Southeast Notes: Hawks, Ressler, Wagner, Martin, Heat
As we outlined on Friday, Hawks owner Tony Ressler conducted a series of media interviews this week to discuss the team’s recent front office and head coaching changes. We passed along a few highlights from his discussions with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but Ressler also spoke on Friday to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, who pushed him a little harder on the role that his son Nick Ressler has within the Hawks’ front office.
Reporting from The Athletic earlier this year suggested that Nick Ressler – Atlanta’s director of business and basketball operations – had gained “increasing influence” in the Hawks’ front office and that not everyone was comfortable with that. Pressed on the issue by Schultz, Tony Ressler pushed back on the notion that his son has an outsized voice in decision-making and that other executives aren’t happy with Nick’s role.
“Who? Do they still work here?” the Hawks’ owner responded when Schultz said The Athletic had spoken to people who were uncomfortable with his son’s level of influence. “Look, the idea that you’re using former employees for a narrative that is untrue. The simple answer is we have a front office today that works beautifully, where Nick is one of many voices and frankly an unbelievably positive and supportive voice. And if you ask anyone who works here they would tell you yes.
“… We have a fairly large basketball ops that values a whole bunch of voices and Nick’s one of them. … What he is is a great kid who works his ass off and is one of the many voices that feed into (assistant GM) Kyle (Korver) and (GM) Landry (Fields).
“Am I partial? Maybe. But if I didn’t think he was a positive influence to this franchise, he wouldn’t be here. … It’s very important to me that perception is similar to reality. When you say I give a disproportionate amount of influence to my son, that’s just a f—ing lie, because I would be running a lesser business than I’m capable of.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The Magic lost their second-leading scorer on Friday, as Franz Wagner left the game in Charlotte early due to a left ankle sprain. According to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel, X-rays on the ankle were negative, which is good news, but Wagner still may have to miss some time as a result of the injury.
- Kevin Love has started all five games since he arrived in Miami, but the Heat have lost four of those games and the new starting five of Love, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Gabe Vincent has a net rating of minus-9.4 so far. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, that same group with former starter Caleb Martin in Love’s place has a plus-18.6 net rating this season. For his part, Martin is still getting used to his new bench role. “It’s a little different, man,” he said on Friday. “… It’s just adjusting to whatever is going on. It’s also more of a role of gassing yourself out, being that spark coming off the bench as opposed to maintaining.”
- The much-vaunted Heat culture is being tested by the team’s inconsistent performances as of late, with Butler suggesting after Friday’s loss to New York that Miami needs to play with more urgency. “We really get bored with the process and I can’t tell you why. We play hard and sometimes we get back in the game like we did tonight and sometimes we don’t,” Butler said, according to Chiang. “But either way it goes, if we just play basketball the right way the entire game, I don’t think we’re in this situation more often than not. But for some odd reason, we think it’s going to be easy so we just go out there and go through the motions.”
Western Notes: Brooks, Holmes, Clippers, Waters
An in-depth feature on Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks by Tim Keown of ESPN includes several interesting tidbits, including a detailed look at how Brooks thrives on defense and comments from head coach Taylor Jenkins about how important the 27-year-old is to the team’s culture. However, the spiciest part of the story comes when Brooks discusses one of Memphis’ chief rivals in the Western Conference.
“I don’t like Draymond at all,” Brooks said of Warriors forward Draymond Green. “I just don’t like Golden State. I don’t like anything to do with them. Draymond talks a lot. Gets away with a lot, too. His game is cool — with Golden State — but if you put him anywhere else, you’re not going to know who Draymond is. He plays with heart, plays hard, knows the ins and outs of their defense. I guess that’s why they like him over there.”
According to Keown, Green laughed and declined to comment when asked for the opportunity to respond, but Brooks’ expression of his views on Golden State and the former Defensive Player of the Year figure to add a fun new wrinkle to the next Grizzlies/Warriors matchup.
