Among those whom the Raptors have obtained permission to interview are Golden State’s Kenny Atkinson, Miami’s Chris Quinn, Milwaukee’s Charles Lee, and Phoenix’s Kevin Young. The Raptors are also seeking to interview other candidates.

Candidates outside of the NBA that the Raptors have been in contact with include WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who led the Aces to the 2022 WNBA championship and was voted the WNBA’s coach of the year.

Former head coach Nick Nurse was dismissed from his role last week after the Raptors’ elimination from the Eastern Conference play-in tournament at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. The team went 41-41 this season.

The post Raptors Broaden Search for Next Coach appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Nurse joined the Raptors as an assistant in 2013 and took over as a head coach in 2018. He would go on to win the NBA title, the franchise’s first, in his first year at the helm. 

“I think I’m concentrated on this job, for sure, and this game,” Nurse told reporters on Friday. “But I think that 10 years is a good time to sit back and reflect a little bit. I think we’re going to do that all when the season ends.”

Nurse’s comments follow months of speculations about his future with the franchise. Toronto struggled for the better part of the season and is currently sitting at No. 8 in the Eastern Conference with a 39-39 record. While Nurse isn’t considered the main culprit for the team’s poor form, many believe that the Raptors might want to bring in a new face in the building to shake things up.

If Nurse ends up leaving, he will have no shortage of suitors. The 55-year-old is a well-respected coach in the league, and recent reports have identified Houston Rockets as the team interested in hiring him.

The Raptors, on the other hand, are believed to be leaning towards former Boston Celtics’ head coach Ime Udoka as a candidate if they are required to make a coaching hire.

The post Raptors’ Coach Nick Nurse to “Sit Back and Reflect A Little Bit” After NBA Season Ends appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

In order to free up the spot for Barton, the Raptors waived forward Juancho Hernangomez. The Spaniard, known for starring in Netflix’s Hustle, has been averaging 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game this season.

Barton joined the Wizards in the offseason as part of the deal that sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Denver Nuggets. The 32-year-old player played off the bench for Washington, averaging 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in less than 20 minutes per game. But when it became clear Burton would have an even more diminished role moving forward, the two sides agreed to part ways before his contract expires in the summer. 

Barton already had his first chat with the reporters in Toronto and said that he believes he can help the franchise make a playoff push. The Raptors are currently at No. 9 in the East with a 31-32 record, trailing the sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets by 3.5 games.

“Definitely a team that’s way better than their record, everyone knows that around the league,” Barton said. “Very talented, well coached, well run organization, so, hopefully we can keep getting wins, get our record better and get into the playoffs.”

The post Raptors Sign Veteran Forward Will Barton appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Siakam incurred his injury during the third quarter of the Raptors’ 111-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The 28-year-old player immediately left the court after suffering his injury.

Losing Siakam will place a large strain on the Raptors, particularly since he is the team’s leading scorer this season. Prior to his injury, Siakam had been averaging 24.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists for the season, all of which are career-high figures for the power forward.

In addition to attaining the Raptors’ top-scoring average, the Cameroonian national possesses the top rebounding average and shares the top assist average with teammate Fred VanVleet.

Currently, the Raptors are sitting in fifth place on the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 6-4.

The post Raptors’ Siakam Out For At Least Two Weeks appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Barnes underwent an X-ray following the conclusion of the game, however, the result came back negative. According to Raptors coach Nick Nurse, it remains unclear whether Barnes will require an MRI as well as the severity of his injury.

With 5 minutes and 15 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter, Barnes collapsed after landing awkwardly on his right foot following a layup. He immediately left the court, sitting on the bench during an injury timeout before returning to the court to take a free throw which he missed. Following the free throw, Barnes left the court and headed for the locker room where he remained for the rest of the game.

“You never want to lose a guy,” coach Nurse exclaimed. “Obviously he goes out and they’re talking about X-rays right away so you’re concerned it could be something really serious. We’ll just see.”

Last season, Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, beating Cleveland’s Evan Mobley to become Rookie of the Year.

The post Toronto Raptors’ Barnes Exits Heat Game Early Due to Injury appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The Celtics played the Raptors after a back-to-back road series while also missing a number of their key players, including Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart. Still, that didn’t help The Raptors as they blew a 28-33 lead after the first quarter and then went on to trail by 15 at halftime. Boston continued to dominate in the second half and never looked in danger of losing the game.

Speaking with reporters after the gamer, All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry gave his opinion on his Raptors’ struggles and said that his team has “no swagger” at the moment.

“We just need to get a little bit grittier, get a little bit tougher and a little bit nastier, and have a little bit of a swagger to us,” said Lowry. “Right now, we have no swagger to us.“

Plenty of things went wrong for the Toronto Raptors this season, starting with the fact that they have to play their home games in Tampa Bay due to Canada’s coronavirus restrictions. Besides this, the Raptors are looking lost on the court and don’t have the same feel as the team that won the title in 2019.

