#san-antonio-spurs

#san-antonio-spurs

Currently, the Toronto Raptors are in no man's land.The Raptors are not good enough to go deep in the playoffs.But they're also not terrible enough to be in the lottery.Changes on this roster need to be made, which is why Toronto should make a trade involving a top-three draft pick.Toronto should contact the Portland Trail Blazers and the Charlotte Hornets to make a three-team trade involving the second and third picks.

The ping pong balls have been picked and the envelopes opened, and as a result of the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, the Toronto Raptors will pick 13th at the 2023 NBA Draft.The Raptors, who finished a middling 41-41 this past season, had the 13th-worst odds heading into the lottery, and just a 1% chance at landing the top pick.

Fate and the laws of probability were not on the side of the Toronto Raptors as the NBA Draft lottery approached.Not only were they outside of the postseason picture, but they had more than a 90% chance of remaining stuck at No. 13 overall and failing to make a miraculous ascension into the top four.

The Toronto Raptors are one of many teams that will be looking forward to the 2023 NBA Draft, as they will have a premium pick they can use to add a young player who will be a part of the furniture with their respective clubs for the next decade (if they hit on the pick).The winner of this lottery is going to be doing cartwheels down Atlantic Avenue on draft night, as Victor Wembanyama is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in NBA history.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

Jaime Jaquez Jr. is about to find himself back in a familiar, comforting place.Back at the bottom.Back to having to prove himself.Back needing to show he belongs.The small forward who went from fighting for minutes four years ago to one of the most beloved players in UCLA basketball history doesn't harbor a shred of anxiety about making it in the NBA.

Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images Danilo Gallinari is staying with the Boston Celtics.The forward exercised the $6.8 million option on his contract for the 2023-24 season.ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski relayed the news from Gallinari's agent, Michael Tellem of Excel Sports Management, on Thursday.This will give Gallinari an opportunity to suit up for Boston for the first time after he signed with the team ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

Hey, there's a new bench boss north of the border.Sorry this is a bit late, I was watching the new Spider-Man.It was great.The Raptors have hired Darko Rajaković as the leader of the next era.Let's give you the rundown really quickly:


Not that this is a shock, but Darko's spoken ideals on offense run somewhat counter to how the Raptors have played the past couple years.5 players (quick decision makers), teamwork, in pursuit of "beautiful basketball" Scottie Barnes touches going UP https://t.co/IxGOzcGAOG-

While he may not be the elite two-way wing he once was with the San Antonio Spurs, Danny Green is still an effective role player for any team with playoff aspirations.He proved that down the final stretch of the season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.This makes him the perfect target for the Washington Wizards.

As the offseason nears, it is clear that the Chicago Bulls need to make some moves.After being one of only two teams that did not make a move at the trade deadline, the other of which being the Miami Heat, who are on a tear in the playoffs.Currently, the Bulls are in basketball purgatory, where their current roster is not good enough to be a contender but they do not have really any prospects for the future, as two of their three best players are 33 and 34 years old, and they do not own any picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, as well as owing both their 2025 picks to the San Antonio Spurs if they do not finish with a top-10 draft pick.

The Toronto Raptors' head coaching search has gone in all sorts of zany directions, with experienced stalwart ( Monty Williams), top assistants (David Adelman), and media figures ( JJ Redick) all getting consideration.Even Becky Hammon was mentioned as someone who could step into that role.Hammon, who spent years as one of Gregg Popovich's top assistants with the San Antonio Spurs, is currently the head coach of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces.

After trading a future first-round draft choice to acquire Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs, the Toronto Raptors were widely expected to keep the Austrian big man in town long-term.When he performed better than most expected, it seemed like a virtual certainty he would return long-term.While Poeltl was unable to get the Raptors into the playoffs, and many rightfully criticized Masai Ujiri for buying at a time when they could have capitalized on some of their incumbent players, he did make their defense borderline elite when he was on the floor and fixed one of their biggest issues.

With the NBA Finals starting, there are few more landmarks left in the summer before the 2023-'24 NBA season begins.Several of which will feature the Washington Wizards as one of the most interesting teams in the league.The Draft Lottery may have already past, but there are still plenty of events for the Wiz to be excited for.

Before White emerged as a starting lineup reliable guard for head coach Joe Mazzulla, things were dicey.White joined the Celtics in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs last season and fell apart in the Finals against the Golden State Warriors.He couldn't buy a basket, shooting 32.7%.Left wide-open on enough to assemble a multi-minute compilation, White didn't rise to the occasion.

