Malachi Flynn

New York Notes: Knicks, Towns, Simmons, Walker, Nets

January 3rd, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Rory Maher

While Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently said he views the Knicks/Raptors trade as the “Immanuel Quickley trade” rather than the “OG Anunoby trade,” he likes what Anunoby will bring to New York.

According to Vecenie, Anunoby is one of a select few players who can credibly defend all five positions on the court. That defensive versatility, plus his ability to convert threes and make timely cuts, has made Anunoby a “great role player.” The question is if he can develop more on offense, Vecenie writes.

As Vecenie details, while Anunoby has an impressive physical profile and uses it very effectively on defense, he can look a little awkward on offense when given on-ball opportunities, as he doesn’t finish well in the paint and doesn’t have a reliable pull-up jump shot.

Still, Vecenie believes Anunoby has the potential to be “the third-best player on a title team” if he’s in the right situation, and there’s a reason so many teams wanted him. Vecenie also examines what Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn will bring to New York.

Here’s more from the two New York-based teams:

On Run It Back (Twitter video link), Shams Charania of The Athletic suggested the Knicks will “always” have interest in Karl-Anthony Towns, who presumably won’t be going anywhere this season, as Minnesota has the best record in the Western Conference. Towns’ former agent is Leon Rose, New York’s current president of basketball operations.
Even after dealing away Quickley, RJ Barrett and the Pistons’ 2024 second-rounder, there are people within the Knicks who think they have the requisite remaining assets to land a star player, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. As Begley writes, the Knicks could trade up to four of their own future first-round picks, plus some protected picks from other teams.
Multiple sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post that Ben Simmons is “progressing well” in his recovery from a nerve impingement in his lower back, and he’s expected to be cleared to play 2-on-2 when the Nets return home on Thursday. Simmons would then play 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 before possibly being ready to return, Lewis writes. Simmons has been sidelined since November 6. As for Lonnie Walker, who has missed the past 16 games with a hamstring injury, he could return for Friday’s contest against OKC, Lewis adds.
They Nets are spiraling down the standings, having lost four straight and nine of their past 11 games, with the two victories against Detroit. Tuesday’s loss to New Orleans marked a new low point, Lewis writes for The New York Post. Mikal Bridges said the team took its foot off the gas pedal. “We got punched in the mouth and just sat back,” Bridges said. “We didn’t keep going forward after. And that’s on players, right there. It’s going to be like that. They might make a run … you’ve got to have accountability on ourselves to get back up and fight, and besides just lay down. Like I said, I’ve got to do better just personally being more vocal and be more physical and being on both ends. You just can’t let up.”

Knicks Notes: Fournier, Anunoby, Achiuwa, Flynn, Defense, McBride

December 31st, 2023 at 6:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

As Knicks players became aware of the team’s trade with Toronto Saturday morning, Evan Fournier grabbed his phone to see if he was involved, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Fournier has been stuck in limbo for about a year, seeing little playing time as he’s kept outside coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation, but still valuable because of an $18MM expiring contract that could be useful for salary matching in a major deal.

Fournier explained to Popper that he’s not looking for a way out of New York, but when he heard about the Raptors deal he wanted to know if he was part of it.

“Well, the thing is the way I learned it, I think it said it was a trade package surrounding RJ,” Fournier said. “So of course you see that, you’re like, ‘Oh.’ You check your phone and stuff. I sleep well at night. I don’t check my phone to see if there’s a trade or anything. I just focus in on the moment because that’s the business.”

There’s more from New York:

The Knicks will host Minnesota Monday afternoon, so some of the players acquired from Toronto might be in the lineup without practicing with their new team, Popper adds. “I don’t know what the logistics of everything are yet,” Thibodeau said. “But whatever it is, we just gotta find a way.” New York is listing Malachi Flynn as out for tomorrow with a right ankle injury, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv, but OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa aren’t on the injury report.
The Knicks’ need for a defensive presence like Anunoby was evident in Saturday’s loss at Indiana, observes Peter Botte of The New York Post. New York surrendered 140 points overall and 76 in the second half while dropping its third straight game. “Just as simple as I can: terrible,” Jalen Brunson said. “We can do a lot better defensively. Offensively, it is not a problem right now. I can be better defensively. We can be better defensively. We just need to step it up on that side of the ball.”
Miles McBride can’t be traded for six months after signing his new extension, Begley points out (Twitter link). Begley’s sources confirm that McBride’s new deal is front-loaded and that his salary will decline each season.

