Toronto Raptors

To hear Kyle Lowry's agent tell it, the Toronto Raptors point guard has absolutely not been saying he is going to be traded despite reports to the contrary.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet shared Mark Bartelstein's comments:

"It's frustrating from our perspective. A story comes out that Kyle's told everybody he's out. That's just blatantly not true. It's just 1,000 per cent not true. Are there a lot of teams around the NBA that want Kyle? Yeah, who wouldn't want an all-star point guard. There are certainly teams that know that he's in the last year of his deal and this is the time of year where every team is talking to every team about a lot of things, and there's a lot of people that would love to get Kyle Lowry, but his focus right now is on winning for the Toronto Raptors.

"He has clearly not told anybody that he wants out of Toronto. Masai and Bobby and I talk all the time. You can never put anything in concrete in this business, things change, but there is literally nothing to all this chatter about Kyle wanting out or telling his team he wants to go there. That's just not true."

The comments come after The Ringer's Ryen Russillo said Lowry has "been telling everybody for over a month that he is getting traded" during an appearance on latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast (h/t HoopsHype). 

Kayla Grey of TSN Sports shared Lowry's social media post saying "the lies people tell in the media are amazing."

Grange reported any Lowry trade this season is "increasingly unlikely," although there have been understandable rumors to this point.

On the one hand, Toronto is 17-19 and does not look the part of a title contender. Keeping the 34-year-old point guard aboard just to make a run at winning something of significance seems unlikely because the Raptors are simply a step behind the legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference.

Lowry is also scheduled for free agency following the season, so Toronto could land something for him in a trade before he potentially leaves for another team.

Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers are all potential landing spots if a trade does happen. Still, Grange's reporting, as well as comments from both Lowry and Bartelstein, seem to suggest that won't happen.

That means chasing one more playoff spot with the Villanova product, who is averaging 18.0 points, 7.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game, is the likely current path for the Raptors before Lowry's legendary time with the franchise could come to an end during the offseason.

The Kyle Lowry trade rumors appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

Lowry took to Instagram on Tuesday to call out the "lies" in the media, seemingly a reference to ongoing rumors about his future with the Toronto Raptors.

Ryen Russillo of The Ringer said Monday on The Bill Simmons Podcast that Lowry has been "telling everybody for over a month that he is getting traded." The six-time All-Star is a free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Curiosity about Lowry's status with the Raptors increased after he put his Toronto-area house up for sale. The Raptors were 17-19 during the first half of the 2020-21 season and could be sellers ahead of the March 25 trade deadline if team president Masai Ujiri wants to reconfigure the roster.

Lowry is averaging 18.0 points, 7.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game in his age-34 season and could be a massive help in putting a contender over the edge. The Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets are among the teams that could see a boost in their ceiling by adding Lowry to their playoff rotation. 

Lowry is also from Philadelphia and went to college at Villanova, making the Sixers an even more enticing potential homecoming.

Regardless of whether Lowry winds up being traded, his reported resignation to a Toronto departure seems premature. It's possible he's preparing to leave the team this offseason, but the Raptors aren't going to hand over the best point guard in franchise history without a significant return.    

With the Toronto Raptors struggling in the first half of the season, Kyle Lowry's future with the organization is uncertain leading up to the March 25 trade deadline.  

On the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast (h/t HoopsHype.com), The Ringer's Ryen Russillo reported that Lowry has "been telling everybody for over a month that he is getting traded."

Lowry has been a frequent topic of discussion in trade rumors as the Raptors have been unable to build any momentum thus far for a potential playoff push. 

The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers have been cited as two possible landing spots if Toronto decides to move the six-time All-Star. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month that Lowry, who is from Philadelphia, "would like" to play in the city. 

Point guard is a position that the Clippers would seem likely to address prior to the trade deadline. Patrick Beverley is still an effective defensive player, but the team needs someone who can run the offense, score and help set up Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. 

Lowry is playing this season on a one-year, $30 million contract. The 34-year-old is averaging 18.0 points on 45.7 percent shooting, 7.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 29 starts this year. He is in his ninth season with Toronto after being acquired in a July 2012 trade with Houston Rockets 

The Raptors are currently the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 17-19 record. 

