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Latest On Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving

July 18th, 2022 at 9:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are a logical trade partner for the Nets in a potential Kevin Durant blockbuster due to their assets and attractive trade pieces. However, Toronto is unwilling to part with forward Scottie Barnes after his stellar rookie campaign and Brooklyn has insisted Barnes be part of the package, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on the “Get Up” morning show (video link).

“Toronto doesn’t want to part with Scottie Barnes. That’s their stance,” he said. “Brooklyn, right now, wouldn’t consider a deal (with the Raptors) without Scottie Barnes.”

Barnes averaged 15.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 3.5 APG as a rookie while flashing All-Star potential.

We have more on the Nets’ efforts to trade Durant and Kyrie Irving:

  • Durant and Irving know that neither will be dealt any time soon and have accepted that reality, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Quoting a source, Zagoria writes that the duo “know behind the scenes that it’s difficult, that it’s unlikely to happen” due to the Nets’ high asking price for each player. The source added that the duo “plotted” their exit and “realized very quickly” that a quick resolution wasn’t in the cards.
  • Durant requested a trade before his four-year extension kicked in. That’s one of the reasons why the market for his services has been lukewarm at best, Marc Stein writes in a Substack article. Clubs interested in Durant are worried more about keeping him happy over the next few seasons to avert another trade demand than they are about any decline in his skills. Durant turns 34 next month.
  • Guard Langston Galloway is one of many free agents still looking for an NBA offer. Galloway told Robin Fambrough of the Baton Rouge Advocate that the Durant-Irving saga has impacted him and other players on the market. “Right now (Durant) and (Irving) are holding things up,” Galloway said. “Once what those guys do is decided, things will fall into place for the rest of us.”
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Kevin Durant Rumors: Leverage, Raptors, Bridges, Suns

July 14th, 2022 at 1:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on NBA Today on Wednesday (video link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said the Nets have been been “really turned off” by the offers they’ve received for Kevin Durant thus far.

“If some of the trade packages that have been floated to me are true, I agree with them, I think that they should expect more for Kevin Durant with four years left on his contract,” Windhorst said. “But the other teams in the league just don’t believe that the Nets have a lot of leverage here… and the offers they are making are reflective of that belief.”

As Windhorst details, the Nets are acting as though they’re fine with holding onto Durant into the season if acceptable offers aren’t presented. As of yesterday, Windhorst said that he wasn’t “sensing any traction” on a potential trade.

A source tells Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca that Brooklyn has an “unreasonably high” asking price for the star forward, and the Raptors have been unwilling to include Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes or the maximum amount of first-round picks in any Durant offer to this point. The two sides have had preliminary discussions regarding Durant, but nothing serious.

Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports that there has been talk during Summer League indicating that the Suns have been reluctant to include Mikal Bridges in a package for Durant, which is part of the reason why there has been no headway on a deal. Those around the league refer to Bridges as the “key piece” in any offer.

Frankly, if those rumors are true, it sounds like Windhorst might be right about the lack of suitable offers for Durant.

If Bridges hasn’t been included, then the Suns aren’t serious about acquiring Durant at this stage. Bridges is a high-quality role player and a very good defender, but Durant is an all-time great.

The Raptors have other possible pieces to dangle, like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. and Precious Achiuwa — so their reluctance to include Barnes or the full complement of future first-rounders is more understandable. I don’t include Fred VanVleet in that group because I don’t think Toronto would consider moving him — he’s too important to the team’s culture, plus his on-court production improves nearly every season.

Even if he’s entering his age-34 season, Durant performed at an MVP-caliber level when he was healthy last season, averaging 29.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 6.4 APG on .518/.383/.910 shooting in 55 games (37.2 MPG). He’s a 12-time All-Star, a four-time scoring champion, has been named to 10 All-NBA teams, is a former MVP and a two-time Finals MVP — a résumé doesn’t get much more stacked than that.

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Kevin Durant Rumors: Price Tag, Raptors, Pelicans, Warriors

July 12th, 2022 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Reporting from the Las Vegas Summer League, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype says there’s skepticism among league insiders that a Kevin Durant trade will happen anytime soon, and a sense that the situation could linger into training camp.

