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Raptors Off season needs and solutions. My thoughts and your thoughts needed

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  • Raptors Off season needs and solutions. My thoughts and your thoughts needed

    So, I just created an account and with the draft coming up, I want to see your opinions on how we should fill our needs. Assuming Kyle Lowry, Vaquez, and Patterson all come back, this is our roster:

    Point guard: Lowry/Vazquez/De colo/Buycks/Stone
    Shooting Guard: DeRozan/Salmons
    Small Forward: Ross/Fields/Novak
    Power Forward: Amir/Patterson/Hansbrough
    Centre: Valanciunas/Hayes

    This is our current roster right now, and as you can see our weaknesses are at the Small Forward and Centre positions which I'm pretty sure you know by now.

    I think that the small forward position can be easily fixed at the draft. The other problem at the centre position is finding a Centre that is taller and more skilled than Chuck Hayes. I'm thinking to use both our second round draft picks to draft centres.

    But the pick that most intrigues me is our 59th pick. I'm thinking we can use the 59th pick to pick up fellow Canadian Jordan Bachynski, he has good size, pretty good rebounder, good athleticism, and is a good rim-protector which is what we need desperately.

    I'm also interested in other Canadian Sim Bhullar. Although I don't think that the Raptors should waste a pick on him, we could easily pick him up as a undrafted free agent and before we put him on our roster, test him in summer league.

    Here's the updated roster after draft day:

    Point guard: Lowry/Vazquez/Buycks/Stone
    Shooting guard: DeRozan/37th pick
    Small Forward: Ross/20th pick/Fields/Novak
    Power Forward: Amir/Patterson
    Centre: Valanciunas/ 59th pick/ Hayes

    *Novak can switch between SF and PF
    *Fields can switch between SG and SF

    The players that I omitted were:
    Hansbrough (partially guaranteed 1 mil if waived before June 29th)
    De Colo (Free Agent, don't resign)
    Salmons (Guaranteed 1 mil if waived before June 30th)

    Ummm so this concludes my first post and thoughts, if you want to post your thoughts that would be AWESOME.

  • #2
    I like these moves, especially the Bachynski one. I think he's gotta be a good pickup at 59, worst case I see him being Aaron Gray, best case is ever so slightly better I guess :P

    Although I don't feel like we necessarily HAVE to pick a SF at 20. I've had my eye on Clint Capela who looks like a beast, and could potentially dabble in both backup PF and C. I'd roll with Ross, and maybe sign some minimum contract guy, or bring someone over from Europe (like, literally, that's where Salmons should be playing right now anyways, it can't be much of a downgrade).

    I don't feel like we necessarily have to shoot for an even better year next year, since next summer we've got Fields and Hayes coming off the books which will give us some cap space. Plus that timing should coincide with Ross, DD and JV really coming into their own.

    Anyways, welcome to the boards, and those are my two cents!
    "Bruno?
    Heh, if he is in the D-league still in a few years I will be surprised.
    He's terrible."

    -Superjudge, 7/23

    Hope you're wrong.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks, I feel that with Salmons gone, our depth at the wings are kind of weaker(not really) so it would be nice to pick up a SF with the 20th pick if not I like your suggestion of drafting Capela.

      Or if Lowry does walk, we could draft Ennis who's stock has dropped a lot and we can pick up a low cost SF in free agency. That's if Lowry walks though I'm confident that he won't.

      I guess if we go after Carter in free agency, and he joins us we don't have to grab a SF in the draft but its not guaranteed he joins us so that's why I say its preferable that we draft a SF with our 20th pick.

      Comment


      • #4
        I like using our 20th pick on a point guard. Ennis or Payton have great potential to be solid contributors for years to come in this league. The second round is very hard to predict, I don't know who would be available at 37th, but Stokes is a nice energy guy off the bench. I could see players like Anderson, Robinson III, Capella, or Jordan Adams there as well and I really wouldn't mind any of those guys putting on a Raptors Jersey. The 59th pick I wouldn't give it too much thought, because the chances are the guy we pick there might not last in the league.

        With the current squad, we can certainly use an upgrade at the 3. If Lowry decides to leave, we can look to sign Gordon Hayward or Luol Deng in order to stay competitive. The Raptors are going to have 22m in project cap space if they don't resign Lowry, Vasquez, and Patterson. If we do resign these guys, then using the MLE on Ariza would be helpful or we could invest in a guy like Al-Farouq Aminu who can become our primary defensive stopper.

