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Raptors Sign Freddie Gillespie To Two-Year Deal

April 28th, 2021 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

10:54am: The Raptors have officially signed Gillespie, the team announced in a press release.

According to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link), next season’s salary is non-guaranteed. It has a $50K partial guarantee trigger date at some point, then would become fully guaranteed if Gillespie makes the regular season roster.

8:33am: The Raptors are set to sign big man Freddie Gillespie to a new contract after his second 10-day deal expired on Tuesday night, according to Shams Charania and Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link). Gillespie will receive a two-year contract from Toronto, per The Athletic’s duo.

Gillespie, who has appeared in 10 games for the Raptors this month, has made a strong impression both on and off the court during his first 20 days with the club. He averaged 5.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game in 16.0 minutes per contest, racking up five blocked shots in just 14 minutes of action during Monday’s victory over Cleveland.

Last offseason, the Raptors re-signed Chris Boucher and added Aron Baynes and Alex Len to shore up a frontcourt rotation that no longer included Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol. However, Len was waived early in the season, Baynes is no longer in the rotation, and Boucher is injured, leaving Gillespie as the team’s current backup center behind another recent addition, Khem Birch.

Because the Raptors used their full mid-level exception to sign Baynes and Len and don’t have a bi-annual exception available this season, they’re limited to the minimum salary exception on Gillespie, meaning they couldn’t have offered him more than two years or more than the rookie minimum.

Assuming he finalizes his new deal today, Gillespie will earn $116,903 over the final 19 days of the regular season. His salary for 2021/22 will be $1,517,981, though that figure likely won’t be fully guaranteed.

The Raptors will have a full 15-man roster once they officially re-add Gillespie. The club does still have an open two-way contract slot that could be filled before the end of the regular season.

For more on Gillespie’s unorthodox journey to the NBA, be sure to read our feature on the former Baylor standout from earlier this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Murphy Breaks Down All 30 10-Day Raptors Contracts

April 27th, 2021 at 10:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
  • Standout Raptors power forward Freddie Gillespie has inspired Blake Murphy of The Athletic to assess all 31 players the Raptors have signed to 10-day contracts in team history to determine where Gillespie ranks. A hint: Gillespie does crack the top five.
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Checking In On Active 10-Day Contracts

April 27th, 2021 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

Since the NBA’s 10-day signing window for the 2020/21 season officially opened in February, a total of 54 separate 10-day deals have been finalized. Many of those signings have be completed since the trade deadline passed a month ago — 36 10-day contracts have been signed in April alone.

With so much action on the 10-day market, we’re taking a little time today to check in on the 10-day deals that are still active, exploring which of those players are eligible for additional 10-day contracts and which teams are still shuttling players in and out of their back-end roster spots.

Here, with the help of our 10-day tracker and our roster counts page, are the players on active 10-day deals:

Players on their first 10-day contracts:

These players will all be eligible for a second 10-day contract once their current deals expire. In the case of Brown, it’s possible the Thunder would just sign him to a rest-of-season deal if they’re comfortable keeping him around, since a second 10-day deal would run through at least May 14. The regular season ends on May 16.

Players on their second 10-day contracts:

These players won’t be eligible for a new 10-day contract when their current deals expire, since a player can’t sign three 10-day deals with the same team in a single season. It’s a safe bet that some of these players will receive rest-of-season contracts though — I’d be shocked if the Raptors let Gillespie get away, for instance.

Any team here that opts not to re-sign a player to a rest-of-season contract would open up a roster spot, which could be used on another 10-day trial before the regular season ends. Golden State and Portland are carrying just 14 players at the moment, so they’d have each two open roster spots if they don’t re-sign Payton and Hollis-Jefferson, respectively.

There are a handful of other teams that could still take advantage of the 10-day contract before the end of the season. The Heat, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, and Wizards all have at least one open roster spot.

The Heat and Pelicans are right up against the luxury tax line and may be done with 10-days for the season, preferring rest-of-season commitments if and when they fill their roster openings. The Wolves, Spurs, and Wizards may end up going that route too, but for now they’re still decent candidates for 10-day signings.

