Morning Coffee - Feb. 28, 2025
Scottie needs to play at least 20 games for All-NBA considerations | Please don't get Embiid, please!
Scottie Barnes has 45 million reasons to keep playing this season — and why the team shouldn’t stop him - Toronto Star
Barnes has played 45 games this season and the Raptors have 23 left. He has to appear in 20 more to reach the 65-game limit to qualify for post-season voting.
To be honest, it’s a stretch to imagine Barnes garnering any support for one of the 15 all-NBA spots. The team’s record, his missed games, the nights when he really hasn’t asserted himself on the game, and the other great players on other teams take him out of the running.
But if a few other players fall below the 65-game threshold and Barnes goes crazy over the final stretch and the Raptors do something memorable, who knows what might happen?
The ineligible group right now includes Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Kawhi Leonard, Ja Morant, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Anthony Davis is likely to be added to that list and who knows who else might sit out or get hurt in the final quarter of the regular season.
I can’t see it happening, I can’t imagine anyone does, but if Barnes can get himself in the debate among the eligible all-NBAers, the Raptors cannot be the reason that he can’t get that scant consideration.
And that consideration is lucrative. If Barnes makes one of the three all-NBA teams this year, his contract extension grows to the “supermax” and gets him about $45 million (U.S.) more over the course of the five-year deal that kicks in next season.
It’s not chump change.
The organization has spent the past two years pumping his tires, so how can it be seen as the single reason to sound the death knell to far-fetched dreams? It might mess with their budget plans for next season and a couple after that, but they couldn’t look Barnes and his representatives in the eye and say, “Yeah, maybe he doesn’t have a chance but we’re going to blow those slim chances out of the water, not matter what we say publicly.”
And what they say publicly is, in these parts, unprecedented.
There has never been a player in Raptors history that has been as publicly anointed as the face of the franchise as Barnes. DeMar DeRozan grew into it, so did Kyle Lowry. Vince Carter was the top dog but it was always pointed out that he needed veterans around him to hasten the process. I don’t think Chris Bosh ever got to that level because the team was bad and the franchise didn’t promote him nearly as much as it does Barnes right now.
The joke around the press room all season was that everyone should find someone or something to love them as much as the Raptors and coach Darko Rajakovic love Barnes and . You can debate whether a “franchise face” label should be earned or bestowed — I fall in the former department — but now that Barnes is what he is, it would be silly for the team to crush one long-shot chance .
Still no timetable on Brandon Ingram's debut with Raptors - Toronto Sun
There are 23 games left this season, and as Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said shortly after the team acquired Ingram from the New Orleans Pelicans, it’s possible he doesn’t play in any of those contests. More likely, Ingram’s ankle issue, which has sidelined him since December 7, will allow him to at least see a bit of action so the Raptors can evaluate what they have in this core heading into the off-season.
The Raptors and Ingram agreed on a three-year contract extension worth $120 million U.S. shortly after the trade, so there’s no incentive for either side to push a return too quickly.
Rajakovic provided a bit of an update on Ingram before the Raptors lost against Boston on Tuesday. The team fell to the Indiana Pacers the next night.
“He’s rehabbing, he’s picking up on the stuff that he’s doing. Our medical, our coaches are learning him at the same time, what he’s capable of doing, where the areas for improvement are,” Rajakovic said.
“We break down his recovery and his plan in two-week chunks and after two weeks we give an update how he’s doing and how he’s progressing.”
By that schedule, there will be 17 games to go when the next Ingram update arrives, ahead of a visit by Rajakovic’s predecessor Nick Nurse and his free-falling Philadelphia 76ers.
“He’s been very open, we have good communication, talking about a lot of stuff. I’m planning to meet with him again on this road trip just to continue to watch film and dive into his game and how that translates to our team,” Rajakovic said, noting how Ingram’s reputation as a great shooter who takes and makes some of the most difficult shots in the NBA, could blend with Toronto’s move the ball quickly schemes.
When the schedule resumed after the all-star break Rajakovic had discussed his earlier conversations with Ingram. “I told him that he needs to go home (to New Orleans) to pack his things, that he needs to find where he’s gonna live in Toronto, and to come back with a mindset that we’re starting with work right away. I think it’s very important like, obviously he’s limited with what he can do with his ankle and recovery, but his upper body lift, all of that he can get on that right now,” Rajakovic had said earlier this month.
“And he’s been in a great state of mind. He’s very receptive to everything we’re doing now. So I’m really hopeful that this next period over here he’s going to be able to ramp up his workouts, and also we’ll be spending a lot of time watching film and watching his tape, watching our tape, getting him to understand what we’re trying to achieve, how we want to play on our both ends on the floor.”
Should the Raptors Pursue a Joel Embiid Deal? The 76ers' Situation Reveals the Answer - Sports Illustrated
The Toronto Raptors are not ready to go all-in
Every year, a superstar hits the trade market, and somehow, the Raptors get dragged into the speculation. Kevin Durant? Damian Lillard? The rumors never stop.
This summer, though, it shouldn’t happen.
Joel Embiid should not be on Toronto’s radar. Any connection between the Raptors and Embiid seems overblown. A sportsbook suggested Toronto has a roughly six percent chance to land him, while also listing a 99.9 percent probability that the former MVP stays in Philadelphia.
That is not to say Embiid, when healthy, would not help.
At his best, the 30-year-old center is one of the league’s most dominant players, a game-changer on defense and nearly unstoppable offensively. If Toronto could land a fully healthy Embiid, he would transform the franchise.
But that is the problem: his health.
Embiid has played just 58 games since last season and has not looked right this year. ESPN reports he will likely need another knee surgery this offseason, making his future uncertain. Given his injury history, it is hard to imagine him staying healthy enough to get through a full season, let alone a deep playoff run.
His contract makes the risk even greater. He is owed $248 million through 2028-29 and his age-34 season, and just to match salaries, Toronto would likely have to give up both Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl. That's without considering what the 76ers would even be looking for in a deal for Embiid
Where would that leave the Raptors?
Scottie Barnes is a rising defensive star. Brandon Ingram is a talented shot creator. RJ Barrett can generate offense as a secondary or tertiary option. Adding a healthy Embiid to that mix would make Toronto better, but would it make them a title contender? That seems unlikely.
This is not 2018 when the Raptors had the depth and talent to swap DeMar DeRozan and Poeltl for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, then manage Leonard's workload on the way to a championship. Back then, the risk was worth it because if Leonard’s health did not hold up, the Raptors would not be stuck long term.
Toronto’s best path forward is patience, not a risky win-now gamble.
Serbian Guard Reveals He Thought He Might be Traded to the Raptors - Sports Illustrated
In a recent interview with Serbian outlet RTS, Bogdanović acknowledged that there was a possibility of him landing in Toronto. However, it remains unclear how serious the discussions were or what pieces the Raptors would have had to part with to acquire the 32-year-old guard.
Had Toronto completed a deal for Bogdanović, it likely would have eliminated any realistic pursuit of New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram. The veteran sharpshooter is under contract for two more seasons at a total of $32 million, and his salary likely would have pushed the Raptors deeper into the luxury tax next season given the contract extension Toronto agreed to with Ingram.
Bogdanović also revealed that New Orleans had been in the mix as a potential landing spot. According to Jake Fischer of the Stein Line, the Hawks explored trade talks with the Pelicans involving Ingram in a deal that would have likely included center Clint Capela.
Instead, the Los Angeles Clippers swooped in and finalized a deal to acquire Bogdanović, sending Bones Hyland, Terance Mann, and three second-round picks to Atlanta in exchange.