According to Scotto, five executives he spoke to in Vegas felt as if Minnesota overpaid to acquire Rudy Gobert and increased the Nets‘ asking price for Durant in the process, creating a larger gap between what Brooklyn wants and what potential suitors are willing to give up. One GM told Scotto that he believes Durant is worth “a James Harden-type package.” It’s unclear if that’s a reference to the price paid for Harden by the Nets or the 76ers.

Scotto suggests it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Nets hang onto Durant for a while and wait for a “Godfather offer.” If that offer doesn’t come, the Nets may hope the former MVP changes his mind about wanting a trade and is satisfied to remain in Brooklyn at least for the time being.

Here’s more on the Durant market from Scotto:

  • The Raptors are still “hesitant” to include Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes in any offer for Durant, league sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto speculates that a package centered around Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. could be Toronto’s starting point, but notes that the Nets would want more. Scotto is unsure how willing the Raptors are to put OG Anunoby in a package for Durant.
  • According to Scotto, multiple executives are skeptical that the Pelicans will make a strong push for Durant instead of seeing how a healthy Zion Williamson meshes with the promising roster that made the playoffs in 2021/22. Scotto adds that some execs also believe Durant wouldn’t want to be dealt to New Orleans.
  • The Warriors wouldn’t be inclined to give up all of their promising young players – Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody – in a trade for Durant, says Scotto.
  • According to Scotto, some rival executives think the Spurs and Pacers are preserving their remaining cap room to see if they can be a salary-dumping ground in a multi-team Durant trade, netting draft assets in the process.
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Fischer’s Latest: Ayton, Durant, S. Barnes, Kyrie

July 6th, 2022 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

Deandre Ayton appears to have been the free agent most directly affected by the ongoing Kevin Durant sweepstakes, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

As Fischer outlines, Ayton’s restricted free agency has been stalled in part because he could theoretically be an outgoing piece in a Suns deal for Durant and also because teams with interest in both players – including Toronto – won’t want to give up assets in a sign-and-trade for Ayton before seeing what happens with Durant.

According to Fischer, the Pacers and Raptors have been the teams most frequently linked to Ayton, with the Jazz described as a less likely destination for the young center. The Pacers and Spurs are the only teams that have the cap flexibility necessary to realistically extend an offer sheet to Ayton. It’s unclear whether he’d rather try to pursue a deal with one of them or wait for a possible sign-and-trade opportunity to a team closer to contention, Fischer says.

One hypothetical scenario is a multi-team trade that sends Durant to Phoenix; Ayton to Indiana in a sign-and-trade; and Myles Turner, multiple Suns wings, and draft capital to Brooklyn. However, Fischer hears from sources that such a package is unlikely to meet the Nets’ high asking price for Durant.

Here’s more from Fischer:

  • League personnel have begun to discuss the possibility of the Nets simply hanging onto Durant and Kyrie Irving into the regular season, according to Fischer. “Rudy Gobert getting traded for an arm, a leg and two mountains is helping their cause. There’s no way the Nets will ever trade Kevin Durant for anything less than what Rudy Gobert got Utah,” a Western Conference executive told Fischer. “If nothing comes, I can see them saying (to the players), ‘We just all have to come back.’ If I’m them, I just try to string this out as long as possible.”
  • As has been previously reported, there’s skepticism that the Suns will be able to build a package that appeals to the Nets without getting at least one more team involved. “Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and five picks still isn’t enough to me for KD,” one GM said to Bleacher Report.
  • Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell Fischer that the Raptors remain unwilling to part with Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.
  • Fischer’s league sources “strongly discounted” the idea that either the Mavericks or Sixers is a serious suitor for Irving. The Lakers remain Brooklyn’s most obvious trade partner for Kyrie, but there’s a sense that they may need to involve a third team to meet the Nets‘ asking price — a package of Russell Westbrook and draft assets wouldn’t maximize Brooklyn’s chances of contending in the short term, Fischer explains.
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Latest On Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving

July 6th, 2022 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

Both Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (appearing on NBA Today) and Shams Charania of The Athletic (appearing on The Pat McAfee Show) stressed on Tuesday that the Nets‘ trade of Kevin Durant could take some time, with the team in no rush to make a deal.