On a related note, Brooks will have to make an effort to keep his emotions in check on the court during the final weeks of the season. As Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets, the Grizzlies forward received his 15th technical foul of 2022/23 on Wednesday — a 16th would trigger an automatic one-game suspension.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Kings big man Richaun Holmes is suing the Sacramento Bee for defamation, according to Chris Haynes of TNT (Twitter link). The lawsuit alleges that The Bee, in a series of five articles, “intentionally, and maliciously, published claims of child and domestic abuse by Holmes despite easily accessible evidence to the contrary via public court filings.” Oddly, The Bee’s initial story on the domestic abuse accusations – which surfaced during a custody battle that Holmes eventually won – was presented as an opinion column rather than a news report.
- After the team’s fourth consecutive loss on Thursday, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said his club needs to be mentally “tougher,” per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The Clips have blown double-digit leads in three of their four losses since the All-Star break. “I don’t care about missed shots, it’s going to happen,” Lue said. “You’re going to turn the ball over some, but you can’t give in, and my thing is just having that toughness and that mindset that, ‘OK, things are not going well, then let’s do something about it.'”
- Thunder wing Lindy Waters, who grew up in Norman and played his college ball at Oklahoma State, is thrilled to have signed a standard NBA contract with his hometown team, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. “Thankful for a lot of people along the way that helped me to get to where I am,” Waters said. “Very thankful for the organization for giving me a shot, letting me come in and work out and showing they care. But yeah, it’s just been a wild ride.”
Bulls Notes: Vucevic, Beverley, White, Ball, Williams
Bulls center Nikola Vucevic and guard Patrick Beverley exchanged words over a blown defensive assignment during Wednesday’s win over Detroit, prompting DeMar DeRozan to step in and smooth things out.
Following the argument, a source told Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that Vucevic “hasn’t been thrilled with some of the recent finger-pointing” among Bulls players (not just Beverley). However, when he spoke about the exchange on Friday, Vucevic said it was “way blown out of proportion,” telling reporters that it was “honestly no big deal at all,” as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago relays.
“It was just arguing in the moment,” Vucevic said. “It wasn’t that big a deal. We talked about it. It happens every game. People always make a big deal out of when players argue on the court. That’s part of the game. We’re competitors. We’re trying to make the right play. Sometimes you don’t agree on the same thing in the moment. Talk it out and it’s over with. We never talked about it after.”
Asked whether he feels singled out for defensive lapses, Vucevic expressed some self awareness about his shortcomings on that end of the court, acknowledging that defense is “not the strongest” part of his game. However, he added that he believes he does some things well defensively.
“I always try to do my best at that end,” the big man said. “It’s something I’ve very aware of. I know what my limitations are on the floor and I try to stick to my strengths.”
Here’s more on the Bulls, who lost additional ground in the play-in race on Friday when they fell at home to Kevin Durant and the Suns:
- In a column for NBC Sports Chicago, Johnson makes the case for why the Bulls should sign Coby White to a new contract when he reaches restricted free agency this summer. White has shown growth this season as a defender and ball-handler, according to Johnson, who adds that the fourth-year guard has never questioned or complained about his inconsistent role. Johnson wonders if a three- or four-year deal in the range of $12-14MM per year would make sense for both sides.
- Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said this week that he has been given no indication that Lonzo Ball‘s knee issues are career-threatening, but understands why that question has come up. “The point is well taken. It has been over a year, and he’s still not running,” Donovan said, per Cowley. “… I just feel really bad for him, and the problem is we’ve had a hard time getting it resolved. And there have been a lot of medical people involved. Doctors trying to figure out what is going on, what is causing the pain? Basically getting him to a place where he can run and do certain things athletically.”
- Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic takes a closer look at the off-court development occurring this season for former lottery pick Patrick Williams, who is becoming more confident and “finding his voice” in the Bulls’ locker room. “I just think it comes with me growing as a person and as a player,” Williams said. “Being more comfortable in who I am and being more comfortable in what I can be, that’s a huge part of it. Just feeling like I know what I can be and realizing my potential.”
