October 16, 2017 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Raptors exercise contract options on Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam and Delon Wright

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have exercised the third-year team options on the Rookie Scale Contracts of centre Jakob Poeltl and forward Pascal Siakam and the fourth-year team option on the Rookie Scale Contract of guard Delon Wright.

The contracts for Poeltl, Siakam and Wright are now guaranteed through the 2018-19 season.

In accordance with the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Raptors had until October 31 to exercise their option on all three players.

Poeltl, 7-foot, 248 pounds, was selected by the Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He averaged 3.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.4 blocks and 11.6 minutes in 54 games last season. Poeltl scored in double figures three times and led the team in rebounds twice.

Siakam, 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, was the 27th overall pick by the Raptors in the 2016 NBA Draft. He posted averages of 4.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 15.6 minutes in 55 games (38 starts) last season. Siakam was also named NBA G League Finals MVP after helping Raptors 905 defeat Rio Grande Valley in The Finals, averaging 23.0 points and 9.0 rebounds over the three-game series.

Wright, 6-foot-5, 183 pounds was chosen by Toronto with the 20th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He averaged 5.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 16.5 minutes in 27 games last season. Wright scored in double digits seven times and paced the club in assists on five occasions. He missed the first 41 games (October 26 – January 17) following right shoulder surgery. Wright is averaging 4.7 points, 1.6 rebound, 1.6 assists and 12.5 minutes in 54 career games.

Jazz waive Joel Bolomboy

The Utah Jazz have waived forward Joel Bolomboy. Following the move, the roster now stands at 17 players.

Bolomboy (6-9, 235, Weber State) was originally drafted by the Jazz in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft and appeared in 12 games during the 2016-17 season, owning averages of 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 4.4 minutes per game. He also appeared in two games for Utah during the 2017 NBA Playoffs, averaging 2.0 points and 1.0 boards in 4.5 minutes.

During last season, Bolomboy played in 24 games (22 starts) while on assignment with the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team, the Salt Lake City Stars, where he averaged 16.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 blocks in 34.5 minutes per contest.

A native of Ukraine, Bolomboy played four seasons at Weber State (2012-16) where he averaged 17.1 points on 57.3 percent shooting and grabbed 12.6 rebounds (third in the nation) during his senior year, setting a school single-season record by tallying 415 total rebounds.

Kevin Durant declares swag level to be high

We all know that NBA players have boundless energy when they first enter the league. But in their prime, while their basketball ability may be at its best, what about their endurance, recovery time, etc? Fun stuff to dive into. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News on Kevin Durant:

Unlike his superstar Warriors teammate in Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant does not feel he is currently playing at his absolute peak. Reserve those years for when the Oklahoma City Thunder once cheered for Durant instead of booing him.

“Physically at 21, 22, 23, I could get out the bed and windmill or catch a lob,” Durant said after practice on Sunday. “But I got to activate my glutes and hamstrings a little bit more now.”

Still, Durant enters the Warriors’ season opener against Houston on Tuesday at the Oracle saying his “swag level is through the roof” for reasons besides winning the 2017 NBA championship.

“Mentally when you feel like you’ve mastered the game from an individual standpoint, knowing what you want to do, that’s a great feeling,” Durant said. “I’ve hit the point where you know what’s important there on the basketball court. I’m at that point, especially playing with such a talented group of guys, they make you focus on other things besides yourself. That’s an underrated part of this team.”

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Nets lineup still being decided

One would think that new highly-paid Net Allen Crabbe would be in the starting lineup come regular season, right? We’ll see. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

The Nets used the exact same starting lineup throughout the preseason, but coach Kenny Atkinson insists that’s no guarantee it will remain the same when they open the regular season Wednesday in Indiana.

Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell are the first-choice backcourt, and Timofey Mozgov is the presumptive starter at center. But who will get the nod at the forward spots?

And will pricey small forward Allen Crabbe — whose $19.3 million salary this season is tops on the roster and fifth highest in team history — really be on the bench?

“It’s still to be determined,” Atkinson said. “Still have to look at everything, and he’s a part of that. [We’ll] look at his progression. That being said, I do like how that group played together, that starting five. But nothing is set in stone yet.”

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