The Raptors have been particularly poor on offense this year, being ranked 29th in the league in that department. This includes failing to get to the free-throw line, as they have the least free throw attempts per game so far in the season.

The defense is also problematic, considering that the team managed to blow double-digit leads in each of their five losses.

Raptors will have a chance to bounce back during their tour across the Western Conference this week. They are scheduled to play the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and will also face the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, and Portland Trail Blazers.

The post Kyle Lowry on Raptors’ Struggles: “Right Now, We Have No Swagger To Us” appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The 2019 NBA champions Toronto Raptors officially announced on Friday that the team will temporarily relocate to Tampa Bay for the start of the 2020/21 NBA season. The decision comes after the team couldn’t get the Canadian government to loosen their coronavirus pandemic-related travel restrictions for “non-essential” travelers.

Raptors, however, remain hopeful that they still might get to play at home at some point this season if the health situation improves.

“They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I’m not sure that’s possible for us — we love Toronto and Canada, and we know we have the best fans in the NBA,” said Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri in a statement issued on Friday. “For now, I’ll ask you to cheer for us from afar, and we’ll look forward to the day we are all together again.”

Raptors expected that they might have to find a new home for some time now, which is why the organization spent the past couple of weeks looking for alternatives. There were reportedly several locations in play, including Florida, but the team ended up settling on Tampa.

Raptors will be the first NBA club in the city and are scheduled to play in Amalie Arena. They will share their new hope with reigning Stanley Cup champs Tampa Bay Lightning.

The new NBA season is scheduled to kick off on December 22nd, while the teams are expected to enter the training camp on December 1st.

The post Raptors Officially Relocate to Tampa Bay for the Start of 2020/21 NBA Season appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Lowry, who is fresh off of winning an NBA title with the Raptors, is entering the final year of his deal and has the opportunity to become a free agent in the summer of 2020. Still, the 33-year-old isn’t keen on seeing that happening as he wants to do stay in Toronto for years to come.

“I want to be there – I would love to do a long extension, but we’ll see what happens,” – said Lowry via Yahoo Sports. “But we’ll have that discussion when the time is right.”

For the time being, Lowry is focused on the next season and trying to defend the NBA title. He is confident that Raptors still have a chance to do this despite seeing both Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green leave this summer to play in Los Angeles.

“We’re still going to be able to run it back.” – he said. “We’re the champions and we’re trying to defend our title. I’m confident with our team.”

Lowry played 65 games with Toronto in the past season, averaging 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game.

The post Kyle Lowry: “I Would Love to do a Long Extension” With Raptors appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Among those whom the Raptors have obtained permission to interview are Golden State’s Kenny Atkinson, Miami’s Chris Quinn, Milwaukee’s Charles Lee, and Phoenix’s Kevin Young. The Raptors are also seeking to interview other candidates.

Candidates outside of the NBA that the Raptors have been in contact with include WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who led the Aces to the 2022 WNBA championship and was voted the WNBA’s coach of the year.

Former head coach Nick Nurse was dismissed from his role last week after the Raptors’ elimination from the Eastern Conference play-in tournament at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. The team went 41-41 this season.

The post Raptors Broaden Search for Next Coach appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Nurse joined the Raptors as an assistant in 2013 and took over as a head coach in 2018. He would go on to win the NBA title, the franchise’s first, in his first year at the helm. 

“I think I’m concentrated on this job, for sure, and this game,” Nurse told reporters on Friday. “But I think that 10 years is a good time to sit back and reflect a little bit. I think we’re going to do that all when the season ends.”

Nurse’s comments follow months of speculations about his future with the franchise. Toronto struggled for the better part of the season and is currently sitting at No. 8 in the Eastern Conference with a 39-39 record. While Nurse isn’t considered the main culprit for the team’s poor form, many believe that the Raptors might want to bring in a new face in the building to shake things up.

If Nurse ends up leaving, he will have no shortage of suitors. The 55-year-old is a well-respected coach in the league, and recent reports have identified Houston Rockets as the team interested in hiring him.

The Raptors, on the other hand, are believed to be leaning towards former Boston Celtics’ head coach Ime Udoka as a candidate if they are required to make a coaching hire.

The post Raptors’ Coach Nick Nurse to “Sit Back and Reflect A Little Bit” After NBA Season Ends appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

In order to free up the spot for Barton, the Raptors waived forward Juancho Hernangomez. The Spaniard, known for starring in Netflix’s Hustle, has been averaging 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game this season.

Barton joined the Wizards in the offseason as part of the deal that sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Denver Nuggets. The 32-year-old player played off the bench for Washington, averaging 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in less than 20 minutes per game. But when it became clear Burton would have an even more diminished role moving forward, the two sides agreed to part ways before his contract expires in the summer. 

Barton already had his first chat with the reporters in Toronto and said that he believes he can help the franchise make a playoff push. The Raptors are currently at No. 9 in the East with a 31-32 record, trailing the sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets by 3.5 games.

“Definitely a team that’s way better than their record, everyone knows that around the league,” Barton said. “Very talented, well coached, well run organization, so, hopefully we can keep getting wins, get our record better and get into the playoffs.”

