Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.”

Eastern Rumors: Beal, Sixers, Tucker, Heat, Ujiri

March 5th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Much to the chagrin of potential suitors, Wizards star Bradley Beal remains unavailable in trade discussions, with one rival executive who has been repeatedly rebuffed suggesting to Tom Haberstroh of TrueHoop that he has essentially given up the chase for the time being.

“In terms of franchise loyalty, I think Beal is in the same category as Steph (Curry) and Dame (Lillard) right now,” that exec said, referring to two other All-Star guards who have spent their entire careers with a single franchise.

In fact, Beal and Lillard have bonded over their unwillingness to leave the teams that drafted them in search of a club that could provide them an easier path to a championship, according to Jason Quick and Fred Katz of The Athletic. Beal spoke to Lillard in 2019 about the Trail Blazers star’s commitment to Portland before signing his own extension with the Wizards.

“I know how he feels because I get that all the time: ‘You should go here; you should go there …’ from all kinds of different people, and I know he gets it too,” Lillard said of Beal. “We’ve had that conversation. … He has the same feeling about it as I have: I just don’t want to go elsewhere. This is our ninth year. We’ve been so invested in this to where it’s like, this is what it is. This is where I want to get it done. And I’m sure he feels that same way.”

Haberstroh’s latest story at TrueHoop features several more items of interest and is worth checking out in full if you’re a subscriber. Here are some highlights from around the Eastern Conference:

Top Sixers executive Daryl Morey is widely expected to be active at the trade deadline, with several rival execs believing that Rockets forward P.J. Tucker will ultimately land in Philadelphia, says Haberstroh.
On the other hand, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is considered less likely to make a big splash at the deadline. “That’s not Danny’s style,” one Eastern Conference general manager said.
Haberstroh suggests John Wall and Kyle Lowry could be among the Heat‘s targets if the club decides to pursue a major deadline move.
Haberstroh’s sources view Masai Ujiri‘s ongoing lack of contract extension with the Raptors as a “notable non-event” and wonder if his actions at the trade deadline will provide a hint of his future plans. Ujiri’s contract with Toronto expires this offseason.

Raptors Notes: COVID Absences, Depth, Lowry, Harris

March 4th, 2021 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

After playing without several key rotation players on Wednesday night vs. Detroit due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Raptors will be missing those same players on Thursday in Boston. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets, the club officially announced that Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn, and Patrick McCaw remain in the protocols and have been ruled out for tonight’s game.

Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell, the only starters unaffected by the protocols, combined to score 57 points on 19-of-31 shooting on Wednesday, but the rest of the Raptors contributed just 48 total points on 15-of-46 shooting. Toronto will need more from its supporting cast on Thursday if the club hopes to knock off the Celtics.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

While any team would struggle without three of its starters, the Raptors’ blowout loss to the lowly Pistons on Wednesday shone a light on the team’s lack of reliable depth, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The absences of key players provided a chance for one or two role part-timers to step up and make a case for more minutes, but no one really seized that opportunity, Grange adds.
There are compelling reasons both for and against trading Kyle Lowry at the deadline, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who explores the dilemma facing the Raptors and notes that the team is under pressure to get the decision right.
The Raptors have reassigned rookie guard Jalen Harris to the Raptors 905 at Walt Disney World after recalling him for Wednesday’s game, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Harris now should have a chance to clear the G League bubble’s quarantine protocols in time to play for Toronto’s affiliate in the NBAGL postseason tournament next week.

Seven New Positive COVID-19 Tests Among Players In Last Week

March 3rd, 2021 at 5:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

There are seven new positive coronavirus test results among the 456 league players tested since February 24, per an announcement from the NBPA. It’s the highest number of positives the NBA has had in a week since mid-January.

Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that several of these positive results stemmed from the Raptors, who have had to postpone two games after an outbreak on their team.

Pascal Siakam will have missed at least four games as he continues to quarantine through the All-Star break. The Raptors forward returned an inconclusive result on a coronavirus test a few days ago — it’s unclear if he has subsequently tested positive. Several Raptors coaches tested positive as well, though they wouldn’t count toward the seven cases announced by the league today.

Sources are blaming the COVID-19 spread among the club on erratic face mask use by coaches, Charania adds. Toronto can finally field enough players to return to the court this evening against the Pistons.

The league is surely hoping that it will be able to curb these outbreak-prompted game postponements as it looks ahead to a packed post-All Star break home stretch. Thus far this season, 31 games have been postponed due to health and safety protocol-driven absences.