Raptors mailbag: More Jakob Poeltl trade rumours, a Canadian MVP and comparisons to Maple Leafs fans

Hamilton Spectator

25-05-2025

It's nice to see some familiar names in this edition of
Ye Olde Mailbag
that's back to its old self this week.
Enjoy.
Hi, Doug.
I'm curious, what do you think the players and coaches do during the
NBA playoffs
on their every other night off?
Rest, train, get together as a group and watch the other coast's contests, or some combination?
I have this image of
OG Anunoby
and
Pascal Siakam
sitting with their teammates, marvelling at
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
, yelling at the refs.
—Kerry
I'm pretty sure they just do mundane stuff like dinners with pals on the team or friends and family who are travelling, rather than any full team events.
They might well watch games and yell at refs, but not in some sanctioned or required team environment.
Most of the team activities and responsibilities on the off-day are midday video sessions and extremely light shooting workouts.
It's not a stretch to think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will sound precisely like Steve Nash should a third NBA MVP from Canada ever materialize.
It's not a stretch to think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will sound precisely like Steve Nash should a third NBA MVP from Canada ever materialize.
Hi, Doug.
Pleased to s
ee our local guy won the MVP award. Got me thinking about the idea of voter fatigue, though, with these choices. When
Steve Nash
won his consecutive MVPs, I always thought his following season, 2006-07, was better than the two MVP years. I think that it became much harder for voters to go for him the third time. Something similar this year. I am not suggesting that SGA was not a worthy winner, just that it was harder for Nikola Jokic to win yet again. Voters just thought it was time for a new face to be rewarded. What think you?
—Bruce in Oshawa
I think for some people the Jokic fatigue factor might have been real. But seeing the voting results — 79 first-place votes for SGA, 21 for Jokic, zero for anyone else — it certainly didn't factor in at any legitimate level.
A dream final seems to be in the offing, although one should not get ahead of oneself.
I am compelled to get in touch to add my huzzahs to the Shai MVP. What a great moment for Canadian basketball, and what a stunning player.
There are so many intriguing subplots to these playoffs, one being watching Pascal and OG facing off. I have noted before my befuddlement at the trading of the perfect Raptor, and Siakam's performance (Friday night) only reinforces that feeling.
Having said that, I can't wait to see next year's version of the Toronto team.
Will you be attending the final series?
—James A., Victoria
It's been great, and not unexpected, to see Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby thrive. But it's also not a linear professional sports world and it wasn't working here, and probably wouldn't have had they stuck with it.
Sadly, I'm not attending the Finals. Hopefully I can try to scribble some worthwhile words from afar.
Hi, Doug.
In a month or so, all the draft questions will be answered and a new NBA champ will be crowned.
Some questions:
1) One of the four remaining teams will end up losing in the Finals. For each team, what changes would you suggest to get them over the hurdle. Are there any current lineups that shouldn't be tinkered with?
2) Read a rumour of the Lakers being interested in
Jakob Poeltl
. I assume this can't happen as there are no assets (aside from Luka Doncic and LeBron James) that would really be of use to the Raptors (or significantly different). Not to mention, we would still be missing a centre, not to mention a backup!
Thoughts?
ESPN's Shams Charania reported Antetokounmpo is open to leaving the Bucks, and Toronto should clearly make a call. It would be complicated, however.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported Antetokounmpo is open to leaving the Bucks, and Toronto should clearly make a call. It would be complicated, however.
3) With the e
nd of the NBA combine, what aspects of the event do you think are most useful in assessing players and influencing draft rankings? My guess would be the scrimmages, then to a lesser extent the testing and measurements.
4) Please forgive this question. When referring to the
Raptors
Bench Mob, which players are we talking about? At first, I thought it referred to the guys we got after the Rudy Gay trade (Greivis Vásquez, Patrick Patterson, etc.) but more recently I've heard it used when talking about Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Norman Powell, etc.
Were both groups Bench Mobs, or am I the only confused person?
Thanks for the insights on the draft prospects! Whichever team picks
Jeremiah Fears
must give him jersey No. 0! A marketing dream!
—Bernie M.
We're a month from the draft and just about that time before the Finals could end. We've got lots of time.
Teams can always tinker, right? So, Indy could use some rebounding depth, OKC can always use three-point shooting, Minny probably needs another shot creator and the Knicks have to be deeper than about seven guys.
The Lakers will be linked to every upright, mobile big man in the league and still don't have any desirable assets to get one. Pay it no heed.
If it's only on-the-court stuff at the combine, I'd say skill testing. The scrimmages would be second, but they really are five strangers looking out for themselves. First time I saw it, I said a combine scrimmage makes a Summer League game look like an NBA Finals game and the Summer League's often unwatchable.
