Everything 2017 Off-Season

[jimmie]

This is what I think the Raptors should do! I know I'm back again.

First of all, it has been a pleasure watching the Raptors playing in the playoff, especially against the Bucks and how much of an effort and pressure the Raptors had against the Cavs but only to be swept by them, guess we will revenge against them in the upcoming season but still, they would win effortless. I know, no Lowry in the final two games is an excuse for an early exit from the final, oh well, let's look ahead. Second of all, Patrick Patterson a now in the end of the playoff/season conference, is an indication, his likely gone. As for Casey, his in Ujiri's hot seat and I expect to return for one more season.

So what's left.

Lowry - He decide to opt out his contract to test FA is a smart move and I believe the Raptors will resign him back, his the back bone of the franchise. His gone if and only if the he takes a max deal from the 76ers and I see them being the only team who would exceed all other teams including the Raptors to offer Lowry a max deal

DeRozan - His our King and he delivers every single game except 1-2 game against the Bucks and Cavs. His a keeper, the true cornerstone of our franchise and will likely surpass Vince and Damon Stoudamire for being the greatest ever played for the Raptors.

DMC - This guy was nonexistent in the playoff but he did well in a few games, yeah against the Bucks maybe. I say, we need to package him in a deal to acquire a better defender or a shooter

Ibaka - He sucked, yep that sums up his playoff and a lesser tenure with us in the season. I don't see him being in our long term plan, I say we need to acquire a young PF through FA or through the draft and have him sign a multi year with other teams instead

Val - There is a likely chance that his gone, he looks lost from time to time and I don't see him in our rotation on the long term. It would be good to see him along with one of our guy in the mid season next year so keep him around at the start of the season to boost his value as our trade bait.

Benchers
Cory Joseph - He did ok, I mean he played his hearts out against Irving but his no match in the last two games but his still a serviceable backup PG to keep around

Norman Powell - This is the guy we need to decide whether to sign him to a multi year contract or have him opt out next season and my guts feeling is the latter since no good or sleeper players who ever played for the Raptors played long enough to keep around unless his a franchise to be build around (Hint: JYD, Donyell Marshall, Dion Glover, Jamario Moon)

PJ Tucker - I know he came in pretty late for us in the season but he played well in the playoff, if it weren't for his defense, we would probably loose to the Bucks. I say we give him a two year vet minimum deal and have him stick around for us, would look good for the young guys in the lockeroom especially if we draft a SG or a SF

Patrick Patterson - Pretty much sum up about him, goodbye, won't miss ya

Poeltl/Nogueira/Siakam - I see them stay put with the Raptors, maybe Nogueira being the odd man out

Delon Wright - The darkhorse of a player for us in the season and playoff, starts to show promises why we picked him up as opposed to Bobby Portis, I see him back and possibly become our future backup PG

FVV - Goodbye, thanks for your service

Bruno - Hey, his our 905 Champ, our little big bro who dominated in the D-League, I say give him a 2 year minimum deal and have him at least play a few games for us next season

So Where to From Here

Draft - We have one pick in the mid 20s, I say we draft the BPA, I mean we won't hesitate to draft base on need. What's available at that range can be our role players like Delon or possibly a Rodney Hood gem in the discovery. Only time will tell.

FA - Vince Carter, I know we might get the old Vince back and I believe playoff Vince or any Vince is better than DMC and even at the age of 41, I see him fare well for us and it's good for our tradition, have him retire and become a player coach kind of guy for us

Other UFA/FA/D-League/Euroleague, Only time will tell but I believe Ujiri is sitting down with both DeRozan and Lowry and discussing what needs to be done with the team and how we can move forward. As of right now, if we won't make any changes and with one of Lowry or Ibaka back, I still see us making to the playoff, no questions about that, but if we are gonna repeat again next year, or become a 1st round exit in the playoff, I believe the Raptors will probably blow the entire organization. As of today, I say we had a stellar season and a run with the Cavs in the playoff, let's keep it steady and work it out from here. I see some minor changes in a few weeks leading up to the draft and FA signing

I can't believe I'm saying this, but with the exception of Ibaka leaving, I think ten is on the money here!

I don't know if I would personally have the guts to sign Kyle to the max, but I think staying the course is probably Masai's call unless the tax scares MLSE away from paying all of Lowry, Ibaka and Tucker. I think he will find a way to sign them all, will keep Casey, and will give this team a full year to see what happens. Masai then lets Pat walk and tries to trade Carroll and maybe also JV. Last chance for everyone except Ujiri.

