If Lowry walk (which he won't) which of these best available PG packages who you choose?

[DanH]

100%. If Lowry is gone, you need a new game plan. And it would be very hard to envision a plan where the team keeps winning.

[JawsGT]

I have to disagree with you guys. Coming into last season, with a healthy Lowry and the super talented Rudy Gay, we were supposed to suck and at best be a fringe playoff team. We trade Rudy, strengthen the bench, and we turn out to be a pretty good team. Lowry, obviously, was a huge part of that, and when you look at his career it appears last season that he overachieved. But if he goes we have to rethink our approach and possibly trade some of our best assets in Amir and Demar?

Last years success and improvements were a delusion I guess, and the contributions that everyone else made within the team (including coaching staff and FO) were marginal. If Lowry is so important to the Raps future, than why isn't anyone advocating paying him $15M plus, because that is what he is worth if losing him means hitting the reset button? And that is essentially what some of you are arguing.

I swear some of you must enjoy the draft more than the regular season or playoffs.

Lowry isn't that essential. I'd like to see him stay and sign for a reasonable amount, but him leaving doesn't mean we need to tank. That's just ludicrous.

[psrs1]

If he does not sign with us then we are screwed and also missed on one of biggest drafts of the decade

All the tankers will be saying they were right and we should have tanked this past season.

[Primer]

I have to disagree with you guys. Coming into last season, with a healthy Lowry and the super talented Rudy Gay, we were supposed to suck and at best be a fringe playoff team. We trade Rudy, strengthen the bench, and we turn out to be a pretty good team. Lowry, obviously, was a huge part of that, and when you look at his career it appears last season that he overachieved. But if he goes we have to rethink our approach and possibly trade some of our best assets in Amir and Demar?

Last years success and improvements were a delusion I guess, and the contributions that everyone else made within the team (including coaching staff and FO) were marginal. If Lowry is so important to the Raps future, than why isn't anyone advocating paying him $15M plus, because that is what he is worth if losing him means hitting the reset button? And that is essentially what some of you are arguing.

I swear some of you must enjoy the draft more than the regular season or playoffs.

Lowry isn't that essential. I'd like to see him stay and sign for a reasonable amount, but him leaving doesn't mean we need to tank. That's just ludicrous.

Agree big time here. We'll be in position to draft a long term replacement (Ennis or Payton), and we have a perfectly capable starter as a restricted free agent in Vasquez (the team kept winning when Lowry was out and GV was starting). We'd take a step back next year (still a playoff team), but by year 2 Ennis or Payton would be ready to start and probably be just as capable as Lowry, except a lot younger and cheaper.

[BobLoblaw]

I have to disagree with you guys. Coming into last season, with a healthy Lowry and the super talented Rudy Gay, we were supposed to suck and at best be a fringe playoff team. We trade Rudy, strengthen the bench, and we turn out to be a pretty good team. Lowry, obviously, was a huge part of that, and when you look at his career it appears last season that he overachieved. But if he goes we have to rethink our approach and possibly trade some of our best assets in Amir and Demar?

Last years success and improvements were a delusion I guess, and the contributions that everyone else made within the team (including coaching staff and FO) were marginal. If Lowry is so important to the Raps future, than why isn't anyone advocating paying him $15M plus, because that is what he is worth if losing him means hitting the reset button? And that is essentially what some of you are arguing.

I swear some of you must enjoy the draft more than the regular season or playoffs.

Lowry isn't that essential. I'd like to see him stay and sign for a reasonable amount, but him leaving doesn't mean we need to tank. That's just ludicrous.

You answered your own question. If Lowry played like this every year, he would get 15 mil and more. There are question marks, so he won't get 15 mil. This is about Lowry's age, health, history. It has nothing to do with him not being important.

Lowry was the best player on this team, the vocal leader on the court, and I don't know how he would be replaced. If he has an injury riddled season next year, the team likely won't be good. If he leaves this summer, I would bet money that the team won't be good. Maybe they manage to win 35 games, maybe even fight for the no.8 seed. But it would be a major step back, and it would be very reasonable to ask if it's maybe better to take two steps back and tank.

[JawsGT]

Agree big time here. We'll be in position to draft a long term replacement (Ennis or Payton), and we have a perfectly capable starter as a restricted free agent in Vasquez (the team kept winning when Lowry was out and GV was starting). We'd take a step back next year (still a playoff team), but by year 2 Ennis or Payton would be ready to start and probably be just as capable as Lowry, except a lot younger and cheaper.

