Raptors Discussion: v75| Season of Kawhi Part 1: Greatest expectations

[stickty111]

I agree. Even though the smile wasn't really big, those eyes look sincere to me.

Kwahi doesnt really smile

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I'm not a raps fan but the biggest hold up the franchise will always have is. Majority of the league is American players that will rarely chose the one out of country team in the league. Attracting top talent and keeping top talent will always be harder for Toronto. DeRozan wanted to stay in Toronto. He wanted to play, live and win in Toronto. How do you let that go for an almost certain rental.

When that rental is an infinitely better player.

 

[Superstar]

Kwahi doesnt really smile

He does, just rare...I guess this pic is a good sign of things to come...LOL

 

[stickty111]

He does, just rare...I guess this pic is a good sign of things to come...LOL

Well yeah I meant he isnt the one to smile a lot.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Just need to win the east and take out curry and durants knees we got dis

 

[Cloned]

title inflation has changed the power structure in most sports. Guys who have the "President of <Sport> Operations" title are basically now what the GM used to be, and GMs are now what Assistant GMs used to be. Sometimes it's sort of suppressed if a guy holds the dual title of President and GM, but other times not. Mark Shapiro is the ultimate decision maker for the Blue Jays as president vs GM Ross Atkins.

I get the feeling that most Presidents have "earned" the hefty salary to make the big decisions while not having to deal with the headache of some of the day-to-day stuff, which the GM probably has to take care of.

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

As it stands

Lowry/FVV
Green/Wright/Powell/Richardson
Leonard/OG
Ibaka/Miles
Valanciunas/Siakam

-So we definitely need a 4th big. Bebe is an option but he's so inconsistent that I don't think you can rely on him with any consistency
-I don't think Wright gets traded because we still need a solid PG rotation in case Lowry/FVV/himself gets injured
-I could see Powell get traded because his value isn't going up anytime soon but other than that, I don't see anything else

How the rotation shapes up will be fascinating because you had OG as the starting 3 and Miles as the backup 3 last season but now it looks like both are coming off the bench. It's intriguing to put OG and/or Miles at the 4 but they're not good enough rebounders to stick there (only on occasion)

 

[trellaine201]

Really? Damn, I thought Masai was the GM. Doesn’t the GM usually make the trades and speak to the media?

ROFL yes. Many people have no idea Webster is the GM.

 

[zeke]

 

[Suntouchable13]

What kind of piece is Danny Green?

 

[The Nemesis]

What kind of piece is Danny Green?

3 and D wing

 

[TorontoTrades]

When that rental is an infinitely better player.

Yes the pre injury Kawhi is a top 3 player in this league. However there is no telling how hes going to play upon returning to play. Hopefully he returns to being a great 2 way player but if he doesn't you gave up a top 3 SG in the league that was committed to being here.

IMO they should have moved Lowry.

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

Yes the pre injury Kawhi is a top 3 player in this league. However there is no telling how hes going to play upon returning to play. Hopefully he returns to being a great 2 way player but if he doesn't you gave up a top 3 SG in the league that was committed to being here.

IMO they should have moved Lowry.

Why would we move our best player? (pre-Kawhi trade)

 

[Glenn Isildur Healy]

What kind of piece is Danny Green?

His defense has slipped a bit as he's a bit older now (still alright)
Still a very solid 3-PT shooter but don't expect much else from him

 

[The Nemesis]

Yes the pre injury Kawhi is a top 3 player in this league. However there is no telling how hes going to play upon returning to play. Hopefully he returns to being a great 2 way player but if he doesn't you gave up a top 3 SG in the league that was committed to being here.

IMO they should have moved Lowry.

Lowry is a far better player than DeRozan. He can score, he can defend, he racks up assists, he can even rebound well for a guard. He's easily a more complete player than DeRozan and while not as much of a pure-point-accumulator, he impacts the game in more and better ways.

also the only reason that DeMar even comes close to being considered a top 3 SG (Which is debatable) is because the league has shifted away from marquee players being SG

2017-18 VORP among guards:

8.3 - Harden
7.5 - Westbrook
5.5 - Lillard
5.0 - Lowry
4.6 - Simmons
4.5 - Oladipo
4.4 - Curry
4.3 - Paul
4.0 - Irving
3.6 - Walker
3.0 - Holiday
2.7 - Beal
2.6 - DeRozan

Italics are guys who are classed by some as possibly SG (or as PG-SG combo)

That's with Curry, Paul, and Irving all playing significantly fewer minutes than everyone else thanks to injury.

