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Raptors Notes: Dekker, Bonga, Siakam, Barnes

November 6th, 2021 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors‘ decision to waive Sam Dekker came down to Isaac Bonga having more of the qualities that the organization values, writes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Both players were signed to partially guaranteed deals and had agreed to delay their guarantee dates until today, but keeping both would have inhibited Toronto’s ability to get below the luxury tax threshold.

Dekker improved his outside shot while playing in Turkey last season, but Bonga is 6’8″ with a 7-foot wingspan and can play several positions. At 21, he’s five-and-a-half years younger than Dekker and may be a better investment for the future. Even though Dekker only got into one game for the Raptors, coach Nick Nurse said it wasn’t an easy choice on which player to keep.

“It was pretty close all the way,” Nurse said. “Isaac probably just kind of filled the role that we want. He’s got size, he’s kind of a versatile defender, he’s on the offensive glass. He’s kind of a real role-playing guy that we think we can throw in there at any time. He’s good enough to get into games right now, to be honest with you, but we can’t play everybody. … We were real close on it. Sam was awesome. He spent a lot of time with us from the moment, all the way back from when we first looked at him in the sort-of open run situation, and he spent a lot of time working the job. But it’s the tough side of it, man. Tough side. Sorry to see him go.”

There’s more from Toronto:

Bonga has only played seven total minutes this season, but the Raptors believe he can handle a rotation spot, Murphy adds. He got consistent playing time during his two years with the Wizards, and Toronto identified him as a low-cost target in free agency. Murphy believes the best move for Bonga is to get consistent playing time in the G League, but he and the players union would have to sign off on the move because he’s in his fourth NBA season.
Pascal Siakam is ready for his season debut Sunday after recovering from shoulder surgery and he likes what he has seen from the Raptors in their 6-4 start, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “I wanted to be out there throughout the whole process,” he said, “but I’m excited to be back out there and just be with your teammates and do whatever I can to help.”
Friday’s game with the Cavaliers featured a matchup between two early favorites for Rookie of the Year, and both Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley looked like worthy candidates, according to Steven Loung of Sportsnet.ca. While scoring has a major effect on the voting, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff notes that Barnes and Mobley are special because of what they provide on defense. “Both of those guys are uniquely framed,” he said, “they’re mobile and agile and it gives them an opportunity to be impactful defensively.”

Pascal Siakam To Return On Sunday

November 6th, 2021 at 1:15pm CST by Rory Maher

NOVEMBER 6: Siakam will return from shoulder surgery on Sunday against the Nets, Nurse said today, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link). He’ll be on a minutes restriction and it’s unclear whether he’ll start.

NOVEMBER 5: Raptors forward Pascal Siakam might return to the team’s lineup next week. Head coach Nick Nurse said that Siakam is “getting closer every day,” according to a series of tweets from Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

Nurse stated that Siakam has made significant progress in his return from shoulder surgery, noting that he is ahead of schedule. He will likely start out on a minutes restriction. Siakam was in Los Angeles earlier today receiving clearance from the doctor who performed the surgery, but returned to Toronto and was doing some work on the court before the game tonight versus the Cavaliers.

Nurse also said next Wednesday could be a good opportunity to see whether Siakam is ready to play, as there are two days in between Toronto’s matchups with the Nets on Sunday and the Celtics on Wednesday.

All of the information was relayed by Lewenberg.

Siakam was an All-Star for the first time in 2019/20, but struggled with his shot last season. He’ll be looking to return to form for the surging Raptors, who have won five in a row and are now 6-3.

Here’s a couple more Raptors injury notes:

Forward Yuta Watanabe has been inching closer to a return. Nurse said Watanabe’s movement has improved recently in practices but he’s still “probably a little bit away,” per Lewenberg (Twitter link).
Rookie Scottie Barnes, who missed a couple games with a sprained thumb, returned to the starting lineup tonight against the Cavs.

Raptors Waive Sam Dekker

November 6th, 2021 at 10:47am CST by Rory Maher

NOVEMBER 6: The team has officially waived Dekker, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Bonga’s $1.67MM contract has been fully guaranteed, Lewenberg adds.

NOVEMBER 5: The Raptors are waiving forward Sam Dekker, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Dekker was on a partially guaranteed deal, so he will still earn $350K, the guaranteed portion of his contract.

Dekker had been in a battle with Isaac Bonga for the 14th spot on the roster. Both players previously agreed to push back their guarantee date to November 6.

