- Handing coach Nick Nurse an extension was an important first step during a tricky offseason for the Raptors, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Canada opines. The Raptors need to position themselves for the summer of 2021, when they could chase top free agents. The next step this offseason would be to reach extension agreements with team president Masai Ujiri and GM Bobby Webster, Lewenberg adds. Details of Nurse’s multiyear extension can be found here.
- The Raptors will have approximately $45MM to spend on their own free agents or using the mid-level exception before going into the luxury tax, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Murphy takes a closer look at the Raptors’ balance sheet and impending decisions, including Fred VanVleet‘s free agency.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who previously won the Rookie of the Year award, was the only player unanimously selected to this year’s All-Rookie First Team, the league announced in a press release. A panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters selected the team.
Heat guard Kendrick Nunn collected the second-most First Team votes (98) and total points (197). Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, Pelicans forward and top overall draft pick Zion Williamson, and Warriors forward Eric Paschall rounded out the First Team.
Morant and Clarke became the first Grizzlies duo named to the All-Rookie First Team since the 2001/02 season, when Pau Gasol and Shane Battier earned the honor. Nunn is the first Heat player named to the First Team since Michael Beasley in 2008/09.
Heat guard Tyler Herro, Raptors guard Terence Davis II, Bulls guard Coby White, Hornets forward P.J. Washington, and Wizards forward Rui Hachimura gained All-Rookie Second Team honors.
Knicks wing and third overall pick RJ Barrett finished 13 points behind Hachimura for the final spot on the Second Team, with Sixers forward Matisse Thybulle narrowly missing a spot as well.
The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played prior to the restart.
The announcement of this season’s All-NBA teams will be important for the Raptors, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic, who notes that the value of Pascal Siakam‘s rookie scale extension would increase from 25% of next season’s cap to 28% if Siakam is named to the All-NBA Second Team.
Even if Anthony Davis is considered a center and Luka Doncic is listed as a guard, making the Second Team might be a tall task for Siakam, as the Raptors forward figures to be behind LeBron James, Giannis Antetokonmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Jayson Tatum on many ballots.
While the savings for the Raptors on a 25% max instead of 28% for Siakam wouldn’t be massive, the club will likely welcome any extra cap flexibility it can get as it looks to re-sign Fred VanVleet and preserve cap room for 2021.
- Steven Loung of Sportsnet.ca examines five pressing offseason questions facing the Raptors, including which of their veteran free agents to re-sign and what OG Anunoby‘s value on a rookie scale extension would be. Meanwhile, Eric Koreen of The Athletic contends that a new contract extension for president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, whose current deal expires in 2021, would be the best move Toronto could make this offseason. The team extended head coach Nick Nurse earlier today.
The Raptors have signed head coach Nick Nurse to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. Nurse’s three-year deal with the club had been set to expire in 2021.
“Our confidence in Nick just continues to grow, and part of that comes from what we’ve experienced together. The past two seasons have been unlike any other in our team’s history – first, winning our championship, and then navigating a global pandemic and committing long-term to the fight against racism and for social justice,” Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “Nick has proved that he can coach on the court and lead in life, and we’re looking forward to accomplishing great things in the future.”
Previously an assistant coach on the Raptors’ staff under Dwane Casey, Nurse was promoted following the 2017/18 season and has enjoyed a near-perfect two-year run in his first stint as an NBA head coach. He has an 111-43 (.721) regular season record and a 23-12 (.657) postseason mark during that stretch, winning the franchise’s first-ever title in 2019 and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2020.
While the Raptors’ playoff run this summer ended in the second round with a Game 7 loss to the Celtics, Nurse earned praise all season long for leading Toronto to a No. 2 seed in the East despite losing Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and dealing with a bevy of injuries to his starters and rotation players.
The terms of Nurse’s new contract aren’t yet known, but a multiyear extension means the team has added at least two seasons to the one year left on his initial deal, locking him up through at least 2023.
It’s also probably safe to assume that Nurse received a raise on his new contract. When he was promoted to replace Casey in 2018, his three-year deal was said to be worth less than $10MM in total.
Nurse is one of several key figures within the organization who was in line for an extension this offseason. President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster each have one year left on their respective contracts, and the club figures to pursue new deals with both executives very soon. Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka are all on track for unrestricted free agency, while OG Anunoby is becoming extension-eligible for the first time.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic examines six takeaways from the Raptors‘ seven-game series loss to the Celtics. Toronto was 0.5 seconds away from going down 3-0 before OG Anunoby‘s buzzer-beating shot in Game 3, climbing back to force the hard-fought series to seven games. The Raptors have several key players set to reach free agency this offseason, including Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol.
