- Justise Winslow, who is trying to work his way back into the league, debuted for the Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905, on Tuesday, NBA G League tweets. He scored 13 points in 16 minutes. Winslow was waived by Toronto during training camp.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic isn’t oblivious to the calls to modify his starting lineup, but he’s not prepared to make any changes yet. In a media session on Tuesday, Rajakovic said he wants to give his current starting five – Dennis Schröder, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Jakob Poeltl – “another game or two” to figure things out, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
The five-man group has a minus-4.7 net rating in 270 minutes so far this season. As Lewenberg observes, the starters have been outscored in six of the Raptors’ last seven games and the club lost all six of those games. If there are no positive steps forward within the next couple games, it sounds like Rajakovic is open to shaking things up.
“It’s not something that’s completely off the table,” he said today.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Eric Koreen and John Hollinger of The Athletic teamed up to examine what it would look like if the Raptors become trade deadline sellers, weighing the trade value of players like Siakam and Anunoby. Hollinger also digs into what a trade sending Siakam to the Hawks might look like, suggesting a package of a couple first-round picks (Sacramento’s lottery-protected 2024 pick and Atlanta’s own “lightly protected” 2029 selection), De’Andre Hunter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic in exchange for Siakam and Christian Koloko.
- While Jericho Sims got the starting nod in the Knicks‘ first game without center Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein played more minutes than Sims did and was part of the closing lineup, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Katz takes a closer look at what Robinson’s extended absence will mean for New York, exploring whether additional lineup and rotation tweaks may be necessary if Sims continues to start.
- Celtics forward Jordan Walsh has yet to make his regular season NBA debut, having spent much of his rookie season so far in the G League. According to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, head coach Joe Mazzulla – who has said he wants to see Walsh focus on defense and impacting the game without scoring during his time in Maine – is keeping tabs on the rookie’s progress. “We get an email after every game,” Mazzulla said. “Craig [Luschenat], our guy who works with our player development, and [Maine head coach] Blaine [Mueller] are in constant communication and then we have constant development checklist of what’s important to us, where we want him to be at the end of the season, where we want him to be in a year from now.”
While two Atlantic Division rivals competed on the court on Monday, their legal battle raged on off the court, with the Raptors responding to the claims made by the Knicks in a court filing last month, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
To recap the events to date, 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 Raptors called the suit a “baseless” PR stunt and sought to have it dismissed, insisting that commissioner Adam Silver – rather than the courts – should arbitrate the dispute between two NBA teams.
In November, the Knicks responded by questioning Silver’s impartiality due to his friendship with Raptors governor Larry Tanenbaum and contending that the courts should handle the case because the Knicks are seeking more than $10MM in damages, which is the maximum amount the league can penalize a team.
[RELATED: Knicks’ Dolan Resigned From NBA Board Committee Positions]
In Monday’s filing, according to Holmes, the Raptors accused the Knicks of dragging out the case for publicity and – for the first time – raised the possibility of filing a countersuit against the Knicks for defamatory public statements once this case is resolved. The Raptors also challenged New York’s claim that Silver is biased, insisting again that the NBA commissioner arbitrate the dispute.
“The NBA Commissioner is not biased and he is the best person to adjudicate this dispute because of his ability to identify what, if any, information is confidential and proprietary such that its misuse may harm a Member like the Knicks,” the Raptors wrote. “The Knicks’ aversion to his jurisdiction is simply because they know they will not like his determination. Although it is inevitable the Knicks’ claims will fail on the merits in any forum, this proceeding permits the Knicks to keep their allegations in the public media, causing harm to the Named Defendants.”
As Holmes details, the Raptors have maintained throughout the legal process that the information Azotam took with him to his new position wasn’t confidential and that head coach Darko Rajakovic and the Raptors never saw any of the Knicks’ trade secrets.
“Coach Rajakovic — with nearly 15 years’ experience as a head coach overseas and in the NBA’s G-League and another decade as an assistant coach in the NBA — never needed, wanted, or saw a single piece of Knicks’ proprietary information,” the Raptors said. “Nor did Azotam ever share any proprietary Knicks information. The Knicks would have learned this if had they accepted the Raptors’ offer to cooperate in an investigation instead of immediately filing this suit.”
If the Knicks were “genuinely concerned” about misuse of proprietary information, the Raptors stated in their filing, they would have accepted Toronto’s invitation to cooperate in a thorough investigation of the allegations rather than having “mired themselves in lengthy judicial proceedings.” The Raptors also argued on Monday that the Knicks’ claims of having incurred $10MM+ in damages hasn’t been substantiated in any way.
