Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyle Lowry Undergoes Procedure On Injured Thumb

July 18th, 2019 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has undergone a procedure to repair a tendon injury in his left thumb, a league source tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski, the recovery process isn’t expected to be particularly lengthy — Lowry is hoping to be ready to participate in Team USA’s training camp next month and the 2019 FIBA World Cup in September.

As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes (via Twitter), Lowry dealt with the thumb issue for most of the postseason and had a hard time gripping the ball with his left hand. The 33-year-old was always expected to address the injury – which was reported during the NBA Finals as a ligament tear – during the offseason.

Despite battling the thumb injury, Lowry helped lead the Raptors to their first-ever championship, averaging 15.0 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 4.9 RPG with a .439/.359/.802 shooting line in 24 playoff contests. He’ll enter a contract year in 2019/20 before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.

Raptors Sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson To One-Year Deal

July 18th, 2019 at 10:03am CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 18: The Raptors have officially signed Hollis-Jefferson, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 8: Hollis-Jefferson’s deal with the Raptors will be worth the minimum, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.

JULY 7: Free agent forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will join the Raptors on a one-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Hollis-Jefferson, 24, spent the first four years of his NBA career in Brooklyn after being selected with the 23rd overall pick in 2015. While he’s a strong defender and can make some plays on offense, his shooting percentages bottomed out in 2018/19, as he made just 41.1% of his attempts from the floor and 18.4% from beyond the arc in 59 games.

Hollis-Jefferson never appeared to be in the Nets’ long-term plan, as the franchise previously withdrew his qualifying offer and renounced his rights, making him an unrestricted free agent. RHJ will have an opportunity to rebuild his stock and hit the market again next summer.

Since losing Kawhi Leonard (and Danny Green), Toronto has focused on adding younger wings with potential upside on low-cost deals. In addition to Hollis-Jefferson, the team agreed to sign former top-10 pick Stanley Johnson.

The Raptors also agreed to a three-year deal with Matt Thomas, which will use part of the team’s mid-level exception. Depending on the value of Hollis-Jefferson’s new contract, he could also be signed using some of Toronto’s MLE.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raptors' Trade Exception About To Expire

July 17th, 2019 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors have a $2.95MM trade exception that will expire tomorrow, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. It’s left over from the deal that brought Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs last summer.

NBA, EuroLeague Teams Eyeing Dragan Bender?

July 16th, 2019 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers and Raptors are among the teams that have inquired on free agent power forward Dragan Bender, tweets international reporter Orazio Cauchi. According to Cauchi, EuroLeague clubs like CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce are also keeping an eye on Bender and have “some level of interest.”

Bender, 21, was the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft and spent the last three seasons with the Suns. However, he has failed to develop into a regular rotation player, averaging 5.3 PPG and 3.8 RPG with a .394/.321/.647 shooting line in 171 games in Phoenix.

A source tells Cauchi (Twitter link) that there some NBA teams still believe Bender’s potential could be worth a roll of the dice. At this point though, the young big man seems unlikely to receive more than minimum-salary offers, and even then, it’s not clear he’d get any sort of guarantees.

If Bender had played out his rookie contract, he would have been on track to earn a $5.9MM salary in 2019/20. The Suns turned down their fourth-year team option though, allowing the Croatian to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Contract Details For Dewan Hernandez

July 15th, 2019 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The three-year, minimum-salary contract for Raptors second-round pick Dewan Hernandez has a $500K partial guarantee on year one, and is non-guaranteed for years two and three, tweets Siegel.

Several Teams Interested In Kosta Koufos

July 14th, 2019 at 11:08am CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings would like to re-sign free agent center Kosta Koufos, but he has attracted preliminary interest from the Pistons, Raptors and Bucks as well, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Haynes suggests Koufos might remain on the market until the latter stages of free agency.

Koufos, 30, has spent the past four seasons in Sacramento, but has seen his role diminish as the team has added younger talent. He played just 42 games this year, averaging 3.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 12 minutes per night.

Koufos is a traditional low-post center known for his defense and rebounding, but his inability to stretch the floor or hit free throws has limited his effectiveness.

A first-round pick by the Jazz in 2008, Koufos bounced around the NBA before landing a four-year deal with the Kings in 2015. He also spent time with the Timberwolves, Nuggets and Grizzlies.

No Reason To Hesitate On Siakam Extension

July 12th, 2019 at 10:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors might as well offer Pascal Siakam a max four- or five-year extension this summer, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca argues. Ben Simmons has reportedly received a similar offer from the Sixers, while Jamal Murray has already signed an extension with the Nuggets. Siakam has outperformed both of his peers in many categories, Grange notes. The Raptors also don’t have any salary-cap restraints in future seasons that would prevent them from maxing out Siakam, Grange adds.

Raptors To Give Dewan Hernandez Three-Year Deal

July 12th, 2019 at 8:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are signing late second-round selection Dewan Hernandez of Miami to a partially guaranteed three-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Hernandez, the second-to-last pick in June at No. 59 overall, averaged 11.4 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 25.8 MPG in 2017/18 for the University of Miami, but didn’t play last season due to eligibility issues. The 6’11” Hernandez, 22, did not make a 3-point shot in his two college seasons.

He will likely spent much of his rookie season with the Raptors’ G League affiliate. He has averaged 12.3 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 23.5 MPG over four summer league appearances.

Raptors Sign Terence Davis To Two-Year Contract

July 11th, 2019 at 9:18am CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 11: Davis’ deal is now official, the Raptors announced today in a press release.

JULY 7: Terence Davis will join the Raptors on a two-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The first-year of the deal is fully guaranteed.

Davis, who went undrafted in June out of Ole Miss, turned down multiple two-way deals with hopes of finding an NBA deal, Charania adds. Toronto will come to an agreement with the combo guard on a day where the franchise also agreed to sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Davis was playing for the Nuggets Summer League team. He had an impressive day on Sunday, scoring 22 points in Denver’s contest. Davis will no longer play for the Nuggets’ team in Las Vegas.

Raptors Sign Stanley Johnson

July 11th, 2019 at 9:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 11: The Raptors have officially signed Johnson, the team announced today in a press release. It’s not clear yet whether the team used its mid-level or bi-annual exception to complete the signing.

JULY 6: Small forward Stanley Johnson has agreed to a two-year, $7.5MM contract with the Raptors, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The second year will include a player option, Charania adds.

Johnson won’t make anyone in Toronto forget Kawhi Leonard but he’ll absorb some of the Finals’ MVP’s minutes with Leonard heading to the Clippers. Johnson has been a disappointment since the Pistons selected him in the lottery in 2015.

Johnson’s contract could fit into Toronto’s bi-annual exception of $3.623MM or it could use a portion of the $9.258MM mid-level exception.

He played 3 1/2 years with Detroit before he was dealt to Milwaukee, which quickly shipped him to New Orleans just before last season’s trade deadline. Johnson appeared in 18 games with the Pelicans, averaging 5.3 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.7 MPG. For his career, Johnson has averaged 7.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.5 APG in 21.6 MPG.

His strength is his defensive prowess with the ability to guard four positions. Outside shooting (29.3% on 3-point tries) has been a major issue for Johnson at the offensive end. At 23, Johnson still has time to establish himself as at least a solid rotation player.