- In case you missed it, the Bulls filled the open spot on their 15-man roster on Friday by promoting Carlik Jones from his two-way contract.
Hawks Notes: Resslers, Front Office, Snyder, Young, Bogdanovic
Hawks owner Tony Ressler believes his team has underachieved this season, which is why he decided to overhaul the front office and signed off on the new group’s plan to replace head coach Nate McMillan with Quin Snyder, he tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
According to Ressler, he’s staying out of basketball decisions and has given new general manager Landry Fields the autonomy to make those calls. The Hawks’ owner said he removed Travis Schlenk from his role as the team’s head of basketball operations because he wasn’t happy with the front office’s level of “collaboration and communication,” per Wojnarowski.
“I can tell you this: Landry and (assistant GM) Kyle (Korver) are running a much better, much more collaborative front office,” Ressler said. “That’s of huge importance to me because I think that’s how you get better. Having ownership, a front office, a coaching staff and the right roster — when all of those folks work well together, I think results improve. That was the objective and that’s why I made the change that I did.”
There has been some skepticism about the new-look Hawks’ front office due to the relatively inexperienced nature of the head executives, along with the reported empowerment of Tony’s son Nick Ressler. However, the elder Ressler expressed full confidence in the new group.
“What I’ve always done is rely on people who know more than I do to run a business better than I could,” Ressler said to ESPN. “Who makes the decisions (now), it’s undoubtedly Landry with Kyle — with (head coach) Quin (Snyder). (They) are going to work beautifully together from what I can tell. I do believe we will make better decisions going forward than we have done in the past.”
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- In a separate interview with Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ressler insisted that his son Nick’s influence in the basketball operations department has been overstated. “Nick works in the organization, helps me in both the business and basketball operations, helps me understand the goings-on of the organization, if you will, helps me evaluate what we’re doing,” Tony said. “But he sits in the same role (I do). He’s in ownership, but is full time to the organization. So the simple answer, is ‘No, he’s not in charge of any (basketball) decision-making.'”
- Although the Hawks have made some roster moves this year that seemed aimed at avoiding the luxury tax, Ressler insists those moves weren’t driven by him. “We’re not worried about the luxury tax,” he told Williams. “… Do I think it’s a good idea to be incredibly average (and) in the luxury tax? I’d rather not. I’d rather be contending in the luxury tax or being a great team in the luxury tax. But at the end of the day, I’ve never suggested a trade to get out of the luxury tax ever. Whoever said that will be giving you an untruth, directly, indirectly, intentionally, unintentionally. Never said it. Never will.”
- Rival executives lauded the Hawks for the hiring of Snyder, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who spoke to Williams for the latest HoopsHype podcast. There have been suggestions that Snyder may have taken the job in part to have a bigger say in roster changes — when Williams spoke to Snyder she got the impression that while Fields and Korver will “weigh his opinion pretty heavily,” but she doesn’t believe Snyder’s voice will be the “end all and be all.”
- Williams also touched on the slow-developing chemistry of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, saying “they’re still learning from each other” and suggesting that the two guards may not have a close relationship. Williams is surprised by that because Young was eager to team up with Murray in the offseason. Williams says Young “is a nice guy,” but has heard “sometimes he has some trouble endearing himself to his teammates off the court,” though she says people like playing with him.
- Veteran wing Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to decline his $18MM player option for 2023/24 and enter unrestricted free agency, says Scotto. Williams is a little skeptical Bogdanovic will exceed $18MM per year on his next contract due to his injury history, but Scotto believes he could at least equal, if not exceed, that total on annual basis, noting that the salary cap is expected to go up each year for the foreseeable future. It could be tricky for Atlanta to re-sign Bogdanovic, Scotto adds, citing luxury tax concerns.
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
Jonathan Isaac Undergoes Season-Ending Adductor Surgery
Jonathan Isaac‘s 2022/23 season is over after just 11 games, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Magic forward underwent season-ending surgery on Friday to repair a torn left adductor muscle.
