Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

2019 Offseason In Review: Toronto Raptors

November 7th, 2019 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Toronto Raptors.

Signings:

Standard contracts:
- Patrick McCaw: Two years, $8MM. Re-signed using mid-level exception.
- Stanley Johnson: Two years, $7.43MM. Signed using bi-annual exception.
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: One year, $2.5MM. Signed using mid-level exception.
- Matt Thomas: Three years, minimum salary. Second year partially guaranteed ($725K). Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.
- Terence Davis: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Cameron Payne: Two years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed ($150K). Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception. (Waived)
- Isaiah Taylor: Two years, minimum salary. First year partially guaranteed ($50K). Second year non-guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception. (Waived)
Two-way contracts:
- Shamorie Ponds
Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Oshae Brissett: One year, minimum salary (Converted to two-way contract).
- Tyler Ennis: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Sagaba Konate: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Devin Robinson: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Matt Morgan: One year, minimum salary (Waived).

Trades:

None

Draft picks:

2-59: Dewan Hernandez — Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract. First year partially guaranteed ($500K). Second and third years non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.

Contract extensions:

Pascal Siakam: Four years, 25% maximum salary. Projected value of $129,920,000. Starting salary can be worth between 28-30% of the cap if Siakam earns All-NBA or MVP honors in 2020 (full details). Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2023/24.
Kyle Lowry: One year, $30MM. Includes $500K All-Star bonus. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2020/21.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Named Brittni Donaldson, Jon Goodwillie as assistant coaches.
Kyle Lowry underwent left thumb procedure to repair tendon injury.
Exercised 2020/21 rookie scale option on OG Anunoby.

Salary cap situation:

Remained over the cap.
Hard-capped.
Carrying approximately $125.15MM in salary.
$961K of mid-level exception still available (used $8.3MM on Patrick McCaw, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Matt Thomas, and Dewan Hernandez).
Three traded player exceptions available; largest TPE ($2.54MM) expires 2/7/20.

Story of the summer:

Generally speaking, the Raptors received high grades at the time for the 2018 blockbuster that saw them acquire Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from the Spurs without surrendering young building blocks like Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby.

However, some skeptics questioned the wisdom of giving up a perennial All-Star like DeMar DeRozan for Leonard, who was on an expiring contract and didn’t even want to be in Toronto. Kawhi had also been limited to just nine games the year before due to a quad injury, creating further uncertainty about what exactly the Raptors were getting in that deal.

The concern that Leonard would be a one-year rental was real, even if early speculation that he wouldn’t even report to Toronto was invented. But after years of disappointing playoff runs, the Raptors had determined it was time for a change. To president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, the risk of Leonard being one-and-done was worth it, since a healthy Kawhi would give the club a legit chance to make the NBA Finals.

Ujiri’s bet paid off in a big way, as Leonard didn’t just give the Raptors a chance at a title — he led the way as the franchise secured its first-ever championship. It took some good luck along the way – including a fortunate roll on Leonard’s series-ending buzzer beater against the Sixers and a Finals matchup against a Warriors team missing Kevin Durant – but Toronto was one of the NBA’s best teams all season long, and peaked at exactly the right time.

While Ujiri was ultimately right to make that move for Leonard, the skeptics who were concerned about the star forward being a rental were proven right too. Once free agency rolled around, the Los Angeles native decided to head home, joining the Clippers just three weeks after winning a Finals MVP award with the Raptors.

Leonard’s departure stung in Toronto. After all, the hangover from the championship celebration had barely worn off by the time fans found out the team’s best player wouldn’t be back. Still, having that title under their belts made it a whole lot easier for the Raptors and their fans to move on.

Unlike when the Cavaliers lost LeBron James in 2018, losing their star player won’t immediately force the Raptors into rebuilding mode. The team’s cap sheet is relatively clean going forward, and Siakam, Anunoby, and Fred VanVleet give Toronto a few intriguing pieces to build around, with accomplished veterans like Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka still poised to play major roles in the short term.

Key offseason losses:

There will be no way for the Raptors to adequately replace Leonard, a two-way superstar who ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring and earned All-Defensive honors during the regular season before taking his game to another level in the playoffs.

Leonard nearly singlehandedly dragged the Raptors past Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He then helped flip the script after the Raptors fell behind the Bucks 2-0 in the Eastern Finals when he became the primary defender on Giannis Antetokounmpo. He topped off his historic run by being named the Finals MVP against Golden State and finishing the postseason with 732 total points, the third-best mark in league history.

