The chance of the Raptors getting a new, impact face for their frontcourt in free agency has dwindled to nothing but there remain options — familiar, mostly — to fill a major void.
They have lost out on retaining Serge Ibaka, which may not be a calamity but it certainly can’t be spun as good news, and they are getting close to being in scramble mode with the pickings getting slimmer by the hour.
“All will be well,” a highly placed team source said Sunday morning, but that may be as much wishful thinking as anything.
Ibaka fled Toronto for a two-year, $19-million (U.S.) deal with the Los Angeles Clippers late Saturday, spoiling the feel-good mood of earlier in the day when Fred VanVleet agreed to a four-year, $85 million contract to stay.
It was more important for the Raptors retain a 26-year-old guard still ascendant in his career rather than a 31-year-old power forward who would have only gotten a one-year deal, so Toronto had a net free agency win Saturday. But it’s time to look at the possibilities of Ibaka’s replacement and there isn’t any reason to think any major player is coming.
A combination of the labour force — the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Aron Baynes and Hassan Whiteside are available — and the desire to limit any contract to one year to protect 2021 cap space leaves Ujiri and Webster with few legitimate options.
Marc Gasol and Chris Boucher would be near the top of the list and would provide the familiarity and consistency good teams need.
But Gasol will turn 36 about a month into next season and he’s coming off a year where injuries and the pandemic layoff robbed him of a lot of his effectiveness. He is also attracting interest around the league, although the Raptors have the upper hand in salary they can offer him. Reports indicate both the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are intrigued by the possibility of signing him.
Boucher has never logged big minutes in the NBA and it might be a reach to trust him to be a regular on a top-four conference team might be a reach.
The others? They’re just guys for the most part, good but not great, intriguing to some degree if you can talk yourself into their usefulness. None would swing the balance of power in the East and trying to convince them that a one-year deal is worth taking might prove difficult.
The Raptors do have money to spend, if they can find someone they feel worth spending it on. Under salary cap rules, they can pay Gasol anything they want. There are limits to what they can offer the restricted free agent Boucher but they do have up to $9.2 million to spend on a mid-level exception.
One option that remains for Ujiri and Webster is to find a trade that will fill the frontcourt void. What it would cost might be an issue — the only player likely to fetch something on the market who could be a difference maker is Norm Powell.
But Powell is coming off an excellent season and the Raptors see him as a key piece of the future. It’s incomprehensible they wold consider moving Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, and it would be a stunning development if Kyle Lowry’s $31-million contract was moved, with his value to the franchise.
Even if nothing happens between now and the Dec. 1 opening of training camps, the team’s front office has a proven history of making deals under the right circumstances.
The loss of Ibaka, regardless of what comes next, is a bitter pill for the Raptors. His evolution since arriving in a February 2017 trade for Terrence Ross was quite something to see unfold.
He arrived a tentative and somewhat reluctant addition, unsure of where he fit in the organization’s plans and even what position he would play. He morphed into an integral part of a championship team — its best rim protector, a big man with deep shooting range, a tenacious defender and a mentor to young players like Anunoby and Terence Davis II.
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Off the court, he thrived and became one of the team’s most popular players, able to connect with fans on a variety of levels. His YouTube cooking show “How Hungry Are You?” was a huge hit — sautéed worms for DeMar DeRozan and pizza topped with bull penis for Kawhi Leonard were memorable episodes — and his “How Bored Are You?” social media hits at the start of the pandemic were entertaining.
With his fashion pursuits and his presence, Ibaka was a fun piece of a roster that was one of the best blends of basketball talent and personalities around Toronto in years.
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TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
