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Kyle Lowry Addresses Trade Rumors

March 10th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry understands the uncertainties of the trade market, but no matter what happens this month, he vows to remain loyal to the franchise where he has spent most of his NBA career, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Lowry, who will turn 35 when the trade deadline arrives March 25, has been the subject of rumors in recent weeks as Toronto ponders whether to be a buyer or seller. His on-court performance and championship experience make him attractive to contenders, and his expiring $30.5MM contract may make him expendable.

“At the end of the day, myself, my agent, the organization, everyone has to do what’s best for them, right? Everyone has to do what’s best for them, and that situation,” Lowry said. “Who knows what that is, right? Who knows what that’s going to be, who knows what that time is going to tell? For me, I know I’m still playing at a good enough level where I can help a team, I can help us, and get better.”

Lowry continues to produce for Toronto, averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists through 29 games. He expressed an allegiance to the team he has been with for the past nine years, telling reporters, “I will retire as a Toronto Raptor.” However, he stopped short of pledging to re-sign with the organization when he becomes a free agent this summer, noting that retiring as a Raptor could mean eventually signing a ceremonial one-day contract with the franchise.

Lowry also addressed a report that he has been telling people he will be leaving Toronto, insisting to reporters that it isn’t true.

“I don’t really get into that stuff, and it doesn’t bother me because rumors are rumors and they will always be,” he said. “But when something is said that doesn’t verbally come from me and I haven’t said anything, that’s when it gets to the point of, ‘Did you have me on record saying that? I want to know who the source is, because the source is me.’ That stuff is where you kind of defend yourself. I don’t really care about it. It’s just to defend myself for a quick second.”

Lowry could be among the best players on the trade market, Bontemps adds, if the Raptors decide to part with him and teams are willing to take on his salary. Many star players have either been traded or signed extensions in recent months, and Lowry is among the top remaining names with an expiring contract.

“For me, personally, whatever happens, we’ll see,” Lowry said. “I don’t know. We don’t know. Like, honestly, I don’t know. If I could tell you, if I could look at a crystal ball, I would tell you, but I don’t know what the crystal ball says. I don’t what is going to happen. I don’t know what they’re thinking, I’m thinking. We’ll just kind of get to that point and figure it out from there.”

Atlantic Notes: Nurse, Griffin, Durant, Rivers

March 10th, 2021 at 8:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

After being sidelined for nearly two weeks due to health and safety protocols, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was cleared to return today and guided the team through practice, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Nurse expects to be back on the sidelines Thursday as Toronto starts the second half of the season against the Hawks. “I feel really rested, rejuvenated and ready to go,” he said (Twitter link).

Nurse doesn’t expect any of his assistant coaches who were also in the protocols to return tomorrow, although he says a couple of them are close. The team probably won’t have a full staff available until sometime next week. Nurse declined to speculate on when the five Raptors players who are in the protocols will be cleared to return (Twitter link).

He also took issue with rumors that the outbreak was caused by improper mask use among the coaching staff, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. “I don’t think anybody would have any idea what they’re talking about,” Nurse said. “… That is a really unfair, very speculative thing to say.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Blake Griffin has joined the Nets, but he won’t make his season debut Thursday night. He is listed as out due to left knee injury management, tweets Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Griffin practiced with the team today and said his knee feels fine. However, he hasn’t played in nearly a month, so Brooklyn is trying to work him back into game condition (Twitter link). Coach Steve Nash sees Griffin as a “small-ball five” who can hit open three-pointers and help with playmaking (Twitter link).
Kevin Durant will also sit out Thursday, marking the 10th straight game he’ll miss since straining his left hamstring last month, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Nash said Durant will have another scan on the hamstring next week (Twitter link). There was bleeding in the last scan, and the team realized that he might miss a month or more (Twitter link). Nash added that the Nets‘ medical staff doesn’t believe the current injury is related to the ruptured Achilles that Durant suffered in 2019 (Twitter link). “He hasn’t played in a month,” Nash said. “So no matter what the scan says, there will still be an appropriate ramp-up time to make sure we put him in a position to finish the season strong.”
Sixers coach Doc Rivers missed today’s practice because of illness and it’s uncertain if he’ll be able to coach tomorrow, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rivers’ condition isn’t related to COVID-19.