Of course, while Leonard’s departure rightly got all the headlines during that first weekend in July, the loss of Green shouldn’t be overlooked. The veteran sharpshooter nearly earned All-Defensive honors himself and made a career-best 45.5% of his three-point attempts, providing positive value on both ends of the floor.

Green struggled with his shot during the club’s playoff run, but Toronto wouldn’t have gotten as far as it did without him. And while replacing Green’s production is a little more realistic than replacing Leonard’s, the Raptors won’t be able to simply plug in a player who’s capable of shooting like Green while playing the same kind of suffocating defense.

Besides those two former Spurs, Toronto also lost Jeremy Lin, Jodie Meeks, and Eric Moreland, all of whom were in and out of the club’s rotation after coming aboard during the season. All three players have had better years than they did in 2018/19 for the Raptors, so the front office won’t lose any sleep about having to replace them.

Key offseason additions:

Recognizing that they weren’t going to be able to sign a player of Leonard’s or Green’s caliber with the mid-level exception, the Raptors used part of their mid-level and the full bi-annual exception to sign a pair of free agents who at least might be capable of approximating their impact on the defensive end.

Former first-round picks Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson each signed short-term contracts with the team in the hopes of filling one of those newly-opened spots in the starting lineup or at least earning a regular role in the frontcourt rotation.

There’s reason to believe the Raptors, who have done strong developmental work with players like Siakam and VanVleet in recent years, could unlock some untapped potential in Johnson and/or Hollis-Jefferson, but it hasn’t worked out that way so far. A week before the regular season began, head coach Nick Nurse publicly called out Toronto’s new veterans for not playing with the kind of effort the team expects. Neither Johnson nor RHJ has logged many minutes for the club since the season began, though there’s still plenty of time for them to get out of the doghouse.

The Raptors have been a little more impressed in the early going with a pair of undrafted rookies who signed guaranteed minimum-salary contracts over the summer. Terence Davis, a guard who went undrafted out of Ole Miss this June, has drawn comparisons to VanVleet and played well enough in the preseason to warrant a look in the rotation.

Matt Thomas, meanwhile, spent his first two professional seasons in Europe after going undrafted in 2017. The former Iowa State standout was one of the top three-point shooters in Spain last season, and while he stills needs to work on his defense, it looks like that outside shot is a transferable skill — he knocked down 7-of-15 threes in the preseason, and 5-of-8 so far in the regular season.

Dewan Hernandez, the Raptors’ lone pick in this year’s draft, is more of a developmental project and figures to spend plenty of time in the G League as a rookie.

Outlook for 2019/20:

It’s a safe bet that the Raptors won’t repeat as NBA champions in 2019/20. However, this team won’t fall off the map after losing its superstar.

Lowry, a five-time All-Star, is still capable of being the most impactful player in a game, whether or not that impact shows up on the stat sheet. Siakam is morphing into the kind of player who could become a perennial All-Star himself. That duo – extended this offseason – is complemented by a handful of quality role players and another young breakout candidate in Anunoby, which is more than enough to claim a playoff spot in the East.

The Raptors’ ceiling will hinge in part on what Siakam, Anunoby, and VanVleet are capable of, and partly on whether the team’s lack of reliable depth will become an issue. But it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Toronto claim a top-four seed and win a playoff series this spring.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Examining Raptors' Eighth-Man Situation

November 7th, 2019 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

With Patrick McCaw out at least a month after undergoing knee surgery, head coach Nick Nurse said before Wednesday’s game that undrafted rookie Terence Davis will get the first shot at becoming the eighth man in the Raptors‘ rotation (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Davis committed five fouls in just seven minutes on Wednesday, but still looks like the frontrunner for those minutes, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic, who views Matt Thomas and Chris Boucher as other candidates.

Patrick McCaw Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out At Least Four Weeks

November 6th, 2019 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

1:10pm: McCaw underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday and had a “benign mass” on the back of his left knee removed, the Raptors announced today in a press release. According to the club, he’ll be re-evaluated in four weeks and the team will provide an update at that time.

10:13am: Raptors guard Patrick McCaw will undergo surgery on his troublesome left knee, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Although a specific recovery timetable hasn’t been announced, Charania hears from league sources that McCaw is expected to be sidelined for “several weeks.”

