Game #11 Charlotte Hornets @ Toronto Raptors 7:30 pm. TSN

[planetmars]

Wish Masai was a better evaluator of external free agents.. I love the guy but he's had a pretty crappy record in that one area.

Who's the best free agent this team ever picked up? Cory Joseph? Tyler Hansborough? Bismack Biyombo?

Baynes, Len and Bembry are useless. Last year it was Stanimal and RHJ. He's also brought in Scola, Monroe, Lin, Carroll, Sullinger.

The front office are great evaluators of prospects. They've hit so many homeruns. And we know their track records for trades. But they suck so bad at bringing in free agents.


I'm kind of scared of having cap space next season.. Hope we can fill it up with a trade and just bypass free agency.

[LJ2]

Wish Masai was a better evaluator of external free agents.. I love the guy but he's had a pretty crappy record in that one area.

Who's the best free agent this team ever picked up? Cory Joseph? Tyler Hansborough? Bismack Biyombo?

Baynes, Len and Bembry are useless. Last year it was Stanimal and RHJ. He's also brought in Scola, Monroe, Lin, Carroll, Sullinger.

The front office are great evaluators of prospects. They've hit so many homeruns. And we know their track records for trades. But they suck so bad at bringing in free agents.


I'm kind of scared of having cap space next season.. Hope we can fill it up with a trade and just bypass free agency.

I think that has more to do with the willingness of free agents to sign with Toronto. Unless we overpay (Carroll), we are only getting consideration from bottom of the barrel guys with one foot out the NBA door.

[The Great One]

Siakam with another atrocious game. A no-show again in the 4th. When you're an "all star" and the best scorer on the team you gotta go out there for the kill EVERYTIME you step on the floor. This dude just blends in. Like I always say, he has the mentality of a role player and he plays like a role player specially in the 4th.

And I don't know maybe I just have a high standard? I still don't remember a good Siakam game this year. The triple double game the other night? nah. He had a great 1st quarter: 12/7/5. He was invisible the rest of the game. The Celtics game? that was a blowout. He scored most of his points during garbage time. The Suns game I guess? yeah but they lost that game.

Ranking the Raptors best players this year, Lowry obviously is #1, FVV #2, Boucher number 3(where would they be without this guy?)

[planetmars]

I think that has more to do with the willingness of free agents to sign with Toronto. Unless we overpay (Carroll), we are only getting consideration from bottom of the barrel guys with one foot out the NBA door.

That's true.. but I'm not even talking about elite free agents.. even the mid-level/mediocre guys they bring in suck.. just flat out suck when they become Raptors. Baynes was good in Boston and Phoenix. He's unplayable in Toronto.

[MixxAOR]

That's true.. but I'm not even talking about elite free agents.. even the mid-level/mediocre guys they bring in suck.. just flat out suck when they become Raptors. Baynes was good in Boston and Phoenix. He's unplayable in Toronto.

Was he good? Because Boston fans were saying how much he pissed them off

[A.I]

I think that has more to do with the willingness of free agents to sign with Toronto. Unless we overpay (Carroll), we are only getting consideration from bottom of the barrel guys with one foot out the NBA door.

I don't think thats true. Baynes was actually decent just last season. Started and averaged 12 points, shot 47% and 36% from 3. He wasn't a bad free agent to get considering Raptors waited on Ibaka and Gasol, but his play has fallen off a cliff this season.

[MixxAOR]

I don't think thats true. Baynes was actually decent just last season. Started and averaged 12 points, shot 47% and 36% from 3. He wasn't a bad free agent to get considering Raptors waited on Ibaka and Gasol, but his play has fallen off a cliff this season.

He only started 28 games

[planetmars]

Was he good? Because Boston fans were saying how much he pissed them off

I remember him being very good defensively. And a few of them were upset that he went to Phoenix. But I could be wrong.. either way if he sucked why did we bring him in?

I just don't trust this front office with our cap space. So I'm hoping they don't use it on a free agent, and just fill it with a trade or something.

[MixxAOR]

I remember him being very good defensively. And a few of them were upset that he went to Phoenix. But I could be wrong.. either way if he sucked why did we bring him in?

I just don't trust this front office with our cap space. So I'm hoping they don't use it on a free agent, and just fill it with a trade or something.

If you know talent you know talent. How can you evaluate prospects but not evaluate free agents. It's like driving a car but you can't drive SUV like wtf

[MixxAOR]

I've been saying what this team needs to do and i'm not gonna parrot. I mean it's obvious at this point the future of this core.

[planetmars]

If you know talent you know talent. How can you evaluate prospects but not evaluate free agents. It's like driving a car but you can't drive SUV like wtf

Tolzman is the difference there. He's the guy that scouts prospects. I don't know if he gets involved in the free agency process.

[A.I]

He only started 28 games

Well main point is he was still a serviceable player last season and thats what many of us expected when he was signed. Set hard screens, play some defense, hit some shots, not get played off the floor.

[slaw]

I don't see it as a good win but a lucky win. They had 12 points in the 4th after being up by 18 at a time in the third. It's the same old with this team. They can't keep a lead because they start doing stupid shit and stop playing defense when they do it.

Lowry found Boucher to get them back up 5. That was a key bucket I guess.. but it was such an awful display against a team playing on a second game of a back to back that was missing their best player.. that team looked dead in the water, but the Raptors gave them a huge life boat.

The question is why is the decision-making and execution so bad in the 4th? So, last night, I think early on we saw the limitations of that Stanimal/Yuta combo in the second stint - the lack of offense puts a lot of pressure on Lowry and Powell and it can become a problem fast. Once they had the poor start to the quarter the team panicked and it started to snowball.

It also looks to me as though they are really insistent that certain things happen down the stretch even if it doesn't make sense. Last night the tempo slowed to a crawl (Lowry especially was guilty of taking way too long to initiate the offense) and they were trying to force play through Fred and Pascal even though the best option was a Boucher/Lowry two-man game. There were multiple offensive possessions where Boucher was open against the zone at the foul line or deeper and they looked him off settling for contested threes instead.

Lots of people are looking at the non-Lowry minutes as the problem but Lowry played almost the entire fourth quarter and they scored 12 points and did everything in their power to give the game away. We've got too many guys playing with agendas (either self or team imposed) and it's affecting the on-court performance.

[G__Deane]

If you know talent you know talent. How can you evaluate prospects but not evaluate free agents. It's like driving a car but you can't drive SUV like wtf

My irregular commutes show there are tons of people who don't know how to drive either .....

[MixxAOR]

My irregular commutes show there are tons of people who don't know how to drive either .....

They are Knicks of driving world