Raptors Notes: Kawhi Trade, DeRozan, Valanciunas, CMB
Barring a direct punishment of Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, which isn’t considered any more likely now that the trade has been put on hold until the Aspiration investigation concludes, the terms of the blockbuster deal that will send the two-time Finals MVP back to the Raptors aren’t expected to be altered, according to Sam Amick, Eric Koreen and Law Murray of The Athletic.
As Amick, Koreen and Murray detail, the NBA warned Toronto that the ongoing investigation could cause issues with the trade when it was agreed upon in principle on June 30. That point was reiterated when the two teams scheduled a call with the league office to finalize the deal, which is why the Raptors decided to pause the trade for now until the investigation is complete.
Some people around the NBA believed commissioner Adam Silver might announced the results of the investigation on Tuesday at a Board of Governors meeting, per The Athletic, but a league spokesperson seemed to put a damper on that optimism when they said the law firm’s were expected to be finalized “in the coming weeks.”
According to Amick, Koreen and Murray, many league observers have been “bewildered” at the length of the investigation, which began last September after a series of podcasts from investigative journalist Pablo Torre alleged the Clippers and Leonard circumvented the salary cap to pay Leonard through a no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration, a now-defunct “green banking” company.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Leonard was in Toronto earlier this week when Kyle Lowry signed his ceremonial one-day contract to retire a Raptor and has already passed his physical, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Get Up (Twitter video link). The 35-year-old star, who’s in the final year of his contract, has also begun extension talks with the Raptors, Windhorst added.
- The trade delay gives the Raptors some time to explore the possibility of expanding the deal to include a third team, observes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The goal in that scenario, Grange explains, would be to send out another contract to a third club so Toronto isn’t taking back more salary than it’s sending out — the current structure would see the team hard-capped at the first tax apron. A potential third team’s inclusion would have no bearing on the main deal between the Clippers and Raptors, according to Grange’s sources.
- Grange reiterates Toronto is unlikely to pursue ex-Raptors DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas in part because of the team’s financial situation. Assuming the trade goes through as is, the Raptors wouldn’t have room under the first apron to sign a player to a veteran’s minimum contract, Grange notes.
- In another story for Sportsnet.ca, Grange takes a look at the Raptors’ offseason development plan for 2025 lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles. The team is hoping to see the 2025/26 All-Rookie selection expand his game during Summer League, though he was out for Friday’s opener due to a finger sprain, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet. Second-year guard Alijah Martin was also sidelined because of knee inflammation.
Raptors Sign Alijah Martin To Two-Year Deal
July 2: Martin’s new two-year standard contract is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
July 1: Free agent guard Alijah Martin has agreed to a two-year, $4.8MM deal to remain with the Raptors, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter). The second year is partially guaranteed, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets.
Martin was the 39th overall selection in the 2025 draft. He was on a two-way contract this past season and the Raptors extended a two-way qualifying offer last week to make him a restricted free agent. He’ll now join the 15-man roster on a standard contract.
It’s a minimum-salary deal, so Martin’s cap hit will be approximately $2.19MM, slightly below the veteran’s minimum of $2.45MM, That will give the Raptors a small amount of extra wiggle room regarding their salary cap and tax apron situations.
Martin came off the bench in 23 games for Toronto during his rookie campaign, averaging 2.2 points in 6.3 minutes during those appearances. He spent most of the season with Raptors 905 in the G League, averaging 18.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals in 30.8 minutes per game in 40 contests. He shot 48.7% overall and an impressive 39.6% from long range.
The 6’2” Martin will now look to break into the guard rotation in his second season.
Stein/Fischer’s Latest: Kawhi, Raptors, Brown, Westbrook, More
The Raptors and Clippers continue to have serious discussions about a Kawhi Leonard trade and there’s “momentum” on a deal that would send the two-time Finals MVP back to Toronto, league sources tell Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Fischer first reported the Raptors’ interest in a reunion with Leonard, with multiple subsequent reports confirming the negotiations between the two teams.
Regardless of whether a deal comes to fruition, the Clippers haven’t pursued Celtics wing Jaylen Brown this offseason and don’t intend to make a run at the 2024 Finals MVP, Stein and Fischer report.
Here’s lots more from The Stein Line:
- The Wizards have a “level of interest” in free agent guard Russell Westbrook, according to Stein and Fischer. The former league MVP spent the 2020/21 season in Washington prior to being traded to the Lakers. Westbrook, 37, played for the Kings last season.
- Speaking of the Kings, they’re aiming to re-sign Precious Achiuwa and promote Daeqwon Plowden to a standard contract, per The Stein Line. Sacramento made Plowden, who finished last season on a two-way deal, a restricted free agent on Monday. Forward/center Achiuwa, meanwhile, is an unrestricted free agent.
