Raptors’ Ujiri Talks Contract Situation, Lowry, Return To Toronto
Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri held his end-of-season press conference on Wednesday, addressing a wide range of topics in the wake of what has been an eventful season for a displaced franchise.
As Tim Bontemps of ESPN details, Ujiri spent some time discussing the challenges the team faced spending the season in Tampa instead of Toronto, and also addressed two major upcoming free agencies: point guard Kyle Lowry‘s and his own. Both Lowry and Ujiri are on expiring contracts.
[RELATED: Growing Confidence Masai Ujiri Will Remain With Raptors?]
In discussing Lowry’s situation, Ujiri stressed that “it’s hard to find a better player than Kyle” and suggested that the 35-year-old is even more valuable to the Raptors than to another team. However, he also spoke about building around younger players and giving them more opportunities, perhaps providing a hint of what next season could look like for the team if Lowry doesn’t return.
As for his own contract situation, Ujiri said he appreciates the freedom he has to go into the luxury tax when the Raptors are in position to win, but that he wants to discuss some other issues with team ownership, such as the infrastructure of the organization (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of The Athletic).
Bontemps’ roundup of the presser is worth checking out in full, but here are a few of the notable quotes from Ujiri on his contract negotiations and the Raptors’ situation going forward:
On factors Ujiri will consider as he approaches contract negotiations with the Raptors:
“Everybody says, ‘blank check, blank check,’ but I’m not as much focused on a blank check. A lot of the things that we’ve done here, we have to move forward as a franchise to compete with the best in the NBA. This is all about winning a championship again.
“… I want to know, ‘So, what’s the next lift? What’s the next five years? What’s the next 10 years? What are we doing to put ourselves in conversation with all the great teams and all the winners?’ That’s what we want to do, and that’s the conversation that I’m going to have with (ownership). And, yes, I’m going to have asks, and I’m going to have a lot of things that I think we need to put forward here to address these things, and I think ownership is open to hear this.”
On his feeling that the Raptors face some disadvantages as the only non-U.S. NBA franchise:
“I think it’s difficult sometimes for the league to always include us in everything because we are the one team that is based outside the U.S. I’m sure sometimes it’s a pain in the ass sometimes for them. But guess what? That is the business you have put yourself in. You have put yourself on a global platform that you have one team in the NBA that is outside the United States and we have to be considered in every single way. There are difficult decisions that have to be made based on this.
“… (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver has been very considerate. … I don’t want to call out anybody here. But there is a lot of work we need to address.”
On his strong desire for the Raptors to return to Toronto for the 2021/22 season:
“So, the situation we are in in Toronto now, I’m hoping that we’re seeing it and we’re hoping that it gets resolved, hopefully soon. And all over Canada, people continue to get vaccinated, and then we go from there. … I don’t want to be selfish on the sports part, and as an NBA worker or executive, I don’t want to be selfish and push our agenda before other people, but yes, timing matters and we would like to be considered, because we do not want — I repeat — we do not want to play anywhere else but Toronto.”
Hornets Notes: Offseason, Monk, Graham, Bridges, Rozier
The Hornets‘ season came to a disappointing end on Tuesday night, as the team’s defense provided little resistance in a 144-117 blowout loss to the Pacers. Indiana made 55.2% of its shot attempts, including 16-of-35 threes (45.7%) en route to the play-in win.
Despite the anticlimactic end, there was plenty to like about the Hornets’ season, says Brendan Marks of The Athletic. LaMelo Ball‘s promising rookie season was the most obvious bright spot, but the development from other young players such as Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington also showed that the club is on the upswing, as Marks writes. And participating in the play-in game at all was a good first step toward developing into a contender.
“It’s just a matter of how do we respond this summer? Do we use this as fuel, or do we feel sorry for ourselves?” head coach James Borrego said after the game. “Part of this is etching this in our memory bank, so as we grow, as we get better, as we work this summer, we don’t forget this moment right now. Next time we’re in this position, we’ll respond better. We’ll be better.”
Here’s more on the Hornets:
- While he declined to identify specific players or positions that the team will be targeting in the offseason, Borrego expressed confidence that Charlotte will be an attractive destination for free agents this summer, per Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).