Don't like VORP? By BPM Lowry was 7th and DeRozan was 18th

WinShares put Lowry 4th and DeRozan 6th

WS per 48 minutes make Lowry 6th and DeRozan 8th.

Even tossing away the stats, simply watching the games shows Lowry doing more on the court. He is at the center of every play. DeRozan needs to be shielded on D and either he's hitting jumpers or he's barely contributing.

Lowry is the better player head to head. He also is basically a top 5-7 PG in a league that's more PG focused than ever. DeRozan is a top 3 SG in a league where his competition is basically kind of Harden, kind of Oladipo, and Bradley Beal.

Kyle Lowry the Raptor gives you essentially 20 PPG, 7 APG, 5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, shoots over .380 from deep, and plays hard-nosed defence while taking charges like nobody's business. For all the lauding DeRozan gets for being a guy that embraced and stuck with Toronto, so has Lowry. Twice.

DeMar DeRozan is maybe about 23-24 PPG, 4 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1 SPG, shoots <.300 from deep and plays disinterested, disengaged defence most of the time.

Strip away the adulation of DeRozan as the homegrown talent that likes playing for the Raps and there's really no argument that Lowry is the more impactful player.

 

[Skolman]

Yes the pre injury Kawhi is a top 3 player in this league. However there is no telling how hes going to play upon returning to play. Hopefully he returns to being a great 2 way player but if he doesn't you gave up a top 3 SG in the league that was committed to being here.

IMO they should have moved Lowry.

They will trade Lowry next off-season if Kawhi walks

 

[Paladin2799]

They will trade Lowry next off-season if Kawhi walks

As they should!

Dismantle the team at that point, we have lots of valuable veterans and expiring deals.

Lowry, Ibaka, JV, Miles.

 

[Puckstuff]

Lowry + Kawhi is easily one of the best combo's in the NBA. It's Chris Paul-James Harden level good; and Toronto may have the better supporting cast.

 

[Puckstuff]

As they should!

Dismantle the team at that point, we have lots of valuable veterans and expiring deals.

Lowry, Ibaka, JV, Miles.

At that time I'm praying we can swing some type of package for Ingram. Ingram-OG is some nice wings to build around.

 

[Kurtz]

What kind of piece is Danny Green?

Green was 2nd team all-NBA defender 2 seasons ago, and his advanced defensive stats have always been strong, including last year. He's a good 3+D guy, which is very valuable in today's NBA.

 

[horner]

I can understand DeRozan being upset.
But
What did he the team and the coach expect when they not only lost in 4 straight games to Cleveland.
But we're humiliated and simply didn't show up.
DeRozan for one didn't show me that he truly wanted to be here in the playoffs?
We as fans expected something to happen.

 

[horner]

Even if kawhi is only here for a yr .
The young players that we have will learn from him.

 

[horner]

How good is OG Anunoby going to be.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Lowry + Kawhi is easily one of the best combo's in the NBA. It's Chris Paul-James Harden level good; and Toronto may have the better supporting cast.

Agreed, on paper it's definitely among the best. A couple of things to consider:

1. Kawhi has been out for a long time. How long will it take for him to regain his form?

2. If Kawhi does return to form, how long will it take for him and Lowry/supporting cast to develop chemistry as a unit?

It's very exciting to think about the possibilities, but I think expectations out of the gate should be tempered. It could take some time before we really start to reap the benefits of the trade.

 

[Clark4Ever]

How good is OG Anunoby going to be.

I think he could easily be the steal of his draft class. The kid has the potential to be an all star in every facet of the game. He also showed that he can be a clutch performer in the playoffs as a rookie.

The best part of the Kawhi trade in my opinion is that Masai held firm and wouldn't give up OG.