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HoopsHype ranks the five NBA players who have appeared most often int rade rumors over the past week, led by OG Anunoby and Rudy Gobert.
It’s time for another installment of our trade rumors rankings series where we rank the five players who have appeared most often on our Trade page over the past week.
With a lot of movement expected throughout the league this offseason, which is fast approaching, the trade rumors are starting to come hot and heavy.
Check out the action below.
It’s time for another installment of our trade rumors rankings series where we rank the five players who have appeared most often on our Trade page over the past week.
With a lot of movement expected throughout the league this offseason, which is fast approaching, the trade rumors are starting to come hot and heavy.
Check out the action below.
An Eastern Conference executive believes the Philadelphia 76ers should try and trade for OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors.
As the Philadelphia 76ers head into the offseason, the focus must be on improving the roster around Joel Embiid and James Harden to contend for a title in the East properly.
As it stands, the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Miami Heat are the three teams that appear to be standing in their way of making the NBA Finals at the moment. Those teams have more complete rosters than Philadelphia at the moment and the Sixers have to play a bit of a catch-up.
One route to try and improve the roster is through trades and one team that has popped up has been the Toronto Raptors, who Philadelphia defeated in Round 1 of the playoffs. There appear to be some dissatisfied players in Toronto, most notably OG Anunoby who would be a perfect fit in Philadelphia.
An Eastern Conference executive sat down with Heavy and he began structuring a trade that would get Anunoby to Philadelphia:
“He is not going to come cheap, and I would not say they’re committed to moving him.” The exec told Devenney. “First thing the Raptors will say is Tyrese Maxey, then probably (Matisse) Thybulle. Send Danny Green back to Toronto. Then the Raptors will be looking for a pick, too, and the Sixers are just mostly spent on picks.”
For the Sixers, he is exactly what they’re looking for. Long defensive player, he can shoot the three, guard multiple positions. For Daryl Morey, he’s a dream player, he takes everything from the three-point line or in near the rim. Just what you want. For Joel Embiid, he’d be a dream player because he can space the floor, he can guard the perimeter, you can’t post him up. He is a better version of Robert Covington, really
The Sixers can trade their 2022 first-round draft pick even though their 2023 first-rounder belongs to the Brooklyn Nets. They can agree to a deal in principle before the draft, select a player on behalf of the team they made the deal with, and then make the trade complete then.
Anunoby only played 48 games in the 2021-22 season due to a slew of injuries, but he averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and he shoots 37.2% from deep for his career. He would solve a lot of issues for the Sixers if they can make a deal for him.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden is being outscored by Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby in this series.
The Philadelphia 76ers were once up 3-0 in their first-round with the Toronto Raptors. Now, they are up 3-2 as the series shifts back to Toronto for Game 6 on Thursday.
There are plenty of reasons the Raptors have worked their way back into contention. Joel Embiid’s thumb injury is a factor. Toronto has begun to play its style of basketball by forcing turnovers and attacking the glass. James Harden has struggled in this series.
He is shooting 37.3% in the series and averaging 18.4 points through the first five games. He has totaled 92 points through five games, and he has been outscored by Toronto forward OG Anunoby, 99-92. Anunoby is not a bad player: He is a dynamic player. However, the fact he’s outscoring Harden is concerning.
Points this series:
99 — OG Anunoby
92 — James Harden pic.twitter.com/tAJ876S8a4— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 26, 2022
As the Sixers prepare to try to close out the Raptors for the third straight game, Harden and the rest of the Sixers are preaching a calming message to the team to keep its head straight and move on.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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Toronto Raptors starters Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby are out for this matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
As the Philadelphia 76ers get set to take on the Toronto Raptors on Thursday in a very important matchup, they received some news that should help them as they look to move up in the standings.
The Raptors will be down two starters in All-Star Fred VanVleet and top perimeter defender OG Anunoby in this matchup. That is something that should help the Sixers get the job done while on the road.
This is a game the Sixers will definitely want to win and move up in the standings in order to try and avoid Toronto in Round 1 of the playoffs. The Sixers will be without Matisse Thybulle who is ineligible to play in Toronto due to the vaccination rule.
Anunoby (thigh) is out vs. Sixers; VanVleet is being rested.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) April 7, 2022
The Sixers are 1-2 against the Raptors on the season, but their one win came in Toronto back on Dec. 28. They have been a terrific road team this season and they will look to keep it going in this matchup.
Tipoff from Scotiabank Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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Houston had 28 turnovers in a 107-92 preseason loss at Toronto, but Armoni Brooks was a bright spot with 15 points on five 3-pointers.
With 28 team turnovers as a clear leading storyline, the young Rockets were outplayed throughout the game in Monday’s 107-92 preseason loss (box score) at Toronto. Led by 17 points apiece from bruising forwards Precious Achiuwa and OG Anunoby, the Raptors improved to 2-2 in exhibition play with the victory. Houston fell to 1-2.
The Rockets, however, weren’t devoid of any bright spots in Toronto. In just 21 minutes off the bench, second-year sharpshooter Armoni Brooks made a clear case for more playing time by scoring a team-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting (50%) from 3-point range.
