Raptors Discussion: v52 | Yep...

[Vesa Awesaka]

20.2 MPG across all 82 games. He's ranked 9th in the NBA among rookies in total MP.

And in the 1654 minutes he played that season, he's had more of an impact than Andrew Wiggins' 2969 minutes. Despite being 9th among Rookies in MP, Nikola tops all rookies in Offensive Win Shares, 2nd among rookies in Defensive Win Shares and tops them all in overall Win Shares.

On the Chicago Bulls (a winning team), even though he's ranked only 7th in MP, he's 3rd in Offensive Win Shares, 4th in Defensive Win Shares and 3rd in overall Win Shares.

Andrew Wiggins over the course of 82 games is ranked 2nd in Win Shares on the Timberwolves but he's played the most minutes. By the minute, the Timberwolves (the worst team in the NBA!) average a better win share than him. Post-All-Star Break is different.

Overall, Nikola has had the bigger impact in his rookie season. And has made a big impact on the Chicago Bulls. But he's Chicago's 9th man, 7th man at best. He hasn't benefited from the same opportunities that Andrew Wiggins was handed. And Andrew Wiggins tops the PPG charts, has some nifty moves and he's athletic. So it is what it is.

If you had two employees at your company. One of them a full-time employee working 40 hours/week whose productivity was below-average and a part-time employee working 22 hrs/week who was more productive in 22 hours than your full-time employee was in 40 hours, who do you think is going to win Employee of the Year? In the real world, the full-time employee probably would have got canned before he ever had a chance to improve. Not saying that the Timberwolves should trade Andrew Wiggins. Basketball GMs have more patience with rookies than managers have with entry-level staff. As they should. But he's not deserving of Rookie of the Year either.

If Niokla plays on the wolves playing Wiggins minutes he looks a lot worse

 

[Budsfan]

Raptors’ expiring contracts and off-season targets

http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/raptors-expiring-contracts-and-off-season-targets/

Point Guards
Player Status/Current Team
Maurice Williams UFA – Charlotte
Beno Udrih Player Option – Memphis
Cory Joseph RFA – San Antonio

Wings
Player Status/Current Team
Jimmy Butler RFA – Chicago
Khris Middleton RFA – Milwaukee
Tobias Harris RFA – Orlando
Luol Deng Player Option – Miami
Paul Pierce Player Option – Washington
DeMarre Carroll UFA – Atlanta
Corey Brewer Player Option – Houston
Arron Afflalo Player Option – Portland

Bigs
Player Status/Current Team
Marc Gasol UFA – Memphis
Greg Monroe UFA – Detroit
Triston Thompson RFA – Cleveland
Draymond Green UFA – Golden State
Paul Millsap UFA – Atlanta
David West Player Option – Indiana
Thaddeus Young Player Option – Brooklyn
Brandon Bass UFA – Boston
Omer Asik UFA – New Orleans
Robin Lopez UFA – Portland
Brandan Wright UFA – Phoenix
Tyson Chandler UFA – Dallas

 

[likeabosski]

I'm assuming that we are going to dump 4 UFAs (Amir Johnson, Landry Fields, Chuck Hayes, Greg Stiemsma) and re-sign Lou Williams and Tyler Hansbrough. So that's 6 UFAs.

Terrence Ross will be a RFA in 1 year. I think he gets dealt at the trade deadline or summer 2016. Jonas Valanciunas no rush in trading him. He's more likely to stay than T-Ross. That's 2 2016 RFAs.

The Brazilians prospects (Bruno Caboclo + Lucas Nogueira) are team options. The team will likely exercise the option on those players. So that's 2 Team Options.

DeMar DeRozan, Greivis Vasquez and James Johnson will be UFAs in 1 year. Vasquez will be gone. Don't know about DeRozan. So that's 3 2016 UFAs.

Kyle Lowry is on a 2 year deal with a player option for a third. Patrick Patterson 2 year deal. That's 2 multi-year (UFA) contracts.

Let Walk (UFAs)

- Landry Fields
- Chuck Hayes

Cheap but Replaceable

- Greg Stiemsma

Trade

- Greivis Vasquez (1 year left on contract, dead-weight)

Consider Trade Offers

- DeMar DeRozan (If the deal makes sense. 1 year left on contract. I'm iffy about this one. Toronto can get maximal value for him if they trade him in the off-season rather than waiting for the deadline. But the fanbase is going to ***** and moan if the Raptors don't get a solid player or players back that can help them with their 2015-16 playoff run. And when DeMar is on, he's on.)
- Kyle Lowry (only if the Raptors are desperate for cap space and only if the deal makes sense.) $12 million/year is a lot of dough. But he's a solid player and not exactly easily replaceable.

