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Raptors Notes: Dragic, Siakam, Vaccination Status

September 28th, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Goran Dragic doesn’t know how long he’ll be with the Raptors, but he’s willing to accept whatever role the team wants him to play, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The veteran guard was acquired from the Heat this summer in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade. There were rumors at the time that he might be shipped to Dallas, but that deal never materialized.

With a $19.5MM expiring contract, the 35-year-old point guard could become a valuable trade chip before the February deadline. A report this week said no deal involving Dragic appears imminent, and Toronto has little incentive to pursue a buyout before the deadline arrives.

Dragic used Monday’s media day to repeat an apology for comments he made to Slovenian reporters last month indicating that he didn’t want to be with the Raptors. He told Smith that his statement was taken out of context.

“You know, it came out wrong. I did apologize and I want to apologize right now, too,” Dragic said. “It was not my intention. But you know, the organization and the players, they welcomed (me). It was really nice; all the guys are nice. They want me, you know, to feel comfortable and I do feel comfortable here, for the past two weeks.”

There’s more from Toronto:

Pascal Siakam hasn’t been cleared for contact yet in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, but the Raptors are optimistic about his progress, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “He looks good,” said general manager Bobby Webster. “He’s in a really positive head space. I think he’s happy and ready to go.” Siakam has been working out on his own at the team’s practice facility, and coach Nick Nurse hopes he’ll be ready relatively early in the season (Twitter link). American Thanksgiving, which falls on November 25, could be a realistic target date, tweets Michael Grange of The Athletic.
Lowry’s departure leaves Siakam as the team leader for the first time in his career, notes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Koreen suggests that Siakam may benefit from a month or so of not playing, which will give him a chance to study his teammates and see the best ways he can help. “We had a conversation with Masai (Ujiri), and it was me, it was OG (Anunoby) and it was Fred (VanVleet),” Siakam said. “Everyone else is gonna be young. … ‘We’re gonna go wherever you guys take us.’ I think that’s the focus. … I don’t like the word ‘the guy.’ I don’t like using it. I want to be the guy who wins. I want to win. I remember when we went to Vegas for dinner and I’m sitting there and I’m like, ‘Damn, I feel like I’m the oldest here.’ It was weird, a weird feeling I never had before. It’s gonna be a process, but I’m excited about it.”
Visiting players who haven’t been vaccinated will be able to receive a National Interest Exemption to play in Toronto, according to The Athletic. They must test negative after arriving in Canada and won’t be able to leave the team hotel, other than to go to Scotiabank Arena. Raptors players are almost fully vaccinated and the team expects to reach that status by opening night, according to Murphy (Twitter link).

Exploring Raptors' Roster Situation

September 26th, 2021 at 6:43pm CST by JD Shaw

Doug Smith of The Toronto Star explores the Raptors‘ roster situation, taking a look at which players will be competing for spots in training camp. Smith highlights Yuta Watanabe, Freddie Gillespie and Isaac Bonga, among others, breaking down the chances of each player making the roster.

Stein’s Latest: Timberwolves, Ujiri, Simmons, Lacob, Dragic

September 24th, 2021 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Incoming Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore won’t assume majority control of the the franchise from Glen Taylor until 2023, but they’re operating in some ways as if they’re already the team’s primary owners, says Marc Stein of Substack.

Shortly after Gersson Rosas was dismissed this week, Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore suggested (via Twitter) that rumors have circulated for months that Rodriguez and Lore want to bring in a “top-five” front office executive. Stein doesn’t specifically confirm that rumor, but he corroborates it, writing that word circulated at Summer League in August that A-Rod and Lore would have loved to make a run at veteran executive Masai Ujiri, who ultimately re-upped with the Raptors.

While those reports suggest that the Wolves’ new ownership group wants to make a splash, league sources tell Stein that Sachin Gupta is expected to get every chance to impress the team during his time running the basketball operations department. According to Moore (Twitter link), Gupta – whose title is executive VP of basketball operations – doesn’t technically have the “interim” tag attached to his position, an indication that he’ll receive serious consideration for the permanent job.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest NBA roundup:

According to Stein, teams around the NBA are skeptical that the Sixers genuinely want to bring back Ben Simmons, viewing Doc Rivers‘ media comments on Wednesday as an attempt to regain trade leverage rather than a legitimate effort to mend the team’s relationship with Simmons.
It may seem odd that Warriors owner Joe Lacob was fined for comments about Simmons that didn’t even mention him by name and made it clear that Golden State isn’t really interested in the Sixers star. However, Stein says the tampering penalty was “as automatic as these ever get,” since there was no doubt Lacob was referring to Simmons, and his comments could be viewed as an attempt to diminish the 25-year-old’s trade value.
It doesn’t appear that any deal involving Goran Dragic is imminent. Stein writes that the Raptors want to be as competitive as possible this season, and Dragic can help with those efforts. Toronto also believes that more appealing trade scenarios could arise once the season gets underway and more teams need a point guard due to injuries or underperformance.