The Toronto Raptors' treatment of DeMar DeRozan is well known by the general basketball public at this point.He is a franchise legend who remains the all-time leading scorer in club history, but the team hit a ceiling with him as the featured offensive option.After being traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, DeRozan had to watch as all his old teammates won a title on the back of Leonard's dominant postseason.

SAN FRANCISCO Golden State has been teetering the playoffs and play-in line and knew how badly it needed to beat the New Orleans Pelicans, who entered Tuesday just a half-game behind the Warriors in the Western Conference standings.And while the focus wasn't all there in the first half, the Warriors, propelled by Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole, overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to pick up a much-needed 120-109 win over the Pelicans.

The Boston Celtics could prove that their post-All-Star break struggles have subsided by running their win streak to three on March 26 when the east's No. 2 seed hosts the team with the third-worst record in the league, the Spurs.San Antonio comes into this early-evening matchup on a three-game losing streak, with all of those losses by double digits and two of them coming by a deficit of 35 or more - hence the wildly one-sided spread on Sunday.

The Denver Nuggets play the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals.Tip off is at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC (WJLA-TV in the DMV).This is the first time the Nuggets have played in the NBA Finals.They have never won an NBA championship or an ABA championship when they were in that league from 1969-1976.

LOS ANGELES - After dropping last night's game against the Knicks, the Lakers are in a four-way tie for ninth-place in the West, but only a game out of seventh, two out of six, and two-and-a-half out of fifth.With 16 more games to go, L.A. has bought themselves a real shot at not just playing an 83rd game, but maybe even making a little playoff run.

The Toronto Raptors' acquisition of Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs for a first-round pick, second-round pick, and Khem Birch wasn't necessarily met with derision, but there was a good deal of confusion.Why on earth would the Raptors make a move like this when they are nowhere close to competing for a championship?

Since being acquired by the Toronto Raptors, Gary Trent Jr. has been nothing short of a deadly offensive threat.Scoring 17.4 points per game last season, Trent was an outside threat, shooting 37% from three-point range.He paired this offense with solid defense adding 1.6 steals per game to the box score.

The Toronto Raptors have finally kicked their head coach search into high gear after the firing of Nick Nurse.Adrian Wojnarowski came out swinging by publishing a list of eight names that Toronto will likely show interest in as they try to find the right person for the job.The list had a good mix of former head coaches like Kenny Atkinson, universally well-regarded assistants like Charles Lee and Chris Quinn, and some out-of-the-box names like Jordi Fernandez and Darko Rakajovic.

The Raptors' loss to the Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers on Wednesday was a tremendously disappointing start to their current four-game home stand.Following a competitive loss against the league-best Milwaukee Bucks, which was preceded by three consecutive double-digit wins, the Raptors looked like a team on the upswing.

The Toronto Raptors held the title of "biggest trade deadline move" for a whole five minutes before the Brooklyn Nets decided to saunter on over and change the face of the entire league.After Jakob Poeltl was sent to Toronto from the San Antonio Spurs, Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns.

The Toronto Raptors did not trade one of Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, or Gary Trent Jr. at the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, much to the surprise of the fanbase and the charging of a very vocal section of that fanbase.Toronto appears to be doubling down on their core.While the addition of Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs will help the Raptors get much better at protecting the basket, they still have some major roster issues that will make it very difficult for them to make much noise in the postseason.

The Toronto Raptors may not have sold any of their starters at the trade deadline, but they did make one big move when they acquired Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs.After trading him away to acquire Kawhi Leonard, Poeltl is returning to the team that drafted him No. 9 overall.Poeltl, who will wear No. 19 with the Raptors instead of the No. 42 he had in his first stint, will help Toronto become a much-better rebounding and shot-blocking team after struggling in that area all season long.

On Tuesday, the NBA announced that the Washington Wizards will get the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 Draft.The Wizards had the 8th best odds heading into tonight's draft, so they didn't gain or lose position.Who are some of the players whom the Wizards are projected to pick based on mock drafts?Here are some:
The San Antonio Spurs won the No. 1 pick, where they will likely pick Victor Wembanyama.

When: Sunday, March 26 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
How to watch: NBC Sports Washington, League Pass
WIZARDS - Kyle Kuzma, OUT (ankle); Bradley Beal, OUT (knee)
RAPTORS - Scottie Barnes, QUESTIONABLE (wrist); Precious Achiuwa, QUESTIONABLE (hamstring); Gary Trent Jr., QUESTIONABLE (elbow); Otto Porter Jr., OUT (foot)
The Washington Wizards make their one and only trip to Toronto on Sunday to take on the Raptors.