- One of the Hornets’ own free agents, Malik Monk, is open to re-signing with the team, he said today. “If they want me here, I’d love to be here,” Monk said (Twitter link via Bonnell). “But I want to feel wanted.” Monk will be a restricted free agent as long as the Hornets issue him a $7MM qualifying offer.
- Devonte’ Graham‘s free agency and potential contract extensions for Bridges and Terry Rozier are among the issues facing the Hornets this offseason, writes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link). In his own preview of Charlotte’s offseason, Bonnell notes that finding a solution at center and adding shooting will be among the club’s top priorities.
One New Positive COVID-19 Test Among Players Since May 12
The NBA and NBPA announced today in a press release that one player has registered a new confirmed positive COVID-19 test in the week since May 12. A total of 496 players were tested during that time, according to the league and players’ union.
After three straight weeks of multiple positive coronavirus tests around the league, this is the second consecutive week the NBA has reported just one positive test among players. That’s a promising trend with the postseason around the corner.
By the end of this week, only 16 of the league’s 30 teams will still be active, reducing the number of players that will be tested daily going forward.
While the NBA and NBPA don’t specify which players tested positive for COVID-19, a player who enters the health and safety protocols and is immediately ruled out for at least 10-14 days has often tested positive. Pacers guard Caris LeVert met that criteria this week, so it’s possible – but not certain – that he was the one affected player.
And-Ones: Barea, Marijuana Testing, Overtime Elite
Veteran guard J.J. Barea has returned to his native Puerto Rico, having signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce, as our JD Shaw relays (via Twitter). The return of Barea, who previously played for the club in 2006, coincided with an announcement that the team is now co-owned by Puerto Rican music star Bad Bunny.
After being waived by the Mavericks in December, Barea spent most of the 2020/21 season with Estudiantes in Spain, having just left the club earlier this month. The 36-year-old was previously said to be determined to make it back to the NBA, but either those plans changed or there were no opportunities available. Instead, he’ll head back to Puerto Rico, where his professional career first begin in 2001.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Candace Buckner of The Washington Post spoke to several NBA players about the unprecedented restrictions and regulations in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that made the 2020/21 season a lonely and taxing one.
- The NBA has halted its random tests for marijuana use since the 2019/20 season went on hiatus last March, but the 57 players who are candidates to represent Team USA in the Olympics will be subject to marijuana testing as of next Tuesday, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. According to Vardon, a league memo informing teams of the policy suggests that players who will represent other countries in the Olympics should check with team officials to see if they’ll be subject to the same tests.
- The Overtime Elite basketball league for top high school prospects will operate out of Atlanta beginning this September, the league announced today in a press release. According to the announcement, planning is underway to construct a new 103,000-square-foot facility where OTE’s players will train, study, and compete. We previously shared some details on the new program, which hired former NBA guard Kevin Ollie as its head coach.
New York Notes: Harris, Nets, Perry, Payton
In addition to having their Big Three ready to go for Game 1 of the first round of the postseason this Saturday, the Nets also anticipate having Joe Harris (left gluteal strain) available, writes Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post.
“We expect Joe to be ready for the weekend,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said of Harris, who missed the last three games of the regular season due to his injury. “When he practices and how much he practices is to be determined, but I think he’s feeling better, looking better, and he went through our very light, half-speed practice and did his shooting (Tuesday), so all signs there are good.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- Mike Mazzeo of Forbes takes a closer look at just how expensive the Nets‘ roster will get if and when the team signs Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving to contract extensions.
- When general manager Scott Perry signed a new contract with the Knicks last May, it was just a one-year extension that locked him up through 2020/21. However, there’s an expectation that Perry will work out a new deal to stick with the team beyond this season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on a recent episode of his Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM).
- As Marc Berman of The New York Post writes, Knicks point guard Elfrid Payton played some of his worst basketball of the season during the final few games of the regular season, raising questions about his postseason role. Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post argues that it’s time for the club to bench Payton, who averaged 1.8 PPG on 19.2% shooting in his last six contests (14.3 MPG).
NBA Player Option Decisions For 2021/22
A number of NBA contracts include player options in the final year. Those option years give the player the opportunity to either opt into the final year of his deal, finishing out his contract, or to decline the option and hit the free agent market a year early.
