Toronto Raptors Blog – Page 27 – NBA Blog

Jared Sullinger to join Raptors

The Raptors are adding some rebounding. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:

In another low-risk, high-reward gamble, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri has dipped into the NBA freeagent pool.

Jared Sullinger, an intriguing big man with conditioning and health issues but talent that makes him an interesting addition to a team needing a power forward, announced his own signing with the Raptors on Monday afternoon.

The six-foot-nine, 260-pound big man, cut adrift Sunday by the Boston Celtics, will join Toronto on a one-year deal worth slightly under $6 million, a relatively cheap contract in this summer’s NBA free agent market.

Raptors sign rookies Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam

The Toronto Raptors announced Saturday they have signed center Jakob Poeltl (YAH-cub PUHR-tuhl) and forward Pascal Siakam (Pass-CAL See-AH-kum) to rookie scale contracts. Both players are under contract through the 2017-18 season, with two team option years to follow. The Raptors selected Poeltl with the ninth pick and Siakam with the 27th selection in the 2016 NBA Draft.

All players selected in the first round of the draft are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they wish to start their NBA career right away. So, these signings are standard and were expected.

Poeltl, 7-foot, 248 pounds, played two seasons at Utah and one season (2013-14) for the Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions in his native Austria. He was the 2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year, an Associated Press second-team All-America and the recipient of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for the nation’s top centre. Poeltl averaged 17.2 points (second in the Pac-12), 9.1 rebounds (fourth in the conference) and 1.6 blocks (eighth in the Pac-12) in 36 games this past season. He ranked first in the Pac-12 and seventh in the nation in field goal percentage (.646). As a freshman, he contributed 9.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 34 contests. He earned Pac-12 All-Freshman team honours and was named to the CBSSports.com Freshman All-American team. He led the conference and ranked fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (.681).

Siakam, 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, played two seasons at New Mexico State. He averaged 20.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 34 games in 2015-16 en route to unanimous Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year honours. He led the nation with 27 double-doubles. The native of Cameroon was the 2015 WAC Freshman of the Year, averaging 12.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 34 outings. He paced the conference in field goal percentage (.572) and blocked shots.

Magic sign Bismack Biyombo

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent center Bismack Biyombo (bis-MOCK bee-OM-bo), General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today. The deal was reported to be 4 years, $72 million.

“Bismack (Biyombo) is a tremendous competitor and athlete who excels on the defensive end of the floor,” said Hennigan. “He proved during the playoffs that he can rebound and protect the rim at an elite level, and he will bring toughness and winning fiber to our frontcourt. We are confident that his best basketball is ahead of him and we’re extremely excited to welcome him to the Orlando Magic family.”

Biyombo (6’9”, 255, 8/28/92) played in all 82 regular season games with Toronto last season (22 starts), averaging 5.5 ppg., a career-high 8.0 rpg. and a team-high 1.62 blkpg. in 22.0 minpg., while shooting .542 (156-288) from the floor. He ranked 13th in the NBA in blocked shots. Biyombo led (or tied) the Raptors in rebounding 32 times. He scored in double figures 17 times, including a career-high 16 points on Mar. 17 @ Indiana. Biyombo had nine double-doubles, recorded 10+ rebounds 23 times and pulled down 20+ rebounds twice, including a career-high and franchise-record 25 rebounds on Mar. 17 @ Indiana. He tied a career-high with seven blocked shots on Dec. 17 @ Charlotte.

During the 2016 NBA Playoffs, Biyombo appeared in all 20 games (10 starts), averaging 6.2 ppg., 9.4 rpg. and a team-high 1.35 blkpg. in 25.3 minpg., helping the Raptors reach the Eastern Conference Finals. He scored in double figures five times and had 10+ rebounds eight times during the postseason, including a franchise-playoff-record and career-playoff-high 26 rebounds in Game #3 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Cleveland on May 19.

Originally selected by Sacramento in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft, Biyombo has appeared in 366 career NBA regular season games (158 starts) with Charlotte and Toronto, averaging 4.6 ppg., 6.5 rpg. and 1.57 blkpg. in 21.2 minpg., while shooting .507 (630-1,242) from the floor. He has also played in 23 career NBA playoff contests (11 starts), averaging 5.7 ppg., 8.6 rpg. and 1.26 blkpg. in 24.1 minpg.

Raptors keeping DeMar DeRozan

Guard DeMar DeRozan averaged 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game last season for the Raptors, and will extend his stay in Toronto alongside guard Kyle Lowry. Here’s the Toronto Star with more:

Kevin Durant was never coming to Toronto. Well, that’s not entirely true. There was a brief flicker a few years ago when he very quietly signalled a willingness to keep the door open, just a crack. And then it closed.

In the end, there was no better option for the Raptors than DeMar DeRozan. If Durant wanted to come here, he would be here. They would send a private plane and give him anything he wanted. But this era’s premier scorer is entertaining offers in the Hamptons, king of whatever he deigns to survey.

