Committee Needed To Replace Biyombo
Raptors coach Dwane Casey admits he will not be able to replace Bismack Biyombo with just one player, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun reports. Biyombo signed a four-year, $72MM contract with the Magic, leaving the Raptors without an obvious backup to center Jonas Valanciunas. Potential candidates include Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam and Lucas Nogueira. Jared Sullinger could also see time there, Ganter adds. “Somebody in that group is going to step up and protect the paint,” Casey told Ganter. “It’s going to be not just on the bigs, but on the guards and wings to make sure they contain the ball and do a better job of not letting the ball get to the paint, so we don’t put as much pressure on our rim protection and our rim defense.”
Raptors GM Talks Offseason
- Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman is pleased with the team’s offseason, as he tells Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Weltman pointed to the team’s 10 players who are 25 or under as a sign the franchise has “invested in youth,” and singled out first-round picks Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam as rookies who could establish rotation roles.
Lowry Not Discussing Pending Free Agency
- Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who can opt out of his current deal after the 2016/17 campaign is complete, told members of the media that he won’t be discussing free agency until the season is over, Eric Koreen relays (via Twitter). Lowry will assuredly command more on the open market than the $12MM he is owed for 2017/18.
- Neither the Raptors nor DeMar DeRozan wanted the player to end up anywhere other than Toronto, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who details the free agent process the two parties went through in reaching a five-year agreement this summer.
Nerlens Noel: Sixers’ Center Logjam Is “Silly”
1:12pm: Responding today to Noel’s comments, Colangelo reiterated that he’s not shopping any specific players, suggesting that – as a new GM – he was simply gauging league-wide interest in his players (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com). Colangelo added that the situation shouldn’t be affected by Noel’s comments, and that Embiid’s health will be a major factor in the Sixers’ plans (Twitter links via Bodner and Pompey). The team isn’t in a rush to make any moves, per Colangelo (Twitter link via Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com).
Meanwhile, Noel doubled down on his earlier comments this afternoon. While he stressed he isn’t unhappy in Philadelphia, the big man said he doesn’t see “any way of it working” when asked again about the center logjam (Twitter link via Bodner).
8:37am: With Joel Embiid poised to make his NBA debut this season, the Sixers are stacked at the center position, as Embiid joins Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor in the rotation. The logjam at the position has resulted in plenty of trade rumors involving Noel and Okafor this offseason, but the team has yet to make a move. And as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Noel is starting to publicly question when a move will happen.
“I think it’s just silly… this situation that we are in now with three starting centers,” Noel said. “With the departure of [former GM] Sam Hinkie, I would have figured that management would be able to get something done this summer. … I think something needs to happen.”
According to Noel, he’s not asking to be traded himself, or demanding that the Sixers make a move immediately. However, it sounds as if he views a deal as inevitable, since it doesn’t make sense for the club to play out the season with all three players, assuming they all stay healthy. According to Noel, it’s the equivalent of having “three starting quarterbacks.”
“I feel like it definitely needs to be figured out,” Noel said. “I think at the end of the day, again, you have three starting-caliber centers. And it’s just not going to work to anybody’s advantage having that on the same team. That’s how I’m looking at it. I’m not opposed to anything, but things need to be situated.”
Although GM Bryan Colangelo has suggested in the past that heading into the season with Okafor, Noel, and Embiid all on the roster isn’t necessarily ideal, the Sixers also like all three players and don’t want to sell one of them for below market value. Appearing on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast last week, Colangelo denied aggressively shopping Okafor and Noel, adding that the team’s desire to make a deal has been overstated and calling it a “high-class problem” to have three promising young centers.
Noel tells Pompey that he knows he “was shopped,” though that could be a question of semantics — it’s not clear whether the Sixers were instigating trade discussions or simply talking to teams that called to ask about their bigs. According to Pompey, Noel’s name has come up in trade talks with the Celtics, Suns, Hawks, and Rockets, but Philadelphia turned down multiple offers for the 22-year-old. Another source tells Pompey that the Sixers have also spoken to the Raptors and Spurs.
While it remains possible that the Sixers will make a move prior to the regular season, the club had been hoping to make it until at least December 15, per Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). That would give Okafor and Embiid time to prove they’re fully healthy, and it would allow players who signed new deals this offseason to become trade-eligible, opening the door for more possible scenarios.
Siakam Will Be Ready; Wright Still Sidelined
- Rookie forward Pascal Siakam will be ready when the Raptors open training camp on Monday, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Siakam, the 27th pick in this year’s draft, suffered a left MCL sprain in summer league and missed all but one game. Wolstat adds that Delon Wright, the 20th pick in the draft, is making progress but won’t return to action for a while. Wright had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder August 1st and was expected to need at least four months to recover.
Poeltl May Play From The Start
- Jakob Poeltl should be part of the Raptors‘ rotation at the start of the season, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. In the site’s season preview for Toronto, Hamilton calls Poeltl the team’s best offseason acquisition, citing his footwork, rebounding instincts and international experience.
Uthoff Excited By Opportunity To Join Raptors
- Undrafted free agent Jarrod Uthoff is excited to be joining a Raptors team that made it to last season’s Conference Finals, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders relays. “It’ll be a great chance to learn from experienced NBA guys that play at a very high level,” Uthoff said. “Being around that every day, you can’t replace that. It’s a really professional organization that handles themselves with class in whatever they do. I think that’s showing on the court as well. It starts from the top down. They really created a special organization there.”
Brady Heslip Gets $57K Guarantee
- New Raptors sharpshooter Brady Heslip is likely ticketed for the team’s D-League affiliate, but Toronto made it worth his while to sign a minimum-salary deal, guaranteeing him $56,500, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
Raptors Sign Brady Heslip
SEPTEMBER 20: The Raptors have officially signed Heslip, the team announced today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 15: The Raptors will add a Canadian sharpshooter to their roster for training camp, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that Brady Heslip will get a partially guaranteed contract from the team.
Charania’s report comes on the heels of an announcement by Raptors 905, Toronto’s D-League affiliate, indicating that the club has acquired Heslip’s D-League rights (Twitter link). Heslip’s rights were previously held by the Reno Bighorns, the Kings’ affiliate. The Raptors 905 traded second- and third-round picks in the 2016 D-League draft, along with the rights to Ronald Roberts, to the Bighorns in exchange for Heslip’s rights and a second-round pick.
The pair of moves suggests that the Raptors are signing Heslip with an eye toward assigning him to their D-League affiliate for the 2016/17 season. Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic confirms as much, tweeting that the Baylor alum is headed for the D-League.
After going undrafted out of Baylor in 2014, Heslip joined the Bighorns for a brief stint before heading overseas and playing in Bosnian and Italian leagues. Last season, the 26-year-old played for Acqua Vitasnella Cantù in Italy, averaging 12.7 PPG and shooting 45.5% on three-pointers in 29 Italian League contests.
Raptors Add Patrick Mutombo As Assistant Coach
The Raptors have added Patrick Mutombo to their coaching staff, Blake Murphy of the Raptors Republic reports (Twitter link). Mutombo previously was an assistant coach with the Nuggets and more recently, an assistant coach with the Austin Spurs of the D-League.