Toronto

[Durbansandshark]

Wednesday saw the Raptors waive undrafted Brooklyn native Shemarie Ponds who only played in 4 games scored 9 points under 11 minutes of total action and reacquired guard Paul Watson after 10-day Atlanta Hawks contract expired:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...hamorie-ponds/

With just about everybody back in Toronto at full strength, expect coach Nick Nurse to tweak and shake up starting lineups for the rest of the regular season, especially in reaction to the injury bug hitting a good number of its players not just the more important ones. Difficult decisions must be made, obviously, as we look towards the second half. Who to rotate in and who to rotate out of the starting lineup?
https://ca.nba.com/news/toronto-rapt...i1mt7md22eeixq

Also got word that Hamilton Ward 2 Cllr. Jason Farr happens to also announce Hamilton Honey Badgers home games in the CEBL at the FirstOntario Centre, an arena so rapidly outdated Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott strongly believes the 1980s arena literally "stinks like 10,000 asses":
https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/on/h...ng-to-musician

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Toronto, the NBA's defending champions, welcomes the Atlanta Hawks, the worst team in the Eastern Conference at 12-35, tonight at Scotiabank Arena in what is going to be retiring 43-year old Vince Carter's penultimate return to Toronto, Ontario and Canada. And also they get to see again the exciting Trae Young too. The Raptors are sitting atop the Atlantic Division right now at 32-14 at this writing and currently 2nd in the Eastern Conference overall behind Milwaukee. Easy to think Toronto will season sweep the Hawks after these two home games with them at Scotiabank Arena--final game is April 10. Think Atlanta will play the Peachtree City edition jerseys as the Raptors sport once again the original white home jerseys and the original court design replica. This is the Raptors', while not nearly at Max Q, singular home game here as the #2 seed with a very good road schedule ahead of Toronto

But all of this still takes a backseat to the horrific tragedy from Sunday morning that killed Kobe Bryant at the age of 41 and his 13-year old daughter Gianna, aka Gigi, and John, Alyssa, and Kelli Altobelli, coach Christina Mauser, pilot Ara Zobayan, and Payton and Sarah Chester as the nine victims from a helicopter crash. This is the first NBA game played in Canada since the awful tragedy that not just emotionally impact the basketball community, definitely not exclusive to the NBA, mourns but many in the sports world in various spheres are too--and outside of sports itself with entertainment and politics. We can expect a moment of silence in tribute and maybe a shared 24-second shot clock violations to start the game at Scotiabank. ATL's Trae Young was Gigi's fave NBA player

For the Canadian basketball community, Kobe was an equal part oppressor and equal part hero to it. Tormenting Canada's two NBA teams. Celebrated at the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend held in Toronto in his final season with 18 All-Star selection. Along the way, he inspired and influenced many young Canadian NBA players and those who aren't in it but playing elsewhere while playing with a couple of Canadians in Steve Nash and Rick Fox. Kitchener native Jamal Murray with Denver was in a state of shock upon hearing the news from Will Baron. Companion CBC video shows Heather Hiscox talking with Leo Rautins over Kobe's and sometimes polarizing legacy:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kobe-...nada-1.5441101

Ironically, last week marks the 14th anniversary of one of the Toronto Raptors' worst moments in its franchise history: allowing that emissary of evil infamously drop 81 points on them in LA, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 in Hershey versus New York in the NBA record book as a Philadelphia Warrior. Total embarrassment for them being oppressed. Prompted the removal of the late GM Ron Babcock. Yes, the Raptors were mediocre that 2005-06 season. The NDCELE had to honestly rely on him. Despite my better judgement, this is the full 81-point game from January 22, 2006 versus Toronto. Too bad it's not the Raptors broadcast though with Chuck Swirsky and Leo Rautins but the FOX Sports Los Angeles feed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcVPLnR-c3g

