Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Notes: Birch, Anunoby, Watanabe, Boucher, Banton

November 25th, 2021 at 6:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors center Khem Birch has already been ruled out for Friday’s game in Indiana, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. It’ll be the fifth game in a row that Birch has missed, but head coach Nick Nurse doesn’t view the swelling in the big man’s right knee as a serious issue.

“There seems to be nothing really wrong with it other than it’s not handling some wear and tear, I guess, and it’s going up and down a little bit in the last couple weeks,” Nurse said before Wednesday’s game, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

The only other player on Toronto’s injury report for Friday is OG Anunoby, who is once again listed as questionable due to his left hip pointer. Anunoby was also listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest but was ultimately held out of his fourth straight game.

Let’s round up a few more Raptors-related items…

Yuta Watanabe made his season debut on Wednesday after missing more than a month due to a calf injury. While his offensive numbers were modest (three points on 0-of-3 shooting), Watanabe made a strong impression on Nurse and the Raptors with his performance, which included two steals and two blocks in 14 minutes. “I thought (Watanabe’s play) was awesome,” Nurse said after the game, per Koreen. “I just think he ran down some loose balls — and we were really having some trouble doing that — he kept a few of them alive on the offensive end, got a great block. Just some really good, hard play.”
If Watanabe hangs onto a regular rotation role, it’ll put Chris Boucher in danger of losing minutes, Koreen observes. Boucher averaged 24.2 minutes per game last season, but has played just 13.9 MPG this season and logged only seven minutes on Wednesday. Boucher is at his best when he’s blocking shots on defense and hitting threes on offense, but his numbers in both categories have dropped off this season, making it hard to justify playing him much, Koreen writes.
The Raptors are getting all they expected and more from second-round pick Dalano Banton, says Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The rookie is one of just three players on the roster who has appeared in all 19 games so far, and he’s earning praise from team leaders like Fred VanVleet. “The kid is really talented,” VanVleet said of Banton. “He doesn’t make a ton of mistakes and he plays really hard. He’s fearless and I like him.”

And-Ones: Ferrell, Red Sox Owners, Mobley, Allen

November 25th, 2021 at 11:14am CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA guard Yogi Ferrell has left Greece’s Panathinaikos in order to seek a better opportunity, per Stavros Barbarousis of EuroHoops.net. Ferrell was unhappy with his limited role — he was averaging just eight minutes in five EuroLeague games. The 28-year-old point guard was waived by the Clippers in September after spending the last five years in the NBA.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Fenway Sports Group wants to buy an NBA team once its acquisition of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins is completed, Axios’ Dan Primack reports. FSG has been buying marquee franchises in different geographic markets. It not only owns the Boston Red Sox, it also has also acquired a NASCAR team and the Liverpool F.C. soccer club. Additionally, it has an investment in Spring Hill Group, a content production firm co-founded by LeBron James.
Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley tops ESPN’s first rookie power rankings this season. Writer Mike Schmitz ranks the Raptors’ Scottie Barnes and the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham second and third, respectively. Mobley is currently out due to an elbow injury.
Tony Allen has asked the Grizzlies to postpone his jersey retirement until next season, according to Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Allen is currently dealing with federal charges for his alleged role in a multi-million dollar health insurance fraud scheme. Allen’s jersey retirement was scheduled for January 28.

Raptors Could Have Fully Healthy Roster Soon

November 24th, 2021 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

For the first time this season, the Raptors may have a fully healthy roster later this week, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. As Smith writes, Yuta Watanabe (calf) and OG Anunoby (hip) are both close to returning, while Khem Birch (knee) and Precious Achiuwa (shoulder) are day-to-day. All four players are currently listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. Memphis.

Lowry Looking To “Move The Needle” With Heat

November 22nd, 2021 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kyle Lowry chose the Heat in free agency because they felt he “could move the needle” for them in pursuit of a championship, he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated.

The Heat worked out a sign-and-trade with the Raptors in which Lowry received a three year deal worth approximately $85MM.

“This is my first year here, but it was the situation where I feel like they wanted to move the needle,” Lowry said. “They wanted to find a way to move the needle and no matter what my age is, I’m still able to move the needle. I’m still playing at a high level. My job is to make everybody else better, to make our team better.”

