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Raptors Notes: Ingram, Luxury Tax, Expectations, Pelley

September 27th, 2025 at 2:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Brandon Ingram doesn’t have any limitations heading into training camp. Ingram was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Pelicans but didn’t make his Raptors debut last season due to an ankle injury.

“He’s one of the few guys who can go get his own shots but also can go get a pretty efficient shot on his own. I think that’s something that we’ve lacked a bit in prior years,” general manager Bobby Webster said of Ingram, per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. “He’s like a hooper’s hooper. I think people that watch him and people that have seen film on him (recognize he has a) high, high level of skill. Three-level scorer, not all that interested in what’s going on off the court. Not all that interested in what people say about him.

“We had another guy that was sort of like that (in Kawhi Leonard). But this guy, he just loves playing basketball. I think it’s fun to watch him. It’s fun to watch him warm up. It’s fun to watch him play. So we’re excited to see.”

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • Toronto enters the camp slightly over the luxury tax line, but Webster indicated it won’t be difficult to get below it. “The likelihood that this team is the exact same team by the end of the year is probably zero … I don’t see that as the urgent piece,” Webster said. However, if the Raptors have a strong season, ownership won’t hesitate to end up over the tax threshold. “If we don’t come out and we’re not competitive and we’re having (a down year again) then it forces us to evaluate it,” Webster said. “But I don’t think it’s exacerbated by any other outside timeline or financial pressure. I think we are fortunate to be one of the biggest, most lucrative markets in the NBA and so I don’t see the financial piece, affecting us.”
  • The Raptors’ GM doesn’t have a “postseason or bust” mentality following a 30-win season, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet. “If you have a specific goal in mind, a specific [number of] wins … I just don’t know if that’s the best way to build, especially a young group,” he said. “These guys, when they lock in, that day-to-day improvement is what ends up resulting in being in the playoffs or being in the play-in (tournament). We won 30 games last year. So I don’t think there’s any sort of illusions of expectations of this number of wins or this playoff seed. We’ll see.”
  • There’s room for them to outperform outside expectations and become one of the league’s feel-good stories, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic.  However, the potential of this roster remains a mystery, Koreen notes, as not many teams would trade positions with the expensive-but-unproven Raptors.
  • In order for the Raptors to exceed expectations, they need their regulars to improve their shooting percentages, particularly from behind the 3-point arc, Grange opines. They also can’t afford a long-term injury to Jakob Poeltl, since he’s the only starting-caliber center on the roster.
  • Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president Keith Pelley oversaw Europe’s entry at the past four Ryder Cup matches. He’s looking to bring his experiences from the golfing world to help build the culture for the Raptors and NHL’s Maple Leafs, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic. “As much as I love the game, and I love the NBA, and I love Major League Soccer, I’m the CEO of MLSE, so the people that are going to make the key hockey decisions, the people that are going to make the key basketball decisions, are basketball-oriented people and are hockey-oriented people,” Pelley said. “My role is to be a sounding board. My role is to try to create a culture and a chemistry within that organization that builds a culture of winning championships.”
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Raptors Sign Jared Rhoden

September 26th, 2025 at 6:57pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Raptors have signed Jared Rhoden, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The terms of the deal were not reported, though it’s likely to be an Exhibit 10 contract.

Rhoden, 22, was previously with the Raptors on a two-way contract, but was waived in July while recovering from a torn labrum in his right shoulder that limited his time with the team.

The 6’6″ guard played 10 games for Toronto last season, averaging 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 32.4% from three. He had previously played for the Pistons and Hornets from 2022-24.

Rhoden is the 21st and final player on the Raptors’ training camp roster. He will fight for a spot with the team, and if waived, will be eligible for a bonus of up to $85,300 should he stay with the Raptors 905 (Toronto’s G League team) for at least 60 days.

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Raptors Waive Tyson Degenhart

September 26th, 2025 at 1:39pm CST by Rory Maher

The Raptors have released Tyson Degenhart, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.

