Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors haven't eliminated USC guard Bronny James from consideration in the 2024 NBA draft.

"I think all these players are guys we're looking at. He's in the mix," assistant general manager Dan Tolzman told reporters Tuesday. "... Every player on the board we're looking long and hard at and I wouldn't say we've ruled anybody out."

James' agent, Rich Paul, acknowledged to ESPN's Jonathan Givony on June 19 the draft prospect had only worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns to that point. Paul said that would likely remain the case despite interest from other teams and singled out Toronto as one such suitor.

"There are other teams that love Bronny. For example, Minnesota, Dallas, Toronto," Paul said. "If it's not the Lakers, it will be someone else. Minnesota would love to get Bronny in, but I don't know who their owner is going to be. [Mavs GM] Nico Harrison is like an uncle to Bronny. If the Lakers don't take him at 55, Dallas would take him at 58 and give him a guaranteed deal. Masai [Ujiri, Raptors president,] loves him. They could take him without even seeing him at 31. Workouts aren't everything for these teams."

In their present position, taking James would require the Raptors to make a major reach, though. They have two picks in the 2024 draft (Nos. 19 and 31), and both are well ahead of where Bronny is generally regarded.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman ranked the 6'2" freshman 65th overall on his newest big board and projected him to land on the Lakers with the 55th pick.

For Toronto and anybody who isn't Los Angeles or Phoenix, the possibility of increasing your odds of signing LeBron James by taking his son in the draft probably doesn't exist, either.

Paul played down that idea in a May interview with Chris Haynes for Bleacher Report and was more declarative with Givony.

"LeBron is off this idea of having to play with Bronny," he said.

Maybe the Raptors saw enough from James at USC and during the draft combine to warrant an aggressive play on the second day of the draft. For now, it's hard to see him playing north of the border.

Scottie Barnes reportedly plans on staying with the Toronto Raptors for years to come.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the 2023-24 All-Star intends to sign a five-year max contract with the Raptors that would be worth up to $270 million.

Toronto surprised some when it passed on point guard Jalen Suggs in order to select Barnes with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He proceeded to justify the investment by winning Rookie of the Year.

From that point forward, the 22-year-old has basically been untouchable when any outside interest arose. Across both the 2022 and 2023 offseasons, the Raptors made it clear they weren't trading him when first Kevin Durant and then Damian Lillard were made available to the highest bidder.

Barnes' performance this season reaffirmed why. He averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 blocks while knocking down 34.1 percent of his three-pointers.

The general fortunes for the Raptors told a different story.

They missed the playoffs for the third time in four years, and more than that, trading away Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby signified a wider organizational reset. To call it a full-scale rebuild would be inaccurate, but this was the first time the current front office regime displayed a clear willingness to focus on the future at the expense of contending now.

Barnes is obviously a centerpiece of that strategy and re-signing him was a no-brainer because of the Raptors' priority on keeping their homegrown talent.

As much as the city of Toronto should be a draw for major stars, they've long struggled to turn themselves into a free-agent destination despite the consistent success they've enjoyed. Part of the appeal behind acquiring RJ Barrett is that he's not only a native of the area but also signed for three more seasons.

Prior to 2023-24, projecting Barnes' value might have been somewhat tricky, thus potentially setting him some difficult contract negotiations. Him making his first All-Star team rendered the situation pretty straightforward. He put himself in position to get either rookie-designated max or something very close to that.

Team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster still have a lot of work ahead to make this roster good enough to challenge for a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference again.

The pair of Barnes and Barrett at least represent a solid foundation.

Toronto native and former Purdue star Zach Edey could be pursued by his hometown team in the upcoming NBA draft, according to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.

The Toronto Raptors, who currently hold the No. 19 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, "love homegrown Canadian-born players and are a team to monitor for Zach Edey if he falls to this pick," Scotto reported.

The Raptors recently made a major trade to acquire another Toronto native with their midseason deal for former New York Knicks standout RJ Barrett.

Barrett was the eighth Canadian to ever join the Toronto roster, per TSN's Josh Lewenberg. He was also the country's highest-profile player ever to don a Raptors jersey.

Now Toronto could have a chance to develop another hometown star with Edey, who averaged 25.2 points through 39 starts while leading the Boilermakers to the NCAA Tournament championship game in his senior season at Purdue.

There's still a chance, however, that one of the teams selecting before Toronto could use a first-round pick on the 7-foot-4 center instead.

In his latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, Jonathan Wasserman projects the Los Angeles Lakers using the No. 17 pick to add size to their frontcourt by selecting Edey. Scotto himself predicts the Orlando Magic will use the No. 18 selection to draft the former Purdue standout as part of a question to improve their shooting.

The Raptors may have to wait until the first round begins June 26 to determine their ability to draft another hometown player while adding scoring and rebounding potential.

