Everything Goran Dragic

[Fuchan]

Okay so this tweet makes me happy now:

Schultz works for ESPN, so might be legit.

Sounds like Masai got hold of Dragics number. Masai has such passion I don't see how you could get traded to his team and not get fired up

[S.R.]

I don't know how anyone can conclude the Raptors are desperate and will give in to player demands after the past couple seasons. The Raptors have done what the Raptors need to do. They've traded guys who wanted to be here. They've let guys walk who wanted to be here. They've lowballed guys who wanted to re-sign here. The Raptors are willing to lose players to a) win, and b) stick to their plans. This is a well run, well managed team that's won as much as anyone in the league the last few years and has filled the team with excellent players to do it. Can we stop feeling sorry for ourselves yet.

[blackjitsu]

The thing that urks me, is that any rumor of someone being bought out this early in the season is 99% false. Do people understand how agents make money? Agents get a percentage of what the athletes they manage make. Usually between 10%-20%. This is likely Dragic's last big contract because of his age. What sane agent would want a client to make less money? That would mean they were taking a pay cut too! After the trade deadline, when it's a smaller hit on the agent, maybe, but this is the last chance the agent has to make real money off of Dragic.

As for the Raps, the way things are structured, my understanding is that the Raps would likely take the full cap hit for his contract either way...

There's ZERO reason for either party to aim for a buy out. Actually the opposite is true. If Dragic wants his next contract to be in the NBA, for more than the league minimum he needs to show and prove. Also, the Raps will happily give him the opportunity to do so. If that doesn't please his agent, what will? People talk about player empowerment, but we're talking about a player who dropped off around 2015. If the Mavs were motivated to get him, they would have already made a move. There's no guarantee that if he is bought out that they bring him in.

Some of these people and their sources...

[Puffer]

I don't know how anyone can conclude the Raptors are desperate and will give in to player demands after the past couple seasons...

Yeah. It's called recency bias. You have a poor season or a stretch of bad games or don't get a player everybody wanted you to get and the team is suddenly trash. Two seasons ago this team finished second in the league. They have since lost a washed-up Marc Gasol and an injured Serge Ibaka and traded Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell. The Norman Powell trade looks like a wash with upside. The Kyle trade is a net loss, depending and they now have what looks like a real bench. Can't wait to see where they will be by midseason. And I am content to let Boddy deal with Dragic without shitting all over him and slagging the team.

[TheWaterboy]

I know I'm late on this (it's been a hectic week for me), but here's a reminder on the Fischer rumor: what he said was that "sources around the league believe..."

I expect that sources outside the Raptors do believe that Dragic is going to be bought out, partially because the Raptors are very close to operating above the tax line and a Dragic buyout would help get them below the tax line (and maybe even give them room to tinker mid-season), and the contract is seen as dead salary from a team-building perspective. (There might also be a bit of wishful thinking there from a team that would like to take a swing and signing a bought-out Dragic even though Dallas is 100% the obvious place he would be headed.) And there is also the fact that he expressed initial dissatisfaction with the trade, and that was fairly widely reported.

None of that means that's actually going to happen, even though it makes sense on the surface for those out in the league that are used to not thinking about the Raptors in very much depth right now because they are not a team located on either coast of the US, and who mostly know about the things that are actively reported about us.

Right now:

• If Dragic does not report, or reports and deliberately plays poorly, he loses the opportunity to maximize the value of his next contract which should be at least two years at at least 10 million and very possibly approaching 15. He'll show up and he'll play well to the extent he can, even if he's disappointed he had to leave a team he'd been with for a long time and enjoyed playing for. And even though we don't play Riley-ball, this team is a good short-term fit for Dragic, as he'll realize when he starts playing with them. I suspect he'll get along well with OG and Fred at the minimum, and likely the whole starting lineup (even if he only plays with them in blended lineups).
• Dragic does not bring everything Kyle does, but he by no means hurts the team's chances by playing here, which means that the Raptors don't have to move him. There's a pretty good win-now argument for keeping him on the team until Pascal is back and has five or ten games under his belt in any case, in terms of being a scoring threat off the bench, but also in terms of increasing Nurses ability to improvise with his lineups (e.g. match-up specific situations where he's the second guard instead of GTj for the sake of additional ball movement).
• If the Raptors want to continue to operate close to the tax line, their best option is to trade Dragic for something within 80 percent of his current salary.
• If the Raptors want to continue to add young prospects, second rounders, or role players, he's their best trade asset for that, as he's a substantial expiring contract with no future with his current team, and he can still be an impactful player.

That's not to say that a buyout won't happen. If it does happen, however, it is likely to happen only once there is no opportunity to trade Dragic, at the deadline; there is no real point in doing this sooner.

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

October is Coming...Gollum..

[Hotshot]

Well that's a good sign, he arrived & ready to put in the work.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Well that's a good sign, he arrived & ready to put in the work.

I kind of want to see him play with us

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

I kind of want to see him play with us

😔 Hell No!!!!
Who do u want 2 c play more minutes scottie Barnes or this douchbag..bc u know there gonna try 2 get his value up and play him..October is right around the corner, I'm hoping his dealth or bought out..either one, trust me..I don't want him, hate his game. We got rid of legend for this bum..move on.

[SkywalkerAC]

lol

There might be a fair point in there if you're really desperate to have Malachi max out his playing time. There will be almost zero relationship between Goran's minutes and Scottie's.

[TrueTorontoFan]

lol

There might be a fair point in there if you're really desperate to have Malachi max out his playing time. There will be almost zero relationship between Goran's minutes and Scottie's.

Gorans minutes will overlap with GTJ's and as a 3rd guard.

[SkywalkerAC]

Gorans minutes will overlap with GTJ's and as a 3rd guard.

Yeah, you usually want 4 good guards in the rotation and we've currently got (gets out the calculator...) 4 of them.

[bertarapsfan]

Well that's a good sign, he arrived & ready to put in the work.

Look at Will Lou in the replies. Alot of that stuff is trinkets they gave to the media during masais presser. lol. Kinda shows how they feel about him

[Hotshot]

Yeah, you usually want 4 good guards in the rotation and we've currently got (gets out the calculator...) 4 of them.

Exactly. Why should Flynn & GTJ get more minutes if a 35 year old pg might be able to take them cause Flynn at times will look green & GTJ will look streaky.

They want those minutes than play well.

[Hotshot]

Look at Will Lou in the replies. Alot of that stuff is trinkets they gave to the media during masais presser. lol. Kinda shows how they feel about him

Dragic is a temp and he will be treated as such until he is proven otherwise. I don't see a problem with it. Play well, increase ur value & thus be easier to trade to a contender.