Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Scotto’s Latest: LaVine, Mavs, Heat, Dort, Raptors

January 6th, 2023 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Rival executives believe the Knicks, Mavericks, Lakers, and Heat would be among the most likely suitors for Zach LaVine if the Bulls were to make him available prior to this season’s February 9 trade deadline, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said on the latest episode of HoopsHype’s podcast. However, with Chicago still hanging onto the 10th seed in the East despite a disappointing first half (17-21), there’s no indication that the team is on the verge of becoming a seller.

Here’s more from Scotto:

The Mavericks owe their 2023 first-round pick to New York, but control all their future picks and could theoretically move one or more at the trade deadline. However, Scotto has heard the Mavs will be reluctant to give up a first-rounder unless it’s for a player they believe can help make them a title contender this season.
Rival executives are keeping a close eye on the Heat as a team that may be active before the deadline, says Scotto. After finishing with the East’s best record in 2021/22, Miami is just 20-19 so far this season and holds the No. 8 seed. The team never really replaced P.J. Tucker after he departed in free agency and should have some tradable contracts, especially after Victor Oladipo and Dewayne Dedmon become movable on January 15 (though Oladipo will have veto power).
Luguentz Dort is another player who will become trade-eligible on January 15, but don’t expect him to be mentioned in any rumors this season, according to Scotto, who says the Thunder view him as a part of the team’s long-term future alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Some people around the league believe the Raptors will be more active in trade talks beginning in mid-January, Scotto says. Toronto may have a better sense by then of which direction the team’s season is headed.

Eastern Rumors: Bucks, Bogdanovic, Raptors, Wizards, Hampton

January 6th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Bucks are tied for the NBA’s second-best record, they’re in the bottom five in offensive rating, having relied on one of the league’s best defenses during their strong first half. As they look to upgrade their offense, they’re expected to be in the market for help on the wing at the trade deadline, according to Matt Moore of ActionNetwork.com.

The Bucks, Suns, and Rockets reportedly discussed a three-team trade involving Jae Crowder, but it didn’t get done because Houston wanted more draft compensation than Milwaukee and Phoenix were willing to offer. Some league sources who spoke to Moore suggested they wouldn’t be surprised to see the three teams return to that framework and eventually get something done.

Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic is another player who is on the Bucks’ radar, per Moore, and he’d certainly provide the club’s offense with a boost. However, Detroit doesn’t appear eager to move Bogdanovic, Moore adds. Jake Fischer reported earlier this week that the Pistons are believed to be seeking a first-round pick, plus additional draft assets or a young player with upside.

Here are a few more rumors from around the Eastern Conference:

Sources who have spoken to Moore have indicated that the Raptors are willing to discuss a variety of players but have been seeking a substantial return for their potential trade candidates. Moore says the words “insane,” “astronomical,” and “far-fetched” have been used by his sources to describe Toronto’s asking prices. He adds that the price for OG Anunoby is believed to be higher than it was in the offseason, when the Raptors were reportedly seeking a top-10 pick.
Although there has been some trade speculation this season centered on Wizards guard Bradley Beal and especially forward Kyle Kuzma, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has heard that the front office would like to build around Beal, Kuzma, and Kristaps Porzingis long-term and would ideally find a fourth core player to complement that trio.
As he did last month, Magic wing R.J. Hampton requested and was granted an assignment to the G League in order to get more playing time, reports Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Hampton played a couple games with the Lakeland Magic last month before returning to Orlando, but has been a DNP-CD in four of eight contests since then and logged more than five minutes just once.

Source To Grange: "Toronto Could Set The (Trade) Market"

January 4th, 2023 at 7:58am CST by Luke Adams

Given the talent on the Raptors‘ roster, potential buyers around the NBA are keeping a close eye on Toronto and may be reluctant to move forward on other deals until they see if the Raptors will be sellers, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “Toronto are the first domino,” a league source who has been monitoring the Raptors told Grange. “What they do will affect teams all across the league: Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta – not that it’s about deals with any particular team, just that people are going to be waiting to see what the Raptors do before they make their moves. Toronto could set the market.”

Raptors Notes: January, Achiuwa, Porter, VanVleet

January 3rd, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

This January will be one of the Raptors‘ most important regular season months in the last decade, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who writes that Toronto’s year could begin one of two ways — either the team starts playing better and begins to fulfill its promise, or its struggles continue and Masai Ujiri will have to seriously consider whether to break up the Raptors’ core.

The crucial month got off to a disappointing start on Monday as the Raptors lost 122-114 to the Pacers in Indiana, falling to 16-21 on the season. It’s the type of game Toronto will need to start winning more often than not, but Indiana looked like the deeper and better team on Monday, says Koreen.