The Kings, meanwhile, had Damian Jones on a pair of 10-day contracts before his second deal expired on Monday night. Head coach Luke Walton spoke positively about Jones’ contributions to the team, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter), so the veteran center could end up getting a rest-of-season contract. If so, Sacramento would have a full roster and would likely be done with 10-days for the season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Chris Boucher Diagnosed With MCL Sprain

April 23rd, 2021 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

2:16pm: The Raptors have sent out a press release confirming Boucher’s diagnosis and announcing that he’ll be sidelined at least until the club departs for its upcoming West Coast trip, which begins on April 29 in Denver. His status will be updated as appropriate, according to the team.

10:16am: Raptors big man Chris Boucher has been diagnosed with a sprained left MCL, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Boucher, who hurt his knee during Wednesday’s win over Brooklyn, had been set to undergo further testing on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury. It sounds like those tests revealed no major structural damage, which is good news for Boucher and the Raptors.

A specific return timeline for Boucher has not yet been set, and will hinge on how his rehab process goes, says Charania. Typically, players who suffer MCL sprains miss at least a couple weeks of action. There are just over three weeks left in the 2020/21 regular season, but hopefully Boucher’s year isn’t over yet.

After re-signing with the Raptors during the 2020 offseason, Boucher has embraced an increased role with Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol no longer in the frontcourt picture. He has averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game in 59 contests (24.0 MPG), making a case for a longer-term stay with the club.

Boucher’s contract includes a non-guaranteed $7MM salary for 2021/22. Even if Toronto hopes to maximize its cap space this summer, it might make sense to guarantee that money, since a new contract for the 28-year-old is unlikely to come any cheaper.

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Checking In On Open NBA Roster Spots

April 22nd, 2021 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly a month since the NBA’s trade deadline passed, but we’ve still seen a flurry of transactional activity during the last four weeks, as teams have signed and waived players ahead of the postseason.

While some clubs have full rosters and seem unlikely to make any changes between now and the end of the regular season, that’s certainly not the case across the board.

With the help of our roster counts tracker, here’s our latest look at open roster spots around the league, as of April 22:

Teams with one or more open 15-man roster spots:

  • Golden State Warriors
  • Miami Heat
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans (2)
  • New York Knicks
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • San Antonio Spurs

The Heat, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Spurs each have 14 players on standard contracts and one opening on their 15-man rosters. They’re all good bets to sign a 15th man before the season ends, either for developmental purposes or for added postseason depth.

The Warriors and Trail Blazers have 13 players apiece on standard deals, one on a 10-day contract – Gary Payton II for Golden State and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for Portland – and one open spot. Hollis-Jefferson’s 10-day pact runs through next Tuesday, while Payton’s goes through Wednesday. Once those deals expire, the Warriors and Blazers will each have up to two weeks to get back to 14 players.

Since the NBA only allows teams to dip to 13 or fewer players for up to two weeks at a time, the Pelicans are very much on the clock. They’ve been at 13 players for the last nine days, since Isaiah Thomas‘ 10-day contract expired. The expectation is that New Orleans will sign draft-and-stash prospect Didi Louzada as a 14th man by early next week.

Teams whose 15-man rosters are full due to one or more 10-day contracts:

These 10 teams have full 15-man rosters as of today, but that might not last long. The dozen 10-day contracts listed here will begin expiring as soon as tonight (Hall), so if those players aren’t re-signed, the clubs will have roster openings.

The Nets will also fall into this group once they officially waive LaMarcus Aldridge and sign Mike James to a 10-day deal.

Teams with an open two-way contract slot:

  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Toronto Raptors

The Suns have only carried a single two-way player all season long, so there’s no guarantee they’ll fill their second slot before the end of the regular season.

The other teams listed here are all better candidates to do so — Cleveland (Lamar Stevens) and Toronto (Yuta Watanabe) just recently promoted two-way players to their respective 15-man rosters, while Minnesota was carrying a pair of two-way players until waiving Ashton Hagans in February.

