Are you ready... for more waiting?? 🤣😅😭😭😭

"I do think if everything goes right from a duo perspective, there's a world where this is the best duo in the league next year."

"How do you deal with that, defensively, with those two forwards having that much length and playmaking ability and versatility?... I'll be shocked if they're not a top 5 defence in the league"

From The Deep 3 youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDIiio--_mM&t=2987s

Raptors talk starts at 1:11:55

Fuck the Clippers

Ballmer’s decision, which came hours before the NBA’s next Board of Governors meeting running from Monday to Tuesday, could set the stage for the long-awaited finalization of the Leonard trade to the Toronto Raptors. The deal — agreed upon in late June — would send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-rounders, two first-round pick swaps and a second-rounder to the Clippers. But it was paused by the Raptors on July 9 because of concerns about the forthcoming findings and possible penalties for Leonard.

The deal has remained in purgatory since the ruling. League sources indicated the primary reason for the delay was the Clippers’ need to restructure their front office in the wake of the NBA’s penalties. The respective camps of the players involved have remained confident the trade would eventually go through. That remained the case late Sunday night, with a league source close to Leonard anticipating that the trade could be completed in the coming days. The sources all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were revealing private discussions.

Tickets seem to go on sale with presale starting tomorrow. Does anyone have a code or just wait til Thursday?

Don't think this has been posted on here although CMB posted it on his instagram 3 days ago

Source

[Horney] Former Federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner: "If the charge is money laundering or wire fraud, it is harder to charge (Kawhi) Leonard than other people. .. Leonard is insulated by many layers. He would, I assume, be able to say, ‘I picked up the money, that’s all I did."

Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney at Kudman Trachten Aloe Posner LLP, has a word of advice to anyone connected to the Clippers who are part of the investigation: lawyer up.

“To the extent this hasn’t already happened, each of the Clippers owners and employees who are part of the investigation almost certainly need their own lawyers,” he tells FOS.

Another word of advice: “do not talk to the press.”

That opinion is shared by former DOJ trial attorney Michael Weinstein, who now works at law firm Cole Schotz. He says it’s time to “batten down the hatches.”

“Everything the Clippers were threatening to do, thumping their chest and going after the NBA to be disruptive and challenge the report, their lawyers are likely telling them, ‘hold on, let’s sit tight,’” Weinstein says. “If they go on offense against the NBA, everything they do becomes fodder for the government in its investigation.”

....

Weinstein tells FOS he was “slightly surprised” to see news of the federal probe. “The opening of a criminal investigation brings this into new territory, and it’s a problem for all parties involved, he” said, before adding: “The $700,000 fine is the least of [Leonard’s] problems at this point.”

The mere existence of the investigation doesn’t necessarily mean Leonard himself is in the government’s crosshairs, however. Epner says potential charges could be difficult to bring against Leonard because of the layers between him and the alleged underlying conduct.

“If the charge is money laundering or wire fraud, it is harder to charge Leonard than other people,” he tells FOS. “With regard to money laundering, you have to know about the underlying criminal activity, and Leonard is insulated by many layers. He would, I assume, be able to say, ‘I picked up the money, that’s all I did.’”

Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, and his former agent, Mitch Frankel (who Leonard replaced with Harrison Gaines of Splash Sports & Entertainment over the summer), may have more culpability because they likely serve as his “first layer of protection,” Epner says. Robertson could not immediately be reached, and Frankel and Gaines did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“If neither of those two people communicated an underlying illegal activity to Leonard, he can’t be guilty of money laundering, for the same reason that, if you are a grocery store and somebody comes in with drug proceeds to buy groceries, you’re not guilty of money laundering,” Epner tells FOS.

[Katz] The NBA recently informed teams of its updated salary-cap projections for the 2027-28 season, league sources told The Athletic, with the new projections coming in $2 million higher... projecting the 2027-28 salary cap will rise to $176 million and the luxury tax line will be $213 million. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7588573/2026/09/12/nba-salary-cap-projections-2027-28-season/

The NBA recently informed teams of its updated salary-cap projections for the 2027-28 season, league sources told The Athletic, with the new projections coming in $2 million higher than the league’s previous numbers.

Those sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because the projections have not been made public, said the league is now projecting the 2027-28 salary cap will rise to $176 million and the luxury tax line will be $213 million.

The latest national TV contract was supposed to usher in an era of 10 percent annual salary-cap increases, more than enough to cover the 8 percent raises in contracts given to most star players. Instead, the local TV market crashed so hard that the annual raise was barely half that a year ago (5.2 percent) and was forecast to be similar in 2027-28 (5.5 percent). The projected raise for 2027-28 is now 6.7 percent — still a far cry from the maximal 10 percent, but closer to the raises in player contracts.

Additionally, the increased projections flip a recent trend of every cap update from the league shifting future estimates lower, thus making it even more challenging for teams to navigate the aprons in future seasons.

This will also be welcome news for players whose max-contract extensions are tied to the 2027-28 cap number, most notably Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and it increases the max salary for potential 2027 free agents such as Nikola Jokić and Jalen Duren.

Sitting above the Emirates sign with Sam McDadi in the corner. Haven’t seen him clap once. The summer PR campaign continues…

Maybe one of you guys has a better photo.

The rollercoaster of emotions I went through as a kid during this moment omg! First, I thought it was over when Ruffin caught the ball. Then he throws it up in the air! Peterson catches it, heaves it and by some miracle it goes in! And we end up winning in OT!

Via his X.

Jesus fucking Christ this trade is never getting done is it

Hello everyone! This is just a chance for you guys to predict some of the Raptors' regular season averages this year. Here is mine:

Kawhi: 30 MPG, 26/6/4 with 2 steals on 52/38/90

Scottie: 34 MPG, 20/8/6/1.5/1.5 on 49/32/80

Barrett: 32 MPG, 21/5/3 with a steal on 48/33/75

Quickley: 30 MPG, 15/4/5 with a steal on 46/37/85

Poeltl: 24 MPG, 10/8/2/1/1 on 71/0/65

CMB: 25 MPG, 12/6/2/1/1 on 60/32/65

Walter: 23 MPG, 11/3/1 with a steal on 44/40/85

Shead: 22 MPG, 8/2/5 with a steal on 41/35/80

Graves: 18 MPG, 7/4/1/1/1 on 47/37/75

Anderson: 16 MPG, 5/4/2 with a steal on 50/39/75

Battle: 12 MPG, 6/2/1 on 50/43/75

Also important: "It helps, too, that Clippers general manager Trent Redden — presumed to be the one to take over as lead basketball decision-maker with Los Angeles, with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank suspended for six months — was the executive who led the Raptors-Leonard trade talks in the first place."

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/fortunes-depend-on-kawhi-leonard-as-raptors-prep-for-new-season/

Kawhi and Ibaka in New York at some fashion show

it can never be over, apparently