Dekker only appeared in one regular season game for the Raptors, logging one minute, though he had some nice performances in the preseason. He last played in the NBA in 2018/19, having spent the past two seasons playing in Europe.

The move allows the Raptors to stay under the luxury tax threshold, as was mentioned in our previous articles.

Assuming he clears waivers, Dekker will become an unrestricted free agent.

As for Bonga, it’s unclear if the Raptors intend to guarantee his minimum salary for 2021/22. It’s possible the two sides could agree to push his guarantee date back. He could even be waived too, though the team would have to get back up to 14 players within two weeks in that scenario. For now, his spot on the roster at least appears safer than Dekker’s.

Dekker Cut Keeps Club $618K Under Tax Line

November 6th, 2021 at 9:29am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors decided to waive Sam Dekker before his $1.7MM contract became fully guaranteed on Saturday. That leaves the club $618,540 below the luxury tax, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. That has an added benefit, since tax distribution for teams below the line projects to be $13MM, Marks adds. That estimate figures to change by the end of the season as more projected taxpayers look to duck below the tax line or reduce their bills.
During the offseason, the Raptors re-signed Khem Birch on a three-year contract and did the same with Gary Trent. Thus far, both players are living up their deals, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports writes. “I always told myself if I ever got the opportunity, I would take advantage of it,” Birch said. “So now that I got a contract, I don’t think it’s time to rest. I think it’s time to take advantage of that and also prove myself.”

Atlantic Notes: Noel, Korkmaz, Harris, Achiuwa

November 4th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks center Nerlens Noel made his season debut on Wednesday and drew some praise from his coach, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Noel had been sidelined by knee and hamstring soreness. He had two points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. “For the first game I thought he gave us some really good minutes,” Tom Thibodeau said. “Good activity. Rim protection. Effort plays. A lot of good things.” Noel re-signed with New York this summer on a three-year, $32MM contract.

We have more on the Atlantic Division:

Furkan Korkmaz has changed agents, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. The Sixers wing will now by represented by Jason Glushon and Dan Tobin. Korkmaz re-signed with the team on a three-year, $15MM contract this summer.
Sixers forward Tobias Harris was placed under the league’s health and safety protocols on Wednesday and he’s experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “He’s doing OK, but not great, honestly,” coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s the most I’m gonna say about it. But it hit him, for sure. A lot of guys have had this and they are mad like, ‘What the hell? I’m fine.’ Tobias is not in that category right now.”
Raptors coach Nick Nurse said that Precious Achiuwa earned the starting nod at center and doesn’t plan on making a change despite inconsistent play, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. “We don’t expect (the young guys) to play great every night,” Nurse said. “It doesn’t mean we’ve got to change the starting lineup. I think we just stick with it and see how it goes.” Achiuwa has gone 5-for-27 from the field in his last three games.

Early NBA Salary Guarantee Dates For 2021/22

November 4th, 2021 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

There are currently 30 players on standard NBA contracts whose 2021/22 salaries aren’t yet fully guaranteed. In most cases, those players will receive their full guarantees if they remain under contract through January 7. Because the league-wide salary guarantee date is January 10, a player must clear waivers before that date if a team wants to avoid being on the hook for his full salary.

A handful of players have earlier trigger dates, however. Those players will receive either full guarantees or an increased partial guarantee on certain dates before January 7.

These dates are fairly malleable — if a player and team reach an agreement, they can be pushed back. The Raptors took that route with Isaac Bonga and Sam Dekker, for example. Both players were originally on track to have their full minimum-salary contracts for 2021/22 become guaranteed if they made the team’s opening-night roster. However, they agreed to push their guarantee dates back a few weeks, to November 6.

Those agreements between a player and team aren’t always reported right away, so our list of early salary guarantee dates is a tentative one, based on information from Basketball Insiders, Spotrac, and HoopsHype, as well as our own data.

Here are the salary guarantee dates to watch prior to January 7:

November 6:

Isaac Bonga (Raptors): Partial guarantee ($250,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,729,217).
Sam Dekker (Raptors): Partial guarantee ($350,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,789,256).

December 1:

Chimezie Metu (Kings): Partial guarantee ($881,398) increases to full guarantee ($1,762,796).

December 11:

PJ Dozier (Nuggets): Partial guarantee ($400,000) increases to full guarantee ($1,910,860).