Raptors Must Embrace "Formless" Style

September 23rd, 2021 at 5:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors must find ways to maximize a “formless” style of basketball due to the configuration of the roster, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Lacking an efficient, high-usage star, they must rely on versatility, flexibility and unpredictability to keep defenses off-balance about where the ball is designed to go.

Stein’s Latest: Simmons, Sixers, NBPA Executive Director

September 21st, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The structure of Ben Simmons‘ contract may embolden him in his plans to hold out from the Sixers, Marc Stein of Substack writes in his latest newsletter. As Stein explains, Simmons received 25% of his 2021/22 salary on August 1 and will receive another 25% on October 1, meaning he’ll already have earned half of his $33MM salary for the season by the time the preseason starts.

League rules permit the Sixers to assess substantial fines for each game he misses during his holdout (approximately $228K per game), but Stein suggests those fines won’t be docked from Simmons’ pay until November, after the first pay period of the regular season. If Simmons was on a more traditional payment schedule, those fines would be more costly, but it will take a while for them to put a dent into the $16.5MM he’ll already have earned this season.

Here’s more from Stein:

Don’t expect the Sixers and Simmons to follow the blueprint that Al Horford and the Thunder or John Wall and the Rockets have, according to Stein. While those rebuilding teams were comfortable holding out their veteran players until they found a suitable trade partner, the 76ers continue to try to convince Simmons to report to training camp and have “zero interest” in reaching a mutual agreement to allow the three-time All-Star to remain away from the team, says Stein.
According to Stein, many of the teams that have engaged the Sixers in Simmons trade talks – including the Timberwolves, Raptors, Spurs, Cavaliers, and Kings – typically aren’t major players in free agency, and like the idea of securing a young impact player who is under contract for four years. However, most of those teams don’t have stars that would interest Philadelphia, or have made them unavailable in trade negotiations (such as the Wolves with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, or the Kings with De’Aaron Fox).
The NBPA has enlisted Chicago-based search firm Heidrick & Struggles to help seek out a new executive director to replace Michele Roberts, according to Stein, who says that “well-placed observers” believe Roberts’ replacement could be an unexpected selection who hasn’t yet been publicly identified.
Stein, who previously named Malik Rose as a candidate to become the NBPA’s executive director, suggests Noah Croom, Arne Duncan, Nichole Francis Reynolds, Pat Garrity, and Mark Termini are other viable contenders for the job. Croom and Garrity are veteran team executives, Termini is a longtime player agent, and Duncan and Reynolds work outside of the NBA in education/politics and business, respectively.

Raptors Sign Reggie Perry

September 21st, 2021 at 11:37am CST by Rory Maher

The Raptors have signed second-year forward Reggie Perry, per a team press release.

Financial details of the move were not disclosed, but Blake Murphy (formerly of The Athletic) tweets that it will be an Exhibit 10 contract for training camp. Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted into standard or two-way deals and give players like Perry the opportunity to earn bonuses worth up to $50K if they end up joining the club’s G League affiliate after being cut, which seems pretty likely in this case, as Murphy notes.

Both of the Raptors’ two-way contract slots are currently filled, so they would have to waive one of those players in order to convert Perry to a two-way contract. The signing of Perry means that the team’s 20-man training camp roster is now full.

The 57th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Perry played sparingly for the Nets as a rookie last season, seeing action in 26 games and posting averages of 3.0 PPG and 2.8 RPG in just 8.1 MPG.

He did post strong numbers for their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, averaging 18.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 28.8 MPG across 15 games. The team was reportedly high on the former SEC co-player of the year, and he definitely has a chance to make it back to the NBA at some point.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Sixers, Simmons, Horford

September 20th, 2021 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Having already received clearance to play their home games in Toronto in 2021/22 after spending last season in Tampa, the Raptors are now waiting to see whether the Ontario provincial goverment will allow them to play in front of full-capacity crowds at Scotiabank Arena, writes Kevin McGran of The Toronto Star.

Both the Raptors and the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs – who share Scotiabank Arena – intend to only allow fully vaccinated individuals to attend games. They’re expecting to get an answer from government officials this week, per McGran.