Vince Carter reminisces during the morning shootaround over scoring the first NBA points at the Scotiabank Arena (then the Air Canada Centre) when it opened back in 1999 versus Vancouver and talks about "giving history lessons" and teaching other NBA cities wherever they go to his young Hawks' teammates including the local rap artists there. In Toronto, there's much to teach as he looks around the arena and beyond. Second and third links see Vince reflect on Kobe Bryant with his memories going head-to-head and over some league-wide suggestions. BTW, his birthday fell on Sunday but thoughts were obviously elsewhere:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...tiabank-arena/
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...ead-head-kobe/

And we got that moment too in alley-oop form at 0:23:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpQd3NFKuDE

In their early days together back in the late 1990s-early 2000s, there was a debate over the two as the next MJ. Back in 2000, Jordan, in his second retirement, annointed Bryant as his successor. Sadly he proved right partly because of the two Kobe "played defense" that Carter didn't do at the time.

Dwight Powell, the Dallas Mavericks center from Toronto, underwent surgery in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Monday to repair a torn right Achilles tendon, an injury he suffered in non-contact against the Los Angeles Clippers on January 21 that ended his 2019-20 season and an opportunity to play for Team Canada this summer under Nick Nurse during Olympic season. Was durable for Dallas after getting traded from Boston: missed only 5 games out of his 371 career games there. The Mavericks acquired centre Willie Cauley-Stein in a trade with Sacramento, who got a second-round pick in this year's draft in exchange:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...hilles-injury/
https://www.tsn.ca/dallas-mavericks-...jury-1.1434099

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RJ Barrett no longer wants the Maple Mamba moniker anymore out of respect to Kobe Bryant in the wake of his passing. Over a year ago, the future New York Knick embraced the nickname when he was at Duke for "his on-court style and off-court poise seemed to emulate the high-energy, high-intellect persona for which Bryant was know in his playing days. ‘Maple Mamba’ paid homage both to Bryant and the Toronto native’s home country." Didn't liked the Kill Bill-inspired mamba moniker to whoever like even extended to White Mamba (Diana Taurasi). Not even now:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...bryants-death/

Very good news came Pascal Siakim's way when Spicy P got selected as an Eastern starter for the All-Star Game for him to add to his growing resume. Congrats to him as a testament to his constant improving of his game every season. Last year, he deemed a fringe candidate to make it in his breakout season up in Toronto:
https://www.tsn.ca/siakam-adds-all-s...sume-1.1432000

All that's needed now is that teammate and perennial All-Star Kyle Lowry selected in too by the Eastern coaches tonight before their game at Cleveland. Does have a strong case to get in even with the strong guard competition around him. Not the least of which being an NBA champion on one of the top East teams, a multiple all-star, being in every franchise top 10 category save for blocks, and one of the best two-way guards in that conference. Sometimes, Lowry can get easily overlooked among the top guards even when publicly shortlisted. But he puts in the work so much striving to be great and still taking it to the next level:
https://www.tsn.ca/like-kobe-kyle-lo...reat-1.1434847
https://ca.nba.com/news/kyle-lowry-n...e1xu5od7a1xbqo
https://ca.nba.com/news/as-all-star-...41cl11t1o58i3o

UPDATE: Kyle Lowry makes his sixth consecutive NBA All-Star appearance, a Toronto franchise record--and his and Pascal's head coach Nick Nurse will likely join them in Chicago because of the Riley Rule prevent Mike Budenholzer to repeat as East coach:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...straight-year/
https://www.tsn.ca/toronto-raptors-k...game-1.1435412

12 of the top CEBL players are set for free agency ahead of the league's second season on February 1. All have reasons why the 7 teams are clamoring for their talents following their individual seasons. Half of them--Edmonton's Grandy Glaze (Toronto), Hamilton's Duane Notice (Woodbridge, Ontario) and Mikyle McIntosh (Pickering), Saskatchewan's Alex Campbell (Brampton) and Negus Webster-Chan (Scarborough), and Fraser Valley's Chris McLaughlin (Oakville)--are from the Greater Toronto Area:
https://www.cebl.ca/why-these-top-fr...erve-attention

