Enes Kanter, who averaged 8.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in his only season with the Celtics, has been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Boston Celtics have traded backup center Enes Kanter to one of his former teams, the Portland Trail Blazers, as part of a three-team trade that started on draft night, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Boston also sent the No. 30 overall pick in the draft, TCU guard Desmond Bane, to the Memphis Grizzlies in return for two future second-round picks. The Grizzlies also received guard/forward Mario Hezonja from Portland.

The move frees up about $5 million in cap space for the Celtics, perhaps creating more room to re-sign Gordon Hayward, who opted out of the final year of his contract on Thursday. Neither Hayward nor the team have ruled out the possibility of a return according to reports, but the Celtics also could do a sign-and-trade.

RAPTORS: Toronto will start the NBA season next month playing home games in Tampa, Florida, because of travel restrictions by the Canadian government stemming from the pandemic.

The Raptors had been looking at other sites for several weeks, including Sunrise, Florida, the home of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. But with NBA training camp less than two weeks away and a season starting Dec. 22, the Raptors were pressed to make a final decision.

They will play home games at Amalie Arena, home of the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

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“Ultimately, the current public health situation facing Canadians, combined with the urgent need to determine where we will play means that we will begin our 2020-21 season in Tampa, Florida,” Raptors President Masai Ujiri said in a statement.

An official familiar with the Canadian government’s decision told The Associated Press there is too much COVID-19 circulating in the United States to allow for cross-border travel that is not essential.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity and not authorized to talk publicly about the matter, said there’s a chance that the decision could be reviewed next year.

The Raptors, the NBA’s lone Canadian team, and the league needed an exemption to a requirement that anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must isolate for 14 days. The U.S.-Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel.

Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and the medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai-University Health Network, said the Canadian government made the right decision.

“With the current situation it is almost impossible for the government to reasonably sanction travel back and forth travel outside a bubble,” Morris said.

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KINGS: De’Aaron Fox and Sacramento agreed to a five-year $163 million contract on the first day of free agency, agent Chris Gaston said.

Fox’s extension will kick in for the 2021-22 season and start at $28.1 million. The total amount could rise to nearly $200 million if Fox makes an All-NBA team or receives other league honors.

Free-agent contracts can’t officially be signed until Sunday afternoon.

LAKERS: The defending NBA champions are adding Montrezl Harrell as a free agent from the Clippers, a person with knowledge of the deal told AP.

That move, when finalized, will give the Lakers the top two finishers in last season’s Sixth Man of the Year voting. Harrell won the award, and Dennis Schroder, who was acquired by the Lakers in a trade with Oklahoma City earlier this week, was second.

76ERS: Veteran center Dwight Howard is joining Philadelphia on a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum of $2.6 million, agent Charles Briscoe told AP.

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HAWKS: Danilo Gallinari agreed to a three-year contract worth $61.5 million, a person with knowledge told AP.

JAZZ: Jordan Clarkson agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal, and Derrick Favors is returning to Utah on a deal that will pay him nearly $30 million for three seasons.

NUGGETS: Facundo Campazzo of Argentina agreed to a two-year deal, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.

PISTONS: Detroit received commitments from centers Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor, people familiar with those deals told AP. ESPN, which first reported the Plumlee agreement, said he would sign a three-year deal for $25 million.

HEAT: Miami got quick agreements from point guard Goran Dragic and center Meyers Leonard on two-year deals, the second year in both cases being team options. Dragic will make about $18 million next season, Leonard about $9 million.

MAGIC: A person with knowledge of the negotiations said the Magic and guard Dwayne Bacon agreed on a one-year deal for about $2.5 million.

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MAVERICKS: Trey Burke agreed on a $10 million, three-year contract.

TIMBERWOLVES: Minnesota reached a $60 million agreement with restricted free agent shooting guard Malik Beasley that’s for three years plus a team option for a fourth year, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed to AP.

NETS: Joe Harris has agreed to re-sign, keeping one of the NBA’s best shooters in Brooklyn.

Priority Sports, which represents Harris, announced the deal on Twitter. ESPN reported that Harris would get $75 million over four years.


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