Texas freshman can shoot from anywhere but it's hard to conceive the Raptors having a burning interest in a point guard with the No. 9 pick.
Texas freshman can shoot from anywhere but it's hard to conceive the Raptors having a burning interest in a point guard with the No. 9 pick.
My Bench Mob is that second group. It was really, really, really good and that's why no one should expect to see another one here again.
Hi, Doug.
Hope you are we
ll. Was listening to some of the players after the
Leafs
cleared out their lockers (again) and it struck me just how vague some of their comments could be about the injury situation. One player referred to his injury as a 'mid to lower upper-body' injury. It struck me that the Leafs in general are really coy about what the injury situation of a player is.
Contrast this with the Raptors, who seem much more open about it. If a Leafs player needed a PRP shot like Brandon Ingram did, I doubt we'd ever hear of it.
Which brings me to my question. Is this a cultural difference between the two big MLSE franchises? Or does the NBA have rules about disclosing injuries in the interests of transparency?
Thanks for all you do.
—MSG
It's more a cultural difference between the leagues rather than cousins under the MLSE umbrella.
There are certainly NBA rules about transparency — teams are required to update information and availability several times during a game day — that I am told don't come down from the NHL head office.
And you say 'coy' and I say 'misinform intentionally.' That wouldn't be accepted by the NBA head office.
Hey, Doug.
Hope you are well and able to coast a bit until the draft.
I'm wondering how great an impact playing for the Canadian national team had on SGA's ascension to being this year's MVP? Would this have happened, do you think, regardless of Shai's participation with the national team, or did the experience provide him with the 'it' (to recall a Paul Pierce comment)?
Speaking of 'it,' I know you don't follow hockey much, but do you think that the Maple Leafs don't have it?
While I do not watch a lot of hockey, I was struck by the difference between Leafs fans and Raptors fans. Aside from a clearly visible difference in the demographics of each fan base, I noted the difference in the language Leafs fans used in interviews outside the arena. They referred to the Leaf players as 'the boys' and talked about how 'we' struggled or persevered. This is language I don't think Raptors fans ever use when speaking about the team. I also don't think that in the days of the DeMar DeRozan/Kyle Lowry team playing well during the regular season, and then failing to advance in the playoffs, fans turned on the team the way that Leafs fans did. Your thoughts?
Appreciated as always.
—Phil
For starters, there is special depth to this draft class ... all the way to No. 9 and beyond.
For starters, there is special depth to this draft class ... all the way to No. 9 and beyond.
I think SGA was on the path to winning an MVP award for a couple of years and would have gotten there regardless of the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics. But the chance to play summers against the very best competition in the world certainly helped, and I think it should show other Canadian NBAers that, too.
The 'clearly visible difference in the demographics of each fan base' is very well put, by the way. There is a deeper connection grown over eras that connects the Leafs to some fans, and I do hear more 'we' and 'us' comments on the hockey side than basketball, although it's more apparent in my world these days.
As for fans turning on them and not the Raptors, I think it's because, by every imaginable metric, the basketball team has been — by a wide margin — more successful over the last 30 years, so the Leafs fans must be more fed up.
I was going to pick and choose quotes, but it may not have been precise enough. Do you have an opinion on the following story
(
click here to read
)
? Did AI cause the WNBA/WNBPA/Indiana Fever to jump the gun before solid evidence?
—Paul M.
Not an opinion on that specific incident, but I do think that any hint of such action needs to be investigated fully. They cannot be too careful in letting stuff go.
The W has an issue and it's got to be addressed every single day by every single franchise, and most importantly by the league office. It's got to be a safe, fun, comfortable environment for everyone that's perpetuated by everyone, from players to the commissioner and everyone in between.
Maluach ticks every Raptors box and could be around by the time Toronto picks.
Maluach ticks every Raptors box and could be around by the time Toronto picks.
Hi, Doug. Thanks for your insights. If the Raptors cannot get
Khaman Maluach
, trade picks nine and 39 to the Nets for their picks (19, 26, 27) and trade those picks to the Bucks with matching salaries for
Giannis Antetokounmpo
(but keep Jakob Poeltl and Scottie Barnes).
If they cannot get that trade with the Bucks, still trade with the Nets, because there is nobody at No. 9 (if Maluach is not available) who is worth Nets picks 19, 26 and 27 (a lot of great upside talent there).
Best regards.
—Howard J. Feldman
Sorry. Trading down to get two more rookie-scale guaranteed contracts for a team that's got too many young rookie-scale guaranteed contracts makes no sense.
And I cannot think that two extra late firsts is going to tip the scale on a Giannis deal.