"We Only Want to Bring in Character Guys..."

[planetmars]

I know BC was always talking about bringing in only character guys and for the most part that seemed true.. although not sure what happened with James Johnson as he could be considered a guy lacking character (assuming the stories were true where he was smoking pot on the team bus).

And drafting based on character is fine so that you don't end up with guys like Bynum or Cousins but I do think a guy with character issues can change under the right system and with the right group of veteran players (see ZBo).

But with MU indicating that a big red flag for him is laziness.. well how do you not appreciate that? The Raptors have had a history of having lazy players. And most of the fan favourites even if they weren't the most talented players, were always the blue collar/hard working players like JYD, Reggie, Alvin Williams and Garbo. And with Carter having a nickname of "Wince" is a testament to that despite what Carter did for the franchise. With JV, Amir, DeMar and Lowry all considered hard workers.. it's nice to see that being a part of their identity.

[Superjudge]

I think you could do worse than cousins.

Kinda think He'd be pretty nice looking beside JV.

[Mediumcore]

This is a tough one. Lowry has a reputation for being a bad character but is heads and shoulders better than his team mates. How do you pass up talent in the draft because of reputation?

[Katman]

Character is nice, but I'd prefer talent as the deciding factor in acquisitions.

[3inthekeon]

Sanders and Mayo have talent. How's that working out for the Bucks?

[white men can't jump]

This is a tough one. Lowry has a reputation for being a bad character but is heads and shoulders better than his team mates. How do you pass up talent in the draft because of reputation?

Well the main characteristic brought up was first and foremost laziness. I'm sure other characteristics will matter to MU, but if laziness is the big red flag then this is not at all an issue with Lowry. It definitely can be an issue with lots of guys though.

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[3inthekeon]

It's a test that's commonly used. Here's a tidbit about it from some ESPN story...that is actually kind of hilarious as a whole in retrospect



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/s...pnmag/bargnani


It definitely could be positive, but it's a personality test, so results are hardly definitive or accurately project outcomes.

Thanks for the link.

[Puffer]

This is a tough one. Lowry has a reputation for being a bad character but is heads and shoulders better than his team mates. How do you pass up talent in the draft because of reputation?

Seems pretty evident that character is not an issue with Lowry. It also seems evident that he has banged heads with past coaches and with Casey early in his tenure here. It also seems clear that MU (and Casey?) sat down and had a talk with him. A guy without character wouldn't have turned it around like he did. Attitude is one thing, and attitudes can change more easily than character. I would say Lowry's attitude has changed.

[IROR]

Agree with most posters in the thread, and character is a very broad term - hard to define. When thinking about both BC and MU's idea of "character" (I believe they have similar philosophy is this regard) I think the main thing they are looking for is TEAM guys.

What I mean is men who don't get too high or too low, great in the locker room regardless of minutes played, willingness to be professional and to put the work in to improve and help teammates improve; To put the work in when no one is watching, to show a willingness to be coached and to sacrifice for the team and organization.

Even looking at our skill guys, they also happen to be great team players - albeit if KLow turned his attitude on a dime this season. All the players BC drafted have those aforementioned traits, and so far all the players MU has acquired have these traits.

All that said, hopefully these character guys we bring in also have skill. I would like to see Pau Gasol as a Raptor on a one year deal, personally, because of his team based attitude and leadership (and skill, obviously). And he's tight with Mckechnie who could really help him out.

[white men can't jump]

Agree with most posters in the thread, and character is a very broad term - hard to define. When thinking about both BC and MU's idea of "character" (I believe they have similar philosophy is this regard) I think the main thing they are looking for is TEAM guys.

What I mean is men who don't get too high or too low, great in the locker room regardless of minutes played, willingness to be professional and to put the work in to improve and help teammates improve; To put the work in when no one is watching, to show a willingness to be coached and to sacrifice for the team and organization.

Even looking at our skill guys, they also happen to be great team players - albeit if KLow turned his attitude on a dime this season. All the players BC drafted have those aforementioned traits, and so far all the players MU has acquired have these traits.

All that said, hopefully these character guys we bring in also have skill. I would like to see Pau Gasol as a Raptor on a one year deal, personally, because of his team based attitude and leadership (and skill, obviously). And he's tight with Mckechnie who could really help him out.

