While some pundits still believe the Raptors might target future assets at the deadline, that’s clearly not the plan, according to Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star, who argues that the team should prioritize upgrading its roster and securing its spot among the Eastern Conference contenders.
Before the Raptors make any roster changes, it would benefit the front office to see the team’s full roster in action, something that hasn’t happened much this season. Currently, four of Toronto’s top six players in minutes per game – Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, Norman Powell, and Fred VanVleet – are sidelined, but the club may begin to clear its injured list soon.
Siakam, Gasol, and Powell all took part in practice on Friday on a limited basis, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski hears that there’s hope Siakam could be back in the lineup within the next week or so. A Sunday return would be a bit ambitious for Siakam or Gasol, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said today, but Powell is on track to be back on Sunday (Twitter link via Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca).
The Pacers have assigned Goga Bitadze and Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mads Ants, per the team’s Twitter feed. Bitadze was the team’s first-round pick in the 2019 draft.
The Clippers have assigned Mfiondu Kabengele, Terance Mann and Jerome Robinson to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario. Kabengele was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
The Hornets have sent Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to the team’s website. This marks Martin’s seventh trip to the G League and McDaniels’ sixth.
Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
The Hornets recalled forwards Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels from the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. Martin, an undrafted rookie, has appeared in five games for the Hornets, averaging 1.8 PPG in 6.4 MPG. Martin has appeared in 17 games for the Swarm, averaging 19.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 3.8 APG in 35.1 MPG. McDaniels, a second-round pick who has made two cameos with the Hornets, has appeared in 20 games with the Swarm, averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG.
Point guard Chris Clemons has been recalled by the Rockets, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Clemons had a 40-point game for the Rio Grande Vipers on Sunday. The previous Sunday he racked up 16 points and nine assists for the Rockets against New Orleans.
The Mavericks assigned small forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, the team’s PR department tweets. The second-round pick has been rehabbing a foot injury.
The Suns recalled Jalen Lecque from their Northern Arizona affiliate, the team tweets. The undrafted rookie guard has yet to make his NBA debut.
The Pacers recalled star guard Victor Oladipo from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team tweets. Oladipo practiced with the Mad Ants as he continues his rehab from a right knee ailment.
The Raptors assigned Matt Thomas to Raptors 905, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. He’ll play in a G League contest on Monday, then return to the NBA club and suit up against Portland on Tuesday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. The shooting guard has been sidelined by a finger injury and hasn’t played for the Raptors since November 23.
Raptors forwards Stanley Johnson and Malcolm Miller have also been assigned to Raptors 905, Murphy adds in another tweet. Johnson, who asked to be sent to the G League, will also play on Monday as he works his way back from a groin injury, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link). Miller has appeared in 20 games with the NBA club this season but is only averaging 5.5 MPG.
The Lakers recalled Talen Horton-Tucker from South Bay, the G League affiliate tweets. The second-round rookie has appeared in two NBA games this season.
Nets guard Caris LeVert made his highly-anticipated return against the Raptors on Saturday night, seeing his first in-game action with the team since November 10.
Raptors big men Pascal Siakam (groin) and Marc Gasol (hamstring) still aren’t close to returning to action, head coach Nick Nurse said, as relayed by Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). “I would still say, if I was guessing, the order of comeback would probably be Matt [Thomas] and Norm [Powell], Marc and then lastly Pascal if that’s the case,” Nurse said. “But I think we’re still, I mean, we’re still a ways away with Marc and Pascal. I think Norm and Matt are in the front-view mirror, let’s put it that way.”
“I love doing it,” Hollis-Jefferson said of his expanded role as a passer once defenses key in on Raptors guards Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. “Growing up in high school and college, even some in Brooklyn, just made plays with the ball whether that was bringing it up or whether that was catching it at the high post.”
When Toronto signed Hollis-Jefferson to a one-year, $2.5MM contract this summer, he was not anticipating being used extensively on offense. Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star notes that Raptors coach Nick Nurse has been tactical about shifting around his rotation to adjust to opposing teams. This has forced players like Hollis-Jefferson and OG Anunoby to remain primed for starter minutes, though Nurse sometimes favors one over the other.
3:42pm: The Celtics, Mavericks, and Raptors have also registered interest in Drummond, tweets Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Goodwill notes that Drummond has relationships with Dallas big man Kristaps Porzingis and Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry, while Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports adds (via Twitter) that the big man is close with Hawks star Trae Young.