December 15:

DeAndre’ Bembry (Nets): Partial guarantee ($750,000) increases to larger partial guarantee ($1,250,000).
Kenrich Williams (Thunder): Partial guarantee increases to full guarantee ($2,000,000).
- Note: Williams’ partial guarantee is based on a salary of about $11,494 per day. For instance, 30 days into the regular season, he’ll have earned $344,828.

Barnes' Thumb Injury To Be Reevaluated

November 4th, 2021 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes will have his sprained right thumb reevaluated when the team gets back to Toronto on Thursday, per head coach Nick Nurse. (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). [UPDATE: Barnes has been cleared to return on Friday, tweets Lewenberg.]

Raptors Notes: Dragic, Dekker, Bonga, Achiuwa, Barnes

November 3rd, 2021 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors are on a four-game winning streak, but Goran Dragic has been a DNP-CD in all four games, raising questions about his place on the roster. While the veteran point guard clearly isn’t a long-term keeper for the Raptors, there’s no indication that he’ll be traded or bought out anytime soon, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

As Grange explains, it’s too early in the season for any real trade market to develop for Dragic, and it’s unlikely that either the player or the team wants to make significant concessions in a buyout arrangement.

For now then, the two sides remain in an “amicable” holding pattern, says Grange — Dragic will remain on the roster as a respected veteran and talented backup, and his situation will be revisited closer to the February trade deadline.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Within the same story, Grange says the Raptors seem likely to cut either Sam Dekker or Isaac Bonga in the coming days. Both players’ salaries for 2021/22 will become guaranteed if they remain on the roster through November 6 and Toronto can duck under the luxury tax line by waiving one or the other. Dekker and Bonga have played a combined eight total minutes this season, and would be pushed further down the depth chart once Pascal Siakam and Yuta Watanabe return from their respective injuries.
Precious Achiuwa was one of the Raptors’ key offseason acquisitions, but the young center has experienced some growing pains so far this season. As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, head coach Nick Nurse benched Achiuwa in favor of backup center Khem Birch to open the second half of the team’s win over the Knicks on Monday. Although Birch doesn’t have Achiuwa’s upside, the veteran has exhibited better fundamentals, playing solid team defense, setting screens, and rebounding.
Rookie forward Scottie Barnes will miss a second straight game on Wednesday vs. Washington due to a right thumb sprain, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

Agent: Pascal Siakam Could Be Back Within Two Weeks

November 2nd, 2021 at 5:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Agent Todd Ramasar, who represents Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, told Justin Termine of NBA Today on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link) that Siakam is set to re-join his teammates on the court within two weeks.

Siakam tore his left labrum in May, and went under the knife to surgically repair the injured shoulder in June. The 27-year-old recently resumed practicing with the club, as well as with its G League affiliate, Raptors 905, as he continues to rehabilitate.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweets that Siakam’s shoulder needs to be given the green light by his surgeon in Los Angeles. Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca notes (via Twitter) that Siakam’s timeline remains aligned with the Raptors’ original projection for his return following the surgery five months ago.

The 6’9″ forward was a crucial part of Toronto’s 2019 championship-winning team, and is hoping to bounce back following an underwhelming performance for the lottery-bound Raptors in 2020/21. After leading the Raptors to the second round of the NBA playoffs and being named to his first All-Star team in 2020, Siakam appeared to regress on both sides of the ball last season. Toronto finished with a 27-45 record while playing its home games in Tampa, and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2012/13 season.

Veteran team leader Kyle Lowry was shipped to the Heat in an offseason sign-and-trade. The Raptors selected exciting forward Scottie Barnes out of Florida State with the fourth pick in the 2021 draft. In seven games, Barnes is looking like a serious Rookie of the Year contender, averaging 18.1 PPG on 55.1% shooting from the field, along with 8.9 RPG. As a 6’9″ tweener forward, Barnes could be a long-term replacement for the veteran Siakam.

For now, it will be interesting to see how head coach Nick Nurse opts to juggle his starting lineup. He had been starting Barnes and ascendant 6’7″ swingman OG Anunoby at the forward positions, with 6’5″ Gary Trent Jr. starting at shooting guard. One of this triumvirate could head to the bench upon a Siakam return.

Goran Dragic Receives Second Straight DNP-CD

October 30th, 2021 at 3:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Raptors guard Goran Dragic received his second straight DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) on Friday, Michael Grange of Sportsnet tweets. “He’s a very approachable guy, very professional guy,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Dragic. “I talk to him everyday and I pretty much just tell him to stay ready… We’ll see where it goes from there.” Dragic is still viewed as a strong candidate to be traded during the season.