- Raptors guard Kyle Lowry will remain in the team’s temporary home in Tampa this weekend and miss games in Charlotte on Saturday and Monday, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star relays. The team didn’t give a reason for Lowry’s absence, so it’s unclear whether it’s related to the COVID-19 protocols. Lowry, who will make $30.5MM in the upcoming season, will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
- Terence Davis‘ lawyer is seeking a dismissal of the criminal case against him, Rick Westhead of The Sports Network tweets. The Raptors guard was arrested in New York City in late October and faces seven charges. Davis allegedly hit his girlfriend in the face, then grabbed the victim’s phone and broke it during the incident. The woman’s son also allegedly got knocked down during the altercation. Davis made a court appearance remotely on Friday and was told he must “stay away” from his alleged victim but that he can have contact with his son.
- Raptors reserve guard Norman Powell will lead a new-look bench unit for Toronto, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “This year the team looks a little different,” Powell said. “I think that’s the biggest challenge for me this year, is how do I get the new guys coming in to have that [same] chemistry [we had last season] so we can make an impact and sustain that high level of play and competitiveness, and keep playing Raptors basketball.” Second unit mainstays Serge Ibaka and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson both departed in free agency,
The Raptors announced in a press release on Monday that three members of their organization tested positive for COVID-19 during the league-mandated testing period prior to training camp. Those three people are self-isolating, with the club indicating that follow-up testing has revealed no further spread to other members of the organization.
As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets, head coach Nick Nurse said on Sunday that all the Raptors’ players were able to participate in the club’s first group practice. As such, it sounds like the people who tested positive for the coronavirus are likely non-players, though that hasn’t been confirmed.
- Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is the franchise’s biggest free-agent-to-be for 2021, Michael Grange writes in an interesting, in-depth story for Sportsnet.ca. As Grange writes, Ujiri – whom league insiders expect to become the NBA’s highest-paid executive – seems content to slow-play negotiations on his next contract. “They’d have to be nuts not to (want to sign him),” one of Grange’s sources said of Raptors ownership. “It’s not like there’s a Plan A and a Plan B. There’s only Plan A, and it’s him. But he’s a very deliberate guy, and the kind of guy you have to respect his space.”
Several franchises are expected to bypass the option of competing in the proposed NBA G League bubble, which would likely be located in Atlanta next month, league sources told Hoops Rumors.
The Celtics (Maine Red Claws), Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce), Lakers (South Bay Lakers), and Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive) are among the teams that have indicated plans of not participating in the bubble, sources said, with discussions ongoing about the final structure of a season. The Athletic first reported that Boston planned on bypassing the bubble.
Among the topics still being discussed are player salaries, committed teams, and a precise calendar for the season. Franchises would have an entry fee of $500K. The newly-introduced G League Ignite team is a major consideration in the league’s push to salvage a season.
Teams would be expected to play a minimum of 12 games during the campaign, which could then be followed by a tournament, sources said. As in past years, a G League draft would be held at a date to be later determined.
Despite some teams gradually beginning to reject the idea, other franchises such as the Sixers (Delaware Blue Coats) and Raptors (Raptors 905) have committed to playing this season, sources said. All in all, optimism remains that a G League bubble will commence, with a minimum of double-digit teams participating and an announcement coming in the near future.
Speaking today to reporters, including Lori Ewing of The Canadian Press (Twitter link), Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said that veteran centers Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol were “incredible for us.” However, Toronto’s long-term plans meant that the team was “limited in terms and years” when it came to making Ibaka and Gasol contract offers.
The Raptors’ limitations stem from the club’s desire to maintain as much cap flexibility as possible for the 2021 offseason. As such, it remains to be seen whether or not forward OG Anunoby will receive a contract extension before the December 21 deadline. A new contract for Anunoby, which would begin in 2021/22, would cut into Toronto’s cap room if the starting salary on that new deal exceeds his cap hold as a restricted free agent ($11.6MM).
“I think there are talks to be had,” Ujiri said today, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). “They know of the abilities that we want, so we’ll keep having those conversations. The most important thing is we’re excited about OG.”
Anunoby, who spoke to reporters on Friday, confirmed that his agent was engaged in discussions with the Raptors about a possible extension, suggesting he’d have a better idea closer to the December 21 deadline whether a new deal is a realistic possibility (Twitter link via Lewenberg).
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Ujiri suggested today that the club has either completed or is close to finalizing extensions for most of his front office staffers, including general manager Bobby Webster (Twitter links via Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun and Blake Murphy of The Athletic). Ujiri said there’s been too much going on to focus on his own extension yet, but that he’ll go into those talks with a “very positive mind and attitude” and hopes to get something done (Twitter link via Lewenberg).
- Ujiri isn’t ready to say one way or the other whether the Raptors will be able to host fans at their Tampa arena this season, noting that he has a meeting this afternoon to discuss the possibility (Twitter link via Wolstat).
- Asked about the possibility of Kyle Lowry retiring as a Raptor, Ujiri referred to the veteran point guard as a future Hall-of-Famer, suggesting the team would be happy to continue its union with Lowry beyond 2021. “He’s been incredibly respectful to the organization and we will have that same respect to Kyle anytime, everyday,” Ujiri said (Twitter link via Lewenberg).