Latest On Knicks/Raptors Trade

December 30th, 2023 at 6:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the Knicks and Raptors both playing tonight, the two head coaches were able to talk about their new acquisitions in pregame sessions with reporters.

New York’s Tom Thibodeau started by saying he has handled personnel decisions before, so he understands how much work went into today’s trade. He added that it was difficult to part with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, but OG Anunoby brings too many positives to pass up (video link from Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files).

“I think what OG has done and what he has shown is, one, he has positional size,” Thibodeau said. “Two, he can guard multiple positions. Three, he’s a terrific three-point shooter so he can space the floor. He’s also good in transition, very good finishing. And he’s young, so he still has a lot of development left in his game.”

Thibodeau added that Precious Achiuwa will give the team much-needed size and offensive rebounding, and he called Malachi Flynn “a good young player as well.”

Prior to tonight’s game in Detroit, Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic discussed how adding Barrett will affect the offense, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

“RJ is a very dynamic player,” Rajakovic said. “He is a very good cutter, good driver, an improved spot-up shooter as well. I’m really excited to see how he’s going to jell with our team.”

There’s more on today’s blockbuster trade:

Raptors president Masai Ujiri was in Detroit with the team and broke the news of the trade to Anunoby, Achiuwa and Flynn, tweets Kayla Gray of TSN Sports. She hears that Barrett and Quickley are expected to travel to Toronto tomorrow and meet with the media on Monday (Twitter link). They’ll likely make their debut in Monday night’s game against Cleveland.
Knicks veteran Taj Gibson talked to both Barrett and Quickley this morning after the deal became public, relays Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). Gibson said it was “gut-wrenching” to lose the two players, but he told them they’ll have great opportunities in Toronto.
Although Anunoby is a nice addition to the roster, the Knicks don’t believe they’ll be able to obtain a true star player before next summer, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. New York still owns a wealth of draft assets, Katz adds, along with the salaries of Josh Hart, Evan Fournier, Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes to use in a trade for a max-salary player.

Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Flynn, Achiuwa, Thibodeau, Skapintsev

December 30th, 2023 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

When OG Anunoby decided to leave Klutch Sports this past offseason, he had meetings with several agencies and told prospective representatives that he would like a larger offensive role, one that would be commensurate with an annual average salary of $40MM, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Anunoby is earning $18.6MM this season and has the ability to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, at which point he’ll be in line for a substantial raise.

But the Knicks didn’t acquire the forward without a clear understanding of his contract situation, according to Fischer, who suggests that Anunoby may be more willing to sign a team-friendly deal with New York than he would have with another team. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that agents who met with the 26-year-old in the offseason got the impression he’d be willing to accept less than $40MM per year if he were to end up in New York.

As Fischer observes, it’s also worth noting that Anunoby ultimately ended up signing with CAA, an agency that works closely with the Knicks. One of Anunoby’s representatives is Sam Rose, the son of Knicks president Leon Rose.

Here’s more out of New York:

Posing 10 pressing questions for the Knicks in the wake of the Anunoby deal, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post explores the motivation for the move, considers whether Malachi Flynn or Miles McBride will become the backup point guard, and examines what to expect from Precious Achiuwa, among other topics.
It was apparent that the Knicks’ pre-trade roster had reached its ceiling, says Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post, arguing that the acquisition of Anunoby is exactly the sort of core shakeup the team needed. The deal also sets up the Knicks well for a follow-up trade, Vaccaro adds, given that the front office still has Evan Fournier‘s expiring contracts and all of its first-round picks to work with.
The newly acquired Knicks players won’t be active tonight in Indiana, but should be available for Monday’s game vs. Minnesota, assuming all goes well with their physicals, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau seems likely to hear from the NBA after criticizing the officiating following Friday’s loss to Orlando, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Thibodeau said that he was “sick and tired” of Jalen Brunson getting “hammered” and not earning foul calls. “Like, I watch. I send it in. I see it all. And they’re fouls. It’s plain and simple, they’re fouls and there’s no other way to say it, except they’re fouls. They’re fouls,” Thibodeau said. “No one drives the ball more to the rim than this guy does. And if you rake across his arm, you rake across his arm. And if you hit him in the head, you hit him in the head. Those are fouls. Those are fouls. [I’m] sick and tired of it.”
In a story for The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov takes a closer look at the journey that new Knicks two-way player Dmytro Skapintsev has taken from Ukraine to the G League to the NBA club.

