that’ll be the two-week mark, and the hope is by that three-week mark next week, he’s going to be back in the lineup,” Charania said. Ingram is working his way back from a left knee bone contusion.

Raptors Notes: Porter, Agbaji, Size, March, Barrett

Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. defended his brother — Raptors forward Jontay Porter — who is at the center of an NBA investigation regarding betting irregularities, according to ESPN. The elder Porter said his younger brother Jontay wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his NBA career.

The investigation is the result of prop bets involving Jontay on Jan. 26 and March 20, games in which he exited early and his unders were described by DraftKings as the No. 1 money-making bet in each of those games. Jontay hasn’t publicly addressed the situation and has missed the past three games for personal reasons. He’s averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 26 games (five starts) on a two-way deal with the Raptors this season.

Michael Porter Jr. said he had no more details than the media did but that he vouched for Jontay, who has been more than happy to be in Toronto on a two-way deal this season.

Jontay loves the game of basketball… I’ve known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is and I know he’s excited to play basketball, and I highly doubt he would do anything to put that in jeopardy,” said Michael, who also discussed how betting affects players, including how they receive backlash if they don’t play up to the bettors’ standards.

So, it’s a part of the game now. I think that it’s obviously a dangerous habit. It’s a dangerous vice for people,” he said. “You know, the love of money is the root of all evil. So, I think that even though it is a thing, we as players just have to accept that. We get paid a lot of money to play this game, and I know these people, these fans, they want to make some money, as well. It’s definitely something that has kind of taken over the sporting world — I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

We have more from the Raptors:

  • Ochai Agbaji had a scary fall on Wednesday against the Knicks, landing hard on his back and being down for several minutes before being helped to the locker room, The New York Post’s Peter Botte observes. Agbaji did not return with a right hip contusion. After the game, head coach Darko Rajakovic said Agbaji got X-rays but they didn’t show any signs of a fracture. “For a second it was really scary because he couldn’t move at all,” Rajakovic said. Agbaji won’t play on Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen (Twitter link), but he’s all good and seems to mainly just be sore.
  • After trading away OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa, the Raptors are lacking in size, Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange writes. Jakob Poeltl, Chris Boucher and Scottie Barnes, as well as Agbaji and Porter, are out. That left the Raptors with just Kelly Olynyk, Jalen McDaniels and Jordan Nwora as the only players on the standard roster available on Wednesday who were 6’8″ or above — 6’9″ two-way forward Mouhamadou Gueye was available as well.
  • The Raptors are heading into their final game of March at 1-13 in the month, with the sole win coming in a five-point home win over the 18-55 Hornets. This month has also featured losses to the 14-60 Wizards and 13-61 Pistons, as well as the franchise’s record for biggest home loss set two different times (41 points on March 5 against the Pelicans and 44 points on Wednesday against New York). As Koreen writes, the Raptors were on pace for 31 wins at the time of Barnes’ injury and they’ve been without their four most important players. Koreen opines that even though this month has been abysmal, it shouldn’t make fans doubt the Anunoby or Pascal Siakam trades, noting that the Raptors at least have a direction after three straight middling seasons.
  • RJ Barrett had his first media session on Friday following the tragic passing of his brother. “Basketball is my sanctuary, so this actually brings me peace,” Barrett said. “It helps me every day to be here, and also just be on a schedule and just be around the guys. Hanging out with your teammates… they’re funny, you get to hang out with them, you get to go practice and even support the guys when I’m not playing. Whatever it is, just being around has been helping a lot.” The Raptors organization and his teammates have tried to support Barrett and were all on hand for the funeral last week in Ontario, according to Grange.