While Wojnarowski observed that being able to have face-to-face conversations with other teams at the Las Vegas Summer League starting this week could help the Nets gather some momentum toward an agreement, he and Charania both noted that many past superstar trades – such as James Harden to Brooklyn or Anthony Davis to Los Angeles – have taken several months to come together.

There has been no indication that Durant will rescind his trade request and happily report to Brooklyn in the fall if the Nets have trouble finding a deal they like, says Charania. However, the Nets have been telling teams that until their asking price (All-Star caliber players and a “boatload” of draft picks) is met, they won’t move the former MVP, according to Charania.

Here’s more on Durant and his teammate and fellow trade candidate Kyrie Irving:

  • Wojnarowski said on NBA Today that he views the Raptors as the most “seamless” one-on-one trade partner for the Nets with Durant, since other suitors like the Suns and Heat would probably require a third team to get anything done. Wojnarowski said that “people should be watching” the Raptors, while ESPN’s Bobby Marks said during an NBA Today appearance of his own (video link) that he considers Toronto the “leader in the clubhouse.”
  • Appearing on Sportsnet The Fan’s Morning Show in Toronto (audio link), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst expressed some skepticism that the Raptors will be willing to put Scottie Barnes into an offer for Durant.
  • Wojnarowski views the Nets’ Tuesday deals with T.J. Warren and Edmond Sumner as another signal that they aren’t looking to rebuild and will want “good players” in any Durant trade. Marks, meanwhile, believes those agreements are a sign that no Durant deal is imminent and the Nets recognized they needed to start filling out their roster rather than waiting for a 5-for-1 type trade to materialize.
  • Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer makes a case for why he views New Orleans as the most logical landing spot for Durant and why he thinks the Pelicans have more than enough assets to get a deal done.
  • According to Wojnarowski, the Nets and Lakers are engaged in a “dance” over the Irving negotiations and don’t appear to have made serious inroads toward a deal. On The Pat McAfee Show (video link), Charania agreed, suggesting that it’s not a lock Kyrie will end up in L.A. “There’s no traction on any type of a Lakers deal for Kyrie Irving,” Charania said. “There’s nothing new on that. I’m not quite sure we’re going to see that take place.
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Kevin Durant Rumors: Raptors, Pelicans, Suns, Heat

July 2nd, 2022 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

After ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggested on Friday that Toronto is “lurking” as a team to watch in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes today that the Raptors believe they can put together the best package for Durant that the Nets are likely to receive.

Grange describes the Raptors as “optimistic” rather than “confident,” noting that there’s a sense Durant is at least open to the idea of playing in Toronto, even if the team is not atop his wish list.

However, Grange cautions that the Nets may not agree with the Raptors’ assessment that they can offer the best package for Durant. Additionally, Grange’s story suggests Toronto has remained opposed to making reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes available so far.

While the Raptors have all their future draft picks and have several solid veterans on good contracts – including All-Stars Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, as well as OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. – it’s unclear if they’d be able to make a deal for Durant without putting Barnes on the table.

“That’s the billion-dollar question,” one source said to Grange.

Here’s more on Durant:

  • In the latest episode of ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast (video link), Tim Bontemps said he believes “Toronto thinks it’s in the game” in the Durant sweepstakes, while Brian Windhorst said he still considers the Suns the favorites, since it’s rare for superstar players not to end up where they want to go.
  • Windhorst (video link) has heard that the Pelicans view head coach Willie Green – an assistant in Golden State during Durant’s Warriors years – as an asset in the chase for the former MVP. As Windhorst explains, the hope would be that if the Nets like what the Pelicans have to offer, Green would get the opportunity to sell Durant on New Orleans.
  • With New Orleans being mentioned as a possible Durant landing spot, Scott Kushner of NOLA.com wonders whether or not the Pelicans should seriously pursue the 34-year-old.
  • Within his latest look at the Durant situation, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that the Nets would want more than Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges in a trade with the Suns and says that any Heat package built around Tyler Herro “wouldn’t scratch the surface of what the Nets want.”
  • Brooklyn is seeking teams’ best assets, Scotto writes, including All-Stars, rising young players, and “substantial” unprotected draft picks and swaps.
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Barnes, Cunningham, Mobley Head All-Rookie Team