Raptors Trade OG Anunoby To Knicks For Barrett, Quickley

December 30th, 2023 at 2:48pm CST by Earnest Marshall

2:48pm: The trade is official, the Knicks confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

“We’re ecstatic to welcome OG, Malachi, and Precious to the Knicks family,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “OG’s complete offensive game and ability to defend multiple positions will enhance our team on both ends of the court. Malachi and Precious are well-rounded players that will complement the hardworking and talented nature of our group. OG, Malachi, and Precious are perfect additions to the type of team and culture we are building in New York.”

The Raptors also announced the deal in a press release of their own.

“We’re excited about welcoming Immanuel and RJ to our team,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said. “Immanuel is a young, talented playmaker who we believe will provide a spark on both ends of the court. RJ is a versatile wing who is, of course, well-known in his hometown, and seeing him in a Raptors uniform will be a special moment for our fans and for all Canadians.”

11:27am: The Raptors are finalizing a trade that will send OG Anunoby to the Knicks in exchange for a package consisting of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Forward Precious Achiuwa and guard Malachi Flynn are also headed to New York along with Anunoby in the deal, according to Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

The 2024 pick the Raptors are acquiring originally belonged to the Pistons, Wojnarowski tweets, so it currently projects to be atop the second round.

The deal will see the Knicks land one of the most coveted two-way players in the league in Anunoby, who has been viewed as a prime trade candidate for much of 2023. New York has been pursuing him for “a significant period of time,” according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), having reportedly offered multiple first-rounders for him at last season’s deadline.

The Knicks will now get a head-start on trying to retain Anunoby ahead of his potential 2024 free agency. The 26-year-old has a player option next season worth $19.9MM, which he’s expected to decline to secure a more lucrative contract.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Anunoby will technically be extension-eligible after being acquired by the Knicks, but for the next six months, he’ll only be permitted to sign for up to two years and $40MM. On June 30, those limits will increase to four years and $117MM.

In all likelihood, whether or not he intends to re-sign with the Knicks, the seventh-year forward will opt to become a free agent, since his elite three-and-D skill set should put him in line for an even more substantial payday than he could get on an extension. Anunoby was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team last season and has averaged 16.4 points per game with a .381 3PT% since the start of the 2020/21 season.

Moving Barrett and Quickley should help clear up a logjam and clarify the rotation in New York’s backcourt, with wings like Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes primed to take on larger roles alongside star point guard Jalen Brunson. Flynn likely won’t play regular minutes for his new team, but he’ll provide some depth at guard, while Achiuwa will give the Knicks another option up front with Mitchell Robinson out for the season.

Toronto, meanwhile, won’t get a first-round pick back for Anunoby but will instead bring in Quickley, who finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting last year, and Barrett, a Canadian and former No. 3 overall pick. Quickley will be a restricted free agent in 2024, while Barrett is under contract through 2026/27.

Barrett loved New York and enjoyed playing for the Knicks, but if he was going to be dealt, he viewed his hometown of Toronto as a great option, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). The 23-year-old played for the Canadian national team in the FIBA World Cup this past summer.

Both Barrett and Quickley had seen their playing time with the Knicks dip a little in the first half of this season. Barrett averaged 18.2 points per game on .423/.331/.831 shooting in 26 starts (29.5 MPG), while Quickley posted a career-best 15.0 PPG on .454/.395/.872 shooting in 30 appearances off the bench (24.0 MPG).

The lack of first-round draft capital heading to Toronto indicates the Raptors are content with retooling, rather than outright rebuilding — that aligns with a report earlier this week, which indicated that the organization has “no appetite for a reset, teardown, or rebuild.”

