Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Morning Coffee – Thu, Sep 17

Gasol might finish career in Spain | Siakam is 2nd team NBA | Raptors have some Cap juggling to do

How much can the Raptors pay Fred VanVleet (and still have max money in 2021)? – The Athletic

Takeaways

  • Yes, the Raptors could theoretically find a way to keep VanVleet and have max space in 2021.
  • It probably requires Powell opting out or dealing him; they can chip away at their cap sheet by turning small non-guaranteed deals into minimums or dealing picks, but Powell is the biggest chip that could change their outlook.
  • An Anunoby extension sacrifices flexibility. They’ll have to weigh that against the projected discount of getting a deal done now.
  • Davis is not extension eligible. He’ll be on the books for his cap hold, and the Raptors’ task will be to convince him to wait until they’re done their shopping, then use their Early Bird Rights to re-sign him above the cap.
  • There might be value in stashing one of their draft picks, especially if an interesting international slides in 2020.
  • It would be difficult to add much 2021-22 salary and still keep all of this alive if the cap stays flat.
  • A flat cap projection for 2020-21 helps the Raptors with Siakam and VanVleet but a flat cap again in 2021-22 restricts them. The ideal scenario for the Raptors from a purely cap-maximization standpoint is a flat (or lowered) 2020-21 cap with a rise in 2021-22.

Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby? Ranking the Raptors roster by trade value – The Athletic

OG Anunoby (one year, $3.9 million, plus restricted free agency rights)

Anunoby is very close to being No. 1 on this list, and a reasonable case can be made that he should occupy that spot. Anunoby is three years younger than Siakam, and his efficiency jumped this year, while he also came closer to fulfilling his defensive potential. There are two things keeping him behind Siakam, at least for me: 1) He has a career usage of 14 percent, and it takes an extreme amount of faith he could maintain some level of efficiency if that were tipped above league average; 2) While Anunoby is still on his rookie contract, he is one year away from restricted free agency. He is cheap now, but it would not be stunning if he were signing a contract worth more than $20 million next offseason (unless, of course, the Raptors decide to sign him to an extension before the deadline for that, which should come around the start of the 2020-21 season). It is still amazing that the Spurs did not walk away with either Siakam or Anunoby in the Leonard trade.

Pascal Siakam’s journey with Raptors was always going to have adversity – Yahoo!

Losing is the gateway drug to betterment and success and who would know better than Lowry, made evident by his post-game words dedicated to Siakam: “When we got swept by the Wizards I read every single article. I read every single thing that was said about me — good, bad, evil, terrible, awesome, and I used it as motivation,” Lowry said. “And that’s what (Siakam) is going to do. That’s the advice I would give him. I think this is a learning experience. I think it’s only going to make him a better basketball player, a better man, a better everything. And I would not be surprised to see him come back even hungrier and destroying people.”

It was not at all necessary, to say the least, for the six-time All-Star and champion to bring up such an embarrassing loss of the past. But, it’s no accident that one of the game’s most feverishly intuitive players sees this as nothing more than a required, albeit painful, milestone for the power forward he’s helped mentor.

The Raptors forward is the most unique of archetypes in the grand scope of NBA history. There is quite literally no accurate player comparison for the trajectory of his four-year career thus far, which makes any projected assessments of his profile as an athlete creative guesses at best and arrogant assumptions at worst. So, what exactly do we know about Siakam? Well, to enter the NBA draft having played basketball only several years tells us he’s nothing less than a kinetic savant, with the unique ability to grasp and file drills into the banks of his muscle memory in remarkably short periods of time. This also tells us that his play is incredibly rhythm based, relying on feel and the flow of improvisation rather than the rigid discipline of more classically trained refinement. Since his start as the spark plug bench piece he once was, Siakam seems to enjoy the process as much as the results, and when you witness the fruits of your labour as frequently as he seems to, who wouldn’t?

NBA: How much better can Raptors’ Pascal Siakam be? – Yahoo!

Like those guys, Siakam struggled when the game grinded to a halt. The Celtics didn’t hunt offensive rebounds, nor did they often give in to the chaos of loose ball hunting. When they lost possession of the ball, they retreated on defense in unison, curtailing the Raptors’ deadly transition attack. When Siakam was younger, dashing to the other side of the court to catch quarterback passes at the rim courtesy of point guard Lowry was his only means of getting buckets. In seven games against the Celtics, he scored just four fast break points.

As the years have passed, Siakam’s development has become more perimeter-oriented. As the NBA becomes smaller and quicker, that’s understandable, but for Siakam, appropriating the stationary style of the average star leaves too many easy baskets on the cutting room floor.

Siakam rolled on picks just four times in the playoffs. It’s not something he tried a ton in the regular season either, despite being a 6-foot-9 forward with range, shiftiness and ball-handling skills that despite being flimsy for a perimeter player are tight for a big man.

Playing off picks more often would set Siakam up on the move, get him the ball closer to the rim against defenders who are more likely to be off-balance and thus primed for, say, his patent spin move.

The only place Siakam hit threes consistently from during the series was the left corner — the first place he started to develop his range — giving credence to the notion that his muscle memory atrophied in the four months the league was on hold.