Raptors Sign Henry Ellenson To 10-Day Contract

March 10th, 2021 at 5:18pm CST by Luke Adams

5:18pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

10:11am: The Raptors will fill the open spot on their 15-man roster by signing free agent power forward Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Ellenson, who was in camp with Toronto in December, had been playing for the Raptors 905 in the G League bubble for the last month. Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate was eliminated from the postseason on Tuesday night, and it appears the Raptors are wasting no time in calling up the 24-year-old to the NBA club.

The 18th overall pick in 2016, Ellenson has appeared in a total of 81 NBA regular season contests for the Pistons, Knicks, and Nets, averaging just 4.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 9.2 minutes per game.

He has played a more regular role in the G League across 74 career NBAGL games. This season, he recorded 21.2 PPG and 8.1 RPG on .493/.427/.882 shooting in 15 games (30.6 MPG) as a key contributor for a Raptors 905 squad that earned the No. 1 seed heading into the single-elimination playoffs. The team was knocked out in the semifinals.

Ellenson, who received a $50K partial guarantee on his initial preseason deal with the Raptors, will earn approximately $119K on his new 10-day deal, with Toronto taking on a $111K cap hit, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). He’ll fill the roster spot that was vacated when Donta Hall‘s 10-day deal with the club expired over the weekend.

Raptors Remain Short-Handed Due To COVID-19

March 10th, 2021 at 5:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

A week off for the All-Star break didn’t resolve the Raptors‘ coronavirus situation, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw all remain in the league’s health and safety protocols and won’t be available for Thursday’s game with the Hawks.

Toronto’s issues with the virus began in late February when a member of the coaching staff reportedly tested positive, forcing head coach Nick Nurse and most of his assistants into contact tracing. Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo, who was in quarantine at the time after coaching the Spanish national team, has been filling in as head coach ever since. There’s no update on the status of the coaches, but Lewenberg suggests that more information may be available after practice later today (Twitter link).

Siakam, who returned an inconclusive rapid test at the same time, has been in the protocol for 12 days, Lewenburg adds (via Twitter). The other four players have been sidelined for eight days each.

The Raptors’ February 28 game against the Bulls was postponed because Toronto didn’t have enough eligible players, and a game against the Pistons was rescheduled from March 2 to March 3. Currently in eighth place in the East, the Raptors are 1-2 since their COVID-19 problems began.

Amick’s Latest: Celtics, Barnes, Clippers, Lowry, Bagley

March 10th, 2021 at 11:11am CST by Luke Adams

Many front office people around the NBA believe the Celtics might trade for Kings forward Harrison Barnes prior to this month’s deadline, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Boston’s interest in Barnes has been reported multiple times this season, including on Tuesday by Chris Mannix of SI.com.

As Amick explains, Barnes is probably a more realistic target for the Celtics than players like Jerami Grant and Nikola Vucevic, whose teams would likely seek a more substantial return. Sources tell The Athletic that the Kings appear to be shifting into seller mode, so they could be intrigued by Boston’s first-round picks and young prospects, who would match Sacramento’s timeline.

Here’s more from Amick:

Sources tell The Athletic that the Celtics‘ interest in James Harden – and their involvement in the Harden sweepstakes – was more serious than Danny Ainge‘s comments at the time would suggest. Amick has previously reported that Boston was still in the mix during the later stages of negotiations.
The Clippers feel good about their core and if they make any trades, they’ll likely just address the margins of their roster, according to Amick, who hears from sources that Lou Williams no longer appears available, as he was in the offseason.
People around the NBA believe Kyle Lowry‘s $30.5MM cap hit will be an obstacle that may prevent the Raptors guard from being dealt, says Amick. The Clippers are among the teams with interest in Lowry, but may not be able to make the money work, according to Amick, who points to the Thunder‘s George Hill as a more affordable and attainable alternative for teams in need of a veteran point guard.
Finances will also be a factor for teams considering making a play for Kings forward Marvin Bagley III, per Amick. Bagley will make $11.3MM in 2021/22 and his qualifying offer in ’22 would be worth nearly $15MM.