The Cavs reportedly intend to sign Jeremiah Martin to fill their two-way opening.

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Raptors Caught Between Tanking, Play-In Spot

April 20th, 2021 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams
  • The Raptors are stuck in an odd spot, caught between tanking and competing for the final play-in spot in the East, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic writes. The team appeared prepared to throw in the towel, having sat a handful of veteran players within the last week or two. But if tanking is the goal, the Raps aren’t having much luck so far, writes Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star. Toronto has won three games in a row and is just a half-game back of Chicago for the No. 10 seed.
  • Doug Smith of The Toronto Star explains that the Raptors received their $25K fine from the NBA over the weekend because they said Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby would miss Friday’s game for “rest” purposes, but head coach Nick Nurse said they were bothered by foot and knee issues, respectively. Those ailments weren’t noted on the injury report at all prior to Friday’s game.
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Raptors Promote Yuta Watanabe To 15-Man Roster

April 19th, 2021 at 7:20am CST by Luke Adams

7:20am: Watanabe’s second-year salary is non-guaranteed, but would become partially guaranteed for $375K if he remains under contract for three days beyond the free agency moratorium in August, reports Murphy (Twitter link). If he makes next season’s regular season roster, Watanabe would receive his full ’21/22 guarantee.

6:38am: The Raptors have elevated Yuta Watanabe to their 15-man roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed the third-year forward to a standard contract.

Watanabe had spent the season on a two-way deal with Toronto, having had his Exhibit 10 contract converted before the regular season began in December. Originally considered a depth piece, the 26-year-old has become a more regular rotation fixture, appearing in 39 games for the club.

While he is valued more for his defense and his energy off the bench than his offense, Watanabe has shot the ball well this season too, averaging 4.0 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .448/.400/.826 shooting in 13.4 minutes per contest. Those numbers all exceed the ones he put up in two seasons in Memphis from 2018-20.

The exact details of Watanabe weren’t announced in the Raptors’ press release, but the team used its full mid-level exception prior to the season signing Aron Baynes and Alex Len, and didn’t have its bi-annual exception available this season. As such, we can safely assume it’s a minimum-salary deal, and Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms it covers next season as well, though it’s unclear if the 2021/22 salary is partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed.

Watanabe’s rest-of-season salary, at least, will be fully guaranteed — he’ll make $321,893 the rest of the way, in addition to what he has already earned on his two-way contract.

The Raptors now have a full 15-man roster, with 14 players on standard contracts and Freddie Gillespie on a 10-day deal. Jalen Harris is Toronto’s lone two-way player, so the club could fill its other two-way slot at some point before the regular season ends on May 16.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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VanVleet Critical Of Compressed Season

April 18th, 2021 at 3:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
  • Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, in the first season of his new four-year, $85MM contract with Toronto-by-way-of-Tampa, has criticized the NBA’s treatment of a truncated 2020/21 season in the midst of a pandemic, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “It’s pretty much all about business this year on every level and it’s hard to hide it, you know what I’m saying?” VanVleet said. “The NBA is a great balance of like the pure love and joy of one of the best sports in the world mixed with a billion-dollar industry, and I think this year the industry side has taken precedence over some of the love and the joy.”
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Raptors Sign Freddie Gillespie To Second 10-Day Deal

April 18th, 2021 at 11:25am CST by Arthur Hill

APRIL 18: The signing is official, the Raptors announced in a press release.

APRIL 17: Rookie power forward Freddie Gillespie will sign a second 10-day contract with the Raptors on Sunday, a source tells Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Gillespie is averaging 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in five games since inking his first 10-day deal on April 8. He has been a regular member of the rotation for the short-handed team, playing 16 minutes per night.

Murphy expects Toronto to make a longer investment in Gillespie once the second deal expires, likely signing him for the rest of the season with a partial guarantee for 2021/22.

Gillespie, 23, went undrafted out of Baylor in November, but established himself with a strong performance in the G League. In 15 games for the Memphis Hustle, he posted 10.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per night.

He will earn $61,528 during the second contract, which will also be the cap hit for the Raptors.

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