2:05pm: The Pistons and Hawks have engaged in talks on a possible trade involving center Andre Drummond, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, nothing is imminent, but Detroit is discussing Drummond with multiple teams and there’s an increasing belief that the big man will be moved before next month’s trade deadline.
Drummond, 26, is enjoying perhaps the best season of his NBA career so far, with career highs in PPG (17.6), BPG (1.8), and SPG (2.0) to go along with a league-leading 15.8 RPG. Despite his strong play though, the Pistons are out of the playoff picture — their 12-23 record places them 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Facing a potential lottery finish and a contract year for Drummond, who will likely decline his $28.75MM option for 2020/21, it makes sense that the Pistons would consider their options. Securing a strong return for their starting center would be a more favorable outcome than losing him for nothing in the summer or overpaying to lock him up to a long-term contract.
As we relayed earlier today, Pistons owner Tom Goresadmitted that his struggling team may need to consider taking a step back rather than remaining in win-now mode, and the Hawks are in the market for a veteran center. The two teams could be a good match, especially since Atlanta has extra draft picks available and a handful of expiring contracts that could be used for salary-matching purposes. Chandler Parsons‘s expiring $25.1MM deal would be the most logical trade chip to match Drummond’s $27.09MM cap hit.
According to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (via Twitter), a package of one or more expiring contracts and a protected 2020 first-round pick is one option being discussed. It’s not clear if the Hawks would be willing to make such an offer or if the Pistons would accept it.
If the Hawks were to acquire Drummond during the season, they’d be in position to re-sign him in July using his Bird rights. The club has plenty of cap flexibility going forward, so there would be no risk of going into tax territory even with a lucrative new deal for Drummond. Atlanta would then be in position to build around a frontcourt of Drummond and John Collins, with Trae Young running the show.
Of course, as Woj notes, the Hawks aren’t the only team talking to Detroit about a potential trade involving Drummond, so the Pistons are unlikely to rush a deal unless they get an offer they really like. The club still has nearly five weeks until the February 6 trade deadline arrives.
A year ago, four Eastern Conference teams had serious title aspirations and plenty at stake if they didn’t make deep playoff runs. The Raptors, Bucks, Sixers, and Celtics had set their sights so high that anything short of an Eastern Conference Finals berth would be considered a disappointment. And sure enough, after Philadelphia and Boston were knocked out in the Eastern Semifinals, they made major offseason changes, with Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick, Kyrie Irving, and Al Horford all departing in free agency.
This season, the situation is a little different. Most Eastern Conference contenders have their core players locked up for the foreseeable future, so if they fall short of expectations in the postseason, that doesn’t necessarily mean roster shake-ups are coming. Still, the logjam near the top of the East’s standings will be fascinating to watch because there are now six strong contenders in the conference, with the Heat and Pacers joining the aforementioned four.
After struggling down the stretch last season when Victor Oladipo went down, Indiana has learned to win without him this season, posting a 22-13 record. It’s reasonable to assume the Pacers will be an even more dangerous team once Oladipo is back, which is expected to happen within the next month or so. As for Miami, the addition of Butler and young players like Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Kendrick Nunn has led to an impressive bounce-back season so far for the 25-9 Heat.
The Celtics (23-8), Raptors (23-12), and Sixers (23-13) are bunched together with those two teams, and they’re all looking up at the top-seeded Bucks (31-5).
Based on how well these six teams have played so far, it’s safe to assume they’ll all enter the postseason expecting to win at least one series — and potentially more. But the math is working against them. Only four teams can make it through the first round, so at least two of these aspiring contenders will be one-and-done in the playoffs.
That brings us to today’s poll question: Which of the East’s top six teams won’t make it through the first round this spring?
Vote for two teams below in our poll, then head to the comment section below to explain your picks and to weigh in on which teams you expect to make deep postseason runs.
While some head coaches prefer to shake up their starting lineup over the course of the season, Erik Spoelstra has found comfort in consistency this year, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. After using 29 different lineups in 2018/19, the Heat have started the same five players – Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Meyers Leonard, Kendrick Nunn, and Duncan Robinson – in 27 of their 33 games so far this season, and in every game since November 27.
