Raptors Sign Fred VanVleet
JULY 18: The Raptors have officially signed VanVleet to a multiyear contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JULY 12: The Raptors have reached a contract agreement with free agent Fred VanVleet, Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic reports. The pact will be a multiyear arrangement, according to Murphy, and barring a last minute alteration, will include a partial guarantee.
VanVleet went undrafted out of Wichita State this year and he has been playing on Toronto’s squad at the Las Vegas Summer League, Murphy notes. The scribe notes that the guard has impressed the franchise with his composure running the offense and an improved 3-point stroke. Through three summer league contests, VanVleet has scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and added five assists.
The 22-year-old made 31 appearances for the Shockers this past season and averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 29.0 minutes per outing. His slash line on the year was .390/.381/.817. He’s a longshot to make the regular season roster, but would be a wise addition to the Raptors’ D-League affiliate where he can be developed as a player during the 2016/17 campaign.
Lowry on Magic's Radar Next Summer?
Life in the NBA hasn’t been what Jahlil Okafor expected, but he tells Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wants to change that, and he hopes to do it with the Sixers. Okafor’s rookie season was plagued by off-court incidents and injuries that limited him to 53 games. He has spent the offseason listening to trade rumors, along with talk that his style of play doesn’t fit the modern NBA game. “[The trade talk] is definitely all stupid with a lot of speculation,” Okafor said. “I see where people will write what I’m feeling and I haven’t even spoken to them. A lot of stuff is made up and it’s annoying. But for the most part, it’s fine. For me, at a certain point, I got upset when another story came out that said we were upset with the team and that just wasn’t the case. But I’m just looking forward to the season now.” Okafor is still rehabbing from surgery in February to repair a torn meniscus, but he hopes to be cleared for five-on-five play soon.
- After getting his first taste of the NBA during summer league, Ben Simmons plans to work on “everything” before training camp, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The No. 1 pick played six summer league games, averaging 10.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. But there were concerns about his turnover rate — 3.8 per game — and a habit of standing around when he didn’t have the ball. “It’s just everyday education,” said Sixers summer league coach Lloyd Pierce. “It’s just learning the NBA, basic timing, position, execution. I can throw out every basketball term in the book. He’s just got to learn the game.”
- The Magic should take another shot at Hawks power forward Paul Millsap next summer, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando talked to Millsap in 2015 before he decided to re-sign with Atlanta, and with a player option for 2017/18, he might be a free agent again in 12 months. Millsap tops a list of potential 2017 free agent targets Schmitz listed for the Magic. Others mentioned are Gordon Hayward, J.J. Redick, Jeff Teague and Kyle Lowry.
- Whispers about James Young‘s commitment to the game continue to haunt him as he battles for a roster spot with the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Young came into the league with people doubting his work ethic, and now there are concerns that he hasn’t developed as much as he should. “I’ve seen that for 35 years in the NBA,” said president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who wasn’t specifically talking about Young. “They don’t understand the urgency. They feel like they’ve made it, and they don’t understand that staying in the NBA should be their objective and not just making it here.”
Atlantic Notes: Kaun, Sixers, Raptors, Nets
In a move that was expected, the Sixers announced they waived Sasha Kaun days after acquiring him. The Sixers acquired Kaun in a deal from the Cavs on Friday. Kaun, 31, played his college ball at Kansas and was selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Kaun agreed to a two-year contract with the Cavaliers last summer, and still has one season remaining on that deal — he’s owed $1,333,420 in 2016/17. In his lone season in Cleveland, Kaun didn’t see much action, averaging only 3.8 minutes in 25 games.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics, who have 13 players under guaranteed contracts if restricted free agent Tyler Zeller is not included, may have an opening on their roster because first-round picks Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic are expected to stay overseas, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes. Boston GM Danny Ainge said a decision should be made this week, Washburn relays.
- The first year of Anthony Bennett‘s two-year deal with the Nets is guaranteed, but the second is not, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The Nets‘ Plan B after their offers for Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe were matched has not looked especially pretty and it seems new Nets GM Sean Marks had to scramble after his initial plan fell through, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders opines.
- DeMar DeRozan didn’t bother to meet with other teams and decided to likely take less money to stay with the Raptors, which speaks to his loyalty, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes in a mailbag response.
Sullinger Chooses Winning Over Money
- The chance to win an NBA title meant more than money to Jared Sullinger when he chose the Raptors, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Sullinger, who became an unrestricted free agent this week when the Celtics pulled their qualifying offer, signed a one-year, $6MM deal with Toronto on Thursday. “Money is great but when it comes to certain situations, money can’t buy you happiness,” Sullinger said. “I think winning keeps you happy when you’re playing an 82-game season. I’ve been through a season where we lost a lot and it’s not a lot of fun.” The Raptors won 56 games this year and reached the Eastern Conference finals.
Raptors Re-Sign Demar DeRozan
JULY 14, 10:45am: Nearly two weeks after agreeing to terms with him, the Raptors have officially signed DeRozan, the team announced today (Twitter link).
JULY 1, 1:14pm: According to Charania, DeRozan’s five-year contract will be worth about $139MM. A maximum-salary, five-year pact for DeRozan is expected to be worth in excess of $150MM, so it doesn’t sound like this will be a max deal.
