Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Meeks Hoping To Stay With Raptors Beyond 10-Day Deal

February 25th, 2019 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Jodie Meeks played in an NBA game on Sunday for the first time in approximately 10 months, making his first appearance as a member of the Raptors. The veteran shooting guard was hit with a 25-game suspension at the end of last season for violating the league’s anti-drug program, was traded from the Wizards to the Bucks in the offseason, and was ultimately cut by Milwaukee. Meeks didn’t get another NBA offer until last week, when the Raptors signed him to a 10-day contract.

“When I got the call this past week, I was really excited and knew that I was ready for the opportunity,” Meeks said, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca. “I’m just looking at it as a chance to prove myself again. I’m trying not to look at it as a 10-day. Don’t put any pressure on yourself — just go out there and play hard. Just come in ready when your number’s called, like any other player on this team. (The Raptors) have treated me very well here. I know I’ve only been here a few days, but it’s a first-class organization. I hope to stay.”

Meeks made a good first impression with the Raptors on Sunday, scoring 10 points and making a pair of three-pointers in 17 minutes off the bench. His 10-day deal will expire this Friday night, but if he keeps knocking down shots, he should get another opportunity in Toronto or elsewhere.

Wade Baldwin, Devon Hall Sign NBAGL Contracts

February 25th, 2019 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA guard Wade Baldwin is headed to the G League, according to Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days, who reports (via Twitter) that Baldwin has signed an NBAGL contract and been claimed off waivers by the Raptors 905.

Baldwin, who will turn 23 next month, was the 17th overall pick in the 2016 draft and has spent most of the last three seasons in the NBA, but hasn’t developed into a reliable rotation player. In 56 career contests, he has averaged 3.1 PPG and 1.4 APG in just 10.3 minutes per game.

Baldwin played for the Trail Blazers for the last season and a half before being traded to Cleveland in a deal for Rodney Hood several weeks ago. Baldwin was subsequently flipped to the Rockets and then the Pacers before being waived. Now, he’ll look to earn another shot in the NBA by suiting up for Toronto’s G League affiliate.

Meanwhile, another notable name will join the G League ranks, according to Johnson, who tweets that 2018 second-round pick Devon Hall has signed an NBAGL contract. The Thunder used the 53rd overall pick in last year’s draft to select Hall and still hold both his NBA and G League rights.

Hall’s professional career began when he signed with the Cairns Taipans of the Australian National Basketball League last August. At the time, there was an expectation that he’d join the Thunder for the 2019/20 season, which still looks like a viable possibility — Oklahoma City only has nine players on guaranteed contracts for next season, and will likely be looking to fill out the roster with inexpensive contracts.

Danny Green Talks Raptors, Future, More

February 24th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by JD Shaw

Raptors guard Danny Green discussed a variety of subjects with HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy, including Toronto’s new additions of Marc Gasol and Jeremy Lin, the future of Kawhi Leonard, his post-career plans and more. Green is in his first season with the Raptors after spending the last eight years with San Antonio, which included an NBA championship in 2014.

G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/23/19

February 23rd, 2019 at 9:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

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

The Wizards recalled rookie forward Troy Brown Jr. so he could play in tonight’s game against the Pacers, Washington announced in a tweet. It’s the 30th NBA game of the season for Brown, who entered the night averaging 2.4 PPG in about seven minutes per game.
The Raptors assigned Chris Boucher and Malcolm Miller for today’s game against Long Island, according to a tweet from Raptors 905.

Raptors Notes: Gasol, DeRozan, Ujiri

February 23rd, 2019 at 10:52am CST by marksuleymanov

Leading into the trade deadline, the Raptors‘ biggest splash was the acquisition of veteran center Marc Gasol. The three-time All-Star has appeared in four games with Toronto since the trade, all off the bench.

After over a decade in Memphis, Gasol has had to not only adjust to a new team but also playing in a new country and learning a new playbook. Speaking to Sportsnet.ca’s Dave Zarum, Gasol explained how he has adjusted to his new surroundings.

“We’ve had three games with three different point guards [Fred VanVleet, Patrick McCaw, and Jeremy Lin]. That alone is an adjustment within the adjustment that you have to make on the fly,” Gasol said. “Thankfully, I know now 100% all of the plays. OK, 90% all of the plays. But I know them pretty well, so now it’s trying to understand what the team is looking for. How can I be effective within the flow of the game?”

Gasol admitted that it was tough to part with the Grizzlies but the opportunity to compete for a championship eases that burden. In his four appearances, the Spaniard has played just under 20 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG. As he becomes more acclimated to his new digs, Gasol expects his contributions to follow suit.

“I’m not a rah-rah guy, I’m not somebody who will get into anybody’s business,” Gasol said. “I’m pretty laid back and I stay in my lane a lot. But I want to win. At the end of the day it’s about winning and competing and making this team the best possible.”

Check out more Raptors notes below:

DeMar DeRozan played his first game at the Scotiabank Arena (formerly the Air Canada Centre) as a visitor on Friday with the Spurs. The former face of the franchise has detailed his roller-coaster emotions following last summer’s trade but his return to Toronto was about acceptance rather than vengeance, ESPN’s Michael C. Wright writes.
The Raptors have been a perennial postseason team that has been on the verge of a potentially championship-winning run. However, under Masai Ujiri this season, Toronto has shown the willingness to go for it with shrewd moves to put the franchise on the brink of a title, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders opines.
Speaking of Ujiri — the first African top executive of any of North America’s top four major sports leagues — his initiative to help those on his home continent has become part of his basketball goals, ESPN’s Anthony Olivieri writes.

Raptors Sign Jodie Meeks To 10-Day Deal

February 20th, 2019 at 5:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

FEBRUARY 20: The signing is official, tweets Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.