What's going on in OUA men's basketball right now with the Toronto is that the Ryerson Rams aren't atop the OUA Central Division. That goes to the Lakehead Thunderwolves over in Thunder Bay, Ontario, currently on a 7-game winning streak at 13-3. Ryerson is behind them at 11-6 in their transition from Roy Rana. Following those two are in succession from the Golden Horsehoe Niagara-St. Catherines' Brock Badgers and Hamilton's McMaster both at 10-7, although Brock just won its game and McMaster lost their latest. The other Toronto proper schools are faring worse: Toronto Varsity Blues are struggling and sinking in the standings at 4-12 on a 7-game losing streak. York Lions have lost 4 games in row seated at the bottom at 2-15. A GTA school close to them in newcomers Ontario Tech in Oshawa on the eastern GTA part are expectedly at the bottom of the OUA East on a 4-game losing streak after getting its first ever basketball win at 1-15.
Save for the likes of London's Western Ontario Mustangs at 13-4 and nearby Waterloo Warriors faring 4-12 near the bottom of the OUA West Division, between them is a serious logjam in jockeying with GTA-based Wilfrid Laurier and Guelph battling with Windsor. More details on the teams coming next week.

Mississauga's Dillon Brooks scored 24 points. Former Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 12 rebounds. The Memphis Grizzlies beat Denver Nuggets 104-96 Tuesday night for their third straight win. Denver's Jamal Murray was sidelined with a left ankle sprain:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...in-vs-nuggets/

More strong performances by Dillon Brooks, who scored 27 points, and Jonas Valenciunas having 12 points and 13 rebounds in last night's game in New York versus the Knicks that got lost with the melee near completion and of Marcus Morris' sexist comments on Jae Crowder.

Another ex-Raptor DeMar DeRozan scores a season-high 38 points at a time when he whiffs on late game buckets and free throws with San Antonio holding on for a 127-120 home victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, snapping a three-game losing streak:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...purs-top-jazz/

Sadly the Raptors themselves lost a former player much too soon: Scotland-born centre Robert Archibald, who died at 39, spent part of his final NBA season in 2003-04 with Toronto averaging 1.0 points and 1.7 rebounds over 30 games with the franchise after stops in Orlando, Phoenix, and Memphis during two seasons after playing with the University of Illinois. Thanks to his Scottish birth, he was made eligible to play for Great Britain leading up to the 2012 London Summer Olympics:
https://www.tsn.ca/former-toronto-ra...t-39-1.1432555

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Toronto wins their record 12th win in a row over Indiana at the Scotiabank Arena in a game that was the first time they saw NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo back since he got injured last season back at Indianapolis against Toronto. Not to mention Chicago-bound All-Star Domantas Sabonis, son of Arvydas. But we'll save the 12-game winning streak for another time. Might grow even further in a matter of days. Time to focus here more on off-court stuff. Like the impending NBA trade deadline.

Sure appears that the Andrew Wiggins Minnesota Timberwolves era is now over and done with since the 2014 trade that sent Wiggins, a #1 Cleveland Cavaliers overall pick, to the Timberwolves for Kevin Love, a man who ironically is brought up in trade rumours now. He's going to Golden St. in exchange for D'Angelo Russell in a high-scorer swap. Even when equipped with his athleticism and hype. Disappointing with only one playoff appearance in the Twin Cities, patterns of inconsistency, and a defensive liability on a crashing hard team with around $78.5 million left and three years to go under that 5-year, $147 million contract:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...olves-wiggins/

Wiggins was well-liked in the locker room and started off this season really well. But his production went south right after defenses targeted him following KAT's injury. That and the fans' growing angst over his maximum contract he signed in 2017 and his relative on-court underperformance to justify that:
http://www.startribune.com/timberwol...cks/567624522/

Memphis Grizzlies has agreed to a three-year, $35 million extension with Mississauga native Dillon Brooks for his breakout season undergoing right now. He's averaging 16.1 points per game over 50 games. His success contributes to the young Grizzlies make a surprising playoff push with exciting rookie teammate Ja Morant, as the team currently occupies the #8 seed in the Western Conference:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...dillon-brooks/