“To the contrary,” the Raptors wrote, “the Knicks have offered the Court no theory or measurement of damages whatsoever — because they have not been harmed but appear to have made this claim to generate press attention.”
According to Holmes, an MSG spokesperson responded to the Raptors’ repeated insistence on referring the dispute to Silver for adjudication by stating, “Hopefully the Court will make it clear that Toronto cannot escape the consequence of breaking the law by being a member of the NBA.”
As Holmes writes, legal experts have referred to the standoff between the Knicks and Raptors as virtually unprecedented, making it difficult to predict the outcome, though many of those experts have been skeptical about New York’s chances of winning the case.
On the court, the Knicks defeated the Raptors on Monday for a second time this month, pulling out a 136-130 home victory.
Rival teams believe Pascal Siakam is the most likely player to be traded if the Raptors decide to break up their core, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Charania identifies the Hawks, Kings and Pacers as “expected suitors” for either Siakam or OG Anunoby. Atlanta had “intense conversations” with Toronto during the offseason about a potential Siakam deal, and Sacramento and Indiana have both reached out to the Raptors about his availability over the past year, according to Charania. However, he adds that the Kings are becoming more confident that they can develop into a contender with their current roster and may be less likely to pursue a major trade.
Both players are headed toward free agency next summer, with Siakam on a $37.9MM expiring contract and Anunoby holding a $19.9MM player option for 2024/25 that he’s virtually certain to decline. Toronto’s front office might be more aggressive about seeking a trade after losing free agent Fred VanVleet this offseason, but a rival executive tells Charania to expect “a game of chicken” from the Raptors all the way to the deadline.
Charania offers an inside look at several other teams:
- The Bulls have won four straight games without Zach LaVine, but his injury setback is expected to slow down any progress toward a trade. Charania identifies the Lakers and Sixers as potential destinations, but adds that both teams are being patient while considering their options. Several teams have called about Alex Caruso, league sources tell Charania, but Chicago’s front office has no interest in moving him.
- P.J. Tucker is unhappy with his current situation, and the Clippers are working with him to resolve it, either by giving him a larger role or moving him elsewhere, according to Charania. Tucker, who came to L.A. in the James Harden trade, hasn’t played since November 27 and is mainly serving as a mentor to the team’s younger players. Charania hears that multiple contenders are keeping an eye on Tucker’s potential availability.
- The Lakers could have Gabe Vincent back on the court by next Monday, sources tell Charania. After signing as a free agent this summer, Vincent has been dealing with a left knee effusion that has limited him to four games.
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant “looks good” as he prepares to return from his suspension, according to Charania’s sources. Commissioner Adam Silver said over the weekend that Morant “has complied with everything he’s been asked to do.” He could be cleared to return as early as December 19 for a game at New Orleans.
- The Grizzlies will have to remove someone from their roster when Morant is reinstated, and they would prefer to keep veteran center Bismack Biyombo, according to Charania. Memphis signed Biyombo to a one-year, $5MM contract after an injury sidelined Steven Adams for the season, and he has been a capable fill-in, averaging 6.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.25 blocks in 15 games. Sources tell Charania that Memphis has been active in trade talks around the league involving other players on its roster.
Prior to Friday’s game against Charlotte, Eric Koreen of The Athletic and Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca both made the case that the Raptors should make a lineup change. Koreen advocated for Gary Trent Jr. to replace Dennis Schröder in the starting five, with Murphy acknowledging that’s the “most obvious immediate move.”
The logic, as Murphy explains, is that the trio of Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Scottie Barnes would benefit from playing with at least one outside shooter, if not two. Instead, the three forwards have spent most of the season alongside Schröder, an inconsistent marksman (he’s at 33.3% on threes this season) and Jakob Poeltl, a non-shooter. The five-man unit had a minus-3.1 net rating entering Friday, which isn’t acceptable for the team’s top lineup, writes Murphy.
However, head coach Darko Rajakovic stuck with his usual group against the Hornets. The starting five spent 17 minutes on the floor together and was outscored by three points during that time while making just 2-of-11 outside shots. The rest of the Raptors’ lineups played Charlotte to a draw, but the starters’ three-point deficit was ultimately reflected in the final score: Toronto lost 119-116 to fall to 9-13 on the season.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- The Raptors are at a familiar crossroads, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who says the team has failed to properly judge the level of its roster and where it stands relative to its competition in recent years. The franchise can’t afford to make that mistake again and will need to be prepared to make difficult personnel decisions at this season’s trade deadline, Grange writes.
- Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca explores the same subject as Grange, suggesting that time is running out for the current roster to prove it deserves to be kept intact. Within his story, Lewenberg cites league sources who say the Raptors still haven’t opened extension negotiations with Siakam but also haven’t discussed him in trade talks since the summer. Siakam will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
- Mouhamadou Gueye has gotten off to a strong start for the Raptors 905 this season, averaging 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks in 32.4 minutes per game through his first nine contests with Toronto’s G League affiliate. Gueye would’ve been the most logical in-house candidate to fill the two-way contract slot that opened when the Raptors waived Ron Harper Jr., according to Murphy, but he’s currently dealing with a neck injury. Using that two-way spot to sign Jontay Porter away from another organization will provide the banged-up 905 with some additional depth.
DECEMBER 9: The Raptors have officially signed Porter, the team announced today in a press release.
DECEMBER 8: Free agent big man Jontay Porter is signing a two-way deal with the Raptors, his agents Andy Shiffman and Mark Bartelstein tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Toronto has a two-way opening after waiving Ron Harper Jr., who will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, so no corresponding move will be necessary to sign Porter.
Porter, 24, is the younger brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. Like his brother, Jontay dealt with injury issues early in his career, including a pair of ACL tears. However, he appeared in 32 G League games last season for the Wisconsin Herd, averaging 12.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.2 BPG in 28.2 MPG, with a shooting line of .390/.341/.667.
The 6’11” forward/center signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pistons in September in a move designed to give him a bonus for playing for their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. He was waived in October, before the ’23/24 season began.
In 10 Showcase Cup games (33.7 MPG) with the Cruise this fall, Porter has averaged 16.8 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.7 APG and 2.9 BPG on .456/.273/.667 shooting. He seems likely to spend most of his time with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate.
Porter’s only previous NBA experience came in 2020/21, when he saw limited action in 11 games for the Grizzlies.
Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley missed his first game of the 2023/24 season on Friday due to left knee soreness. The third-year forward/center also didn’t participate in the team’s shootaround, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link), who reports that Mobley could miss multiple games with the injury, though that depends on how he responds to treatment.
The Cavs’ next game is Monday in Orlando, so Mobley will have a couple more days to determine how he’s feeling, Fedor notes. Forward Dean Wade started in Mobley’s place during Friday’s victory in Miami.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Reigning MVP Joel Embiid will be reevaluated on Saturday after sustaining a left leg injury in the Sixers‘ victory over Atlanta on Friday, tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Embiid grabbed at his knee after falling on a drive, Vorkunov adds, but he was able to play through it while favoring his left leg.
- Knicks guard Jalen Brunson sustained an injury to his lower left leg after stepping on Payton Pritchard‘s foot with 21 seconds remaining and the Knicks down 12 to Boston, per New York Basketball (Twitter video link). The team’s leading scorer was able to head to the locker room under his own power, but had a noticeable limp. Head coach Tom Thibodeau said he didn’t regret having Brunson in the game, despite the loss being all but guaranteed (Twitter link via Stefan Bondy of The New York Post). Brunson didn’t speak to the media afterward, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.
- Suns wing Nassir Little took a hard fall in the first quarter of Friday’s contest vs. Sacramento and appeared to be woozy after the incident, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Little was later ruled out of the remainder of the contest, as he’s being evaluated for a concussion. He could be sidelined for multiple games if he did indeed sustain a concussion.
- Raptors forward Otto Porter Jr. exited Friday’s game with a left foot contusion. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca observes (via Twitter), that’s the same foot that caused Porter to miss most of last season after he had surgery. This injury hopefully isn’t serious, however, as X-rays were negative, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
The Raptors have waived swingman Ron Harper Jr., who was on a two-way contract with the team, the club announced today in a press release.
Harper, who also spent the 2022/23 season on a two-way deal with Toronto, suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder during a G League game on Thursday. He’ll undergo season-ending surgery to address the injury, according to the Raptors.
The son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, Ron Jr. appeared in just 10 total NBA games for the Raptors, including one this season, scoring 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting in 52 total minutes of action. He spent the majority of his time since going undrafted out of Rutgers in 2022 playing for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate.
In 49 total Showcase Cup and regular season games with the 905, Harper averaged 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 32.3 minutes per night. His shooting line at the G League level was .486/.327/.773.
As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca confirms (via Twitter), Harper will receive his full two-way salary of $559,782, even though he was waived prior to the salary guarantee date. A player who is injured while on a non-guaranteed contract (that doesn’t feature an Exhibit 9 clause) continues to be paid until he’s healthy or until the end of the season, whichever comes first.
The Raptors will now have an open two-way slot — Markquis Nowell and Javon Freeman-Liberty are their other two-way players.