Wait and see?

- Terrence Ross (he's a RFA. No rush. We can deal him at the deadline if we have to. If the Raptors get rid of him this off-season to make cap room, I really don't care. He's given the Raptors 3 full seasons for them to evaluate his talent. He doesn't have it)

Re-sign if deal makes sense

- Lou Williams
- Tyler Hansbrough
- Amir Johnson (probably ask for more than he's worth to the team?)

Keep

- Jonas Valanciunas
- Patrick Patterson
- James Johnson
- Bruno Caboclo
- Lucas Nogueira

 

[Joey24]

I'm assuming that we are going to dump 4 UFAs (Amir Johnson, Landry Fields, Chuck Hayes, Greg Stiemsma) and re-sign Lou Williams and Tyler Hansbrough. So that's 6 UFAs.

Terrence Ross will be a RFA in 1 year. I think he gets dealt at the trade deadline or summer 2016. Jonas Valanciunas no rush in trading him. He's more likely to stay than T-Ross. That's 2 2016 RFAs.

The Brazilians prospects (Bruno Caboclo + Lucas Nogueira) are team options. The team will likely exercise the option on those players. So that's 2 Team Options.

DeMar DeRozan, Greivis Vasquez and James Johnson will be UFAs in 1 year. Vasquez will be gone. Don't know about DeRozan. So that's 3 2016 UFAs.

Kyle Lowry is on a 2 year deal with a player option for a third. Patrick Patterson 2 year deal. That's 2 multi-year (UFA) contracts.

Let Walk (UFAs)

- Landry Fields
- Chuck Hayes

Cheap but Replaceable

- Greg Stiemsma

Trade

- Greivis Vasquez (1 year left on contract, dead-weight)

Consider Trade Offers

- DeMar DeRozan (If the deal makes sense. 1 year left on contract. I'm iffy about this one. Toronto can get maximal value for him if they trade him in the off-season rather than waiting for the deadline. But the fanbase is going to ***** and moan if the Raptors don't get a solid player or players back that can help them with their 2015-16 playoff run. And when DeMar is on, he's on.)
- Kyle Lowry (only if the Raptors are desperate for cap space and only if the deal makes sense.) $12 million/year is a lot of dough. But he's a solid player and not exactly easily replaceable.

Wait and see?

- Terrence Ross (he's a RFA. No rush. We can deal him at the deadline if we have to. If the Raptors get rid of him this off-season to make cap room, I really don't care. He's given the Raptors 3 full seasons for them to evaluate his talent. He doesn't have it)

Re-sign if deal makes sense

- Lou Williams
- Tyler Hansbrough
- Amir Johnson (probably ask for more than he's worth to the team?)

Keep

- Jonas Valanciunas
- Patrick Patterson
- James Johnson
- Bruno Caboclo
- Lucas Nogueira

Lou Williams is expendable imo. He's pretty streaky and too one dimensional. The 6th man award is going to boost his value and the I don't think he's worth it.

Phyco t should be let go. Use his cap on a competent backup center.

Amir should be gone, great team guy but he's damaged goods now and will still want to get paid. His 7 mill will go towards an upgrade at of.

Gv may be movable he seemed lost over portions of the season and playoffs. A cheaper option at the backup spot is probably the way to go.

Casey also should be replaced. I don't care about regular season stats but the team didn't play all that well after the first 35 games or so, granted Delmar went down but the team played erratic and seemed to lack any sort of guidance. Casey doesn't seem to want to utilize his bugs either he's all about the guards. Even if his bugs are playing well another reason I think he hurts the team with his mismanagement.

 

[Swervin81]

I'd let Lou go. Gonna get more money than he's worth from some desperate team. Based on the end of season pressers, seeing Patterson subtly call out Lou, I'm leaning towards Lou being a problem.

 

[Porn*]

Lou Williams is expendable imo. He's pretty streaky and too one dimensional. The 6th man award is going to boost his value and the I don't think he's worth it.

Phyco t should be let go. Use his cap on a competent backup center.

Amir should be gone, great team guy but he's damaged goods now and will still want to get paid. His 7 mill will go towards an upgrade at of.

Gv may be movable he seemed lost over portions of the season and playoffs. A cheaper option at the backup spot is probably the way to go.

