Who are the guys Ujiri doesn't love?

[TheTyrant]

Sounds like Cathal Kelly talking shit to me.

I can't believe that Cathal Kelly is even a sports journalist: the guy knows absolutely NOTHING about basketball, let alone player personnel. I don't even bother reading anything he says cuz its generally full of trite, non substantive conjectures.

[JimiCliff]

Yep. My guess was JV too. Probably TJ too. And I bet there's a few he's indifferent too, like JJ and PP.

I'd add Lowry to the list. Seems a little too mercurial to be in love with.

[3inthekeon]

Zach Lowe's mentioned, on several different occasions over the past few years, that the Raptors aren't in love with JV.

"Latest Lowe Post podcast, Zach Lowe says the Raps aren't exactly in love with Valanciunas according to sources around the league."
"What is the temperature within the organization on Valanciancus? People around the league get the sense that the Raptors don't love Valancianus. And I don't necessarily get that sense from the Raptors but people who talk to them in much more private settings sort of get the sense that they're not in love with him. Obviously Casey has yanked him in crunch time chronically with off and on letting him play a little bit"


http://grantland.com/the-triangle/th...d-eric-koreen/

If some actually has the time to listen to this, is it Masai or Casey/Masai who aren't in love with JV?

I think MU's loves are pretty obviously character and talent. But he also has to fit a team together. He knows both JV and DD have a ton of talent, but also pretty big warts, especially the way the league is evolving.

[Mess]

I'd add Lowry to the list. Seems a little too mercurial to be in love with.

If there's one player MU should love, it's Lowry.


Unless he's determined to tank...then he's a big jerk.

[Balls of Steel]

Don't worry. The Ross extension is just a stepping stone to Masai's master plan.

I cannot for the life of me see Demar coming back. I think he signed Ross to that contract to be his $11m/year 2-guard. I just can't see Demar coming back (and I really don't want him to).

[JimiCliff]

If there's one player MU should love, it's Lowry.


Unless he's determined to tank...then he's a big jerk.

I don't expect Lowry to be moved, but again, from the OP:

Ujiri still has guys he doesn’t love, but tolerates for the sake of talent.

[TheTyrant]

My theory (more like a narrative fallacy) on TRoss is that MU overvalues him with the sole purpose of trade bait next year when the CAP rises. If MU likes character, there is nobody with a more worse attitude that TRoss... remember MU having a 'chat' with him last year on his late-nights with the Xbox? Also, he had no influence on this pick (wasn't here when BC took him) so he's not one of his guys.

Personally I think TRoss going to Portland would be a good swap... especially if we could get McCollum in some kinda of package the for next year.

[JWash]

My theory (more like a narrative fallacy) on TRoss is that MU overvalues him with the sole purpose of trade bait next year when the CAP rises. If MU likes character, there is nobody with a more worse attitude that TRoss... remember MU having a 'chat' with him last year on his late-nights with the Xbox? Also, he had no influence on this pick (wasn't here when BC took him) so he's not one of his guys.

Personally I think TRoss going to Portland would be a good swap... especially if we could get McCollum in some kinda of package the for next year.

Lol I hope you've got some really good weed, cause you're gonna need Olshey to smoke a hell of a lot of it before he deals McCollum in a trade with Ross as the main piece coming back.

[3inthekeon]

Yeah, I can't see "love" for Ross from MU. Ross is more of a necessary evil, again because of fit. All teams need floor spacing, the Raps especially so, which Ross provides. And yes, he's tradeable for that very reason. Now the return would have a very wide range of possibilities, depending on how Ross progresses, if he does at all.

[Snooch]

My theory (more like a narrative fallacy) on TRoss is that MU overvalues him with the sole purpose of trade bait next year when the CAP rises. If MU likes character, there is nobody with a more worse attitude that TRoss... remember MU having a 'chat' with him last year on his late-nights with the Xbox? Also, he had no influence on this pick (wasn't here when BC took him) so he's not one of his guys.

Personally I think TRoss going to Portland would be a good swap... especially if we could get McCollum in some kinda of package the for next year.

I do not recall anything about him having a meeting with ross about Xbox.

[Snooch]

Yeah, I can't see "love" for Ross from MU. Ross is more of a necessary evil, again because of fit. All teams need floor spacing, the Raps especially so, which Ross provides. And yes, he's tradeable for that very reason. Now the return would have a very wide range of possibilities, depending on how Ross progresses, if he does at all.

OR

Ross is a valuable piece to have on our team should changes be made to the current roster.

Ross at 2 guard with a pf like Horford would be fine.

[magoon]

I use to think along those lines.

I had a thread about Ujiri and the common trait of a high WS/48 all his signings had.


......and then the Ross extension happened and that theory was set out to pasture.

The Ross extension happened because Ujiri doesn't like giving away assets for free, and had he not extended Ross that would have likely happened. Tim C called it in his article: Ujiri had a mental estimate of what Ross would get on the open market next summer, and figured "if I can beat it, I'll extend him."

And as I've said before: Ross will have trade value next summer. He's already back to about league-average 3P% and he'll likely end the season decently above it, and somebody will pay for a relatively young shooter.

[3inthekeon]

I do not recall anything about him having a meeting with ross about Xbox.

I'm not sure if it was Xbox, but it was widely reported early last season MU did speak with Ross on his late nights.

[JimiCliff]

I'm still not ready to give up on Ross. That guy made some very clutch plays in the last two playoffs series.

[Mess]

I don't expect Lowry to be moved, but again, from the OP:

Oh...finally read the article. It's a little oversimplified with probably only a smidgen of actual truth in it, but was a good read.

And a Chester and Spike reference? Pretty topical - watch out that's Doug Smith's turf. Better than an overused David and Goliath trope anyway.