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Grading the Toronto Raptors’ 2020 NBA offseason – ClutchPoints

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After being eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 Eastern Conference Semifinals, one sentiment was echoed by both Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and star guard Kyle Lowry: it’s highly unlikely that we bring everyone back next year.

It was true, nevertheless. The statements may have been stated to save face and instill a glimpse of silver lining into retaining all of their upcoming free agents, but the overall notion had already settled in. The Raptors would be a slightly different looking team, one way or another. It’s no one’s fault to blame given the insane amount of production from the underdog squad. They were thought to be an aftermath meltdown after the departure of Kawhi Leonard.

Fred VanVleet turned in an insane year from all aspects of his game. It was well known that he wouldn’t retain the measly two-year, $18 million contract of which he’d just come off. The same could be said for Serge Ibaka, who’d had a career year himself and was looking for a huge bump in his salary.

How well the Raptors front office landed on their feet remains to be seen as the season gets underway.

Free Agency

The Raptors had three free agents that they felt the ultimate need to retain in VanVleet, Ibaka, and Marc Gasol. The end result was only being able to keep one, with VanVleet inking a four-year, $85 million deal as free agency commenced. Given both Ibaka and VanVleet’s career years, it was unlikely that Toronto could keep both players.

VanVleet’s scoring averages had jumped from his 2018-19 season in which he averaged only 11 points per game while dishing out 4.8 assists. He was given nearly a 10-minute bump in playing time during the 2019-20 season, which saw his averages increase to 17.6 points and 6.6 assists. He’s one of the more integral pieces of Nurse’s offense, which could suggest that he was a priority ahead of Ibaka.

The speculation was that Toronto brass would keep at least one of their two bigs in Gasol and Ibaka, with Gasol being the likely option. Given Gasol’s age, his asking price would be significantly less than it’s been in prior years. He’s still a formidable big that can stretch the floor and open lanes, but the 35-year-old isn’t getting any younger.

Still, the Raptors weren’t able to re-sign Gasol either, losing him to the new defending champions in the Los Angeles Lakers. Both Gasol and Ibaka were a major reason for the Raptors’ success through most of the season. With two undersized guards in VanVleet and Lowry, having the pair of bigs in sync was critical.

The Raptors were able to sign Aron Baynes, though, who was thought to be a top target for most teams coming into free agency. He secured the bag after the successful season he had with the Phoenix Suns, averaging 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. While he doesn’t possess necessarily the same skillset as Ibaka, he also comes with a mental toughness that may prove to be better for the Raptors.

Baynes is arguably the better defender in the case of both Ibaka and Gasol, and he can step back and drill the occasional 3-pointer if need be. The 6-foot-10 Australian shot 35.1 percent from deep last season, his highest mark of his career. One area that’ll likely see his production increase is his playing time. With the Raptors being short on legitimate, proven bigs, Baynes will surely see starter minutes this season, which could benefit both the Raptors and him.

Draft

The Raptors weren’t heavily rumored to make many moves heading into the draft. They only had two picks slotted at Nos. 29 and 59 in a weak draft class.

They were able to grab Malachi Flynn with the 29th overall pick from San Diego State University. While he still has a bit of development to achieve, the 6-foot-1 guard is coming off an impressive season with SDSU. He averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent from the field. He’ll likely receive some decent minutes behind Lowry and VanVleet if he can prove himself early on.

They also selected Jalen Harris with the second-to-last pick of the draft. It’s unlikely that he sees an insane amount of playing time in an already-crowded backcourt.

Outlook

The overall goal for the Raptors wasn’t to go after big free agents or draft high in this year’s draft; it was to continue the player development of their young standouts. Pascal Siakam, who they signed to a max deal nearly a year ago, will look to improve all aspects of his game after a lackluster showing in the playoffs. Still, he’s primed for a bright future compared to the small sample size of slumps he’s had.

OG Anunoby is another young talent that’s becoming more treasurable to the Raptors front office. He’s continuously showed his potential in recent years, while having another breakout year during the 2019-20 season.

Offseason Grade: B+

Toronto is more concerned with building its core for the future, and that didn’t require much work this offseason.

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Flames re-sign defenceman Ilya Solovyov, centre Cole Schwindt

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CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.

Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.

Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.

The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.

Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.

The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.

Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Oman holds on to edge Nepal with one ball to spare in cricket thriller

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KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.

Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.

Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.

Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.

Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.

Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.

The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.

The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.

Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).

Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.

Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.

The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024

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Vancouver Canucks will miss Demko, Joshua, others to start training camp

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PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.

The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.

“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.

“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”

The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.

Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.

“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.

“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”

Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.

Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.

“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.

Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.

The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.

Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”

Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.

Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.

“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”

The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.

Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.

The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.

Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.

“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”

A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.

Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.

“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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