2nd Quarter It probably goes without saying that the Heat will be awfully tough to beat if they're hitting from three. Nice to see the Raptors scrapping and narrowing the gap
The Palaeontologist's Hammer
@palaeohammer.bsky.social
Scientific Insight on your Toronto Raptors by Mac Priebe
Couldn't agree more; dude is aggressive and attacking. Looks like he's trying to out-Giannis Giannis.
Vivek Jacob@vivekmjacob.bsky.social · yesterdaythe important thing here is Scottie looks READY
1st Quarter I was hoping this would be one of the referee points of emphasis this offseason, but I guess we have another season of this BS. To be clear, I don't think think this is a foul. What is Bam supposed to do as RJ throws his body at him?
Heat @ Raptors (Preseason in Quebec City) Oct 3, 2026 Big changes for both teams, and it's preseason after all... ...but the Raptors absolutely dominated the Heat in four meetings last season, going 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 17.25 points
As the 2026-27 season kicks off, I am debuting this blog in hopes of expanding my audience. Just getting started, but I hope you will give it a read from time to time! Go Raptors!!! thepalaeontologistshammer.ca/2026/09/12/h...
Introducing The Palaeontologist’s Hammer Blog
For many years, I thought about writing about basketball. Having played and coached at many different levels and contexts for decades, I thought I had something to say…but not enough time to …
thepalaeontologistshammer.ca
Here is John's article in which he explains his thoughts on Jamal Shead's contract prospects Notably, Shead signed for cheaper than the players listed just above him and below him (CJ McCollum, 1/$21M and Collin Sexton, 2/$19.3M) @johnhollinger.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/737...
NBA free agency 2026: Point guard class offers several options for interested teams
This position may be the strongest overall this offseason, but some of the top names have already agreed to stay put.
nytimes.com
The Palaeontologist's Hammer@palaeohammer.bsky.social · 3d agoRe: Jamal Shead extended for 3/$24M 1 TL;DR I haven't said this in a while, but this is a tremendous deal for the Raptors! 2 This kicks in AFTER this season, during which he will earn $2.3M 3 Back in June, John gave Shead a BORD$ value of over $16M annually, so this is galactically better
Re: Jamal Shead extended for 3/$24M 1 TL;DR I haven't said this in a while, but this is a tremendous deal for the Raptors! 2 This kicks in AFTER this season, during which he will earn $2.3M 3 Back in June, John gave Shead a BORD$ value of over $16M annually, so this is galactically better
John Hollinger@johnhollinger.bsky.social · 3d agoI predict the Shead extension will age much better than the Poeltl extension. Great value for Toronto.
Reading between the lines: This seems like the league hedging. In 18-19, the Raptors were coming off being a 1-seed and added Kawhi. League scheduled 15 national TV games. Last year, Raptors got 2 national TV games. They were probably due for a small uptick after Scottie's playoff run
Josh Lewenberg@jlewenberg.bsky.social · 2mo agoThere are obvious geographical/financial reasons why the Raptors don’t tend to draw many US national TV games, but again, they got 15 of them the last time Kawhi played for Toronto. Only 7 this season is… interesting 👀 (tho they could be added later). The Clippers have more (8)
I should say, the other rumoured Lebron destinations make less sense to me I wrote in my previous post how returning to CLE would have been fraught with potential issues MIA fit is awkward. More on this when I do a season preview but MIA in the play-in, or even the lottery - wouldn't surprise me
I'm originally from Cleveland, and am very disappointed in this decision. I abandoned Cleveland sports decades ago, with the exception of the Lebron Cavs. It would have been fun to root for them again
Shams Charania Tweets@shamsbot.bsky.social · 2mo agoBREAKING: LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option, Klutch Sports Group and Klutch CEO and Game Over show host Rich Paul tells ESPN.
Kawhi Investigation complete? I saw references to Mike Vorkunov reporting that the investigation is complete I had trouble confirming this, but here it is: He spoke about it on The Rich Eisen Show The segment starts at the 9:38 mark @mikevorkunov.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMBL...
The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov Talks LeBron Waiting Game & More | Full Interview | The Rich Eisen Show
YouTube video by The Rich Eisen Show
youtube.com
First Tempo game for the Palaeontologist's Hammer! (....and check out the score)
A few reasons why the disaster scenario (voiding Kawhi’s contract) is considered highly unlikely: 1) His current contract, signed in 2024, isn’t under investigation (as far as we know). The one in question, signed in 2021, expired more than a year ago.
Josh Lewenberg@jlewenberg.bsky.social · 3mo agoFor what it’s worth, the Raptors continue to talk and act like a team that is unworried. Sense is the only thing that would jeopardize the trade is the unlikely scenario where Kawhi’s contract is voided. Any other possible penalty, including suspension, is something they could work around.
