GM Webster Discusses Raptors’ Performance, Barnes, More
Just before the All-Star break, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster sat down for an interview with Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Webster’s conversation with Koreen covers a number of topics and is worth checking out in full for Raptors fans. Here are a few highlights.
On the team’s performance thus far in 2025/26:
“I go back and forth between, ‘We haven’t accomplished anything’ and, ‘It’s OK to enjoy some of the moments along the way.’ Scottie (Barnes) and Brandon (Ingram) being All-Stars is great, having Darko (Rajakovic) coach the World Team, Collin (Murray-Boyles) and Alijah (Martin) (playing in the Rising Stars event), that feels like a moment to recognize it, enjoy it and then get back to work. Those are the two mindsets I’ve vacillated between.”
On Barnes’ growth and opportunities for improvement:
“It’s always different when you draft a player. That’s what we have the benefit of with Scottie. We’ve studied him coming out of college. We drafted him coming out of the Tampa year. He comes here. We have success early. Now you think back to Scottie as a rookie to Scottie now, and the seriousness level on a consistent basis is what stands out. That energy and dynamic play every night really stands out to me and really impacts the winning on the court.
“He’s gonna continue to get better. He’s only 24. I don’t think your prime in the NBA is until 27, 28. Physically, he’ll get stronger. The game will continue to slow down for him. It’s our job to surround him with the right players, to complement him.”
On what it would take for Toronto to make a major win-now trade:
“(The team, conference and league context) all matters. What is the main driver? Seven different champions in the last seven years suggests there isn’t a huge dynasty in the current NBA. You want to be mindful of that. You have to stick to your guns on some of it as far as not overpaying, not chasing it. That’s sort of what I alluded to: We’ve kept our draft picks for a number of years on purpose. When you do go for it, is it a three- or four-pick trade, or do we peel them off one at a time? That’s what we did last time (with the acquisitions of Serge Ibaka and Kawhi Leonard).
“There’s no right way to do it. Do you do it early? Do you do it in the middle? Do you chase late? We’ve looked at all the different builds that resulted in a championship team, and there’s no preferred route other than you have got to get it right. So when you do push them in, when you do consolidate, who is that player? Where is that player in his career? Does that skill set fit with the main guys? If anything, the trades in the past few years show that everything is fungible and you have to keep that flexibility.”
And-Ones: Bonga, Tanking, Giannis
KK Partizan recently received lucrative buyout offers for Isaac Bonga from four unnamed NBA teams, according to Pedrag Saric of Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops). However, the Serbian club rejected those offers for the German forward, who played in the NBA from 2018-22, because Partizan didn’t want to lose its most consistent player.
Bonga is still just 26 years old and could receive NBA interest again this summer, assuming he stays with the Belgrade-based team for the remainder of the 2025/26 season. In 41 total games (26.3 minutes per contest) this season, Bonga has averaged 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .505/.312/.830 shooting.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Tanking has come under increased scrutiny this season, in part because of the perceived strength of the 2026 draft class. “This draft has a chance to be legendary,” one NBA executive told Forbes contributor Adam Zagoria. How can the league combat teams trying to intentionally lose to boost their lottery odds? Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports lays out his idea to address the tanking issue.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s investment in prediction market company Kalshi isn’t a great look for the NBA, says Dan Wetzel of ESPN.com. As Wetzel writes, Antetokounmpo’s minority stake in Kalshi technically doesn’t break any league rules, but it’s easy to see how it could cause fans to lose confidence in the integrity of the sport — one popular category a couple weeks ago was whether or not the Bucks‘ star forward would be traded.
- Speaking to the media on Saturday, Antetokounmpo said he would the welcome opportunity to be an owner in the NBA’s proposed European league, per Javier Molero of Eurohoops. “Being an owner? 100%,” the two-time MVP said. “If there’s an opportunity that comes across my desk to be an owner in sports, anything, I would consider it 100%. In the real NBA, I don’t know if I have that type of money. If I ever come into a position where I’m able to make that decision and it won’t affect my lifestyle, my family’s lifestyle, and it won’t be too risky for my wealth and network, I will consider doing it.”