Thus far, Lowry is averaging 12.0 PPG and 7.6 APG in his first season with Miami.

Lowry offered up some other insights and revelations in his interview with Spears:

There were some family considerations in his decision to play with the Heat: “It was very bittersweet because I never wanted to leave (the Raptors). But it was more a sense of: ‘All right, my kids are getting older. I want to be somewhere where they can be stable no matter what.’ And, yeah, everybody says you could just live in Canada, but you’d have to get a Canadian citizenship to live there. And I don’t think I would’ve lived there for the rest of my life.”
He considers Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam “family” and is glad they’ve become the faces of the Toronto franchise: “They will get more of the attention now. I would take all the blame because I wanted to. I never wanted them to have to deal with that stuff, because I just felt I could take the world on my shoulders. And they can, too, but now it’s theirs. I left the franchise in a great place.”
The desire to win a second NBA championship drives him: “I love my ring, but I want to have another one. I want to be able to wear two of them. I’ve got an [Olympic] gold medal. It was a great feeling. I got an NBA championship. I need to get back to that.”
Regardless of what happens in Miami, Lowry wants to be remembered as the Raptors point guard on their championship team: “I’ll say it now, I will sign a one-day contract and I’ll retire as a Toronto Raptor. That is my everything.”

Canada’s Travel Rules For Unvaccinated Athletes To Change In January

November 22nd, 2021 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

Professional athletes who have not yet received one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines won’t be allowed to travel to Canada beginning on January 15, minister of public safety Marco Mendicino announced on Friday (link via CBC.ca).

Currently, NBA players who aren’t fully vaccinated are permitted to enter the country and play against the Raptors in Toronto under a national interest exemption. However, Mendicino said that exemption will be scrapped in January due to the widespread availability of the COVID-19 vaccines. Players who remain unvaccinated will be ineligible to play in games in Toronto as of January 15.

Although the change figures to affect several players around the NBA, it won’t impact many of the league’s most noteworthy unvaccinated players. For instance, Bradley Beal and the Wizards will make their final visit of the season to Toronto on December 5, at which point Beal will still be permitted to play. Jonathan Isaac‘s Magic will make their last trip to Toronto on December 20.

Kyrie Irving‘s Nets will play in Toronto on March 1, but unless New York City alters its own vaccine mandate, there’s no indication Irving will be playing by then. Michael Porter Jr. is also reportedly unvaccinated, but the Nuggets forward may still be sidelined due to his back injury when the team travels to Toronto on February 12.

During training camp, the Raptors indicated that they were one second dose away from having a fully vaccinated roster, so no Toronto players should be affected by the change.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Fournier, Durant, Harden

November 20th, 2021 at 10:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam erupted for 32 points and eight rebounds against Sacramento on Friday, his sixth game after recovering from shoulder surgery. Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets that Siakam, who bounced back from a four-point game against Utah, is still trying to gain a rhythm.

“Last game I felt like I was running in mud the whole game,” Siakam said. “It’s just waking up every day continuing to push forward knowing it’s going to be tough, but once I get that rhythm and my legs under me I know what I can do, and I have to focus on that.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Evan Fournier, the Knicks’ major sign-and-trade acquisition this summer, hasn’t been playing in fourth quarters lately and it’s been an adjustment for the swingman, Mark Sanchez of the New York Post writes. “I think the situation right now is I don’t know how many minutes I’m going to play, so I have to have the mindset of: If I’m going to play 20 minutes, then just come out the gate with extreme energy,” he said. “Being very alert. Being ultra-aggressive. And trying to have an impact.”
Kevin Durant missed his first game of the season on Friday due to a shoulder ailment. The Nets are trying to figure out how much to play Durant and James Harden during the regular season without wearing them out prior to the postseason, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “I think that we definitely are going to look for our spots to protect them,” Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said. “We just have to be very strategic. We’re a new team trying to find itself and trying to form that identity. Those guys are super-competitive, so they want to play. It’s a tricky balance.”
The league’s crackdown on offensive moves in which players move into defender’s bodies to draw fouls has affected Harden. He’s going to the line less and committing more turnovers, Sanchez notes. The Nets star says he’s still getting used to the new parameters. “We’re in a little bit of a funk right now in a sense of just everything,” Harden said.