Casey also should be replaced. I don't care about regular season stats but the team didn't play all that well after the first 35 games or so, granted Delmar went down but the team played erratic and seemed to lack any sort of guidance. Casey doesn't seem to want to utilize his bugs either he's all about the guards. Even if his bugs are playing well another reason I think he hurts the team with his mismanagement.

Agree on all points.

 

[Swervin81]

Oh, and Casey's presser was amazing. Especially when he said "I feel bad for JJ, he's our most talented player"... like, what the actual ****? He seemed to allude to Ross, DeMar, and Vasquez taking all his minutes... ummm, okay, let me break it to you this way: If you are putting Vasquez, already an unathletic, defensive liability as a 1, at the 3 (!!!), you are doing something so, so wrong. In no way should Vasquez ever even sniff the 3.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

Pierce still talking trash, cocky SOB. Never liked the guy. And please get rid of WeTheNorth and Drake, that guy is the ultimate bandwagon.

 

[Joey24]

Raptors’ expiring contracts and off-season targets

http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/raptors-expiring-contracts-and-off-season-targets/

I love Jimmy butler and I think he would be a beast can score a elite defender but will get max and I don't think he's worth max money...

Harris wouldn't be bad does everything well. As for bugs probably target millsap and end up with bass or someone like that. Thompson may be a target also who knows?

I think the raps are going to try getting a big piece through trade for an unwanted contract with a team maybe looking to rebuild or has a young guy ready.

Finding the missing pieces may be tough but we know what we lack. Size, rebounding, defense, intensity.

There are a few players that can fit that bill. Taj is one and I think the realistic target. The rumor was there before the deadline and the bulls imo will jump to move him now.

Sf could be the toughest to fill but we have been exposed here for too long. Get a legit 3 already and watch how vastly improved this team becomes. A rebounding machine like a Thompson at 4 may be an option if love resigns.

Lots of options both trade and free agency avail though I think most will come via trade.

I have a feeling it's going to be a long drawnout summer for raptor fans

 

[Hadoop]

Pierce still talking trash, cocky SOB. Never liked the guy.

Paul Pierce is exactly the kind of guy the Raps needed in these playoffs.

Apparently some Raptors players thought so as well.

 

[Hadoop]

yup it stopped him from being an all star

And yet the level of effort put in by Lowry to get that spot was probably the cause of his nagging back injuries and late-season swoon, which then became an unmitigated disaster in the playoffs.

 

[Joey24]

And yet the level of effort put in by Lowry to get that spot was probably the cause of his nagging back injuries and late-season swoon, which then became an unmitigated disaster in the playoffs.

I think he went so hard because he had to. Demar was down n out with the groin injury. I don't think it was all about the all-star game. I think it was all about the raptors and knowing that he had to be the man every night for them to have a chAnce to win.

 

[Joey24]

Paul Pierce is exactly the kind of guy the Raps needed in these playoffs.

Apparently some Raptors players thought so as well.

Pierce is a ****. But he's clutch and has been a dagger the past two toronto just needed to execute bringing in guys with deep playoff or championship experience is always important especially when they can still contribute at a good level.

 

[Joey24]

Paul Pierce is exactly the kind of guy the Raps needed in these playoffs.

Apparently some Raptors players thought so as well.

Pierce is a ****. But he's clutch and has been a dagger the past two toronto just needed to execute bringing in guys with deep playoff or championship experience is always important especially when they can still contribute at a good level.

 

[Stats01]

Pierce is a ****. But he's clutch and has been a dagger the past two toronto just needed to execute bringing in guys with deep playoff or championship experience is always important especially when they can still contribute at a good level.

If Pierce is a **** then what are the Raptors? You may dislike the guy but the guy is as clutch as it gets. Raptors need a guy like him.

Onto my main point, if I'm Ujiri I'm going heavy after LMA in the summer. Apparently there is a 50-50 chance he leave Portland.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

If Pierce is a **** then what are the Raptors? You may dislike the guy but the guy is as clutch as it gets. Raptors need a guy like him.

Onto my main point, if I'm Ujiri I'm going heavy after LMA in the summer. Apparently there is a 50-50 chance he leave Portland.

And there's a better chance Aldridge goes back home to Dallas or San Antonio if he leaves Portland. Aldridge is a pipe dream never coming to Toronto.

 

[Swervin81]

And there's a better chance Aldridge goes back home to Dallas or San Antonio if he leaves Portland. Aldridge is a pipe dream never coming to Toronto.

