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Dalano Banton was selected by the Toronto Raptors 46th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Banton spent two seasons with the Raptors but never got much playing time to prove himself.
He was mostly used as an end of the bench guy and wasn’t featured in the rotation.
Banton was an unrestricted free agent this past summer after the Raptors declined to offer the Rexdale guard a qualifying offer.
As a result the 6’8 guard signed a two year, $4.2 million deal with the Boston Celtics, suiting up in 24 games for them.
He was then traded by the Celtics before the trade deadline buzzer on Feb. 8 to the Portland Trail Blazers for a heavily protected second-round pick.
In 12 games with the Blazers, Banton is averaging 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 23.2 minutes per contest.
Banton is getting more of an opportunity on a Blazers team that is rebuilding and has had to deal with a handful of injuries.
Banton is coming off the best two-game stretch of his NBA career.
He first put up a career-high 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists against the Houston Rockets on March 8.
Then on the very next night against the team that drafted him, Banton had a successful revenge game against Toronto.
He had 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and hit the dagger three. It was one of his 5 made three-pointers in this game:
Dalano Banton follows up a 30-point game with 25 points against the team that drafted him including this dagger three.
Excited to see how his game grows. pic.twitter.com/HV51paWWCs
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) March 10, 2024
Banton making most out of his opportunity
Darko Rajakovic never got to coach Banton in Toronto. He spoke about playing against him in Portland pregame via Sportsnet’s Savanna Hamilton:
“He’s very talented young player. He didn’t get enough opportunity in Boston as well. So I’m happy for him that he’s getting more reps here and more opportunities to play.”
Banton’s game continues to grow and with the way he’s trending upwards, he certainly has a bright future ahead.
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Former Knicks No. 3 Overall Pick Could Be on Trade Block Again: Report
As the 2025-26 NBA season nears, many teams around the league are preparing for the start of training camp. Among those teams are the New York Knicks who are set to enter next season as one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference after their run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Of course, the Knicks elected to keep their core of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart together this offseason and they also made some notable additions to their roster. New York signed both Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency to upgrade their bench and they also hired head coach Mike Brown who takes the role from Tom Thibodeau who was fired after their playoff exit last season. RJ Barrett could be on the trade block once again While the Knicks are expected to be one of the top teams in the East, one of their former players was in the news on Thursday as he is reportedly likely to be on the trade block once again next season. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, RJ Barrett is fully aware that he will be discussed in trades moving forward by the Toronto Raptors. Barret was the third overall pick by the Knicks in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke and he spent the first five seasons of his NBA career in New York. Of course, the Knicks traded Barrett to the Raptors in 2023 alongside Immanuel Quickley in the trade that landed New York Anunoby. Since joining the Raptors, Barret has continued to develop into a solid young guard who has turned into one of Toronto’s best players. Last season, the 25-year-old guard averaged 21.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 35.0% from three. Despite his continued development, Barrett has found himself as the subject of trade rumors over the past few seasons and with the Raptors looking to continue to build around Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, he may be on the move once again next season. Either way, Barrett has proven to be a reliable scoring and rebounding guard that could elevate a contending team next season if he is in fact traded before the deadline.
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Bill Belichick takes another shot at Patriots owner Robert Kraft
It is no secret that the relationship between Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft has been strained since Belichick left the New England Patriots. Belichick took an obvious shot at Kraft and the Patriots owner's son, Jonathan, who is the president of the team, during an interview with Ben Volin of the Boston Globe that was published on Thursday. Belichick is preparing for his first-ever season as a college coach with North Carolina. When asked what he has noticed that is different about coaching in college versus the NFL, Belichick insinuated he has enjoyed not having to answer to any members of the Kraft family while doing his job in Chapel Hill. "It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it," Belichick told Volin. "It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way. "There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son. There’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level." Shots fired. There is no way to interpret that other than a criticism of Robert and Jonathan Kraft. Had Belichick left it at not having to answer to a team owner, you could make the case that he was speaking generally about the NFL. The fact that he added in "owner's son" makes it obvious he was referring to his old bosses, as both Robert and Jonathan are hands-on with the Patriots. Belichick is almost certainly bitter over the way his tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season. He coached the Patriots for 24 seasons and won six Super Bowls, so he likely felt he should have been given more time to turn things around in the post-Tom Brady era. The Kraft family preferred to move on after a 4-13 campaign. Though Belichick insists he is solely focused on the upcoming UNC season, this is not the first time in recent months that he has gone out of his way to throw a jab at Robert Kraft.
Winnipeg Jets Strike Out: Top Remaining NHL Free Agent Joins Central Division Rival
The Jets and any other rival of the Avalanche lost out on Victor Olofsson, as the top remaining NHL free agent has just signed a one-year deal with Colorado. One of the best remaining unrestricted free agents is no longer available. The Colorado Avalanche signed forward Victor Olofsson to a one-year, $1.575 million contract through 2025-26, the team announced Wednesday. PuckPedia reported the agreement Tuesday night. Victor Olofsson entered free agency after a bounce-back season with the Vegas Golden Knights. After six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, the team that drafted him in the seventh round in 2014, the Swedish winger signed a one-year, $1.075 million contract with Vegas this past summer. That followed a difficult 2023-24 campaign in Buffalo, where he posted just 15 points in 51 games. In Vegas, the 30-year-old regained some of his scoring touch. Although he was limited to 56 games due to injuries, he netted 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points. Not quite the 40-point pace he was in his prime with the Sabres, but Olofsson proved he could be a reliable depth scorer for a playoff team. He registered four points in nine playoff games before the Golden Knights were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. Olofsson has 105 goals and 106 assists for 211 points in 370 NHL career games. Last spring was his first taste of playoff action. Olofsson could be the key for the Avalanche to win the Central Division Now, Olofsson becomes a part of a Colorado team that is seeking a return to Central Division supremacy after being defeated by the Dallas Stars in last season's semifinals. This could pose a problem for the Winnipeg Jets, as their direct rivals have just gotten better up front. With stars such as Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the now-returning Gabriel Landeskog around him, he'll get the chance to find a significant role on a contender. For Olofsson, the Avalanche provides a clean slate and an opportunity to demonstrate that there is still much more to give. If all goes well, Colorado will be giving their Western Conference foes a real hard time in the upcoming season.
Yankees' continued defensive meltdowns hurt them again against Red Sox
The New York Yankees can hit the baseball out of the ballpark as well as any team in the major leagues, and that will always give them a chance to win any game. They also field the baseball as poorly as any team in the major leagues, and that can cost them games. The latter issue was on display once again on Thursday night in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox to kick off an absolutely massive four-game series in the American League wild-card race. Not only did the Yankees lose to allow Boston to keep gaining ground in the standings, but they also kind of gave it away in the field. The issues started in the top of the second inning when the Yankees made three errors, including a throwing error from catcher Ben Rice to bring in Boston's first run. The fielding miscues continued in the top of the ninth when first baseman Paul Goldschmidt committed the Yankees' fourth error of the game, allowing the inning to extend for Roman Anthony to come to bat. He used that at-bat to pretty much put the game out of reach with an absolute moonshot of a home run. These fundamental errors and mistakes were a problem for the Yankees a year ago, and they remain a problem now. They are also not going away anytime soon, and they keep showing in big moments — and in big games. Until they figure out a way to get that changed — and it might be too late for this roster to do so — they are going to have some big concerns going into October. Hitting home runs is great. But not consistently making routine mistakes and giving good teams extra outs is the type of thing that not even home runs can always overcome. Overall, the Yankees are a very good team. Until they clean up these mistakes, they won't be a great team.
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