Markelle Fultz Signs 10-Day Deal With Raptors
3:48 pm: Fultz’s 10-day deal is official, the Raptors announced (via Twitter).
2:45 pm: Veteran guard Markelle Fultz is signing a 10-day contract with the Raptors, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter).
The Raptors have an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary. Their NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905, claimed Fultz off the waiver wire on March 6.
Fultz, a former No. 1 overall pick and a veteran of eight NBA seasons, has since been working to get back into game shape. He has played in five G League games and his minutes were ramped up over the weekend.
He played a total of 50 minutes in a pair of back-to-back games in Portland on Friday and Saturday and finished with 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting and 12 assists against four turnovers, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Fultz could give the Raptors an immediate boost. He’ll be active for Monday’s game against the Jazz, Grange tweets.
Grange also notes backup point guard Jamal Shead has been struggling of late. Shead was 1-of-6 from the floor and was minus-22 in 21 minutes during Sunday’s loss in Phoenix. Shead is shooting 6-for-25 from 3-point range over his last 12 games and 31 percent from the floor overall.
Starting point man Immanuel Quickley is dealing with a foot injury that will keep him out of the team’s game against Utah on Monday.
Fultz, who was selected with the first pick in the 2017 NBA draft, had his career derailed by injuries and has played in just 255 regular-season games across eight seasons for the Sixers, Magic, and Kings. He made 21 appearances for Sacramento in 2024/25, averaging 2.9 points and 1.3 assists in 8.8 minutes per contest.
Fultz will earn $188,932 over the course of his 10 days with the Raptors, who will take on a $131,970 cap hit.
Community Shootaround: Final Four Eastern Playoff Spots
With three weeks remaining in the 2025/26 regular season, only three games separate the No. 5 Raptors (39-30) from the No. 10 Hornets (37-34). The Hawks (39-32), Sixers (39-32), Magic (38-32) and Heat (38-33), in order of their seeds, are currently in between those two clubs in the Eastern Conference standings.
Those six teams are vying for the fifth and sixth seeds in the East to secure guaranteed playoff berths. The four clubs that end up in the Nos. 7-10 spots would have to advance through the play-in tournament to make the playoffs.
While it’s obviously not as advantageous as making the playoffs outright, the No. 7 seed does get a significant leg up in the play-in tournament, as that team plays at home and has two chances to advance. The No. 8 team also gets two cracks at a playoff spot, whereas the ninth and 10th clubs have to win two consecutive games to move on.
Barring an unexpected collapse (and a major surge up the standings from one of the aforementioned teams), Detroit, Boston, New York and Cleveland are likely going to be the top four seeds in the East, in some order. The No. 4 Cavs (44-27) are four games ahead of the Raptors right now, and the No. 1 Pistons (51-19) have essentially locked up a top-four spot.
No. 11 Milwaukee and No. 12 Chicago haven’t been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention quite yet, but they will almost certainly soon join Indiana, Washington and Brooklyn as Eastern teams formally ruled out of the playoff picture.
Toronto controls its own destiny. The Raptors not only have the most remaining games (13) and fewest losses of the six teams vying for the fifth and sixth spots, they also have the easiest remaining schedule by opponent winning percentage (.476), according to Tankathon.
The No. 6 Hawks went 4-0 against the No. 7 Sixers this season, which is why they’re ahead of them in the standings despite having identical records. Atlanta, which has won 12 of its past 13 games, has a slightly more difficult (.534 opponent winning percentage) schedule than Philadelphia (.527) over the final 11 games of the season.
The Magic and Heat have been inconsistent in 2025/26. Both teams recently won seven consecutive games and are now in the midst of four-game losing streaks. Orlando theoretically has an easier schedule (.485) than Miami (.505) to wrap up the regular season.
The Hornets have been one of the best teams in the NBA for several weeks, but they got off to such a poor start that they’re still trying to dig out of that hole. After a January 21 loss to Cleveland, Charlotte was 16-28; the team has gone 21-6 ever since. The Hornets have three easy games left, but also have eight matchups with teams ahead of them in the standings (.525 opponent winning percentage).
We want to know what you think. Which teams will end up as the fifth and sixth seeds in the East? Which of the four remaining clubs will advance through the play-in tournaments in the seventh and eight spots? Head to the comments section to weigh in with your thoughts!
Atlantic Notes: Vucevic, Celtics, Minott, Barrett
Celtics center Nikola Vucevic has to wait patiently for his fractured right ring finger to heal, but he’s hopeful he can return to action before the playoffs begin.
