Morning Coffee – Thu, Apr 30

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - WC

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“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – WC

Raptors' Davis striving to be playoffs difference-maker when NBA resumes – Sportsnet.ca

“I would say that the decision I made was definitely the right decision,” Davis said in a conference call Wednesday of going undrafted. “No doubt about that, because look at how things turned out. I played in every single game this season, not knowing that I would play in every game this season.

“I thought that I would be in the G League for at least half of the season and come first game of the year I’m playing 15 minutes opening night. Like, man, it happened so fast!”

Davis had been enjoying a quietly solid rookie campaign before the NBA season was suspended due to the COVID-19 crisis. As he said, he was the only Raptor to get into all 64 games this season and was the seventh-leading scorer on a deep Toronto roster that boasted the third-best record in the NBA.

The fact Davis has been as good as he has, despite playing the second-least minutes per game of players on the team who have got into at least 36 contests, has just been on icing on the cake.

But, always the competitor, Davis’ ambitions extend beyond just what he’s done so far. He had his eye on a much grander stage.

“During this whole coronavirus, COVID-19 shutdown I’ve just really had a lot of time to reflect on things. Some of the things I’ve accomplished and some of the things that’s yet to come like the playoffs,” Davis said. “I really want to take advantage of the playoffs. I really want the veteran guys to be able to trust someone like me in a game in the playoffs.

“I’m a rookie, so obviously I don’t know what’s to come in the playoffs — I’ve never been in the playoffs — but I want Fred [VanVleet], I want Kyle [Lowry], I want these guys to be able to trust me when I get in the game in the playoffs — if I get in the game during the playoffs.”

Raptors' Davis would be 'devastated' if team misses opportunity for playoff run | CBC Sports

If the NBA can’t salvage the remainder of the season, Davis said he won’t be sad for the illustrious complete rookie year that could have been. What’s really got him down is the prospect of no thrilling post-season run.

“I wouldn’t feel cheated because there was other rookies that were having great years, better years than I’m having. It wouldn’t be fair to them either,” Davis said on a conference call Wednesday — seven weeks ago to the day that the league shut down.

“I wouldn’t be devastated, but I would be a little hurt because you always want to finish what you start. A lot of people didn’t think we would be in the playoffs, and we ended up being the No. 2 team in the East, we already had clinched our playoff berth. So that right there, that’s the only thing that I would be devastated by, not playing in the playoffs.”

Despite a revolving door of injuries to key players this season, the Raptors were 46-18 and had just clinched a playoff berth when Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus, and the league was suspended hours later.

The Complex, Risky New Normal for Athletes in Olympic Training – WSJ

Two documents written by Dr. Jonathan Finnoff—a seven-page piece on return-to-training considerations and 13 pages on returning to sports-event planning—carry no specific timetable, deferring to guidance from public-health authorities.

For a sports world that has been largely frozen since mid-March, the guidelines represent one of the most comprehensive road maps by a major U.S. sports body to returning to group workouts and competition—whenever that might be.

The guidelines could have broad implications beyond Olympic sport: Dr. Finnoff said in a Wednesday teleconference that he’s been “collaborating very closely” with the chief medical officer of the NBA and chief medical officers of other pro and college sports in developing the recommendations.

But the guidelines make it clear it will be a slow road fraught with risk.

The preambles of both documents conclude with a sobering summary about the disease caused by coronavirus: “Until COVID-19 is either eradicated, a vaccine is developed, or a cure is found, there is no way of completely eliminating the risk of fatal infection. This should always be in the forefront of your mind when designing your return to training program.”

The documents were designed for national governing bodies and Team USA athletes but are intended for anyone who might find them useful, a USOPC spokesman said.

Max Cobb, chair of the National Governing Bodies Council, praised the “rigorous work” of Dr. Finnoff and his team at the USOPC.

“It’s very clear that as long as the virus is spreading in parts of our country our approach to sport will be very different,” Cobb said. “Where once we concentrated on the matters of physical safety we will now add a focus on infection mitigation to everything we do, every day.”