Several factors play a part in a player’s option decision. The value of the option salary is obviously crucial, as is the player’s performance in the season leading up to his decision. The state of the NBA’s salary cap also generally becomes a necessary consideration for players weighing their decisions.
If the salary cap is projected to increase only modestly, or if not many teams project to have cap room, a player may be inclined to take the guaranteed money rather than trying his luck on the open market. That could be the case for some players in 2021, as the cap may only increase by about 3% and most teams won’t have room available.
This year’s player options are listed below. This list – which can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu – will be updated throughout the spring and early summer to note the latest decisions.
Each player’s decision date comes courtesy of ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Unless otherwise indicated, the player’s decision is due by August 1.
Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
- Spencer Dinwiddie ($12,302,496): Opted out
- Decision due two days after the Nets’ final playoff game.
Chicago Bulls
- Al-Farouq Aminu ($10,183,800): Opted in
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Isaiah Hartenstein ($1,762,796): Opted out
- Decision due by July 25.
Dallas Mavericks
- Josh Richardson ($11,615,328): Opted in
Denver Nuggets
- Will Barton ($14,669,642): Opted out
- Decision due by July 17.
- JaMychal Green ($7,559,748): Opted out
- Decision due by July 26.
Golden State Warriors
- Kevon Looney ($5,178,572): Opted in
Los Angeles Clippers
- Kawhi Leonard ($36,016,200): Opted out
- Serge Ibaka ($9,720,900): Opted in
Los Angeles Lakers
- Montrezl Harrell ($9,720,900): Opted in
- Decision due by July 31.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Bobby Portis ($3,804,150): Opted out
- Bryn Forbes ($2,454,002): Opted out
- Decision due by July 28.
Phoenix Suns
- Chris Paul ($44,211,146): Opted out
Portland Trail Blazers
- Norman Powell ($11,615,328): Opted out
- Decision due by July 22.
- Derrick Jones ($9,720,900): Opted in
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Jeremy Lin Disappointed Not To Get NBA Call-Up
Veteran guard Jeremy Lin published an Instagram post on Tuesday evening expressing disappointment that he was unable to earn a call-up to the NBA following a successful stint in the G League earlier this season.
Lin, who last played in the NBA in 2019 with the Raptors, decided to play in the G League rather than spending another year in China, since he believed the NBAGL represented his best shot at getting back to the NBA — especially given the restrictions on international travel and scouting in place during the coronavirus pandemic.
The 32-year-old averaged 19.8 PPG on .505/.426/.879 shooting in nine G League contests for the Santa Cruz Warriors. While his age worked against him, it’s worth noting Lin was the only player among the NBAGL’s top 14 scorers who didn’t spend any time with an NBA team during the 2020/21 season. Twelve of those players finished the season on an NBA roster, while one (Henry Ellenson) received a 10-day deal in March.
“For months, I saw others get contracts, chances, opportunities,” Lin wrote on Instagram. “I told myself I just need ONE ten-day contract, one chance to get back on the floor and I would blow it out the water. After all that’s how my entire career started – off one chance to prove myself. For reasons I’ll never fully know, that chance never materialized. But I proved I’m better than ever and an NBA player.”
Although Lin’s post isn’t a retirement announcement, it reads as something of a farewell to the NBA, as Kurt Helin of NBC Sports observes. Lin referred to having taken a year to “chase a dream” and called May 16 the “final deadline” for an NBA call-up. He also addressed the next generation of Asian-American NBA hopefuls, telling them, “You guys got next.”
Those comments don’t mean Lin is giving up on the NBA in future seasons. However, they suggest that when he resumes his career, he may be more inclined to consider other options, including possibly a return to China, where he could play a starring role.
“I didn’t get it done, but I have no regrets,” Lin wrote. “I gave my ALL and hold my head high. As for what’s next, I trust what God has in store for me.”
Eastern Notes: Pacers, Wizards, Stevens, Hawks, Magic
The Pacers won their play-in game on Tuesday night, while the Wizards lost theirs, meaning the two teams will face one another on Thursday in the Eastern Conference’s final play-in contest with the No. 8 seed up for grabs. The winner will earn the East’s last playoff spot, while the loser goes home.
