Jontay Porter

And-Ones: Awards, Flagg, Celtics, Thunder, Porter

April 18th, 2024 at 6:06pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The finalists for the NBA’s seven end-of-season awards honoring the top performers of the 2023/24 season are set to be unveiled on Sunday, April 21, according to the league (Twitter link). The finalists will be revealed on NBA on TNT at 6:30 p.m.

The performance awards include the Most Valuable Player, the Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Clutch Player of the Year.

Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic are among the expected frontrunners for MVP. Tyrese Maxey and Coby White are considered the favorites for Most Improved, and that may be one of the closer races among all awards. The battle for Sixth Man of the Year, which figures to feature the likes of Naz Reid and Malik Monk, may also be close. Victor Wembanyama is widely expected to earn the Rookie of the Year award and should also receive consideration for Defensive Player of the Year.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Projected 2025 No. 1 overall pick and Duke commit Cooper Flagg recently completed his stint at the Nike Hoop Summit, where top young prospects showcase their skills in front of scouts. Flagg sat down with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip to discuss the event, his upbringing and why he chose to play for the Blue Devils. “Fit and feel,” Flagg said. “Great relationship with Coach Scheyer. Durham is a great place, a great environment. I mean just the environment and the feel and the fit for me.“
The Celtics and Thunder‘s G League affiliates made the NBAGL Finals this season. That best-of-three series corresponded with the end of the NBA’s regular season, which is when many developmental players often get a chance to shine. Jared Weiss of The Athletic explores how the teams’ two-way players were impacted by bouncing between getting big NBA minutes and having to prepare for a the G League championship. “That’s really the spirit of what the G League is, where you have guys moving between the leagues,” G League commissioner Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. “On any given night, you can be in a G League game and the next night play in an NBA game. That’s illuminated at this time, with how concentrated our playoffs are.” In a fun story, Weiss further explores the logistical side of being a two-way player in the G League. The Oklahoma City Blue won the championship, helped by the presence of two-way Thunder guard Lindy Waters III.
In the wake of former Raptors two-way big Jontay Porter being suspended for violating league gambling rules, the NBPA responded in a statement. “The NBPA exists to protect and support the interests of all 450 NBA players – both as individual players and as a collective,” the statement reads. “Adherence to league gambling policies is paramount to maintaining the integrity of our athletes and protecting the future of the sport. The NBPA will make sure Jontay has access to the resources he needs during this time, in light of the NBA’s decision. All players, including Jontay, should be afforded appropriate due process and opportunity to answer to any charges brought against them.“

Northwest Notes: Billups, Blazers, Porter Jr., Sarr, Biyombo

April 18th, 2024 at 9:26am CST by Dana Gauruder

Chauncey Billups is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract with the Trail Blazers, who hold a team option on the 2025/26 season. Billups realizes that the team needs to show significant improvement in order for him to get an extension, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report.

“In this business, I always feel like you’re trying to prove what you can do and what kind of coach you can be,” he said. “I’ve always felt that way and I feel no different going into next year. I’m looking forward to that opportunity to be able to prove how good I can be. In this league and any league in the professional ranks, you’re always coaching for your job. It’s a part of the business. But that doesn’t scare me. I’m not worried about it. I’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to it.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Blazers are planning to improve from within rather than making aggressive moves for high-priced veterans that could cost them major resources, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian reports. “We’re heavily invested in a lot of our young guys, so development will continue to be a focus,” GM Joe Cronin said. “We’re not going to win at an extremely high level until some of those guys are ready. But at the same time, it’s our job to give them the best environment to thrive in. And often that’s with additional help. I think this year there were some flaws in the roster, especially in some missing skill sets and just in general imbalance, where it made it complicated for those guys to reach their highest potential.”
Jontay Porter‘s ban from the NBA for gambling-related violations has taken a toll on his brother, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., Bennett Durando of the Denver Post tweets. “It has not been easy for him,” coach Michael Malone said. “That’s why I give him credit, because he’s carrying so much in his heart and in his mind.”
Thunder big man and two-way player Olivier Sarr suffered a left Achilles tendon rupture during the G League Finals on Monday night, according to a team press release. In 15 games this season with the Thunder, Sarr averaged 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 6.5 minutes. Sarr also saw action in 18 games with the Blue and averaged 14.0 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 28.2 minutes.
Bismack Biyombo fainted during a game in early March. The Thunder center revealed to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman that he was dehydrated due to fasting. Biyombo has fasted at various times throughout his career for religious reasons.

