It’s been a busy week of tying up loose ends for the Toronto Raptors. Nothing material has happened, but they closed out a lot of rumors and reports by making things official.
Here’s a quick look back at the coverage from the week:
- Podcast
- Paperwork
- Raptors make C.J. Miles signing official
- Video of his introductory presser
- A deep-dive on his shooting and offensive fit
- Same for Kennedy Meeks
- Raptors make C.J. Miles signing official
- Other items
- Raptors 905
- Brady Heslip signs overseas, as a few others have
- Three 905ers are looking to win big in the $2M TBT
- Summer League features
- A general Summer League wrap-up and progress report
- On Kennedy Meeks making quick fans of the Raptors with his personality, now trying to do the same with his play
- On Alfonzo McKinnie’s long, strange odyssey to the doorstep of the NBA with the Raptors
- On Tidjan Keita, the unknown prospect more raw than Bruno who was in Vegas with the Raptors
- On the bond shared by Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam, and how it helped them through their rookie years
- Why the Raptors made Malcolm Miller their first ever two-way signing
- The need for and difficulty of patience when it comes to OG Anunoby
- How Jordan Loyd found a balance between fitting in and showing out in Vegas
Outside of the Raptors’ bubble, two interesting things came out that might be worth discussing in the open thread instead of arguing about Jonas Valanciunas or DeMarre Carroll again.
How much are the Raptors worth, hypothetically?
First, the Houston Rockets announced that Leslie Alexander is putting the team up for sale. This doesn’t have an impact on the Raptors, and there’s been no indication that Bell and Rogers have any sort of designs on breaking up, selling off, or buying the other out of MLSE, but it will still be interesting to see what kind of sale price the Rockets command. This would seem to be a pretty good time for owners to duck out, with TV rights at their likely peak, franchise valuations way up, and, in their case, a star and a well-respected executive locked up for the long term.
What the Raptors, who Forbes values at $1.13 billion, might command on the open market is an interesting question. It’s always been difficult to separate the Raptors from the rest of MLSE and, since Bell and Rogers became shared owners, to extract the actual franchise value separate of the TV rights that the owners benefit from. The Los Angeles Clippers sold for well above their Forbes valuation, so where the Rockets’ sale price comes in could kick-start a series of owners getting out at the top. If it shakes down that way.
Micro-gambling could be on the way
The other was an interesting quote from commissioner Adam Silver, who believes gambling on sports will soon be legal in the United States. “My sense is the law will change,” he said at a conference in New York on Tuesday, pushing the importance of in-game betting to keep fans engaged. Again, this is a topic that might not resonate entirely in Canada, where some online gambling sites are geo-blocked due to national laws but where online slots for Canadians are available and provinces can offer things like ProLine. Whether the U.S. changing things builds momentum for Canada to loosen up on restrictions, too, will be worth watching.
It’ll also be fun to see how companies attack micro-gambling if it gets clearance, and just how involved the NBA gets as an investor or partner.
There’s the whole Kyrie Irving-to-Phoenix-to-follow-James-Jones-and-get-away-from-LeBron angle, too, obviously. Anyway, some interesting larger-picture topics to think on as we enter what will likely be a few dead weeks of the offseason. Have a great weekend, everyone.