It remains to be seen what Toronto does with Pascal Siakam, whose name has also come up in trade rumors in recent weeks and who is also a candidate for an extension. Depending on their plans for Siakam, the Raptors could generate a significant chunk of cap room in the 2024 offseason while still being able to re-sign Quickley, notes Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

In the shorter term, the move will open up a spot on Toronto’s roster and will keep team salary slightly below the luxury tax due to the inclusions of Achiuwa and Flynn, both of whom will be restricted free agents in 2024.

The Knicks will have to waive someone to complete the deal. According to Charania (via Twitter), that roster casualty will be DaQuan Jeffries, who was on a non-guaranteed contract and had seen limited action in just 10 games for the team this season.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the two Atlantic rivals came together to make this deal despite being engaged in a bitter legal feud off the court.

The Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Raptors in August, alleging that former employee Ikechukwu Azotam illegally took confidential files with him when he was hired by Toronto. The two teams have gone back and forth in court filings in the months since then, but it seems their front offices had no problem working with one another.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Pritchard, Flynn, Oubre

November 11th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is generating early buzz for Defensive Player of the Year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link).

As Popper writes, the 25-year-old effectively stymied No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama on national TV earlier this week, with the French phenom going 0-of-6 with Robinson as his closest defender. Robinson also made a strong national impression in last season’s playoffs, dominating the paint in New York’s first-round series against the Cavs, who feature a “heavily hyped” two-big lineup.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau is always eager to discuss how well Robinson has been playing, specifically pointing to his net rating, Popper adds. The Knicks are plus-7.6 when Robinson is on the court vs. minus-1.3 when he’s off, for a net rating differential of plus-8.9 — the second-best mark on the team among rotation regulars.

“His defense is incredible,” Thibodeau said. “Excellent pick-and-roll defender. Rim protection. Defensive rebounding. Multiple effort guy. Really come a long way.

“It’s been steady growth. I think when you look at it, to me, probably the most important statistic there is net rating. Scoring margin, net rating tells you impact on winning. So when you look at where he was four years ago to where he is today, it’s been great strides that have been made, and the impact on winning is the most important thing.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

Payton Pritchard signed a four-year, $30MM rookie scale extension just before the season started. The Celtics guard has been struggling to make shots early on in 2023/24, but head coach Joe Mazzulla assured him that he’ll continue to receive minutes as long as he’s impacting the game in other ways, and Pritchard finally had a breakthrough performance in Friday’s win against Brooklyn, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “He’s found a way to make a big impact the whole year, and to me, he changed the game for us tonight,” Mazzulla said. “And what we see is, like, it’s easy to look at the scoring of the bench and be like, ‘We’re not producing.’ But there’s so much other stuff that those guys do for us on a daily basis.”
Backup point guard Malachi Flynn struggled to find minutes under former head coach Nick Nurse, but that has changed under Darko Rajakovic, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Flynn, who could be a restricted free agent in 2024 if the Raptors give him qualifying offer, admits he was pressing his first handful of games as a rotation regular, but Rajakovic’s patience in him appears to be paying off, Grange notes. “I think the first couple of games I was still kind of like hesitant, not being assertive,” Flynn said. “But I feel like the last maybe three or four games — and not even going off makes or misses, just going off how I’m feeling and how I’m playing — I think I’m a lot more comfortable and playing confident.”
Sixers wing Kelly Oubre made a strong defensive impression in last night’s win over Detroit, limiting Cade Cunningham to a subpar second half after he started the game strong, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “That’s what I bring to the game,” Oubre said of his defense. “That’s my bread and butter, so just trying to impact the game, and Cade definitely got off to a good start. I started on Ausar [Thompson], but Coach made that change to start the second half. Me guarding Cade and just wanted to pick him up full court, kind of make him uncomfortable a little bit because he’s such a talented player.” Oubre will be a free agent again next summer after signing a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the 76ers.

Maxey, Quickley, Williams Among Players Who Didn’t Sign Extensions

October 23rd, 2023 at 7:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

An unusual number of players who were eligible to sign rookie scale extensions prior to Monday’s deadline inked new deals. A total of 14 players received rookie scale extensions in 2023, blowing away the previous single-year record of 11.

However, nearly half of the 27 eligible players didn’t sign a contract and thus will head to restricted free agency, if they are extended qualifying offers by their respective teams after the season. Otherwise, they’ll be unrestricted free agents next summer.

