Where Do The Raptors Rank In The East?

[Demographic Shift]

So a really solid start to the season. They have beat who they were supposed to beat. The game in Chowderville could have gone either way despite the Raps having to google what the word rebound meant and gave up 30 more shot attempts than they took. A true receipt for defeat. Yet there they were neck and neck down the stretch.

On Saturday the Raps draw one of the co-favourites in the East in the Bucks. In between is the classic trap game with a mediocre Pistons team.

If the Raps take both some recalibration may take place by those who thought the Raps would be a 500 team.

Going 1 and 1 with a back and forth tough game in Milwaukee going down to the wire gives Ujiri options. Sell high on the vets or look to add to the mix if he sees they have a shot to get to the ECF.

Every season is unique.... Let’s see what they look like at the 10 game mark after the road trip from hell out west. Sacto, LA, LA and Portland ending against the Doncic Zinger combo...ugh..

[slaw]

Every season is unique.... Let’s see what they look like at the 10 game mark after the road trip from hell out west. Sacto, LA, LA and Portland ending against the Doncic Zinger combo...ugh..

The schedule actually played out not bad for the Raps. They have a relatively straightforward initial 7 games followed by their first western swing (I like that the Raps always get these done early on). If they are 8-4 or 7-5 coming out of that 12-game stretch, then we should be feeling pretty good about this team.

[KeonClark]

I have a hard time seeing Masai do a full tear down or even a half tear down. Even since he was in Denver, the guy freaking wins 50 games by mistake. His method of "hovering, and always improving assets until you pounce" won us a championship, and I think it is the right approach again

[JawsGT]

They are definitly playing to get back to the finals and no reason they shouldnt be. The early signs are largely positive and its likely the team will improve as the season lengthens. The tight rotation is a little surprising and i worry about the minutes load some of them are carrying, especially lowry. But MU gotta be thinking about how he can add to this squad to make another run at it.

[golden]

They are definitly playing to get back to the finals and no reason they shouldnt be. The early signs are largely positive and its likely the team will improve as the season lengthens. The tight rotation is a little surprising and i worry about the minutes load some of them are carrying, especially lowry. But MU gotta be thinking about how he can add to this squad to make another run at it.

After losing Danny and Kawhi, I think Nurse is trying to develop chemistry with his top 7 guys (KL,FVV,OG,Pascal,Marc, Serge, Norm) to solidify the playoff rotation, assuming no trades. That's probably the reason for the tight rotation, i.e., to get Fred and OG used to their new roles as starters and to see what weaknesses get exposed, such as lack of size vs. teams like Orlando and Philly.

Everybody else will be situational and/or "prove it to me" that you belong in the rotation. Beyond Serge & Norm, Nurse is still auditioning for the bench and it looks wide open at this point. He doesn't fully trust any of the other guys yet, and still barely tolerates Norm.

[RandomGuy]

I have a hard time seeing Masai do a full tear down or even a half tear down. Even since he was in Denver, the guy freaking wins 50 games by mistake. His method of "hovering, and always improving assets until you pounce" won us a championship, and I think it is the right approach again

And it's the only one which makes sense. Franchise keeps selling tickets as fan interest doesn't drop, the team remains competitive so you don't need to reset the culture every time or even adjust it to sound like "The Process"... The team is always a relevant destination for free agents because we always have a great core in place. Don't need to be a genius to understand that, but Masai is clearly in the 90th percentile when it comes to smarts among other GM's.

[nubreed000]

They are definitly playing to get back to the finals and no reason they shouldnt be. The early signs are largely positive and its likely the team will improve as the season lengthens. The tight rotation is a little surprising and i worry about the minutes load some of them are carrying, especially lowry. But MU gotta be thinking about how he can add to this squad to make another run at it.

I'm confident that the team will improve as the season goes on. Right now they have to kind of figure things out offensively (who's the number 2 guy, who's number 3, etc). I'd like to see OG involved more. Kyle is eventually going to settle down, so we can't rely on him having that same production all year. And Gasol needs to be more consistent too. I think around Xmas these guys will start to figure out how to play off each other.

[RandomGuy]

After losing Danny and Kawhi, I think Nurse is trying to develop chemistry with his top 7 guys (KL,FVV,OG,Pascal,Marc, Serge, Norm) to solidify the playoff rotation, assuming no trades. That's probably the reason for the tight rotation, i.e., to get Fred and OG used to their new roles as starters and to see what weaknesses get exposed, such as lack of size vs. teams like Orlando and Philly.

Everybody else will be situational and/or "prove it to me" that you belong in the rotation. Beyond Serge & Norm, Nurse is still auditioning for the bench and it looks wide open at this point. He doesn't fully trust any of the other guys yet, and still barely tolerates Norm.