Eric Gordon (sore left ankle) and Danuel House Jr. (personal reasons) did not play. Beyond Brooks, other statistical standouts included:
Houston’s starting backcourt of Porter and rookie Jalen Green struggled from 3-point range, shooting just 3-of-11 combined (27.3%). Green scored just 5 points, easily his lowest of three exhibition games.
See below for extended highlights from Monday, and stick with Rockets Wire for continued postgame coverage. Houston will conclude its four-game exhibition slate with Friday’s matchup at San Antonio.
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The Toronto Raptors have rejected the trade offer from the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons.
The Philadelphia 76ers have begun taking and making trade calls on Ben Simmons, the talented, yet maddening, 25-year-old guard, and the Toronto Raptors have emerged as a team that would like to acquire the three-time All-Star.
However, they also have a breaking point. Per Matt Moore of The Action Network, the Raptors rejected Philadelphia’s offer of Simmons for OG Anunoby, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and the fourth pick in Thursday’s NBA draft:
Multiple sources confirmed Sunday that the Toronto Raptors have emerged as a team with “significant” interest in Simmons. One source close to talks said discussions have not been substantial as of yet. Multiple sources including those close to talks said a proposed framework including Raptors guards Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and the 4th overall pick in Thursday’s draft for Simmons was rejected by Toronto.
The Sixers have stated they want an All-Star in return for Simmons and it is understandable. Despite his obvious offensive shortcomings, he is a three-time All-Star, a two-time member of the All-Defensive first team and All-NBA in 2020. He has done all of that at just 25 and the Sixers should be looking for the value needed for him.
If Philadelphia does not get equal value for Simmons, the Sixers should keep him on the roster and try again with him. He is still a very talented player, and he does so much on the floor to help the team win.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Anunoby agreed to an extension with the Raptors worth over $70 million, including a player option.
OG Anunoby, like the rest of the Toronto Raptors, will be playing the upcoming season in Tampa, Florida. But not every member of his team can say they just signed a massive contract extension. Anunoby, as of Monday evening, can say that as he and his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports agreed to a 4-year, $72 million contract extension with a player option in the fourth year, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
After having his postseason ruined in 2019 during the Raptors title run, Anunoby was a major factor for the Raptors in 2019-20, especially in the bubble where the Raptors lost in 7 games in perhaps the best series of the NBA bubble against the Boston Celtics. Anunoby himself had the most iconic moment of the series, hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer with less than a second left to help Toronto win Game 3 and avoid what could have been a 3-0 deficit.
Last season Anunoby was very efficient on the offensive end, shooting a career-high 39% from the 3-point line He also finished with a career-best 60% true shooting percentage in 69 regular-season games, while posting a TS% of 57.3% in the postseason.
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The Los Angeles Lakers star has a lot of respect for the team that handed them a loss on Saturday night.
The Toronto Raptors reminded everyone why they should be taken seriously as a championship contender with a dominant performance against the Los Angeles Lakers last night. And while that may have been a shock to the casual fan, LeBron James, who has yet to beat the Raptors as a member of the Lakers, pointed out that their championship last year was not solely because of 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
Ben Golliver of the Washington Post shared a video of LeBron describing what makes the Raptors such a scary team after L.A. lost by 15 and were held to their third-lowest scoring total of the season at just 92 points.
Lakers’ LeBron James on the Raptors: “That’s a great team. They won the championship for a reason. It wasn’t all solely because of Kawhi [Leonard].” pic.twitter.com/HCrB7QkrXu
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 2, 2020
LeBron James had 20 points but he had to work hard for all of them, while the Raptors kept Anthony Davis in check, as Davis scored only 14 points and only managed to attempt seven shots in the game. The Lakers do have an opportunity to bounce back on Monday when they face a Utah Jazz team who just got blown out on Saturday by Oklahoma City.
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The Toronto Raptors head into the resumption of play for the NBA season re-start with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
When the Raptors won the title in 2019, it was the only time that the NBA champions did not have a lottery pick on their roster since the league changed to a weighted lotto system in 1990.
In fact, the 2019 Raptors had the lowest drafted players among NBA champions since the Houston Rockets in 1993-94. (Although those numbers were a bit impacted by the fact that Mario Elie was selected at No. 160 overall, fully one hundred spots later than the final selection eligible in the modern draft).
This year, the only Toronto player selected in the lottery was Stanley Johnson. The former University of Arizona forward was picked at No. 8 overall in 2015. But he averaged just 4.8 minutes per game in 2019-20, making zero appearances in the starting lineup.
The only first-rounders on the team are OG Anunoby (No. 23 overall), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (No. 23 overall), Kyle Lowry (No. 24 overall), Serge Ibaka (No. 24 overall) and Pascal Siakam (No. 27 overall). All of these players were taken in the second half of the first round.
Among NBA teams, the Raptors currently have the roster with the lowest average draft positions.
One interesting observation: the rosters with higher draft positions are not doing that well. The six NBA teams that have the lowest draft position all have winning records this season. Meanwhile, 10 of the eleven teams with the highest-drafted players have losing records.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report
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