Central Notes: Cunningham, Bickerstaff, Siakam, Bulls
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham will make his second straight All-Star appearance on Sunday. He tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape that being selected to the 2026 exhibition was one of his long-term goals, as the mini-tournament is being held at the Intuit Dome, where the men’s basketball competition will take place at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“The L.A. All-Star Game was part of that plan,” Cunningham said. “I wanted to make sure I’m in there. And then win a championship and be an Olympic point guard. It’s all part of the long-term plan, for sure.”
Cunningham is having an excellent all-around season for Detroit, averaging 25.3 points, 9.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals on .462/.330/.802 shooting through 46 games (34.9 minutes per game). Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff made sure to point out that Cunningham excels on both ends of the court for the top-seeded Pistons.
“He is a [6-foot-6] point guard who dominates all areas of the offensive end of the floor,” Bickerstaff told Andscape. “But what I don’t think people talk about enough is his defense, his willingness to guard the other team’s best players.
“The impact that he has on that end of the floor – to me, he’s one of the top five two-way players in our league. There may be some guys that they talk about offensively, but his impact is on both ends of the floor. There’s not many guys in this league that are that way.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- In an interview with Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, Bickerstaff said he didn’t expect to be hired by the Pistons in the 2024 offseason after being let go by the Cavaliers. “I didn’t think I was going to get a job,” Bickerstaff told Heavy Sports. “There weren’t jobs available at that point. So I was just sitting at home and hanging out with my family back in Cleveland trying to figure out what was next. We were going to move to San Clemente, California. There’s a soccer academy there, and we were going to go there and let the kids go to the academy and train.” Bickerstaff has spearheaded a dramatic turnaround in Detroit, and he says he was able to grow from the experience of being fired by the Cavaliers. “That month that I had off gave me an opportunity to, like, evaluate myself and think about what I was going to be at the next opportunity and just understanding that the focus should always be on the process and not just focused on the results,” he said. “In my last year in Cleveland, I let that get the best of me, where it was like results, results, results. And we skipped some of the process stuff.”
- Pacers star Pascal Siakam recently spoke to Mark Medina of EssentiallySports at the Basketball Without Borders All-Star camp at the Lakers’ practice facility. Siakam was introduced to the NBA world when he attended a BWB camp in Africa in 2012. “I saw Luol Deng. I saw Serge Ibaka. I saw NBA players at that time. I thought, ‘This is cool.’ I saw NBA coaches. I had never been exposed to the NBA beforehand. I think that was my first time,” Siakam said. “I think I will always remember those memories and see how excited we were to get the opportunity. After that, my love for the game grew. We’re here now.” The All-Star forward also discussed his growth as a vocal leader, Tyrese Haliburton‘s impact on the team as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon, and his excitement about playing with new starting center Ivica Zubac, among other topics.
- Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times grades the Bulls‘ trade deadline moves, giving the front office a D-plus because the series of transactions “came at least a season too late.”
Suns Notes: Highsmith, Ishbia, Brooks, 2027 All-Star Game
The Suns have long been fans of Haywood Highsmith, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who hears from sources that the team has been eyeing the veteran forward for two years. Highsmith plans to sign a multiyear deal with Phoenix.
Rankin writes that the Suns view Highsmith as a strong fit due his “competitiveness and toughness.” Although Phoenix has a standard roster opening the team can use to sign Highsmith, the Suns are also expected to waive guard Cole Anthony, Rankin confirms.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- The Suns have already exceeded external expectations this season — they were only projected to win 31.5 games, and they’re currently 32-23, the No. 7 seed in the West and just three games out of the No. 3 spot. As Sam Amick of The Athletic writes, Mat Ishbia was widely criticized around the league for leaning into his Michigan State ties in his first couple years as owner, but instead of going away from those connections, he doubled down and went all the way in last offseason. Ishbia promoted Brian Gregory, his former assistant coach with the Spartans, to be the Suns’ new general manager, and worked with Gregory and CEO Josh Bartelstein to establish the team’s hardworking culture. “When people wanted to blame me last time, I wasn’t actually doing it my way,” Ishbia told The Athletic. “Now, I am, and there’s no question about it.”
- According to Amick, while James Jones was technically still Phoenix’s head of basketball operations last February, it was actually Bartelstein who spearheaded communications with rival teams interested in trading for Kevin Durant. League sources tell Amick the Rockets made a late pitch for Durant prior to last year’s deadline, offering a package that included Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr., but the Suns wanted Dillon Brooks in the deal and decided to wait until the summer to revisit trade talks. A Rockets source denies Smith was ever included in the offer, Amick adds.
