Raptors Discussion: v97 Raptor's 2024-2025 - Training camp begins Oct. 1

[hockeywiz542]

Raptors’ Gary Trent Jr. opting in for final year of his contract opens up a lot of options

The shooting guard will be eligible to sign a long-term extension with the Raptors. But it also gives the team a trade chip this off-season.

www.thestar.com

By declining an option to become an unrestricted free agent, Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. has opened up a host of other possibilities.

Trent informed the team Tuesday that he would play the 2023-24 season under terms of his existing contract that will pay him about $18.5 million.

But the mildly surprising decision creates all kinds of different avenues for both the 24-year-old and the team.

• Trent will be eligible to sign a long-term extension with the Raptors starting next month.

• Trent will be unrestricted free agent in July 2024 if no extension is reached.

• The Raptors can shop his one-year expiring contract either this summer or at next year’s trade deadline.

• Trent opting into his deal gives the Raptors some cost certainty when they open negotiations with free agents Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl.

• A team acquiring Trent either around this week’s draft or July’s opening of free agency would also have the ability to offer a summer extension.

Whatever happens — and it’s impossible to say for certain today what will occur — there are many more possibilities in play than there would have been had Trent become a free agent.

The 37th pick in the 2018 NBA draft , Trent averaged 17.4 points per game on 37 per cent three-point shooting for the Raptors last season. He split time between starting and coming off the bench and was the most effective long-range shooter on a Toronto team that struggled with outside shooting efficiency.

How Trent will fit into the rotation under new head coach Darko Rajakovic is impossible to tell because vice-chairman Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster are wrestling with myriad roster possibilities going into Thursday’s draft and the free agent signing period in July.

But if the Raptors do run it back, it’s unlikely Trent would start over VanVleet or Scottie Barnes in the backcourt with a wing duo of O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam taking two other starting spots.

 

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[Dr.Funk]

Don't mind Trent opting in if we can trade him but don't like the extension talk.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Raptors will pick best player available in draft, regardless of position

‘You can’t deny talent,’ player personnel boss Dan Tolzman says.

www.thestar.com

The commonly held opinion is that this iteration of the Raptors needs playmaking and backcourt help more than anything but Dan Tolzman, the team’s vice-president of player personnel, wants nothing to do with your commonly held opinion, thank you very much.

The transitory nature of NBA rosters and an organization’s need to look beyond one season mean that talent trumps immediate need every single time.

“You can’t deny talent when it’s all said and done with the draft picks because you never know what the team could look like two weeks later, a month later, six months later,” Tolzman said in his annual pre-draft media session Tuesday. The NBA draft is Thursday night, with the Raptors slated to pick 13th."

“You just kinda plan for what’s the decision long term, at least we do — what the best decision is for us long-term regardless of what our current roster situation is.”

Funny, though, is the fact that Toronto’s current roster situation dovetails nicely with gaping holes that need to be filled.

The draft — at least around the first-round slot that Toronto currently occupies — is heavy on playmaking guards and shooters who have shown at least a bit of promise in a season or two going against teenage college defenders rather than the grown men who guard wings and guards in the NBA.

“I think there's definitely a high level of on–the-ball playmaking,” Tolzman said. “I wouldn't say a lack of shooting or anything like that, but maybe it's more playmaking than it is high-end shooting, probably, in terms of the top end.”

To suggest the Raptors are targeting anyone in the draft is futile since they can’t be sure who might still be available at No. 13 or if they might buck franchise history and pull off some major draft-night transaction.

Tolzman said the Raptors worked out about 20 prospects, including Canadians Leonard Miller and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. Other than those two whispered names, the workout list was a closely guarded secret.

“It’s just another advantage of not letting the teams around us know who we have coming around here, to be totally honest with you,” he said. “Just trying to keep a little bit of privacy in terms of what we are doing with that.”

Does it work? “It doesn’t really. In today’s day and age it’s impossible to keep anything like that (secret).”

.......................

And be prepared to draft for talent rather than perceived need.

“I don't want to overstate it that we just try to focus on the best players on the board,” Tolzman said.

 

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Raptors Press Conference: Dan Tolzman | June 20, 2023

Toronto Raptors

June 20, 2023

Assistant General Manager Dan Tolzman speaks with the media ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday.