Raptors Notes: Poeltl, Olynyk, Quickley, Barnes, Porter

April 17th, 2024 at 7:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors expected to win a lot more than 25 games this season, but there’s more optimism than disappointment as players look to the future, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. While a series of injuries led to a nosedive after the All-Star break, there’s a feeling that things will be different with a chance to start over this fall.

“I think for sure there’s a lot of things to be excited about,” said Jakob Poeltl, who missed the final 21 games with a dislocated finger. “You could see that at times when we had our guys out there on the court — we really had limited time playing together — but still it felt good, and it looked good, and the results were there. And I don’t think those were outliers; it was more that almost all of the losses were more of the outliers than when we were actually performing.

“So that gives you a lot of confidence. That gives me a lot of hope looking forward to next season, to be able to show that more and to be able to show that from an overall talent perspective I don’t think we are where we’re supposed to be in the standings. To be able to show that will be cool.”

Grange notes that the team went through a major upheaval in the middle of the season, as seven players were traded away within six weeks, including franchise cornerstones Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. In addition to Poeltl, Scottie Barnes and Chris Boucher also suffered season-ending injuries, while the deaths of relatives took RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley away from the team for a while.

“The dominos just fell,” said Kelly Olynyk, who was acquired from Utah at the trade deadline. “Injury, injury, injury, obviously, personal stuff that you can’t discount, guys having to be away from the team, that was a tough stretch there.”

There’s more from Toronto:

Quickley sounds eager to re-sign with the Raptors in free agency this summer, Grange adds. The 24-year-old guard averaged a career-best 18.6 PPG after being acquired from New York in late December. “I’ve absolutely loved Toronto since the day I got here,” Quickley said. “They’ve done nothing but show me love. Love is an action word. It’s not just something you just throw around. They’ve done that from the day I got here to today. So obviously the team and my agent have to handle everything, but I love being here in Toronto absolutely.” The Raptors can make Quickley a restricted free agent by submitting an $8.5MM qualifying offer.
The most encouraging thing to come from Toronto’s season was the progress of Barnes, who reached a new level before a broken finger put him out of action on March 1, observes Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “I played against Scottie when I was younger,” Barrett said. “But seeing it up close and personal every day, it’s amazing what he does. He does everything.”
The Raptors issued a statement after the NBA announced Jontay Porter‘s lifetime ban for his involvement in a gambling scandal, Lewenberg tweets. “The Raptors are fully supportive of the league’s decision to ban Jontay Porter from the NBA and are grateful for the swift resolution to this investigation,” it reads. “We will continue to cooperate with all ongoing inquiries.”

Jontay Porter Banned From NBA

April 17th, 2024 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

Forward/center Jontay Porter, who was on a two-way contract with the Raptors this season, has been banned from the NBA, the league announced today in a press release (via Twitter).

“A league investigation found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games,” the league said in a statement.

The NBA began investigating Porter last month due to betting-related irregularities. The Raptors big man exited games early on January 26 and March 20, reportedly due to a re-aggravation of an eye injury and an illness, respectively.

The “unders” on Porter-related prop bets on those days received heavy action at sports books, including DraftKings. Prop bets allow bettors to wager on whether or not individual players will reach certain statistical benchmarks (e.g. points, rebounds, assists, etc.) in a game.

According to the release from the NBA, the league’s investigation turned up the following details, which resulted in Porter’s lifetime ban:

Prior to the March 20 game, Porter disclosed confidential information about his health to someone he knew to be an NBA bettor. Another individual with whom Porter associated and knew to be an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80K parlay prop bet (to win $1.1MM) at an online sportsbook, wagering on Porter to underperform in that game.
Porter limited his own participation in at least one game to influence the outcome of one or more bets. The league suggests that this occurred in the March 20 game, when Porter claimed he felt ill after playing just three minutes. As a result of the “unusual betting activity and actions of the player,” the $80K prop bet was frozen and wasn’t paid out.
From January through March 2024, while under contract with the Raptors, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s account. Those bets totaled $54,094 and paid out $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965. Although none of those bets involved a game in which Porter played, three of them were multi-game parlays that included a Raptors game. In each case, Porter bet that the Raptors would lose.

According to the NBA, its investigation is ongoing and could result in additional findings. The league had discovered enough to this point to make the decision not to allow Porter to play in the NBA again.

The league also stated that it has shared – and will continue to share – its findings with federal prosecutors.

