Sameer Ahmed

Toronto Basketball

[William Lou @william_lou]

"It's always been best-available, two-way players. That's always been our philosophy ... Sometimes you get into a trap if you try to take for fit in the first round."

Bobby Webster on the Raptors drafting so many big two-way forwards

[Josh Lewenberg @JLew1050]

Graves: "I feel like I can be a connector piece on the offensive end. And then defensively, I really wanna work on being able to switch, being able to guard like Collin Murray-Boyles, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, just being able to guard multiple positions"

[William Lou @william_lou]

allen graves spoke so much about being a team player, not needing the ball, winning the possession battle with rebounds and deflections, and locking down on defense. seems like he's pretty aware of how he can contribute.

[Kevin O'Connor @KevinOConnor]

Raptors fans, you’ll love this story from Allen Graves talking about the time he got sucker punched during a game 😂😂

[Josh Lewenberg @JLew1050]

Allen Graves on the Raptors: "They love big wings, so I fit right in. I know the culture there is great... Knowing that I'm coming into the right environment is amazing."

[Basketball University @UofBasketball]

Allen Graves is sick. One of the most insane possession game monsters in NCAA history. Raptors stacking 6’9 guys that have gamebreaking defensive playmaking and passing/rebounding for their size.

Going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the NBA.

[Esfandiar Baraheni @JustEsBaraheni]

Pacers, Wizards and Heat will all be better next season.

Celtics, Cavs, Pistons and the champ Knicks will still be very good.

Hawks, Hornets and Magic, young and developing. Sixers a wild card always.

The Raptors might not be able to sit idle.

[IKD @ESPNneedsIKD]

I’m fully expecting Myles Turner to be traded in the coming days here as Ware will be the starter in Milwaukee and allowed to grow/develop his game.

Two teams that come to mind: Lakers, Raptors

Should be interesting as Turner’s contract isn’t very appealing but he’s a proven center with playoff experience and a skillset that can provide value in stretching the floor

Toronto has that Jak contract and possible future draft capital they could use here, but I would be reluctant to give up any major pick capital here as that Turner contract is bad in its own right

[Legion Hoops @LegionHoops]

The Celtics could still trade Jaylen Brown as soon as today, and teams are expected to spark “a bidding war” for the former Finals MVP. (via ESPN)

[NBACentral @TheDunkCentral]

Anthony Edwards has been frustrated since Karl-Anthony Towns was traded, per @WindhorstESPN

@BannedMacMahon: “The NBA vultures are swirling around Ant in anticipation of him potentially becoming the next superstar who's available in the trade market” 👀

(h/t @TheNBABase)

[Underdog NBA @UnderdogNBA]

Further details on Giannis trade, via @sam_amick, @eric_nehm:

- Bucks will listen to offers to flip Tyler Herro; Pistons remain interested
- Heat tried to put Davion Mitchell in trade instead of Kasparis Jakucionis; Bucks did not want an additional player with just 1 season left on deal
- Bucks were concerned that Jaylen Brown may not have wanted to be in Milwaukee

[Clutch Time @ClutchTimeHoopz]

If the Toronto Raptors are serious about building this roster around Scottie Barnes I would be looking to acquire Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics.

Jaylen Brown is clearly very unhappy with the organization and I can almost guarantee he knew Jayson Tatum was pushing this Giannis to Boston idea. Here’s what a potential trade package could look like,

To Boston:

Brandon Ingram
Jakob Poetl
Gradey Dick
19th overall pick
2028 unprotected First round pick.

To Toronto:

Jaylen Brown
Sam Hauser
40th overall pick

#wethenorth

[Shams Charania @ShamsCharania]

BLOCKBUSTER: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 3 first-round picks (including No. 13), 1 pick swap and 1 second-rounder, sources tell ESPN.

[Kevin O'Connor @KevinOConnor]

The Timerwolves will have a traded player exception worth $33 mil. Who fits into that? Derrick White, who has recently been rumored as a target for Minnesota.

Also worth thinking about: Trey Murphy, Jrue Holiday, Dejounte Murray, and Myles Turner for players in that same range.

[NBACentral @TheDunkCentral]

The Toronto Raptors are a team to monitor for Myles Turner, per @michaelgrange

“A couple of league sources have suggested that the Raptors could be interested in Bucks centre Myles Turner if the Bucks go into fire-sale mode after a potential Antetokounmpo trade.”

(Via @Sportsnet / https://t.co/GWUitU2CLJ)

[SleeperHoops @Sleeper_Hoops]

Players who are tradable before the NBA Draft tomorrow, per @ShamsCharania:

- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Trey Murphy
- Herb Jones
- Kawhi Leonard

"The entire NBA is waiting on Giannis and this domino to fall. It will impact multiple teams across the league."

[Omer Osman @OmerOsman200]

Grange:

“A couple of league sources have suggested that the Raptors could be interested in Bucks centre Myles Turner if the Bucks go into fire-sale mode after a potential Antetokounmpo trade.”

“A deal built around Poeltl and Dick would work financially. The rebuilding Bucks would doubtlessly be looking for first-round picks as compensation for taking on an extra year of Poeltl’s contract. How many would be the question.”

🔗: https://t.co/lVmcWdTVTD

[Jake Weinbach @JWeinbachNBA]

Boston’s potential trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo:

Jaylen Brown
Hugo Gonzalez
No. 27 overall pick
2027 first-round pick

The Celtics are “all-in” on pursuing the Bucks star, per @WindhorstESPN.

[Evan Sidery @esidery]

The Bucks are deliberating right now on which trade offer between the Celtics and Heat they will accept for Giannis Antetokounmpo, per @ShamsCharania.

Giannis could be officially traded within the next few hours as Milwaukee will decide soon.

[Bill Simmons @BillSimmons]

This Celtics/Giannis situation didn’t change at all over the last 36 hours just FYI. Nothing is different. They made a real offer 2 weeks ago (as I repeatedly told you on my pods) and it’s been a staring contest ever since. But I do think it gets resolved today or tomorrow AM.