Rumors

Ira Winderman: Jaime Jaquez Jr. said he is looking into the possibilities of seeing his sister and UCLA play in the NCAA Tournament Final Four in Tampa on Friday, with that championship game on Sunday. The Heat are at home and off both of those days.

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Much of White’s campaign spending overall lines up with the 2022 Big3 schedule, which saw play begin in Chicago in June, before moving to Dallas, then to Tampa and Atlanta for the playoffs and championship. For instance, the campaign spent more than $4,300 on food and hotels in the Windy City in June, with several payments at the host stadium. When the Dallas tournament took up in mid-July, the campaign went on a Big D shopping spree, including $311 at a Macy’s and another $560 at Cavender’s Western Wear, which sells cowboy boots. The campaign also splashed out $1,560 at the FiveAm Theater, an “exclusive after hours entertainment venue” in Dallas, with another $960 the same night to INCrowd Life, a local party company.

The Daily Beast

Josh Lewenberg: The Raptors have lost 9 of 10 games, including 7 straight – their longest losing streak since May of 2021 (the end of the Tampa season). They’re now tied with Memphis for the 6th-worst record in the NBA with 14 games left.

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Now, a member of the Portland Trailblazers, Kevin Knox still has strong ties to the Tampa community. The field house on the Tampa Catholic campus bears his name. Plus, the annual Kevin Knox II Basketball Camp reunites him with his high school coach Don Dziagwa. "This is the biggest thing for me, every single summer," Knox said. "I’ve kind of made an emphasis every single year to try and get better every single year, promote it more, get more kids."

fox13news.com

But in the backdrop were concerns about what’ll come next in light of Hurricane Ian likely making landfall in Florida between Naples and Tampa late Wednesday. Chris Newton, the team’s director of security, and Regan Harris, the assistant director of team services, were among Magic personnel who addressed the team about the hurricane once practice ended. “We just talked about it,” Franz Wagner said. “Obviously, I’m nervous because I’ve never experienced anything like this. Just trying to listen to everybody here, what they’re telling us and making sure we have everything at home. Trying to be safe.”

Orlando Sentinel

Knox, who hasn’t talked to the media since preseason, is said to be thrilled at the trade, which will bring him closer to his hometown of Tampa, Fla. “There’s not many miles on the Rolls Royce,” Knox Sr. said.

New York Post

Former NBA All-Star Deron Williams and Frank Gore, third on the NFL's all-time rushing yards list, will make their professional boxing debuts when they square off on the Jake Paul-Tommy Fury undercard on Dec. 18 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The four-round heavyweight bout will boast a 215-pound contractual weight limit.

The Athletic

Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: Three-time NBA All-Star Deron Williams is fighting longtime NFL running back Frank Gore in a four-round heavyweight bout on Showtime’s PPV undercard of Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury on Dec. 18 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

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Josh Lewenberg: Khem Birch on making his Toronto debut as a Raptor: "No disrespect, I don't know who I'm disrespecting right now, but I don't think Tampa counted. That didn't really count. This is the real thing right now. Just being here is a special moment and I wouldn't trade it for anything"

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The Raptors last played a regular-season game in Toronto on Feb. 28, 2020, doing so in front of a capacity crowd of 19,800. Nearly 20 months later, the Scotiabank Arena crowd will reach a similar figure as the team returns after a year spent in its temporary home of Tampa, Fla.

NBA.com

But Wainright committed to Uganda, and his teammates, and that means more to Wainright than his own freshness for the pre-Vegas camp with the Raptors in Tampa Bay, where he was headed a day after the game in Morrocco. “There wasn’t any doubt,” Wainright said. “It was a long time, I’m not gonna lie. It’s been an extremely long summer. But I’ve worked my butt off. …To play for a country like Uganda is crazy, it’s amazing. I’m enjoying every bit of it.” The Raptors understood. This is part of what they’ve quickly come to love about Wainright. He is a hard worker. He is selfless. He is the consummate teammate. Everywhere he’s gone, Ishmail Wainright is a walking culture-builder.

The Athletic

Eric Koreen: Ujiri says the Tampa move "was hard for some all of them, if not all of them." Then notes it's a first-world problem, of course.

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But in stark contrast to the Ben Simmons situation in Philadelphia or the Damian Lillard saga in Portland, it appears there is no uncomfortableness or pressure on the Siakam front, in large part, because sources say he still wants to be in Toronto, especially after being away for a season while playing in Tampa. And yes, for the many people who wondered, that remains the case even after the Raptors drafted Scottie Barnes fourth overall and then said goodbye to Kyle Lowry in free agency (via sign-and-trade to Miami).

The Athletic

Toronto’s surprise selection of Scottie Barnes with the No. 4 overall pick in Thursday’s draft over Jalen Suggs immediately convinced some rival teams that the Raptors’ appetite for trading Pascal Siakam will only grow after Siakam’s tumultuous season while the Raptors were forced to play in Tampa.

marcstein.substack.com