Not sure Gasol fits, especially depending on his salary demands. Have no clue, so this is just a guess, but I feel like he'll still be looking for maybe a couple of years on a $7-10M per year contract.

[jpapa]

There is an old saying in basketball:

"If you want to have a great team, your best players have to be your hardest workers"

For years Toronto has suffered being a no-effort team. Even with an entire city willing them on, not since the Garbo days have you had a team leadership that have busted their butts. Even an effort player like DeRozan could not turn it around alone because I think he was regarded by the players as an up-and-comer....not part of the leadership group. i.e. They had no effective leadership group with senior players like Bargs, O'Neil and Turk....I mean who would follow them anywhere as they were terrible examples of "effort" players.

Now they have a committed Lowry, who with Johnson and a more senior DeRozan have formed that leadership group. Patterson has been a great addition to this "effort" group and then you have vets like Hayes and Salmons for the young guys like JV and Ross to follow.

That leadership group is crucial. If they can kick the door down, the rest will follow them through. It is the character of this leadership group that is essential, and I think MU knows how important it is to preserve this group. If the do not resign Lowry, then they will need a similar character to him.... the team has really adopted his attitude in particular, and I am not sure there too many like him in the NBA. Younger guys coming in, or even players acquired in trades, will feel the pressure to conform to the effort principles of this group ....unless they get some recalcitrant. But then I think MU knows this as well, so he will be vetting possible players carefully wanting to add to this hard-won and long overdue culture, not put it at risk.

I keep seeing items on this site wanting marquee trades, but I would hope MU will keep this core group and trust the coaching staff to develop the JV's and Ross's + draft picks into class players. I am not from Toronto, but I get the feeling this city needs an effort team first to reflect its own character. You have one now. Don't trade that away for some " it's all about me" player who puts up good numbers.

[psrs1]

Varejao struggles with staying healthy

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I agree. Probably not worth what he will command re salary.

[psrs1]

There is an old saying in basketball:

"If you want to have a great team, your best players have to be your hardest workers"

For years Toronto has suffered being a no-effort team. Even with an entire city willing them on, not since the Garbo days have you had a team leadership that have busted their butts. Even an effort player like DeRozan could not turn it around alone because I think he was regarded by the players as an up-and-comer....not part of the leadership group. i.e. They had no effective leadership group with senior players like Bargs, O'Neil and Turk....I mean who would follow them anywhere as they were terrible examples of "effort" players.

Now they have a committed Lowry, who with Johnson and a more senior DeRozan have formed that leadership group. Patterson has been a great addition to this "effort" group and then you have vets like Hayes and Salmons for the young guys like JV and Ross to follow.

That leadership group is crucial. If they can kick the door down, the rest will follow them through. It is the character of this leadership group that is essential, and I think MU knows how important it is to preserve this group. If the do not resign Lowry, then they will need a similar character to him.... the team has really adopted his attitude in particular, and I am not sure there too many like him in the NBA. Younger guys coming in, or even players acquired in trades, will feel the pressure to conform to the effort principles of this group ....unless they get some recalcitrant. But then I think MU knows this as well, so he will be vetting possible players carefully wanting to add to this hard-won and long overdue culture, not put it at risk.

I keep seeing items on this site wanting marquee trades, but I would hope MU will keep this core group and trust the coaching staff to develop the JV's and Ross's + draft picks into class players. I am not from Toronto, but I get the feeling this city needs an effort team first to reflect its own character. You have one now. Don't trade that away for some " it's all about me" player who puts up good numbers.

Welcome to RR. It all started with Vince Carter.

[psrs1]

Not sure Gasol fits, especially depending on his salary demands. Have no clue, so this is just a guess, but I feel like he'll still be looking for maybe a couple of years on a $7-10M per year contract.

Too much.

[OldSkoolCool]

I personally take strong character = "professional'

Professionals are players who take the sport of basketball seriously and are willing to work hard at doing their best at the craft.

Even if the player has major question marks off the court (ex Cousins), as long as they are professional they will most likely turn into good basketball players (Cousins is a professional when it comes to basketball). Players who are not professional (ex Beasley) in how they approach the game generally struggle in their pro careers.

Lilliard is a great example of a young professional