Rapper Drake referenced Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and San Antonio Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan on "Lemon Pepper Freestyle," a song from his new EP, Scary Hours 2, that was released Friday.

"Patty Mahomes 'bout to fall short a couple hunnid," Drake raps in the second verse.

Later in the same verse, he adds: "For real, and my city love me like DeMar DeRozan."

Here's the full song (some language NSFW):

Mahomes, who appears in State Farm commercials alongside Drake, jokingly didn't appear to enjoy his shoutout based on a Twitter post Friday:

The Chiefs are coming off a loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV last month, falling one win short of their second straight championship.

Meanwhile, Drake's relationship with DeRozan dates back to the four-time All-Star guard's time with the rapper's hometown Toronto Raptors.

The day he was traded to the Spurs in July 2018 included a stop to visit the four-time Grammy Award winner.

"Yeah, day it came out, I went to Drake's house," DeRozan told Chris Haynes, then of ESPN, at the time. "Me and him sat and talked for a couple of hours. Not even on some hoops stuff. Just to hear the words that come from him being the person that he is in this world, especially in Toronto. What I meant to this city. It was what I needed."

Drake has served as a team ambassador for the Raptors since 2013.

The Toronto Raptors announced they won't have Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Pat McCaw for Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons because of the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols. 

The teams were supposed to play Tuesday but had to move the matchup back by one day. Toronto's encounter with the Chicago Bulls, originally scheduled for last Sunday, was postponed as well.

In addition to the players who will be missing, head coach Nick Nurse remains out as well.

To say Toronto will be short-handed is an understatement. Siakam and VanVleet are averaging 40.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 11.4 assists just by themselves. Anunoby is 39th in the league in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus (plus-1.65).

Siakam was absent for the Raptors' 122-111 win over the Houston Rockets last Friday, halting the momentum he had built over the last month.

While Siakam's scoring average from February (20.7 points) was only marginally better compared to January (19.8), his three-point shooting improved from 20.4 percent to 36.5 percent. He was also averaging one more assist (5.3) per game, helping to facilitate the offense.

Not coincidentally, the Raptors entered the month of February four games under .500 (8-12) and ended back at .500 (17-17). B/R's Mo Dakhil listed the Raptors at No. 11 in his most recent power rankings.

The All-Star break is on the horizon, which will allow Toronto's players to possibly fulfill the terms of the NBA's protocols to become eligible to return. After Wednesday, the Raptors have one more game (Thursday away to the Boston Celtics) on their first-half schedule. Then, they'll be off until March 11, when they host the Atlanta Hawks.

The NBA announced Sunday's scheduled game between the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls has been postponed.

The Raptors do not have the required eight players available for the game after positive tests and contact tracing.

Toronto played Friday against the Houston Rockets but were without Pascal Siakam and six coaches, including head coach Nick Nurse, due to health and safety protocols. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Siakam was expected to miss at least the next three games.

The shorthanded Raptors earned a 122-111 win over Houston Friday behind a triple double from Kyle Lowry. The squad is 10-5 in the last 15 games and shot up to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 17-17 record.

The Bulls (15-17) are also in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Sunday's postponement was the first of the year for Toronto, which has just two more games before the All-Star break. The team is scheduled to face the Detroit Pistons Tuesday and Boston Celtics on Thursday.

Chicago is currently set to face the Denver Nuggets at home on Monday.

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam will reportedly remain sidelined through the NBA's All-Star break, which runs March from 5 to 10, because of the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news Saturday after the 2019-20 All-Star missed Friday's victory over the Houston Rockets. He'll also sit out games against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

Siakam was a breakout star during the Raptors' run to the 2019 NBA championship, and he's continued to develop into a vital piece of the team's core. He's averaged 20.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals across 30 appearances during the 2020-21 season.

The 26-year-old Cameroon native has been mostly durable throughout his five-year NBA career, though he's been sidelined this season by minor groin and knee injuries.