“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” commissioner Adam Silver said in today’s release. “While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”

Porter, who is the younger brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., represented a feel-good story when he caught on with the Raptors this season, since he overcame a series of injuries – including a pair of ACL tears – to make it back to the NBA for the first time since 2021.

In 26 games for Toronto this season, including five starts, the 24-year-old averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 13.8 minutes per night.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Porter earned $415K this season, pushing his career NBA earnings to approximately $2.8MM. He would have been eligible for restricted free agency this offseason.

Raptors Notes: Trent, Quickley, Porter, Draft Pick, More

April 13th, 2024 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Last June, after Gary Trent Jr. picked up his player option for 2023/24, there were reports suggesting that he and the Raptors were nearing an agreement on a multiyear extension. That deal never come to fruition, so Trent played out the year on an expiring contract and is on track to reach unrestricted free agency this summer.

As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes, it’s unclear whether or not Trent will continue his career in Toronto or head elsewhere once he becomes a free agent. According to Grange, it appears both sides are open to extending the relationship, but they’ll have to agree on a salary and a role, with the latter perhaps representing the more difficult discussion.

“To be honest, it’s really not my choice,” Trent said when asked about potentially staying with the Raptors. “They gotta want me, so I could say I want to come here, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t want me here. So again, at the end of the day, I would love to be anywhere I’m wanted, anywhere I can help contribute towards winning, anywhere that can see me as part of their future or sees me as part of something they got going on that would be great to be a part of.”

No player has appeared in more games (70) for Toronto this season than Trent, who averaged 13.7 points per game with a .393 3PT%. He’s wrapping up a three-year, $52MM deal that paid him approximately $18.6MM in 2023/24, and the Raptors will hold his Bird rights in the offseason, giving them the ability to go over the cap to re-sign him or to sign-and-trade him to a new team.

Here’s more from out of Toronto:

Immanuel Quickley has solidified his place in the Raptors’ future and positioned himself for a nice payday as a restricted free agent this summer, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who suggests a salary in the range of $25MM annually seems likely for the 24-year-old.
In addition to being investigated by the NBA, Raptors big man Jontay Porter is also the subject of an inquiry by the Colorado Division of Gaming, who have asked sportsbooks in the state to look into whether they have any accounts connected to Porter and whether those accounts wagered on any “NBA affiliated games.” David Purdum of ESPN has the story.
As a result of Friday’s loss to Miami, the Raptors are locked into sixth place in the draft lottery standings, meaning they’ll have a 45.8% chance of keeping their first-round pick, which will be sent to San Antonio if it’s not in the top six. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, the front office has privately insisted it doesn’t have a strong preference either way — a top-six pick would put Toronto in position to add another building block to its young core, but the 2024 draft class is considered weak, and losing the pick now rather than rolling it over to 2025 would free up all the team’s future first-rounders to trade.
From a lawsuit implicating him in stealing data from a division rival to a betting scandal involving one of his players, Darko Rajakovic has had to deal with an unprecedented amount of chaos in his first season as a head coach. As Lewenberg details for TSN.ca, Rajakovic’s players praised him for the way he has handled that drama and the job he has done amidst a major roster upheaval.
Once known for their strong player development program, the Raptors have had fewer under-the-radar success stories in recent years, but Javon Freeman-Liberty‘s progress as a rookie two-way player this season is a step in the right direction, says Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Freeman-Liberty received a lightly guaranteed minimum salary for 2024/25 when he was promoted to the 15-man roster last month.

Raptors Notes: Dick, Quickley, Freeman-Liberty, Barnes, Temple, Porter

April 11th, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Raptors rookie guard Gradey Dick, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft, began his first season in the league bouncing in and out of the rotation. However, he has been firmly entrenched as a rotation player since Jan. 20 and is averaging 11.2 points per game while shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc since then. Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange details how Dick underwent a mid-year turnaround and became one of the bright points in an otherwise disappointing Raptors season.

The rookie sharpshooter struggled in the fall, shooting just 24.4% from three in his first 14 games and going through G League assignments. According to Grange, a mid-January meeting with head coach Darko Rajakovic led to a plan to save Dick’s rookie season — a plan that included more intense, hands-on trainings. Since then, he has looked like the player the Raptors thought they were getting when they selected him in last year’s draft out of Kansas.

“I told somebody just the other day: He’s progressed the most as a rookie — easily — on the court, as anyone I’ve seen,” teammate Garrett Temple said. “His game play, his ability to accept coaching and put it into play, the defensive things that he’s able to do now versus what he was able to do to begin his season. On court, he’s been even more impressive than just off-court in my opinion because he progressed so much and you know, I’m really proud of him for that. He’s gonna be a player in this league, no question. He’ll be fine in this league for a long time.”