Atlantic Notes: Watanabe, Knicks Offense, Irving, Millsap

November 18th, 2021 at 6:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors’ Yuta Watanabe initially feared he tore his Achilles when he injured his left leg early in the preseason, he told Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Watanabe was diagnosed with a calf strain that has continued to keep him out of action. He aggravated the injury in a preseason practice with the team’s G League squad.

“Really frustrating,” Watanabe said. “My leg is painful, but what is the most painful is now that (my teammates are) playing basketball — like, that’s what I love doing it. So it’s been very stressful, to be honest. I just love playing basketball.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks retooled their roster with the additions of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier but the offense has deteriorated almost game by game, Steve Popper of Newsday notes. The Knicks are 19th in the league in field goal percentage. “It’s just weird out there right now,” Julius Randle said. “That’s the best way I could describe it. It’s just kind of weird and just a little bit choppy and we’re just trying to figure it out. I think everybody’s hearts and intentions are in the right place. It’s just a little weird right now.”
A lopsided loss to Golden State and Stephen Curry this week showed how much the Nets miss Kyrie Irving, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. Curry had 37 points, including nine 3-pointers, on just 19 shots as Brooklyn couldn’t keep up with the red-hot Warriors.
Nets forward Paul Millsap has been away from the team but it’s not related to his limited playing time this season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. “Paul’s away for personal reasons and that’s totally separate from basketball,” coach Steve Nash said. Millsap joined the Nets on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.

Raptors’ Anunoby To Miss Time Due To Hip Pointer

November 18th, 2021 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward OG Anunoby has been ruled out for Thursday’s game vs. Utah due to a hip pointer, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Head coach Nick Nurse said today that the injury could keep Anunoby out for “a while,” Grange adds.

Nurse’s wording is vague and the club hasn’t announced a more concrete recovery timeline, but a hip pointer can be a week-to-week injury, depending on the severity. Anunoby apparently injured his hip during a Raptors practice earlier this week, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star (Twitter link).

Anunoby, 24, has been the Raptors’ leading scorer through 15 games (37.3 MPG), averaging 20.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG on .430/.366/.825 shooting while providing his usual excellent defense.

Toronto figures to run out a more traditional starting five as long as Anunoby remains on the shelf. The team has been experimenting with Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Scottie Barnes in the starting lineup together alongside guards Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. Without Anunoby available, Siakam and Barnes will likely start at forward alongside a big man such as Khem Birch or Chris Boucher.

Powell/Trent Trade Working Out Well For Both Teams

November 18th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Blazers’ game vs. the Raptors on Monday was a reminder that last season’s Norman Powell/Gary Trent Jr. swap is working out pretty well for both teams, as Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Powell has remained a highly efficient scorer in Portland this season, averaging 16.8 PPG on .494/.438/.818 shooting, while Trent has been a ball hawk on defense in Toronto, leading the NBA in total deflections and steals.

Flynn Trying To Earn More Minutes; VanVleet Heartbeat Of Team

November 17th, 2021 at 9:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Second-year guard Malachi Flynn has mostly been out of the Raptors‘ rotation this season, and whether he should get more minutes is a complicated question, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Smith notes that the Raptors have struggled with shooting and on defense recently, and he thinks Flynn is better at those two areas than backup rookie point guard Dalano Banton. However, Smith opines that another change to the rotation might be rough for a team struggling with consistency. Flynn says he’s putting the onus on himself to show the team he’s worthy of more playing time. “I’m not pointing the finger at anybody. I’m taking it upon myself. What can I do to help myself? That’s the only thing I can control. It’s definitely easier said than done, but that’s what I’m trying to do,” Flynn said.
In a separate article, Smith writes that Fred VanVleet has become the vocal leader of the Raptors after Kyle Lowry‘s departure. VanVleet says he always comes from a place of respect and winning. “I’m not always right, but my heart’s in the right place and I can usually live with myself knowing that I try to respect the guys as men first. We’re all equal in the locker room. We all say: We want to win, and any conversation after that we’ll figure it out,” VanVleet said.