The post Raptors Sign Veteran Forward Will Barton appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Siakam incurred his injury during the third quarter of the Raptors’ 111-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The 28-year-old player immediately left the court after suffering his injury.

Losing Siakam will place a large strain on the Raptors, particularly since he is the team’s leading scorer this season. Prior to his injury, Siakam had been averaging 24.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists for the season, all of which are career-high figures for the power forward.

In addition to attaining the Raptors’ top-scoring average, the Cameroonian national possesses the top rebounding average and shares the top assist average with teammate Fred VanVleet.

Currently, the Raptors are sitting in fifth place on the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 6-4.

The post Raptors’ Siakam Out For At Least Two Weeks appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Barnes underwent an X-ray following the conclusion of the game, however, the result came back negative. According to Raptors coach Nick Nurse, it remains unclear whether Barnes will require an MRI as well as the severity of his injury.

With 5 minutes and 15 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter, Barnes collapsed after landing awkwardly on his right foot following a layup. He immediately left the court, sitting on the bench during an injury timeout before returning to the court to take a free throw which he missed. Following the free throw, Barnes left the court and headed for the locker room where he remained for the rest of the game.

“You never want to lose a guy,” coach Nurse exclaimed. “Obviously he goes out and they’re talking about X-rays right away so you’re concerned it could be something really serious. We’ll just see.”

Last season, Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, beating Cleveland’s Evan Mobley to become Rookie of the Year.

The post Toronto Raptors’ Barnes Exits Heat Game Early Due to Injury appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The Celtics played the Raptors after a back-to-back road series while also missing a number of their key players, including Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart. Still, that didn’t help The Raptors as they blew a 28-33 lead after the first quarter and then went on to trail by 15 at halftime. Boston continued to dominate in the second half and never looked in danger of losing the game.

Speaking with reporters after the gamer, All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry gave his opinion on his Raptors’ struggles and said that his team has “no swagger” at the moment.

“We just need to get a little bit grittier, get a little bit tougher and a little bit nastier, and have a little bit of a swagger to us,” said Lowry. “Right now, we have no swagger to us.“

Plenty of things went wrong for the Toronto Raptors this season, starting with the fact that they have to play their home games in Tampa Bay due to Canada’s coronavirus restrictions. Besides this, the Raptors are looking lost on the court and don’t have the same feel as the team that won the title in 2019.

The Raptors have been particularly poor on offense this year, being ranked 29th in the league in that department. This includes failing to get to the free-throw line, as they have the least free throw attempts per game so far in the season.

The defense is also problematic, considering that the team managed to blow double-digit leads in each of their five losses.

Raptors will have a chance to bounce back during their tour across the Western Conference this week. They are scheduled to play the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and will also face the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, and Portland Trail Blazers.

The post Kyle Lowry on Raptors’ Struggles: “Right Now, We Have No Swagger To Us” appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The 2019 NBA champions Toronto Raptors officially announced on Friday that the team will temporarily relocate to Tampa Bay for the start of the 2020/21 NBA season. The decision comes after the team couldn’t get the Canadian government to loosen their coronavirus pandemic-related travel restrictions for “non-essential” travelers.

Raptors, however, remain hopeful that they still might get to play at home at some point this season if the health situation improves.

“They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I’m not sure that’s possible for us — we love Toronto and Canada, and we know we have the best fans in the NBA,” said Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri in a statement issued on Friday. “For now, I’ll ask you to cheer for us from afar, and we’ll look forward to the day we are all together again.”

Raptors expected that they might have to find a new home for some time now, which is why the organization spent the past couple of weeks looking for alternatives. There were reportedly several locations in play, including Florida, but the team ended up settling on Tampa.

Raptors will be the first NBA club in the city and are scheduled to play in Amalie Arena. They will share their new hope with reigning Stanley Cup champs Tampa Bay Lightning.

The new NBA season is scheduled to kick off on December 22nd, while the teams are expected to enter the training camp on December 1st.

The post Raptors Officially Relocate to Tampa Bay for the Start of 2020/21 NBA Season appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Lowry, who is fresh off of winning an NBA title with the Raptors, is entering the final year of his deal and has the opportunity to become a free agent in the summer of 2020. Still, the 33-year-old isn’t keen on seeing that happening as he wants to do stay in Toronto for years to come.

“I want to be there – I would love to do a long extension, but we’ll see what happens,” – said Lowry via Yahoo Sports. “But we’ll have that discussion when the time is right.”

For the time being, Lowry is focused on the next season and trying to defend the NBA title. He is confident that Raptors still have a chance to do this despite seeing both Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green leave this summer to play in Los Angeles.

“We’re still going to be able to run it back.” – he said. “We’re the champions and we’re trying to defend our title. I’m confident with our team.”

Lowry played 65 games with Toronto in the past season, averaging 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game.

The post Kyle Lowry: “I Would Love to do a Long Extension” With Raptors appeared first on yoursportspot.com.