We have more from the Raptors:

Immanuel Quickley is set to be the Raptors’ point guard of the future after arriving in the OG Anunoby trade alongside RJ Barrett, and he’s due for a major pay raise as he approaches restricted free agency this summer, Grange writes. Quickley has averaged 18.7 points and 6.8 assists per contestsince arriving in Toronto, and there’s little doubt he’s going to be the team’s long-term starter there, assuming he re-signs this offseason.
While there’s no wondering who the starter will be at point guard, there are more questions regarding who will back up Quickley moving forward. In the same piece, Grange points to Javon Freeman-Liberty as one potential option to monitor. “[Freeman-Liberty] is showing really good signs of willingness to be exposed, to be vulnerable, to learn, to fail and to grow through the process,” Rajakovic said. “I think it’s just the question a lot, a lot of repetition. He is going to have amazing summer, amazing opportunity ahead of him, another summer league opportunities. So it’s gonna be good opportunity for him to make that next jump.“
After being ruled out for the season with a hand injury, it sounds as though Scottie Barnes is progressing well. According to Grange (Twitter link), Barnes is progressing to reconditioning and has gone through some controlled scrimmages. Grange adds that Barnes should be 100% healthy and available by the summer.
Jontay Porter remains away from the Raptors as he deals with an NBA investigation regarding betting irregularities surrounding his games. Temple, a vocal veteran voice for the team, said during an appearance on The Raptors Show (Twitter link) that he plans to reach out to Porter in the coming days. “In the days ahead I’ll probably send a text, ‘Just checking on you, seeing how you’re doing,‘” Temple said. “No reply is needed in those scenarios… just a situation to let guys know we didn’t forget about you.“

Adam Silver On Wolves Dispute, Porter Investigation, More

April 10th, 2024 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Speaking to the media on Wednesday following a two-day meeting of the league’s Board of Governors, commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA likely won’t get involved in the Timberwolves‘ ownership dispute between current majority shareholder Glen Taylor and minority stakeholders Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

“It’s not clear whether there will be a role for the league to get involved,” Silver said. “… They have a purchase agreement and there’s a dispute now in the purchase agreement and in their purchase agreement, they, in essence, pre-agreed to a dispute resolution mechanism that includes mediation and arbitration, and that’s where it stands.

“There is no role for the league in that process.”

At Taylor’s request, Lore and Rodriguez agreed to buy the Timberwolves in three parts over multiple years. Lore and Rodriguez made the first two payments and currently control a 36% stake in the franchise, but Taylor voided the contract when he said the duo didn’t complete their final purchase option for another 40% on March 27. Silver suggested the unique structure of the deal may not permitted in future ownership transactions.

“It’s certainly not ideal to have a stepped transaction like this,” Silver said. “I mean, it met our rules from that standpoint. And it’s what Glen Taylor wanted and it’s what they were willing to agree to at the time. But I think once the dust clears on this deal, it may cause us to reassess what sort of transactions we should allow.”

Here’s more from Silver’s press conference, which covered several other topics:

Raptors big man Jontay Porter, who is on a two-way deal, is under league investigation following multiple instances of betting irregularities related to his on-court performance. According to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press, Silver said Porter could be permanently barred from the NBA if what he’s accused of is discovered to be true. “I have enormous range of discipline available to me,” Silver said. “It’s cardinal sin what he’s accused of in the NBA. The ultimate extreme option I have is to ban him from the game. That’s the level of authority I have here because there’s nothing more serious.” Porter has been listed as out for personal reasons for the past 10 games.
The NBA has multiple partnerships with gambling companies. Silver suggested the incident may cause the league to reevaluate those relationships going forward, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “At the end of the day, there’s nothing more important than the integrity of the competition,” Silver said. “And so, any issue raised around that is of great concern to me and to all commissioners, to all people who are safeguards, who are all people who are in a position and have a responsibility to safeguard the game. Again, this is a burgeoning industry in the United States. It’s been legal in other places in the world for decades. There’s lessons to be learned from the way that sports betting is monitored and regulated in other jurisdictions. And again, I think as these unfortunate examples come along, we may have to adjust our rules and our partner gaming companies and those companies that aren’t our partners may have to adjust their behavior as well.”
Silver said foul calls are down about four per game since the All-Star break and that’s something the league is pleased about, Mahoney writes. “I think there was a sense earlier in the season that there was too much of an advantage for the offensive players,” Silver said as part of a larger quote. “But again, the context is two fouls per team per game, and the end result, most importantly, we think is a better game.”
According to Mahoney, Silver once again reiterated that expansion won’t be on the table until the league finishes a new media rights deal. While Seattle and Las Vegas have long been rumored as frontrunners to land new teams, Silver said no talks have begun and “no one has an inside track to getting a deal done.”
Silver said star players have averaged 15% more games played this season with the additions of the player participation policy and 65-game requirements, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The NBA will set an attendance record in ’23/24 as well, Silver added.

