At the NBA trade deadline, the Raptors painted themselves into a corner. On Friday, with free agency opening, they paid for it in two ways.
In February, they were on the periphery of the Play-In Tournament when they dealt for free-agent-to-be Jakob Poeltl. Sure, the roster, if you believed in its merits, needed a rim protector in the worst way. Poeltl also added a presence rolling to the basket that opened up the floor for others — most notably Fred VanVleet. With VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. having the option to choose free agency this summer, though, adding another core player set to hit the market was risky.
On paper, it would be nip/tuck to retain all three players, if that is indeed what the Raptors chose to do. The move certainly wasn’t worth it for the in-season results, as the Raptors bowed out in a home Play-In game. Even if you were more optimistic about what the Raptors could do with a proper centre, their offensive shortcomings had their ceiling fixed pretty low for 2022-23.
It also meant that, with even the slightest bit of market unpredictability, things might work against them in the summer. That took shape Friday, as the Houston Rockets agreed to terms with VanVleet on a three-year, $130 million deal. The Raptors kept Poeltl, agreeing to a four-year, $80 million deal, but the Raptors now have a massive hole on their roster and no sure-fire way to fill it for the long term. In the interim, the Raptors reportedly agreed to a two-year, $26 million contract with Dennis Schröder, who spent last year with the Lakers.
The unpredictability the Raptors did not account for came in the form of the Rockets, who had been linked to James Hardensince the winter. That was incorrect. It turns out that was an attempt to get a richer offer from Philadelphia. When that failed, he opted into the second year of the contract he signed last summer and asked for a trade, leaving the Rockets with a lot of money to spend. Houston ownership and management, meanwhile, went through enough losing and off-court immaturity that they were willing to spend their money on win-now players, or at least threaten to. VanVleet was their top target, and they were ultimately willing to go to a third year at VanVleet’s full earning potential to land him.
Realistically, simply matching the contract wouldn’t have been enough for the Raptors, given the difference between taxes in Texas and Ontario. It would have been irresponsible, considering that the Raptors do not have Pascal Siakam, O.G. Anunoby or Scottie Barnes, their trio of versatile forwards, signed to long-term contracts to entertain the notion of paying VanVleet $43 million annually. Making things work at $30 million would have been tough enough.
The problem is everything they did leading up to Friday contributed to them surrendering leverage with both free agents, as well as potentially with teams around the league in trade talks. The first-round pick they surrendered for Poeltl showed that even if the Raptors didn’t rate the 2024 draft very highly, they had no intention of taking steps backward. In short, when they added win-now talent ready to hit the market instead of shedding it, they made their plans clear and left themselves with limited ways to pivot. Even if the trade market for VanVleet or other veterans didn’t shape up perfectly, going in the other direction — trying to improve the team in the short term at the cost of the long term — cost them some long-term flexibility.
They kept Poeltl, who helped the team tremendously. After the season was done, Raptors president Masai Ujiri referred to Poeltl as a “top-10 centre” and a “championship piece.” Given that and the acquisition cost, of course they were going to pay to retain him, even if it meant giving him a player option, as reported by ESPN.
The length of term should not be a big deal with a player who turns 28 in October and doesn’t have a long history of injuries, but Poeltl is a non-shooter next to Siakam and Barnes, two forwards without dangerous 3-point shots. It’s a fine deal, but how the Raptors manage to optimize him remains to be seen.
It will be difficult to do that without a shooting threat as a pick-and-roll partner. Even in a down shooting year, VanVleet demanded attention on and off the ball. Schröder isn’t much of a threat in the midrange, and he shot 35.1 percent on catch and shoot 3s last year, attempting only two per game. He rarely pulls up from 3. The Raptors were a bad shooting team the last two years, and now one of their primary ballhandlers is much less of a threat than the player he is replacing.
