Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Notes: Watanabe, Lowry, Drummond, G League

February 8th, 2021 at 3:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe has been able to eke out a consistent rotational role with Toronto this season, as Doug Smith of The Toronto Star details. Watanabe, who went undrafted in 2018 out of George Washington University, spent two seasons on a two-way deal with the Grizzlies before joining the Raptors at the start of the 2020/21 season. Watanabe is averaging 12.2 MPG with the club, converting 42.9% of his 1.6 three-point attempts.

All-Star teammate Kyle Lowry hailed the 6’9″ wing’s contributions: “He’s going to dive for loose balls, and he’s going to be at the right spot, and he’s going to give you everything (he’s) got. He just plays with an extreme hardness.”

Smith notes that Watanabe, currently on a two-way contract with Toronto, is likely to see his deal converted to a full NBA contract within the next month.

There’s more out of Toronto:

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report wonders if Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry‘s charmed tenure with Toronto may be wrapping up soon. “There’s a time capsule for everybody and everything,” one Western Conference executive said, “and it’s probably just time to move on.” Lowry signed a one-year, $30.5MM extension with Toronto that will make him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current 2020/21 season. Though he has been his reliably excellent self, the team has stumbled out of the gate to a 10-13 record and the No. 9 seed in the East. Fischer points to several teams who could benefit from the still-productive lead guard’s services this season, including the Heat, Clippers, Pelicans and Magic.
After the Raptors’ title-winning frontcourt tandem of Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol fled for championship-caliber rosters in sunny Los Angeles during the offseason, the club could still be mulling ways to fortify its center position. Sources tell The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor that the Raptors are among the teams interested in adding Cavaliers center Andre Drummond, currently earning $28.8MM this season on an expiring deal.
The Raptors are sending rookies Malachi Flynn and Jalen Harris to the NBAGL’s Orlando “bubble” campus to get some extended development this season. Doug Smith of The Toronto Star previews their upcoming adventure with Toronto’s G League affiliate, Raptors 905.

Examining Malachi Flynn, Trade Scenarios. More

February 5th, 2021 at 3:40pm CST by JD Shaw

Blake Murphy of The Athletic examines topics related to Raptors guard Malachi Flynn, trade scenarios and Plan B’s in his latest mailbag. Toronto has opened the season with a 9-12 record, though the team is 6-4 in its last 10 games.

DeAndre Bembry Seeing More Minutes; Malachi Flynn Looking To Improve In G League

February 4th, 2021 at 7:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After not cracking the Toronto rotation for the club’s first 20 games, fifth-year Raptors reserve swingman DeAndre’ Bembry has finally managed to etch out consistent minutes lately, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Bembry is a new addition to the team this year, having inked a partially-guaranteed two-year, $3.7MM veteran’s minimum contract during the offseason.

Bembry credits intense Raptors practices with keeping him engaged even when he wasn’t logging significant time on the court. “That pretty much just keeps me going,” Bembry said. “[G]oing against some of the other guys that’s not playing, we would play one-on-ones, two-on-twos, even fives against each other.” Bembry is currently averaging 8.9 MPG across 12 contests, though his minutes tally per game has been increasing lately.

Raptors rookie point guard Malachi Flynn will have plenty of in-game opportunity to finesse his game while with the Raptors 905 in the NBA G League Orlando bubble this season, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.

Raptors Sign GM Bobby Webster To Multiyear Extension

February 4th, 2021 at 12:31pm CST by JD Shaw

The Raptors have signed general manager Bobby Webster to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced in a press release today. The exact terms of the agreement weren’t made available.

Webster, who was named general manager in June of 2017, is currently in his eighth season with the organization. He initially joined the team in 2013 as vice president of basketball management and strategy, working his way through the franchise and later becoming assistant GM in 2016.

“I think everyone knows what Bobby brings to our organization: intelligence, poise, and creativity,” president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “I’m very pleased that our team will continue to benefit from his many skills for seasons to come.”

Webster was one of the main architects behind the 2019 champion Raptors team, bringing an array of experience and expertise to the table. He spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career in the league office.

“It’s great to be able to continue the work of building the next Raptor championship team – a goal which is part of our organizational DNA,” Webster said. “I’m grateful to Larry Tanenbaum, MLSE ownership and leadership, our great players and staff, and the people of Toronto for making this my home for the past years, and for the future.”

The Raptors will have to address another front-office matter in the near future, as Ujiri, the team’s longtime president, is currently in the final year of his contract.

Former Raptor Lucas Nogueira Announces Retirement

February 3rd, 2021 at 8:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former Raptors center Lucas Nogueira is retiring from basketball, according to a post on his Instagram.

The Celtics initially drafted the rights to the 7-footer with the No. 16 pick in 2013 (one pick after reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo), packaging him in a draft-night deal with the Hawks. During the summer of 2014, with Nogueira still overseas, the Hawks sent his draft rights to the Raptors in a package that also included sharpshooting off-guard Lou Williams.