1:11am: DeRozan’s new deal with the Raptors will be for five years, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Amick notes (via Twitter) that the team has “other moving pieces” to deal with, so the salary figures for DeRozan’s new contract aren’t yet known. Bismack Biyombo‘s free agency is likely the primary “moving piece” that the Raptors are trying to address.
1:05am: After a meeting with the Raptors in Los Angeles tonight, DeMar DeRozan has decided to re-sign with Toronto, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). The exact terms of the agreement haven’t yet been hammered out, and the two sides can’t make it official until next week, but it appears DeRozan won’t be joining a new team this summer.
DeRozan, who turns 27 in August, made his second All-Star game this past season while averaging a career-high 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. The Compton native improved his long-distance shooting to a respectable 33.8% from beyond the arc, and averaged 20.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the postseason as Toronto reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Cavaliers.
DeRozan opted out of his contract in June, turning down a player option that would have paid him just over $10MM. While the Heat, Mavericks, Sixers, and Lakers were among the teams with reported interest in DeRozan, who received inquiries tonight from Philadelphia and L.A., he was always viewed as likely to return to Toronto, where he has spent his entire seven-year career to date.
DeRozan ranked seventh in our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Sign Jared Sullinger
JULY 14, 10:13am: The Raptors have officially confirmed their deal with Sullinger (Twitter link).
JULY 11, 1:52pm: It appears Jared Sullinger will remain in the Atlantic Division, with the big man tweeting out that he intends to join the Raptors. It will be a one-year deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reports (via Twitter). The arrangement is worth approximately $6MM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
The Celtics renounced their $4,433,683 qualifying offer to Sullinger on Sunday, making him an unrestricted free agent. Boston had limited playing time to offer the 6’9″ power forward after signing Al Horford in free agency and allowing Amir Johnson‘s $12MM deal to become guaranteed for next season. Sullinger met with Raptors GM Masai Ujiri on Sunday, Wojnarowski notes, which apparently went well, given the two sides struck a deal today.
Sullinger, 24, spent four years in Boston after the Celtics made him the No. 21 overall pick on the 2012 NBA Draft. He appeared in 81 games this past season, including 73 tip-offs as a starter, averaging 10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23.6 minutes per outing. The forward had a shooting line of .435/.282/.640.
Sullinger Wasn't Raptors First Choice
Falk also noted that Sullinger had received interest from a number of teams before he inked a one-year deal with the Raptors, calling Toronto the best fit, Murphy relays. “I’ve always advised my clients not to be a slave to money, and Jared had a deal for twice the money from another team, but it wouldn’t have been as qualitative a situation as going to Toronto,” said Falk. “We turned down an offer of over $10MM. But my feeling is that in this market, when you look at the deals that players like Bismack Biyombo signed, Jared is a $20MM player because of his skill. He was Boston’s best big last year – a regular double-double guy. But first he has to show people. As my dad used to say, [betting on yourself] is the ultimate acid test.”
- Sullinger wasn’t Toronto’s first choice, as the team was in advanced discussions with Pau Gasol, who signed with the Spurs, and the Raptors were prepared to trade Terrence Ross to clear the necessary cap space to ink the Spaniard, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays. Toronto then nearly reached an agreement with the Bulls to acquire Taj Gibson and Tony Snell, but the deal fell through after Dwyane Wade chose Chicago, the scribe adds.
Sullinger Counts As Another Raptors Bargain
The Raptors got themselves a bargain in ex-Celtics power forward Jared Sullinger, even though he’s not an ideal fit, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun opines. Sullinger agreed to a one-year deal with Toronto on Monday after Boston renounced his rights. He’s not an ideal partner for either Jonas Valanciunas or Jakob Poeltl because of his lack of foot speed but he’ll contribute with his rebounding and low-post game, Wolstat continues. Sullinger will be motivated to have a productive season in order to get a big payday next summer, Wolstat adds, noting that approach worked last season for Bismack Biyombo.
Raptors Sign Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam
The Raptors announced via press release that they have signed 2016 draftees, Jakob Poeltl (No. 9 overall) and Pascal Siakam (No. 27 overall). Both players inked rookie scale deals that have them under contract through the 2017/18 season, with two team option years to follow. The exact financial terms of the arrangements were not relayed by Toronto in the release.
Poeltl spent two seasons at the University of Utah before making the jump to the pros. He was the 2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year and an Associated Press second-team All-American. Poeltl averaged 17.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 36 games this past season.
Siakam, 6’9″, played two seasons at New Mexico State. He averaged 20.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 34 games in 2015/16 and was a unanimous choice as Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year this past season.
Raptors Explored Paul Millsap Trade
In an interesting piece on the Hawks, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com explains that Atlanta’s original offseason plan was to re-sign Al Horford to pair him with Dwight Howard, and to move Paul Millsap in exchange for young players and/or draft assets. That plan ultimately fell apart, but before it did, the Hawks spoke to the Nuggets, Suns, Raptors, and Rockets about a Millsap deal, according to Lowe, who adds that Denver had been ready to move a “players-and-picks package” led by Kenneth Faried.