The Magic have put out a press release confirming the news (Twitter link). According to the team, Isaac felt discomfort on Tuesday and an MRI on Wednesday revealed the full extent of the injury.
It’s the latest injury in what has been a brutal run of health luck for Isaac, who missed two-and-a-half seasons while recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in the Disney World bubble in 2020.
The 25-year-old made his season debut on January 23, playing for the first time since August 2, 2020. However, a little over a month later, he has once again gone under the knife and faces a lengthy recovery process.
“Our thoughts are with Jonathan, whose fortitude in dealing with adversity is unique,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. “Jonathan has worked extremely hard to return to the court this season and has demonstrated his impact on our team. We will be by his side as he focuses on the work ahead.”
Prior to his ACL injury, Isaac was emerging as one of the NBA’s most talented, versatile defenders, averaging 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game in 34 contests (28.8 MPG) during the 2019/20 season. He flashed that defensive upside a little this season, but played a very modest role in his 11 appearances, logging just 11.3 minutes per night. He averaged 5.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG in his limited action.
Isaac is under contract for two more seasons beyond this one, but his $17.6MM cap hit for 2023/24 is only partially guaranteed (for $7.6MM) and his $17.6MM salary for ’24/25 isn’t guaranteed at all.
While it’s possible the 6’11” forward will make a full recovery from this latest injury and reestablish himself as a reliable rotation player next season, he certainly can no longer be viewed as a lock to finish out his current contract due to his growing injury history.
And-Ones: Darlan, Ignite, 2023 Draft, Vet Extensions, Team Canada
The G League Ignite has secured another top prospect for the 2023/24 season. Thierry Darlan, a point guard from the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal, has committed to the Ignite, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
According to Givony, Darlan drew interest from NCAA schools like Arizona, Kansas, and Santa Clara, but has decided to compete in the G League rather than going the college route. Although the 19-year-old is technically eligible to enter the 2023 draft, per Givony, he’s expected to wait until 2024 to declare as an early entrant.
In his latest 2024 mock draft, Givony projected Darlan to be the No. 45 pick. The 6’7″ guard becomes the fourth prospect projected to be drafted in ’24 who will suit up for the Ignite next season, joining Babacar Sane (No. 24 in Givony’s mock), London Johnson (No. 31), and potential No. 1 pick Matas Buzelis.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- In a pair of articles this week for Bleacher Report, Jonathan Wasserman shares a new two-round 2023 mock draft and received input from scouts on which college players’ stocks have risen and fallen the most in recent weeks. Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther and Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski are among the risers, while Pepperdine’s Maxwell Lewis and Oregon’s Kel’el Ware are a couple of the fallers.
- Following up on a report from Shams Charania that indicated the new CBA could change the rules for veteran contract extensions, Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype explores why those modifications have been deemed necessary and considers which players could be most affected by the potential tweaks.
- While Team USA is no longer requiring its stars to make multiyear commitments to the program, the Canadian national team secured three-year commitments from stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray and appears well positioned to send a competitive squad to this year’s World Cup and perhaps next year’s Olympics, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Suns Notes: Durant, KD Ripple Effect, Shamet
Suns forward Kevin Durant said he felt “great” after debuting for his new team on Wednesday and will be good to go for Phoenix’s game in Chicago on Friday, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Following a lengthy layoff due to a knee injury, Durant will remain on a minutes limit for the foreseeable future, but he played 27 minutes in his first game as a Sun, which was more than he anticipated.
“I didn’t think I’d play that much, to be honest,” Durant said after the Suns’ win over Charlotte. “I thought I’d be hovering around 19, 20 minutes, but coach (Monty Williams) is a player. He’s been there before, so he understands I needed a couple extra minutes to get some rhythm and he gave me that so I’m grateful for it.”
Williams said the plan is to gradually increase Durant’s workload until he’s comfortable playing 36-to-38 minutes per night.