Now that the offseason has arrived for the Raptors, their attention will turn to re-signing Fred VanVleet, who will be one of the top names on the free agent market, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. After making a name for himself by hitting big shots in last year’s playoffs, VanVleet became a full -time starter and turned in his best NBA season, averaging career highs with 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
At 26, the fourth-year guard will be part of the Raptors’ foundation if he stays in Toronto, and he said he had plenty of time to consider his situation while the league was on hiatus.
“Being at home for that long, it gives you a lot of time to reflect on things,” VanVleet said. “I’m sure — like all of us, everybody’s jobs were in jeopardy — I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the league. I wasn’t sure about next year with the cap and what the numbers would look like, so it put a lot of things in perspective. It changed the way you would view everything and makes you appreciate things a lot more. … I’m not looking ahead, or I was never looking ahead all year. I was focused on trying to win a championship with this team. And we got the opportunity to come back here in the bubble and give ourselves a chance, and that’s all you can ask for.”
There’s more on the Raptors:
- Toronto faces difficult decisions on free agents Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN. Injuries limited Gasol to 44 games this year and he averaged a career-low 7.5 PPG. Gasol will turn 36 in January, but Marks expects him to have a future in the league, probably making $6-8MM less than his $25.5MM salary this season. Ibaka averaged a career-best 15.4 PPG and Marks believes he will get offers at the $9.3MM midlevel exception from playoff teams without cap space. He mentions the Mavericks and Trail Blazers as possibilities, but guesses that Toronto may offer a one-year deal at $18MM to keep Ibaka and preserve cap space for the summer of 2021.
- Another important decision involves OG Anunoby, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension, Marks adds in the same story. Anunoby has a free-agent cap hold for 2021 of $11.7MM, and any extension above that number will eat into the team’s cap space next year. He will become a restricted free agent next summer if he’s not extended, and Marks points out that his value could be much higher by then.
- Pascal Siakam never rediscovered his shot once the shutdown ended, which was a big factor in the series loss to Boston, notes Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Siakam said he accepts “a lot of the blame” for the defeat, but Kyle Lowry had a prediction for his teammate. “I think this is only going to make him a better basketball player, a better man, a better everything,” Lowry said. “I would not be surprised to see him come back even more hungry and destroying people.”
Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. With the playoffs ongoing at the Orlando campus, it’s time to examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors.
Rajon Rondo, Lakers, 34, PG (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $5.2MM deal in 2019
Just when it seems that Rondo’s career is winding down, he reinforces how effective he can be when he’s healthy. Rondo was an afterthought when play resumes, as he was still recovering from a busted right hand. Coach Frank Vogel didn’t hesitate to give Rondo a large role once he was ready to play again in the conference semifinals. Rondo piled up 10 points, nine assists and five steals in the Lakers’ Game 2 win over Houston and 21 points and nine assists in Game 3. He came up two assists shy of a triple-double in Game 4. Rondo has a $2.62MM player option for next season. He’s given himself the flexibility of opting out and getting a better offer in free agency.
Jae Crowder, Heat, 30, SF (Up) – Signed to a five-year, $35MM deal in 2015
Crowder has played a major role in the Heat’s surprising run to the Eastern Conference semifinals. His defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo and 3-point shooting were instrumental as Miami knocked off the top seed. He averaged 15.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 2.2 APG in 33.6 MPG and made 43.2% of his shots during the conference semifinals. When Miami acquired Crowder from the Grizzlies before the trade deadline, it was assumed Andre Iguodala would make the biggest impact. Instead, Crowder has re-established his value. He’ll attract plenty of attention on the free agent market and could get a full mid-level from a playoff contender.
Mason Plumlee, Nuggets, 30, C (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $41MM deal in 2017
Plumlee got steady playing time as Nikola Jokic’s backup during the regular season, averaging 7.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 2.5 APG in 17.3 MPG. As the playoffs have progressed, Plumlee’s minutes have plummeted and so has his confidence. Even with his six-point outing in Game 5 against the Clippers on Friday, the big man is averaging more fouls (2.2) than points (1.6) in 10.3 MPG uring the postseason. That, plus the fact Plumlee doesn’t stretch defenses, complicates his ability to find a home in unrestricted free agency this offseason. Plumlee will probably be staring at veteran’s minimum offers, a far cry from what he received three years ago.
