- The Raptors interviewed Bucks assistant Charles Lee for their head coaching position on Thursday, league sources tell Stein (Twitter link). ESPN previously reported that Toronto met with Lee, who is also in the mix for the head coaching opening in Detroit and could emerge as a candidate in Milwaukee if the Bucks are willing to consider an in-house replacement for Mike Budenholzer.
- Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are the most likely players to move if the Raptors are looking for an offseason roster shakeup, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Koreen creates trade tiers for Toronto’s roster and considers Scottie Barnes to be the only player who’s “practically untouchable.”
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday for the first time since being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, Sixers star Joel Embiid referred to the honor as one he has dreamed about since he started playing basketball, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com. Embiid also expressed pride at having defied the odds, given that he didn’t start playing basketball until he was 15 years old in his home country of Cameroon.
“Probably the probability of someone like me, starting playing basketball at 15, to get the chance to be the MVP of the league is, I’d say, probably negative zero,” Embiid said. “… We don’t have a lot of opportunities back in Africa in general to get to this point. But improbable doesn’t mean impossible, and you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. As long as you believe in it, and you know keep walking hard, anything can happen.”
While Embiid stressed that winning an NBA title would be more meaningful than taking home an individual award, he made an effort not to downplay the achievement and its importance to him.
“Obviously winning a championship is going to be way better and we have that opportunity. But I’m just competitive. I want it all,” he said. “I want to win everything that I can get my hands on and everybody around me knows that. It doesn’t matter if it’s about basketball or if you’re playing a game in life or whatever. I want to win everything. I want to be first.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have silenced doubts about their fit in the last year or two, but a second-round postseason exit by the Celtics might raise new questions about Brown’s long-term future in Boston, says Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “Jaylen is 26 years old,” one Western Conference coach told Deveney.” He is maybe the best No. 2 option in the league, or right there with LeBron (James) and (Anthony Davis), or Devin Booker–(Kevin) Durant in Phoenix. It is a good thing to be the best No. 2 option, but at his age, I don’t think Jaylen sees it that way. He is good enough to be a No. 1 option for half the teams in the league and maybe he wants that challenge.”
- The Nets had preliminary conversations about Hawks big man John Collins prior to the trade deadline in February and some executives wonder whether Brooklyn could circle back on Collins this offseason, Deveney writes for Heavy.com. However, there’s skepticism that the Nets would be able to make a play for Collins without moving Ben Simmons, and Simmons’ trade value will be extremely limited.
- Eric Koreen of The Athletic considers whether Thaddeus Young‘s expiring contract could be a useful trade asset this offseason for a Raptors team that will be looking to upgrade its rotation. Young seems more likely to be waived than traded, since his $8MM salary for 2023/24 is only guaranteed for $1MM. His outgoing salary for matching purposes in a trade would be equivalent to his partial guarantee, so the Raptors would have to increase that guarantee in order to take back a mid-sized contract, which would reduce Young’s value.
Scottie Barnes is the least likely Raptors player to be on the move this summer, Eric Koreen of The Athletic states in his latest mailbag. That’s hardly surprising, considering Barnes is still just 21 years old and has two years left on his rookie scale contract.
The 2021/22 Rookie of the Year had a somewhat uneven sophomore season in ’22/23, with both his two-point percentage (50.5%) and three-point percentage (28.1%) declining (from 54.3% and 30.1%, respectively). In order for Barnes to become a more well-rounded offensive player, he needs to improve his shooting and ball-handling, according to Koreen, who says the former No. 4 overall pick’s passing is ahead of those two other skills at the moment.
Koreen would like to see the Raptors hire a head coach who can find the difficult balance of being “fiery” while able to present as “calm in the heat of things” when dealing with officials, as the team became “dangerously whiny” under Nick Nurse in recent seasons.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez interviewed (via Zoom) for the Raptors‘ head coaching vacancy on Friday morning, reports Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). Known as a defensive-minded coach, Fernandez just completed his first season with Sacramento after six years on Michael Malone‘s staff in Denver. Fernandez was one of several coaching candidates listed for the job last week.
- Mikal Bridges was outstanding for the Nets after being acquired at the trade deadline, increasing his scoring average and efficiency. In order for him to take the next step and become an All-Star, he’ll need to improve his play-making and ability to punish double teams, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (member-only link). “It’s just continuing to get better and work on things,” Bridges said. “…The thing about me is I’m just always trying to get better every year. I mean, that’s the biggest thing, and trying to be the best player I can be when it’s all said and done. There’s always room to grow, and this summer just learning things and adding more things to that routine.” Bridges hasn’t missed a game since his junior year of high school, Lewis notes, a welcome departure from the injury-plagued teams of the past few years.
- One of the keys for the Knicks in their first-round victory over the Cavs was their incredible offensive rebounding, but they were unable to replicate that success in Sunday’s Game 1 loss to Miami, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. The Knicks averaged 18.2 second-chance points per game in five games against Cleveland, but only managed 11 yesterday, per Botte.