Toronto Needs A Strong Second Half From Pascal Siakam

March 9th, 2021 at 1:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors need a strong return from Pascal Siakam to be contenders in the second half, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Siakam will have missed almost two full weeks due to health and safety protocols when Toronto resumes play Thursday night.

Fans To Return March 19 On Limited Basis

March 8th, 2021 at 7:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors will allow up to 3,500 fans at Tampa’s Amalie Arena beginning on March 19, according to a team press release. Toronto begins its post-All-Star break schedule at home against Atlanta on Thursday, then heads out for a three-game road swing. The Raptors, who have 18 home games remaining after Thursday’s contest, began the season allowing fans in Amalie Arena, but closed their doors in early January following an increase in coronavirus cases in the area.

Raptors 905 Standout Alize Johnson Drawing Interest

March 8th, 2021 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors 905 forward Alize Johnson, who has played well in the G League bubble, is receiving interest from the Raptors, Magic, Rockets, Spurs, and Suns for a possible NBA contract, a league source tells The Ringer.

[SOURCE LINK]

Several 10-Day Contracts Expire; Multiple Teams Have Roster Spots To Fill

March 8th, 2021 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

All seven of the 10-day contracts that were signed during the final week of February have now expired. As our 10-day tracker shows, that list included three Nets deals (Tyler Cook, Iman Shumpert, and Andre Roberson), along with contracts signed by the Pelicans (Sindarius Thornwell), Raptors (Donta Hall), Lakers (Damian Jones), and Kings (Norvel Pelle).

None of those players have been re-signed to a second 10-day deal so far, but that comes as no surprise. The five teams that had players on 10-day contracts won’t begin their second-half schedules until Thursday at the earliest (Friday for the Lakers), so it doesn’t make sense to sign someone to a 10-day contract now and waste the first few days of the deal.

That doesn’t mean that all the players listed above will get a second 10-day stint with their respective teams later this week, but some of them seem like good bets to stick around a little longer. Jones, for instance, looked good during his 10 days as a Laker, putting up eight points in eight minutes in his first appearance and earning a start in Sacramento last Wednesday.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Lakers and Pelicans are now carrying 13 players on standard contracts, while the Nets are carrying just 12. The NBA requires teams to have a minimum of 14 players under contract (not counting two-ways), but clubs are permitted to dip below that minimum for two weeks at a time.

So even if those three clubs decide not to bring back the same players on 10-day contracts, they’ll have to add a player (two players in Brooklyn’s case, but one will be Blake Griffin) at some point during the next couple weeks.

The Jazz are also in this boat, but will have to add a player even sooner. They dipped to 13 players on standard contracts when they waived Shaquille Harrison on February 24, so we can probably expect them to sign a player to a 10-day deal before the second-half schedule gets underway this week.

The Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Rockets, Clippers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Suns, Trail Blazers, Kings, Spurs, and Raptors also have openings on their 15-man rosters, but aren’t under any pressure to fill them in the near future, since they’re all at the 14-player minimum.

Most teams with open roster spots will fill them before the end of the regular season, but for the time being, it makes sense for those teams to either hold them open or fill them with players on 10-day deals in order to maximize their roster flexibility for the March 25 trade deadline.

Raptors' Next-Man-Up Mentality Remains Strong In G League Bubble

March 7th, 2021 at 8:46pm CST by JD Shaw

The Raptors‘ next-man-up mentality has remained strong in the G League bubble, Blake Murphy writes for The Athletic. The Raptors 905 – Toronto’s affiliate – went 12-3 in the regular season despite dealing with various injuries and setbacks. “That’s absolutely our mantra,” head coach Patrick Mutombo said. “That’s what it boils down to as we do everything, the way we approach everything, there’s just no excuses, no explanations. Just win.”