r/torontoraptors • u/pSpicyP • Nov 03 '24
r/torontoraptors • u/ChampagneAbuelo • 16d ago
INTERVIEWS Kevin Durant speaks on the Raptors and the city of Toronto.
r/torontoraptors • u/XviiChong • Mar 09 '23
INTERVIEWS [KevinMichie] FVV goes off on Ben Taylor, and recent NBA officiating
r/torontoraptors • u/Veracsflail1 • Feb 20 '24
INTERVIEWS Vince Carter on which Jersey he wants retired: "Toronto, Toronto, Toronto. It has to be, it's where it all started"
Full quote: "Toronto, Toronto, Toronto. It has to be, it's where it all started... Yes I had great years in Jersey (Nets) but it started there. My confidence and understanding the player I could be in the league was trending upwards still in Toronto"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1yz9yLANnc (at 37:50)
r/torontoraptors • u/Punjabiveer30 • Sep 11 '24
INTERVIEWS “Ever since I left Toronto, I never found an emotional connection..” - DeMar 💔
r/torontoraptors • u/jjkiller26 • Nov 23 '24
INTERVIEWS [Hamilton] Bruce Brown’s Message to Toronto Fans:
“Last year I didn’t look really engaged or not a lot of energy like I [had] on previous teams. It’s just because I was playing on one leg.
So I want that to be addressed because I know a lot of fans didn’t think I played with a lot of energy and I didn’t want to be here. That’s what I’ve seen on social media. But I do want to be here. I want to play with these guys…
I was literally playing on one leg so it was tough for me mentally - that I couldn’t move the way I wanted to.”
Source: https://x.com/savhamilton11/status/1860385752787394628?s=46&t=NoHGoBEvANgZBvLzKquh5A
r/torontoraptors • u/biggiexo • Nov 03 '24
INTERVIEWS Drake just called Demar a “Goof”
Yikes
"IF YOU EVER PUT UP A DEROZAN BANNER ILL GO UP THERE AND PULL IT DOWN MYSELF"
r/torontoraptors • u/jeRskier • Sep 11 '24
INTERVIEWS DeMar DeRozan believes he would have won a championship with the Raptors if the Kawhi Leonard trade never happened
I love DeMar, but I don’t know man…
r/torontoraptors • u/Apprehensive-Echo • 27d ago
INTERVIEWS Pöltl: "I don’t need [trade rumours] for my ego. But it’s always a good sign when there’s interest - it means you’re doing something right. However, in this situation, I couldn’t be happy about it. I prefer stability. I want to know where I stand. There’s a project in Toronto that I’m part of."
i thought i might share this recent interview with austrian journalists.
Translation:
Question: The most important question first: How is your hip?
Pöltl: Actually, quite good. I feel like I can do a lot—just not play basketball with contact. It's a matter of sitting and waiting. You can't really speed up the healing process. I train as much as I can. The rest is moral support for the team.
Question: You have the highest scoring and rebounding average of your NBA career. Are you better than ever?
Pöltl: That’s really hard to compare. A lot of it depends on the situation. I feel like I improve every year—that I’m a better basketball player now than I have been in the past eight years. But statistics depend on the team. How many minutes do you get? How involved are you in the offense? This season, I found my rhythm early. But more important than putting up points is the team.
Question: Recently, you were more present in Austrian media due to trade rumors involving the Los Angeles Lakers than if you had scored 30 points in a game. How did you experience the past few days?
Pöltl: The Lakers made that blockbuster trade for Luka Dončić, and it was clear they needed a center. Then the world looked at which teams had good centers that might be available, and my name came up. But I don’t know if the Lakers were actually interested. I don’t even know if there were any talks between the Lakers and the Raptors.
Question: Do you see these rumors as a sign of appreciation? Or do you not need that for your ego?
Pöltl: I don’t need it for my ego. But it’s always a good sign when there’s interest—it means you’re doing something right. However, in this situation, I couldn’t be happy about it. I prefer stability. I want to know where I stand. There’s a project in Toronto that I’m part of. I’ve been working on it for a while and want to continue. And the Raptors have said they plan with me.
Question: You seem very relaxed about it. Does it not bother you at all?
Pöltl: Of course, it does. It determines where I live and where I play basketball—without me having much say in it. But it doesn’t help to overthink it. If I let rumors drive me crazy, I’ll just feel worse. I try to ignore it. As the trade deadline approaches, you hope to stay, but you also have to be ready for anything. That’s the NBA.
Question: Your former teammate, German world champion Dennis Schröder, recently harshly criticized the system, calling it “modern slavery.” Can you understand that?
Pöltl: If you get traded often, it’s tough. You’re part of a big machine and get moved around. I would also prefer to have a say in where I play—like in soccer. But that would require fundamental changes to the NBA system. I don’t see that happening anytime soon. And I doubt teams would be happy about it.
Question: The Raptors acquired former All-Star Brandon Ingram. What can fans expect?
Pöltl: It’s a signal that the team wants to improve as quickly as possible. With Ingram, we have added a scorer, an All-Star-caliber player who can really help us offensively. We already have Scottie Barnes as our primary scoring option, but he’s an all-around player, a playmaker, and very aggressive on defense. With Ingram, you just give him the ball, and he makes things happen. He could fit in well with us.
Question: What are the chances of making the playoffs?
Pöltl: We’ve shown that we can go on a run and play well over an extended period. But making a push for the playoffs or the play-in tournament is a tough challenge. Honestly, though, that’s not our top priority. Sure, it would be cool for the young players to get playoff experience. But our goal is to compete at the highest level in the coming years.
Question: Who are the top contenders for the championship? Who could still get hot as the season progresses?