May 18th, 2022 at 7:28pm CST by Rory Maher

Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner and Jalen Green comprised this year’s All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced in a press release.

Barnes, Cunningham and Mobley were all unanimous selections, receiving the maximum total of 200 points each. Wagner received 183 points, followed by Green with 158. Strangely, one media member left Wagner off their ballot completely, as he received 99 of 100 possible votes.

Raptors wing Barnes, who narrowly edged Cavaliers big man Mobley for the Rookie of the Year award, ranked third in points (15.3) and rebounds (7.5) among all rookies, and fifth in assists (3.5). Mobley was fifth in points (15.0) and led all first-year players in rebounds (8.3) and blocks (1.67) per game.

Pistons guard Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, was first among rookies in points (17.4), second in assists (5.6) and fifth in rebounds (5.5). Magic forward Wagner also had a great year, averaging 15.4 points (fourth among rookies), 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 79 games. Rockets guard Green finished the season strong, scoring 20+ points in 17 of his last 25 games on his way to averaging 17.3 points, second among first-year players.

Pelicans defensive ace Herbert Jones (123 votes) and Thunder floor general Josh Giddey (122 votes) headline the Second Team. Jones averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals (first among rookies) and should at least receive votes for an All-Defensive nod, even if he doesn’t end up making one of the two teams.

In addition to averaging 12.5 points, Giddey was second among rookies in rebounds (7.8) and first in assists (6.4), but he only appeared in 54 of 82 games, having missed the final 23 contests with a hip injury, which is likely why he didn’t receive more First Team votes.

Here are both All-Rookie teams in full, with their voting point totals noted in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

2021/22 All-Rookie First Team:

2021/22 All-Rookie Second Team:

Ten other rookies received votes — you can view the full voting results right here. Among the group that missed the cut, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (47) was just behind Duarte, with Kings guard Davion Mitchell (28) the only other player receiving a significant number of votes.

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And-Ones: Cotton, 2021 Re-Draft, Pro Days, G League Camp

April 30th, 2022 at 11:57am CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran guard Bryce Cotton, the top player in Australia’s National Basketball League, isn’t planning a return to the NBA. The Perth Wildcats have reached a contract extension agreement with the three-time NBL MVP, Sportando’s Dario Skerletic reports. Cotton, 29, averaged 22.7 PPG and 4.8 APG last season. He played a total of 23 games for Utah, Phoenix and Memphis from 2014-16.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • How would last year’s draft look if it were held now? The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie explores that topic, ranking those players on how they performed this year, whether they can improve upon their weaknesses and how they figure to grow and mature. The top five, in order, would be Cade Cunningham, Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley, Jalen Green and Franz Wagner, Vecenie says.
  • The NBA has sent memo to teams informing them that agency Pro Days will only be permitted during two windows — the week of the NBA Combine from May 16-21 and in Southern California from May 25-27, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets.
  • The NBA G League Elite Camp will have workouts May 16-17 in Chicago and the Combine will run workouts from May 18-20, Adam Zagoria tweets.
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Raptors Notes: Barnes, Offseason, Young, Achiuwa

April 29th, 2022 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors were unable to complete a historic comeback after falling behind 3-0 in their first-round series with the Sixers, getting blown out in the second half of Thursday’s Game 6. Still, Toronto exceeded expectations this season, having come into the year as a projected lottery team.

“I think we took a lot of steps,” standout forward Pascal Siakam said after Thursday’s loss, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. “We got a lot better over the season. It was obviously up and down, but we did get better. Knowing this team and our front office and the people that we have in the organization, I know that the goal is to continue to get better and improve and be a way better team next year.”