Rival front offices are expecting Miles Bridges to re-sign with the Hornets this summer, Marc Stein states in his latest Substack article. Bridges, who will be suspended for the first 10 games of next season, didn’t play this year after being charged with felony domestic abuse for a June 2022 incident. Stein adds that in announcing the suspension, commissioner Adam Silver cited a mutual agreement between league officials and Bridges’ representatives at Klutch Sports that resulted in him sitting out the 2022/23 season.
Stein notes that Charlotte has a June 29 deadline to tender a $7.7MM qualifying offer that will make him a restricted free agent. One indication of Bridges’ possible intentions, Stein adds, is an online photo of himself that he recently posted wearing Hornets gear during a workout.
Bridges was expected to be one of the top names on the 2022 free agent market before the domestic abuse case. He became a full-time starter during his fourth NBA season and averaged 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 80 games.
There’s more from Stein:
- Ime Udoka, who was hired as the Rockets‘ new head coach last week, was on a similar hiatus from the league. Udoka was suspended for the season by the Celtics following an affair with a subordinate, and although there was no official punishment from the NBA, the league office agreed with the way Boston handled the situation, Stein adds. “The Celtics decided that he should be suspended for a year,” Silver said. “We reviewed that and determined it was fair under those circumstances. And then when other teams — and it wasn’t just the Rockets — asked us if he would be able to coach next season, we said he would be.”
- The Raptors had interest in hiring Udoka to replace Nick Nurse, but they intended to conduct a thorough coaching search that would last well into May, sources tell Stein. When the Rockets made a four-year offer reportedly worth $28.5MM, Udoka thought it was best to take that opportunity.
- The Mavericks are expected to consider James Borrego and Jeff Hornacek for openings on Jason Kidd‘s staff. Stein adds that Frank Vogel would be a logical addition because Kidd worked for him with the Lakers, but Vogel is still pursuing head coaching opportunities. Stein mentions former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts as another possibility for Dallas.
- The Celtics would like to hire ex-Rockets head coach Stephen Silas as an assistant to Joe Mazzulla next season, sources tell Stein. Silas was seen in Boston last week at Game 5 of the first-round series with Atlanta.
The Raptors were reportedly granted permission to speak with Becky Hammon for their head coaching vacancy. Hammon, a longtime former Spurs assistant who led the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces to a championship and won Coach of the Year in her first season as a head coach in 2022, has interviewed for multiple NBA head coaching jobs in the past.
Assuming she’s interested in the position, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star believes the Raptors should hire her to be their new head coach. Smith points to Hammon’s wealth of experience, strong player development background, championship pedigree at multiple levels of play, and Hall of Fame résumé as reasons why she’s the best candidate for the job.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Shooting has been a primary weakness of the roster the past couple seasons. How can they acquire more of it? Smith explores that topic in another story for The Toronto Star, writing that it will be difficult for the Raptors to acquire shooters in free agency due to their financial constraints. Internal development is always a hope, but trading a member of the core is probably more realistic. Another “long shot” option could be if a star player asks out, Smith adds. “At the end of the season, there’s always a player that wants to move or wants to change,” president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said. “That’s the new free agency basically. Yes, everybody wake up to that. Everybody says, ‘Will free agents come?’ Free agency doesn’t happen anymore really. The new free agency is players change teams.”
- In a mailbag article for The Athletic, Eric Koreen states his belief that Toronto will retain guard Fred VanVleet, who is expected to decline his $22.8MM player option for 2023/24 and become a free agent. Koreen notes that advanced stats remained high on VanVleet’s impact this season despite inconsistent shooting, adding that the Raptors don’t have any viable alternatives on the roster to replace him.
- As for the player most likely to be on the move this summer, that could be Gary Trent Jr., according to Koreen. Like VanVleet, Trent could be a free agent if he declines his $18.8MM player option. Bringing back all three of VanVleet, Trent and Jakob Poeltl would almost certainly push the team into the luxury tax, and that may be untenable with the current roster. Ujiri recently praised Poeltl, calling him a “championship piece.”
The Rockets are ready to move past the rebuilding stage and may be willing to include Jalen Green in an offseason trade for veteran help, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Fischer notes that new head coach Ime Udoka, general manager Rafael Stone and owner Tilman Fertitta all mentioned the team’s available cap space — which could be in the $60MM range — during Udoka’s introductory news conference this week.
The Rockets are determined to upgrade their roster, whether it’s through free agency or the trade market. There have been long-running rumors that Sixers guard James Harden is interested in a return to Houston, and Fischer hears that Bucks wing Khris Middleton was mentioned as another possibility during discussions with coaching candidates. Harden and Middleton both hold player options for next season — Harden is considered likely to opt out and Middleton is a candidate to do so too.
Fischer points out that Udoka was an assistant in Brooklyn when Harden arrived there. He has obviously worked closely with another potential target, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who may be made available when he becomes eligible for an extension this offseason.
Green averaged 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists during his second NBA season, but he continues to be plagued by efficiency questions, as he shot just 41.6% from the field and 33.8% from three-point range. He was billed as a potential scoring champion when the Rockets drafted him in 2021, but it appears the organization may no longer be content to wait for the development of Green and its other young players.