- The Lakers are “strongly believed” to be one of three teams set to meet with Jazz restricted free agent center Walker Kessler on Tuesday, according to Stein and Fischer. The Lakers are also expected to meet with Pistons RFA Jalen Duren. Yet another restricted free agent, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, continues to be linked to the Clippers, Stein and Fischer add.
- The Spurs are looking to add a power forward with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to The Stein Line, with Sandro Mamukelashvili, Tobias Harris, Dean Wade, Rui Hachimura and John Collins said to be targets. The Lakers are another team with their eyes on Raptors forward/center Mamukelashvili, according to both Stein and Fischer and Dan Woike of The Athletic. Sources tell Stein and Fischer the Georgian big man is expected to receive multiple offers exceeding $10MM per year after declining his minimum-salary option to become a free agent.
- In other Raptors news, the team is expected to work out a new standard deal with 2025 second-rounder Alijah Martin, per Stein and Fischer. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca reported the two sides were working on a multiyear standard contract after Martin was given a two-way qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent.
- After previously reporting that the Magic were bracing to lose Moritz Wagner in free agency, Stein and Fischer hear the Nets are a “real contender” to sign the German big man. The Magic, meanwhile, are expected to re-sign Jonathan Isaac after waiving him earlier this week, sources tell the Stein Line.
- If the Bulls end up signing Norman Powell, his new contract is expected to be a lucrative short-term deal, Stein and Fischer report. Chicago is also thinking about retaining Anfernee Simons, who’s expected to receive interest from the Warriors and Celtics, and is also interested in Jonathan Kuminga. The Cavaliers are another potential Kuminga suitor, though they don’t have much money to offer at the moment, Stein and Fischer add.
- The Cavaliers agreed to re-sign Thomas Bryant in part because they believed the Pacers were going to pursue him in free agency, according to Stein and Fischer, who hear Josh Okogie, Gary Trent Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. are potential free agent targets for Indiana.
- Bradley Beal, Gabe Vincent and Khris Middleton are among the veterans the Heat are considering pursuing in free agency, Stein and Fischer report.
Free Agent Notes: LeBron, Harden, Mamukelashvili, Martin
LeBron James is just days away from officially becoming an unrestricted free agent, but according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the star forward and the Lakers have yet to engage in serious discussions about what his next contract might look like if he remains in Los Angeles.
“There was a check-in call made, to my understanding, early in free agency, once teams were able to start negotiating with their own free agents after the NBA Finals,” Charania said during Thursday’s episode of NBA Today (YouTube link). “Since then though, there hasn’t been much communication, from my understanding, between the Lakers and LeBron James’ side. And certainly not an offer yet.”
The Lakers were able to work out an early deal with Austin Reaves because it won’t affect their potential cap room during free agency — they’ll keep Reaves’ more favorable cap hold on their books until after they’ve made their moves, then cap use his Bird rights to go over the cap to re-sign him. However, since a deal for James could have a more significant ripple effect on the rest of the Lakers’ offseason moves, they’re considering what else they could do before circling back to LeBron with a more concrete proposal, Charania explains.
“They’re trying to see what can we do with this $50MM of (cap) space, potentially, and then where does that leave LeBron,” Charania said.
Here are a few more notes and rumors on free agents from around the NBA:
- Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) continue to hear that the Cavaliers and guard James Harden are on track to reach a verbal agreement in the coming days on a new contract for the former MVP. Harden’s decision on a $42.3MM player option is due on Monday, but the expectation has long been that he’ll decline that option to sign a new multiyear deal with Cleveland.
- The Raptors have budgeted internally for an offer of about $10MM per year for free agent center Sandro Mamukelashvili, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. That would likely be contingent on trading Gradey Dick‘s expiring salary, Grange notes. It would also presumably require the Raptors to use a portion of the mid-level exception on the big man, since they only hold his Non-Bird rights. However, multiple league sources who spoke to Sportsnet expect Toronto to face plenty of competition for Mamukelashvili. “I think he’s getting multiple years guaranteed at more than $10 million a year,” one of those sources told Grange.
- After issuing a two-way qualifying offer to Alijah Martin, the Raptors are attempting to work out a multiyear standard contract with their 2025 second-round pick, Grange reports (via Twitter). Martin played sparingly in the NBA as a rookie, but had an excellent season in the G League, averaging 18.5 points per game on .485/.392/.720 shooting in 39 outings for the Raptors 905.
