Morning Coffee - Jan. 15, 2025

Should the Raptors trade Barnes (crazy talk)? What about Boucher? | More Jontay Porter gambling details (he's screwed) | Drake banned from commentating at Raptors games 😂

The TrueHoop trade debate - TrueHoop
DAVID:

I get that, but consider the situation in Toronto. How long will Scottie Barnes be willing to wait out the Raptors’ fucking mess? The Raptors aren’t a cheap team. RJ Barrett’s making a bunch of money; so is [Immanuel] Quickley.

But guys want to be All-Stars every year. Right now, it’s hard for Barnes to be earn his second All-Star selection because the Raptors are so fucking bad. That makes it a harder sell.

I do think the Raptors might use the Sam Presti/OKC pitch to try to sell Scottie: Look what they did with SGA—give us a chance to build around you.

Long ago, that’s how things worked across the league. Then there was a period of time where players (like LeBron) were like: Fuck it, I’m out of here. I think Presti gave Shai reason to believe: We’re gonna be okay. You may not be an All-Star at first, but you’re gonna be okay.

HENRY:

The point is, bad teams usually keep their Scottie Barnes-type players. Utah is going to keep Markkanen until he sucks or has a bad hamstring or something—and now the whole game is over, right? But they could have gotten a shit-ton for him a year ago when he had incandescent value.

I promise you the same thing is going to happen with Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers are gonna say he’s too good to trade, and then they’ll keep him until he’s not too good to trade—and they don’t get as much. This is the Blazers with Dame [Lillard]. This is every team.

To me, the thing that Sam Presti did—and that teams aren’t emulating as they should—is to trade the player when there’s absolutely nothing wrong with him and everybody wants him. Because then you could get SGA and a bunch of young players and picks and cap space and everything else you can dream of! The Thunder are good not because they got SGA but because they got the whole fucking boat. And so, how do you get the whole boat? By trading someone whose value is off the charts. And that’s what no one is copying.

To me, keeping Scottie Barnes is exactly the opposite lesson—that’s just keeping a really good player on a shitty team without the ability to become a good team. Wrong. Teams have been doing that for 50 years! Like, what you need to do is trade someone who can get you Shai, cap room, Jalen Williams, and five more players besides.

Boucher Mania & Which Raptors Could Be Dealt? (Podcast) - The Raptors Show
The impact of his recent performances on his trade value and the Toronto Raptors’ strategy ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline remains uncertain. While no team will weigh a brief three-game stretch more heavily than Boucher’s eight-year track record as a high-energy bench forward, it certainly doesn’t hurt for him to showcase his talent with rival scouts in attendance at Scotiabank Arena.

“People are talking about Chris Boucher a lot more because of how well he’s playing lately,” Marc Stein told Blake Murphy on Sportsnet’s The Raptors Show. “There’s no doubt about it, and he’s certainly someone who is at least perceived as available.”

Monday’s game against Golden State saw representatives from the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks in attendance. The Grizzlies, frequent attendees of Raptors games for the past few years, are a less notable presence.

With Boucher’s expiring contract and strong recent play, it’s increasingly likely Toronto will part ways with the Canadian forward in the coming weeks. The Raptors had previously explored moving Boucher last year but struggled to find a suitor willing to absorb his multi-year deal. Now, with unrestricted free agency looming this summer, finding a trade partner should be easier.

What should the Raptors do with peak Chris Boucher? The answer is right there - Toronto Star
With Boucher playing so well of late, there are two questions orbiting.

First: Why doesn’t coach Darko Rajakovic play him 40 minutes a game?

Second: What will the Raptors get for him in a trade at the Feb. 6 deadline?

That’s the polarization of a fan base that loves Boucher as much as any of his teammates, and more than most of them.

The first? Boucher still has the odd wart on his game, despite the last 10 days. He tends to foul a lot and let his mind wander defensively now and then, and neither rebounding nor physicality is his strength. When the lapses come, they are dealt with by diminished time in the rotation.

The second? He just turned 32, will be a free agent in the summer and who knows where he fits in the big picture in Toronto.

But here’s a novel thought:

In the search for a backup big man who has proven capable and professional enough to handle extended periods of inactivity, why not let his contract expire and try to find a financial meeting point in summer negotiations?

It’s not as if flush teams around the league are going to throw buckets of dollars his way, so maybe there’s a way to keep him here. No asset obtained at the deadline — you’re looking at probably a second-round draft pick — is going to help any more than Boucher would. And given the number of second-round draft whiffs, maybe a mid-30s veteran who’s never really been injured and plays whatever role you want might be an asset.

But whatever happens — not only in the next few games but over the next few weeks — Boucher will not be nonplussed. He’ll play with energy and whenever he’s asked, just like he always does.