Besides getting an impressive bounce-back season from Siakam, who is a legitimate All-NBA candidate, the Raptors saw players like Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. take another step forward and Precious Achiuwa evolve from a roll of the dice into a potential long-term cornerstone.

The team’s biggest win, according to Lewenberg, was the selection of Scottie Barnes in last year’s draft — it’s “impossible to overstate his importance” to the team and its future on the heels of his Rookie of the Year debut, Lewenberg writes.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • Despite the strides the Raptors made in 2021/22, there are important areas that need to be addressed. In particular, the club needs to add more shooting, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto’s lack of shooting was its undoing against Philadelphia, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who notes that the team made just 7-of-35 (20.0%) three-pointers in Game 6 and 29.9% for the series. While Fred VanVleet‘s injury absence contributed to those struggles, the team could still use another outside threat or two.
  • Upgrading the bench will be another top priority for the Raptors this summer, Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) writes in his offseason preview. Toronto has Bird rights on both Thaddeus Young and Chris Boucher and could re-sign them without dipping into its mid-level exception. The front office has also shown a knack for identifying young talent outside of the draft lottery, Marks adds, so the No. 33 pick could be useful for adding an inexpensive contributor.
  • Within his preview, Marks notes that VanVleet will become extension-eligible in July and Siakam will become eligible for a new deal in October. Both players are on contracts that run through 2024, though VanVleet has a player option for 2023/24 and could theoretically become a free agent in ’23.
  • Speaking on Friday to reporters, Young conveyed how impressed he was with the Raptors after coming over from San Antonio at February’s trade deadline. “This organization is elite,” Young said, per Lewenberg (Twitter link). “One of the top I’ve ever been a part of… I loved everything about this experience. As far as the team, the sky is the limit… This team can be really, really scary.” Young added that his family will be his top priority as he enters free agency and didn’t rule out the possibility of undergoing surgery on his injured thumb (Twitter links via Koreen and Grange).
  • The pairing of Achiuwa and the Raptors represents a perfect marriage between a player and an organizational philosophy, Koreen writes for The Athletic. The team’s willingness to experiment with Achiuwa rather than trying to rein him in or pigeonhole him has paid dividends so far, says Koreen.
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Scottie Barnes Returning For Game 4

April 23rd, 2022 at 12:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

12:25pm: Scottie Barnes will play in Game 4 against the Sixers on Sunday, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link).

11:52am: After expressing some doubt that standout Raptors rookie forward Scottie Barnes would be available for Toronto during a must-win Game 4, head coach Nick Nurse was singing a different tune today. Nurse said that Barnes was running throughout conditioning tests and could “possibly” return to the floor for the Raptors today, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice (Twitter link).

The 6’9″ first-year forward out of Florida State suffered a left ankle sprain during Game 1 of the team’s first-round series against the Sixers, and has been sidelined ever since. Missing Barnes and his 15.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 3.5 APG has been a huge blow for the Raptors. Philadelphia leads Toronto 3-0, and can eliminate the Raptors with a victory today.

Nurse is calling Barnes a game-time decision to return, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter). Bontemps reveals that Barnes was somewhat involved in the team’s practice yesterday. He had his status upgraded from “doubtful” to “questionable” on the Raptors’ newest injury report, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Barnes is the only player listed on Toronto’s injury report at all today.

“It wasn’t too serious,” Nurse said of the ankle injury, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (via Twitter). Lewenberg reports that Nurse does not think Barnes will be under any sort of minutes cap, should he indeed become available.

In more good news for the Raptors, starting shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. has also recovered from the non-coronavirus illness that had limited his efficacy through the series’s first three contests. Nurse said Trent “seems to be all the way through” his ailment, tweets Murphy.

Trent scored a total of nine points through Toronto’s first two games, a far cry from his regular season average of 18.3 PPG. He looked more like his normal self on Wednesday for Game 3, scoring 24 points during the team’s 104-101 overtime loss to the Sixers.

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