Degenhart agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Raptors shortly after going undrafted in June. The deal became official a few days ago.

Now that he has been released, Degenhart is eligible for a bonus worth $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Toronto’s G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.

A 6’8″ forward, Degenhart spent four college seasons at Boise State, earning first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors each of the past three years. As a senior in 2024/25, he averaged 18.3 PPG and 6.1 RPG on .526/.349/.797 shooting in 37 games (33.6 MPG).

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Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Clarkson, Yabusele, Longabardi, Ingram

September 25th, 2025 at 10:07am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks brought in several veterans to compete for the last minimum contract they can offer, barring a trade. New coach Mike Brown believes that will lead to a spirited training camp, according to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.

“A competitive spirit. I’m big on that. … For us, every day is about competition,” Brown said after the first day of training camp. “Whether you’re a coach [or] you’re a player, we want to compete. We want to grow as a unit in that area, and it’s no different for everybody else individually. Whether you’re here on a guaranteed deal [or] you’re here on a non-guaranteed deal, you’re competing your butt off. And at the end of the day, we have a lot of time to make a decision on what’s gonna happen.

“But at the end of the day, we’ll figure out who we need to fit and who needs to fit, but it’s gonna be a process. There’s no one ahead of anyone right now. Everybody’s coming in trying to compete for a spot. All the guys we have we feel are competitors, so we’ll see at the end of the day who rises to the top.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, a pair of Knicks offseason additions on guaranteed contracts, are expected to have major rotation roles. Brown heaped both players with praise. “He’s a professional scorer,” Brown said of Clarkson, per James Edwards III of The Athletic. “Especially one coming off the bench, it means he knows how to play the game. He’s not just scoring. That’s what I like about him — he’s a capable passer. I like the mindset that he has. You want guys who aren’t afraid of the moment, who are willing to take the shot and go get it.” As for Yabusele, Brown noted how well he played for the Sixers last season after several seasons overseas. “When you get drafted and don’t make it, it can do a lot of things to you mentally,” Brown said. “It can make you say things like, ‘Screw the NBA. I don’t want to come back,’ or it can make you say, ‘You know what? I’m an NBA player and I’m going to do what I need to do to get back and be there as long as I want to be there.’ Seeing that process tells you a lot about him as a person. That’s a vastly competitive spirit and competitive nature that I’m looking for when it comes to being a New York Knick.”
  • Speaking of the Sixers, they are promoting Mike Longabardi as an assistant coach, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Longabardi was previously the G League head coach of the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s affiliate. He has also been an assistant for the Celtics and Cavaliers
  • There isn’t much preseason buzz regarding the Raptors, but Michael Grange of Sporsnet identifies five reasons for optimism, with Brandon Ingram suiting up this season at the top of the list. Ingram didn’t play after Toronto acquired at the trade deadline due to an ankle injury. Roster continuity is another reason to be bullish, Grange writes — they’re bringing back all but one of their players who saw at least 1,000 minutes of action.
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2025/26 NBA Over/Unders: Atlantic Division

September 18th, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2025/26 NBA regular season set to tip off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including BetMGM and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2024/25, our voters went 13-17 on their over/under picks. Can we top that in ’25/26?

We’ll begin our series today with the Atlantic Division…

New York Knicks

Boston Celtics

Philadelphia 76ers

Toronto Raptors

Brooklyn Nets

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Fear of Losing Kawhi Leonard Influenced Numerous Clippers’ Decisions

September 17th, 2025 at 6:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have been operating under the fear of upsetting Kawhi Leonard and his representatives ever since he signed with the team in 2019, sources tell Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

Landing Leonard was viewed at the time as a major win for the franchise, but Holmes notes that it hasn’t completely worked out that way. Injury problems that began in San Antonio have persisted, leaving him available for just 58% of the games during his time with the Clippers, and the team only has three playoff series victories since Leonard’s signing.