“I think it started my first year when I came here. I had three, four minutes of garbage time (in games), I was always trying to shoot a three and get some things going,” Boucher said after Monday’s 104-101 victory. “And I always kept that through my whole career. Just kind of (thinking) like: OK, it might be two minutes, three minutes, just make a big impact.

NBA Insider Shares Lates on Chris Boucher & Raptors Trade Chips - Sports Illustrated
Brown on the Market

Bruce Brown has also been a known name in trade talks as the deadline approaches, Stein noted. Though his recent numbers aren’t as eye-catching as Boucher’s, the 28-year-old has demonstrated his value as a versatile guard and appears far healthier than last season.

However, Brown’s $23 million contract may complicate efforts to find a deal before the deadline. If he is moved, it's unlikely Toronto nets more than second-round pick compensation unless the Raptors are prepared to take back long-term salary.

Olynyk’s Status Uncertain

Kelly Olynyk has been floated as a potential trade chip for the Raptors, but his recent struggles may make a deal unlikely. With another year left on his contract worth $13.4 million, the 33-year-old center may not generate enough interest to warrant a move. For now, Olynyk seems poised to stay put.

As NBA's trade deadline approaches, Raptors need to make moves to complement Scottie Barnes - Toronto Sun
In a rebuild season, the focus has been on player development and assessing how the Raptors chosen core pieces could function as a unit.

That theme continues, but now comes the trade talk and what moves, if possible, will be made in the build-up to Feb. 6.

The one piece that assuredly will net the biggest return is Jakob Poeltl, whom the Raptors are said to be reluctant to move for the second time.

Again, anything is possible and, if a deal gets presented that is too good to pass up, the Raptors must pounce on it.

Realistically, the likely candidates to get traded are, in no particular order, Chris Boucher, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk. Whether one or none is moved remains up in the air.

Brown, who won a ring with the Denver Nuggets when he served as a key bench player, has regained his form on both ends of the floor since undergoing knee surgery late in the off-season.

Olynyk began the season on the sideline following a back injury. He has been traded in the past and has a nice feel for the game, a decent floor spacer for a big who does have value.

The way he has been playing of late, Boucher’s stock hasn’t been as high. Against his former team, Boucher put the ball on the floor and attacked the rim with ferocity.

Shead finding confidence in his shot after being 'cussed out' by Barrett (Video) - TSN
Jamal Shead has been shooting the ball well in the last three games for the Raptors and the extra boost in confidence has come from his coaching staff and teammates, specifically RJ Barrett, who has been clear in his message to the young guard.

NBA Power Rankings: Pistons, Cavaliers, Rockets among league’s top overachievers - The Athletic
Last week: 27
This week: 28
In the last week: L at NY, L at CLE, L at DET, W vs. GS
Offensive rating: 109.9 (23rd)
Defensive rating: 117.5 (27th)

Preseason win total: 29.5
On pace to win: 19

The Raptors are close to the Hornets as far as falling below expectations despite not expecting to be good. Injuries have kept Toronto from seeing what they’re fully capable of — the starting lineup of Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl have only played four games together. In a related story, the Raptors lost all four of those games, and that lineup is awful. Toronto is fully in the tank and headed for a 60-loss season.

Court documents show Jontay Porter’s in-game texts to alleged co-conspirators in betting scandal - The Athletic
Porter told his co-conspirators that he would take himself out early of a Raptors game on Jan. 26 because of an eye injury and that he would leave a March 20 game early by saying he was too ill to keep playing, according to federal prosecutors. Porter did this, prosecutors said, as a way to clear his own “significant gambling debts” and to help the co-conspirators win prop bets placed on him not reaching the over in certain statistical categories.

Porter texted one man during a Jan. 22 Raptors game that he had been taken into the locker room to have his eye examined and that he didn’t anticipate playing more that day and that he wouldn’t start the second half — he had started the game for the Raptors. “But if it’s garbage time I will shoot a million shots,” he followed up. A screenshot of those messages were sent to Hennen the next day, prosecutors said in the complaint. He then told two alleged co-conspirators hours before the Jan. 26 game that he would remove himself from the game that night with an injury. That information was then shared with Hennen. The man who sent the message to Hennen has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Hennan was also sent along another message from Porter that read: “Hit unders for the big numbers. I told [Co-Conspirator 2] no blocks no steals. I’m going to play first 2-3 minute stint off the bench then when I get subbed out tell them my eye killing me again.” Hennen bet $3,700 through a proxy, according to the complaint filed against him and who federal prosecutors do not name, that Porter would not reach the 4.5 rebounds total listed for him and won.

Hennen also received information ahead of the March 20 game that Porter would again pull himself from the game. Hennen, prosecutors allege, was asked not to leak this information, but prosecutors believe that he did tell others ahead of the game. Hennen ultimately bet $2,400 that Porter would not reach the over/under total for points. Porter played three minutes in that game and had no points, no assists and two rebounds.