“You’re not going to do that if you’re scaling it back,” Williams said, according to Rankin. “Then all the sudden you go from 20, 20, 20, 20, then you go 30, that’s where I think you can get yourself in trouble. I’m trying to do my best to build him up.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports identifies five promising signs from Durant’s debut, including the secondary rim protection KD provides and the options the Suns now have for staggering their stars. While Devin Booker (15-of-26) and Deandre Ayton (7-of-10) won’t be that productive or efficient every night, Durant figures to make their lives much easier on offense, Bourguet writes.
- Speaking to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports about his Suns debut and how things ended in Brooklyn, Durant said he had no regrets about signing a four-year contract extension with the Nets during the summer of 2021, even if it hurt his leverage when he first requested a trade last offseason.
- Suns guard Landry Shamet, who hasn’t played since January 16 due to right foot soreness, said on Wednesday that he feels like he’s getting close to returning. However, he has since headed back to Phoenix for treatment and will be reevaluated next week, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. According to Shamet, his foot sometimes feels good for a few days before flaring up again. “We’re just hopeful that he can get some answers as to why it keeps popping back up,” Williams said.
Northwest Notes: J. Williams, Simons, KCP, McDaniels, Jazz
The Thunder entered last year’s draft determined to come away with both Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), who takes a look back at how the team ensured it ended up with Williams late in the lottery. According to Windhorst, the Thunder were concerned that their interest in Williams had gotten out and that a team would trade for the Knicks’ pick at No. 11 to nab the Santa Clara star before Oklahoma City could take him at No. 12.
As Windhorst explains, the Thunder ultimately agreed to acquire the No. 11 pick from New York and used it to select Ousmane Dieng, then drafted Williams with their own pick at No. 12 — that way, if the deal with the Knicks fell through before becoming official, they’d still be assured of having Williams.
Williams is enjoying a strong rookie season for the Thunder, starting 45 of 58 games and averaging 12.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 3.1 APG while shooting 51.1% from the floor.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- After being sidelined due to a right ankle sprain, Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons returned to action on Wednesday, but he aggravated the injury in his first game back and said that he doubted he’d be able to play in Atlanta on Friday, per Jason Quick of The Athletic (Twitter link). Simons has since been ruled out for tonight’s game (Twitter link).
- Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been “exactly what we needed,” according to head coach Michael Malone, who added that KCP is a “great two-way player” and said there’s “nothing not to love” about him. In a subscriber-only story for The Denver Post, Mike Singer looks at how the Nuggets have been impacted by Caldwell-Pope, whose teammates call him “First Team” (referencing his case for an All-Defensive spot).
- Speaking of All-Defensive candidates, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is making a strong case for consideration, says Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. McDaniels has said he likes “locking someone up” on defense more than hitting a big shot. “I know I’m going to make shots throughout the game, but stopping someone else from scoring when that’s what they like to do, I like messing peoples’ night up. Just trying to do that,” he said.
- Are the Jazz in officially in tank mode? Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune explored that question following Tuesday’s loss to San Antonio, arguing that Utah’s injury report and rotation decisions certainly suggested the team wasn’t going all-out to win.
Warriors’ Joe Lacob Discusses Wiseman, Payton, Timeline
Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who was known to be a fan of center James Wiseman, said in a conversation with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic that it was “very hard” to trade the big man at last month’s deadline, suggesting that the team “might very well regret that one” down the road.
“But as much as I love the guy, I can’t overrule what our basketball ops and our coaches and our players felt was the right thing to do,” Lacob said. “So it’s a consensus thing. We’re ‘we,’ we’re not ‘me.’ And we’re going to do what the best thing is and we felt it would improve our team short term and kind of went for it for Gary (Payton II).
Lacob added that it took some convincing for him to get on board with the idea of sending Wiseman to Detroit and admitted that he’s keeping an eye on how the former No. 2 pick performs with the Pistons.
“I think James is a really good young player and we’re not going to get many opportunities to draft a young guy like that again,” Lacob said. “And he really didn’t … let’s be honest, he didn’t really have a chance; it’s partially his fault, partially bad luck, partially our fault for not playing him enough. But we’re not getting an opportunity to get a big talent like that with size very often. I mean, it was a very hard decision for the organization, to be quite honest.”