In addition, Holmes states that the Clippers have been sued twice for alleged tampering violations since 2019, they’ve been fined at least twice for violations of league rules involving Leonard and they’ve been the subject of at least three NBA investigations, including the current probe of potential salary cap circumvention involving Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration.

“This last investigation is different,” a former Clippers staffer told Holmes. “This one directly calls into question (owner) Steve Ballmer‘s character. At some point, Steve has got to get out of the Kawhi business.”

The Clippers learned during the 2019 free agency pursuit that life with Leonard would be complex. A source with knowledge of the negotiations tells Holmes that Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, submitted a list of demands that included part ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house and guaranteed off-court endorsement money. The source adds that Robertson made the same demands to the Raptors, Leonard’s current team at the time, and the Lakers, who were also heavily involved in the bidding.

Another source tells ESPN that the Clippers didn’t agree to those demands because they weren’t permissible under the collective bargaining agreement, but they did acquiesce to other requests. When he first joined the team, Leonard was permitted to live in San Diego and commute to L.A. by helicopter. He was also allowed to skip certain media obligations and team community events, and he got to bring some of his own circle into the organization.

A team source denies those allegations, telling Holmes that Leonard’s camp never made some of the reported requests and others were mischaracterized.

Another demand from Robertson was a “strict protocol” on how team officials would talk about Leonard publicly, which meant saying nothing unless it was necessary. Doc Rivers, who was the team’s head coach at the time, ran afoul of that policy early in Leonard’s first season when he told reporters that Leonard “feels great” on a night that he sat out a game due to load management. The organization refused to elaborate and was fined $50K by the league, but its silence was seen as a show of loyalty by Leonard and his camp.

A former staffer indicated to Holmes that the Clippers were wary of alienating Leonard after seeing how quickly his relationship with the Spurs dissolved over an injury dispute.

“The Spurs were maybe the most respected, most revered pro sports team in America,” the ex-employee said. “It was like if this guy is willing to tell those people to go f— themselves, he can’t possibly be afraid to tell us to go f— ourselves. … Everybody was afraid of Kawhi leaving.” 

Multiple sources indicated to Holmes that details about Leonard’s health were considered to be “sacred secrets.” News releases and social media posts that mentioned Leonard were reviewed by senior leadership before being distributed, and sometimes they were submitted to Leonard’s representatives for their approval. The sensitivity regarding Leonard’s physical condition and the fear of upsetting him led to tensions inside the organization.

“It caused extreme angst within the medical department,” another former staffer said. “It was like the Clippers’ medical staff wasn’t really allowed to touch Kawhi ever.”

The fear of Leonard’s departure seems to have lessened somewhat in recent years, Holmes adds. He was eligible for a four-year, $220MM extension entering the 2023/24 season, but he ultimately settled for a three-year deal at $153MM. Clippers officials were confident that Leonard would accept the reduced offer rather than pursue free agency, where suitors would have required a medical exam.

Leonard’s latest deal runs through the 2026/27 season, and Holmes reports that multiple general managers and other executives he spoke with expect it to mark the end of his time with the Clippers.

“They’re done building around (Kawhi),” a former staffer said. “They know that and he knows that.”

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Eastern Notes: Bufkin, NAW, Tanenbaum, Nets, Wiggins

September 16th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

After rebuffing trade interest in former first-round pick Kobe Bufkin earlier in the offseason, the Hawks became more open to the idea of moving him after the Las Vegas Summer League concluded, according to Grant Afseth of RG.org.

While Bufkin posted strong averages of 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game in four Vegas outings, he struggled to score efficiently, making just 35.5% of his shots from the floor, including 25.9% of his three-point attempts. The Hawks, who are hoping to contend in what looks like a wide-open Eastern Conference, are focused on players who can help them win right now and weren’t sure Bufkin fit that bill, as Afseth explains.

Bufkin was ultimately sent to Brooklyn, though the Pacers also registered some interest, sources tell RG.org.