Perhaps the biggest name on the list is Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey, though that comes with an asterisk. The Sixers front office and Maxey mutually agreed to put off an extension so that Philadelphia could maximize its cap room next summer.

Immanuel Quickley and Patrick Williams are two of the other big-time names on the list who didn’t reach agreements with their teams. While the Knicks and Quickley’s reps — as well as the Bulls and Williams’ reps — held extension talks as the deadline neared, they couldn’t come to terms on the numbers.

Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn (Raptors), Saddiq Bey (Hawks), James Wiseman and Killian Hayes (Pistons), Kira Lewis (Pelicans), Chuma Okeke (Magic), Isaac Okoro (Cavaliers), Aleksej Pokusevski (Thunder) and Obi Toppin (Pacers) are the other eligible players who didn’t sign extensions.

A full list of the players who did, or did not, sign rookie scale extensions this offseason can be found here.

Raptors Notes: Dowtin, Boucher, Trent, Flynn

October 16th, 2023 at 8:21pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The status of Raptors guard Jeff Dowtin is a curious case to watch as teams begin cutting down rosters ahead of the official October 23 deadline, Sportsnet.ca’s Blake Murphy writes. Dowtin has an uncertain future with the organization, given he doesn’t own a guaranteed contract and Toronto has 15 others who do.

As Murphy details, the guard had an impressive run at the end of the 2022/23 season, making a case to have his prior contract converted to a standard deal last season. He was on a two-way deal last year before being re-signed to a separate, non-guaranteed standard contract in July. Even though he was a rotation piece at times, Dowtin wasn’t converted to a standard deal last season, and he was thus ineligible for postseason play.

It was presumed that Toronto would quickly re-sign Dowtin to a standard deal in free agency this year, according to Murphy, but that didn’t happen as the Raptors fleshed out the rest of the roster.

Murphy notes the Raptors could theoretically waive or trade another player in order to keep Dowtin, but he has limited time to prove he’s worth doing so in the preseason. If he’s cut, the Raptors don’t own his G League rights, which were acquired by the Sixers’ affiliate, so funneling him to their developmental system isn’t an option.

Dowtin is also a candidate to be claimed by another team if he were to be waived, which makes waiving him and then signing him back to a two-way (after waiving an incumbent two-way player) an unappealing option, and it’s unclear if he’d be willing to do that, Murphy adds.

If Dowtin makes the opening-night roster, his contract is guaranteed for $900K. It becomes guaranteed for $2.02MM if he remains on the roster through January 10.

We have more from the Raptors:

Forward Chris Boucher is drawing rave reviews for his play during preseason, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes in a piece evaluating the stocks of Raptors players. Boucher is expected to be a regular part of the rotation, having impressed as a cutter. Koreen writes that Jalen McDaniels, Precious Achiuwa and Thaddeus Young have improved their standing with the team while Dowtin, Garrett Temple and Otto Porter have failed to stand out.
It appears that Dennis Schröder has supplanted Gary Trent Jr. as a starter for the Raptors. Trent had been a starter almost exclusively since arriving in Toronto in 2021/22, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Trent has expressed a desire to be a member of the starting lineup but said he wanted to help the team in whatever way possible (Twitter link). “Obviously the first two games I’ve been coming off the bench; practices I’ve been with the second unit … so the writing’s on the wall,” Trent said.
Malachi Flynn appears to be breaking into the rotation, according to Grange. Head coach Darko Rajakovic is committed to using a 10-man rotation and it appears Flynn will be a part of that. Josh Lewenberg of TSN relays (Twitter link) that the point guard dedicated extra time in the weight room this offseason, having put on five-to-seven pounds. According to Lewenberg (Twitter link), Flynn knows he has a big season ahead in the final year of his rookie deal and thinks the coaching change could be a “reset” for him.

Raptors Notes: Achiuwa, Boucher, VanVleet, Koloko

December 28th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa appears to be on the verge of returning from a right ankle injury. He was put through a vigorous on-court workout after the team’s practice today, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links), who notes that Achiuwa has been upgraded to questionable for Thursday’s game vs. Memphis.

