“Well, if you have the right player to build around, it can happen much faster than you think,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “Getting Tyrese made it very clear what our identity as a team needed to be. We needed to be a fast-paced team with shooting, and we had some good shooting at the time. “The Siakam trade took things to another level.” Great leaders remain resilient … [Read more...] about Rick Carlisle: ‘The Pascal Siakam trade took things to another level’
“And so naturally, any team that wants to make a move this summer, especially a team in the Eastern Conference, you’re going to have Giannis on the board. But Toronto, I think, is going to try—from their initial conversations, teams in the league are getting the impression that Toronto is going to try to do something. “I had an executive tell me yesterday that he thinks this … [Read more...] about
“I don’t want to get too far afield from this, but since this has come up, the Raptors are a team that is starting to make noise within the league about looking for a big fish,” said ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on Sunday’s Hoop Collective Podcast. “And, you know, I think because—and I don’t want to get away from this, but I’ve started it myself—if you’re an Eastern Conference team … [Read more...] about
The Toronto Raptors have emerged in league circles as a team with ambitions to make a major move this offseason. This maneuvering comes on the heels of their trade for Brandon Ingram at the deadline along with the Boston Celtics expected to take a step back next season due to the Jayson Tatum injury and luxury tax concerns, along with the potential availability of Giannis … [Read more...] about
The Pacers, at 50-1, would be the biggest preseason long shots to win the title in the past 40 years. History is against them, however. Over the past 50 years, only two teams that were at least +200 underdogs to start the NBA Finals — the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons at +500 and the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors at +230 — went onto claim the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, according to … [Read more...] about