Drawing parallels between these Raptors and the 2002 Pistons

[stooley]

I don't disagree - just pointing out there's a massive gap between the current talent and performance of this squad and the 7-consecutive-50-win-seasons Pistons. Maybe that goes without saying.

In terms of emulating their success - Ujiri kind of did that with team synergy but no "superstar" in Denver, without the same results. Again, the Pistons success was anchored by a four-time DPOY and multiple All-Stars, a talent level the one-and-done Nuggets didn't have.

I think the "model" moving forward is just to continue to accumulate assets, win every trade, and maintain flexibility. It looks like that's Ujri's MO anyways. If that opens the door to landing a superstar one day, I bet he'll do that. If it means continuing to develop without an MVP-candidate, he'll do that.

But yeah, overall the outlook for developing these current Raptors does make you think of the Pistons, Ujiri's Nuggets, or the current Pacers or Rockets. Many ways to improve without drafting a franchise guy, even though drafting a franchise guy is probably the best/most direct way to go about it.

The bold.

I also think we have a couple guys who show all star potential. Ben Wallace wasn't an all star until he was (duh, )

Jonas could very well be an all star one day. Ross? - maybe, if he develops and the team shows success.

Lowry is playing like an all star over the past 12 games.

[Pong]

I'm as impressed as anyone by the way Lowry is playing lately. But where was all this last year?

You have to admit, the timing of Lowry's "ascension" is suspect. Extending Lowry is a gamble.

While this being a contract year is definitely a motivator, I don't think that's the sole reason he's performing at the level he's at now. Last year:

1) He was getting adjusted to DC's 'system' (you could see that he was trying to find a balance between being the scoring PG that he is, and being a facilitator like Calderon)
2) He got injured which I don't think he ever fully recovered from last season.
3) Time share with calderon
4) The Rudy Gay effect

All of those things hampered his play, so when comparing to how he's doing now, it looks like he's all of a sudden turned up the dial. Keep in mind that he was playing lights out at the start of last year before all of that happened.