Everything 2021 Tank

[planetmars]

One second....is this the tanking for Wiggins thing or something else? Pour one out for McHappy

TimW somewhere out there shouting "I told ya so!"

[KeonClark]

One second....is this the tanking for Wiggins thing or something else? Pour one out for McHappy

Real OGs still say Matt52

The district of Derozan!

[G__Deane]

We all assumed we were getting Phoenix Baynes. We got Rafael Aruajo.

We also assumed that Terrence Davis, and to a lesser extent Matt Thomas, Alex Len and Malachi Flynn, were going to contribute. That went 0 for 4. If those things had happened I'm guessing we'd be in 4th right now, as it's currently occupied by a .500ish Charlotte squad

Also, under no circumstances did anyone think we'd finish below the Knicks.
Imagine if they ever become a FA destination again....

Raptors would become just another mechanism for can you make money with a franchise finishing 4-12 every year rather than is this a potential chip winning situation. Fans forget there are franchises that start every year with a goal or breaking even or making a little dough, zero chance of making the finals for decades.

[inthepaint]

Fair question: Is there at least an NBA ready player based on pre-draft scouting report that can make an impact right away to plug in to the core of this team?

Or are they all 3 to 5 years projects? If they are then at least package that with one of Pascal or Van Vleet to get a game changer.

Just so many holes to fill now without Norm and most likely Kyle.

That would be nice but it's unlikely. Rookies take time, even if they're really good and with a lot of potential. The last 5 rookies-of-the-year were:

KAT
brogdon
Simmons
Doncic
Morant

They're all good players but all their teams are sputtering, with the exception of Philly for Simmons, but this is his 4th year. Zion, considered by many a "generational" pick, still has his team at 12th in the west and below .500. It takes time.

There's no magic bullet on any draft that's going to turn this team around (or any team) right away. That said, it's where you start if you're not a FA destination. It took a long, careful buildup and internal development of assets to get to the champioship level we had:

--9th overall Derozan , 9th overall Poeltl, 8th overall T-Ross, 5th overall Valanciunas, FRP Delon Wright, all carefully/slowly developed over the 5+ years on Raptor playoff teams, plus several other picks for:

--Kawhi, Green, Serge & Gasol, which are all gone now. Absolutely worth it, because it got us championship, but it doesn't change the fact that the pantry is bare with this exodus (which happened for a variety of reasons), and that it will take a long time to build it up again unfortunately.

Fortunately though, we can expedite the restocking of the talent pantry again by trading Lowry while he still has value.

[slaw]

People think Nurse should be out there gifting minutes to anyone under 25. I'm sorry but Malachi Flynn has been mostly trash in my opinion. Look at Payton Pritchard in Boston, that's a kid who immediately contributes, and earns a rotation spot.

All these young guys that apparently Toronto can't develop.

Flynn is not ready for prime time. He has been better since coming back from the G-League but still looks a step slow/lost. He isn't a lost cause yet but he needs a full offseason and probably more incubating time in the G-League.

I never understood the Thomas stuff: he was easy to guard/had trouble getting off his shot and was at best a below average defender. You can play him 20 MPG or 15 or 30 but it ain't changing much of anything. He's a terrific shooter but strikes me as a net negative player.

The only miss to me is Davis who is a bit of a mystery given that he played every game last year and was generally a 15-20 MPG guy. I still think he had that role here but clearly the organization wasn't sold. Could be one of those situations where it had less to do with basketball on court and more to do with dealing with him off court.

[Jclaw]

Here's some background reading just in case
https://forums.raptorsrepublic.com/f...-a-tank-avatar

https://forums.raptorsrepublic.com/f...lease-be-civil

https://forums.raptorsrepublic.com/forum/raptors-republic-forums/everything-raptors/11902-are-we-really-tanking-now

The more things change...