Raptors’ Chucky Hepburn Signs Two-Way Qualifying Offer
June 26: Hepburn has officially signed his qualifying offer and is on a new two-way contract for 2026/27, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
Toronto has also issued a two-way qualifying offer to Alijah Martin, making him a restricted free agent, according to RealGM’s log of transactions.
June 25: Chucky Hepburn plans to sign his two-way qualifying offer to return to the Raptors, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The 6’0″ point guard only appeared in two games for the Raptors this season, but was productive for their G League team. He averaged 12.4 points, 8.6 assists, and 2.4 steals in 29.3 minutes per game across 18 total Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games for the Raptors 905, registering a shooting line of .415/.368/.871 shooting line.
Despite being undersized, Hepburn displayed impressive skills as a floor general and defensive-minded guard before a meniscus tear ended his season early, preventing him from getting regular season minutes at the end of the year when Immanuel Quickley was injured.
Hepburn underwent surgery in January to address that torn meniscus. According to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg (via Twitter), he’s making good progress in his recovery and the team is excited about retaining him.
Raptors Waive Tyreke Key
The Raptors have waived guard Tyreke Key, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). The move opens up a spot on Toronto’s 15-man standard roster.
A 6’2″ combo guard, Key signed a rest-of-season minimum-salary contract with the Raptors on Monday after having spent the past two years with the team’s G League affiliate. However, he wasn’t active for Toronto’s games on Tuesday or Thursday and will hit waivers without having made his regular season NBA debut.
Key emerged as a reliable scorer this season for the Raptors 905, averaging 16.6 points per game in 33 regular season outings (14 starts) while shooting 52.1% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range. He went undrafted out of Tennessee in 2023 after spending his first four collegiate seasons at Indiana State and then played in Belgium for a year before signing in the G League.
It appears as if the Raptors’ promotion of Key was more about rewarding him for his performance in the NBAGL over the past couple seasons than anything else. His prorated minimum-salary deal for the final week of the regular season paid him $51,207, representing a nice bonus on top of his modest earnings in the G League. The standard NBAGL salary this season was $45K, while Key also earned another $35K via an Exhibit 10 bonus.
The move will allow Toronto to sign a free agent or promote a two-way player into its 15th roster spot on or before the team’s regular season finale on Sunday. Fourth-year shooting guard A.J. Lawson and 2025 second-round pick Alijah Martin have made 22 NBA appearances apiece in 2025/26 and would each be a viable candidate to be converted from his two-way contract to the standard roster, gaining playoff eligibility.
And-Ones: NBA Awards Picks, G League Awards
Reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claims two awards on the unofficial ballot of Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports: MVP and Clutch Player of the Year.
To be clear, Devine does have an official vote for year-end awards, but those ballots aren’t sent out until the regular season concludes on April 12. Devine also notes that he may be forced to change some of his picks, depending on which players are eligible.
Victor Wembanyama, for example, needs to play at least 20 minutes in one of San Antonio’s remaining two games to be eligible for awards consideration. The French big man is Devine’s choice for Defensive Player of the Year and is his runner-up for MVP, ahead of Nikola Jokic.
Kon Knueppel (Rookie of the Year) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Most Improved Player) are a couple of Devine’s other awards picks.
Here are a few more awards-related stories and announcements:
- There’s quite a bit of overlap between Devine’s awards picks and the tentative selections of Zach Harper of The Athletic. Both writers have Joe Mazzulla, J.B. Bickerstaff and Mitch Johnson as the three finalists, in order of how they finish, for Coach of the Year, and Keldon Johnson, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. as their top three picks for Sixth Man of the Year.
- Michael Pina of The Ringer lists his three All-NBA, two All-Defensive, and two All-Rookie teams. Pina’s first-team All-NBA picks are Kawhi Leonard, Jaylen Brown, Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama and Jokic; his All-Defensive First Team selections are Wembanyama, Derrick White, Scottie Barnes, Ausar Thompson and Chet Holmgren; and his top-five rookies are Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe, Dylan Harper and Derik Queen.
- The NBA G League has announced its All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams, which are each comprised of five players (Twitter links via the NBA). The All-Defensive selections are Jamarion Sharp (Texas Legends), Chris Manon (South Bay Lakers), Alijah Martin (Raptors 905), Andersson Garcia (Mexico City Capitanes) and Jalen Slawson (Noblesville Boom), while the All-Rookie team consists of Raptors 905 standout Martin, Norchad Omier and Sean Pedulla of the San Diego Clippers, Keshon Gilbert (College Park Skyhawks) and RJ Davis (South Bay Lakers). Martin, Manon, Slawson (Pacers), Omier and Pedulla are on two-way contracts with their respective NBA teams.