The Washington Wizards (33-41) beat the San Antonio Spurs (19-55), 136-124.With the Spurs in hot pursuit of French center Victor Wembanyama and the Wizards not disinterested in the idea of drafting him themselves, the game felt incredibly lethargic and low-stakes.The Spurs surprisingly hung with the Wizards for the first three quarters, a fact that's pretty damning for a team that seems to want to make the play-in so bad.

The Washington Wizards play the San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m. ET tonight.Here are some last-minute things before the game.The odds*
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Wizards are 8.5-point favorites against the Spurs.The over/under is 229 points.Kristaps Porzingis is expected to be the leading scorer for the Wizards with 28.5 points.

The Washington Wizards are in danger of missing the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference, sitting 2.5 games out of the No. 10 seed after losing their last four games.Washington is just 2-8 in its last 10, and Kyle Kuzma and Bradley Beal are both dealing with injuries, leaving them in question for Friday's game against the San Antonio Spurs.

When: Tuesday, March 24 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena
How to watch: NBC Sports Washington, League Pass
WIZARDS - Kyle Kuzma, OUT (ankle); Bradley Beal, OUT (knee)
SPURS - Devin Vassell, QUESTIONABLE (knee); Zach Collins, QUESTIONABLE (biceps); Jeremy Sochan, OUT (knee); Romeo Langford, OUT (adductor); Khem Birch, OUT (knee); Charles Bassey, OUT (patella)
The Washington Wizards are at a crossroads entering their Friday night tilt against the San Antonio Spurs.

Lonnie Walker IV's first season with the Los Angeles Lakers has been a tumultuous one.He signed in free agency from the San Antonio Spurs and found early success as a starter, averaging nearly 14 points per game in November on 44% shooting from distance while showcasing a defensive discipline that he hadn't exhibited before.

Felton Spencer, a longtime NBA center who played two seasons with the Knicks, died Sunday at age 55, his family announced.The former first-round pick out of Louisville died "peacefully, " said his sister, who did not disclose a cause of death."It was befitting that he received excellent care in his final hours from the providers at the University of Louisville Hospital, his Alma mater that he loved so dearly," Tammy Pollock tweeted.

Celtics Derrick White's contributions played into the Celtics' 110.6 defensive rating - the second-best mark in the NBA.After helping anchor one of the top defenses in the NBA this season, Derrick White is getting some well-deserved recognition.The 28-year-old Celtics guard was named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team on Tuesday, earning the most total points (99) among all Second-Team players.

Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images If society devolves into chaos amid a zombie outbreak, you might want to steer clear of Marcus Smart's bunker.During Sunday's 137-93 win over the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown made the point that Smart may not last long against a zombie horde:
Jay King @ByJayKing
In a zombie apocalypse, Jaylen Brown said Marcus Smart would be the first of the Celtics to go because he would try to take on all the zombies at once.

Celtics BOSTON (AP) - Jaylen Brown scored 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 137-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.The Celtics were without star forward and leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who was sidelined with a left hip contusion.But Boston still moved to 1½ games behind Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference's best record with its seventh victory in nine games.

The Boston Celtics are just two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and they're presented with a great opportunity to close that gap by a game on Sunday.The Celtics will host the 19-55 San Antonio Spurs, who have lost three-straight games ahead of today's showdown.

After losing four in a row, the Wizards took advantage of a classic NBA "get well" game and beat the San Antonio Spurs by a comfortable enough margin that big man Kristaps Porzingis didn't need to play in the fourth quarter.The lineup that blew the game open: Delon Wright, Jordan Goodwin, Corey Kispert, Anthony Gill and Daniel Gafford.

Washington Wizards play-by-play announcer Chris Miller would normally be happy after a Washington win.But after last Friday's win against the San Antonio Spurs, he had some words for fans, in particular those who are pro-tanking.As someone who is in favor of a full-scale rebuild, you may be wondering if Miller is calling folks like me out.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and forward Kevin Love are in the process of finalizing a buyout agreement, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Wednesday evening.According to Charania, the Miami Heat, who have two open roster spots, are expected to have interest for the five-time All-Star."The Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love are finalizing a contract buyout, with the Miami Heat expected to emerge as a suitor for the five-time All-Star should the sides finalize parting ways, league sources tell The Athletic," Charania wrote.