 

[Dr.Funk]

 

[The Nemesis]

If I'm Masai I am calling the Blazers and just tying up their phone lines from now until Thursday offering them Siakam for #3, Anfernee Simmons, and salary ballast. Draft Scoot Henderson, re-sign Poeltl, let Fred walk.

It probably won't happen (there's an SI report from yesterday that suggests the Blazers don't particularly care for either of OG or Siakam. Yes, that could just be a smokescreen to try and bring the price down. But it could also be legit if the rumors that they're leaning towards keeping the pick are true) but maybe we can will it into existence.

 

[DuklaNation]

Tolzman can say you don't need ball handling all he wants. If you don't have enough in your 5 man unit, you're vulnerable to presses, blitzes and more turnovers. That's an undeniable reality. And I don't appreciate when sports execs talk down to fans.

 

[Bjindaho]

Tolzman can say you don't need ball handling all he wants. If you don't have enough in your 5 man unit, you're vulnerable to presses, blitzes and more turnovers. That's an undeniable reality. And I don't appreciate when sports execs talk down to fans.

All of the potential picks have ball handling. FVV, Siakim, Barnes are all decent.

The bigger issue is that Toronto needs to find a way to have two PG for the first time since Kyle and Fred.

 

[Bjindaho]

If I'm Masai I am calling the Blazers and just tying up their phone lines from now until Thursday offering them Siakam for #3, Anfernee Simmons, and salary ballast. Draft Scoot Henderson, re-sign Poeltl, let Fred walk.

It probably won't happen (there's an SI report from yesterday that suggests the Blazers don't particularly care for either of OG or Siakam. Yes, that could just be a smokescreen to try and bring the price down. But it could also be legit if the rumors that they're leaning towards keeping the pick are true) but maybe we can will it into existence.

There's a lot more smoke around Portland drafting Scoot and traded Lilard right now.

That being said, anything that would get us 3 without giving up Barnes should be considered.

 

[saska sault]

If I'm Masai I am calling the Blazers and just tying up their phone lines from now until Thursday offering them Siakam for #3, Anfernee Simmons, and salary ballast. Draft Scoot Henderson, re-sign Poeltl, let Fred walk.

It probably won't happen (there's an SI report from yesterday that suggests the Blazers don't particularly care for either of OG or Siakam. Yes, that could just be a smokescreen to try and bring the price down. But it could also be legit if the rumors that they're leaning towards keeping the pick are true) but maybe we can will it into existence.

I dont see how we get Simmons and #3 without giving up alot more.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Dave Feschuk: There’s a good chance Raptors fans wanting franchise-altering moves will be disappointed

Don’t expect Raptors boss Masai Ujiri to take the bat off his shoulder. It’s been a while.

www.thestar.com

With a one-time home-run hitter like Masai Ujiri running the Raptors, moments like Thursday night’s NBA draft always hold the possibility of a long-awaited big swing.

Savvy draft-night deals, after all, have a history of mythical deliverance in the world’s best basketball league. It’s how the Lakers got Kobe Bryant, how the Mavericks got Dirk Nowitzki, how the Raptors, long before Ujiri was making the decisions, ended up with Vince Carter. Which makes it a moment of tantalizing possibility. On a night like Thursday, the executive who chooses the correct undervalued prospect can, if things go improbably well, change the fortune of a franchise with one move.

Whether or not such a transaction is in the offing, of course, is another matter. Raptors assistant general manager Dan Tolzman said in his annual pre-draft chat with reporters Tuesday that the club was giving “quite a bit” of attention to the possibility of moving up in the draft from its current late-lottery slot at 13th overall. Which is the kind of thing that, taken out of context, could excite a fan base that’s been waiting a long time for a high-impact move.

Alas, there was plenty of context provided Tuesday. Tolzman essentially went on to say that the Raptors, along with considering all the possibilities of moving up in the draft, have also done plenty of research on what might be available should they choose to move back in the draft. Oh, and they’ve covered their bases about what they’ll do should they stand pat and pick 13th.

“How realistic is it that we can move up? I don’t know,” Tolzman said. “But at the same time, you don’t want to not be prepared for it.”

Preparation is one thing, of course. Execution is quite another. And recent history suggests that Thursday night will be a relative non-event. Just like many forecast the Raptors as potential NBA rain makers at this season’s trade deadline, only to see Ujiri sit and watch the office paint dry, the safe bet is the Raptors make their pick at No. 13 and largely stick with the status quo, at least for now.