        The other area where the Raptors could improve is their power forward. There is no doubt that I am absolutely in love with Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson like many others, but in the long run I think this position could be upgraded, and Greg Monroe would be the guy to target here. I think that he would be a nice compliment to Valanciunas on offense, but their defense would need a lot of work. Good thing is Monroe is only 23 and Jonas is still 21

        Comment


        • #5
          Right now, I wouldn't put much thought in upgrading the 3, cause we don't have much options. The only choice right now to upgrading the 3 position is in the draft. Keeping the core is the best option in my opinion. Breaking up the core would kill basically all hopes of making the playoffs and hopefully contending the in the near future. Its better just to add on to what we have.

          Although I agree that the power forward position needs upgrading, I can ride with an Amir/Patterson platoon till we actually need a real upgrade at that position. Greg Monroe wouldn't be too bad as an upgrade, but who do you dispose here if we get Monroe. Amir or Patterson. Both Amir and Patterson bring both similar and different things to this club that really help us but if I were to choose I would dispose of Amir because of injuries and offensive limitations.

          Though trying to get Monroe might be kind of hard cause you don't know what stg might ask for Monroe in the sign and trade plus I don't want to overpay for Monroe either. Monroe is nice as an offensive option but he's not very good defensively.

          Comment


          • #6
            RisingRaptors wrote: View Post
            Right now, I wouldn't put much thought in upgrading the 3, cause we don't have much options. The only choice right now to upgrading the 3 position is in the draft. Keeping the core is the best option in my opinion. Breaking up the core would kill basically all hopes of making the playoffs and hopefully contending the in the near future. Its better just to add on to what we have.

            Although I agree that the power forward position needs upgrading, I can ride with an Amir/Patterson platoon till we actually need a real upgrade at that position. Greg Monroe wouldn't be too bad as an upgrade, but who do you dispose here if we get Monroe. Amir or Patterson. Both Amir and Patterson bring both similar and different things to this club that really help us but if I were to choose I would dispose of Amir because of injuries and offensive limitations.

            Though trying to get Monroe might be kind of hard cause you don't know what stg might ask for Monroe in the sign and trade plus I don't want to overpay for Monroe either. Monroe is nice as an offensive option but he's not very good defensively.
            Monroe is reportedly on the trading block which is always a good sign. It really depends on what they want, I feel like they would be intrigued by Vasquez. A fair trade in my opinion would be Vasquez + Hansborough/Hayes + 1st round for Monroe. The loss of Vasquez is manageable as I feel that we will be able to pick up a solid backup point guard to back Lowry at the 20th spot. But of course that's assuming Lowry will stay.

            Comment


            • #7
              I think the Raptors off-season moves will be underwhelming. The core group deserves another year together based off last year's play.

              The Raptors showed this year that they're a tough team with a never-say-die attitude, hardcore fans creating a controlled frenzy hometeam environment, young and improving core players.

              But we're still not a FA destination for the big stars, which is fine by me.

              I think the Raptors just need to draft smart with talent, prioritize signing "glue guys" at the start of the FA period and maybe one reclamation project (like Oden maybe?) and of course bring the band back together for one more run.

              Field's,Hayes, Novak are unlikely to be traded, so why not work them in to the current system to increase their trade value?

              We don't have the right assets or the right situation for major moves. Maybe at next year's trade deadline, with our expiring contracts we might make a big move, but this current off-season?

              Probably not.

              Comment


              • #8
                I think it all comes down to whether or not Lowry comes back. We all really hope he comes back as he is the leader of this team and we love his energy and hustle, esp in the playoffs, but he doesn't deserve more than Derozan's contract (His max could be what BC gave Calderon years back around $10+M/season). He's already in his prime, he has been playing hurt, and his style of play makes him even more prone to getting hurt. We can't give him an Amare-esque contract where we would end up being stuck with him. I just hope that he lets the Raps know asap so they could know how they're going to draft and move forward. Hopefully, we get something in return other than a TPE. However, I will lose some respect for him if he does end up with Miami. Anywhere but Miami.

                If he does leave, hopefully Ennis will still be available at 20/Alfred Payton/Shabazz Muhammad. Draft the Swiss Ibaka or the older Atentakoumpo with the first 2nd rounder, and draft the Canadian Aaron Grey with the other 2nd rounder.