Regarding the conclusion of the Clippers/Kawhi investigation, I was interested in making an educated guess on what kind of suspension Kawhi could be assessed. To that end, a look at precedent: Here are the longest player suspensions in NBA history...
Surely this means the Raptors paused the deal. Equally surely, the Clippers are okay with framing it this way, as it is understandable I am curious what kind of pressure the league will face as this drags on... I can easily imagine the other 28 owners being just fine with LAC+TOR in limbo, but...
Justin Russo@flybyknite.bsky.social · 3mo agoAdam Silver said at his press conference tonight that the “league did not pause the [Kawhi Leonard] trade,” but rather that the “parties to the trade (Clippers and Raptors) made a decision not to go forward given that the investigation remained open.”
Re: Raptor Centre prospects at Summer league Jamarion Sharp shows impressive mobility and has great length. Great shot blocking and plays above the rim. Unfortunately I do not believe his strength will hold up at the NBA level
I felt GTJ was poorly used throughout his Bucks tenure. He had a frigid start from three (8-40) in his first month as a Buck, and they never trusted him with starter's minutes the rest of the way despite his 44% shooting afterwards that season.
John Hollinger@johnhollinger.bsky.social · 3mo agoThat Gary Trent deal cannot be in American dollars. Has to rubles or rupiah or something.
Related: I thought it was notable that BI and Gradey were at the LAC summer league game....after the press releases; A signal that everyone expects the trade to execute
The Palaeontologist's Hammer@palaeohammer.bsky.social · 3mo agoThinking about the Kawhi trade pause: I'm not an insider, but here's my best guess at reading between the lines I would like to assume that smart people are running the various entities at play here (LAC, TOR, NBA). Based on that, I would rule out the nuclear endpoint of voiding Kawhi's contract
Thinking about the Kawhi trade pause: I'm not an insider, but here's my best guess at reading between the lines I would like to assume that smart people are running the various entities at play here (LAC, TOR, NBA). Based on that, I would rule out the nuclear endpoint of voiding Kawhi's contract
Wrote about this yesterday, but not in this depth... @raptorsrepublic.bsky.social raptorsrepublic.com/2026/07/02/t...
The Toronto Raptors would be the perfect home for LeBron James - Raptors Republic
LeBron James and the Raptors might sound far-fetched, but the fit is worth talking about.
raptorsrepublic.com
The Palaeontologist's Hammer@palaeohammer.bsky.social · 3mo agoMaybe this is preposterous but I want to speak it into existence: The 2026-2027 Toronto Raptors are as good as fit as just about any team Lebron James could hope for
Thinking about cap management issues after reading Blake's AMAZING piece several times...Highly recommended, and important for understanding how this will affect the Raptors' ability to fill out their roster Four Jakob trade ideas for the Raptors to add to the rotation and avoid the hard cap:
Blake Murphy@blakemurphy.bsky.social · 3mo agoExplainer on the Raptors cap and roster situation after the Kawhi Leonard trade: www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/...
The Raptors are taking a big risk with the Kawhi trade. It's worth it. My full analysis including thoughts on risk, fit, cap minutiae, health and Scottie Barnes. Free to read
The Kawhi Leonard trade is a big risk for the Raptors. It’s worth it (Gift Article)
The Raptors' second Kawhi Leonard trade is much costlier than their first, but it comes with similar promise.
nytimes.com
Thinking about the Jaylen Brown trade and the Raptors 'choice' between them If one considers my tinfoil hat theories listed here, it is altogether possible that the Raptors were only roped in to whitewash the Aspiration fallout
The Palaeontologist's Hammer@palaeohammer.bsky.social · 3mo agoMore on Kawhi: This is wild speculation based on no inside information... I have to think that the Aspiration investigation is triggering all of this.
Maybe this is preposterous but I want to speak it into existence: The 2026-2027 Toronto Raptors are as good as fit as just about any team Lebron James could hope for
Not a hot take, but worth noting: The Raptors are Scottie Barnes' team.
Pascal, two firsts, two seconds and a pick swap for Kawhi, Ja'Kobe Walter and three months of me insisting Ochai Agbaji was awesome.
Keerthika Uthayakumar@keerthikau.bsky.social · 3mo agoTechnically, Kawhi Leonard is now a part of the Pascal Siakam trade tree.
Kawhi-to-the-Raptors Quick reactions Above all else, SUPER EXCITED!!!! This is a joyous moment, soak it in Raptors fans!
Re: Kawhi Contrary reports out there This morning, Brian Windhorst reported that the players in the trade have been settled, and that the teams are just ironing out draft compensation