[Ball]

There's no way we get another decent PF if we let Ibaka walk. Like, we saw the revolving door of PF's the last several years, and we're capped out now unless we blow everything up. I think it's better asset management to resign Lowry/Ibaka/Tucker and try and improve through trades, rather than doing some half-assed retooling. I also don't have the appetite for tanking, like oh boy yet another stretch of irrelevancy for the Raptors... woohoo!

[Deems]

This is just false logic.

If you tank you don't do it for one season. You do it for multiple seasons until you have your cornerstone and can surround him with other high-upside supporting players. This would mean high draft picks from 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 with a ton of cap space to fill in the holes when the time comes.

That also allows you to play your young pieces the requisite minutes they need to develop. Look at the TWolves this year. Thibs is a fiery competitive guy and he still didn't force a win-now deal.

The structure of the NBA just doesn't reward building from the middle. The Spurs had a Hall of Famer in Duncan, and it took them fourteen years to find his successor.

The second we have our Hall of Fame cornerstone I'll be fine with building from the middle, but until then we are just wasting time. For every Kawhi or Giannis there are literally a hundred other midround players who don't amount to shit. It's been shown over and over again that Hall of Famers are mostly drafted at the top of the draft, and to pin your hopes on the middle rounds is to invest in a dream of winning the lottery.

Remember when the Knicks pick was supposed to be our franchise-altering pick? We traded for it and it didn't move the needle for us. Because the probabilities just aren't there.

^^Right on the money. You'll always have the outliers picked outside of the top 10, but through percentages the top 5-10 players in the draft will have the greater chance of having a real impact. There's 2 ways of looking at this, we could re-sign everyone and it is great for business and great for our entertainment up until the playoffs, or we could start fresh and take a shot at finding that cornerstone piece.

I think the dark years of Raptors mismanagement and draft busts created caution among fans, as well as it should have. However I truly believe in our management, as well as the culture that has been implemented. Masai & company have found Norman and Delon late in the drafts and by all means they have not been failures considering their draft positions. Jakob looks promising. Imagine the type of talent they COULD(not will) find in the top 5 of the draft with young players that have grown up in this new era of team work and shooting.

[MixxAOR]

^^Right on the money. You'll always have the outliers picked outside of the top 10, but through percentages the top 5-10 players in the draft will have the greater chance of having a real impact. There's 2 ways of looking at this, we could re-sign everyone and it is great for business and great for our entertainment up until the playoffs, or we could start fresh and take a shot at finding that cornerstone piece.

I think the dark years of Raptors mismanagement and draft busts created caution among fans, as well as it should have. However I truly believe in our management, as well as the culture that has been implemented. Masai & company have found Norman and Delon late in the drafts and by all means they have not been failures considering their draft positions. Jakob looks promising. Imagine the type of talent they COULD(not will) find in the top 5 of the draft with young players that have grown up in this new era of team work and shooting.

I don't think "find" is a proper word to use. Nobody is a mystery from 1-5 especially in today's day and age. If we tank I hope we're tanking during a great crop of talent.

[ball4life]

Who says no to a Powell+Carroll for Batum? Hornets or Raptors?

[Deems]

I don't think "find" is a proper word to use. Nobody is a mystery from 1-5 especially in today's day and age. If we tank I hope we're tanking during a great crop of talent.

There's still landmines around like Thabeet, Bennett, Okafor, Exum, Zeller etc.

[MixxAOR]

There's still landmines around like Thabeet, Bennett, Okafor, Exum, Zeller etc.

yeah there are definitely landmines. But when lottery guys refuse to go to combine or keep their medical history a secret as much as they can. It's tougher to project.

[DogeLover1234]

Yeah if Lowry walks, I imagine Ibaka and Tucker go as well. If this happens, and you decide to build with DD, I think your best case scenario is the last two years of the Trailblazers. Maybe Wright or Powell develops like CJ McCollum into a MIP candidate and Bruno+Poeltl+Siakam develop into solid rotation players. With a new coach this could still be fun to watch, and maybe you nail a couple lowkey signings like Aminu or Crowder for Boston, but that would require some serious luck to get to a position to win a championship.

