“It’s amazing, I’m excited about it, Green told the Toronto Sun over all-star weekend in Charlotte.
“He was one of my favourite players before he came to us because of how much he used to kick our ass when we played them,” Green said. “He’s a great passing big. Screen-and-roll. He just understands the game and makes the game easier for everyone around him. I’m just excited to see his growth with us.” This union of former Southwest Division arch-enemies might not seem all that odd for those now brought together, but for Mike Conley, left behind in Memphis without his right-hand man Gasol, it’s all a bit bizarre.
“It’s very weird,” Conley said when asked by the Sun about the situation over the weekend.
“I had to ask (Gasol) about what’s it like having guys like that that we’ve played in the playoffs so many years and basically we’ve treated them like rivals for so many years. But he’s really excited, I know he’s enjoying it. He’s sending me pictures and texting just always, there’s something new every day (in Toronto), so it’s pretty cool for him.” Conley was nearly a part of this party too, depending on who you talk to (and there were those on hand in Charlotte who thought talks between Toronto and Memphis came close to sending Conley to Canada too, though others said things never progressed that far). Now he has to adjust to life without his closest NBA friend, Gasol. Not that he seems overly sad about it.
“We knew at some point it would happen and just happy he got to a situation where he can succeed and have a chance at winning a championship,” Conley said.
The point guard expects Gasol to bring a massive boost to the Raptors.
“Man, he’s as solid as a player you’ll find in every aspect of the game,” Conley said.
“There’s no weakness that he has, so, defensively I think is going to be his biggest thing. He can really change games in the way he’s so smart. Calling out coverages. Getting hands on loose balls, blocks, steals, his passing ability. I mean all that stuff is going to bode well for a team that is already unselfish and plays so fast and plays well together,” Conley said.
Report: Raptors sign guard Jodie Meeks to 10-day contract – Sportsnet.ca
Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
Meeks has yet to play this season. During the 2017-18 campaign as a member of the Washington Wizards, he tested positive for banned compounds Ipamorelin and Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-2, resulting in a 25-game suspension that made him ineligible to play for the Wizards in the playoffs. His suspension carried over into the 2018-19 season.
In October, Meeks was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks where he served the remainder of his 25-game suspension for violating NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug program. He was waived by the Bucks at the end of November without having suited up for them.
A career 37.2 per cent three-point shooter on just under four attempts per game, Meeks offers the Raptors another option from long range — assuming he is able to get up to game-speed in time to be a factor.
At Large with Alex Wong: Toronto Raptors guard Jeremy Lin
For me, personally, I can’t think of a more perfect first guest for this format than Jeremy Lin (It would have been more perfect if I waited an extra week to schedule the interview, since Lin was bought out by the Atlanta Hawks and joined the Toronto Raptors a few days after we recorded our conversation). It’s been seven years since Linsanity turned the 30-year-old guard into a worldwide sensation. Lin ended up on the cover of Sports Illustrated for two straight weeks. He had Madison Square Garden in the palm of his hands. Overnight, the entire world knew who Jeremy Lin was.
Being an Asian-American and having talked about and dealt with racism growing up playing sports, it put Lin in a position where suddenly an entire community was looking for him to become a voice for them. It took time. Just watching Lin from afar, I’ve seen him become more comfortable in embracing his identity.
On this episode, I talked to Lin about finding his voice and thinking more about his Asian-American identity over the past seven years, his work with One Day’s Wages, an international nonprofit, the craziest things he’s ever been asked to sign by a fan, his favourite memories from Linsanity, whether he still avoids hot soup, and more.
Q&A: Raptors' superfan Nav Bhatia talks DeRozan’s return, Kawhi’s impact | NBA.com
NBA Global: What do you think the emotions for you and the rest of the Raptors fans will be when DeMar DeRozan returns to play in Toronto Friday as a member of the Spurs?
Bhatia: “DeMar was beloved by everybody. I remember the day he was traded that most fans were upset about it, including me. But it was a basketball business move and I think fans understood that later on, slowly.
Everyone then wished him well in San Antonio. Fans really love him and miss him. He’s put a place in our hearts as Toronto fans that will be there forever. He will get the biggest ovation an ex-Raptor has gotten. I hope it lasts five, six, seven, eight minutes and he gets a lot of love.”
‘NBA Global: You were very close with DeMar. What made his time with the Raptors so special?
Bhatia: “To me DeMar, is just not an ex-player for the Raptors. He was first a player to me, but it quickly changed to becoming family when I was introduced to him by Bryan Colangelo in the first few days he came to the city.
Our family used to sit next me at the games. He’s much greater human being than he is a player. He’s so humble. Don’t tell me how many dunks he can do, how many points he can score. Tell me what he can do to inspire the kids. And he does that.”
DeRozan's return takes centre stage in crucial week for Raptors – Sportsnet.ca
The Raptors don’t play until Friday night, but it’s a date that’s been circled on the calendar for a long time. The San Antonio Spurs will be in town then, marking the first NBA game DeMar DeRozan will play in Toronto without wearing a Raptors jersey.
