The Toronto Raptors Win The 2019 NBA Finals
The Toronto Raptors have won the 2019 NBA Finals.
The Raptors pulled out the Game 6 victory over the Warriors, winning the series 4-2. Masai Ujiri‘s decision to shake up arguably the franchise’s most successful team in order to bring in Kawhi Leonard pays the ultimate dividend: An NBA Championship.
Ujiri’s work deserves recognition for more than just the Leonard acquisition. Drafting Pascal Siakam, recognizing Fred VanVleet‘s potential, and making the decision to stand pat with Kyle Lowry at point guard are among the shrewd moves the executive made to put the franchise in this position.
Golden State saw Kevin Durant return from a calf ailment only to fall to an Achilles injury during the series. Kevon Looney was in and out of the lineup, and Klay Thompson missed one game and parts of two others. With injuries piling up, the Warriors simply didn’t have the depth to match up with a complete Raptors team.
Leonard takes home a Finals MVP for the second time in his career, having won the award during the Spurs’ run in 2014.
Kyrie Irving Preparing To Sign With Nets?
It appears Kyrie Irving knows where he wants to play next season. Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports that Irving will look to join the Nets once free agency begins.
It was recently reported that Irving will change agencies, choosing to Roc Nation as his representation. It appears that move was calculated, as the agency is owned by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, a former part-owner of the Brooklyn franchise.
We are still nearly a month away from Irving’s opportunity to put pen to paper and Bulpett cautions that the point is capable of changing his mind.
There was chatter that Irving and Kevin Durant had discussed teaming up with a schism on which destination they would go to. Durant reportedly favored the Knicks, while Irving wants the Nets. There was speculation that Durant’s Achilles injury would make Irving reconsider leaving Boston, though that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Kings To Hire Igor Kokoskov As Assistant Coach
The Kings will hire Igor Kokoskov as an assistant coach, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). He’ll serve under Sacramento’s new head coach Luke Walton.
Kokoskov spent last season as the head coach of the Suns. He was fired after just one season where the team went 19-63.
The coach previously spent time as an assistant with the Clippers and Jazz among other teams. He also has extensive experience coaching internationally.
Kevon Looney To Play In Game 6
Kevon Looney will play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
“He’s doing decently. So I think he’ll give it a go,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ll see how he holds up.”
Looney suffered a costal cartilage fracture in Game 2 and wasn’t expected to return for the remainder of the season. However, after receiving a second opinion on the injury, he came back in Game 4 before re-injuring himself in Game 5, leaving the contest.
Game 6 will be the Warriors’ final game in Oracle Arena.
“Win or lose, we’ll be able to share some emotion and say our goodbyes, and hopefully with one more game to play in Toronto,” Kerr said via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). “But it is a strange, unique night.”
Goran Dragic Picks Up Player Option
Goran Dragic has picked up his $19.2MM player option for the 2019/20 season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Rade Filipovich, Dragic’s agent, said the point guard “wants to stay in Miami forever,” Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
Dragic had until June 29 to make a decision, though the Heat have been operating under the assumption that he would make this move. Miami now has roughly $102.6MM in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2019/20 season.
Rumblings that the Heat are looking for a point guard upgrade didn’t stop Dragic from picking up his option. Dragic is now eligible to be traded.
The Heat originally traded for the veteran point guard at the 2015 trade deadline, giving up four players and pair of picks in the deal. Norris Cole, Danny Granger, Shawne Williams, and Justin Hamilton were all sent to Phoenix — none of those players are on an NBA roster anymore.
The Suns used the 2018 pick they received from the deal to select Zhaire Smith and packaged him along with Miami’s 2021 selection—the other pick Phoenix received from the Dragic deal—to move up and take Mikal Bridges (the Clippers now own Miami’s 2021 selection via the Tobias Harris trade).
Prior to picking up his option, Dragic did not receive any assurances from Pat Riley that the Heat would not trade him, per Jackson (Twitter link). However, Riley also didn’t indicate that trading him was the plan.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southeast Notes: Frazier, Washington, Langford
Melvin Frazier underwent successful surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right tibia, the Magic announced on their Twitter feed. The No. 35 overall pick from the 2018 draft played in just 10 games for Orlando during his rookie season.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks will meet with PJ Washington on Friday, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The Kentucky product will not be working out for the club.
- The Heat are bringing in Romeo Langford in for a visit, Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald report. Langford is expected to be selected in the middle of the first round and Miami owns the No. 13 overall pick.
- Jared Harper (Auburn), Amir Hinton (Shaw University), Louis King (Oregon), James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska), Trey Phills (Yale) and Rayjon Tucker (Arkansas-Little Rock) will work out for the Hornets on Friday, per the team’s website. As Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports notes (Twitter link), Phills is the son of the late Bobby Phills, whose No. 13 has been retired by Charlotte.