“The good thing is I can still do some stuff on the court,” he said, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “That will help me for when I come back [to be in] shape, and hopefully I get a couple games before the playoffs, get back in rhythm with the guys that week between regular season and playoffs, everything going as smoothly as possible.”
Vucevic suffered the injury on March 6 and was formally ruled out for at least three-to-four weeks.
“So far I haven’t had much pain or anything; everything has been going well,” he said. “The swelling is coming down and been working the range of motion. So hopefully the X-ray is clean at three weeks and I can start doing some stuff and just getting back to being comfortable and building strength in the hand.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics are likely to stay under the first tax apron once again next season, Brian Robb of MassLive.com opines. Robb points out that they currently have approximately $185MM committed in salary for 2026/27, $9MM of which is non-guaranteed, while the first apron projects to be $210.3MM. Boston may also be able to operate below the $201.7MM tax line, resetting its repeater clock. It shouldn’t be difficult to shed salary, if necessary, to achieve that goal, Robb adds, noting that the emergence of young talent on team-friendly deals across the roster will be very helpful on that front.
- The Nets dropped a 93-92 heart-breaker to the Knicks, their 14th straight loss to their crosstown rival. Josh Minott was highly agitated by the loss after scoring a career-high 22 points, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “I wanted that s–t so (bleeping) bad,” he said. “Ever since we’ve been here, it’s like every game is an away game. [Friday] was just the night to really just stick it to everybody, man. As an organization, as a team, to show people that we got s–t here, yo. Man, just a sea of blue, a sea of orange. Every game we play, it’s a sea of the other team.”
- The Raptors left their 121-115 loss to the Nuggets on Friday still feeling good about themselves. Heading into their game in Phoenix on Sunday, they hold the fifth spot in the East. “The more we get healthy, the more we play together, the better it’s going to be for us,” RJ Barrett said, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “I think we’re showing that on a nightly basis. But there are times and moments that we can play better as a team.”
Atlantic Notes: Poeltl, CMB, Alvarado, Clowney, MPJ
Jakob Poeltl doesn’t know the root cause of the back problems that caused him to miss 33 games this season, but the Raptors‘ starting center appears to be at full strength now and is grateful the issue seems to be behind him, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Poeltl is averaging 13.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.9 steals while shooting 70.8% from the field in his last nine appearances (27.9 minutes per game). The 30-year-old logged a season-high 36 minutes in Sunday’s victory over Detroit, finishing with 21 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), 18 rebounds and five assists in a matchup against All-Star Jalen Duren.
“I felt fine, honestly,” said Poeltl, who hadn’t played 36 minutes in a game since Dec. 1, 2024. “Every game’s a little bit different, like you have different energy and stuff. I felt good on Sunday. Felt fine afterwards. Obviously, after a big game, you feel your body aching a little bit, but I think that’s normal for everybody, so I wasn’t too worried.”
Poeltl admits the uncertain nature of his back injury presented several challenges, Grange writes.
“I think the hardest part about it was that there wasn’t a steady timeline,” he said. “With most injuries, you kind of know how long it’s gonna take, and sometimes it takes a bit longer or sometimes it takes a little less time but, generally, you know what the recovery process is.
“But what the time was exactly in this scenario was a big question mark. Like, we almost made up some timelines, kind of hoping that this would be when I would feel better again but, realistically, it wasn’t something that time was just gonna fix. So, I think that was the hardest part.”
Poeltl being healthy has given Toronto a boost at both ends of the court, but he’ll face some difficult matchups over the next few weeks, starting with Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic on Friday in Denver, Grange notes.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles won’t play Friday, but he should return from his left thumb sprain in the near future, Grange tweets. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said the rookie forward/center, who has been scrimmaging and doing reconditioning work, is “very close” to playing again. Friday will mark Murray-Boyles’ 10th consecutive absence due to the thumb, which he originally injured in January.
- Regardless of whether he’s playing or not, Jose Alvarado brings consistent energy to the Knicks, according to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Star point guard Jalen Brunson doesn’t take Alvarado’s impact for granted. “Absolutely, it helps the team no matter what,” Brunson said after practice Thursday. “You kind of wish he was on the court because he’s a little bit quieter than on the bench. He does so much for this team on and off the court. It’s constant energy. Kind of regardless of how he’s playing, he always has the energy. That’s a skill, that’s a skill that makes someone last in the league a long time. It’s great to have him.”
- Nets forward Noah Clowney, who suffered a right wrist sprain in Wednesday’s loss to Oklahoma City, was out for Friday’s matchup with New York and will likely miss Sunday’s contest at Sacramento as well, head coach Jordi Fernandez told reporters, including Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). Fernandez added that Clowney would be reevaluated following Sunday’s game.
