Marc Stein thinks Lowry is still being moved

[mcHAPPY]

He just waited for me to change my avatar.

Damn you, Masai. Damn you.... but I still admire you.


From now on everyone should replace "tank" and all the negative connotation that goes along with it to "seeking to build through the higher end of the draft" and "asset accumulation."


In terms of building, shedding Bargnani and Gay were huge steps.

[ceez]

Tim makes a couple really good points...

Interesting that Lowry trade rumours resurface in the wake of DeRozan’s injury.

— Tim Chisholm (@timpchisholm) January 27, 2014

If the #raptors are considering trading Lowry b/c they are afraid he’ll leave, they probably have a reason to suspect he will.

— Tim Chisholm (@timpchisholm) January 27, 2014

Point isn’t TORs want, it’s Lowry’s. RT @JCTango: @timpchisholm I doubt it’ll happen… Lowry’s what we need in a starting pg.

— Tim Chisholm (@timpchisholm) January 27, 2014

[Craiger]

Bold 1: this is kind of my point. the draft is going to be strong, but it's not the only draft, there's one every year, and 2006 is the exception. there's already some talk about the 2015 frosh and that some 2014 freshmen may stay an extra year (if not embiid and parker then guys like gordon and lavine)

Bold 2: this is an opinion and I disagree. the offers for lowry were terrible. wouldn't an extra first round draft pick in 2015 or 2016 be worth pushing the rebuild back to next year? especially if we get to enjoy good basketball this year?

Bold 3: yes this is true, but the same goes for assets that we are trading for. If harrison barnes suffers a brutal knee injury then he doesn't seem like the best return anymore for Lowry.

Final Bold: this falls into the 2014 be all end all mentality that I was calling out in my post.

I understand your point of view, it's one I used to hold, and one many people still do. It's not insane or misinformed or stupid. I just think that there's no point on rushing the rebuild. Winning the league is a crapshoot, so if we can get some decent basketball this year while strengthening our position from which to rebuild, I'm thrilled.

Every year there is always next year....

[Fully]

I'm not sure if this is 'news' necessarily as much as it's Stein re-hashing an old piece of info (Ujiri has set a high price for Lowry and will move him if someone pays it). However I think MU realizes that the team's MVP could easily walk this summer and deliver a double blow to the organization; regression next year and receiving nothing for the asset.

At the very least it gives me an excuse to play with the trade machine this afternoon!

[mcHAPPY]

I think every player is on the table. I think the reason why we didn't tank this year is because there are already a lot of teams trying to unload proven performers and the market is skewed this year compared to others.

I believe MU still wants to rebuild this team, and as is well known, the draft is one of the best ways to do so.

The 2014 draft has been all the hype, but it's looking more and more like an average class with great depth that may be reduced by several freshmen opting not to declare.

"Tankers" in the "pawn everything off for nothing so we get a high draft pick" aren't looking past this year. If our assets will return more by trading them next year, then start the tank next year. If we get assets back, then our time at the bottom will be noticeably shorter.

I think this is a great point.

I would add that many, including myself, have vastly overestimated the value of the Raptors assets.

[mcHAPPY]

I'm not sure if this is 'news' necessarily as much as it's Stein re-hashing an old piece of info (Ujiri has set a high price for Lowry and will move him if someone pays it). However I think MU realizes that the team's MVP could easily walk this summer and deliver a double blow to the organization; regression next year and receiving nothing for the asset.

At the very least it gives me an excuse to play with the trade machine this afternoon!

Like an excuse is needed for that.......

Seriously though I continue to hold out hope for the possibility of a sign and trade with LA if he remains past the deadline.

[Employee]

Yeah if they think he's gonna leave then they gotta trade him. Remember when everyone was shitting on BC for not trading Bosh and being preemptive before he walked? Same situation, not as high a caliber player.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

It would be a double-win for the Raptors, in terms of asset management, if they were to trade Lowry this season (assuming a team agrees to pay MU's price) and then re-sign him to a decent contract in the offseason (after he tests the free agent waters). As has been discussed, there appears to be a limited number of teams that will have both a need for a starting PG and the $8-10M cap space likely required to sign him.

If MU likes Lowry but is concerned he might walk (maybe his agent has already told him that Lowry wants to at least explore his free agent options), this could be an interesting twist.

[ceez]

Nash, Nick Young and their 2014 pick for Lowry and Amir, sign and trade. Who says no?

[2kfeen]

Nash, Nick Young and their 2014 pick for Lowry and Amir, sign and trade. Who says no?

Nash is a horrible contract.
Him, Fields, Hayes would be like $21 mill in wasted cap next year.

Nick Young is a good spark off the bench, but he doesn't have much upside, and his shot selection at times kills the offense.

We could probably fetch a young asset + 2 future firsts for Lowry & Amir.

At the deadline, we could easily flip Hansbrough (nice contract, and a good performer too) and maybe Novak (good 3 point shooting) to playoff performers.
I could see Dallas wanting Hansbrough because of their lack of bigs with rebounding prowess.

[stooley]

Nash is a horrible contract.
Him, Fields, Hayes would be like $21 mill in wasted cap next year.

Nick Young is a good spark off the bench, but he doesn't have much upside, and his shot selection at times kills the offense.

We could probably fetch a young asset + 2 future firsts for Lowry & Amir.

At the deadline, we could easily flip Hansbrough (nice contract, and a good performer too) and maybe Novak (good 3 point shooting) to playoff performers.
I could see Dallas wanting Hansbrough because of their lack of bigs with rebounding prowess.

Just a couple notes: If we do that sign and trade in the summer, then we're getting a really, really cheap top 8 pick. The lakers are falling hard and top 10 picks this year aren't going to come any cheaper than that, so I like the proposed trade with the lakers.

If we're getting two future first and a young asset for Lowry and Amir, then those first are going to be closer to middle of the draft (16-20 in my opinion).

Finally, Hansbrough is becoming harder to flip with him being injured for so long.

[Balls of Steel]

He just waited for me to change my avatar.

Damn you, Masai. Damn you.... but I still admire you.


From now on everyone should replace "tank" and all the negative connotation that goes along with it to "seeking to build through the higher end of the draft" and "asset accumulation."


In terms of building, shedding Bargnani and Gay were huge steps.

Maybe we should all change our avatars to a used car salesman instead.

[JimiCliff]

Nash, Nick Young and their 2014 pick for Lowry and Amir, sign and trade. Who says no?

LA. The pick has too much potential value.

[isaacthompson]

Point isn’t TORs want, it’s Lowry’s. RT @JCTango: @timpchisholm I doubt it’ll happen… Lowry’s what we need in a starting pg.

— Tim Chisholm (@timpchisholm) January 27, 2014

Spot on.

[Balls of Steel]

I think this is a great point.

I would add that many, including myself, have vastly overestimated the value of the Raptors assets.

Even if they are vastly overrated, many teams that hold picks are also vastly overrating theirs (based on hype of the so-called 2014 draft class). Goes both ways.