FEBRUARY 19: The Raptors will sign Jodie Meeks to a 10-day deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

Meeks has not played in the NBA since serving a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. Per the ESPN scribe, Meeks insists that he never knowingly ingested any substances that would be considered performance enhancing.

The Wizards sent the 31-year-old to the Bucks along with a second-rounder and additional cash earlier this year. Milwaukee waived Meeks prior to him seeing any court time with the team.

Toronto’s depth was depleted after sending Delon Wright to the Grizzlies in the Marc Gasol deal and watching Fred VanVleet undergo surgery on his injured hand. Meeks worked out for Toronto earlier in the week and the franchise feels the former Kentucky Wildcat could contribute off the bench because of his shooting ability, Woj notes.

By signing Meeks, the Raptors will officially get back up to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 players. Toronto dipped to just 10 players at the trade deadline, but has since signed Malcolm Miller, Chris Boucher, and Jeremy Lin. Meeks will be the club’s 14th man.

Jeremy Lin Explains Why He Joined Raptors

February 14th, 2019 at 10:04pm CST by JD Shaw

When Jeremy Lin was asked why he joined the Raptors as a free agent, Lin explained that the team “really, really” wanted him, as relayed by Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link). “That means something,” Lin said of Toronto’s interest. Lin holds several years of NBA experience and has made the postseason four times, but he’s never advanced past the first round.

Teams That Must Add Players Within Next Week

February 14th, 2019 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement requires teams to carry at least 14 players on their rosters during the regular season, not counting two-way players. However, clubs are allowed to dip below that line for up to two weeks at a time.

At the February 7 trade deadline, with so many players on the move, a handful of teams around the league fell below that 14-player threshold, meaning they have until February 21 – give or take a day – to get back up to 14.

Here’s a breakdown of which teams must make at least one roster move within the next week or so:

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks dipped to 13 players when they released Shelvin Mack and Jabari Bird last Friday, and went down to 12 when they cut Jeremy Lin on Monday. They’ve reached a deal to sign two-way player Jaylen Adams to a standard contract, but even after they finalize that agreement, they’ll still have to add one more player by next Friday.

Houston Rockets

A series of salary-dump deals on deadline day left the Rockets with just 12 players under contract. They’ll have to sign two more – either to standard deals or 10-day contracts – by next Thursday.

Miami Heat

The Heat had been carrying 14 players for a while, but dropped to 13 when they traded Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington for Ryan Anderson on Wednesday. They’ll have until next Wednesday to fill that 14th roster spot.

New York Knicks

The Knicks released Wesley Matthews and Enes Kanter on deadline day to drop to 12 players. They signed John Jenkins to a 10-day contract on Monday, but that still only leaves them with 13.

By next Thursday, Jenkins’ 10-day deal will have expired, so the Knicks will need to fill two roster spots at that point, either by re-signing Jenkins and adding someone else, or by signing two new players.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns‘ roster count has been at 13 since they waived Wayne Ellington on Thursday. They have until next Thursday to get back to 14 players.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors dropped all the way down to 10 players last week, which forced them to sign two players – Chris Boucher and Malcolm Miller – to standard contracts. Toronto also inked Jeremy Lin to a rest-of-season deal and now has until next Thursday to add one more player.

Ben McLemore is a candidate, since the two sides were seemingly in agreement on a 10-day deal, but that deal no longer looks like a lock to get finalized.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/13/19

February 13th, 2019 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Raptors sent newly signed Malcolm Miller to the G League so he could play in tonight’s game, tweets Raptors 905. Miller inked a multi-year deal with Toronto earlier this week.
The Magic assigned Melvin Frazier Jr. to their Lakeland affiliate, which also played tonight. A second-round pick last summer, Frazier has only appeared in six games for Orlando.

Pacific Notes: Barnes, LeBron, Morris, Griffin

February 13th, 2019 at 7:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that the Kings have Harrison Barnes, the next step is to figure out the best role for him, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Acquired from the Mavericks last week, Barnes has played extensively at both forward spots and his usage in Sacramento may depend on the opponent, according to coach Dave Joerger.

“I’m still learning what to do,” Joerger said. “How much I do I want to play Harrison at (small forward)? How much at (power forward)? And what do the matchups look like? And I need to get it done sooner than later because we’re not going to find a rhythm if I don’t figure it out quickly.”

Barnes has played both positions extensively throughout his career, with 48% of his minutes as a three and 50% as a four. The Warriors used him mainly as a small forward when he broke into the league, but shifted him to power forward later in his tenure there. He was mainly a power forward in Dallas.

“It’s a good problem to have,” added Joerger, who said he has wanted Barnes on his team for years. “You want to be as versatile as we can be at times. It’s going to be a little bit on the run, as we know, and it’s tough on me, but guys are playing as hard as they can and that’s all you can ask as a coach. And it’s on me to figure some of that stuff out.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

LeBron James hasn’t lived up to the excitement that surrounded his decision to join the Lakers, contends Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. will enter the All-Star break with a 28-29 record, placing them 10th in the Western Conference. Plaschke notes that although James has been brilliant on the court, he missed 17 games with a groin injury and affected team chemistry by maneuvering to get head coach Luke Walton replaced and pushing for an Anthony Davis deal that caused all of his young teammates to be subjected to weeks of trade rumors.
The Lakers missed out on Enes Kanter in the buyout market, but they remain in the running for Markieff Morris, tweets ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, who names the Rockets, Thunder and Raptors as the other top contenders. L.A. is also considering Carmelo Anthony, Shelburne adds, but is concerned because he hasn’t been active since November.
Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman examines whether the Clippers made the right move by trading away Blake Griffin last season.