Kawakami’s interview with Lacob included a few more intriguing comments from the Warriors’ owner, including his thoughts on how the negotiations with the Trail Blazers for Payton played out.
The conversation is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber, but here are a few highlights:
On how upset the Warriors were when Payton failed his physical following the trade:
“Very. … I think we all were. We were shocked. Because, you know, on the one hand, he was playing (for Portland), which would indicate he was healthy. But when you ask someone … they only have minutes to make these trades at the trade deadline. It’s kind of an honor code here. Forget what’s in the records, which you see later.
“I think we felt that they were disingenuous.”
On whether being able to reacquire Payton was the only reason the Warriors traded Wiseman:
“No. I don’t think (when) we started out we thought he’d be available, to be honest. He was expensive last year, that contract, we couldn’t really afford it. But given what we did with Wiseman, we took some money off the books. Our biggest weakness, you could argue, has been perimeter defense. So we felt it was a good move to make.
“One thing about (Payton) that I did like a lot, assuming he’s healthy and when he’s healthy, he knows how to play with our team. And the coaches know how to coach him. So he’s going to come in right away, there’s no, like … all these guys make these trades with 22 games to go, and I’m not going to name names, but it’s hard to integrate somebody who hasn’t been on your team. That guy’s been on our team. That’s a big advantage.”
On the Warriors’ supposed “two-timeline plan” (of veteran stars and young prospects):
“There’s only one timeline. I don’t know where this two-timelines thing comes from. There’s one timeline. You have a roster that you try to put together given financial constraints and given what’s available and what you can get. And when you have the salary structure at the top of the roster like we do, which is huge, the bottom or lower half of the roster has to be either minimums or young players. Either way, they’re smaller salaries.”
Atlantic Notes: Maxey, Sixers, Horford, Trent, Barnes
Tyrese Maxey returned to the Sixers‘ starting lineup on Wednesday for the first time in over a month, replacing big man Joel Embiid. Interestingly, Maxey remained in the starting five on Thursday when Embiid was healthy, supplanting fellow guard De’Anthony Melton.
As Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice writes, when Melton first replaced Maxey in the starting five, the five-man group that featured Melton, Embiid, James Harden, Tobias Harris, and P.J. Tucker had a clear statistical advantage over the one that had Maxey in Melton’s spot, particularly on defense. However, in recent months, the five-man unit with Maxey alongside those four other starters has been the more effective lineup.
In Neubeck’s view, the Sixers should use the final few weeks of the season to get a long look at both lineups to assess their options entering the playoffs. However, he believes there’s a strong case to be made that it’s time to reincorporate Maxey into the starting five, based on how productive that group has been. Plus, as Neubeck outlines, starting Maxey means he’ll play alongside defensive anchor Embiid more often — that should benefit the young guard, who is frequently targeted on the defensive end.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The Sixers look like the clear winners in last year’s James Harden/Ben Simmons trade for the time being, but that could change if Harden leaves in free agency without winning a title in Philadelphia, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, noting that the Nets still control two of the 76ers’ future first-round picks (in 2023 and 2027) as part of that blockbuster deal.
- It looked like Al Horford‘s NBA career might be winding down when he was traded in a salary-dump deal in 2020 following a failed stint in Philadelphia, but the 36-year-old has resurrected his career during his second stint with the Celtics. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports has the story.
- With recent acquisition Jakob Poeltl now part of the Raptors‘ starting lineup, Gary Trent Jr. is the team’s new sixth man. As Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes, that role looks like Trent’s best fit in Toronto going forward, so it will be interesting to see how it might affect the swingman’s free agency decision if the Raptors make it clear they want him to come off the bench beyond this season.
- Scottie Barnes‘ sophomore season got off to a shaky start, but since January 1, the Raptors forward has looked more like the player that won the Rookie of the Year award last spring, as Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com details.