Stanley Johnson, Raptors, 24, SF (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $7.4MM deal in 2019
Johnson’s representatives did their client a big favor by securing a player option on the second year of his contract. It would be foolhardy for Johnson to pass up the guaranteed $3.8MM and test the free agent waters, considering he’s spent most of the season at the end of Toronto’s bench. Johnson’s postseason minutes have consisted of three late-game appearances in blowouts. He wasn’t in the rotation throughout the regular season, either. Johnson was the eighth pick of the 2015 draft and his first team, Detroit, is still lamenting the fact it picked him instead of Devin Booker, Myles Turner or Justise Winslow.
Brad Wanamaker, Celtics, 31, PG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $1.44MM deal in 2019
Coaches often shorten their rotations during the postseason but Wanamaker has continued to receive steady bench minutes from coach Brad Stevens. He’s averaged 5.8 PPG and 1.7 APG in 17.8 MPG and made the most of his limited 3-point opportunities (52.6%). Wanamaker, who spent most of his career overseas, re-signed with the Celtics last season on a minimum deal. He’s a restricted free agent but his qualifying offer of $1.82MM is peanuts by NBA standards. He’s improved his chances of the Celtics extending that offer, unless they have their eyes on another free agent point guard to back up Kemba Walker.
- Kyle Lowry doesn’t need any added incentive after leading the Raptors to a Game 7 showdown with Boston, but he’ll benefit monetarily if the Raptors reach the conference finals for the second consecutive season. Lowry will earn a $500K bonus if Toronto advances, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
- Marc Gasol‘s stint with the Raptors is heading toward an unceremonious end, Michael Grange of Sportsnet Canada writes. The impending free agent center is averaging just 5.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 2.0 APG in the conference semifinals against Boston. Gasol is making $25.6MM in the final year of his contract.
After one of the summer’s best games on Wednesday night – a double-overtime thriller which Toronto eventually pulled out – the Raptors and Celtics are headed for a Game 7 on Friday. It may not be the only second-round series to ultimately go seven games, but it’s the first one to get there.
Prior to 2020, the Raptors and Celtics had never met in the postseason, but this series has been worth the wait. The Atlantic Division rivals were fairly evenly matched during the regular season, buoyed to the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in the East by their lockdown defenses, and those defenses have been on full display this series.
Pascal Siakam, an All-Star this season for the Raptors, has struggled immensely against Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and the rest of Boston’s defenders in the second round, averaging just 15.2 PPG on .378/.129/.722 shooting, a significant step down from his season averages of 22.9 PPG on .453/.359/.792 shooting.
Fellow All-Star Kemba Walker, meanwhile, has had some big games and hit some big shots in the series, but has struggled at times to get things going against the likes of Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, and OG Anunoby, even facing a box-and-one defense on Wednesday. In Game 6, he scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Lowry and Jayson Tatum have had productive series, and Brown and Smart have had some big-time performances for the C’s, while Anunoby and Norman Powell have hit some series-saving shots for the Raptors, who are also getting solid production from Serge Ibaka. But Nick Nurse and Brad Stevens haven’t been relying too much on their benches — in Wednesday’s game, Marc Gasol was the only starter on either team who didn’t play at least 47 minutes.
Of the series’ six games so far, two have been blowouts — both Celtics wins. The Raptors have won three of the four close games. Those numbers would seem to favor Boston, and the C’s are indeed viewed as more likely to advance. Most oddsmakers have the Celtics listed as at least two-point favorites for Game 7.
With over 24 hours to go before Game 7 tips off, we want to get your predictions. Will it be the Raptors or the Celtics that comes through on Friday and advances to play Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
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Raptors big man Serge Ibaka, who twisted his left ankle during the team’s Game 5 loss on Monday and was in a walking boot on Tuesday, will be available to play in Game 6 today against the Celtics, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters.
Ibaka, who had previously been listed as questionable, won’t have any minutes restriction, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
Losing Ibaka for Wednesday’s game would have been a major problem for the Raptors as they look to avoid elimination and force a seventh game. The veteran center has been one of the team’s most reliable offensive weapons in the series, as well as its top scorer off the bench.
In five games against Boston in the second round, Ibaka has averaged 11.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 1.4 BPG on .512/.500/1.000 shooting in 23.2 minutes per contest.
If Toronto doesn’t win Game 6, it’s possible it will be Ibaka’s last game as a Raptor. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.