Toronto Raptors

The NBA announced that Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet has been fined $15,000 for an "obscene gesture" made during the tail end of his team's game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

The following has been announced by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/KTDsWRxGEI

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 13, 2021

The ex-Wichita State star hit a big three-point bucket to give him 32 points and provide the Raps with a 113-109 edge over the host 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.

VanVleet then did the popular "Sam Cassell Dance" to celebrate. He just so happened to do this in front of its creator, ex-NBA guard and Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Sam Cassell, who was there to witness it firsthand.

Fred VanVleet's celebration after his DAGGER three 😂 https://t.co/1XoNSXYqH5

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 12, 2021

Toronto ended up winning 115-109 and moved to 7-6 on the year after VanVleet's big game and shot. The 76ers fell to 8-5.

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said Saturday that Pascal Siakam will make his season debut against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, according to TSN's Kayla Grey.

Siakam has missed the Raptors' first 10 games this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in June.

While Siakam is arguably Toronto's best player, the Raptors have played well in his absence, going 6-4.

The 27-year-old Siakam has accomplished a great deal in five NBA seasons since Toronto selected him 27th in the 2016 draft.

Siakam was named the NBA Most Improved Player and helped the Raptors win their first championship in 2019, and he followed that with his first career All-Star nod during the 2019-20 season.

After averaging just 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in his first two NBA campaigns, he broke out in 2018-19 with averages of 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest.

Although Kawhi Leonard was the unquestioned go-to guy on that 2018-19 team, Siakam played a huge role in the Raptors' winning it all, alongside Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet and others.

Siakam was elevated to top-player status the following season after Leonard left Toronto and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency.

The 6'8" forward was up to the task, as he averaged career highs with 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 three-pointers made per game, as well as 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal.

Siakam wasn't quite as good last season for a Raptors team that stumbled in the standings and missed the playoffs, but he was still productive with averages of 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.3 three-pointers made and 1.1 steals.

OG Anunoby has been the go-to guy for Toronto this season, averaging a team-high 20.6 points per game. Toronto is also getting great play out of VanVleet, rookie No. 4 pick Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr.

Adding Siakam to that group will be huge for Nurse, especially since the Raptors don't have anyone taller than 6'9". He figures to play a significant role in the paint for a team that has a chance to do damage in the Eastern Conference.

Pascal Siakam is on the verge of making his 2021-22 season debut.

The Toronto Raptors forward is scheduled to return from his shoulder injury within the next two weeks, his agent Todd Ramasar told NBA Today's Justin Termine.

Siakam had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder in June. He was expected to miss five months, so his anticipated return is right on schedule. 

The 27-year-old suffered the injury in May and missed Toronto's final four games of the 2020-21 campaign. He recently took a significant step forward in his recovery as he was assigned to the G League's Raptors 905 on Friday.

Siakam was drafted 27th overall by the Raptors in 2016, and he has become a mainstay in Toronto's lineup over the last three seasons. The former All-Star led the Raptors in scoring during the 2020-21 campaign, averaging 21.4 points per game. He also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the field.  

The Raptors lineup will receive a significant boost when Siakam returns. Toronto has been relying on Scottie Barnes, Chris Boucher and Svi Mykhailiuk in his absence. 

Barnes, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft, has been impressive this season. He's averaging 18.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and two assists per game while shooting 55.1 percent from the field. 

Boucher and Mykhailiuk have also provided a nice scoring touch off the bench. The former is averaging 5.6 points per game, while Mykhailiuk is averaging eight points per contest. 

The Raptors have struggled with Siakam sidelined, but are still sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 5-3 record. Once he returns from his shoulder injury, Toronto will be much better off. 

However, the Raptors didn't make the playoffs last year and it'll be difficult for the franchise to compete with the likes of the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets for a title this season.  

Pascal Siakam heard all the trade rumors, but that hasn't altered his long-term commitment to staying in Toronto.

"It didn’t bother me really, because I never really heard anything from the Raptors," Siakam told Sopan Deb of the New York Times. "Even all the news I was seeing it was never like: 'Oh. The Raptors wanted to give up Siakam for this.' It was always like, 'The Warriors like Pascal,' or it was always, 'The Kings like Pascal,' or this. There was never nothing where it was like, 'The Raptors wanted to give away Pascal.'"

Siakam has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the NBA offseason, though it does not appear any deal ever came close to getting done. The 27-year-old is in the second season of a four-year, $136.9 million contract, with his first being a bit of a disappointment.

Siakam averaged 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists for a Raptors team that failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13. His three-point shooting efficiency cratered to 29.7 percent after he shot 35.9 percent in an All-Star campaign a year prior. While Siakam says he understands criticism, he said fans sometimes took it too far, mentioning his late father.

"I’m a really prideful person, and I always want to be the best player that I can be, and the bubble wasn’t that. So I get it, I understand it, but also for me what really hurt me is one of those things about my dad or like, 'Oh, your dad wouldn’t have been proud of this,'" Siakam said.