- The Raptors announced a series of coaching hires and promotions in a Friday press release, including Chris Finch and Jama Mahlalela as assistants on Nick Nurse‘s staff and Patrick Mutombo as the head coach of the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate.
In a new exchange, Eric Koreen and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic discuss what recently-added Raptors players DeAndre’ Bembry and Alex Len will bring to Toronto.
Kirschner notes that Bembry was available to the Raptors because his offensive game stagnated in Atlanta, and the team did not have enough confidence in his health or in his potential to become a standout defender. The swingman was the No. 21 selection by the Hawks in the 2016 draft out of Saint Joseph’s.
Len, meanwhile, can provide solid rim protection and occasional jump shooting in a limited role as the Raptors’ new backup center behind expected starter Aron Baynes, also a fresh signing.
There’s more out of Toronto:
- Len is excited to join a playoff-caliber club for the first time in his career, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. “When Toronto reached out I just jumped on board,” Len said of his joining the Raptors. “It wasn’t about the money, just the opportunity to play for a top-notch, great organization.”
- Clippers power forward/center Serge Ibaka anticipated a return to the Raptors in the offseason, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic (Twitter link). After a meeting with team president Masai Ujiri and GM Bobby Webster when his free agency commenced, Ibaka became more open to going in a different direction. “It was not an easy decision to make,” he said. “They made me better as a player. The organization (challenged) me to be a better person, on or off the court.”
- After a breakout season that saw him make his first All-Star team, Raptors forward Pascal Siakam is hoping his play this season will quiet his doubters following a disappointing performance during the NBA’s Orlando restart, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen. “I think when I watched the games (from the bubble), one of the things that I really felt was I didn’t recognize myself in terms of just, like, having fun,” Siakam said. “I’m always somebody that has fun playing the game and I love this game and I don’t never want to be able to play the game without any joy.”
- Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told reporters today that Toronto’s front office has liked DeAndre’ Bembry for a while and was happy to have the chance to sign him this offseason (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Nurse praised Bembry’s toughness, defense, and play-making, referring to him as a “high-IQ guy.”
- Having guaranteed Terence Davis‘ salary for 2020/21, the Raptors continue to wait for the NBA to complete its investigation into the allegations of domestic violence against the second-year guard, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “I think sometimes that may feel a bit unsatisfying but I think that we need to be respectful of that process as well,” general manager Bobby Webster said on Tuesday.
Several Raptors role players will have something to prove starting in starting camp this month. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star takes a look at how rotation contributors like OG Anunoby, Patrick McCaw, Norman Powell, Chris Boucher and Matt Thomas can take leaps in their careers this season.
Though Anunoby is eligible for an extension now, Smith expects the Raptors to let him enter restricted free agency in 2021 to keep their books as clean as possible next offseason in the hopes of making an addition from a star-studded 2021 free agent class.
There’s more out of Toronto-by-way-of-Tampa:
- The Raptors traveled to their 2020/21 season home court in Tampa on Monday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Lewenberg notes that Raptors players must test negative 3-4 times for COVID-19 ahead of their individual workouts. Toronto’s first team practice is set for Sunday, December 6, at Saint Leo University.
- David Aldridge and Blake Murphy of The Athletic take a deep dive into the Raptors’ temporary relocation down south. “Obviously, we miss the city, but I think we’ve gotta be excited about what’s ahead of us,” guard Fred VanVleet said.
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic assesses the competition for opening-night Raptors roster spots heading into the the team’s training camp this season.
- Raptors general manager Bobby Webster, in the final season of his current contract, continues to discuss an extension with team ownership, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link). Webster noted that conversations about an extension have been ongoing.
- Oshae Brissett‘s new multiyear deal with the Raptors features a $300K guarantee for year one, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. That guarantee signals that Brissett probably has a leg up in battle for Toronto’s 15th regular season roster spot.
The Raptors have officially filled out their training camp roster, having signed second-round pick Jalen Harris to a two-way contract and restricted free agent forward Oshae Brissett to a multiyear deal, per RealGM’s official log of NBA transactions.
Harris, who began his college career at Louisiana Tech, transferred to Nevada and had a huge year in 2019/20 as a junior, averaging 21.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 3.9 APG with a .446/.362/.823 shooting line in 30 games (33.0 MPG). The 22-year-old guard declared for the draft and was selected by the Raptors with the 59th overall pick. He’ll occupy one of the team’s two-way slots, while Paul Watson holds the other.
As for Brissett, he appeared in 19 games for the Raptors on a two-way contract as a rookie last season, playing mostly garbage-time minutes. The former Syracuse standout averaged 1.9 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 7.1 minutes per contest. In 30 G League games for the Raptors 905, he bumped those numbers to 14.9 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 27.8 MPG.
Brissett received a two-way qualifying offer from Toronto, but the two sides ended up negotiating a new standard contract instead — it’ll probably be a two-year deal worth the minimum salary. He’ll likely get a small partial guarantee in year one and will compete in training camp for a regular season roster spot, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.
Brissett’s competitors for the 15th roster spot will be Henry Ellenson, Yuta Watanabe, and Alize Johnson. Their deals, which were reported on Friday, are all official now too, per RealGM.