“With a fully vaccinated venue, it is our belief that we can safely host a full capacity event,” MLSE spokesperson Dave Haggith said. “With tickets on sale, we are planning for eventual full capacity in 2021 and our ticketing rollout has built-in flexibility so we are ready for potential scenarios.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

With the Ben Simmons situation still unresolved, Rich Hofmann of The Athletic examines what the Sixers‘ rotation might look like in 2021/22 both with Simmons and without him. Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, and Furkan Korkmaz would receive the biggest minutes boosts if Simmons holds out and hasn’t yet been traded.
Jared Dubin of FiveThirtyEight considers what past trades of All-Stars can tell us about the Simmons situation. As Dubin outlines, pieces-and-picks packages are typically the most common returns for All-Star players, while the Sixers are seeking a star-for-star deal, increasing the degree of difficulty.
Al Horford‘s return to the Celtics means the team will be able to comfortably run out lineups featuring two big men again. Jared Weiss of The Athletic explains why that’s a good thing for Boston.

Scottie Barnes Writes Introduction To Raptors Fans

September 18th, 2021 at 7:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rookie forward Scottie Barnes introduced himself to Raptors fans with a first-hand piece on The Players Tribune. The No. 4 overall pick out of Florida State states that he was quickly embraced by the Toronto fanbase and gained about 80-100K new followers on social media within 24 hours of being drafted. He shares experiences from Summer League and draft night and says there was one message he wanted to deliver in his first post-draft meeting with the Raptors’ front office. “I’m ready to work,” he wrote. “Not ease into it, not half-do things or make excuses because I’m one of the new guys. I’m ready to work. I’m ready to grind. I’m ready to WIN. And I could tell that the feeling was definitely mutual.”

Handful Of Players Could Vie For Three Spots

September 17th, 2021 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors have 12 players with guaranteed contracts and five others with non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals. Eric Koreen of The Athletic speculates on who might grab the remaining roster openings, with Yuta Watanabe and Freddie Gillespie most likely to nail down spots. That would leave Sam Dekker, Ishmail Wainright and Isaac Bonga in a battle for the final spot, unless Toronto chooses to carry 14 players on the regular roster.

Pascal Siakam Talks Trade Rumors, Shoulder Injury, More

September 16th, 2021 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

Pascal Siakam was the subject of some trade rumors earlier in the NBA offseason, but the Raptors reportedly assured the forward and his camp that they weren’t looking to move him, and Siakam’s agent Todd Ramasar publicly stated that his client wasn’t looking to be moved.

Speaking to Sopan Deb of The New York Times, Siakam publicly weighed in on those trade rumors himself for the first time, suggesting that he envisions himself remaining in Toronto long-term. Siakam told Deb that he wasn’t irritated by the offseason rumors, since all the reports framed any trade discussions as teams pursuing him, rather than the Raptors shopping him.

“It didn’t bother me really, because I never really heard anything from the Raptors. Even all the news I was seeing it was never like: ‘Oh. The Raptors wanted to give up Siakam for this,'” he said. “It was always like, ‘The Warriors like Pascal,’ or it was always, ‘The Kings like Pascal,’ or this. There was never nothing where it was like, ‘The Raptors wanted to give away Pascal.'”

Siakam’s conversation with Deb touched on several other topics, including his rehab from shoulder surgery, his run-in with head coach Nick Nurse, and Kyle Lowry‘s departure from Miami. The Q&A is worth checking out in full, but here are some highlights:

On where he’s at in the rehab process:

“I’m shooting, ball handling. I think at this point in the process I look better than I thought I was expecting at least or I’m doing more than I thought I would do at that time.”

On his altercation with Nurse:

“I don’t think it was that bad… This is what happened: It was after a game. I’m just so frustrated. It’s like, ‘Oh, we’re losing and I’m just mad I didn’t play and I could’ve really helped my team.’ And we’re having a losing season and I think those things happen between a coach and a player.

“Obviously, I probably used language, uh, people use. It is what it is, but I don’t think it was such a big deal because after that situation happened, we talked. We are on good terms. It was just an argument. Literally one argument and like: ‘Oh, I’m mad at this. I’m yelling and this is it.’ That’s it. Grown men.”

On becoming one of the Raptors’ centerpieces following Kawhi Leonard‘s departure in 2019:

“For me at that point when I started becoming that person, I just felt like there wasn’t that much level of communication (from the team), to be honest. And that was the only thing really that I felt. It was like, ‘We got you the max contract, but are you the guy?’ I think that’s something that I was struggling with.

“Kyle was, to me, always the greatest Raptor of all time. I think he was always like, ‘I was the guy.’ I had the contract, but I never really felt like I was the guy, to be honest. … And I think those conversations are happening now.”

On his expectations for himself in 2021/22:

“I feel like when the season was ending, I was catching a rhythm, finally feeling good. ‘Man, I just had Covid. Lost 20 pounds.’ These are things that I was going through, and I feel like I’ve always gotten better in my eyes. And I think there’s another level that I can definitely get to. And for me, I definitely see myself as an All-Star. Potentially, wanting to be a most valuable player in the league one day. But for me, I do think that there’s definitely a lot more to unleash into my dream that’s going to take me to the next level.”