The Raptors are in the midst of a transition period that began quickly after their 2019 championship. Siakam is the only player remaining from the starting lineup of that title team, and he and Fred VanVleet are the only two rotation players left. 

After the Toronto Raptors set up shop at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, for the 2020-21 campaign, the team will return home for the upcoming NBA season.

A Raptors spokesperson confirmed to the Canadian Press that they have received permission to play games at Scotiabank Arena.

While capacity is yet to be determined, the spokesperson said the team is "optimistic" about hosting full crowds.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian federal government denied the Raptors' request to play in Toronto last year.

David Cochrane of CBC News reported in November that the Raptors might be allowed to host games at Scotiabank Arena later in the season "if pandemic conditions improve."

That didn't happen, leaving the Raptors to share an arena with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning. They finished the year with a 27-45 record, their worst record since the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season (23-43).

All 30 NBA teams are set to report to training camp Sept. 28. The Raptors announced their five-game preseason schedule Friday, starting Oct. 4 at home against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The last time Toronto played at Scotiabank Arena was Feb. 28, 2020, against the Charlotte Hornets. The team had just wrapped up a five-game road trip when the season was postponed because of the pandemic March 11.    

Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri acknowledged the organization is entering a transitional phase after having steadily lost a number of key players from its 2019 championship team.

"We are a young team, but there is no deficit in leadership," he said on CBC News' Front Burner podcast. "You know, Fred [VanVleet] is an unbelievable leader. This is what everybody is going to see now....We're not a team of 'now.' There are going to be growing pains, you know like, sometimes it's gonna be tough to watch but we know what's coming, we know we're excited about the young talent."

Once they failed to re-sign Kawhi Leonard, returning to the summit of the NBA was always going to be tricky for the Raptors. 

A roster led by VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry had a clear ceiling, with the team losing to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In 2020-21, Toronto experienced numerous hardships that resulted in a 27-45 record.

Signing Giannis Antetokounmpo represented the easiest path back to the top, and Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill reported in September 2020 the Raptors were considered a contender to land him. The two-time MVP subsequently agreed to a supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, taking that option off the table.

Lowry's sign-and-trade to the Miami Heat was the final domino that made an overhaul inevitable. Turning the six-time All-Star into Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa was a nice piece of business but didn't significantly improve the Raptors' short-term outlook.

The good news is that Ujiri committed his future to the franchise in August:

I've said it before, and I am saying it again.

We will win in Toronto.

- Masai pic.twitter.com/KJ64UwjZPo

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 5, 2021

Unless Toronto becomes a market that can attract marquee free agents, the front office may need multiple years to turn the roster into one that can regularly finish in the top four of the East again.

Ujiri was already the architect of one title-winning squad, so the fanbase can feel reasonably confident he has the right long-term vision this time around.

Pascal Siakam isn't looking to leave the only NBA team he has ever known.

His agent, Todd Ramasar, told SiriusXM NBA Radio, "from our camp we are not requesting any type of movement" from the Toronto Raptors.

The comments come after Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reported the Raptors have received "numerous calls" regarding Siakam even though a trade is unlikely in part because the forward "has no desire to be moved despite the possibility of a rebuilding situation in Toronto."

Whether Toronto moves toward more of a rebuild by trading Siakam remains one of the bigger storylines of the offseason.

On the one hand, the trio of Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby could help the Raptors compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. However, the team no longer has Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry from the championship-winning group of 2019 and likely wouldn't be much of a factor past the first round.

Moving Siakam could help Toronto shift toward the future with young pieces such as Scottie Barnes.

NBA insider Marc Stein (h/t HoopsHype) reported many around the league saw Toronto's decision to select Barnes with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2021 draft indicated the team might be willing to move Siakam before the 2021-22 campaign begins.

Whether he remains with the Raptors or joins another team, Siakam has built an impressive resume that includes the 2018-19 Most Improved Player, a championship, an All-Star selection and a 2019-20 All-NBA Second Team selection.

While he didn't have the accolades in 2020-21, he was still productive and averaged 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from three-point range.

Siakam is just 27 years old and could be a foundational piece for a contender if the Raptors do trade him, although he apparently isn't looking to be moved.

The bottom fell out on the Toronto Raptors last year as the team finished 27-45 and 12th in the Eastern Conference.

Numerous hardships befell the Raptors, with injuries to all of their key stars. No one started more than 56 of the 72 regular-season games.

In addition, Toronto never played in Canada as the team was forced to temporarily move to Tampa due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Raptors were never truly at home as the team scuffled through a tough season.

It's unclear how the Raptors will rebound, but the team underwent one major change when it sent franchise legend Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade.

The Raptors added Precious Achiuwa and Goran Dragic from the Miami Heat in return. In addition, Gary Trent Jr., who landed with the Raps when Toronto traded Norman Powell to the Portland Trail Blazers, inked a three-year, $51.8 million deal to stay in town.