Despite the change in Achiuwa’s status on the injury report, Lewenberg believes the former first-round pick is more likely to return for Friday’s game vs. Phoenix. Achiuwa hasn’t played since November 9.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Raptors big man Chris Boucher has logged just 22 total minutes in the last three games and has scored only two points during that stretch. Asked if Achiuwa’s return could benefit Boucher, head coach Nick Nurse simply stated, “Chris needs to play better“ (Twitter link via Lewenberg).
After leaving Tuesday’s game due to lower back stiffness, Fred VanVleet is listed as questionable for Thursday, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The Raptors’ starting point guard is dealing with back spasms, according to Nurse (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps). If VanVleet has to miss any time, Malachi Flynn has earned the opportunity to play a larger role, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.
Rookie center Christian Koloko, also listed as questionable for Thursday’s game, is getting an MRI on his sore right knee today, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Both Grange and Lewenberg explored what it meant to have Clippers forwards Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell – two members of the Raptors’ 2019 championship team – back in the building on Tuesday. Despite Leonard’s reputation for being “notoriously stoic,” even the former Finals MVP was feeling a little nostalgic, according to Grange. With the Clippers still managing his knee, Leonard was given the choice of sitting out Monday’s game in Detroit or Tuesday in Toronto — he opted to face the Raptors. “It’s always great memories coming in this arena,” Kawhi said. “And if I was going to sit a game I’d rather give the fans in Toronto a chance to see me play again.”

Raptors Notes: Barnes, FVV, Brown, Flynn

December 18th, 2022 at 3:07pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, the reigning Rookie of the Year, has been solid if unspectacular this season for Toronto. Toronto point guard Fred VanVleet spoke at length about the 21-year-old’s development in 2022/23 and his long-term outlook, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link).

“I think you guys are waiting for him to hatch into some beautiful butterfly, but again, that’s up to him,” VanVleet said. “It’s our job to try to support him in that and tell him the truth and keep him honest and hold him accountable. But at the end of the day, when he plays great we’re happy for him and when he plays bad we’re there for him. The outside noise is always just noise.

“… He’s a hell of a player,” VanVleet continued. “That’s why everybody is so excited about him, which is why the expectations are so high but it’s good for him. There’s gonna be ups and downs, there’s gonna be challenges, but the magic is in making it through that and persevering and fighting through adversity, and he’s done that.”

Eric Koreen of The Athletic notes that Barnes has been somewhat inconsistent this season for the 13-16 Raptors, and seems at times to be an awkward fit alongside Toronto’s best player, All-NBA big man Pascal Siakam.

Through 26 games this season, the 6’9″ Barnes is averaging 14.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.7 APG, 0.8 BPG and 0.8 SPG. He is posting solid shooting splits of .482/.309/.737.

There’s more out of Jurassic Park:

After signing a G League contract, veteran NBA swingman Sterling Brown is joining the Raptors’ NBAGL franchise, Raptors 905, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Brown still holds intrigue as a high-level shooter. The 27-year-old, a 6’5″ shooting guard out of SMU, has five season of NBA experience under his belt between stints with the Bucks, Rockets and most recently the Mavericks last season. He holds career averages of 5.4 PPG and 3.3 RPG. Brown is also a career 36.4% shooter from long range on 2.6 attempts, which could appeal to a Toronto team in need of help from beyond the arc. As of this writing, the Raptors rank 29th in the league with a 32.4% three-point conversion rate and 22nd in attempts at 31.7 per game.
Though a sound, versatile defensive unit, the Raptors have struggled on the other end of the floor. When Malachi Flynn was pressed into starting service due to the injury absence of Gary Trent Jr., in an eventual 119-116 loss to the Nets Friday night, he and VanVleet looked like a potent scoring pair, opines Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Against Brooklyn, Flynn scored 13 points while VanVleet poured in 39. Smith notes that the two guards, both listed at 6’1″, cumulatively went 6-for-14 from long range. Flynn has been nailing 37.6% of his modest 2.5 treys a night. “(If) we can keep finding ways to be effective defensively — I think that’s the number one concern from the coaching staff with both of us out there,” VanVleet said. “I thought we found ways (Friday) and found lineups that can make it work. He was a huge spark plug in making shots, just creating things, and just having another guy that can get in the paint and make plays.”
In case you missed it, Raptors defensive stalwart OG Anunoby is set to miss at least a week as a result of a sore left hip.

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