In all likelihood, Siakam and Barnes will take over even more of the ballhandling duties, but the spacing in those scenarios will be compromised too. Assuming the roster doesn’t change much from now until training camp, there will be huge pressure on Trent, who ultimately opted into his $18.56 million salary for next year, and first-round pick Gradey Dick to be accurate high-volume 3-point shooters. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT reported the Raptors and Trent are working toward a long-term contract extension. The Raptors can offer Trent a starting salary up to about $26 million in 2024-25.
The Raptors could try to add to their guard rotation, which for now includes just Schröder and Malachi Flynn, by shopping an excess forward. The Raptors don’t need all of Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher and Otto Porter Jr. (to say nothing of Thaddeus Young, who still hadn’t been officially waived as of this writing), and perhaps there is a forward-for-guard trade out there. Again, though, that would probably cost the Raptors some draft equity.
That is why this goes back to the deadline and arguably before then. If the Raptors decide to deconstruct this roster, they are starting from behind in terms of draft picks. If they want to continue to win, they will have to do so without a quality starting guard.
Paying VanVleet that much money wasn’t a good option. Neither is the spot the Raptors find themselves in, with limited upward mobility and precious little certainty in the near future.
(Photo of Masai Ujiri: Nick Turchiaro / USA Today)
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have loaned midfielder Jay Herdman to Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League and rewarded two Whitecaps FC 2 players with MLS contracts.
Midfielder Jeevan Badwal signed as a homegrown player through 2027, with options for 2028 and 2029, while forward Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau signed an MLS contract through 2025, with club options for 2026 and 2027.
Both have been playing for the Whitecaps’ MLS Next Pro team along with the 20-year-old Herdman, the son of Toronto FC coach John Herdman.
The moves were made before Friday’s MLS and CPL roster freeze.
Born in New Zealand while his father was working for the New Zealand Football Federation, Jay Herdman was also part of the New Zealand soccer team at the Paris Olympics with three appearances including two starts. Herdman’s loan deal runs through the end of the CPL season.
“Jay is an important signing for us, who will provide another attacking option for the run-in,” Cavalry coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said in a statement. “He’s a player that we’ve been tracking since we played against Whitecaps in pre-season and he has very good quality, with terrific energy and the ability to contribute to goals.
“With the recent injury to Mael Henry, Jay’s positional profile and age helps us with on-field options and minutes that count towards the league’s required 2,000 U-21 domestic minutes during the regular season.”
Badwal, an 18-year-old from suburban Surrey, is the 26th academy player to sign an MLS contract with the Whitecaps.
“Having joined our academy in 2019, Jeevan continues to progress through our club and takes every challenge in stride,” Whitecaps FC sporting director Axel Schuster said in a statement. “He is comfortable on the ball, positionally sound, and does the simple things very well. We are excited for Jeevan to make the next step in his young career.”
Badwal has made 19 appearances with Whitecaps 2 this season, scoring two goals and adding three assists. A Canadian youth international, he started all three matches for Canada at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Badwal made his first-team debut off the bench in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal against Pacific FC.
Chateau was originally selected 74th overall by the Whitecaps in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft after spending two years at St. John’s University.
The 22-year-old from Ottawa signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Whitecaps FC 2 in March. He leads Whitecaps FC 2 in goal-scoring this season with eight goals across 21 appearances (including eight starts).
“Nicolas leads MLS NEXT Pro in shots on target, has a very strong work rate and willpower. We are looking forward to seeing his growth as he builds on his young professional career,” said Schuster.
Chateau made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute at CF Montreal on July 6.
Herdman, who joined the Whitecaps academy as a 13-year-old, has made 19 appearances for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2024, scoring six goals and adding three assists. He made his MLS debut in April as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 victory at the Seattle Sounders.
Internationally, Herdman has represented New Zealand 29 times across the U-19, U-20, and U-23 sides. He was part of New Zealand’s squad at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting three matches at the tournament and scoring against Uzbekistan.
The Whitecaps host San Jose on Saturday while Cavalry entertains Atletico Ottawa on Sunday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024