- As impressive as Phoenix’s turnaround has been this season, the team still finds itself at an asset deficit after trading away so many draft picks and swaps to acquire Durant and Bradley Beal in the first place, Amick notes. The Suns will also carry Beal’s dead-money cap hit on their books for several more seasons, limiting their financial flexibility going forward.
- Speaking to the media on Saturday, All-Star guard Devin Booker says he has enjoyed playing with Brooks this season, as Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter video link). “Dillon is a hardworking man. He’s someone to rally behind. He’s a fierce competitor. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’d rather too competitive than to be the other way. It’s been a pleasure playing with him,” Booker said.
- Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the 2027 All-Star game, which Phoenix will host, at his Saturday press conference, per Rankin (Twitter video link).
Kai Jones Signs Two-Year Extension With Anadolu Efes
Former NBA big man Kai Jones has signed a two-year extension with Anadolu Efes, the Turkish club announced in a press release (Twitter link).
The 19th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Jones technically holds four years of NBA experience even though he didn’t appear in a game in 2023/24 — he signed a 10-day contract with Philadelphia near the end of that campaign.
Jones played 40 games for the Clippers and Mavericks in 2024/25, averaging 5.0 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 79.8% from the field in 11.7 minutes per contest.
The 25-year-old began last season on a two-way contract with the Clippers, then was waived on March 1. He caught on immediately with the injury-plagued Mavericks, who were desperately seeking frontcourt depth as they pushed for a play-in spot.
Jones spent four days working out for the Heat last August, but nothing came of his audition. He was reportedly close to signing with Italy’s Virtus Bologna before those workouts, but ended up joining Anadolu Efes the following month.
Jones has appeared in 26 EuroLeague games with Efes, averaging 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 14.2 minutes per contest. He rarely shoots (1.8 attempts per game), but has converted 45 of his 47 field goals (95.9%) thus far in 2025/26.
Anadolu Efes, which also competes in Turkey’s top domestic league, has struggled in EuroLeague action, compiling a 9-19 record.
Giannis On Calf Injury: ‘I Feel 100 Percent’
Speaking to the media on Saturday at All-Star weekend, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo gave an update on his right calf strain, which has prevented him from playing since January 23.
“I feel good. I feel 100 percent, to be honest with you,” Antetokounmpo said (Twitter video link via the Bucks). “ … When you come back from an injury and you go through the rehab, you gotta check the boxes, right? So I gotta do things.
“I feel like the break doesn’t help, because now I gotta get on the court, I gotta play some 1-on-1, 3-on-3, 5 vs. 5. Players are on vacation right now, so it’s kinda hard for me to do that.
“So once I check all those boxes, I’m ready to go. I feel like I can play a game today.”
Head coach Doc Rivers recently suggested Antetokounmpo was close to returning from the right calf strain, which the two-time MVP has injured multiple times this season. He was sidelined for eight games in December due a right soleus (calf) strain and strained his right calf again in the Jan. 23 loss to Denver, causing him to miss Milwaukee’s last nine contests.
Antetokounmpo was named to his 10th straight All-Star game last month but he won’t compete in Sunday’s event due to the injury. Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox was selected as his replacement.
While he continued his long streak of All-Star nods, Antetokounmpo is ineligible for major postseason awards after missing extended time. He has made nine consecutive All-NBA teams — including seven straight on the first team — but that streak will end in 2025/26.
The Bucks and Antetokounmpo will likely revisit their discussions about his future in the offseason after no trade materialized ahead of the Feb. 5 deadline.
Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Bryant, Fox, Castle, CP3
Victor Wembanyama may be the future face of the NBA, but the Spurs center has garnered the respect and admiration of his coaches and teammates by always putting the team first, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.
“I have never one time seen him put anything individually self-serving above the team in any way,” head coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s one of the 18 members of the team and he acts like that 100 percent of the time.”
Much like all-time Spurs greats David Robinson and Tim Duncan, Wembanyama is unusually modest for a star player and welcomes being coached hard when warranted, Orsborn notes.