Some takeaways will be simple. He certainly needs to work on his ball-handling, especially with his left hand. One can safely assume he can regain the skills he lost. But should he keep plowing in the same direction or re-imagine what he can be? When it comes to tackling Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, whose strength gave him fits throughout the series, should he try to muscle up or outspeed them? How many of his looks should tend to new skills he hasn’t mastered. How many should be devoted to the staples that can reliably produce points and win games? Should the Raptors prize efficiency or expansion?

The questions that the Celtics posed of Siakam won’t be answered in the span of one offseason. When they are, the scouting report will once again catch up to his development. It’s likely he’ll run into a wall again. His trajectory, as ever, is sprawling with possibility. The only thing that’s inevitable is failure and its reckoning.

Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam named to All-NBA Second Team – Yahoo!

It’s worth noting that Siakam’s performance dipped after the restart. His averages tailed off across the board in the eight seeding games, and his shortcomings were on full display in Toronto’s bitter seven-game series loss to Boston, where Tatum easily outperformed him. Siakam vowed after the series he would continue to improve, which is a good bet given his history as the 2018-19 Most Improved Player. Siakam only started playing basketball at the age of 16, and was picked 27th overall in 2016. In just the last two seasons, Siakam went from being a bench player to becoming an important starter on a championship team, to then becoming the go-to player. His ascent wasn’t enough to carry the Raptors past the Celtics this season, but it is still nothing short of astounding.

Lowry was also in contention for All-NBA honours, as the 34-year-old turned in a throwback effort this season in leading the team in Leonard’s absence. Lowry’s boxscore numbers weren’t as flashy as others at his position, but he managed 19.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists while also making significant defensive contributions. For his efforts, Lowry garnered one second-team selection and an additional 17 third-team nods, but he fell way short of Russell Westbrook for the last guard spot on the team.

Siakam named to All-NBA Second Team | Toronto Raptors

Siakam averaged career highs of 22.9 points (17th in the NBA), 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 35.2 minutes in 60 games last season. He was one of just nine players in the NBA to average at least 22.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. Siakam shot .453 (500-1104) from the field, .359 (131-365) from three-point range and .792 (240-303) at the free throw line.

A native of Cameroon, Siakam scored 20 or more points in 36 games, including 15 30-point outings, and recorded 12 double-doubles. He led the team in scoring 29 times, rebounds in 17 games and assists on three occasions. Siakam matched a career high with 44 points Nov. 8 at New Orleans and grabbed a season-best 18 rebounds opening night against the Pelicans. He scored 35 points Jan. 26 at San Antonio and set a franchise record for points in a quarter with 25 in the first period.

Siakam was voted a starter in his first NBA All-Star Game in Chicago and named Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice: Jan. 20-26 and Nov. 4-10.

Following two seasons at New Mexico State, Siakam was selected 27th overall by the Raptors in the 2016 NBA Draft and signed a multi-year contract extension prior to the 2019-20 season.

Report: Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam named to 2019-20 All-NBA Second Team – Raptors HQ

By the way, that aforementioned max contract? By making All-NBA Second Team, Siakam gets a bump in his pay next year; his contact was set to kick in at 25 percent of the team’s total salary cap, but had a bonus in place that bumped that number up to 28 percent should he make either First or Second Team All-NBA. So congrats to Pascal for that too! Get that bag, young man.

Siakam named to All-NBA second team thanks to strong regular season | Toronto Sun

The selection came largely as a result of Siakam’s blazing start to the season. Coming off an NBA most improved player award, Siakam averaged 28 points and nine rebounds in five October games and 24, 8.4 and 4.0 assists in 13 in November, emerging as a fringe MVP candidate. He was also solid in December, but not quite as dominant from January-February, before struggling in five March games and then looking completely off offensively this summer. Still, he provided elite defence to go along with the offensive production, something not everybody on the All-NBA teams could say.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James were unanimous first-team selections, and were joined by James Harden, Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic.

Leonard, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Siakam made up the second team. Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Rudy Gobert, Ben Simmons and Russell Westbrook made the third team.

Kyle Lowry received three second-team votes and 23 thirds.

Marc Gasol to reportedly consider a return to Europe – Sportando

According to Xavier Saiso Garcia of Radio Ser Catalunya, Spanish center Marc Gasol is considering a return to Europe, for family reasons, to continue there his illustrious career. Reigning World Champion with Spain NT, Gasol is now a free agent after completing the season with the Toronto Raptors, the team with which he won the NBA title last year.

Toronto Raptors: Nick Nurse provides boost ahead of difficult offseason – Tip of the Tower

There were some who wondered how much Nurse benefited from taking over a strong roster, which only got better with the trade for Kawhi Leonard. This was an understandable perspective, but the Carroll, Iowa native rose to the challenge and proved himself this season.

Nurse’s game-planning and schemes — particularly at the defensive end of the court — impressed everyone, as he showed just how talented he was. The seemingly unending barrage of injuries to key personnel only further highlighted his abilities as a head coach, as he led the Raptors to their best single-season winning percentage in franchise history.

Now though, it’s possible Nurse will face his biggest challenge yet, as the Raptors face a critical offseason. There is every possibility the likes of Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol won’t be back in Toronto for the 2020-21 campaign.

If this happens it will put the pressure on Nurse to continue producing wins (especially if the Raptors miss out on Giannis Antetokounmpo). At the same time, if the evidence of these last two seasons are anything to go by, he will be more than capable of dealing with any adversity and coming out on top.

Send me any Raptors-related content that I may have missed – rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com