Nogueira played 141 games for the Raptors between 2014-18. Toronto decline to tender the big man an extension offer for the 2018/19 season, making him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018. He opted to return overseas, playing for clubs in Spain and Bahrain. Nogueira posted career NBA averages of 3.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 12.4 MPG.

The 28-year-old alluded to incurring a new injury after a prior injury kept him off the court for the better part of two years.

“Certainly the sad moments [on the court] were those that took me away from the courts due to injuries,” Nogueira said in his Instagram post. “I always knew that returning to the [court] after almost two years away from her would be very difficult and challenging, but I was willing to take on more of this challenge in my career. However, last Tuesday, it happened again, so I made this difficult decision and asked to leave Fortaleza Basquete Cearense.”

Windhorst’s Latest: Tucker, House, Shumpert, Oubre, Ball, Butler, Lowry

February 1st, 2021 at 9:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets are seeking a first-round pick or three second-rounders for P.J. Tucker, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his latest Hoop Collective podcast. Houston was unable to reach an extension agreement with Tucker prior to the season and he has been the subject of trade rumors. He’s making a reasonable $8MM this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Rockets’ desire to accumulate multiple second-rounders for Tucker has previously been reported but Windhorst indicates they’d want a first-rounder as an alternative. Houston already has a stockpile of first-rounders from the James Harden blockbuster.

Windhorst also divulged a number of other tidbits during his podcast:

Speaking of the Rockets, forward Danuel House has attracted some trade interest around the league. House is signed through next season but he has a team-friendly contract — $3.72MM this season and $3.89MM next season.
Iman Shumpert’s new contract with the Nets is non-guaranteed. Brooklyn filled a roster spot by signing the veteran guard over the weekend.
There are rumors circulating about a potential Warriors–Pelicans trade involving Kelly Oubre and Lonzo Ball. The Bulls, who continue to look for a long-term solution at point guard, might also be interested in Ball, who will have a qualifying offer in excess of $14MM this offseason.
Heat star wing Jimmy Butler lost more than 10 pounds during his recent bout with COVID-19, something that Ethan J. Skolnick also noted last week on the Five on the Floor podcast (hat tip to Radio.com).
The Raptors could be in the market for a player who could jolt their offense. If Toronto doesn’t turn things around, the team might consider offers for Kyle Lowry, who could become an “interesting” rental for a contender. Lowry is headed to unrestricted free agency but his $30.5MM contract would complicate the process of moving him.

Raptors 905 GM Awaiting Protocols

February 1st, 2021 at 5:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors 905 GM Chad Sanders is awaiting to hear the quarantine protocols regarding the shuttling of players between NBA teams and the G League bubble in Orlando, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Two-way player Jalen Harris is already there but any additional assignments will hinge on those protocols, Murphy adds.

Fischer’s Latest: Beal, Wizards, Pelicans, Hawks, Ujiri

February 1st, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Reiterating a point made by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday and Wizards head coach Scott Brooks on Saturday, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report confirms that Bradley Beal is not available via trade, citing one longtime executive who notes that the team’s stance on the matter appears sincere and isn’t a bluff to drive up the guard’s price.

Despite there being no change in Beal’s potential availability, it continues to be a popular subject of speculation around the NBA. As Fischer explains, opposing front offices anticipate an “inevitable inflection point,” since there’s an expectation that the Wizards won’t be able to transform into a contender before Beal becomes eligible for free agency in 2022.

That inflection point isn’t here yet though, and the expectation is that it won’t arrive prior to this season’s trade deadline. According to Fischer, there’s a sentiment around the league that, regardless of Washington’s record, team ownership is unlikely to approve a Beal trade until the 2021 offseason at the very earliest.

“Teams say it all the time, but you feel like it’s real,” one assistant GM told Fischer, referring to the Wizards’ unwillingness to engage.

Here are a few more items of note from Fischer’s latest report:

New Orleans’ interest in Beal is one of the “biggest open secrets” around the league, according to Fischer, who suggests that the Pelicans and Hawks could be among the potential suitors for the Wizards guard if he eventually hits the trade block. Washington had been eyeing Onyeka Okongwu with the No. 9 pick in the 2020 draft before Atlanta scooped him up at No. 6, Fischer notes.
The Hawks “widely signaled” prior to draft night in the fall that Kevin Huerter was available via trade, per Fischer. It’s unclear whether the team’s stance has changed at all since then or if Huerter will be a trade candidate at next month’s deadline.
Word in NBA circles is that the Wizards may try to make another run at Masai Ujiri this summer, according to Fischer, who says the franchise has some deep-pocketed minority stakeholders interested in pursuing the Raptors‘ president of basketball operations. Although the Wizards denied it at the time, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in June 2019 that the club was ready to make an aggressive offer to Ujiri, whose contract with Toronto expires later this year.

