Everything 2021 Tank

[SkywalkerAC]

Stealth Tank 4 the WIN!!!!

[DanH]

Yeah I don't trade down.. the only guy I really liked outside the top four was Moody.. and he's not a guy you trade down for, like ever. Barnes and Kuminga fit the Masai draft profile and so he might surprise.. that's the only concern I have. But Masai's also not an idiot.


We are pretty strong at the guard position, as I think there is still a 50/50 chance that Lowry stays. But assuming he does, what we have are:

Lowry/Flynn
FVV/Suggs/Trent/Harris

If Lowry walks/leaves, you have Suggs and Flynn platoon that PG spot.

Trent seems like a guy we should be able to flip for a forward / center which we are really thin at. But you keep the asset, and work on moving him later. I am a fan of Harris' as well. I think Harris has that same type of gene guys like Terrence Mann and Reggie Jackson are showing in LAC. Or Herro showed last year for Miami. Or I could be full of sh!t.


But yeah a Suggs/FVV back court looks like a lot of fun. Heck a Suggs/Lowry back court looks like a lot of fun. I could even see Nurse doing the all-baby bench with Suggs and Flynn with FVV/Trent starting or Lowry/FVV if he stays.

Trent is also a guy they will be very comfortable playing at the 3 off the bench. Plenty of minutes for him, especially since they like to run small in a lot of units (if not the starting unit where ideally a real C helps a lot), taking OG minutes away from the wing. The trick is Harris.

I don't think Lowry's decision to stay or go will be one influenced by the draft (same for their decision to keep him or not). But some shuffling may occur depending on the draft and his decision. It's a long off-season though, no need to nail that all down now. And definitely don't let that factor into any draft night decisions.

[planetmars]

Yeah I don't trade down.. the only guy I really liked outside the top four was Moody.. and he's not a guy you trade down for, like ever. Barnes and Kuminga fit the Masai draft profile and so he might surprise.. that's the only concern I have. But Masai's also not an idiot.


We are pretty strong at the guard position, as I think there is still a 50/50 chance that Lowry stays. But assuming he does, what we have are:

Lowry/Flynn
FVV/Suggs/Trent/Harris

If Lowry walks/leaves, you have Suggs and Flynn platoon that PG spot.

Trent seems like a guy we should be able to flip for a forward / center which we are really thin at. But you keep the asset, and work on moving him later. I am a fan of Harris' as well. I think Harris has that same type of gene guys like Terrence Mann and Reggie Jackson are showing in LAC. Or Herro showed last year for Miami. Or I could be full of sh!t.


But yeah a Suggs/FVV back court looks like a lot of fun. Heck a Suggs/Lowry back court looks like a lot of fun. I could even see Nurse doing the all-baby bench with Suggs and Flynn with FVV/Trent starting or Lowry/FVV if he stays.

[DanH]

Good job everyone, we got that top 4 pick. Mission accomplished. May we not accomplish it again for a long while.

[golden]

i'm so happy lol

That's so perfect, Mixx. You called tank early, man...... like 10 seconds after Kawhi left. lol.

[The Claw Reborn]

That sweet, sweet Raptor jazz is back, baby.

You deserve this as much or more than anyone, Mixx.
You were beating this drum early on when I didn't wanna believe it.


​​​​

agreed…Mixxaor deserved this fwiw

[GOLDBLUM]

i'm so happy lol

That sweet, sweet Raptor jazz is back, baby.

You deserve this as much or more than anyone, Mixx.
You were beating this drum early on when I didn't wanna believe it.


​​​​

[big boi]

I want to like this post but I can’t see what’s there. But I’m sure it’s a good cherry on top

shit, shows for me. Just a big tank trailing a Canadian flag. Quite succinct if it worked. I'm bad at the internet.

[MixxAOR]

i'm so happy lol

[Jclaw]

I want to like this post but I can’t see what’s there. But I’m sure it’s a good cherry on top

[big boi]

[inthepaint]

The combination of full training camp, full season with a C that fits the system, lottery pick, playing back home, and incoming pieces/cap space from a Lowry trade will put this team in the playoffs again, possibly even with home court depending on injuries to other teams. That's where I'm at.

This team looks it could be gearing up to that 2015-2018 level where they were winning and growing/developing at the same time.

[planetmars]

Lowry is good, as evidence by how he does when everyone is out. Again he is a floor raiser and underrated one. That is a big big superstar type thing. You also discount and underrated the team was when healthy.

It was a REALLY well built team. The he raises the floor and the rest raise the ceiling.

The team is built well.. but is lacking a star. Kyle made up for that.. if Lowry stays we're a playoff team no doubt (pending any injury issues of course). If he's gone, I'd put my money on them being a lottery team again. Maybe not the 7th worst team in the NBA.. but I don't think we'll get a playoff game.

I really hope I'm wrong. And it's still early. Who knows.. maybe we can get a great player in free agency or trade and I'm underestimating them. But we'll see. First time in a long time that I'm not overly optimistic about this team going into next season.

[TrueTorontoFan]

The way I see it is that the Raptors team from last season (the 2019-2020 season) and next season (the 2021-2022) season could look radically different. The 2020 team had no star player and we had a lot of injuries / starting line ups but found a way to win at a 60 win pace, and get the record that we did.

We had kids that year like Davis and Thomas but we relied heavily on the vets. And at that time we had Serge/Marc/Norm/Kyle. 3 of those guys are gone. Lowry could be as well. I mean really good chance he's gone.

The 2022 outlook feels bleak. Kyle Lowry is an underrated superstar.. like Chris Paul is proving it in Phoenix now, and OKC last year. He made that team successful. He got Ibaka to who is spots. He helped lead the team when they were struggling. It was he and that bench that got that win against Dallas during that crazy come back. He fueled that win against Brooklyn when the crowd was against him. Just like he did against the Lakers this season. He is the reason we even got to a game 7 against the Raptors.

Without Kyle I just don't see this team being that great. We'll have some good players.. that play tough defense.. and will win some games due to working harder than their opponent.. but the skill for the most part is lacking.. and that toughness that Kyle brought will be lacking. He was our identity.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope Fred and Pascal pick up the slack. I hope Nurse utilizes his bench and young kids better (we're going to have a lot of them). I hope management brings in role players / vets that can help win (and I don't mean guys like Baynes, Carroll or Hood). I hope we have a healthy season for the most part (although Pascal's surgery is already a big step back). And I hope we can make the playoffs again. I'm just skeptical right now. I think it's going to be a slog of a year again if Lowry's leaves.

And this is only partly due to the improvements other teams made.. which I understand could mean nothing. "Organic growth" only takes you so far. A team like Atlanta, NY, Boston or Miami could all end up in the lottery next year if any one of those clubs get a significant injury to a star player or something.

Lowry is good, as evidence by how he does when everyone is out. Again he is a floor raiser and underrated one. That is a big big superstar type thing. You also discount and underrated the team was when healthy.

It was a REALLY well built team. The he raises the floor and the rest raise the ceiling.

[The Claw Reborn]

….

Me being speechless for some time there lol