Raptors news: Norman Powell says Raptors got “lucky”, Christian Koloko’s status

The Toronto Raptors would not have been able to take down the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals way back in 2019 without the contributions of expert 3-point marksman Norman Powell. He’s shown after leaving Toronto that he is still an elite shooter.

After being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gary Trent Jr. and eventually moving to the Los Angeles Clippers, Powell has made a nasty habit of poking his old team in the ribs ever so slightly. Not only did he bust them on the court, but he had some interesting comments off it.

In an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports, Powell compared his current Clippers team to the Toronto squad that forever made him a household NBA name that can call himself a champion. He gave props to his old team, but also mentioned that so much luck was involved.

“You need a couple breaks here and there, a couple guys to get hot, a couple guys stepping up and try to be as healthy as possible,” Powell said. “That’s what I saw (in Toronto). We got a bit lucky, too, in 2019 with Kevin Durant going down and Klay (Thompson) going down and guys stepping up like Kyle (Lowry), Fred (VanVleet) and Serge (Ibaka), and myself throughout the course of the playoffs.

https://twitter.com/ScoopB/status/1636805521222008882

More Raptors news:

• Raptors center Christian Koloko, who got minutes over Precious Achiuwa, suffered a fractured nose in the club’s win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. His status for the matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves is listed as questionable, though he could put to bed any thoughts of an extended absence if he plays in this game.
• Blake Murphy noted that changes to the way the league handles veteran extensions could impact the Raptors’ desire to lock up OG Anunoby long-term. While the best offer Toronto can make to Anunoby will likely be in the area of $100 million over four seasons, though it could reach $125 million if the league allows extensions to start at 150% of the player’s old salary.

NBA news:

• Michael Jordan appears to be getting out of the ownership game after finding much less success in the suites than he saw on the court. Jordan is reportedly exploring a sale of his piece of the Charlotte Hornets that could see him ousted as the majority owner.
• The Raptors will have to say goodbye to a potential free agency target. Just a few weeks after rumors surfaced hinting that Bogdan Bogdanovic could hit the open market, the Atlanta Hawks gave him a four-year contract worth $68 million.