Chris Boucher should join Toronto's starting lineup to fill the void. Yuta Watanabe and Stanley Johnson also figure to receive added minutes as part of the frontcourt rotation.

The Raptors have considerable scoring depth, which could help them avoid a major drop-off, but they don't have a frontcourt player who can match Siakam's overall impact. 

Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam will not play Friday against the Houston Rockets due to health and safety protocols, according to Raptors reporter Doug Smith.

In 30 games this season, Siakam is the 16-17 Raptors' leading scorer with 20.1 points per game. He also leads in rebounds with 7.5 per game and is chipping in 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals as well.

Siakam was the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2018-19, likely making the San Antonio Spurs regret not taking a harder stance to request him as part of the trade package for Kawhi Leonard in the 2018 offseason.

After Leonard signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Raptors looked to Siakam to play an even bigger role. They signaled the shift by giving him a four-year, $130 million max extension that will go into effect this season.

Toronto was clearly hopeful Siakam would take yet another jump in his development. The 26-year-old was an All-Star for the first time but didn't take a big step forward. He averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 35.9 percent from long range.

Siakam's performance in 2020-21 has been a big storyline around the Raptors, and not for totally positive reasons. He missed their 100-83 win over the New York Knicks on Dec. 31 as a disciplinary measure.

While Siakam isn't meeting expectations, he's the most important player on Toronto's roster along with guard Fred VanVleet. Any hope the team has of moving up into a top-four seed rests on his shoulders.

It is unclear how long Siakam will be out, especially since the Raptors have not announced whether he tested positive for COVID-19 or was simply a close contact.

For Friday's game, it is likely that center Chris Boucher and Aron Baynes will receive significantly more playing time, while OG Anunoby will likely start at power forward.

The Toronto Raptors will play Friday night's game against the Houston Rockets without six coaches, including head coach Nick Nurse.

Per Marc Stein of the New York Times, Nurse and five assistants have been placed in the NBA's health and safety protocol. 

The Raptors announced that Nurse and the other coaches will work remotely for the time being, with details of their return being made public "when appropriate."

Per the NBA's health and safety protocols for this season, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 either has to test negative twice 24 hours apart or go at least 10 days after the first positive test or onset of symptoms in order to return. 

It's not specified with Nurse and the five Raptors coaches tested positive for the coronavirus or have been deemed high-risk close contacts of someone who tested positive. 

The Raptors have four games remaining in the first half of the season starting on Friday night against the Rockets. They will play the Chicago Bulls (Feb. 28), Detroit Pistons (March 2) and Boston Celtics (March 4) before the All-Star break. 

Toronto currently owns the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 16-17 record. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver apologized to Masai Ujiri for comments that seemingly blamed the Toronto Raptors president for a 2019 altercation with a police officer at the NBA finals. 

Silver had given an interview in October 2019 with Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, saying Ujiri should avoid those situations. 

"When I watch that last bit of the interview, in light of what we now know, I would love to take those words back," Silver told Michael Grange of Sportsnet. "[Masai] and I at this point have probably talked about that night 100 times since then. He has my full and unequivocal support.

"But I apologize to Masai for what I said in that interview. ... Believe me, when I look at that now, I cringe when I watch it."

Alameda County (California) sheriff's deputy Alan Strickland claimed Ujiri assaulted him when the executive was attempting to reach the court after the Raptors won Game 6 of the 2019 NBA finals. He was sued by Strickland, who claimed Ujiri struck him in the arm and shoulder, while Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern wanted the district attorney to charge him with battery of a peace officer.

Bodycam footage later showed Strickland initiated contact and shoved Ujiri twice when he attempted to show his credentials. Ujiri countersued Strickland, and the lawsuits were both dropped earlier this month.

The outcome vindicated Ujiri, but also made Silver's previous words look much worse (17:20):

"It's part and parcel of what comes with someone who is living on the edge a bit and is hard-wired to sort of march forward with incredible energy," the commissioner said in 2019. "Lessons learned for him—without assigning culpability or blame to anyone—as a leader, those are the kinds of situations he needs to learn to avoid."

With the NBA becoming more involved in social justice issues over the past year, Silver clearly saw the harm of his past statement.