- When asked whether Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. could play again this season — he’s out at least two-to-three weeks after suffering a right hamstring strain — Fernandez essentially gave a non-answer, as Lewis relays (via Twitter). “So, two or three weeks and then obviously there’s a ramp up to go back to a competition level,” Fernandez said. “We cannot predict but it’ll be close. So we’re going to go through these two, three weeks, put the work in and then we’ll see where we are.”
Atlantic Notes: Garza, Raptors, Ingram, Sixers
A star at the college level for Iowa, big man Luka Garza was a two-time first-team All-American and was named the AP’s Player of the Year as a senior in 2020/21. However, due to concerns about how his game would translate to the pros, he fell to No. 52 in the 2021 draft and had trouble cracking the Pistons’ and Timberwolves’ rotations during his first four years in the NBA.
Now 27 years old and in his fifth NBA season, Garza is averaging a career-high 15.6 minutes per game through 59 appearances for the 46-23 Celtics, contributing 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per night with a strong shooting line of .569/.436/.770. Speaking to Spencer Davies of RG.org, the veteran forward/center said he had to commit to learning new skills beyond the ones that helped him excel in the NCAA game.
“Every summer, I dedicate myself, and even during the season, to improving myself, especially in the seasons where I didn’t play as much,” Garza told Davies. “That’s my main focus: getting better. I think, especially in the NBA, you’ve got to be able to adapt and change your game or mold it to find a way to have an impact on great teams.
“So for me, that impact is a little different than it was in college. Not playing as much back to the basket, not having the ball in my hands every possession like I did. But I think I’ve found ways to be extremely effective through screening, through offensive rebounding, and through scoring when the ball is in my hands in different moments. Picking and popping, shooting, stretching the floor. Adding the slow step, other stuff into my game has really helped me. And so, yeah, I definitely developed, and I’m a lot better than I was back then.”
The Celtics made Garza a priority in free agency last summer when they traded away Kristaps Porzingis and lost Al Horford and Luke Kornet to rival suitors. He received a guaranteed two-year, minimum-salary contract, meaning he’ll be on a team-friendly $2.8MM cap hit next season before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency again in 2027.
We have more from around the Atlantic:
- While it might not happen right away, the expectation is that the Raptors, who are currently carrying 14 players on standard contracts, will sign a player to a 10-day deal to fill their 15th roster spot before making a rest-of-season commitment to anyone, reports Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
- In his first full season with the Raptors, forward Brandon Ingram has appeared in 66 games and counting, his highest single-season total since his rookie season in 2016/17. While there’s an element of luck involved in Ingram’s availability, he and the Raptors also put a lot of effort into keeping him healthy this year, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca details (Twitter links). “It took a lot of work, a lot of preparation, a lot of dedication from everybody,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I am super grateful for the group of people we have that care so much, and for BI and the way he has handled the whole process.”
- Tony Jones of The Athletic explores best- and worst-case scenarios for the rest of the Sixers‘ season, noting that – while it’s a long shot – there’s still an outcome in play where they’re eliminated in the play-in tournament and then move into the top four of the draft on lottery night, keeping their protected first-round pick that would otherwise be sent to Oklahoma City.
Atlantic Notes: Murray-Boyles, Nets, Knicks, Edgecombe
Raptors rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles has missed the team’s past eight games due to a sprained left thumb, but his return shouldn’t be far off. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link), Murray-Boyles took part in practice on Tuesday, with the club set to assess how he responds to that session before determining whether he’ll be available for Wednesday’s game in Chicago.
Even if Murray-Boyles isn’t cleared to play tomorrow, head coach Darko Rajakovic expects to have him back at some point during the upcoming five-game road trip, which begins on Wednesday and runs through next Wednesday in L.A., tweets Lewenberg.
Murray-Boyles had emerged as a key contributor for Toronto prior to the injury. He has started 18 of his last 19 outings, averaging 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 27.7 minutes per game while shooting 60.3% from the floor during that stretch.
Here are a few more items of interest from across the Atlantic:
- Eric Koreen of The Athletic wonders if this year’s Raptors are the equivalent of last season’s Pistons, a limited offensive team without enough shooting that nonetheless played a scrappy brand of basketball, exceeded expectations, ended a postseason drought, and pushed a higher seed in the first round of the playoffs.
- There are five “touch points” that will determine how quickly the Nets accelerate their rebuild, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post: How their rookies develop, where their lottery pick ends up, the results of the upcoming postseason, whether a star becomes available, and how free agency plays out.