Here are several more rumors from Fischer:
- Nick Nurse was considered to be a strong candidate in the Rockets‘ coaching search after he parted ways with the Raptors last week, but he never figured into the team’s interview process. Fischer states that former Lakers coach Frank Vogel and ex-Hornets coach James Borrego were the other leading contenders along with Udoka.
- Mike Budenholzer‘s job may be in jeopardy after the Bucks‘ early playoff exit, but Fischer doesn’t believe a coaching change is a sure thing. He notes that the push to replace Budenholzer before Milwaukee won the title two years ago largely came from co-owner Marc Lasry, who sold his stake in the team earlier this month. Fischer also points out that assistant Darvin Ham would have been a leading contender to replace Budenholzer at the time, but he has gone on to become head coach of the Lakers. Current assistant Charles Lee is a finalist for the opening in Detroit, and Fischer isn’t convinced that Milwaukee will make a coaching move without an obvious replacement for Budenholzer.
- Sources tell Fischer that the Raptors are planning a thorough coaching search that may extend through the draft combine in mid-May. Several potential candidates were reported Thursday night, and Fischer hears that former Toronto assistant Sergio Scariolo, who runs the Spanish national team, could get an interview as well. Scariolo currently coaches Virtus Bologna in Italy.
The Raptors have been granted permission to interviews a number of prominent assistant coaches for their head coaching job, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Toronto parted ways with Nick Nurse, who coached them to a championship, after the season. The Warriors‘ Kenny Atkinson, Bucks‘ Charles Lee, Suns‘ Kevin Young, Spurs‘ Mitch Johnson, Kings‘ Jordi Fernandez, Grizzlies‘ Darko Rajakovic and Heat‘s Chris Quinn are among the assistant they plan to interview. However, that list could expand.
Lee is one of the top candidates for the Pistons’ head coaching vacancy. Atkinson, of course, was previously the Nets’ head coach.
The Raptors will also look at ex-NBA head coaches, as well as NCAA and WNBA coaches. Regarding the latter, they have gained permission to speak with former Spurs assistant and current Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon. She led the Aces to last year’s WNBA championship.
As previously reported, they are also expected to interview current assistant coach Adrian Griffin.
Raptors reserve combo forward Otto Porter Jr. has exercised his player option for 2023/24, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
As Charania notes, Porter appeared in a scant eight contests during his inaugural stint with Toronto this year. He underwent a season-ending surgery in January to correct a left foot ailment, described as a dislocated left toe. The Raptors filed for a $3MM disabled player exception following the operation.
Porter inked a two-year, $12.3MM deal with Toronto last summer after serving as a critical bench contributor for the title-winning 2021/22 Warriors. He is now set to earn $6.3MM in the second year of the deal.
When he did play, the 6’8″ wing averaged 5.5 PPG on .500/.353/1.000 shooting across those eight games for a 41-41 Raptors club. He also chipped in 2.4 RPG, 1.4 SPG and 1.0 APG.
Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca tweets that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Toronto explores a potential trade to offload Porter’s salary this summer, given how close the team may be to the league’s punitive luxury tax.
The Raptors lost in the play-in tournament and parted ways with their head coach, but comments from president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri at last week’s press conference indicate that he believes the team is close enough to being a contender that he won’t try to rebuild, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Ujiri emphasized the parity throughout the league this season, noting that 26 teams still had a path to the playoffs heading into the final two weeks. He also pointed out that Toronto was 15-10 after acquiring Jakob Poeltl from the Spurs at the trade deadline.
“I think Jakob has a lot of high basketball IQ and he’s a pass-first center,” Ujiri said. “I call players like that a championship piece because you can put him on any of the teams (still playing) except the one’s that already have great centers. But you can put a player like that on that team and he fits in right away.”
Grange notes that Ujiri appears to have more belief in the Raptors’ future than Nick Nurse, who didn’t seem to mind being replaced as head coach with a year left on his contract, or Ime Udoka, who accepted an offer from the Rockets on Monday without giving Toronto an interview.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes this summer. Ujiri faces significant decisions on potential free agents Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr. and Otto Porter Jr. as well as possible trades involving Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, but he seems to believe the organization is capable of turning around quickly.
“We’ve got to build spirit back here, the culture, those things that bring us together to move like we’ve always done here. We need that back,” Ujiri said. “This is very crucial for us. With our culture here, I’ll continue to say that. It’s very vital for us to have incredible energy that lifts people and gets us to work together.”
There’s more from Toronto:
- The Raptors don’t appear close to finding their next coach, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Udoka’s deal with the Rockets takes away the presumed leading candidate, so the team may wait to see if any prominent coaches unexpectedly become available as the postseason plays out. Lewenberg notes that Ujiri wants to have his next coach in place before the draft, so the process could take up to two months.
- The front office sounds willing to shake things up, but the Raptors will be working with a few limitations, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Toronto doesn’t have an obvious path to clear cap room, leaving the team with just the $10MM mid-level exception to pursue free agents. The Raptors’ first-round pick is likely to be in the late lottery, and they don’t have a second-rounder this year and probably won’t have a first-round selection in 2024.
- In another Toronto Star story (subscription only), Smith takes an inside look at what went wrong during Nurse’s final season as head coach.