The Pacers and Wizards had identical 34-38 records in the regular season, but since only one can make the playoffs now, no random tiebreaker will be required to determine which of them has the higher first-round draft pick or the higher spot in the lottery standings. The team that makes the playoffs will end up with the 15th overall pick (or No. 16, if the Spurs make the postseason). The team eliminated on Thursday will get a spot in the late-lottery.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Even before the Celtics won their play-in game on Tuesday, the idea that Brad Stevens‘ job might be in any jeopardy was “just not accurate,” despite the team’s up-and-down season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link).
- While the Hawks entered the season with playoff expectations, team CEO Steve Koonin admitted in a Q&A with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic that he didn’t expect the team to finish in a tie for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. “I would say that I think we’ve exceeded all of the expectations we had internally,” Koonin said. “… I think if it wasn’t for the Knicks, this would be the biggest story in the NBA.”
- The Magic‘s 21-51 record in 2020/21 was the team’s worst mark since 2014/15, but president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman is very optimistic about the direction of the rebuild, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes. “It’s exciting,” Weltman said. “I’ve never felt more excited about the team since I’ve been here than I do right now.”
Pacific Notes: Paul, Sarver, Lue, Kerr
Chris Paul can become a free agent if he declines his $44.2MM option but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski doesn’t see him leaving the Suns (hat tip to RealGM). “It certainly seems to me it’s hard to see him go somewhere else,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s The Jump. “He wanted to be there. He had to convince Phoenix a little bit that they were ready for him.” However, Woj said Paul could use the Knicks as a “leverage point.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Suns owner Robert Sarver is committed to keeping his core group intact and is willing to go into the luxury tax to make that happen, Kellan Olson of ArizonaSports.com relays. “From a financial standpoint I am,” he said. “In terms of the timing of contracts and who and this and that, that’s something that (GM) James (Jones) and his crew will be working on I’m sure during the summer,” he said. “But in terms of from ownership, yeah, we’re committed for sure.”
- Clippers coach Ty Lue rested many of his regulars down the stretch and the team wound up with the No. 4 seed in the West. He has no regrets, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. “I don’t give a damn what anybody else thinks… we finally got everyone healthy… I don’t care,” he said. “I don’t read Twitter. I don’t have Twitter… I am my own man and I do what I want to do.”
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr appreciates the way his team persevered through injuries and finished strong, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN. “When you go five straight years of ‘win the championship or bust,’ it’s incredibly stressful,” Kerr said. “It’s exciting and you wouldn’t want it any other way, but it adds up. And so I think this year has been refreshing in a lot of ways. It’s been a really meaningful season for our franchise in a lot of ways and that’s important.”
Timberwolves Notes: Vanterpool, Gates, Edwards, Towns, McDaniels
Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool as well as assistant Bryan Gates won’t return to Chris Finch’s staff next season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Vanterpool and Gates were holdovers from Ryan Saunders‘ staff. Numerous players around the league openly questioned Minnesota’s decision to hire Finch away from the Raptors’ staff, instead of promoting minority candidate Vanterpool when Saunders was let go.
We have more on the Timberwolves:
- Anthony Edwards could be “scary” good after a strong rookie season, president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said this week, per Dave Campbell of The Associated Press. “He doesn’t know how good he is and, scary enough for us, we don’t know how good he is,” Rosas said. “You’re talking about a 19-year-old who’s late to the sport. It’s not always pretty, not always efficient, but the signs of greatness are there.”
- Edwards expects the team to participate in the postseason next year, Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. “I’m ready to go to the playoffs,” he said. “I know this is my first year, but I just see how happy teams [are], knowing they’re going to play more basketball. So I want that feeling next year.”
- Karl-Anthony Towns wants to make a point that he’s not concerned about sharing the spotlight with Edwards, according to Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. “He’s showed exactly why he’s the No. 1 pick and why he’s the Rookie of the Year,” Towns said. “So we’ve got to put our egos to the side at all times. We cannot let that get between us. We cannot let that be a story of amazing talents coming together and not making it work.”
- The Wolves’ front office made a prudent choice with Jaden McDaniels at the No. 28 overall pick, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic notes. McDaniels started regularly in the final 27 games of the season and showed great promise as a 3-and-D wing. Having productive players on low-cost contracts is necessary to keep the team’s core intact while still avoiding the luxury tax, Krawczynski adds.