- In a mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv outlines why Knicks head coach Mike Brown is reluctant to make changes to a struggling starting five and notes that Mikal Bridges has played a key role in the club’s defensive turnaround while slumping offensively.
- With Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George all unavailable, the Sixers have won three of their last four games with young role players like VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Justin Edwards leading the way, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones observes, Edgecombe is gaining important reps as Philadelphia’s go-to scorer, which could serve him well down the road. “I was being double-teamed against Brooklyn,” Edgecombe said, referring to Saturday’s game in which he scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. “I had never been doubled in my life. I guess I just have to go back and look at the film.”
And-Ones: Fournier, Mamukelashvili, Queta, NCAA Tourney
Veteran wing NBA Evan Fournier, who currently plays for Olympiacos in Greece after spending 12 seasons in the NBA from 2012-24, said in an interview with L’Equipe that he expects to retire as a player at the end of his current contract, which expires in 2028 (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops).
Fournier, 33, also indicated that he’d be interested in representing France again at the 2027 World Cup and/or 2028 Olympics if the national team wants him on its roster.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Raptors forward/center Sandro Mamukelashvili remains focused on competing in the NBA for the foreseeable future, but he told Ric Bucher of Full Court Passport (YouTube link) that he likes the idea of eventually finishing his career and spending his retirement years in Europe. Specifically, Mamukelashvili is intrigued by the possibility of competing in the NBA’s European league. “The talent will be there, and I think it’s going to compete with college and even the NBA,” the Georgian big man said of NBA Europe, per Eurohoops. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops, and hopefully, down the line, I will have my chance to play over there.”
- Celtics center Neemias Queta, Heat forward Pelle Larsson, and Cavaliers swingman Jaylon Tyson are among the role players highlighted by John Hollinger of The Athletic within a story on the unheralded contributors enjoying breakout seasons.
- Mamukelashvili and Queta are two of several minimum-salary players who should be in line for significant raises on their next contracts, according to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link). Gozlan, who also examines players like Suns guards Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, suggests Mamukelashvili could earn a starting salary of $8-10MM on his next deal and speculates that Queta’s floor will be the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($15MM+).
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic identifies nine players he’s excited to watch in the NCAA Tournament, including top-five prospects like Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, as well as a few projected to be drafted later in the first round, such as UConn’s Braylon Mullins, Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr. and Alabama’s Amari Allen.
Luka Doncic, Bam Adebayo Earn Player Of Week Honors
Lakers guard Luka Doncic and Heat big man Bam Adebayo have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the league office (Twitter links). The awards cover games played from March 9-15.
Doncic led the Lakers to a 3-0 week by averaging 37.3 points, 11.0 assists and 10.3 rebounds per game. He came one assist away from registering three consecutive triple-doubles, had 51 points on Thursday vs. Chicago, and made a last-second basket to defeat Denver in overtime on Saturday.
The selection of Adebayo was a foregone conclusion after his historic 83-point game against the Wizards, which represented the second-highest single-game scoring output in NBA history. Overall, Adebayo averaged 41.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per contest last week as the Heat won two of three games.
Doncic became the second player to win a third Player of the Week award in 2025/26, joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. For Adebayo, it’s his second Player of the Week selection this season and the fourth of his career.
Devin Booker (Suns), DeMar DeRozan (Kings), Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Austin Reaves (Lakers) and Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) were the other nominees from the Western Conference. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane (Magic), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren (Pistons), Brandon Ingram (Raptors) and Jalen Johnson (Hawks) were the other nominees from the East.
Raptors Notes: Barnes, Ingram, Shead, Murray, More
The Raptors picked up a much-need win over Phoenix on Friday after dropping six of their previous eight games, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Scottie Barnes, who entered Friday with a questionable tag due to an illness, was under the weather but made the biggest play of the game, blocking Jalen Green‘s dunk attempt from behind after Green initially drove past him.
“Got out there. Was a little tired and a little winded,” Barnes said after logging 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal in 31 minutes. “Fight through and make it to live another day.”
Toronto was clinging to a four-point lead with 43 seconds remaining at the time, and the block led to a fast-break dunk for RJ Barrett, resulting in a four-point swing. It was the Raptors’ first victory over a team with a winning record since January 25, Grange notes.
“It’s pretty amazing. We hit adversity,” said Barnes. “We had two options, to either quit (or) go out there and fight. This just shows the character of this team. We went out there and fought and got a dub. This was a great game. They had us in that first half. We fought back; we made winning plays.”
Brandon Ingram, who had been in a slump in recently, had a game-high 36 points (on 13-of-20 shooting) while chipping in seven rebounds, three assists and a steal, Grange adds.