“I want to be held accountable,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t want favors. I want the same treatment as everybody else.”
The 7’5″ center is inclusive by nature and supports of all of his teammates, per Orsborn, whether they’re key members of the rotation or at the end of the bench.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, he’s trying to embrace you, get everyone into the culture of the team from top to bottom,” said fourth-year wing Stanley Umude, who is on a two-way contract with San Antonio. “He’s all about winning. No ego stuff going on. With him it’s, ‘We’re all here with the same goal in mind and we’re just trying to get it done.’”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- In an interesting feature story for The Athletic, Jared Weiss profiles rookie forward Carter Bryant, who is a grandchild of deaf adults (GODA). The 20-year-old grew up in a household that spoke American Sign Language (ASL); his mother is an interpreter, and his father coached the girls basketball team at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside (CSDR). Bryant also developed his defensive skills in an atypical way: playing pick-up games with deaf kids, with no verbal communication. “If I’m guarding the ball and I have four other people behind me, you kind of have no idea what’s going on,” Bryant told The Athletic. “So being able to check out your peripherals, use your feet and just have a sense of natural feel for the game, it’s different. We take it for granted as players, and we don’t use our other senses as much, but we don’t have to.”
- Star guard De’Aaron Fox has largely tried to lead by example since the Spurs traded for him last February, but he felt the team losing its competitive edge in Wednesday’s game against Golden State and he challenged the group to step up, according to Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News. “I just asked the guys, ‘Do we want to be the team that every (opponent) wants in the playoffs?’” Fox said. The game was tied entering the fourth quarter, but the Spurs responded to Fox’s remarks, defeating the shorthanded Warriors by 13 points. Fox was named an All-Star replacement later that evening, Finger adds.
- Second-year guard Stephon Castle credits former teammate Chris Paul for helping avoid him a sophomore slump after winning Rookie of the Year in 2024/25, per Orsborn. “What he showed me last year, I feel like it helped me this year,” Castle said of playing with the future Hall of Fame point guard last season. “He was a coach on the floor for us at all times, especially for me.” After being waived by the Raptors on Friday, Paul officially announced his retirement from the NBA.
Examining The Hornets’ Trade Deadline Moves
The Hornets executed five trades ahead of last week's deadline, using their cap flexibility to act an unconventional buyer without giving up valuable assets in the process. Today we're taking a closer look at Charlotte's moves and how the team pulled them off.
Southeast Notes: Banchero, Magic, Sarr, AD, Whitmore, Dennis
Fourth-year forward Paolo Banchero doesn’t seem enthusiastic about the Magic‘s offensive system, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Asked after Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee whether Orlando was playing to its potential in half-court offense, Banchero replied, “I think our record answers that question, honestly. I’m not going to sit here and harp on the problems with our offense or what I think is wrong with our offense. But I don’t think anyone would say that it’s where it should be or could be.”
As Robbins writes, the Magic currently rank 23rd in the league in points per possession in the half court. Injuries to key players (Banchero, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner) have once again been an issue, and floor spacing and outside shooting remain problems as well, despite the blockbuster trade to acquire Desmond Bane.
The Magic entered the season with aspirations of being a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference, but they’re currently 28-25, the No. 7 seed. They’re 16th in the NBA in offensive rating, with a -0.4 net rating that ranks 17th. They have also lost their defensive identity, currently ranking 14th after being second and third in that category the previous two years, Robbins notes.
Big man Wendell Carter Jr. says the team’s offensive woes have bled into the defense.
“(It’s) human nature,” Carter said. “It’s an offensive-driven league. Everybody wants to do good offensively, including myself, and sometimes we fall into that aspect of when it’s not going our way offensively, we allow it to affect our effort. We allow it to affect our defense. We allow it to affect us getting back (on defense after we miss shots). And that’s something, as a fairly young team, that we have to do a better job of, including myself.”
While president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman has publicly backed head coach Jamahl Mosley, Robbins wonders if Weltman will reassess that stance if the Magic struggle after the All-Star break. Orlando has been one of the more disappointing and underachieving teams this season, Robbins writes, even when accounting for injuries.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- As Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel writes, the Magic enter the All-Star break in a similar position as they have been the past couple years. They were 30-25 at the break two years ago and 27-29 last season. They wound up making the playoffs during both of those campaigns, but lost in the first round each time. “We’ve kind of been in the same position every year so … coming off the All-Star break is when we’ve got to start to turn it up,” Banchero said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to figure out how we can be better for the postseason because we don’t want to have the same result as the last two years. We’ve got to come out hungry off the break … and figure out what type of team we want to be.”