NBA G League Announces 2025/26 All-NBAGL Teams
Four days after being named the 2025/26 NBA G League Most Valuable Player, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung has also earned a spot on the All-NBAGL first team, the league announced (all Twitter links).
McClung, who averaged 31.8 points, 7.9 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game on .515/.381/.775 shooting in 29 regular season outings for Windy City, headlines that five-man group of G League standouts along with Rockets two-way player Tristen Newton and NBA veteran DaQuan Jeffries, who finished second and third, respectively, in MVP voting.
Newton, who made five appearances for the Iowa Wolves before joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for 30 more games, registered averages of 25.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.5 APG with a .480/.376/.859 shooting line. Jeffries, who had a brief NBA stint this season on a 10-day contract with Sacramento, made 28 regular season appearances for the Stockton Kings and contributed 23.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.4 APG with an excellent shooting line of .515/.436/.831.
Pistons two-way player Isaac Jones and veteran NBA guard Lester Quinones round out the All-G League first team.
The complete breakdown of the 2025/26 All-NBA G League teams is below. Players who are currently on standard NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).
All-NBAGL First Team
- DaQuan Jeffries (Stockton Kings)
- Isaac Jones (Motor City Cruise) ^
- Mac McClung (Windy City Bulls) ^
- Tristen Newton (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) ^
- Lester Quinones (Osceola Magic)
All-NBAGL Second Team
- Kobe Bufkin (South Bay Lakers) *
- Killian Hayes (Cleveland Charge) *
- Note: Hayes played for the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate but is on a standard contract with the Kings.
- A.J. Lawson (Raptors 905) ^
- Drew Timme (South Bay Lakers) ^
- Jahmir Young (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
All-NBAGL Third Team
- RayJ Dennis (College Park Skyhawks) ^
- PJ Hall (Greensboro Swarm) ^
- Ron Harper Jr. (Maine Celtics) *
- Alijah Martin (Raptors 905) ^
- Daishen Nix (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Raptors Sign Tyreke Key
The Raptors have announced the signing of Tyreke Key.
The 27-year-old guard has spent the past two years with the team’s G League affiliate, the Raptors 905. He received an Exhibit 10 contract last September, but was waived the same day. Key emerged as a reliable scorer this season, averaging 16.6 points per game in 33 regular season outings (14 starts) while shooting 52.1% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range.
Key went undrafted out of Tennessee in 2023 after spending his first four collegiate seasons at Indiana State. He played in Belgium before getting the G League opportunity.
The Raptors have been carrying a roster opening since Markelle Fultz‘s 10-day contract expired last week, so another move won’t be necessary to add Key. Toronto passed on the option to sign Fultz to a second 10-day deal, with Michal Grange of Sportsnet suggesting at the time that Key was a candidate to become the team’s new 15th man.
Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link) notes that the organization likes to reward players who’ve done well at the G League level. He also suggests that one of the team’s two-way players, either Alijah Martin or A.J. Lawson, could replace Key by the end of the season to make them playoff-eligible. Key – or another player on a standard contract – would have to be waived to open up a spot for a two-way player to be promoted.
NBA G League Announces ROY, DPOY, COY Award Winners
Clippers two-way guard Sean Pedulla has been named the NBA G League’s Rookie of the Year for the 2025/26 season, the league announced in a press release.
Pedulla, who went undrafted out of Mississippi last June, averaged 23.6 points, 6.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 28 combined games (32.0 MPG) with the Rip City Remix (the Trail Blazers‘ affiliate) and the San Diego Clippers this season. He posted a shooting line of .443/.369/.845.
Pedulla ranked first in points per game and second in assists per game among rookies who qualified.
The 23-year-old signed a two-way contract with Los Angeles in February. He has made four NBA appearances with the Clippers this season, averaging 3.3 PPG in 5.8 MPG.
Raptors two-way guard Alijah Martin and Clippers two-way forward Norchad Omier finished second and third in voting for the award, respectively, per the NBA (Twitter link).
The NBAGL also announced the Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach of the Year award winners. Dallas Legends (Mavericks’ affiliate) center Jamarion Sharp won the former award, while Mexico City Capitanes coach Vitor Galvani won the latter.
Sharpe averaged 7.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and a league-high 3.9 BPG across 25 regular season appearances for the Legends (24.9 MPG). Lakers two-way guard Chris Manon and Martin of the Raptors finished second and third in voting, respectively.
Galvani guided the Capitanes to a 24-12 record in his first season with the team, who entered the G League playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. It’s the first NBAGL playoff appearance for the league’s lone independent club.
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets‘ affiliate) head coach DJ Bakker and Osceola Magic head coach Dylan Murphy finished second and third in voting, respectively.
All three awards were voted on by G League head coaches and general managers, according to the NBA.