One of the highlights of the NBA’s new in-season tournament has been the emergence of Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who has taken his game to new heights under the bright glare of the national spotlight. After defeating the favored Celtics in the quarterfinals on Monday, Indiana dispatched the Bucks — another Eastern contender — in the semifinals on Thursday to earn a spot in Saturday’s final, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
“Tyrese is just one of those transcendent players that with him on the court, anything is possible,” head coach Rick Carlisle said.
Haliburton’s impact on the franchise has been “rejuvenating,” according to Myles Turner, who was dissatisfied with his role in Indiana prior to the six-player February 2022 trade that sent Domantas Sabonis to Kings and Haliburton to the Pacers. Nearly two years later, Turner says that blockbuster deal with Sacramento was a win-win for the two franchises, though he gives the edge to Indiana, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“I think we won the trade personally, but I’m biased of course,” Turner told Amick. “I think it was mutually beneficial. (Kings guard De’Aaron) Fox got something that he needed, and I got the point guard that I needed.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Trading for Haliburton in February 2022 convinced Indiana to cater to his strengths by playing at an extremely fast pace, per Wes Goldberg of RealGM. “Coach allows my personality and who I am as a player to flow into our offense,” Haliburton said. “We lead the league in assists and that starts with me, but I think it’s everybody sharing the ball and wanting to see others succeed.” The Pacers currently have the top offense in the league, Goldberg notes.
- Haliburton hopes to emulate Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose presence in Milwaukee put the Bucks in a better position to attract stars to a non-marquee market, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Thursday’s broadcast (Twitter video link). “As Haliburton said to me, ‘I’m going to get you shots, I’m going to make life easy for you, and we are going to win,'” Wojnarowski said. “And that is really Haliburton’s mission right now, is to use this tournament – use this season – to start making the case to star players around the league, ‘Come play with me in Indiana.'”
- According to Wojnarowski, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has shown interest in players like Raptors forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby within the last year. Indiana has the NBA’s lowest payroll this season, with plenty of moveable draft assets, and could have maximum-salary cap room in 2024, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), so roster upgrades are possible. Still, one Pacers staffer who spoke to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wondered if “this experiment is too fresh and too positive to mess with its current chemistry,” Fischer writes.
- Jalen Smith, who has been battling a left knee bone bruise, will remain sidelined through Saturday’s final, Dopirak tweets. Carlisle said Smith has been limited to light running to this point. The 23-year-old backup center is having a strong season, averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 70.7% from the field through 14 games (15.4 MPG), and he could hit free agency in 2024 if he declines his $5.4MM player option for next season.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse admitted to being concerned about Kelly Oubre Wednesday night in his first game since suffering a fractured rib and other injuries in a car accident, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Oubre wasn’t sharp during his first five-minute stint off the bench, but he looked much better when he returned to the game in the second half, finishing with 12 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes.
“It’s a blessing, man,” Oubre said. “I’ve been on the couch and in rehab facilities and things like that this past month, so it feels amazing. And especially coming off of something pretty crazy in my life, to play basketball, it brings everything home. This is what I do. It’s what I love to do, and I’m going to smile doing something that I love.”
It had been 24 days since Oubre was injured by a hit-and-run driver in his Philadelphia neighborhood. He said “adrenaline kind of took over” during the game, so he wasn’t in any pain. He also declined to answer a question about the rest of his recovery process, telling reporters, “I just want to play basketball.”
“Just continue to gain coach’s trust,” Oubre said. “And just show that I’m able to be in there in big moments, and just stay out there and just continue to compete with the guys.”
There’s more on the Sixers:
- President of basketball operations Daryl Morey should be searching for someone to upgrade the defense, but adding another star who needs the ball in his hands could disrupt the team’s chemistry, contends Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey believes Morey should make a strong play for Raptors forward OG Anunoby or Bulls guard Alex Caruso if they become available, but he doesn’t see the need for a more ball-dominant player like Pascal Siakam or Zach LaVine. Pompey points out that the Sixers have plenty of depth since the James Harden trade, and Oubre’s return gives them 13 players worthy of regular minutes.
- Joel Embiid didn’t look like someone recovering from an illness as he poured in 50 points Wednesday night, but he told reporters he still wasn’t 100% after missing the previous two games, according to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Man, my chest was hurting,” Embiid said. “I was pretty much struggling. But I’m much better than I was; it was pretty bad. I would imagine the last two games (out) were really helpful because in the first practice, I could not go up and down more than twice. And then yesterday, it was much better. (Tonight) in the second half I started feeling much better. So I would imagine that tomorrow, I’ll get on the floor again and push myself. And then Friday, I would imagine that I’ll feel good.”
- Appearing on ESPN’s First Take (video link), Austin Rivers commented on the Sixers’ firing of his father, Doc Rivers, following last season’s playoffs, saying, “They did my pops dirty.”