[Jclaw]

FWIW, here's my two cents. Do people describe what the Warriors did last year as tanking? Or was it taking advantage of a random number of events to get a good pick and get right back to where they were? Because that's more what we're doing. Come back next year with a post covid squad and any good draft pick we get this year is a bonus.

[KeonClark]

FWIW, here's my two cents. Do people describe what the Warriors did last year as tanking? Or was it taking advantage of a random number of events to get a good pick and get right back to where they were? Because that's more what we're doing. Come back next year with a post covid squad and any good draft pick we get this year is a bonus.

Agree it was the 2nd thing, but the difference is they didn't have their 3 or 4 best players for basically the entire season. I'd be a little less worried about our future if we were missing Fred, Siakam, Kyle, and OG. But we're not. We're just losing.

[The Great One]

I think we should make a poll. Will they tank or make playoffs. And people can make their predictions

Playoffs. This team is not tanking.

[MixxAOR]

Here's some background reading just in case
https://forums.raptorsrepublic.com/f...-a-tank-avatar

https://forums.raptorsrepublic.com/f...lease-be-civil

https://forums.raptorsrepublic.com/forum/raptors-republic-forums/everything-raptors/11902-are-we-really-tanking-now

The more things change...

so many posters that disappeared

[The Claw Reborn]

People think Nurse should be out there gifting minutes to anyone under 25. I'm sorry but Malachi Flynn has been mostly trash in my opinion. Look at Payton Pritchard in Boston, that's a kid who immediately contributes, and earns a rotation spot.

I know you are trying to go around responding to my post without even directly doing it.

This is one of your VORP and Win Shares reply with no legs at all but it is just fine.

Such asinine response.

Do you know that Malachi Flynn games before dad’s “proactiveness”:

DNPs - 14
Inactive - 11
Played - 13

after
Played - 7

he is averaging 9.9 minutes per game

this forum dont expect Nurse to play him 25 minutes with Lowry and Van Vleet in front of him but at least play him in favor of McCaw

try to educate yourself with these numbers including VORP and Win Shares before trying your best to discredit other posters, you feed on that and that has been your M.O.

[The Great One]

A lot of people are going to be upset WHEN the Raptors make the playoffs lmao. They are going to make the playoffs. My opinion has not changed.

One thing that I don't understand is why the pro tankers get upset when they lose a game? last night for example. Shouldn't you be cheering for them to lose?

[MixxAOR]

A lot of people are going to be upset WHEN the Raptors make the playoffs lmao. They are going to make the playoffs. My opinion has not changed.

One thing that I don't understand is why the pro tankers get upset when they lose a game? last night for example. Shouldn't you be cheering for them to lose?

Of course. It'll be a disaster if they make playoffs

[SkywalkerAC]

People think Nurse should be out there gifting minutes to anyone under 25. I'm sorry but Malachi Flynn has been mostly trash in my opinion. Look at Payton Pritchard in Boston, that's a kid who immediately contributes, and earns a rotation spot.

Exactly. Sure he can do that now that the season's a wash, but when you're in the hunt you "find" young guys minutes when you genuinely need them. Lotto picks I you want good enough to fit them into your 9-man rotation rotation by the mid-point of the season, unless you're ok picking someone totally raw and developing them in the g-league.

We are a different kind (a better kind) of lottery team than most I'd argue. But that just gives young guys a lot of structure to find their niche within.

[SkywalkerAC]

FWIW, here's my two cents. Do people describe what the Warriors did last year as tanking? Or was it taking advantage of a random number of events to get a good pick and get right back to where they were? Because that's more what we're doing. Come back next year with a post covid squad and any good draft pick we get this year is a bonus.

The Warriors tanked. We're tanking. Losing lots of games = Tanking. How hard you tank, how much intentionality you bring to it, how much rocket fuel you add, is a matter of degree.

Our aim should be a Spurs-style tank. We won't get a Duncan, but we should be able (fingers crossed) be able to slingshot out of the lottery back into semi-contention.