Through January, Nick Nurse guided the Toronto Raptors to a 12-3, that includes a good portion of the current 12-game winning streak with an East best 9-1 road record, while continuing to navigate the injuries happening to them. The winning catapults them to #2 in the Eastern Conference behind Milwaukee. For that, Nurse gets the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...month-january/

And, yes, he officially becomes the NBA's East team head coach in Chicago with his Toronto coaching staff in tow that will fall under Team Giannis. Maybe the Greek Freak will like what he sees from Nurse and the Raptors coaching staff when they're commanding the troops during the All-Star Game. Nurse and his staff have proven their true value this year with the potential in giving Team Giannis a great chance to win under this new format. There, Nurse can sit back and relax in having fun as his public exposure grows:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...nba-star-game/
https://www.si.com/nba/2020/02/01/ni...-all-star-game
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...ide-attention/

8 of the 12 players for Canada competing for one of the top three spots in their group in Ostende, Belgium right now come from the Greater Toronto Area/Golden Horseshoe--Kia Nurse, Natalie Achonwa, Sami Hill, Bridget Carleton, Shaina Pellington, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, Mirinda Ayim, Kayla Alexander, and Laeticia Amihere. Being among the top three in the Ostende group with Japan included as Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games hosts grants them qualification to Tokyo this summer:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...okyo-olympics/

Then there's the story of the Knicks reportedly wooing Masai Ujiri away from Toronto to be their top basketball executive like Washington tried. Never mind he still has two years remaining on his contract. But NY thought better of it after firing:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...-term-winding/

[Durbansandshark]

Toronto kickstarts the second half of the season with a near-certain win coming tomorrow night at the Scotiabank Arena against the Phoenix Suns in their only Canada trip. How the Raptors will deal with a young team best with injuries but got a morale boost with Devin Booker becoming an All-Star via replacement and brimming with some confidence remains to be seen.

[Durbansandshark]

The NBA champion Toronto Raptors return to the San Francisco Bay Area and face the Warriors for the first time since winning the LOB in Oakland last June. But things are certainly different this season: New locale, new arena in the highly acclaimed Chase Center. But very different players as GSW, thanks to key injuries and departures, crash landed hard as a glorified G-League Santa Cruz outfit. Not the way they hoped to christen the new Chase Center era. Toronto, by contrast, still holds much of the same roster save for injuries at times like now.

But Stephen Curry makes his happy return tonight after the injury against Phoenix. Could they ever really say no to him when the team has nobody of note except for Vaughan native Andrew Wiggins who came via trade to lead right now (no disrespect intended to many of the Warriors players coming in)? Make no mistake, this Golden St. team WILL be back next season healthier with a guaranteed top 5 pick on the roster aiming for another NBA title and upend the NDCELE in the West.

[Durbansandshark]

Been a while of course since I last wrote here. Toronto was the first NBA team to touch down early in Orlando, Florida. The team has to because coming from Ontario, the Canadian-American border is currently closed for normal traffic save for essential goods and services and essential worker in coronavirus-inspired closing. After that being in either side, you must quarentine for 14 days. Nonetheless, the Raptors seem more than mentally prepared in winning the season again with their expectations. I certainly wouldn't doubt them:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...tions-awesome/

Been some notable personnel changes involving the nearby CEBL's Hamilton Honey Badgers in embarking their own bubble down in Niagara-St. Catherines. Former NBA player and Team Canada longtime mainstay Joel Anthony becomes Hamilton's player consultant. Plus Raptors 905 assistant coach Ryan Schmidt takes over from his predecessor Chantal Vallee in Hamilton as head coach because her Windsor Lancers commitments prevent her from returning this year with the delayed 2020 season:
https://www.honeybadgers.ca/honey-ba...yer-consultant
https://www.honeybadgers.ca/honey-ba...idt-head-coach