That nagging left knee injury had limited McCaw to just two games so far this season. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Monday that the 24-year-old had been ruled out indefinitely as he visited a specialist to determine the source of the issue. I expect we’ll get an official update from the team soon with more details on the procedure McCaw is undergoing.

The Raptors’ backcourt is already somewhat thin, with Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet playing heavy minutes in the early going for the defending champions. With McCaw out for the foreseeable future, Terence Davis, Matt Thomas, Stanley Johnson, and Malcolm Miller are among the candidates to receive longer looks from Toronto, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

Nurse Doesn't See "Much Point" In Load Management This Year

November 5th, 2019 at 11:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

On the other side of the wins-losses spectrum, the Raptors appear to be taking a similar approach to the struggling Knicks when it comes to one hot-button health topic. “I don’t really see much point in (load management) right now for anyone we’ve got,” head coach Nick Nurse said on Monday, per Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. “Kyle [Lowry] will be somebody maybe we do something with down the road, maybe Marc [Gasol] as well. But it’s not really in the forefront of my mind this year like it was last year.” The Raptors famously conserved the play of eventual Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard last season. 33-year-old Lowry is currently leading the league with a heavy 38.8 minutes played per game, while backcourt mate Fred VanVleet is logging 37.8 minutes a night.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/4/19

November 4th, 2019 at 8:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

Pistons first-round pick Sekou Doumbouya was assigned to the Grand Rapids Drive, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. The teenage forward had been in the league’s concussion protocol since late in the preseason.
The Raptors assigned rookie big man Dewan Hernandez to Raptors 905, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Hernandez has yet to make his NBA debut.
The Wizards recalled rookie guard Justin Robinson prior to their team’s game against the Pistons, the team’s PR department tweets. The point guard has made two cameo appearances this season.
The Celtics assigned first-round pick Romeo Langford to the Maine Red Claws, the team’s PR department tweets. The rookie guard from Indiana is still looking for his first NBA basket.
The Nets recalled power forward Nicolas Claxton from their Long Island affiliate, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. The rookie out of Georgia has yet to make his NBA debut.
The Mavericks recalled rookie forward Isaiah Roby from the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. This is the second time the second-round pick has been recalled from the G League.

Raptors’ McCaw Out Indefinitely With Knee Issue

November 4th, 2019 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

Patrick McCaw has missed four of the Raptors‘ six games so far this season due to a nagging left knee issue, and is scheduled to see a specialist today to attempt to determine the source of that issue, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that for now McCaw has been ruled out indefinitely.

McCaw, 24, joined the Raptors as a free agent halfway through the 2018/19 season and finished the season with the club, winning his third consecutive NBA championship after two years with the Warriors. Although his regular-season numbers in Toronto (2.7 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 13.2 MPG) certainly didn’t jump off the page, the former second-round pick played some postseason minutes during the team’s championship run and then re-signed on a two-year, $8MM deal.

In the two games he has played so far this year, McCaw averaged 20.0 minutes per contest, showing that he’ll be one of the first players off the bench for the Raptors when he’s healthy. However, it sounds like he may be sidelined for the foreseeable future, depending on how his knee injury is diagnosed.

While we wait for a more concrete timeline on McCaw’s recovery, the Raptors likely plan to lean a little more heavily on reserves like Matt Thomas and Terence Davis, with Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson potentially getting a shot as well.

Pascal Siakam Proving Worth In Wake Of Extension

November 3rd, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by JD Shaw

Raptors star Pascal Siakam is proving his worth in a leadership role with the team, Matt John of Basketball Insiders writes. Siakam, who signed a four-year, $130MM extension with the team last month, has averaged 26 points and 8.5 rebounds through six games. Toronto is seeking its seventh straight playoff appearance behind Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and others, sporting a competitive group despite losing Leonard in free agency last summer.
The Raptors need to find a way to reduce Kyle Lowry‘s workload this season, Laura Armstrong of The Toronto Star writes. Lowry, who turns 34 in March, is in his 14th NBA season and is coming off a campaign in which he averaged 34 minutes per contest.

Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Atlantic Division

November 1st, 2019 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Atlantic Division:

Fred VanVleet, Raptors, 25, SG (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $18MM deal in 2018
VanVleet was a key reserve in the Raptors’ run to the championship. With Danny Green‘s departure, he’s now a backcourt starter alongside Kyle Lowry. Green was mainly a floor spacer, while VanVleet has provided the added element of playmaking to help make up for the enormous loss of Kawhi Leonard. He’s averaging a team-high 7.2 assists through the first five games while getting the line more often and delivering his usual excellent shooting from deep. An unrestricted free agent next summer, VanVleet will attract plenty of attention in a weak FA market.

James Ennis, Sixers, 29, SF (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal in 2019
Ennis has bounced around the league, wearing six different uniforms since his rookie year in 2014/15. He saw action in 18 regular-season and 11 postseason games with Philadelphia after being acquired from the Rockets in a trade deadline swap. Thus far this season, Ennis has retained a rotation spot and helped around the boards (5.8 RPG in 14.0 MPG). Ennis has a $2.13MM player option after the season — if can remain a contributor on a contender, perhaps he’ll feel comfortable opting out and testing the market for additional security.

Marcus Morris, Knicks, 30, SF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $15MM deal in 2019
Morris caused a lot of consternation in the Spurs’ organization by reneging on a two-year verbal agreement and then signing a one-year deal with New York, giving him more money this season and the freedom to explore the market again next year. In his first five games with the Knicks, Morris is the one doing the squawking. He’s already picked up a league-high three technicals. He’s also off to a slow shooting start (35%). It’s hard to see Morris enhancing his value with New York but his expiring contract could be attractive to a contender looking for a frontcourt player.

Daniel Theis, Celtics, 27, PF (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $10MM deal in 2019
Theis’ $5MM salary for next season isn’t guaranteed until July 3rd and there will a number of factors playing into the Celtics’ decision next summer, especially whether Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter opt in. What Theis can control is being productive when he gets opportunities and making it a tougher decision for the front office. Theis needs to have more nights like he did Wednesday, when coach Brad Stevens used him for 28 minutes and he produced 11 points and nine rebounds. The 6’8” Theis will see quite a bit of time at the ‘five’ spot in downsized lineups.

Wilson Chandler, Nets, 32, SF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2.56MM deal in 2019
Chandler quietly latched on with the Nets on a veteran’s minimum contract while they inked deals with high-profile free agents Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan. Chandler’s chances of carving out a role in coach Kenny Atkinson‘s rotation was squashed by a 25-game league suspension for a failed PED test. It’s uncertain what Brooklyn plans are for Chandler once he becomes eligible on December 15. However, the suspension won’t make it any easier for his agent to find his client work next summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors Could Be Among Antetokounmpo's 'Chief Pursuers' In 2021

October 30th, 2019 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

If Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes a free agent during the summer of 2021, the Raptors are likely to be one of his “chief pursuers,” sources tell John Hollinger of The Athletic.

It’s entirely possible that Antetokounmpo won’t even reach the open market, since the Bucks intend to put a super-max extension offer on the table for him next summer as soon as they’re eligible to do so. And even if the star forward does opt for free agency, it’s not as if the Raptors won’t face competition from just about every other team in the NBA.

Still, it makes sense that the Raptors would zero in on Antetokounmpo specifically as they consider future targets. President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri reportedly helped Giannis and his family emigrate from Nigeria to Greece, and tried to trade into the 2013 draft to select him. The Raps haven’t had much luck luring top American-born free agents to Toronto in the past, but might believe they’d have a better shot with an international star like Antetokounmpo, especially now that they have a championship under their belt.

It’s far too early to draw any conclusions about Giannis’ future, but until he re-ups with the Bucks or ends up elsewhere, it’s safe to assume the Raptors will be retaining their 2021 cap flexibility in the hopes he considers them.

Raptors Extend, Promote Alex McKechnie

October 29th, 2019 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Having already extended Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry this month, the Raptors completed a third important contract extension today, according to a press release from the team. This deal wasn’t for a player, but rather for Alex McKechnie, who had been the team’s director of sports science and assistant coach.

McKechnie was widely credited for developing the load-management program that helped Kawhi Leonard stay healthy for the 2018/19 season, which paid off in a major way when the Raptors won their first championship in June. While it wasn’t enough to convince Leonard to stick around, McKechnie’s work – and reputation – could be an asset for the team in future free agent pitches, notes Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

A former Lakers athletic performance coordinator, McKechnie received a promotion along with his extension, according to the Raptors. His new title is VP of player health and performance.