                Free agents to sign
                Wishlist: Deng, Ariza, Gasol, or Monroe
                Others/More affordable maybe: Thabo Sefalosha, Jordan Hill, Okafor, Farooq Amino, VC, Michael Beasley

                Resign GV, 2Pat, Nando and dump Salmons.

                I'm still optimistic that we're gonna make the playoffs, and Demar would lead the charge. I expect him to keep improving, be a Top 15 player and a Top 5 SG. Jonas too should improve a lot, after he said he's gonna work with Hakeem, and hopefully he doesn't get hurt in the FIBA Worlds. Ross should improve and learn to create his own shot. I think he should pattern his game on Kawhi Leonard - simple, but gets it done. In Masai we trust.

                Comment


                • #9
                  The Raptors' biggest need is a big small forward who can shoot and match up against other big small forwards. The eastern conference is full of elite 6'8 - 6'9 guys who run the offense from the perimeter and the raptors are very poorly equipped to defend them (Ross and Derozan are both SG).

                  The East alone has Paul George, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Joe Johnson, and soon to be Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins. Then add on Luol Deng, Leonard, Durant, Batum, Gay, Gallinari etc and it becomes evident that this problem is not going away.

                  I like ross and everything, but he doesn't fit well next to Derozan on defense. Need to explore options to get a guy like Ariza in as the starter at SF. Even someone like Jeff Taylor if we want to set the bar nice and low.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    ejah wrote: View Post
                    The Raptors' biggest need is a big small forward who can shoot and match up against other big small forwards. The eastern conference is full of elite 6'8 - 6'9 guys who run the offense from the perimeter and the raptors are very poorly equipped to defend them (Ross and Derozan are both SG).

                    The East alone has Paul George, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Joe Johnson, and soon to be Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins. Then add on Luol Deng, Leonard, Durant, Batum, Gay, Gallinari etc and it becomes evident that this problem is not going away.

                    I like ross and everything, but he doesn't fit well next to Derozan on defense. Need to explore options to get a guy like Ariza in as the starter at SF. Even someone like Jeff Taylor if we want to set the bar nice and low.
                    The only people in your list ross can't guard is durant James melo and joe penis. Everyone else could easily be stopped by flight 31. Not too sure on Jabari and wiggans since they will be inconsistent rookies. I think some days they'll kill but others they will be average
                    Last edited by yabadabayolo; Thu Jun 19, 2014, 03:58 PM.
                    I'm back. I no longer worship joe johnson

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      This isn't much of a game changer but I wouldn't mind seeing Masai go after a guy like Michael Beasley, Miami might not resign him since he played like 0 minutes. He can score and is a big SF. Again, I'm not expecting him to play 25 minutes a game or anything but 10 minutes a game and around 6 points and a couple boards wouldn't be too bad. Especially if we can land him with the bi-annual exception (2.3 mil I think?).

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I also think that Ross fits at the SF position. Only thing he'll need to fix is his frame. I think that if he could add about 10-15 lbs of muscle, it could help while defending bigger SF. Though the reason why I want to draft a SF is to fill the sixth man spot. Now I don't think Dwane Casey will immediately put a rookie into sixth man minutes so maybe we could sign someone like Vince Carter to fill in the sixth man spot until the rookie can hold his own.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Problem is I view Beasley as more of a tweener, sure he can score but he's not much of a defensive stopper. Though I would like if Masai does go after him. He could be a good scoring explosion off the bench. He's like a low-risk, high-reward type of guy.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            RisingRaptors wrote: View Post
                            Problem is I view Beasley as more of a tweener, sure he can score but he's not much of a defensive stopper. Though I would like if Masai does go after him. He could be a good scoring explosion off the bench. He's like a low-risk, high-reward type of guy.
                            I think he's actually pretty high risk since he has the potential to mess up our locker room.
                            "Bruno?
                            Heh, if he is in the D-league still in a few years I will be surprised.
                            He's terrible."

                            -Superjudge, 7/23

                            Hope you're wrong.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I was about to add in that he could potentially mess up the chemistry but I believe that someone like Amir or Hayes could keep him in check. I see him as a low-risk, high reward in terms of his skills but I think he's better off in Miami with Lebron cause Lebron pretty much keeps him in check.

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