My guess as well

[RandomGuy]

[Hollinger] Sources say the Raptors are likely to be one of the chief pursuers of Giannis Antetokounmpo if and when he hits the 2021 free-agent market

“Oh, and did I mention — there is one giant, long-armed Greek shadow looming over every decision this franchise makes. Sources say the Raptors are likely to be one of the chief pursuers of Giannis Antetokounmpo if and when he hits the 2021 free-agent market, so any moves that eliminate the possibility of max cap space that summer would be extremely unlikely.”

https://theathletic.com/1335157/2019/10/30/hollinger-all-the-options-on-the-table-for-the-raptors-who-could-rebuild-reload-or-stay-the-course-this-season/?source=shared-article
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Of course, it's not breaking news and every team is after him that season, the only good takeaway, which I haven't quite realized is that we can offer him a max contract with the current extensions we've made this year.

[slaw]

Nothing much new in the Hollinger piece but I do like that he at least talks about the Raps potentially re-tooling by adding to the roster. That hasn't been much discussed but we've seen how quickly the landscape can change year-over-year.

[golden]

[Hollinger] Sources say the Raptors are likely to be one of the chief pursuers of Giannis Antetokounmpo if and when he hits the 2021 free-agent market

“Oh, and did I mention — there is one giant, long-armed Greek shadow looming over every decision this franchise makes. Sources say the Raptors are likely to be one of the chief pursuers of Giannis Antetokounmpo if and when he hits the 2021 free-agent market, so any moves that eliminate the possibility of max cap space that summer would be extremely unlikely.”

https://theathletic.com/1335157/2019/10/30/hollinger-all-the-options-on-the-table-for-the-raptors-who-could-rebuild-reload-or-stay-the-course-this-season/?source=shared-article
​​​​
Of course, it's not breaking news and every team is after him that season, the only good takeaway, which I haven't quite realized is that we can offer him a max contract with the current extensions we've made this year.

The question is what do we do with Fred at the end of this year? I think the franchise sees him as the heir apparent to Lowry... but those are big shoes to fill. He's not going to take a 1-year deal, so if FVV wants Malcolm Brogdon money, then I'm not sure if we still have that max slot. Do we continue to pump up his raw numbers and sell high at the trade deadline? And what about Ibaka & Gasol? Just let them walk for nothing at the end of this year? Powell is almost certainly gone before Giannis gets here... Nurse doesn't trust him and Terrence Davis is being groomed to take his spot.

[planetmars]

Can we give Fred like a $20M one year deal for next season and then revisit the situation in 2021? Keep him happy by giving him a whopper for a contract.. and then see if we can bring him back after signing Giannis? If he wants guaranteed term than we may have to lose him and look for another PG as a free agent next summer.

Someone like Dragic, Teague, Augustin (eww) or Reggie Jackson (barf) can fill in until we can find a permanent replacement. I mean you really only need a shooter at that spot if you have Giannis and Pascal on the team. If Fred is commanding a big pay raise with term than he may have to play for a different team.

Keeping our options open for Giannis even if they are slim are more important than giving a roster spot to Fred IMO.

[DanH]

Can we give Fred like a $20M one year deal for next season and then revisit the situation in 2021? Keep him happy by giving him a whopper for a contract.. and then see if we can bring him back after signing Giannis? If he wants guaranteed term than we may have to lose him and look for another PG as a free agent next summer.

Someone like Dragic, Teague, Augustin (eww) or Reggie Jackson (barf) can fill in until we can find a permanent replacement. I mean you really only need a shooter at that spot if you have Giannis and Pascal on the team. If Fred is commanding a big pay raise with term than he may have to play for a different team.

Keeping our options open for Giannis even if they are slim are more important than giving a roster spot to Fred IMO.

If Fred takes a one year deal, I'd bet it requires a maximum salary. And even then it would be shocking if he took it.

His max will be on the order of about 29M (same as Pascal). If he has a multi-year offer on the table above 20M, can't imagine he'd be interested in that. If the offers are more on the order of 15M, maybe he cashes in and sees if he can up that amount the year after, but even then I'm not sure if the early pay day would outweigh a long term deal.

[LJ2]

What sort of numbers is Fred looking for in a long term deal? Say we have a future starting line-up of FVV, OG, Siakam, Giannis, Ibaka....what would be a reasonable offer for FVV?

[golden]

What sort of numbers is Fred looking for in a long term deal? Say we have a future starting line-up of FVV, OG, Siakam, Giannis, Ibaka....what would be a reasonable offer for FVV?

If you can guarantee me that we get Giannis, then Fred can have whatever TF he wants. lol.

However, if Fred's deal messes up our cap and jeopardizes our ability to get Giannis, then ..... thanks for the memories.