The Toronto Raptors are set to have a busy offseason.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that the Raptors are "expected to exercise Bruce Brown's $23 million team option and use him as a trade chip entering the offseason." Additionally, Scotto reported that Toronto "will also look to extend All-Star forward Scottie Barnes this summer."

Brown averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 62 games for the Raptors in 2023-24. The club option is for $23 million and he will hit unrestricted free agency following 2024-25.

Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 60 games in 2023-24. Barnes is currently set to play on a club option for $10.1 million in 2024-25 before becoming a restricted free agent following the season.

The Raptors went 25-57 and missed out on the postseason for the second consecutive season. The team's original first round pick belongs to the San Antonio Spurs at No. 8, but the Raptors do have the No. 19 pick it acquired by dealing away Pascal Siakam.

With this in mind, a player like Brown may not fit into the long-term plans of the team and recouping some younger talent, or potentially another draft pick, could be appealing. He could also be a solid pickup for a contending team as a rental option.

Barnes, the No. 4 pick from 2021, is someone Toronto is looking to build around and locking him up will be crucial to constructing a roster than can return to the postseason.

The Toronto Raptors reportedly could see "serious" interest in the No. 31 pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic reported the Raptors are in prime position with the draft moving to two days. Whereas teams used to have just minutes to reach a deal between the first and second rounds, Toronto will now have an entire overnight period to field calls.

Of course, the value proposition of a second-round NBA draft pick is far different than, say, the NFL. NBA second-round picks almost never turn into stars and rarely even become average role players.

More than perhaps any other sport, there is a direct correlation between how high an NBA player is taken and his future production.

A player taken at No. 31 overall will, on average, project out as an eighth or ninth man in a rotation. That's not exactly the type of prospect that will have teams blowing up the Raptors' phone line—particularly in a draft that's considered among the weakest in recent NBA history.

Still, Toronto will be in a position of power to extract the maximum possible value for the pick or to simply take a guy the front office feels slipped past his draft stock. Given the historical wizardry of Masai Urjiri when it comes to team building, it's fair to say the Raptors will be active come draft night.

The Toronto Raptors are expected to pick up their $23 million team option on guard Bruce Brown's contract before trading him this offseason, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.

"The sense from a handful of league sources is that the Raptors are likely to pick up the option, then turn around and deal Brown quickly rather than wait until the 2025 trade deadline," Smith wrote.

After excelling as the Denver Nuggets' sixth man en route to helping that team win the 2022-23 NBA title, Brown inked a two-year, $45 million contract in free agency with the Indiana Pacers last July.

His time in Indiana lasted 33 games before the Pacers traded him to Toronto in a deal that notably sent two-time All-Star forward Pascal Siakam the other way. Kira Lewis Jr., Jordan Nwora and three first-round draft picks also went to Toronto.

Brown, who turns 28 in August, averaged 10.8 points on 47.8 percent shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season for the Raptors and Pacers.

The Raptors are in full rebuilding mode after trading Siakam to the Pacers and OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks.

Entering the offseason, their core consists of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, all of whom will be 25 years old or younger when the next season begins.

With the team coming off a 25-57 campaign, keeping a veteran like Brown for $23 million probably doesn't make much sense.

His stats certainly don't pop out at first glance, but he's a versatile jack-of-all-trades type player who's proven to be beneficial toward a championship team's success.

In the event the Raptors can't find a deal for Brown this summer, they could always continue to explore those discussions ahead of next year's trade deadline given the value of his expiring contract.

The NBA announced Wednesday that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter has been banned for life from the league due to a violation of gambling rules.

As part of a statement, the NBA noted that an investigation determined Porter was responsible for "disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes and betting on NBA games."

The NBA announced that one of the bets placed by Porter was on the Raptors to lose a game in which he did not play as part of a parlay.

Porter had not appeared in an NBA game since March 22 as the league investigated his role in suspicious betting activity.

The NBA's investigation found that prior to a March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings, Porter gave inside information regarding his health status to someone he knew was an NBA bettor. Another NBA bettor who knew Porter used that information to place an $80,000 prop bet related to Porter's statistical output.

Porter played only three minutes in the game, claiming that he felt ill, but the $80,000 prop bet, which would have netted the bettor $1.1 million, was not paid out due to the suspicious betting activity.

Additionally, the league investigation determined that Porter used an associate's online betting account to place $54,094 worth of bets from January 2024 to March 2024 while traveling with the Raptors or the team's G League affiliate.

While Porter did not bet on any games he played, "three of the bets were multi-game parlay bets that included one Raptors game, in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose."

Although the NBA's statement did not specifically mention a game aside from the March 20 contest, ESPN's David Purdum, Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski reported last month that the league was also investigating suspicious betting activity regarding the Raptors' Jan. 26 game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

In that game, Porter left after played just four minutes and did not return due to aggravation of an eye injury he suffered four days earlier.