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I should note there were some positive accolades that came the Toronto Raptors TV broadcast team. At the 8th Canadian Screen Awards on May 25-28 that was livestreamed because the actual physical presentation set for Toronto got cancelled of course because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Raptors were nominated in five categories in the sports section and walked away with two. TSN's presentation of the 2019 NBA Finals Game 6 between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden St. Warriors won Live Sporting Event and TSN/Rogers Sportsnet's Raptors TV play-by-play man Matt Devlin won Sports Play by Play Announcer. I think Devlin's now-famous TSN call across the nation of "Canada, the NBA championship is YOURS!" at the end sealed it for him. Devlin's TSN on-air color commentator Jack Armstrong lost out in Sports Analysis and Commentary. W5: "Fred VanVleet: Against All Odds" produced by Paul Haber, Peter Akman, Jerry Vienneau, Kirk Neff, and Angelo Altomare lost out in Best Sports Feature. Rogers Sportsnet's "Rise Up Canada: Toronto Raptors" for 2019 NBA Finals Game 1 that Toronto rap legend Saukrates (real name: Karl Amani Wailoo) narrates didn't win Sports Opening with production along with Paul Sidhu, James Sharpe, Damian Kearns and John Woo. You can check all the results here. Howie Kuhn, PA announcer, was among the livestream co-hosts for this with the likes of legendary CBC/CTV anchorman Lloyd Robertson:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Ca..._Screen_Awards

You can see the Sportsnet Saukrates video again here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro0kQw25gQ0

Nick Nurse and Matt Devlin reminisce--from Zoom social distancing of course these days--over the Toronto Raptors' magical championship postseason run last summer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSoGDW9dWXs

Ex-Ryerson coach Roy Rana, now at Sacramento, enjoys his NBA life as assistant but misses seeing his fam in over a month:
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball...bble-1.5650069

Kitchener-Waterloo Titans finished among the NBL Canada league-worst at 9-16 but is certain they will return as the league returns in December. They won their last game before the season was cancelled over the Halifax Hurricanes 117-102 at home on March 8:
https://www.therecord.com/sports/bas...-w-titans.html

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Guelph, Hamilton, and Niagara start their 2020 CEBL Summer Series play in Niagara on July 25 when Hamilton takes on Niagara as the first game in it. Guelph is the first ever opponent for the expansion but seemingly formidable Ottawa Blackjacks in the second game. Niagara River Lions plays Edmonton on July 26 and the Guelph Nighthawks and Hamilton Honey Badgers play each July 27. Next day Guelph and Niagara play each other.

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OG--Oh My!--emerges in becoming a dangerous player for opponents. And his rising game make it bad news from Toronto come the NBA postseason:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...ference-maker/

Marc Gasol's back--and slimmer:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...-keeps-rising/

Serge Ibaka scores 19 points for Toronto's second scrimmage win:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...ge-nba-bubble/

Toronto Raptors' 8 remaining games set in Orlando on August 1 starting with the NDCELE (and the Danny Green reunion):
https://www.lineups.com/nba/schedule/toronto-raptors

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A major loss with center Marc Gasol reportedly leaving the Toronto Raptors and instead play for his hometown FCB Barcelona in the ACB and EuroLeague next season. Does settle Toronto's salary issues in part:
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/marc...oronto-raptors

Keeping things with a Spain bent is Toronto assistant Sergio Scariolo keeping his world champs Spain head coaching post all the way to their Paris 2024 Olympic basketball campaign for FEB along with his women's counterpart Lucas Mondelo:
http://www.fiba.basketball/news/spai...paris-olympics

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With the border between Canada and the USA remaining closed and will likely stay that way seemingly until sometime next year, Louisville is eyeing a more regular taste of NBA action with the Toronto Raptors looking at it as its alternate site for regular season home games at the KFC Yum! Center if they, like the Blue Jays before them, can't play in Canada at the Scotiabank Arena. This IS NOT a relocation effort:
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/r...da-per-report/
https://www.lanereport.com/132501/20...n-in-kentucky/

But the Raptors may still could play in Toronto after all with rapid improvements to Coronavirus testing and quarantining in Canada from the Canadian government:
https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/23...on-in-toronto/