As for the Hawks, they intend to lean on Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard for ball-handling duties behind star point guard Trae Young, according to Afseth, who says the team envisions Alexander-Walker taking on a more significant offensive role than he had in Minnesota — he has been working closely with Atlanta’s coaching staff to prepare for those increased responsibilities, Afseth adds.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Raptors governor and NBA Board of Governors chairman Larry Tanenbaum is obligated to begin the process of selling his 20% stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the Raptors’ parent company) to Rogers Communications by July 7, 2026, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. There are “rumblings” that process could begin sooner, Grange says, but either way, it sounds like it’s just a matter of time until Rogers – which already controls 75% of MLSE – owns nearly the entire company. Rogers increased its stake in MLSE from 37.5% to 75% a year ago.
  • Which Nets players are the most and least likely to be part of the team’s long-term plans? Brian Lewis of The New York Post explores that question in a subscriber-only article, suggesting that Cam Thomas seems unlikely to remain in Brooklyn beyond 2025/26, whereas Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and whoever the Nets draft with their 2026 lottery pick seem destined to be cornerstones going forward.
  • Addressing the recent trade rumors linking Heat forward Andrew Wiggins to the Lakers, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why he thinks Miami would be better off keeping Wiggins than trading him for a return of Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht.
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And-Ones: Roster Holes, G League Trades

September 15th, 2025 at 10:37pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With the start of training camp mere weeks away, Kevin Pelton of ESPN takes a look at the biggest 2025/26 roster holes for all 30 NBA teams.

Beyond the reigning champion Thunder, who will be bringing back their full playoff lineup and whose perceived biggest need is a fresh arena, Pelton believes every club has personnel issues.

Among top East contenders, Pelton posits that Cleveland could use some help along the wing with injured swingman Max Strus expected to be out for multiple months. Pelton notes that New York may want to add more proven veteran help to shore up its bench. In the West, Pelton observes that the Rockets and Nuggets could use help at the point, while Minnesota could benefit from some additional depth on the perimeter.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

  • The Pistons‘ G League club, the Motor City Cruise, has traded the returning player rights to big man Cameron Martin and guard Javante McCoy to the Nuggets‘ NBAGL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, for the rights to center Charles Bediako and a 2026 international pick, Motor City has announced (Twitter link).
  • Raptors 905, the Raptors‘ NBAGL affiliate, is trading their rights to guard Kennedy Chandler to the Sixers‘ G League club, the Delaware Blue Coats, in exchange for wing Patrick McCaw and a future first-rounder, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Murphy tweets that some EuroLeague teams considered bringing McCaw aboard earlier in the offseason. McCaw has been in the G League for four seasons, and Murphy is unsure if he’ll continue suiting up close to NBA scouts or will take a more lucrative offer elsewhere.
  • In case you missed it, newly crowned EuroBasket MVP Dennis Schröder cited Hall of Fame countryman Dirk Nowitzki as the major inspiration who helped turn Germany into an international force.
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Why So Many Players Will Be Signed-And-Waived Before Season

September 12th, 2025 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have signed three free agents to their offseason roster this week. They’ve also waived those same three players, with Quincy Guerrier, Tyreke Key, and Jarkel Joiner each spending no more than a single day under contract with the team, despite the fact that training camp is still weeks away.

There will be dozens of this sort of “sign-and-waive” transaction completed in the next five-plus weeks before opening night — many of them will involve players who don’t have a realistic path to make their team’s regular season roster and won’t be under contract for more than a day or two.

While they may look pointless on the surface, these moves are meaningful to teams and players for a couple reasons. Here are the two reasons why you can count on seeing many more sign-and-trade moves in the coming weeks:

1. In order to secure a player’s G League rights

Up to four players waived by a team prior to the start of the NBA regular season can be designated as “affiliate players.” As we explain in more detail in our glossary entry on the subject, if a player designated as an affiliate player signs a G League contract, he’s automatically assigned to that team’s NBAGL squad.

A player can only be made an affiliate player if his returning rights aren’t already controlled by a G League team. That’s why our annual list of affiliate players around the league consists mostly of undrafted rookies and a few veterans who have never played in the NBAGL before.