DeRozan, however, has never gone away. The 26-year-old shooting guard has stayed a Raptor through the tough times, into the good times, and now he has signed the richest contract in Canadian sports history, thanks to the NBA’s summer of money. The Raptors met with DeRozan just after midnight eastern time in Los Angeles on July 1, their first opportunity, and he agreed to a five-year contract worth $137.5 million U.S. A full max deal — like those being handed out in this NBA as if they’re loot bags at a children’s party — would have run $153 million U.S.

Giving Dwane Casey an extension was easy decision for Raptors

Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting on the Raptors, who have decided that coach Dwane Casey is worth keeping around for the foreseeable future:

Masai Ujiri and Dwane Casey aren’t always in agreement, but if they were, it’s a good bet they wouldn’t have lasted so long together.

Ujiri, the Raptors’ president and general manager doesn’t want a yes-man as his head coach. Fortunately Casey is no yes-man.

The two paired up three years ago, Ujiri inheriting Casey from Bryan Colangelo of the previous regime.

He’s had a few chances to walk away from Casey but each and every time he has stayed with him.

The latest is a (finally) confirmed three-year deal that will pay Casey a well-earned $18 million over the length of the contract.

Ujiri made this decision before the playoffs started telling the media Casey was his coach going forward, so the extended playoff run had nothing to do with this.

DeMarre Carroll day-to-day with wrist injury

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday tests taken following Wednesday’s game on forward DeMarre Carroll’s left wrist were negative. Carroll left Game 5 versus Miami in the third quarter with a left wrist contusion.

He will be treated symptomatically and is questionable for Game 6 on Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Carroll has averaged 9.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 31.5 minutes in 12 playoff games this season. In five games versus the Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, he has averaged 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 35.7 minutes in five contests.

Jonas Valanciunas injured, out for rest of series vs Heat

The Toronto Raptors announced yesterday that center Jonas Valanciunas will miss the remainder of the Eastern Conference Semifinal playoff series versus Miami with a sprained right ankle.

This is a huge blow to the squad. Jonas has been one of their best performers this postseason.

Valanciunas sustained the injury during the third quarter of Saturday’s Game 3 in Miami. He has averaged 15.0 points, shooting .550 (61-111) from the field, with 12.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 28.5 minutes in 10 playoff games this season. In the series versus the Heat, he has averaged 18.3 points on .649 (24-37) percent from the floor, 12.7 rebounds, 1.33 blocks and 33.7 minutes in three contests.

Raptors win Game 3 vs Heat

Kyle Lowry got his game back at the perfect time for the Toronto Raptors.

And the Miami Heat are in all kinds of trouble.

Shaking off epic playoff struggles, Lowry scored 33 points – including five straight to break a late tie – in a duel with Dwyane Wade to lift the Raptors to a 95-91 victory over the Heat on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Raptors lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is in Miami on Monday night.

“I felt like it was just a matter of time,” Lowry said.

He was a career 34 percent playoff shooter coming into Saturday, and was shooting 31 percent in these playoffs. But he connected on 11 of 19 shots, 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

— AP

Kyle Lowry not pleased with play early in Raptors-Pacers series

The Raptors and Pacers are tied 2-2 in their first round NBA playoff series. Raptors guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan haven’t been at their best, to put it lightly. Looking at this as Glass Half Full, things can only get better — right? We’ll see. Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting:

Kyle Lowry can tell you to the third decimal what he is shooting in the playoffs.

And even if he’s not happy about that particular number he is not at liberty to grouse about it or let it affect him.

“I’d be lying to you if I said I’m not upset at how I’m playing,” Lowry said. “But I’ve got to be positive. At the end of the day my teammates bank on me to be positive and lead these guys, and that’s what I’m going to do no matter how I’m shooting the ball, I’ve got to make sure my teammates are positive and confident.”

And on that front he has been for the most part successful.

DeRozan and Lowry both know they need to shoot the ball better but getting frustrated over it is not something either will allow himself.

“No, not at all. I’m not frustrated,” DeRozan said Sunday following practice.

Norman Powell, Karl-Anthony Towns named NBA Rookies of Month for April 2016

The Toronto Raptors’ Norman Powell and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.

Powell helped the Raptors to a 6-2 record behind averages of 15.3 points (tops in the Eastern Conference), 4.4 rebounds (seventh), 2.5 assists (tied-fifth) and 1.4 steals (third). He scored in double figures in six of eight games and shot 54.8 percent from the field. In Toronto’s regular-season finale, Powell scored a career-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting (including 5-of-6 from three-point range) and added nine rebounds and five assists during the Raptors’ 103-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Towns becomes the first player to sweep a season of Kia NBA Rookie of the Month awards since the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard in 2012-13. In April, Towns helped the Timberwolves to a 4-3 mark as he led all rookies in scoring (18.9 ppg), rebounding ( 11.7 rpg), blocks (1.7 bpg) and minutes (35.6 mpg). Towns capped his first NBA season with his 51st double-double (third most in the NBA) when he tallied 28 points and 14 rebounds during Minnesota’s 144-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on April 13.

Other nominees for the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay, New York’s Jerian Grant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Utah’s Trey Lyles.