“I think it was an urgency to compete and most of all stay together,” Ingram said. “We’ve been through some times where the other team was scoring offensively and we weren’t able to stop the bleeding or find a rhythm on the offensive end. At those times, we would put our heads down a little bit and sort of take it upon ourselves to try to fix it. I think tonight we just stayed connected.”
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, Friday’s victory was important for a number of reasons. Not only did it improve Toronto’s position in the postseason picture after the team had fallen into play-in territory, but it showed the group wouldn’t just lay down after falling behind. Head coach Darko Rajakovic said before the game he was not happy with how the team responded to an incident involving Dejounte Murray and Jamal Shead near the end of Wednesday’s loss at New Orleans. Murray made a three-pointer to put the Pelicans up 18 points with 1:24 remaining, then stood over Shead, who had stumbled, and taunted him (YouTube link). Only Immanuel Quickley halfheartedly came to Shead’s defense. “I thought that we did not handle the situation the way we want and how we were supposed to,” Rajakovic said. “Our players had conversations with each other. They know that’s not the true picture and image of our team. They all agreed that’s never going to happen again.” Both Koreen and Grange observe that the team quickly rushed to aid Barrett after a flagrant foul by Grayson Allen on Friday.
- For his part, Shead seemed more bemused by Murray than upset, Grange writes. “I think in the moment I was just like, ‘Oh snap, he’s over me.’ That was about it,” Shead said before chipping in six points and eight assists in 25 minutes off the bench against the Suns. “We were really focused on the outcome of the game. We just weren’t happy with that. It got blown out of proportion a bit. We weren’t really focused on that. … I don’t think I responded in any type of way … (but) if it comes up again, I think we’ll respond a little differently.“
- In another story for Sportsnet, Grange details how the bond between Ingram and Shead has been symbolic of the team’s chemistry this season. “I think I’m connected to the underdog’s personality,” Ingram said. “People that bring the energy in the room, that have high character. (Jose) Alvarado’s like that, Jamal’s like that. And he (Shead) loves the game of basketball, like, I feel like he really loves the game of basketball. He has the knowledge, and he wants to get better. He wants to learn. He has an open ear. He listens, but he also responds well, too. So, I think it’s just easy to connect.”
Atlantic Notes: Demin, Sixers, Ingram, Shead
The Nets’ top rookie, Egor Demin, is out for the season due to a left foot injury. Demin didn’t want his first season cut short, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, but the pain he was experiencing in his foot grew progressively worse.
“He’s been a kid that wants to play, wants to be out there, wants to develop — and nothing better than playing real games to get better at this level,” coach Jordi Fernández said. “Obviously when you have discomfort and it doesn’t allow you to play at that level, we had to find solutions. We were trying to find the best way. And at the end of the day, the good thing is it’s [a] non-surgical procedure, which is good.”
The expectation is that Demin will be able to avoid surgery as a result of being shut down now.
“Obviously the summer and getting him to work and get better throughout the process and having a summer is important,” Fernandez said. “So, the fact he’s not going to be able to play these 20-some games, it’s not the best, because he wants to and we value real reps. But his health is the number one priority. And we’re very, very optimistic and positive about it.”
Dr. Andrew Brief of the Ridgewood Orthopedic Group said the Nets made the right move.
“He might just have a high pain tolerance. But it seems like an opportune moment for the Brooklyn Nets to shut him down now, given the fact that he’s having symptoms, and he’s had recurrence,” Dr. Brief told Lewis. “It’s probably affecting his play, and the team is not in the situation right now where they’re playing for a playoff spot.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers are already without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. due to injuries for tonight’s game at Detroit. Adem Bona (back) and Johni Broome (knee) are also listed as out and Andre Drummond (back) is listed as questionable, which means the team will be severely depleted up front, Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports tweets.
- Raptors forward Brandon Ingram‘s shortcomings become more apparent when he’s not on the floor with star forward Scottie Barnes, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Ingram’s weaknesses as a top option have surfaced during the team’s recent nose dive. Ingram is a willing passer but not a quick decision-maker, according to Koreen, and he’s been in a shooting slump.
- Raptors guard Jamal Shead showed some signs of breaking out of his offensive slump. He had nine points, three assists and no turnovers in 20 minutes against New Orleans on Wednesday. Prior to that, he was shooting just 20 percent from the floor in the month of March, Michael Grange of Sportsnet notes. Overall, Shead is shooting 36.8 percent from the field and he needs to be more of a scoring threat to be an effective NBA player, Grange contends.