Raptors Notes: Porter, Agbaji, Size, March, Barrett

March 30th, 2024 at 10:53am CST by Tristan Tucker

Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. defended his brother — Raptors forward Jontay Porter — who is at the center of an NBA investigation regarding betting irregularities, according to ESPN. The elder Porter said his younger brother Jontay wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his NBA career.

The investigation is the result of prop bets involving Jontay on Jan. 26 and March 20, games in which he exited early and his unders were described by DraftKings as the No. 1 money-making bet in each of those games. Jontay hasn’t publicly addressed the situation and has missed the past three games for personal reasons. He’s averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 26 games (five starts) on a two-way deal with the Raptors this season.

Michael Porter Jr. said he had no more details than the media did but that he vouched for Jontay, who has been more than happy to be in Toronto on a two-way deal this season.

“Jontay loves the game of basketball… I’ve known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is and I know he’s excited to play basketball, and I highly doubt he would do anything to put that in jeopardy,” said Michael, who also discussed how betting affects players, including how they receive backlash if they don’t play up to the bettors’ standards.

“So, it’s a part of the game now. I think that it’s obviously a dangerous habit. It’s a dangerous vice for people,” he said. “You know, the love of money is the root of all evil. So, I think that even though it is a thing, we as players just have to accept that. We get paid a lot of money to play this game, and I know these people, these fans, they want to make some money, as well. It’s definitely something that has kind of taken over the sporting world — I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

We have more from the Raptors:

Ochai Agbaji had a scary fall on Wednesday against the Knicks, landing hard on his back and being down for several minutes before being helped to the locker room, The New York Post’s Peter Botte observes. Agbaji did not return with a right hip contusion. After the game, head coach Darko Rajakovic said Agbaji got X-rays but they didn’t show any signs of a fracture. “For a second it was really scary because he couldn’t move at all,” Rajakovic said. Agbaji won’t play on Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen (Twitter link), but he’s all good and seems to mainly just be sore.
After trading away OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa, the Raptors are lacking in size, Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange writes. Jakob Poeltl, Chris Boucher and Scottie Barnes, as well as Agbaji and Porter, are out. That left the Raptors with just Kelly Olynyk, Jalen McDaniels and Jordan Nwora as the only players on the standard roster available on Wednesday who were 6’8″ or above — 6’9″ two-way forward Mouhamadou Gueye was available as well.
The Raptors are heading into their final game of March at 1-13 in the month, with the sole win coming in a five-point home win over the 18-55 Hornets. This month has also featured losses to the 14-60 Wizards and 13-61 Pistons, as well as the franchise’s record for biggest home loss set two different times (41 points on March 5 against the Pelicans and 44 points on Wednesday against New York). As Koreen writes, the Raptors were on pace for 31 wins at the time of Barnes’ injury and they’ve been without their four most important players. Koreen opines that even though this month has been abysmal, it shouldn’t make fans doubt the Anunoby or Pascal Siakam trades, noting that the Raptors at least have a direction after three straight middling seasons.
RJ Barrett had his first media session on Friday following the tragic passing of his brother. “Basketball is my sanctuary, so this actually brings me peace,” Barrett said. “It helps me every day to be here, and also just be on a schedule and just be around the guys. Hanging out with your teammates… they’re funny, you get to hang out with them, you get to go practice and even support the guys when I’m not playing. Whatever it is, just being around has been helping a lot.” The Raptors organization and his teammates have tried to support Barrett and were all on hand for the funeral last week in Ontario, according to Grange.

Raptors Notes: Porter, Quickley, Barrett, Barnes, Poeltl

March 26th, 2024 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of news that Jontay Porter is being investigated by the NBA following multiple instances of betting irregularities, his Raptors teammates discussed the issue with reporters in general terms on Monday night, with Garrett Temple (an NBPA vice president) stressing that nothing has been proven yet, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

While Raptors players weren’t willing to speculate or go into much detail about Porter’s situation specifically, they spoke about the impact that the increasing popularity – and legality – of sports betting has had on them. Forward Jordan Nwora said that “people bet on silly things on a daily basis” and that players hear about it “non-stop” when they don’t reach certain benchmarks.