N.C.A.A. Outlines Plan to Let Athletes Make Endorsement Deals – The New York Times

The N.C.A.A. Board of Governors, weary from increased attacks in legislatures and courthouses and from the public, announced Wednesday that it would support rule changes allowing athletes to earn money from the use of their names, images and likenesses. But the deals would have to come from third parties so that athletes could not be considered university employees.

The board’s recommendations will be forwarded to the three N.C.A.A. divisions that govern the levels of competition in college sports. The divisions are expected by January to adopt rules that would take effect at the start of the 2021-22 academic year.

While the income potential is likely to be modest for most college athletes, the elite players — under the right circumstances — could see a windfall.

“The right athlete could be making millions,” said Leigh Steinberg, the agent who represents Tagovailoa, who was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the fifth overall pick in the N.F.L. draft last week. “But I don’t think that’s trickling down to the other 100 players in the program. It’s a star system.”

The N.C.A.A. had been under increasing pressure to allow athletes to capitalize on the use of their unique abilities as universities have built sports programs into a billion-dollar behemoth without paying players. Students who don’t play sports — actors, musicians, journalists and others — can already cash in if they have exceptional talents.

The new N.C.A.A. plan would let athletes make deals as social media influencers, appear in commercials and hold paid autograph sessions, among other opportunities.

But the N.C.A.A.’s opening of financial opportunities for athletes included some restrictions. Most significantly, students would not be permitted to be paid directly by universities; the N.C.A.A. plans to ask Congress to support the position of universities that athletes should not be treated as school employees. Additionally, athletes would not be able to use a school or conference logo to tout their affiliation, a move by the N.C.A.A. to distinguish between athletes and employees.

NBA Draft: Top returning prospects returning to school – Sports Illustrated

The number of early-entry declarations—205 in total—is just slightly down from last year, when 233 prospects (175 of them from colleges) initially declared for the draft. In the end, 136 of those 233 players withdrew. The general thought was that the coronavirus might be a significant deterrent for players on the fringes, who may have a harder time raising their profile in a worthwhile manner, even for future drafts given the lack of in-person access. It’s not a huge difference from the past couple years, and as always, there are a lot of players with no chance of being drafted who declared anyway.

Players who have not exhausted college eligibility or aged past the international cutoff date can withdraw up until 10 days prior to the draft and retain NBA eligibility moving forward. Unless the NBA decides to call off the rest of the season sooner than later, it’s hard to see how the draft would proceed before the official conclusion of games. So at this stage, it’s best to consider all dates as fluid. The NCAA’s deadline for college players to withdraw and remain eligible is currently June 3.

Even in a down draft year, there’s an intriguing collection of players set to return to college in the fall, many with a chance to figure prominently in the draft conversation a year from now. Here are 10 key names to file away moving forward.

NBA players turn to digital tech for endorsements, fan engagement and fun – The Athletic

For the Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Patterson, connecting with fans is one of the highlights of a career that has spanned five teams and 10 seasons. Since his time with the Toronto Raptors, Patterson has used his love of movies to connect with fans, renting out movie theaters to host them for pre-released film viewing parties. When the season was suspended, Patterson’s mind quickly raced to imagine what his days would be like without interacting with fans.

“Being on the court, it is easy to bicker and banter with fans,” he said. “I feel like fans don’t really know how much we enjoy that — the jokes back-and-forth and the talking. Guys are realizing more and more that not only do we miss basketball and competing, we miss the engagement with fans.”

While government orders prevent Patterson from hosting fans in movie theaters, through digital technology he is maintaining the fan interaction he thrives off of. Since March, Patterson has hosted watch parties using Netflix Party. All genres are on the table, except rom-coms. “I’m not a fan of the big romance movie. I love thriller, horror, suspense, action and comedies.”

Patterson, who writes in his down time from basketball and plans to own a production company when his playing career ends, said the watch parties are as much about giving back to fans as filling his need to connect with them. “It is the appreciation we get from talking to and hanging out with fans and seeing their passion for the game of basketball. Us NBA players really appreciate that. We need that.”

Patterson is not a gamer, but many other NBA players are connecting with fans through gaming.