If a player has only ever been assigned to the G League while on a standard or two-way contract with an NBA team, his returning rights aren’t controlled by that club. For example, if a team were to sign Emoni Bates to a training camp deal this fall, it could designate him as an affiliate player, since he has only played in the G League while on a two-way contract with the Cavaliers — that means the Cleveland Charge don’t control his returning rights.

Sign-and-waive transactions involving players meant to be designated as affiliate players often don’t occur until training camps begin, since a player is typically require to participate in at least one day of team activities in order to qualify as an affiliate player.

2. In order to award a player a bonus

Many of the players who are signed and immediately waived by an NBA team can’t be designated as affiliate players because their G League rights are already controlled by a specific club.

This applies to the three players signed-and-waived by the Raptors this week — Guerrier and Key played for the Raptors 905 last season, while Toronto’s affiliate made a trade last month to acquire Joiner’s returning rights. That means if Guerrier, Key, and Joiner sign G League contracts this fall, the 905 would control them as “returning rights” players and wouldn’t have to use one of their four “affiliate player” slots to retain them.

The Raptors didn’t need to sign Guerrier, Key, and Joiner to contracts to acquire their G League rights, but giving them non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deals will allow Toronto to award those players some bonus money on top of their standard G League base salaries.

A player who signs an Exhibit 10 contract and then is waived before the season will earn his Exhibit 10 bonus if he spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate. This season, the maximum Exhibit 10 bonus amount is $85,300. Since those bonuses don’t count against the cap, they serve as a way for teams to reward or incentivize a player who joins their G League affiliates instead of seeking another opportunity, perhaps overseas.

The majority of players who sign Exhibit 10 contracts are awarded the maximum allowable bonus ($85,300), but some G League role players will agree to receive bonuses that come in below that max. For example, Key – who averaged just 17.3 minutes per game during the NBAGL regular season in 2024/25 – agreed to a bonus worth just $35K, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Still, even a modest Exhibit 10 bonus represents a significant raise for a player who signs a G League contract. Shams Charania of ESPN reported in the fall of 2022 that the base NBAGL salary at that time was $40,500. It’s possible that figure has increased slightly since then, but it’s still just a small fraction of what a player would earn on a standard – or even a two-way – NBA contract. An Exhibit 10 bonus could double or even triple a G League player’s earnings for that season.

It’s worth noting that if the Raptors hadn’t acquired Joiner’s returning rights from the Hawks’ G League affiliate, they wouldn’t be in position to carry him on the 905’s roster or give him an Exhibit 10 bonus. If an NBA team signs and waives a player whose NBAGL rights are held by another organization, it’s generally a safe bet that a G League trade to acquire that player’s returning rights is in the works.

While only some of the many sign-and-waive transactions that occur between now and the start of the regular season are about acquiring a player’s NBAGL rights, nearly all of them will involve lining up some bonus money for a player ticketed for the G League.

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Raptors Sign, Waive Jarkel Joiner

September 11th, 2025 at 5:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors signed free agent guard Jarkel Joiner to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Toronto has since waived Joiner, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

Joiner, 26, has spent his first two professional seasons playing for the College Park Skyhawks in the G League since going undrafted out of NC State in 2023. In 48 games for Atlanta’s NBAGL affiliate in 2024/25, he averaged 11.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .412/.332/.720.

The Raptors 905  – Toronto’s G League affiliate – acquired Joiner’s returning rights from the Skyhawks in a trade last month. That means, assuming Joiner signs another NBAGL contract this fall, he’ll report to the Raptors’ affiliate rather than to College Park.

By signing him to an Exhibit 10 deal and then waiving him, Toronto also ensures that Joiner will receive a bonus on top of his standard G League salary, as long as he spends at least 60 days with the 905. That bonus can be worth up to $85,300.

Joiner is the third player to be signed-and-waived by the Raptors this week, joining Quincy Guerrier and Tyreke Key. All three are now on track to join the 905.

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