Two-Way Players Making Bids For Promotions

February 1st, 2021 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

Players on two-way contracts are free to appear in NBA games, but there are limitations on the amount of time they can spend with their respective NBA teams. Even in 2020/21, with those restrictions loosened a little, each two-way player can only appear in 50 of his team’s 72 games, assuming he signed before the season began.

While 50 games should be more than enough for most teams to get through the season without maxing out the eligibility of their two-way players, some have emerged as regular rotation pieces for their respective clubs and are likely to reach the 50-game mark before season’s end, barring an injury.

In order to remove those restrictions, a team has to promote a two-way player to its 15-man roster, either converting him to a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract or negotiating a new multiyear deal.

While it’s a little early in the 2020/21 season to determine which two-way players will ultimately end up being promoted to 15-man rosters, a handful of players on two-way deals have made strong cases for standard contracts in the early going.

Here are some of the top candidates to receive promotions among this year’s two-way players:

Jordan McLaughlin (Timberwolves)

McLaughlin spent the 2019/20 season on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves and played well enough to earn a standard deal in the offseason, having averaged 7.6 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game with a .489/.382/.667 shooting line in 30 contests (19.7 MPG).

A restricted free agent, McLaughlin reportedly received a multiyear contract offer from Minnesota, but it would’ve been a team-friendly deal that included multiple non-guaranteed years. The 24-year-old opted to bet on himself instead, playing another year on a two-way contract and hoping for a better opportunity when he returns to the free agent market in the summer of 2021.

We’ll have to wait to see whether or not that was the right call, but so far it doesn’t look like last season was a fluke. With D’Angelo Russell, Ricky Rubio, and Anthony Edwards in the picture, there are fewer backcourt minutes to go around, but McLaughlin has played well in a limited role, with 5.5 PPG, 4.1 APG, and .455/.375/.800 shooting in 17.2 MPG (11 games).

Garrison Mathews (Wizards)

Like McLaughlin, Mathews was on a two-way contract last season and played well, but ended up having to take another two-way deal. He’s once again proving that he deserves consideration for a promotion, with 8.9 PPG and 1.4 SPG on .429/.405/.889 shooting through 10 games (19.7 MPG).

Unfortunately for Mathews, the Wizards currently have a full 15-man roster made up of mostly non-expendable players. If the team cuts recent signee Alex Len at some point or makes a trades that opens up a roster spot, that could create an opportunity for Mathews.

Yuta Watanabe (Raptors)

Invited to training camp on an Exhibit 10 contract alongside other NBA veterans like Henry Ellenson and Alize Johnson in the fall, Watanabe played his way onto the 17-man regular season roster, with the Raptors converting his non-guaranteed camp deal into a two-way contract at the end of the preseason.

Since then, Watanabe who spent the last two years on a two-way deal with the Grizzlies, has gradually been making a case for more playing time. His box-score numbers (3.9 PPG and 3.4 RPG) are modest, but he’s been hot from three-point range so far, knocking down 12-of-25 attempts (48.0%) and is providing energy and defensive itensity off the bench.

In Toronto’s last five games, Watanabe has been one of the team’s most-used bench players, logging 18.8 minutes per game and bumping his averages to 8.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG.

Since releasing Len, the Raptors have been holding an open spot on their 15-man roster. If that spot doesn’t get filled in a trade at some point in the coming weeks, Watanabe looks like the best bet to fill it before the end of the season.

Others to watch:

Jordan Bone (Magic)
Mason Jones (Rockets)
Reggie Perry (Nets)
Max Strus (Heat)
Gabe Vincent (Heat)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Notes: Watanabe, Johnson, McCaw, Harris, 3-Point Shots

January 29th, 2021 at 6:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Yuta Watanabe and Stanley Johnson have emerged as key bench contributors for the Raptors, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star notes. “I think both (Watanabe) and Stanley have been doing a good job … when they check in to get our offense into another gear,” coach Nick Nurse said. Both players are trying to solidify the futures in the league. Johnson is headed to unrestricted free agency, while Watanabe is on a two-way deal.

We have more on the Raptors:

Patrick McCaw is showing some progress from his knee injury that has kept him out this season, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. McCaw participated in the non-contact portion of practice on Thursday. OG Anunoby (calf) and Norman Powell (quad) both missed Friday’s game against Sacramento.
Rookie guard Jalen Harris is joining Raptors 905 at the G League bubble in Orlando, Murphy adds in another tweet. The second-round pick from Nevada has appeared in two NBA games.
Toronto is on pace to take the second-most 3-pointers in league history and that may explain why the team is shooting fewer free throws, Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star notes. The Raptors were averaging 43.2 3-point attempts a game heading into Friday’s action but taking just 20.2 foul shots. The over-reliance on 3-point shots may help explain forward Pascal Siakam‘s slow start, Feschuk adds.