The trade that moved the lifelong Raptor to San Antonio last summer was a legitimate shocker that sent both the player and franchise into drastically different directions. For Toronto, it meant saying goodbye to the only bona fide star who adamantly wanted to spend his entire career with the Raptors. DeRozan was a prior draft pick who joined the team with decent expectations and would end up with several franchise records, including points scored and games played.
In return, the Raptors, of course, acquired Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. While there were questions surrounding Leonard’s health at the time having just missed all but nine games in his final Spurs season, the deal meant that the Raptors’ ceiling had been almost instantly raised higher than it had ever been.
So, where do the Celtics go from here?
The Bucks and Raptors are both dangerous at the top, so there is not much difference between the potential semifinal matchups against them that would coincide with the third and fourth slots. But the Celtics, Pacers, and 76ers will all be trying to avoid fifth place, because it would not come with home-court advantage in the first round.
Despite Boston’s success against the 76ers, opening the playoffs in Philadelphia would be a disaster scenario. The Celtics should be able to overcome a road series against a Pacers team without Oladipo, but they would prefer not to deal with any of that.
This might be the best-case scenario for a Celtics push to the Finals: Secure the No. 3 seed and ride home-court advantage to a first-round win against, say, the Nets or Hornets, and then hope that the 76ers ultimately defeat the Bucks or Raptors in a conference semifinal.
The biggest road block — by far — would be winning their own semifinal without home-court advantage against Milwaukee or Toronto. But if they did, they would then have home court in the conference finals against a Philadelphia team that they have dominated.
Free agent guard Jodie Meeks is signing a 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 20, 2019
Marc Gasol Goes North This is one of our favorite trades this season. The Toronto Raptors were able to pick up Marc Gasol. However, this came by sacrificing Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles and a 2024 second-round pick (going to be waiting a long time for that one!)
So, why is this our favorite trade? It is because The Toronto Raptors, despite giving up three players are now a far better team as a result. While we can’t imagine that they are exactly going to be dominating, we do think that they are going to be picking up a fair few wins over the coming games all thanks to Marc Gasol. In fact, it is already causing quite a stir among the betting sites, and the odds are being adjusted as a result.
Mirotic heads to the Milwaukee Bucks The Bucks were able to pick up Nikola Mirotic from The Pelicans. This was actually quite an intense trade with Jason Smith, Stanley Johnson, and Denver’s 2019 second-round pick. The 2020 and 2021 second-round picks for Washington and Milwaukee’s 2020 second-round picks going to Denver. The Pistons were able to pick up Thon Maker in this extreme trade.
This was one of those ‘intense’ trades that you only really find in EA NBA Live 19 games. You don’t really get anything this convoluted in basketball, at least for only one player. In fact, we reckon that with all these players heading from one place to another during NBA trades, the eSports betting scene is going to start heating up soon. If you fancy getting in on the action, then you may want to set your sights on a Betway eSports betting review.
If the Gasol trade is our favorite, this is a close second. The Bucks showed how serious they were about not being content making the playoffs, but competing for a championship. Mirotic is a baller. He’s one of the top three point threats in the league, a surprising workhorse on the boards, a more than capable defender, and has a chip on his shoulder. The Bucks got Mirotic without giving up their core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez or Malcolm Brogdon.
Raptors’ Ujiri at heart of Basketball Africa League and vice versa | The Star
“It’s going to open up so many things,” the Raptors president said Tuesday. “It is so important.”
Ujiri will have some role in the new league, of that there is no question. He has worked too long at the grassroots level to not be heavily involved.
“I think this league will really enhance the game on the continent,” he said.
Ujiri, born in Nigeria, has long been a tireless advocate of advancing not only the sport, but what the sport can add to African society. His Giants of Africa foundation has held camps throughout the continent that combine on-court instruction with lifestyle development and support systems for young women and men across Africa.
He has been involved in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program since its inception more than a decade ago, and spends weeks each summer delivering the message to young African athletes.
The league — which, according to a report by The Undefeated website, will include tournaments at various sites culminating in a March 2020 championship — will be formed after teams from a dozen countries play qualification tournaments this year.
“From going there and doing camps and clinics and all the work we do on the continent, whatever we do, taking it to the next level — whether it’s player development or business development or where the game is grown and growing — a league needed to happen,” Ujriri said. “And I think Adam (Silver, the NBA commissioner) understood this, and I think FIBA understood this, and I think it’s a great partnership and will continue to build.”
There are many voices and personalities involved. At the centre is Ujiri.
NBA playoffs: Can East contenders dethrone the Warriors? | SI.com
“Adding Marc Gasol reminds me of when Cleveland went and got Shaq to help guard Dwight Howard,” an anonymous scout told Sports Illustrated. “They’re all in, so they got Gasol to guard Joel Embiid. If you go back to his games with the Grizzlies, Gasol made Embiid work.
“Gasol makes them better because in the playoffs it tends to become a half-court game, and he’s just such a good fundamental player. There was a staleness that had set in with Memphis, so this should reenergize him.”