Certainly Tuesday offered a modest nudge in that direction, when Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. made the somewhat unexpected move of exercising his player option for next season and forgoing free agency. You could say Trent Jr. is betting on himself, sure. Or perhaps, as a competent jump shooter playing for a club lacking that skill set in quantity, Trent Jr. is betting on the notion he can secure a longer-term deal with a Toronto franchise that can’t afford to let him go.

There are other decisions looming, among them Fred VanVleet’s impending free agency. But as much as Ujiri spoke after the season about the in-house “selfishness” and the fractured culture, so far the franchise has signalled its belief that a considerable part of last season’s problem was head coach Nick Nurse. Witness last week’s introduction of Nurse’s successor, Darko Rajakovic, and the many implications that Rajakovic has vowed to pay more heed to the importance of developing the roster than Nurse ever did.

Tolzman insisted the “structure” and “process” of the Raptors’ in-house development program is as strong as it’s ever been, even if the developmental success stories haven’t come in abundance since the like of Pascal Siakam and VanVleet defied the odds to become all-stars. Hint, hint: Blame Nurse for burying the likes of Malachi Flynn and Dalano Banton on the bench while their career arcs flatlined, and maybe even for allowing Scottie Barnes to stagnate as a sophomore. The proof, of course, will be in how they perform going forward.

“I think we have a pretty good track record of (developing players) and I don’t think we necessarily forgot how to do that,” Tolzman said. “And so I think everyone around here is still very confident that no matter who we bring in or even the guys that are still on our roster, we can continue to put an emphasis on getting better.”

As for the importance of new-coach energy, said Tolzman: “(Rajakovic is) going to have different ideas and different perspectives of what works. We’ve been doing things a certain way for quite a while now, to where having a little bit of a fresh perspective on it could go a long way of improving our process … Like I said, I don’t think we need to change a ton of it. But, at the same time, having a new set of eyes and some ideas as to what can be done, I think it could actually benefit (the program) a lot.”

If it all sounds naively optimistic, well, such is the hope-inducing nature of draft night. Literally everything can change in a moment if the Raptors happen upon the right circumstance; history tells you as much. Still, if a foundation-shaking blockbuster is the dream, and securing a transformational player is the fantasy, something decidedly less seismic is the likely reality.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Koreen: On draft night or afterward, Raptors need long-term clarity in backcourt

No matter what the future holds for Fred VanVleet, the Raptors need to decide what they're doing with their backcourt.

theathletic.com

Now, maybe the Raptors knew this was the direction Trent was leaning. He’s represented by Klutch Sports, as are Christian Koloko, O.G. Anunoby and Fred VanVleet — remember that last name — so it makes sense that the Raptors had at least some idea of Trent’s thinking. Still, Trent didn’t make the decision until Tuesday, the absolute deadline for him to do so. Maybe the Raptors weren’t shocked or even surprised, but they were, at the very least, uncertain about Trent’s intentions.

All of that plays into the draft and VanVleet’s free agency. It’s been easiest in mock drafts and less formal projections to predict the Raptors will come away with a guard, just because their three most valuable players under contract — Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes — are all forwards, or at least forward-sized. Likewise, given the Raptors traded three draft picks, including a first-rounder, to acquire Jakob Poeltl at February’s trade deadline, it stands to reason the Raptors will do what they can to retain him in free agency. They used last year’s high second-rounder on Christian Koloko, who had a fine rookie season. They are likely set at centre.

That leaves guard as the most obvious position of need, whether through the draft, free agency, trade or a combination of all three. Trent remaining in Toronto for one more year (and, by the way, he is eligible to be traded) does little to change that. If the Raptors manage to use one of their forwards to trade up to the second or third overall picks, held by Charlotte and Portland, respectively, point guard Scoot Henderson would be the most likely target. While the consensus is that there are many bigger players, including bigger playmaking guards in the mid-lottery, such as Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson and Anthony Black, the draft swings back toward more typical guards — point and shooting, if there’s much of a difference at this point — at no. 13, where the Raptors currently stand. Michigan’s Kobe Bufkin, Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino, Kentucky’s Cason Wallace and Connecticut’s Jordan Hawkins all make some sense on the Raptors roster, and are all 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4.