Like the March 20 game, there was reportedly "increased betting interest" surrounding Porter and the Jan. 26 game.

In a statement, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Porter was guilty of "blatant violations" of NBA gaming rules, and added that the league intends to work closely with "all relevant stakeholders" in the sports betting space in an attempt to prevent future instances.

Porter, 24, is the younger brother of forward Michael Porter Jr., who won an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets last season.

Jontay played collegiately for one season at Missouri before entering the NBA as an undrafted free agent.

He saw significant action in the G League in recent years, but also appeared in 11 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020-21 and 26 games for the Raptors this season.

All told, Porter averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 37 career NBA regular-season games.

Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter may have played his final game in the NBA.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that Porter could be banished if the league investigation finds that he was involved in gambling, as ESPN's Tim Bontemps relayed.

Silver said what Porter is being accused of is a "cardinal sin."

Last month, Kevin Dotson of CNN reported NBA spokesperson Tim Frank said the league was "looking into" the Porter situation. At the time, the forward had been inactive for two games because of what was listed as "personal reasons."

As Dotson explained, DraftKings Sportsbook raised attention about a Jan. 26 game between the Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers as well as a March 20 game between Toronto and the Sacramento Kings.

Porter left the Jan. 26 game after zero points in four minutes with an apparent eye injury, which was notable because DraftKings users betting the under on his three-pointers was one of the biggest NBA wins of the evening.

As for March 20, he left after zero points and three minutes with an illness on a day when DraftKings users once again won big on his prop bets.

Seeing how Porter is merely a role player who is not a significant part of the Raptors' rotation, the amount of money placed on Porter's props raised concerns and elevated the situation to another level.

Sam Quinn of CBS Sports noted the NBA forbids anyone affiliated with the league as a player or employee from gambling on any NBA property. Players must also attend one anti-gambling training session each season and are fined $100,000 if they miss it.

Porter is the brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. and played 11 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020-21 and 26 games for the Raptors this season.

He hasn't played in a game since March 22.

Toronto Raptors wing RJ Barrett spoke Friday about returning to the team for the first time since the death of his brother.

Barrett, whose younger brother Nathan died March 12, discussed what went into his decision to return to basketball this week:

The 23-year-old Barrett suggested that he is following what his brother's wishes would have been, saying: "If I know my brother, he would want me to be here, to be playing, to try to just continue to make the Barrett legacy grow."

Barrett missed the Raptors' past eight games, last playing against the Denver Nuggets on March 11. Toronto's next game is a home tilt with the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

The New York Knicks selected Barrett with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft, and he spent parts of his first five NBA seasons in the Big Apple.

In 297 regular-season games with the Knicks, Barrett averaged 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

The Knicks traded Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round pick to the Raptors in exchange for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn in December.

Since arriving back in his hometown of Toronto, Barrett has put up the best numbers of his career, averaging 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 27 games for the Raptors.

It has been a tough season for the Raptors, who are 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 23-50 record and have lost 12 games in a row. That includes eight consecutive losses without Barrett in the lineup.

While the Raptors are merely playing for pride for the remainder of the season, they are potentially set up for success in the future with Barrett and Scottie Barnes as core pieces.

Barrett and the Raptors will look to close out the season on a positive note, starting with Sunday's game against Philadelphia.

Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter reportedly has been removed from the lineup for Monday's game against the Brooklyn Nets after being named the subject of a gambling investigation by the NBA.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, David Purdum and Brian Windhorst, the league is looking into "irregularities on prop betting involving" Porter in recent months.

Multiple sources told ESPN that the league flagged prop bets involving Porter from games on Jan. 26 and March 20. Porter has appeared in 26 games with five starts this season and is averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 13.8 minutes of action.

Wojnarowski provided more details on the betting irregularities:

The NBA released a short statement about the situation Monday:

In Toronto's game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 26, there was reportedly "increased betting interest on the under for Porter props," which were set at 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. There was also an over/under set at 0.5 for Porter's made three-pointers.

Porter ended up playing just four minutes in that game before being removed for what the Raptors said was a re-aggravation of an eye injury he suffered four days earlier, so the under hit on each prop bet. DraftKings Sportsbook reported the following day that the under on Porter's three-pointers was the biggest money winner of any NBA player prop from games that night.

Porter's prop bets were once again the No. 1 moneymaker on the night of March 20 when he played just three minutes before exiting with what the team called an illness. His over/unders were set at around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, and he didn't score and pulled down just two rebounds.

DraftKings released a statement on the situation:

Porter, the brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., signed a two-way contract with the Raptors in December. He missed Saturday's game against the Washington Wizards due to "personal reasons," the team said. He was listed as out with the same designation for Monday's game against the Nets.

NBA players and all other league employees are prohibited from participating in any form of gambling on league events. Punishments for violations of the league's gambling policy include fines, suspensions and potential contract terminations, among other possible consequences.