Lakers Among Teams Interested In Kemba Walker
Kemba Walker will hit the open market for the first time in his career this offseason and he’ll have plenty of teams to choose from. The Lakers, Mavericks, and Knicks are among the teams interested in signing the point guard, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said on the network’s mock draft special.
The Lakers are hoping to make major upgrades this summer starting with an Anthony Davis trade. If Los Angeles can’t acquire Davis, the organization may find it difficult to convince a top free agent to join them. Walker will be among the several free agents the Lakers attempt to woo.
Prying Walker from Charlotte will have to be about more than money since the Hornets can offer him roughly $221MM over five years, while rival teams are capped at four years and slightly less than $141MM.
The Knicks are positioned to have two max salary slots available. The Lakers don’t quite have enough cap space without making an additional move, as our Salary Cap Digest shows. The Mavericks are also at least one move away from carving out enough salary cap space to accommodate a max deal for Walker.
Lakers’ Dilemma: No Top Free Agents Without Anthony Davis?
Top free agents may not seriously consider signing with the Lakers if the team doesn’t trade for Anthony Davis, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said on the network’s Mock Draft Special (h/t the Showtime Forum).
“The Lakers are not a frontrunner or even really a major consideration among any of the elite free agents,” Wojnarowski said of a scenario where the team doesn’t trade for Davis.
Los Angeles plans to use the No. 4 overall pick as part of a trade package in an attempt to entice the Pelicans. That selection is among the highest-valued assets among presumed Davis contenders, as we previously detailed. Woj believes that if the Lakers are picking at that spot on draft night, the franchise will be “in trouble.”
The Lakers are expected attempt to sign Kevin Durant regardless of how long they expect the former MVP to be sidelined. Other marquee free agents that the club is expected to pursue include Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler.
Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin had initially hoped to convince Davis to remain in New Orleans. The franchise has reportedly softened its stance on fulfilling Davis’ trade request and Griffin has reportedly named his terms: An All-Star player, a young player with the potential to be an All-Star, and multiple first-round picks.
The Lakers don’t have an All-Star caliber player on the roster outside of LeBron James. They have an assortment of intriguing prospects and may need to bring in a third team willing to part with a player of that caliber in order to get a deal done.
Achilles Injury Not Expected To Deter Durant’s Suitors
Kevin Durant‘s Achilles injury won’t change the offseason plans for several NBA franchises. The Warriors, Knicks, Nets, Lakers, and Clippers are all expected to pursue Durant, with his injury unlikely to cool their enthusiasm, sources tell David Aldridge of The Athletic.
There’s optimism around the league that Durant will come back from the ailment and remain among the NBA’s elite, making him worthy of a maximum-salary investment this summer.
“It’s not like he’s gonna fall from the top player in the league to number 50, even with the Achilles,” a league executive told Aldridge. “Maybe he falls into the top 10. I still think KD is a guy that’s going to score 20, 25 a game.”
Aldridge suggests that that the price for Anthony Davis has gone up as a result of the Durant injury. Durant could miss all of next season and with one fewer star available to suit up, the scarcity of those elite players in both the free agency and trade market may give added leverage to the Pelicans.
The Achilles injury won’t stop Durant from seeking a new deal. He’s long been expected to turn down his $31.5MM player option for next season, though with the injury, the decision is no longer a slam dunk. Durant officially has until June 29 to make a contractual move.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Wade, Raptors, Workouts
The Celtics own three of the first 22 selections in the NBA draft and we reported last month that the team was expected to shop at least one of those picks. It appears that Boston has begun making calls with Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders connecting Houston as a potential trade partner for the franchise.
Boston has interest in Clint Capela, though the big man is not the organization’s top priority. As we wait to see if Capela is shipped to Boston or if Danny Ainge‘s squad unloads a first-rounder elsewhere, let’s take a look at some draft notes from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers worked out six prospects on Monday, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jarrell Brantley (College of Charlestown), Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), Caleb Martin (Nevada), Jeremiah Martin (Memphis), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), and Marcel Ponitka (Arka Gdynia) all participated in drills for the franchise.
- Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that Dean Wade (Kansas State) will work out for the Nets. Wade has had six workouts since the NBA Draft Lottery.
- The Raptors had six prospects in for workouts on Monday, per Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link). Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt), Isaiah Pineiro (San Diego), Aric Holman (Miss State), Daulton Hommes (Western Washington), Armoni Brooks (Houston), and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) all worked out for the team.
- Six more prospects worked out for the Raptors today, Murphy tweets. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Javon Bess (St. Louis), Kyle Alexander (Tennessee), Jakeenan Gant (Louisiana), Jalek Felton (North Carolina) and Quinndary Weatherspoon (Miss State) all participated in drills for Toronto.