Forums » News and Announcements
time since the 1990-91 and
-
TORONTO - Just days after locking up star point guard Kyle Lowry, the teams top offseason priority, the Raptors are following suit with restricted free agent forward Patrick Patterson. Darren Collison Jersey . Although the deal cannot be made official until the free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 10, Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $18 million extension to remain in Toronto, sources confirm to TSN.ca Friday afternoon. Patterson, 25, was acquired in the seven-player deal that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento in December and played a significant role in the Raptors resurgence last year. One of the leagues premier reserves at his position following the trade, the fourth-year forward appeared in 48 games for Toronto, starting seven, and averaging 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds while shooting 48 per cent from the field and 41 per cent from three-point range. As a restricted free agent, the Raptors could have matched any offer Patterson received on the open market but retaining him was a priority for general manager Masai Ujiri and something he moved on quickly after agreeing to terms with Lowry late Wednesday night. Patterson figured to draw a fair amount of interest from teams around the league after jumpstarting his young career in Toronto. Although he struggled to begin the year with the Kings, Patterson emerged as a versatile, two-way player that can stretch the floor at the power forward position. He became especially valuable as starter Amir Johnson began to wear down, battling a myriad of injuries late in the season. Patterson, often the first player off the bench last year, is expected to have a bigger role with the Raptors in 2014-15 and beyond. Toronto had a record of 42-22 following the early-season trade that made Patterson a Raptor, finishing the campaign with a franchise-best 48 wins and division title en route to a seven-game, first round defeat in the playoffs. Shortly after extending the contract of head coach Dwane Casey in May, Ujiri expressed his desire to keep his team, one that exceeded all expectations a year ago, together going forward. "As far as Im concerned, keeping our core group going forward, with Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez and Patterson and Nando, those guys are priorities for us," the Raptors GM had said. "And if you want to build, I think a team where we have young players, we have to build continuity. When free agency comes, we have to attack our guys first." With that goal in mind the next order of business will be retaining Vasquez, also a restricted free agent, expected to be done soon. In an effort to create the cap space required to complete a deal with the back-up point guard and perhaps add another piece while maintaining future flexibility and avoiding luxury tax penalties, the Raptors have also traded veteran sharpshooter Steve Novak to the Utah Jazz, reports Yahoo Sports. Toronto will send a future second-round selection to the Jazz as a sweetener and take back the non-guarantted contract of guard Diante Garrett, who will be immediately waived, in order to unload the $7.2 million Novak is owed over the next two years. After the Lowry and Patterson signings are made official and assuming guards Julyan Stone and Dwight Buycks are also waived (their deals are non-guaranteed if voided before July 7 and July 22 respectively), the Raptors will have roughly $62 million committed to 10 players under contract for next season, not including Vasquez, free agent guard Nando De Colo and rookies Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira or DeAndre Daniels. Even after signing their rookies and inking Vasquez to a new deal, the Raptors should be able to use most of their mid-level exception to address another need on the roster and remain under the salary cap. Aided by the trade of Novak, Toronto should have max or near max cap space next summer, with only Lowry, Patterson, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross and this years rookies on their books for the 2015-16 season. Novak was acquired in the trade that sent Andrea Bargnani to New York a year ago. The 31-year-old forward and three-point shooting specialist averaged 3.3 points in 54 games with the Raptors last season, his eighth in the NBA. Zylan Cheatham Jersey . The Toronto Maple Leafs were holding a news conference, so they got curious. It didnt take long for them to find out via social media that coach Randy Carlyle was coming back — with a two-year extension — and assistants Greg Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish were being let go. Jason Smith Jersey . Hawkins severely sprained his left ankle while making a diving catch during training camp and went on injured reserve with a designation he could return midway through the season. He was back at practice Wednesday.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night. Stephen Currys floater over Faried put the Warriors up 99-98 with 4.7 seconds to play, sending the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 roaring to their feet. Faried quieted fans moments later, backing down Green for the winning shot. Currys quick 30-footer rimmed off as time expired. Timofey Mozgov tied a career high of 23 points and set a career best with 29 rebounds, and Faried finished with 18 points and 17 boards to rally the Nuggets from 20 points down in the first half. Denver, which had lost six straight on the road, won both games at Golden State this season. Curry had 24 points and seven assists, and Klay Thompson scored 21 points to highlight an otherwise disappointing performance by the Warriors. The Nuggets outrebounded Golden State 63-38 and made all the big plays late. Mozgov made a step-back jumper from 17 feet before Darrell Arthurs 3-pointer gave the Nuggets an 83-80 lead -- their first lead of the game -- with 7:52 left. After going down by five, Thompson and Curry highlighted an 8-0 spurt to put the Warriors up 93-90. Randy Foye followed with a layup and a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets in front. Thompson missed a jumper, then Faried stole a rebound from Andrew Bogut and put it back for a layup that extended Denvers lead to 97-93. Curry came back with two free throws before Faried made 1 of 2 from the line. Curry forced another foul and made both free throws shots to slice Denvers lead to 98-97 with 35.9 seconds left. Foollowing another Nuggets miss, Curry came off a screen from Green and floated a go-ahead runner over Faried with 4. Marcus Thornton Jersey. seconds left that seemingly put the Warriors in the playoffs. Instead, the Nuggets called timeout and went right after the undersized Green, who has been starting at power forward for the injured David Lee. Faried backed Green down and floated in a hook shot that silenced the blue-and-gold clad crowd for good. The Warriors were trying to clinch a spot in the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons and improve their playoff position. Instead, Golden State (48-30) fell 2 1/2 games behind fifth-place Portland with four games to play, including one at the Trail Blazers on Sunday. Golden State is 1 1/2 games ahead of Phoenix and Dallas and two ahead of Memphis. Denver, which was eliminated in Game 6 of the opening round of the playoffs at Golden State last season, made sure they didnt have to watch the Warriors celebrate against them on the same floor again. With injuries sideling six Nuggets regulars, the Warriors overwhelmed Denvers decimated team at the start to go ahead by 20 points in the second quarter. But the Nuggets came back behind Mozgov and Faried, trailing Golden State 53-43 at the half and 75-73 through three quarters before holding off the warriors in the fourth. NOTES: The Warriors missed a chance to win 49 games for the first time since winning 50 in the 1993-94 season. ... Lee missed his seventh straight game for the Warriors with a nerve injury in his right hamstring/back. The team said theres no timetable for his return. ... Denver is 2-1 against the Warriors this season. The teams meet in the regular-season finale Wednesday at Denver. ' ' '