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Raptors re-sign center Jakob Poeltl

The Toronto Raptors have re-signed center Jakob Poeltl to a multi-year contract.

Poeltl, 7-foot-1, 260 pounds, averaged 12.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 blocks and 26.5 minutes in 72 games (71 starts) with San Antonio and Toronto last season. He shot .629 (389-618) from the field – his highest field goal percentage since the 2018-19 season – which ranked ninth in the NBA.

“Jakob brought an immediate presence on the floor when he returned to us last season. He’s a smart, hard-nosed rim protector,” Raptors Vice-Chairman and President Masai Ujiri said. “We have been strong believers in Jakob as a player and as an individual since day one, and we are thrilled that he will be a Raptor for years to come.”

After being acquired on Feb. 9, he played 26 games (25 starts) for the Raptors, averaging 13.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 27.2 minutes. He tied Pascal Siakam (eight) for most double-doubles on the team since the trade deadline and also led the Raptors in total rebounds (237), blocks (34), and field goal percentage (.652) in that span. Poeltl recorded 21 points and a career-high 18 rebounds Feb. 23 vs. New Orleans becoming the sixth player in franchise history to record 20/18 in the regular season.

A native of Vienna, Austria, Poeltl owns career averages of 8.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 21.1 minutes in 488 games (235 starts) with San Antonio and Toronto. He was selected ninth overall by the Raptors in the 2016 becoming the first Austrian player in league history.

Prior to the NBA, Poeltl played two years (2014-16) at Utah and one season (2013-14) for the Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions in Austria. He was the 2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year, an AP second-team All-American and the recipient of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for the nation’s top centre his sophomore year with the Utes.

Raptors sign Markquis Nowell to two-way contract

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed guard Markquis Nowell to a two-way contract.

Nowell, 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, joins the Raptors following five years in the NCAA, where he spent time at Little Rock (2018-21) and Kansas State (2021-23). During the 2022-23 campaign, he averaged 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 2.6 steals and 36.9 minutes in 36 games (all starts) with the Wildcats. Nowell finished the season ranked second nationally in assists per game, total assists (297) and total steals (92). He was named the 2023 Bob Cousy Award Winner, which is presented annually to the top point guard in Division I men’s basketball. Nowell also earned All-Big 12 First Team honours and was voted to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team for the second straight year.

A native of Harlem, New York, Nowell set a single-game NCAA Tournament record with 19 assists Mar. 23 vs. Michigan State. His 54 assists during Kansas State’s run to the Elite Eight were the most since 1989, and third most in tournament history.

Raptors sign rookie Gradey Dick

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard-forward Gradey Dick to a rookie scale contract.

Dick is under contract through the 2024-25 season, with two team option years to follow.

The Raptors selected Dick 13th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Dick, 6-foot-8, 205 pounds, averaged 14.1 points (12th in the Big 12), 5.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 32.6 minutes in 36 games (all starts) as a freshman at Kansas last season. He shot .442 (174-394) from the field, including .403 (83-for-206) from three-point range, and set the Jayhawks freshman record for three-point field goals made with 83. For his efforts, Dick was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

Toronto Raptors hire Darko Rajakovic as their new head coach

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have named Darko Rajaković as head coach.

Rajaković becomes the 10th head coach in franchise history, after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies.

“We’re entering a new era – one where we are embracing new ideas, a new attitude, and now a new head coach – but our goals remain the same. A championship. Winning,” Raptors Vice-Chairman and President Masai Ujiri said. “Darko shares those goals, and our belief in culture, professionalism, and hard work. His commitment to both learning and teaching our game is elite, and we are all very excited to welcome him to the Raptors family.”

A native of Serbia, Rajaković was an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns for one season (2019-20) following seven years (2012-19) with the Oklahoma City Thunder organization, where he served as an assistant coach for five seasons (2014-19). The Thunder averaged 49 wins during his five years on the coaching staff, with four playoff appearances – including a trip to the 2016 Western Conference Finals.

Rajaković joined the Thunder in 2012 as head coach of the team’s then G League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, becoming the first head coach born outside North America in league history. In two seasons (2012-14) at the helm of the 66ers, the team posted a 51-49 record (.510) and reached the G League semifinals in 2013. While serving as Tulsa’s head coach, he was also included as one of the Thunder’s assistant coaches at the 2014 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.