The Raptors’ schedule leading up to the trade deadline is favorable, as Koreen writes, with 14 of 19 games against teams currently in either play-in or lottery position. They’ll also play their next six games at home, so if they’re going to make a move up the standings, it will probably need to start soon.

Here’s more out of Toronto:

Big man Precious Achiuwa, who had been out since November 9 due to a right ankle injury, returned to the court on Monday and recorded three points and three blocked shots in 12 minutes. He admitted after the game that his conditioning could use some work, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. “I was so out of breath it was crazy,” Achiuwa said of his first four-minute stint. “I was so tired I couldn’t even drink water. It felt like I was going to pass out.” He added that he began to feel better during his later minutes.
Asked today if Otto Porter Jr. is making progress in recovery from his foot injury, head coach Nick Nurse didn’t offer much reason for enthusiasm, tweets Lewenberg. “He’s not, he’s not,” Nurse said. As Lewenberg notes (via Twitter), the hope was that Porter, who saw a specialist for his dislocated toe in mid-December, would be able to avoid surgery and return in January, but his outlook is cloudier now.
Prior to Monday’s loss to Indiana, Fred VanVleet said he welcomes a tough-love approach from Nurse and is prepared to dish out some of that tough love to his teammates too if need be. “What would you rather have? Somebody rubbing your shoulders and telling you everything’s going to be OK? No,” VanVleet said, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “We’ve got a standard around here that we try to play to, and it’s not even results-based. It’s based on performances, and the last couple performances where we just don’t show up to play, that’s unacceptable.”

Raptors Respond To Coach's Film Session

January 1st, 2023 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors responded to a challenge from coach Nick Nurse in Friday’s win over Phoenix, notes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto had fallen out of a play-in spot with five straight losses, and Nurse called the recent effort “unacceptable.” Instead of having a shootaround before facing the Suns, the team went through a 20-minute film session with Nurse pointing out areas that need improvement. “It’s very simple, foundational things that we’ve got to get better,” Nurse explained. “… I’m probably not gonna air on the soft side of saying, ‘It was just a one-night thing.’ I’m gonna show them the good, bad, and ugly. I’m gonna show them that I’m not backing away from any of that stuff. I’m gonna show them what they need to do better. That’s the only way I think I can teach ‘em.”

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Vaughn, Fournier, Quickley

December 30th, 2022 at 9:10pm CST by Rory Maher

The Raptors have struggled lately, losing 13 of their past 20 games. Eric Koreen of The Athletic says there’s plenty of blame to go around for the team’s poor performance this season, and while injuries have certainly taken a toll, Toronto has been “uninspiring and predictable” on both ends of the court.

Quite simply, the Raptors do not fit, Koreen argues, noting that “developmental progress has stalled” in multiple areas. That’s on the front office for putting the team together, Nick Nurse and his coaching staff for not making the most of the available talent, and the players for not performing at a high level, according to Koreen.

After going 48-34 last season and claiming the East’s No. 5 seed, the Raptors have fallen to 16-20 thus far in 2022/23. Toronto’s defensive rating has dropped from ninth to 17th, and the team’s effort has been called into question multiple times.

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

The Nets started the season 2-5, but have gone 21-7 under head coach Jacque Vaughn after parting ways with Steve Nash. How has Vaughn guided such a dramatic turnaround? Brian Lewis of The New York Post has the details, including quotes from Vaughn and several players.
Evan Fournier saw his first playing time since November 13 in the Knicks‘ loss to the Spurs on Thursday, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 17 minutes, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. The veteran wing says it wasn’t easy to be a healthy scratch for so long. “I’ve just tried to stay present this whole time. It was a lot easier to play than to actually sit on the bench and watch the guys play,” Fournier said. “Basically, the way I treated it when I first got benched, was just to stay ready. … Today I felt like I needed to be ready, just in case.” Fournier was reinserted into the rotation due to injuries to RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson.
Immanuel Quickley recorded a career-high 15 assists on Tuesday and a career-high 36 points on Thursday, but those achievements don’t mean much to the third-year guard, according to Botte. “I mean, we lost both games. So career high or not, it kind of sucks. It don’t really matter because we lost,” Quickley said. “I’d rather win. Everybody looks for opportunities to come in and try to prove themselves. Whether I play 50 minutes or whether I play 25, I try to do my job, try to come out and play hard each and every game and be aggressive and just do my job. But you want to see those turn into wins, and we’re gonna get that done.”

Raptors Waive Justin Champagnie

December 29th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Raptors small forward Justin Champagnie has been waived by the team, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). The club officially confirmed the move in a press release.

An injury after training camp seemed to kill Champagnie’s chances of making the club’s rotation, Murphy observes. He appeared in just three games for Toronto this year.