Spoelstra didn’t necessarily plan on sticking to a regular starting lineup coming out of camp, and youngsters like Nunn and Robinson certainly weren’t penciled in as everyday starters during the offseason. But the Heat are 21-6 in the 27 games those five players have started, so it’s hard to argue with the results.
“Those guys earned it coming out of training camp and coming out of preseason, for a lot of different reasons,” Spoelstra said.
Here’s more on the Heat:
The clock is ticking for two-way player Chris Silva, who is nearing his 45-day NBA limit, Winderman writes in a separate Sun Sentinel article. Winderman estimates that Silva’s 45-day clock will be up by about January 24, at which time the club will have to decide whether to convert him to a one-year, minimum-salary contract, leave him in the G League, or try to negotiate a new, longer-term deal.
The Heat and Raptors have been two of the NBA’s most successful teams in recent years at uncovering hidden talent outside the first round of the draft. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explores how those two teams do it.
Jimmy Butler and the Jordan Brand have mutually agreed to part ways, making the four-time All-Star a sneaker free agent, reports Nick DePaula of ESPN.com.
As The Sun Sentinel relays, the Heat, led by owner Micky Arison and president Pat Riley, issued multiple statements on the passing of former commissioner David Stern. The club’s statement notes that the franchise originated when the league expanded under Stern’s watch: “There is no Miami Heat without David J. Stern.”
January 1st, 2020 at 9:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
Despite a flurry of player injuries, the Raptors remain firmly ensconced among the class of the Eastern Conference. Currently, they are seeded fourth with a 23-11 record.
If one were to project this present winning percentage across an 82-game schedule, Toronto would win 55 contests. Not bad for a team already missing its best player from the season prior.
Five of the Raptors’ top eight players in minutes logged per game this season (All-Star level studs Kyle Lowry andPascal Siakam, plus starters Marc Gasol and Norman Powell and integral reserve Serge Ibaka) have been lost to various maladies for at least nine games each, as we have noted previously on Hoops Rumors.
The ascent of Siakam to two-way superstar status, when healthy, has been a boon to the Raptors’ terrific start to 2019/20. 33-year-old Lowry’s ability to help shoulder more of the offensive burden left by departed fun guy Kawhi Leonard, along with the rise of Fred VanVleet as a major scorer, have helped plenty, too.
Provided Siakam doesn’t miss too much more time with his stretched groin injury, he and Lowry should both be All-Stars this season. The team’s various absences have doubled as showcases for young role players like OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Terence Davis to prove their mettle.
Assuming the team is healthy by spring, the Raptors’ depth, size and star power makes them a legitimate contender in the East in 2020, one year removed from winning it all. Or does it? Can they really best the Bucks, Celtics, or Sixers in a seven-game series? Teams like the Pacers and Heat have a realistic chance at advancing far, too. And do any of these teams have a chance against the two stacked Los Angeles squads or the Nuggets in a Finals series?
Before the season started, many pundits assumed Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri would tactfully rebuild his team, moving some of his solid veterans on good deals for future assets. Lowry has one season remaining this year; Gasol and Ibaka are both on expiring contracts.
The team has proven to be better than even some of the most devout occupants of Jurassic Park could have hoped. Should the Raptors blow it up? Or should they move some of their intriguing youth for a bit more veteran help ahead of another playoff push? The team will probably strive to avoid adding too many contracts that will extend beyond the 2020/21 season, as that summer promises to supply a stacked free agent class.
This writer believes that, barring some kind of collapse down the ranks ahead of the deadline, the Raptors should look to improve their team for 2020. The Raptors have bucked the odds to reach this point. Let them see this through. Though the Bucks, Lakers, and Clippers feel like the current cream of the crop in the NBA, the Raptors number among a host of talented squads nipping at their heels.
Should the Raptors be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline this season? Vote below in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts. We look forward to hearing from you!
January 1st, 2020 at 8:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
The Raptors have managed to stay afloat this season despite losing Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard this summer and losing Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell to injuries for at least nine games each. The Toronto Star’s Doug Smith reports that the Raptors are eager for their players’ health to stabilize in 2020. Coach Nick Nurse observed that there have been some benefits to the team’s losing so many top players. “We’ve got a lot more reps out of a lot of other things in games — with a lot of guys that we probably didn’t think would get a lot of reps — and we’ve got a look at a lot of different defenses and stuff,” Nurse said. “So it’s been give and take, good and bad.”