“To join and to lead an elite organization like the Raptors is what I have been working for my entire professional life,” Rajaković said. “This is an amazing opportunity, to join a franchise with a supportive ownership group, fantastic front office and fanbase, and elite players. I’m looking forward to the journey ahead as we work together to achieve our goals: development, playoffs, championships.”

Prior to joining Oklahoma City, Rajaković was the head coach of Espacio Torrelodones in Spain for three successful seasons (2009-12), where he led the team to the championship of the Primera Division de Baloncesto in Madrid in his first year. From 2004-11, he also served as European scouting consultant and NBA Summer League assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs.

Rajaković began his coaching career at the age of 16, with the Borac Cacak Youth Team in his hometown of Cacak, Serbia. After three seasons (1996-99) with Borac Cacak, he was named the head coach of the U20 and U18 teams of Red Star Belgrade and led Red Star to two Serbian Youth championships during his eight-year tenure (1999-2007).

On the international stage, Rajaković was as an assistant coach for Serbia at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, helping his country to a fifth place finish at the tournament, which included a win over the United States in the classification round.

Rajaković, 44, received a basketball coaching degree from the Belgrade Basketball Academy in 2004 and a degree in sports management from Alfa BK University in Belgrade in 2006. He and his wife Gaga have a son, Luka, who is five.

New Sixers head coach will reportedly be Nick Nurse

Via ESPN.com:

According to sources who spoke to ESPN on Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers have hired Nick Nurse as their next coach and have given him the goal of leading the team to its first championship in 40 years.

Throughout Sunday and Monday, the Sixers and Phoenix Suns were negotiating with Nurse and his agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, leaving Nurse to choose between two competitive teams, according to sources.

FULL ARTICLE:

Latest on Raptors coaching search

Via the Toronto Star:

A new head coach for the Raptors may be on board sooner rather than later.

Multiple NBA sources say the franchise is moving to a second round of interviews for the job that became vacant when Nick Nurse was let go last month after five seasons.

One source said Raptors vice chairman and president Masai Ujiri has narrowed the list of candidates to three and final interviews are being scheduled, although that number was not independently confirmed.

New Milwaukee Bucks head coach will reportedly be Adrian Griffin

Via the Toronto Star:

Adrian Griffin is finally getting a shot to run his own show.

NBA sources confirm that Griffin, the former Raptors assistant, is poised to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 48-year-old Griffin had been with the Raptors since 2018 and served as the stand-in head coach whenever Nick Nurse had to miss a game.

FULL ARTICLE

Raptors guard Fred VanVleet fined by NBA

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has been fined $30,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.

VanVleet made his comments to the media following the Raptors’ 108-100 loss to the LA Clippers on Mar. 8 at Crypto.com Arena.

Via the Canadian Press:

The 29-year-old also singled out official Ben Taylor in his post-game remarks, which consisted of several expletives.

Raptors sign Will Barton, waive Juancho Hernangomez

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard Will Barton.

And in a related move, the Raptors have waived forward Juancho Hernangόmez.

Barton, 6-foot-5, 180 pounds, averaged 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 19.6 minutes in 40 games with Washington this season. He shot .387 (110-284) from the field, including 38 percent (52-137) from beyond the arc, and scored in double figures 11 times. Barton was waived by the Wizards on Feb. 21.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Barton was picked 40th overall by Portland in the 2012 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 25.5 minutes in 663 games (284 starts) with Portland, Denver and Washington. Barton played collegiately at Memphis (2010-12) where he was the Conference USA Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Hernangόmez averaged 2.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 14.6 minutes in 42 games (10 starts) with the Raptors this season after signing as a free agent in July 2022.

Raptors sign Joe Wieskamp to multi-year contract

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard-forward Joe Wieskamp to a multi-year contract.

Wieskamp, 6-foot-6, 205 pounds, signed two 10-day contracts with the Raptors earlier this season, averaging 4.5 points and 8.5 minutes in two games. He also played in eight regular season games in the G League this year – seven with the Wisconsin Herd and one with Raptors 905 – averaging 16.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 31.3 minutes.

A native of Muscatine, Iowa, Wieskamp was picked 41st overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by San Antonio. He appeared in 29 contests for the Spurs last season, averaging 2.1 points and 7.1 minutes.

Prior to being drafted, Wieskamp spent three collegiate seasons at Iowa (2018-21), where he was named All-Big Ten Second Team as a junior. He was also voted to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2019.