“(Hearing from fans) has been a part of it for probably the past two or three years,” Raptors wing Ochai Agbaji added. “And fans, you know, slamming you for not hitting their bet, that’s an every night thing for every single one of us in this locker room.”

The widespread legalization of sports betting is a fairly recent development, which the NBA and other major sports leagues are still learning how to navigate. Temple acknowledged the venue that gambling brings in is significant, while also pointing out that it’s a bit “awkward” to have major betting outlets serving as NBA sponsors.

“You watch a game, and you may see FanDuel or DraftKings as a big-time sponsor for a team, but obviously it’s illegal for us to (bet on) any type of professional basketball … we understand that,” Temple said. “Sports betting has always been around, it just obviously is even more available. But as players, you don’t really think about it. As a veteran, I don’t really think about it as much because (not betting on basketball) has always been a rule. It’s not as if a rule change happened. So it is awkward but at the same time, like I say, we understand what we’re getting ourselves into.”

Here’s more on Porter and the Raptors:

DraftKings wasn’t the only sportsbook to get significant action on Porter prop bets on the dates the NBA is looking into, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and David Purdum (Twitter link). A source tells ESPN that multiple bettors attempted to wager significant amounts (“upwards of $10-20K”) on Porter unders for that January 26 game that the forward left early due to what the team said was an aggravation of his eye injury.
Adam Laskaris of Daily Hive takes a deep dive into Porter’s social media history, detailing how the Raptors forward maintained an account under the moniker “TayTrades11” to share financial advice and noting that he promoted a college basketball parlay bet at least once. There’s no indication that any of that activity was illegal or prohibited by league rules, but I imagine the NBA will take a close look at the account as part of its probe.
Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, who have both been away from the Raptors for personal reasons, participated in Tuesday’s practice and are considered day-to-day, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. However, both players will remain sidelined for Wednesday’s game vs. their former Knicks team as they ramp up their conditioning, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, who are both recovering from hand surgeries, are doing a bit of light on-court work but haven’t been cleared for contact, Lewenberg adds, tweeting that it’s still up in the air whether either player will return this season.
With the Raptors dealing with a series of injuries on the court and various challenges off of it – including the investigation into Porter and the recent death of Barrett’s brother – Kelly Olynyk looked to find a silver lining in what has been a “really tough” stretch. “A lot of guys are getting opportunities here that they may not have gotten (elsewhere),” Olynyk said (Twitter link via Lewenberg). “I hope that they’re seizing those opportunities and taking advantage of them to the best of their abilities, and hopefully they can parlay it into something for them that maybe they wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to do (elsewhere).”

Raptors’ Jontay Porter Under Investigation Regarding Betting Issues

March 25th, 2024 at 5:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors two-way forward Jontay Porter is under investigation by the NBA following multiple instances of betting irregularities, ESPN’s David Purdum, Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski report.

At issue are prop bets involving Porter from games on January 26 and March 20, according to the ESPN trio.

In the Jan. 26 game against the Clippers, there was increased betting interest on the under for Porter props, which were set at 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. There was also an over/under for Porter’s made 3-pointers, which was 0.5.

That night, Porter played just four minutes before leaving the game due to what the Raptors said was a re-aggravation of an eye injury he’d suffered four days earlier against the Grizzlies. None of the “overs” were achieved on the prop bets, as he went scoreless with three rebounds and one assist.

The next day, DraftKings Sportsbook reported that the under on Porter’s 3-pointers was the biggest money winner for bettors of any NBA player props from games that evening.

On March 20 against the Suns, Porter played just three minutes before departing due to what the Raptors said was an illness. He went 0-for-1 from the field and had two rebounds.

Sportsbooks had his over/unders set at around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.

The next day, DraftKings once again reported that Porter’s prop bets were the No. 1 moneymaker from the night in the NBA.

He missed the Raptors game this past weekend against the Wizards for personal reasons. He’s also listed as out for Monday’s game against the Nets for personal reasons.

The Raptors won’t offer a comment on the report, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets.

NBA players, alongside all league employees, are prohibited from betting on any league events, including prop bets. Violations of the policy could include fines, suspensions and possible termination of contracts, among other actions.

Porter, the brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., has appeared in 26 games, averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 14 minutes a game.

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