“As soon as it became clear that the NBA season was going to be on hiatus, around the league we started thinking of how we can make an impact by helping the situation and providing fans an outlet to see content and hear their favorite players,” said Matt Holt, the NBA’s senior vice president of global partnerships.

Raptors success this season stems from remarkable player development

The faces and their tendencies remain the same. They’re producing at a higher level, and it has the Raptors in the same situation as last year: in contention. It’s not outlandish to think that they could be the favorite to win the East — if the 2019-20 season resumes.

There’s nothing they don’t do at a respectable level. They play selflessly, hit the boards, limit turnovers, stick outside jump shots at a considerable rate, and are an elite defensive unit.

In fact, they’re first in the NBA in opponent points per game (106.5) and opponent three-point shooting percentage (33.7) and second in opponent field goal percentage (42.9) and defensive net rating (104.9). Most, if not every player on their depth chart plays competitive defense.

Think about some of the rebuilding teams in the NBA: what’s their biggest problem? Player development. Teams such as the Bulls, Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Atlanta Hawks have loaded young cores. Yet, they’ve shown close to no signs of progression this season. It’s part of the reason why David Fizdale (Knicks) was axed, and Jim Boylen (Bulls) could hold the same fate. Heck, there have been rumblings that Lloyd Pierce (Hawks) could be on the heat seat.

If you can’t develop talent you can’t win in the NBA. If you can’t win you won’t attract high-profile players. In all likelihood, the process repeats itself and/or results in organizational stagnation. Think about where the Raptors young studs and the aforementioned young teams were a couple years ago: how big of a differentiation was there between the teams from a talent standpoint?

It’s almost as if the Raptors are becoming the New England Patriots of the NBA. They’re not always the most talented team in the sport, rather they get players who fit the bill for the role they’re looking to fill. Then they get steady play on both ends of the floor and considerable production from them.

The Raptors can only get better, which makes zero sense given how they lost one of the best players in the sport and have a roster devoid of a prototypical superstar. Yet, here we are: their record and conference standing is the same.

Raptors Classic Podcast: Vince Carter misses the shot in original Game 7 vs. Philly

Welcome to Raptors Over Everything, a Yahoo Sports Canada podcast covering the latest developments regarding the Toronto Raptors. Find the show on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Host William Lou reacts to an unforgettable classic, where Vince Carter misses the potential game-winning shot in the first Game 7 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers on May 20, 2001.

Three stars: Antonio Davis, Alvin Williams, Vince Carter

Gerald Henderson award: Jumaine Jones

Pat Patterson award: Jerome Williams

Featuring: Vivek Jacob of Raptors Republic and Complex Canada

Federal judge ends Toronto Raptors star's copyright suit against Nike | PropertyCasualty360

A federal judge in Oregon has decided that basketball player Kawhi Leonard’s copyright claim against Nike will not go forward.

In June 2019, the Toronto Raptors star filed a lawsuit against Nike to reclaim control over the Klaw logo he says he created. The logo in question was a traced outline of his hand, featuring his initials and the number 2, which was his jersey number. Leonard permitted Nike to use the Klaw logo on some of its merchandise after a sponsorship deal, although the suit claimed he never transferred the rights to them and continued to use the logo on non-Nike goods.

The lawsuit alleged Nike filed an application for copyright registration of Leonard’s logo without his knowledge or consent and misrepresented their authorship of the logo on that application.

In a countersuit, Nike argued that Leonard forwarded a “rough draft” sketch of the design featuring the hand and the jersey number, but had approved one of the proposed designs Nike created in June 2014 as part of his contract. Nike claimed it held the exclusive rights to that claw logo, which it said was produced by its “talented team of designers.’’

Mitchell C. Stein of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, one of Leonard’s attorneys, asked the judge to view both designs as “one and the same,” according to The Oregonian.

“The KL, the No. 2 and the hand as expressed by Mr. Leonard in his sketch and as modified is the protectable element that appears in the Nike Klaw,” Stein argued.

Nike attorney Tamar Duvdevani of DLA Piper asserted there were several differences between the sketch and the final agreed-upon logo. ”Authorship is more than mere directions and ideas,” he said. ”It’s clear here it was Nike’s designers who put pen to paper to fix the work in a tangible medium of expression.”

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