NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Possible Raptors Trade and Kevin Martin

The Toronto Raptors will begin their NBA title defense on Oct. 22 against the New Orleans Pelicans, and their roster from a season ago looks largely the same with the glaring exception of NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. 

Even with the departure of Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency, the Raptors aren't expected to make another splash move.

Meanwhile, retired NBA guard Kevin Martin has reportedly decided to make a splash in Australia's National Basketball League.

Read more about these rumors below.

Toronto Raptors Believed to Stick With What They Have

Yes, the Toronto Raptors lost NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency a month after he led them to their first title in franchise history. 

But no, according to Heavy.com's Sean Deveney, the Raptors are not desperate to rebuild in the aftermath:

"League sources told Heavy.com that the Raptors are quite happy with where they are entering this season and have not been entertaining trade talks on its three big-dollar veterans—center Marc Gasol, guard Kyle Lowry and forward Serge Ibaka—each of whom happens to be in the final year of his contract.

"'This is where they always wanted to be,' one source with knowledge of the team's thinking said. 'Masai [Ujiri] was always going to rebuild things around [Pascal] Siakam and OG [Anunoby] and the other young guys eventually. He’s going to have a ton of cap space. But he's got to be able to get free agents to go there and it’s still a tough sell, getting guys to go to Canada. So they’ve got the ring, if they can get to the playoffs again, he has something more to sell when that cap space comes available.'"

Of Raptors' expensive veterans, Lowry has the biggest cap hit this year at $34.97 million. Gasol comes in at $25.60 million and Ibaka at $23.27 million. 

On Sept. 28, Ujiri differentiated Lowry from the other two as far as long-term futures in Toronto:

That's not at all surprising given Lowry has spent the most time with the Raptors. The five-time All-Star arrived to Toronto in 2012. Ahead of the 2017-18 season, he re-signed with the team on a three-year, $100 million contract and called Toronto his "home" in a Players' Tribune piece.

Gasol was traded to Toronto from Memphis before the deadline last season, and Ibaka was traded from the Orlando Magic in Feb. 2017.

The Raptors have given Lowry an incentive to finish his career as a Raptor with Siakam, which seems to be their priority. According to TSN's Josh Lewenberg, Toronto has held preliminary talks with Siakam's representatives regarding an extension, "but there's no indication that a deal is imminent."

"Siakam's camp is surely looking for an extension at or close to his maximum of roughly $170 million over five years, as they should," Lewenberg wrote. "The dialogue is ongoing and both player and team are hopeful they'll reach an agreement prior to the deadline, TSN is told."

Siakam ranked second last season behind only Leonard in points per game at 16.9 and will be expected to grow into a more prominent—if not the most prominent—role for the Raptors moving forward. And if the 25-year-old 2016 first-rounder can develop as Toronto hopes, he can do something nobody has done before: lead the Raptors to a title as a homegrown player.

In the short term, this roster as currently constructed can still compete in the Eastern Conference, but a drop-off is to be expected, especially after losing their best player. 

However, this season doesn't seem to be bolded in the overall game plan for Ujiri and the Raptors. 

Kevin Martin Set to Buy the Brisbane Bullets of Australia's NBL

Kevin Martin's retirement from the NBA will reportedly include expanding the game in Australia, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times:

Stein added that, should the deal go through, Martin will become the third American controlling owner in the NBL.

Martin retired from the NBA in 2016 after spending 12 seasons split between five different franchises. The 36-year-old was taken 26th overall in 2004 by the Sacramento Kings, where he spent the first five years of his career. His most productive campaign was 2008-09, his last with the Kings, when he averaged 24.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals. 

The Brisbane Bullets were founded in 1979 but left the NBL in 2008 because then-owner Eddy Groves had to sell the team, according to the club's official website, and the organization returned to the league in 2016-17.