Raptors mailbag: Trade Barrett or Agbaji and Ja'Kobe Walter's place in rotation
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Andres Del Campo @AndyDlief: 'The feeling I get from many members of the media is that RJ Barrett is viewed as expendable. Why do Raps always chase away good players who want to stay in Toronto?'
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RW: Barrett is mentioned as expendable mostly because of his contract and a busy situation on the wing. If you're referring to DeMar DeRozan and Pascal Siakam with the last part I have mixed thoughts. DeRozan, like Barrett (especially as a Raptor), is a rare scoring machine lacking a consistent three-point shot and a major liability defensively. I don't see Barrett as being as poor defensively as DeRozan, especially after he made strides this season, partly because of more dedication to that side of the game, but the advanced stats show he doesn't really drive winning. Toronto believes in advanced metrics and in winning players so even though Barrett is a great example for Canadian fans, does have many good qualities as a player and loves being here, they will have to explore the market for him to ease luxury tax and roster concerns down the line.
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Chad Reeb @reeber93: 'Assuming RJ is no longer traded, how worried are you about spacing and defence with the starting group?'
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RW: I don't think Barrett will be moved until the New Year, at the earliest. More concerned with spacing than with defence as Jakob Poeltl and Scottie Barnes are elite defenders and I think Brandon Ingram is about average. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley are below average defensively, but both have their moments. Plus I could see Barrett being replaced by Ochai Agbaji pretty early in games (a big upgrade defensively and from three) allowing RJ to cook as the lead scorer on the bench (even though he'll start).
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The spacing will be a bit rough, unless Barnes takes big steps forward as a three-point shooter. Poeltl is a total non-threat from out there, Barnes was terrible from three last season, Barrett, as mentioned, is inconsistent, while Quickley is elite and Ingram can be, but prefers to operate in the mid-range.
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Global News
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Story continues below advertisement Since winning at Unified 62, Lee is coming off a victory by unanimous decision over Chris Choo at a Cage Fury Fighting Championships event in Florida to improve his professional record to an undefeated 4-0. It's something that doesn't surprise Jesse Boldt, a muay thai instructor at Modern Martial Arts Center in Saskatoon where Lee trains. 'We know what it's like to go with Hunter in the gym,' said Boldt. 'So we know his poor opponents, how they're going to feel going against him. When he wins the way he does, it's expected because we feel it in the gym.' Lee's strength comes from a dominant ground game developed over his collegiate career with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies wrestling team between 2017 and 2022, where he'd become a national champion with the program and become an alternate for the Canadian Olympic team. First discovered by coach Daniel Olver with the Huskies' junior program, Lee's progression into the MMA world doesn't surprise the University of Saskatchewan coach one bit. 'It was always something that Hunter wanted to get into,' said Olver. 'We knew that when he was part of the Junior Huskies program and then into the [University of Saskatchewan] Huskies program, this was his end goal here. Story continues below advertisement 'In terms of seeing that success when he was a Huskie now being able to transfer into MMA, we always talk about how excellence is a transferrable skill. He was excellent as a Huskie, he was dedicated to winning and he's transferring that right into MMA. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I'm not surprised that he's having the success that he is.' For Lee, the wrestling background has allowed him to control fights on the ground more effectively while also having a framework to cut weight once he begins fighting more opponents within his planned weight class of 170 to 175 pounds. Calling himself the 'most ducked professional MMA fighter,' he said it's been a struggle to find opponents who want to go up against his wrestling background. 'With wrestling you just compete against whoever shows up,' said Lee. 'You go to the national tournament and you just sign up, whoever is in your bracket you got to go against them and you can't say no. In MMA, guys can say no and then they'll get a different opponent that's easier. 'I had a lot of problems with that earlier in my career. 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Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The Province
an hour ago
- The Province
Canada swim star Summer McIntosh primed to take worlds by storm
'I always want more,' McIntosh said. Published Jul 23, 2025 • 2 minute read Canadian swimming star Summer McIntosh. Photo by Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP/File Los Angeles — Three world records in five days put Summer McIntosh in rare company and now the 18-year-old Canadian swimming sensation is primed to take the world championships by storm. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors McIntosh won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics last year and then broke three world records in a breathtaking performance at the Canadian trials in June. The teenager is the first swimmer to set world records in three different individual events since Michael Phelps did it on the way to his glittering eight-gold haul at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 'Absolutely wild,' McIntosh said of the accomplishment in an interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC. Then she promptly pointed to a litany of things she could improve on in each race, saying the self-criticism is part of her mission to keep testing the boundaries of her sport. 'I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect race, at least I haven't done it yet,' she said ahead of the world championships in Singapore starting on Sunday. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'There's room for more and that's what keeps me going. And I'm also still so young, I have so much more to achieve and I know I can get so much stronger.' That competitive spirit runs deep in the McIntosh family. Her mother Jill competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in swimming and older sister Brooke is a top pairs figure skater who won bronze in 2022 at the world junior championships. 'We're very competitive. This is really in our blood,' Brooke once said. – Wanting more – McIntosh's rapid journey to the pinnacle of swimming has taken her from Canada to Florida, where she trained with the Sarasota Sharks from 2022 and through the Paris Games. After the world championships she will begin training with Phelps's mentor Bob Bowman in Texas, as she builds toward the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the meantime she has been training since January with French coach Fred Vergnoux and his group in Antibes, crediting his contribution to 'the best meet of my career' despite the relatively brief association. 'I've gone way faster than I ever could have imagined,' she said. At the Canadian trials in Victoria she smashed the 400m freestyle world record with a time of 3min 54.18sec, regaining a mark she had lost to Australian Ariarne Titmus. She also broke the decade-old 200m individual medley world mark and lowered her own 400m medley world record. In between she threatened Katie Ledecky's latest 800m free world mark on the way to the third-fastest time in history. She also clocked the second-fastest 200m butterfly ever, edging toward the record set by China's Liu Zige in 2009. McIntosh launched her Olympic career in 2021 in Tokyo, where at 14 she was the youngest member of the Canadian team. She didn't win a medal but in Paris last summer she took gold in the 200m butterfly, 200m medley and 400m medley, and claimed silver in the 400m free. In Singapore she's expanding her program to include the 800m free and another mouthwatering showdown with Ledecky — one of the swimmers she idolized as a youngster. Now that she has established herself among swimming's elite, McIntosh has no trouble finding new motivation. 'I always want more,' she said. Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Soccer Vancouver Canucks Sports