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Now Kansas City states its case to bring the Toronto Raptors to the Show-Me State with the Sprint Center, including KC's mayor and Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl-winning MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Should this happen Missouri will have some NBA action in 35 years:
https://www.bizjournals.com/kansasci...mporarily.html
https://www.essentiallysports.com/nb...n-kansas-city/
https://www.missourinet.com/2020/10/...o-kansas-city/

[Durbansandshark]

Buffalo makes its case in temporarily hosting the Toronto Raptors at the Key Bank Center with the help of New York state senator, and born-and-raised Buffalonian, Timothy Kennedy and the Buffalo Common Council recently sending a letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Raptors president Masai Ujiri with "hundreds of phone calls and emails and people are excited" over this temp opportunity, much like the Toronto Blue Jays using their Triple A affiliate Buffalo Bisons' Sahlen Field. Although Kansas City remains a serious frontrunner, Buffalo's opportunity centers on proximity to Ontario and fan familiarity with Toronto sports with the added advantage of them using the nearby Harborcenter for practices. Like Kansas City, Buffalo is no stranger to NBA basketball as a past NBA market with the Buffalo Braves back in much of the 1970s--and even played some home games up in Toronto in brining in the Buffalo-Toronto sports connection:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...n-familiarity/

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Tampa is seriously in talks to temporarily host Toronto Raptors home games at the Amelie Arena. Rapidly rising as a contender:
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2020...ronto-raptors/
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ue-coronavirus
https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/11/13...-in-tampa-bay/
https://www.wtsp.com/article/sports/...e-0b09078a1fae

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Toronto has two picks--#29 and #59--in the 2020 NBA Draft slated for tonight. First draft the Raptors with multiple picks since 2016 and with a busy offseason ahead with free agency the next two days, better make these selections count. Unlike last year, this year's draft will feature not many Canadians, like many of those from the Toronto area last year. Just a couple of them now. I don't even know who'll they select. Here's 10 of them potentially at #29:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...ng-no-29-pick/

Plus we gotta deal with Toronto's cap situation:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...t-free-agency/

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Tampa's Amalie Arena it is, at least to begin the 2020-21 NBA season, for the Toronto Raptors. MLSE tried to convince the Canadian government and its Health Ministry to allow home games played at Scotiabank Arena but to no avail like with the Toronto Blue Jays before them. At issue was the 14-day mandated quarantine upon arriving at the border for incoming American-based NBA teams, which would very impossible for them under a tight schedule. Now the city of Toronto and the Peel Region is currently under lockdown starting yesterday thanks to Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Training camp will be held at the University of St. Leo also in Tampa with a nearby hotel ballroom as a practice court. BTW, the Canada-US border remains closed until at least December 21, a day before the NBA regular season starts. So it will get some basketball after all this year despite the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Women's Final Four:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...play-2020-21-s
https://arenadigest.com/2020/11/20/r...ason-in-tampa/
https://www.tsn.ca/toronto-raptors-w...ason-1.1554544

Toronto also now keeps an important backcourt member Fred VanVleet--Steady Freddie--just now after agreeing to a four-year deal with the guard worth $85 million with the 4th year an option. Hammered over two days:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/report-...year-85m-deal/
https://www.tsn.ca/report-fred-vanvl...deal-1.1554854

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With the amount of money newly given to VanVleet, this means Toronto won't have enought to keep the underappreciated Serge Ibaka, who has since reunited to play with pal Kawhi Leonard with the Los Angeles Clippers.

A co-worker of mine who I talk about the Raps with express worry over the depleted frontcourt with both Gasol and now Ibaka gone. Both were instrumental in bringing Toronto a championship. But never fear, a couple of former Phoenix Suns centers are coming to help replenish the frontcourt and will surely see some playoff time eventually--Aron Baynes and Alex Len:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...-raptors-need/
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...ar-14-3m-deal/
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...ntre-alex-len/

DeAndrae Bembry comes to add bench depth:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article...eandre-bembry/