Champagnie’s contract was only partially guaranteed for $825K. Toronto would have owed the 6’6″ swingman the entirety of his $1,637,966 contract for 2022/23 if he had remained on the roster beyond January 1, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Murphy believes Champagnie has a good chance to join another club on a two-way deal at some point this season. Since making his NBA debut in October 2021, the former Pitt standout has appeared in 39 games for Toronto, averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.9 RPG across just 7.5 MPG.

With Champagnie coming off their books, the Raptors now have an available spot on their 15-man standard roster. Murphy adds that, thanks to that opening, Toronto will have more flexibility when discussing trades and will be in better position to consider 10-day signings. As we outlined earlier this week, teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts as of January 5.

Atlantic Notes: Lee, LeBron, Maxey, Grimes

December 29th, 2022 at 7:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After being released from his two-way contract with the Sixers earlier this week, young point guard Saben Lee has re-joined the Raptors‘ NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905, writes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

Lee initially joined the 905 in October before latching on with Philadelphia in late November on that two-way deal.

The 23-year-old was initially selected with the No. 38 pick out of Vanderbilt in the 2020 draft. He spent his first two NBA seasons with the Pistons, averaging 5.6 PPG across 85 games. This season, he has appeared in 15 NBAGL games between the Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, and the Raptors 905, averaging 23.3 PPG, 6.4 APG and 4.7 RPG.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

With Lakers forward LeBron James recently voicing his concerns about being able to compete with his current team during the twilight of his career, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice wonders if the Sixers could work as a potential trade landing spot for the 18-time All-Star this summer. James, who just inked an extension prior to the start of this season, cannot be moved until the start of the 2023 offseason. Next summer, Neubeck notes, the Sixers could potentially trade the expiring contract of starting small forward Tobias Harris along with explosive young guard Tyrese Maxey, plus some future draft compensation, to L.A. in exchange for James.
Maxey, who has been sidelined with a fractured foot since November 18, practiced with the Sixers on Thursday, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, a positive sign that he’ll be back in action this weekend. The possibility of a potential Friday return against the Pelicans in New Orleans was recently floated, and he has been officially listed as probable to suit up for that game, Mizell reports (Twitter link).
Young Knicks guard Quentin Grimes continues to develop as a potent 3-and-D option for New York, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Grimes has been performing well since been promoted to a starting role for his team last month. “It’s not an easy chore to take the best perimeter player every game,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Grimes. “Sometimes, you can do it great, and they still can score. But he’s got the right mindset for it.”

Raptors Notes: Achiuwa, Boucher, VanVleet, Koloko

December 28th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa appears to be on the verge of returning from a right ankle injury. He was put through a vigorous on-court workout after the team’s practice today, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links), who notes that Achiuwa has been upgraded to questionable for Thursday’s game vs. Memphis.

Despite the change in Achiuwa’s status on the injury report, Lewenberg believes the former first-round pick is more likely to return for Friday’s game vs. Phoenix. Achiuwa hasn’t played since November 9.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Raptors big man Chris Boucher has logged just 22 total minutes in the last three games and has scored only two points during that stretch. Asked if Achiuwa’s return could benefit Boucher, head coach Nick Nurse simply stated, “Chris needs to play better“ (Twitter link via Lewenberg).
After leaving Tuesday’s game due to lower back stiffness, Fred VanVleet is listed as questionable for Thursday, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The Raptors’ starting point guard is dealing with back spasms, according to Nurse (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps). If VanVleet has to miss any time, Malachi Flynn has earned the opportunity to play a larger role, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.
Rookie center Christian Koloko, also listed as questionable for Thursday’s game, is getting an MRI on his sore right knee today, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Both Grange and Lewenberg explored what it meant to have Clippers forwards Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell – two members of the Raptors’ 2019 championship team – back in the building on Tuesday. Despite Leonard’s reputation for being “notoriously stoic,” even the former Finals MVP was feeling a little nostalgic, according to Grange. With the Clippers still managing his knee, Leonard was given the choice of sitting out Monday’s game in Detroit or Tuesday in Toronto — he opted to face the Raptors. “It’s always great memories coming in this arena,” Kawhi said. “And if I was going to sit a game I’d rather give the fans in Toronto a chance to see me play again.”

VanVleet Adjusting To Off Ball Role

December 27th, 2022 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Fred VanVleet has played more off the ball this season and the Raptors guard admits it hasn’t been an easy adjustment, William Lou of Sportsnet tweets. “I’m always willing to do what’s best for the team and it’s something we’ve been trying,” he said. “There’s games where I dominate the ball and we need that, but for the most part I’m in a completely different role than last year.” VanVleet is shooting a career-low 33.5% on 3-point attempts this season. He left Tuesday’s game early with lower back stiffness, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.