The Raptors badly need some clarity in the backcourt. They will not be able to re-sign both VanVleet and Poeltl while staying under the luxury-tax threshold unless they trade another player to a team with cap space, taking much less salary back in return in such a move. Even if the Raptors want to run back a similar roster to last year’s and see how new coach Darko Rajaković impacts the team, it is a virtual lock Masai Ujiri will not ask ownership to pay the luxury tax for a roster that has proven nothing. Even if VanVleet joins Trent in staying with the Raptors, the rest of the younger guards on the Raptors roster — Malachi Flynn, as well as restricted free agents Dalano Banton and Jeff Dowtin Jr. — have failed to establish themselves as worthy of a full-time rotation spot.

Ergo, the Raptors should pick a guard. Except, the draft and free agency are just moments in the roster-building continuum. Maybe a trade that makes sense that moves Siakam or Anunoby doesn’t materialize around the draft but comes into focus later in the summer, or in December or before the February trade deadline. Perhaps, in clearing out some salary in order to create some more room to re-sign VanVleet, the Raptors are able to get back another marginal guard prospect who they like to fight for minutes with Flynn and whoever else. And, if that’s the case, wouldn’t you prefer to have the prospect you liked best under team control for four years rather than the prospect who made the most sense in late-June?

If that’s the case, then forward Bilal Couliblay, who was Victor Wembanyama’s teammate in France, checks a lot of Raptors boxes: huge wingspan, came to basketball relatively late in his youth, more or less doesn’t shoot, never mind needing work on his shot. That’s just a thought.

What is apparent from last year’s Raptors, however, is that smaller players still matter. As inconsistent as VanVleet was last year, the Raptors fell apart without him offensively. It is incredibly useful to have a ball-handler who can navigate his way into smaller spaces on the floor and be a credible threat to make a play for himself or a teammate. Likewise, it helps to have a smaller player who has an easier time going “over” ball screens defensively while a) maintaining some ball pressure; and b) avoiding fouling by plowing into the screener. For all their defensive length, the Raptors struggled to keep paint-seeking guards out on the perimeter, which is what necessitated the acquisition of Poeltl in the first place.

Accordingly, the Raptors need to figure out the long-term future in the backcourt. The Raptors default to long and strong more often than not, but, in the same way that adding a proper rim protector helped balance the team, so too would getting some roster balance on the other end of the positional spectrum.

 

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[hockeywiz542]

2023 NBA mock draft: The latest on Charlotte's plans at No. 2

Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson at No. 2? The latest intel on Charlotte's plans for the pick.

www.espn.com

13. Toronto Raptors

Kobe Bufkin
Michigan
PG/SG
Age: 19.7

The Raptors have a plethora of options at their disposal that could see them end up anywhere on draft night -- higher up in the lottery, with another pick in the mid-to-late first round -- or possibly out altogether. Picking a shooter such as Dick or Jordan Hawkins, or pairing franchise stalwart Scottie Barnes with a versatile combo guard such as Bufkin, Nick Smith Jr. or Hood-Schifino are believed to be some of their most likely options, according to rival teams. However, the amount of activity coming out of the Toronto front office makes it difficult to project what they will do. Bufkin's fit with Barnes because of his experience playing off the ball, defensive tenacity and much-improved shooting has caused many to speculate that the Raptors are the ones who promised Bufkin this pick, and he indeed finds himself as the pick in this scenario. -- Givony

 

[saska sault]

Porzingis to Boston, curious if they are making more moves as I would imagine they are deep in the luxury tax now.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Rockets NBA draft notebook 2.0: The No. 4 pick, what to do at No. 20 and more

There's a good chance the Rockets will take Amen Thompson with the No. 4 pick if he's still on the board come draft day.

theathletic.com

• It’s also more likely, sources say, that Houston moves out of the draft entirely than moving back from the fourth pick. Teams have inquired about trading up with the Rockets, sources say, but it would take a serious haul of draft compensation or a combination of a great player and a future pick to warrant a serious discussion. There were different scenarios from interested teams proposed but Houston’s brass would prefer to draft high as opposed to moving back.

• This hasn’t deterred teams from engaging in talks with Houston, however. Although there hasn’t been an offer to this point that the Rockets have given serious consideration, sources say there have been several teams aggressively attempting to pry the No. 4 pick away, offering good starter-level players. Things can always change, but when weighing factors like age and contract of players being offered against the potential upside available at four, there hasn’t been anything that has aligned with what Houston wants to do.