Probably San Antonio. Aldridge has stated an numerous occasions he does not want to play C. Hell, the Blazers got Lopez and Kaman just because of that. I don't think he's gonna go to Dallas to play C alongside Dirk and be overshadowed by Dirk. Duncan has played quite a bit of C the past few years, so they could put Aldridge at PF there.

The problem with Aldridge, really, is the fact that he's not that great defensively and he's pretty inefficient, especially for a big man.

 

[mikebel111*]

Like we all know, we were not the same team last season in many spots like ball movement. When you add Lou Williams, that will happen where you run plays just for him. However you can still find him shots but not just directly run an ISO 1 on 1. I would like to see be used in more like a combo of Ross or DD are used. You know sometimes you can run plays for him like DD, but also find him open 3's or even just 3's like Ross is used after some ball movement

 

[DD03]

Aldridge has a sick mother, so I heard he wanted to go closer to home.

 

[Joey24]

If Pierce is a **** then what are the Raptors? You may dislike the guy but the guy is as clutch as it gets. Raptors need a guy like him.

Onto my main point, if I'm Ujiri I'm going heavy after LMA in the summer. Apparently there is a 50-50 chance he leave Portland.

I said he was a c@ck, not sure u got what I was saying. He can hit the big shots and has been clutch for a long time. But I still wouldn't want him on toronto because he's a c@ck.

I do think experience goes a long way and having experiance and winning championships goes a long way. But in saying that the person u bring in does have to mesh with the personalities already in the team and a personality like pierces doesn't imo regardless the level of experience they bring.

 

[DD03]

Watching Masai at the presser and some of the questions they ask him are just silliness.

"Do you think Kyle can play at the level we saw him play at before the All-Star break?"

I'm surprised Masai didn't just say, nah I gave him that contract because I expect him to play like he did during the playoffs..

Sounds like Lowry's back was still bugging him throughout the playoffs from what Masai said. Lowry tried to say he was healthy during the series, so this makes a lot more sense.

Masai said he's really excited about the contracts that are expiring. Some of the older guys who they had to take on (Chuck and Fields), and he says its time to go to properly building because we have some good contracts and now we're getting rid of a few that he didn't really want but couldn't do anything with.

The board also approved the Raptors buying a D-League team.

 

[Jamie Thomas]

Interesting article by Zach Lowe.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/winners-and-losers-in-the-nba-playoffs/

LOSER: Any Raptor Who Bought Property in Toronto

We know what the Raptors are now: a cute regular-season team that can no longer sustain strong two-way play, and that followed up two Atlantic Division titles — hang those banners next to the Bon Jovi one! — with exactly zero playoff series wins. Masai Ujiri knows, too, and he always suspected; he admitted to me in December that the Raps’ ascension within a weak Eastern Conference might be fool’s gold, and he wisely resisted win-now moves at the trade deadline.


This series was an epic collapse — a failure at all levels. Washington’s punchless offense piled up 112.5 points per 100 possessions, a mark that would have topped the league by a kilometer in the regular season. The Wizards understood that Toronto’s defense gave up the middle of the floor on side pick-and-rolls, and they came in with a simple game plan: Run those plays, see how aggressively Toronto rotates, and use that aggression against them.

And other stuff.

 

[Radiohead]

Cousins + Kawhi please. Sign a vet presence (like Pierce on the Wiz)

Keep Demar, Lowry, JV, Lou, Vasquez, Patterson. Good bye Ross, Casey...


Lowry
DeRozan
Leonard
Cousins
Valanciunas

Vasquez
Lou
Patterson
Amir
X

We can also just wait and hope Durant hits free agency... Dream on

So how do you plan on acquiring two of the best young players in the game? Our entire roster isn't even enough to get them.

 

[Kamal007]

Anyone see Masai at the correspondents dinner?

 

[showtime8]

There was a lot of growth by players, but the focus should be on the big man and some more quality parts.

Despite the finish, you have to consider how good of a season the Raptors had.

Fields, Hayes, Stiesma & Hansbrough are all gone via FA. I consider bringing back Amir Johnson back on a small vet contract where he can come off the bench and help occassionally. I just don't know what he has left in the tank and how well his body will hold up. But he's done a lot for this franchise both in the public spotlight and coming to Toronto as a FA.

I try to trade 1 of Vasquez or Ross. Preferably Vasquez, but I try and move on from Vasquez as a 3rd PG. I'd rather have a guy that can defend and have a better change of pace guard.

I'd go hard after Tristan Thompson, Robin Lopez, Gerald Green and Danny Green.