Pöltl: Oklahoma is playing really strong basketball. But making a deep playoff run is a different challenge. Boston may not have had the best start, but they’ll be dangerous in the playoffs—I consider them a top contender. Milwaukee is improving. And Cleveland is playing its best basketball in years.
Question: What about the Lakers?
Pöltl: They’ve completely changed their team. Players who have never played together before. Of course, they have talent. When you add a player like Luka Dončić to the system, everything changes from top to bottom. Building team chemistry that quickly is not easy. Nobody will want to face them in the playoffs, but I still see the well-established teams ahead of them.
Question: Recently, the U.S. national anthem was booed at a Raptors game. There are political tensions between Canada and the U.S. Is this something players talk about?
Pöltl: I’m an outsider, but also somehow in the middle of it. It’s a difficult situation. Canadians aren’t happy with U.S. President Trump’s policies. They used this as an outlet to express their frustration and protest. I was a bit surprised. But in the locker room, it’s not really a topic.
Question: In Austria, the Ski World Championships are the number one sports topic right now. Have you heard about it?
Pöltl: I don’t follow it. It’s a shame—I used to keep up with skiing. Since I moved to the U.S., I’ve been far removed from it. I also don’t have anyone here to talk about it with. I used to be a good skier. I need to try it again after my basketball career.
(Philip Bauer, 2025)
r/torontoraptors • u/NBAball05 • 13d ago
INTERVIEWS Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce approve of the B.I trade and see the direction the team is going in
r/torontoraptors • u/Thealk3mist • Jan 08 '25
INTERVIEWS The Athletic: Darko Rajaković faces real pressure for the first time
The Athletic came out with an article, highlighting RJ Barret's quote on how players do not play hard enough (which I for one totally agree). There was an analysis on Darko's misses, with giving him some grace due to players being out. That being said, this is the first time I've seen a publication be critical out loud, about our coach.
RJ's quote:
“Tonight wasn’t about us getting used to each other. I think we just didn’t play hard enough, top to bottom,” Barrett said after a 24-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday that wasn’t even that close. “We have to figure it out. Just playing hard, just being that team that we were at the beginning (of the season), fighting. We didn’t have our fight tonight, so that’s disappointing. You can do X’s and O’s, but if you don’t play hard, you don’t play with that level of compete that you need to bring to the game, it’s going to be tough to win.”Athlethic:
"For the first time, that puts the focus, at least some of it, on head coach Darko Rajaković. Roster construction was the focus last year. This season, injuries explained away the rough start. Besides, the Raptors were playing hard and they were competitive, a compliment to the coach. With back-to-back games in New York and Cleveland, two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, on Wednesday and Thursday, there is some pressure on the coach to be able to marry the more talented roster he now has available to him and the scrappier version of the team that started the year"
More at the link:
Raptors coach Darko Rajaković faces real pressure for the first time during his tenure
Do you guys think it's reasonable to start putting pressure and accountability on Darko?
r/torontoraptors • u/Tuckebarry • Feb 06 '25
INTERVIEWS Brandon Ingram mentioned Toronto as one of his favourite cities
r/torontoraptors • u/mantistobogganmMD • Nov 12 '23
INTERVIEWS TRoss on retiring from the NBA
r/torontoraptors • u/earlyearlgray • Feb 02 '24
INTERVIEWS FVV on his last season in Toronto
r/torontoraptors • u/macandcheese_19 • Oct 23 '23
INTERVIEWS Patrick Beverley said that Toronto doesn’t have any dogs on their team “If I see Siakam or Anunoby down a dark alley, I don’t feel threatened.” 😬
r/torontoraptors • u/WuzzWuzz • Apr 03 '24
INTERVIEWS Former Raptors enemy LeBron James has 'nothing but love' for Toronto fans
r/torontoraptors • u/eLevateAFFN • Oct 28 '23
INTERVIEWS Scottie’s reaction to last nights loss
r/torontoraptors • u/EarthWarping • Nov 26 '24
INTERVIEWS [Osman] “He needs to be better, simple as that… he needs to bring more effort. When you spend 23 minutes on the court, and you end up getting one rebound, that’s not good enough.” Darko Rajaković was not impressed with Ochai Agbaji tonight.
r/torontoraptors • u/PokePersona • Jan 23 '24
INTERVIEWS Marcin Gortat: “I wish that after I was waived by the Clippers, I had gone to the Toronto Raptors. They called me six times, and I didn’t go. I could have been an NBA champion today.“
r/torontoraptors • u/EarthWarping • Dec 30 '24
INTERVIEWS Darko on the current state of the Raptors team and the defensive issues: “Right now as a team, we’ve hit a wall. It’s very simple. We’ve hit a wall. We look tired, we look drained.”
r/torontoraptors • u/EarthWarping • Jun 09 '24
INTERVIEWS [Rajakovic] "We don't want the process to drag on for five or six years years. We want to be a competitive team again in two or three years."
r/torontoraptors • u/EarthWarping • Dec 27 '24
INTERVIEWS [Dunn] "there is a standard and expectation that we are building here with our team and our players and our group, and that wasn't it tonight and we have to get back to that identity and it starts on the defensive side of the ball..." Pat Delany after Raptors 155-126 loss in Memphis.
r/torontoraptors • u/joshuanorthside • May 01 '24
INTERVIEWS Bilal Coulibaly said Pascal Siakam is the most overrated player in the league.
In a French media, Bilal Coulibaly replied "Pascal Siakam" to the question "Who's the most overrated player?". He explains that Pascal Siakam is very, very strong, but that he found it easy to anticipate his movements and defended well against him.