- Wizards center Alex Sarr is confident about how he’ll fit next to Anthony Davis once both players are healthy, per Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network. “He has a very complete game. I can also step out and play inside-out, so I think it’ll be pretty seamless [playing alongside him],” Sarr said. “Just getting the reps in, that’s definitely going to help us.”
- Wizards wing Cam Whitmore is out for the remainder of his third season after being diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis — a form of blood clot — in his right shoulder. He recently discussed the serious health issue, which required three surgeries to address, with play-by-play announcer Chris Mills of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter video link).
- Second-year guard RayJ Dennis, who is on a two-way contract with the Hawks, has set a G League scoring record with the College Park Skyhawks (Twitter link). Dennis scored a franchise-record 47 points on Thursday, per the Skyhawks, and is the first player in team history to have multiple games with 45-plus points.
Knicks Notes: Sochan, Alvarado, Diawara, Deadline, Grades
The Knicks like Jeremy Sochan‘s “defensive versatility, upside” and ability to handle the ball, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link). The former lottery pick will reportedly sign a veteran’s minimum deal with New York covering the remainder of the season once he clears waivers.
As Begley observes, the Knicks’ ability to sign Sochan is largely due to the fact that Guerschon Yabusele agreed to decline his $5.8MM player option for next season because he wanted an opportunity to play again. New York was able to deal Yabusele to Chicago for Dalen Terry, then flipped Terry ($5.4MM) and a pair of second-round picks to New Orleans for Jose Alvarado ($4.5MM).
The Knicks saved enough money in those moves that they were able to add a player on the buyout market right away, rather than having to wait until the final weeks of the season.
The Spurs reached a buyout agreement with Sochan on Wednesday once he had another team lined up, tweets Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. While McDonald’s use of the term “buyout” suggests the fourth-year forward gave up some money as part of his release, that hasn’t been confirmed or reported elsewhere.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Backup guard Alvarado has quickly made a strong impression on his new team, per Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Alvarado took umbrage with Trendon Watford on Wednesday after the Sixers forward committed a hard foul on Mitchell Robinson, sparking a Knicks run that blew the game open and ultimately resulted in a 49-point victory. “He did a hard foul, but I think he did a little extra with the staring,” Alvarado said. “I’m just not gonna go for none of that. It was just in the moment. That’s when I’m at my best, I guess, getting a little active. It worked out in my favor.” The Brooklyn native had a huge game, tying a career high with eight threes en route to a season-high 26 points, five steals, four assists and three rebounds in just 19 minutes. He was a team-high plus-35 as well, Schwartz notes. “That’s what we need,” Josh Hart said of Alvarado. “That’s what we want from him. Obviously that toughness, ability to help us get organized, ability to knock down shots. And defensively bring energy, bring physicality, get in the passing lanes, those kinds of things. That’s why he’s here.”
- Second-round pick Mohamed Diawara wasn’t expected to play much for the Knicks as a rookie, but the 20-year-old forward has taken advantage of his recent opportunities with OG Anunoby sidelined, James L. Edwards III writes for The Athletic. Hart says he noticed Diawara’s potential in training camp. “In camp, I thought he was going to be real good,” Hart said. “He’s young, raw and inexperienced. He’s good defensively, and he’s an even better shooter than I thought. It always looked good, but now it’s going in. I think he’s a good decision-maker in the pocket. He’s athletic and can finish at the rim, get guys involved. I love where he’s at, and he’s continued to work.”
- Fred Katz and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic review New York’s deadline deals and look ahead to the remainder of the season. Both writers stuck with their preseason predictions that the Knicks will make the NBA Finals, though neither feels as confident in that prediction as they did a few months ago.
- In a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, Stefan Bondy gives out midseason grades for each player on the standard roster, with Jalen Brunson receiving the lone A (Hart and Landry Shamet each got an A-minus). He also grades the performance of head coach Mike Brown (B) and the offseason moves of Leon Rose (C-minus).