I mean maybe you believe strongly that Wright will turn into a legit starter with an actual training camp and off season free of injury, and Powell thrives with extra minutes. If one of the rookies thrive and look like starters and you end up like a 4 seed maybe you sell Paul George that he is the missing link considering the Raps would undoubtedly have cap space next off season. Obviously that is super unlikely, but if Kyle walks I would try this and reassess at the All Star break; tank if results aren't great or hold on if you are a playoff team.

[Primer]

Yeah if Lowry walks, I imagine Ibaka and Tucker go as well. If this happens, and you decide to build with DD, I think your best case scenario is the last two years of the Trailblazers. Maybe Wright or Powell develops like CJ McCollum into a MIP candidate and Bruno+Poeltl+Siakam develop into solid rotation players. With a new coach this could still be fun to watch, and maybe you nail a couple lowkey signings like Aminu or Crowder for Boston, but that would require some serious luck to get to a position to win a championship.

I mean maybe you believe strongly that Wright will turn into a legit starter with an actual training camp and off season free of injury, and Powell thrives with extra minutes. If one of the rookies thrive and look like starters and you end up like a 4 seed maybe you sell Paul George that he is the missing link considering the Raps would undoubtedly have cap space next off season. Obviously that is super unlikely, but if Kyle walks I would try this and reassess at the All Star break; tank if results aren't great or hold on if you are a playoff team.

This is far more reasonable and likely to work than tanking for 4-5 years. Can't believe anyone around here thinks that's a viable option.

[Puffer]

Masai might decide to stay the course. Raps can offer Lowry more than any other team. I expect to see Lowry, Derozan, Ibaka back. Patterson gone. Carol gone if possible. Maybe JV gone. Masai might try to get overpaid end of bench players for those two, plus picks. He would love to keep Tucker and will probably spend the money if he can lose JV and Carroll. I think he has a talk with Casey and they bring someone in to handle the offensive strategy. And I wouldn't be surprised to see a farewell campaign from Vince who does bring some 3 point shooting. In the off season they go shopping for 3 pt shooters.

[S.R.]

There's no way we get another decent PF if we let Ibaka walk. Like, we saw the revolving door of PF's the last several years, and we're capped out now unless we blow everything up. I think it's better asset management to resign Lowry/Ibaka/Tucker and try and improve through trades, rather than doing some half-assed retooling. I also don't have the appetite for tanking, like oh boy yet another stretch of irrelevancy for the Raptors... woohoo!

I think this is most sensible. Change the coach. Re-sign Lowry, Ibaka, and Tucker if possible. Patterson walks. Dump Carroll on somebody. JV is a trade piece (unfortunately), CoJo is a trade piece (sorry CoJo), any of the big contracts of Lowry, DeRozan, or Ibaka would be tradeable if the opportunity to swap for somebody else's star comes up, tho I'd trade DeRozan last out of those three (age, career arc).

There's 2-3 years to still try to make things happen before you give up on this core, if it's still intact at that point.

Can't lose guys for nothing and it's too early to tank, that can still come later on.

This could all change if Lowry doesn't re-sign and Ibaka/Tucker subsequently decide to look elsewhere.

[golden]

Exactly.

I remember that 2014 draft very well. There was so much HYPE. Here's what i know - Wiggins is no saviour. Neither is Parker. And Embiid can't stay healthy. Also, remember the Exum hype? he's not even in the Utah Jazz rotation. Can u say bust?

Glad we didn't tank that year.

I always say, you have to be EXTREMELY lucky for tanking to work. 1. You have to pick the RIGHT player and 2. Hope that player stays healthy.

Even worse. You have to pick the right draft position within the right year within the right decade, or else some other team gets Lebron. Isn't that basically what Casey, DeMar and Kyle just said out loud? And people think tanking is actually a 'strategy'? lol. Hope is a strategy for some, I suppose.

[thead]

yeah I don't have an appetite for tanking.

Keep competing we were a Lebron James injury from the finals

[Ball]

yeah I don't have an appetite for tanking.

Keep competing we were a Lebron James injury from the finals

If only someone listened to me and put those laxatives in Lebron's Gatorade...

[Bendit]

I notice a few posters inferring Ibaka leaving. I disagree. Masai had been on Ibaka's tail for quite some time. He gave up a 1st and Ross for him...this would not have been so he would lose him into f/agency. I am quite confident there would have been some understanding apart from the fact they have had a long term relationship because of African basketball. This is of course not to say that ultimately SI could not walk under the rules. However, I think he stays and MU will ensure he is comfortable with the team & contract.