Khem Birch, who impressed after signing with the Raptors last April, re-signed with the team. Toronto also added Isaac Bonga and Sam Dekker in free agency.

The biggest addition is Scottie Barnes, the former Florida State forward who has impressed in NBA Summer League action. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 draft notably opened his professional career with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a win over the New York Knicks. He has the potential to be a dominant two-way forward and should be able to offer immediate positive contributions.

Fred VanVleet figures to run the point with Lowry gone, and he's more than capable of doing so after averaging 19.6 points and 6.3 assists last year. Trent should slide in as the starting shooting guard, with OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Birch rounding out the starting five.

Siakam is one to watch this year. After making the 2020 All-Star Game, Siakam struggled a bit to start 2020-21, averaging 18.1 points per game through his first 15 contests. He did rebound later in the year, but he's now the team's clear co-star alongside VanVleet. The Raps will need him to regain his All-Star form to make the playoffs.

With all that in mind, here's how the Raps' schedule shakes out, alongside the top matchups to watch and a season forecast.

                

2021-22 Raptors Schedule Details

Season Opener: vs. Washington Wizards, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. ET

Championship Odds: +12000 (via FanDuel)

Entire 2021-22 Schedule: NBA.com

         

Top Matchups

vs. Miami Heat (Feb. 3 and April 3)

Lowry never got a proper goodbye in Toronto. Like 21 other NBA teams, the Raptors ended their 2019-20 season in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, as the NBA moved into a bubble-like environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-nine NBA teams were able to return home for the 2020-21 season, but the Raptors were not. Border restrictions amid the pandemic forced the Raptors to find a new home in Tampa's Amalie Arena. Therefore, Lowry hasn't played in Toronto since Feb. 28, 2020.

It's bound to be an emotional return for Lowry, who joined the Raptors in 2012. He had six All-Star appearances and helped lead the team to their only NBA title in 2019. Toronto was a perennial playoff team for much of his tenure thanks to his efforts, and the Raptor faithful will be sure to give him a proper sendoff.

                         

Season Forecast

Record Prediction: 42-40 (No. 8 in Eastern Conference)

Despite losing Lowry, this team has too much talent to sink to the bottom depths of the Eastern Conference. Siakam and VanVleet should be a formidable one-two punch, and they're coached by one of the game's best in Nick Nurse. Anunoby is back and should be a menace on both ends, and the sharpshooting Trent is a big boost to the team's offense. Plus, Barnes has looked good in his limited summer-league action.

The East is tough, featuring the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, a monster big three in Brooklyn and a Philadelphia 76ers team featuring NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid. It's hard seeing the Raptors finish in the top tier of the league, but they should at worst be fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament.

             

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For the last few years, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri has faced a barrage of rumors suggesting he may leave the franchise.

Equipped with a massive new contract extension, Ujiri says there's no longer any reason to worry about his future.

"Forever man ... forever ... I'm home, man," Ujiri told reporters Wednesday when asked about the length of his contract.

Ujiri signed a new deal to add vice chairman to his previous title of Raptors president earlier this month. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported several sports organizations outside the NBA even pursued Ujiri as he contemplated his future.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet reported Ujiri's contract is expected to pay $15 million per year.

Ujiri has led the Raptors' basketball operations since he joined the franchise in 2013. He assembled 2019 championship roster, a title spearheaded by Ujiri's gamble on a one-year rental of Kawhi Leonard.

A vast majority of that title-winning team is gone two years later, with Kyle Lowry's departure to the Miami Heat this summer being seen as the final nail in the era's coffin. Ujiri expressed confidence in developing a young team moving forward.

"We're going to develop these players, and we're going to find a way to win (another) championship here," he told reporters. "We're not going to sit here and cry that players don't want to come here.

"That's not what we're about. I think we've gotten past that."

The Toronto Raptors are reportedly not shopping forward Pascal Siakam despite taking calls on potential trades, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Amick reported Siakam wants to remain in Toronto even after the team drafted fellow forward Scottie Barnes with the No. 4 overall pick last month. 

Team president Masai Ujiri has reportedly told Siakam he's "not being shopped," and there's a plan for the organization going forward.

Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee previously reported Ujiri is "listening like a good negotiator" to calls from other teams, with the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers among those interested.

Siakam helped the Raptors win the 2019 NBA title and earned an All-Star selection in 2019-20 when he averaged 22.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He followed it up with similar numbers in 2020-21 (21.4 PPG and 7.2 RPG), although the team struggled to a 27-45 record to break a streak of seven straight playoff appearances.

It now seems Toronto is in the midst of a rebuild, especially after losing Kyle Lowry to free agency. 

A move could benefit Siakam if he moves to a contender instead of treading water with the Raptors. With the 27-year-old still owed $106 million over the next three seasons combined, the Raptors could also look to clear salary and add assets to build around Barnes and OG Anunoby. 

This is enough to keep teams interested in a deal, but it seems Toronto is not forcing anything.