Toronto Raptors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Powell Returns To Toronto For First Time Since 2020

December 27th, 2022 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Raptors champion and current Clippers forward Norman Powell returned to Toronto on Tuesday for the first time since Feb. 28, 2020, Law Murray of The Athletic tweets. The Raptors were on a road trip when the pandemic hit and then played in the Orlando bubble before spending the next season in Tampa, with Powell traded to Portland midway through that year. He was inactive for the Trail Blazers’ game in Toronto last season and was dealt to the Clippers after Los Angeles had already played there.

Achiuwa Practices, Could Return This Week

December 26th, 2022 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa practiced on Monday and could return sometime this week, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Achiuwa is doubtful for Tuesday’s game against the Clippers. Achiuwa has been out since Nov. 9 with partial ligament tears in his right ankle.

Luka Doncic, Pascal Siakam Named Players Of The Week

December 26th, 2022 at 2:42pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Raptors forward Pascal Siakam have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Doncic, the Western Conference winner, led Dallas to a 3-1 week with averages of 31.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 9.0 APG and 2.3 SPG on .494/.429/.818 shooting. The highlight performance of his stellar week was Friday’s victory in Houston, when he recorded 50 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and three steals on great efficiency (.567/.500/.833 splits). Doncic has accumulated eight player of the week awards since 2019/20, the most in the West over that span, per the Mavs (Twitter link).

Siakam, the East’s winner, led Toronto to a 2-1 week while averaging 38.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 7.3 APG and 1.3 SPG on .527/.368/.838 shooting. In Wednesday’s victory in New York, he racked up 52 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and one steal on .680/.333/.889 shooting.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Lauri Markkanen and CJ McCollum, while Jarrett Allen, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Haliburton, Franz Wagner and Trae Young were nominated in the East.

Smith: Barnes Need To Work Harder On Game

December 25th, 2022 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Scottie Barnes has not progressed from his strong rookie campaign and the Raptors forward will need to work harder on his game next offseason, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. His statistics haven’t improved and he’s not having the same impact on the game as last season, in part due to a lack of enthusiasm. Barnes has the talent but may have been guilty of resting on his laurels, Smith writes.

Pacers, Myles Turner Discussing Possible Extension

December 23rd, 2022 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers and center Myles Turner have opened up discussions about a possible contract extension, league sources with knowledge of the situation tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Those talks are believed to be in the initial stages, Charania adds.

Turner is earning $18MM in the final year of his current contract and will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.

With Domantas Sabonis no longer sharing minutes at the five in Indiana, Turner is enjoying the best season of his eight-year NBA career, averaging a career-high 16.7 points in his first 26 games (29.5 MPG). His 7.8 rebounds per game are also a career high, as are his .541 FG% and .417 3PT%. The 26-year-old has provided his usual rim protection too, blocking 2.1 shots per night.

As we explained last month, the Pacers would be limited to giving Turner a 20% starting raise (to $21.6MM) if they offered a standard contract extension. Such an offer would max out at about $97MM over four years.

However, because they’re still well below the salary cap – not to mention the salary floor – the Pacers could complete a renegotiation-and-extension, which would allow them to more than double Turner’s $18MM salary this season (to his maximum of about $37MM) and would give them the flexibility to discuss a much wider range of salary numbers in future years (including a decrease of up to 40% from his renegotiated salary).

According to Charania, Pacers officials have indeed discussed the renegotiation-and-extension framework with Turner’s agent, Austin Brown.

Although Charania says that there’s a March 1 deadline for the two sides to reach an extension, Turner will technically remain eligible to sign a new deal all the way up until June 30. However, teams aren’t permitted to renegotiate players’ current-year salaries after the last day in February. If Turner and his camp are viewing the start of March as the deadline to work something out, that presumably means they won’t entertain a new deal without a 2022/23 salary bump.

Even as they explore an extension for Turner, the Pacers are expected to keep all their options open, including a possible trade before the February 9 deadline. The Lakers and Raptors are among the teams that have shown interest in the big man in recent months, league sources tell Charania.

Turner and Buddy Hield – who has also drawn interest from rival teams this season, per Charania – are considered Indiana’s most obvious veteran trade candidates, though there’s no guarantee that either will go anywhere this season.