Category: Toronto Raptors Blog

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have exercised the fourth year team option on the Rookie Scale Contract of forward Ed Davis. Davis is now guaranteed through the 2013-14 season. In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, the Raptors had until October 31 to exercise their option on Davis.

Davis, 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, was the 13th overall pick by Toronto in the 2010 NBA Draft out of the University of North Carolina. He has averaged 7.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 23.9 minutes in 131 games. He is shooting .547 (387-708) from the field.

Davis was the lone Raptor to appear in all 66 games last season. He averaged 6.3 points, a team-leading 6.6 rebounds and 23.2 minutes. In nine starting appearances, Davis upped his averages to 8.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 33.3 minutes. Davis tied for the team lead pacing the Raptors on the boards 19 times last season. He scored a career-best 24 points (10-15 FG), adding 12 rebounds, in a career-high 43 minutes April 26 versus New Jersey.

Davis averaged 7.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 24.6 minutes in 65 games in his rookie campaign. He posted averages of 10.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 32.0 minutes in his 17 starts. Davis led the team in double-doubles with 13, while topping the club on the glass in 18 contests. He ranked first among all NBA rookies in field goal percentage (.576), fourth in rebounds (7.1) and third in blocks (1.03).

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry will undergo therapy and rehabilitation for a strained adductor muscle he sustained in his left leg during training camp last week in Halifax.

There is no timetable for his return to full basketball activity and he is not expected to participate in preseason games scheduled for this week.

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed guard Jerel McNeal and forward Chris Wright.

McNeal, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, played last season in Italy with Fabi Shoes Montegranaro. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 32 outings.

McNeal signed a 10-day contract with New Orleans in March 2011 but did not see any game action. He appeared in 47 NBA D-League contests with Rio Grande Valley, averaging 19.4 points, 4.4 assists and 34.4 minutes.

A 2009 product of Marquette University, McNeal finished his collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in points (1,985), steals (287) and games played (130). He was named to the All-Big East First Team as a senior averaging 19.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 steals in 35 games.

Wright, 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, participated with the 2011 Raptors’ NBA Summer League entry. He started in all four of his appearances averaging 9.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Wright split last season between Golden State and the NBA D-League. He was signed by the Warriors as a free agent December 10. He appeared in 24 games with Golden State where he averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds. He posted season highs of 25 points, 11 made field goals, eight rebounds and 46 minutes in his lone start in the season finale April 26 versus San Antonio.

Wright also appeared in 13 NBA D-League games with Maine and Dakota where he averaged 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.38 blocks.

Wright averaged 13.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 123 career outings at Dayton. He earned third-team All-Atlantic 10 honours as a senior, first-team as a junior and second-team as a sophomore.

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have re-signed veteran center Jamaal Magloire.

Magloire averaged 1.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 11.0 minutes in 34 appearances with the Raptors last season. He posted season bests of seven points at Orlando on January 1 and 10 rebounds at New York on January 2.

Magloire is a veteran of 12 NBA seasons and owns career averages of 7.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 21.9 minutes in 680 regular season outings. He has appeared in 46 postseason contests, averaging 7.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 19.8 minutes.

Magloire, 6-foot-11, 265 pounds came to the Raptors after spending three seasons with the Miami Heat. His best statistical campaign came in 2003-04 when he was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Magloire averaged 13.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 33.9 minutes in 82 games with the New Orleans Hornets in 2003-04. He was one of only 11 players that season to average a double-double. Magloire set single-season career highs in minutes, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, free throw percentage, offensive, defensive and total rebounds, rebound average, points and scoring average.

Magloire was born in Toronto and attended high school at Eastern School of Commerce. He is the first Canadian-born player to play for the Raptors in the club’s history.

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have signed forward Dominic McGuire.

McGuire, 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, spent the 2011-12 season with Golden State, appearing in 64 games (six starts), averaging 3.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 17.6 minutes. He achieved career highs in 2008-09 averaging 4.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 26.2 minutes in 79 games (57 starts) with Washington.

McGuire was selected 47th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Wizards and has also appeared in games for Sacramento (2009-10) and Charlotte (2010-11). He has posted career averages of 2.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 316 career games (74 starts).

After two seasons at the University of California, McGuire played one season at Fresno State where he averaged 12.5 points and 9.8 rebounds. He ranked fifth in the nation with 3.6 blocks during the 2006-07 season with the Bulldogs.

The Raptors open training camp October 2 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Toronto’s final roster spot is about to be filled.