Well I think Vasquez and De Colo could surprise many here (if they return), just like Lowry and Demar did this past season (but not to the same extent). But I think the real progress will come from JV and TRoss, and they should be able to make up some of the on court production that Lowry brings, if he leaves. Emotionally, Lowry will be hard to replace, if not impossible. But I think that effect has perhaps rubbed off on some of the guys. JV certainly does not need anyone to fire him up, and Vasquez and De colo would probably get him the ball more than Lowry did anyways.

If he does leave, I would certainly expect the team to take a step back, but that step shouldn't be so great as to justify scrapping the roster.

[BobLoblaw]

Agree big time here. We'll be in position to draft a long term replacement (Ennis or Payton), and we have a perfectly capable starter as a restricted free agent in Vasquez (the team kept winning when Lowry was out and GV was starting). We'd take a step back next year (still a playoff team), but by year 2 Ennis or Payton would be ready to start and probably be just as capable as Lowry, except a lot younger and cheaper.

If it was probable that these guys would become as good as Lowry by year 2, they wouldn't be available at no.20.

[JawsGT]

If it was probable that these guys would become as good as Lowry by year 2, they wouldn't be available at no.20.

Lowry was selected 24th I believe, so that isn't necessarily true. There have been, and will be, guys that are drafted out of the lottery that were/are/will be better than Lowry. Considering the depth of this draft, it seems even more likely.

Not that I'm banking on that

[CalgaryRapsFan]

All the tankers will be saying they were right and we should have tanked this past season.

It would have less to do with tanking and more to do with simple asset management.

Letting Lowry walk for nothing would be disastrous management. Doing so on the heels of a first round exit, ahead of the most loaded drafts in years, well that would just be sad.

Remember, tanking was never itself the strategy for most 'tankers', but rather the expected biproduct of a situation-forced (ie: Lowry not wanting to re-sign) proper rebuild/retool.

If MU had an inkling that Lowry wasn't going to re-sign, or would only re-sign for max-type money, then I personally feel he should have traded him, regardless whether the team wound up tanking or not after the trade. I will quickly add that Lowry's value is likely at least as high now as it was at the trade-deadline, so S&T options that wind up benefiting the Raptors (at least as much as a trade-deadline deal would have) could still be viable options.

[BobLoblaw]

Lowry was selected 24th I believe, so that isn't necessarily true. There have been, and will be, guys that are drafted out of the lottery that were/are/will be better than Lowry. Considering the depth of this draft, it seems even more likely.

Not that I'm banking on that

And Manu Ginobili was drafted in the 2nd round. It doesn't mean that drafting Manu Ginobilis in the 2nd round is now probable.

No one thought that Lowry reaching all star caliber was probable.

It happens sometimes, but lets not get carried away and dismiss Lowry's loss just because some local Canadian hero is available late in the draft and we hope that he's going to be oh so awesome.

[Primer]

And Manu Ginobili was drafted in the 2nd round. It doesn't mean that drafting Manu Ginobilis in the 2nd round is now probable.

No one thought that Lowry reaching all star caliber was probable.

It happens sometimes, but lets not get carried away and dismiss Lowry's loss just because some local Canadian hero is available late in the draft and we hope that he's going to be oh so awesome.

If we're not getting carried away, then lets also remember that Lowry has been pretty mediocre his entire career until last season. Me being optimistic about Ennis or Payton developing into a good starter is the same as being optimistic Lowry will continue to play as well as he did last season.

[DanH]

If we're not getting carried away, then lets also remember that Lowry has been pretty mediocre his entire career until last season. Me being optimistic about Ennis or Payton developing into a good starter is the same as being optimistic Lowry will continue to play as well as he did last season.

Mediocre? He's been well above average for half a decade. Mostly he just played more minutes as time went on. Last year he did improve (and it was a big jump) but it was hardly going from average to star - it was going from above average starter to star. Frankly if not for his down year the year before coming off the bench behind JC, his year to year progression in WS would be almost linear.

[BobLoblaw]

If we're not getting carried away, then lets also remember that Lowry has been pretty mediocre his entire career until last season. Me being optimistic about Ennis or Payton developing into a good starter is the same as being optimistic Lowry will continue to play as well as he did last season.

I don't know if it's the same. One of these players in your post has shown he has it in him to play at that level, and it's not Ennis or Payton.

If Lowry regresses significantly, it's a disaster. If he leaves, it's a disaster. If the Raptors draft someone late in this draft and he develops into an all star caliber player capable of adequately replacing Lowry, awesome. But I would by no means think that it's probable.

[ceez]

if lowry walks you blow it up. that's about it.

[enlightenment]

if lowry walks you blow it up. that's about it.

You mean trade Derozan? Because even your 'blow it up' should not include touching Val or Ross... I hope