• The more the Rockets have had time to evaluate and dive deeper into this draft class, the more impressed they have been with the talent level. It’s gotten to the point where they are more likely to select a second player than not but it’s more of an on-the-clock situation, sources say. As such, there are several players Houston is targeting at 20 — most of whom have gotten green room invites — and there’s optimism a few could still be on the board by the time the Rockets are on the clock.

• One interesting wrinkle to Houston’s interest is the prospect of moving up from the No. 20 pick. Again, conversations up to this point are mainly conceptual, but there have been discussions about potentially moving up from 20 to a range anywhere from the Miami Heat at No. 18 to the Dallas Mavericks at No. 10, sources say. Some iterations have involved the Rockets adding draft compensation while others have involved their own players or the idea of taking on bad salary. Ideally, Houston wants to preserve their nearly $60 million in cap space for free agency but given the abundance of financial flexibility, they could take on a bad contract if the upside of moving up was deemed worth it. On the flip side, if Houston stays put and the players they like are off the board by the time their pick comes around, they would be more open to trading the selection altogether, sources say.

• In talks with teams, the Rockets have maintained their stance that they aren’t looking to trade anyone from their core — including top-five picks in Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. and recent first-rounders Alperen Şengün and Tari Eason. Elsewhere, there has been interest in 22-year-old forward Kenyon Martin Jr., sources say, with his combination of age and upside still intriguing to rival NBA teams and deemed attainable internally for the right price.

 

[hockeywiz542]

2023 NBA Draft LATEST INTEL | The Lowe Post

NBA on ESPN

June 21, 2023 The Lowe Post with Zach Lowe

Zach Lowe talks to Jonathan Givony about the latest intel they're hearing leading up to the draft. What will Portland do with the No. 3 pick?

0:00 Welcome to The Lowe Post Podcast!

0:30 The latest on Charlotte’s workouts with Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller

4:32 Blazers weighing all options at No. 3

17:15 Damian Lillard-Zion Williamson trade buzz

25:20 Clippers looking to hit the reset button?

30:52 Rockets & Pistons trade buzz

33:30 Hawks & Magic trade buzz

37:27 Utah Jazz with a lot of options ahead of the draft

40:00 Indiana Pacers fielding calls for the No. 7 pick

44:00 What will the Raptors do on Draft night?

 

[hockeywiz542]

NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Intel on Zach LaVine, Kyle Kuzma, Fred VanVleet & Free Agency

Matt Moore breaks down his NBA intel report, including free agency and trade rumors surrounding Zach LaVine, Kyle Kuzma and more.

www.actionnetwork.com

Pascal Siakam

Speaking of All-Stars, Siakam was heavily discussed with the Blazers in talks for the No. 3 pick.

Yahoo’s Jake Fischer reported Tuesday that the Blazers were not interested in either Siakam or OG Anunoby.

Some further context on that is interesting, however. Before I share that, a reminder that everyone is constantly spinning this time of year, and the truth is often a little obscured if not caked completely in mud.

With that said, there are two competing narratives on the talks. Portland has projected that they were unsure about paying Siakam a new max contract. League sources, on the other hand, have suggested that Siakam was unwilling to provide assurances he would re-sign next summer.

Regardless, with the Blazers off the table, there have been no other serious talks with the Raptors (that I’ve heard about, I’m sure there have been some). There’s a belief that the Raptors will run it back yet again. Those things can change quickly, but that’s where I believe we’re at right now.

Fred VanVleet

The one Raptor who’s likely to be gone, just as everyone expected at the deadline, is Fred VanVleet.

The 29-year-old former champion is part of the rotating musical chairs for point guards in this free agency class.

The two teams most strongly attached to FVV are the Rockets and 76ers. It would not be incorrect to describe FVV as the James Harden consolation prize at this point. If Harden returns to Houston, the Sixers will look to construct a sign-and-trade for VanVleet. If the Sixers re-sign Harden, which Houston has projected they feel is likely in recent days, then the Rockets will look to a big-money, short-term contract for VanVleet.

A potential hangup has been the Rockets’ position against player options, sources said.

VanVleet is a seamless fit in either spot. He works as a quality shooter who doesn’t need the ball next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and can run the offense, yet he can also be the kind of veteran stabilizing point guard Houston has badly needed to find some level of structure with their impulsive youngsters.