Free agent small forward Dominic McGuire and the Raptors are putting the finishing details on a deal.

The 6-foot-9 forward is a strong defender and rebounder, but has a non-existent offensive game.

McGuire played 64 games for Golden State last season, averaging 3.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 17.6 minutes per game.

— Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun

I do know there has been some internal discussion of Pietrus, who remains arguably the best player without a contract.

But the fact is, these guys don’t have the money to pay him, a lot of their exceptions were eaten up by the likes of Aaron Gray, Alan Anderson and John Lucas, all of whom fill roles.

Now, I do think they should call Pietrus’s agent and see if he’d be willing to work on a minimum-value deal and I presume that call will be made, it’s only prudent business to do so. However, I doubt a team like Toronto for a minimum value deal would be attractive to Pietrus, who will probably wind up with the same kind of deal on a better team, even if the Raps could offer him a chance at more playing time than some legitimate title contender whose roster is now basically filled.

— Reported by Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (Blog)

As Canada Basketball moves towards an intriguing future, it has turned to its past.

As expected, Jay Triano was named head coach of the senior men’s program on Thursday, his second go-around at the position after previous management bungled his dismissal in 2005.

His replacement, Leo Rautins, resigned last summer and it was quickly clear that Triano was the organization’s top choice to take over, especially if Steve Nash agreed to come on board as well.

In fact, Nash said on Thursday that the hiring of Triano was a requirement of his doing so.

“I know that Jay is the right man for this job” Nash said.

— Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed free-agent forward Alan Anderson.

Anderson was signed to a 10-day contract by the Raptors on March 26 and then for the remainder of the season April 16. He averaged 9.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 27.1 minutes in 17 games with Toronto. He made 12 starts from April 4-26, averaging 11.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 33.0 minutes. Anderson tallied a season-best 20 points, making a career-best five three-pointers on a career-high nine attempts, April 26 versus New Jersey.

Anderson, 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, has averaged 6.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 18.3 minutes in 70 appearances (19 starts) with Charlotte and Toronto. He is shooting .381 (55-139) from three-point range and .827 (81-98) from the charity stripe in his NBA career. He signed with Charlotte as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and appeared in 53 games over two seasons with the Bobcats, averaging 5.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 15.1 minutes.

Anderson was playing with the NBA D-League’s Canton Charge before joining the Raptors. He averaged 21.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in eight appearances, and ranked 11th in the league in scoring, while shooting .550 (60-for-109) from the field and .800 (40-for-50) at the charity stripe.

In addition to his time in the NBA and three NBA D-League stints, Anderson has also played overseas with stops in Italy (Bologna), Russia (BC Triumph Lyubertsy), Croatia (KK Cibona), Israel (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Spain (Regal Barcelona) and China (Shandong Lions).

Anderson was a four-year starter at Michigan State, where he helped the Spartans reach the 2005 Final Four.

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed free-agent point guard John Lucas III.

Lucas averaged career bests of 7.5 points, 2.2 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 14.8 minutes in a career-high 49 games with Chicago last season. He shot .393 from three-point range (27th in the NBA) and .875 at the charity stripe. He paced the Bulls in scoring six times and in assists on five occasions. He scored in double figures in 15 outings, including four games of 20-or-more points. He tallied a career-high 25 points in a career-best 46 minutes January 11 versus Washington. He equaled his career-high scoring outing with 25 points in the season finale, April 26 versus Cleveland.

Lucas has averaged 5.0 points, 1.4 assists and 11.1 minutes in 111 career regular season games. In seven career playoff outings, he has contributed 6.1 points, 1.3 assists and 14.6 minutes.

Lucas, 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, played overseas from 2007-10. He appeared in 40 games with the Shanghai Dongfang Sharks in the 2009-10 season where he contributed 27.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 42.3 minutes in 40 games.

In 2008-09, Lucas split his time between Colorado in the NBA D-League and Spain’s Tau Ceramica. In the 2007-08 campaign, Lucas played for Benetton Treviso in Italy.

Lucas began his NBA career with the Houston Rockets (2005-07). He played in 47 contests in the 2006-07 season and 13 games in 2005-06.

Lucas finished his collegiate career at Oklahoma State after two seasons at Baylor. He was an All-Big 12 First Team selection as a junior and senior. He averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 assists in 68 games at Oklahoma State.

Lucas is the son of John Lucas, Jr., former first overall pick of the Rockets in 1976.