Raptors Offseason 2022

[A.I]

No time to dissect each one but here's a useful article on that topic.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ted-nba-legend

Haven't seen many people put him as the 2nd best player of all time these days. That goes to Lebron now, before probably Kareem. He may not be a better NBA player than other greats like Lebron, Kareem, Magic, Shaq or Bird, but you could argue he is more iconic. Jerry West isn't even in the top 10 players of all time but he is iconic because he is the logo of the NBA.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Its a bit much, but that doesn't count as an accolade.

agreed

[saints91]

The thing with Bill Russell is that he adapted to what his teams needed. He actually scouted the Celtics, and tailored his game to what the team lacked. He could've put up more points, but that's not what the team needed. 11 NBA Championships and winning at every level might not ever happen again. Yup, the league was different, but you can't fault a guy for beating the competition that was in front of him. He was before his time athletically, he was a pioneer, and changed the game. He absolutely deserves the honour for what he did on the court, but Bill also was an amazing human being off the court as well.

As time goes on, more of the all time greats will be pushed off these lists because the people making these lists have never seen them play. Or they diminish their achievements because the era is touted as lesser. It's a shame really.

[G__Deane]

There's a reason Joey hates these types of discussion.
There's no place for politics in sports, my friends.
As MJ said- even them Republicans buy shoes.

But who cares as long as comments remain civil?
Traffic is traffic and that's what pays the bills

[G__Deane]

Kobe was very vocal advocate for womens sports.. some ppl would say that is political. But also kobe did have controversy in his time so it is possible that he waited till the right itme to do that.

Until someone can convince me that he didn't rape that maid in the hotel (and the money he paid her out of court wasn't hush money), I don't want to hear word one of his "advocacy for women's sports" ....

Today, even Kobe would be unceremoniously drummed out of the league. Then, she was terrified to take him to court and rightly so.

[saints91]

I’m with you. I was livid that there was talk of switching the logo to Kobe’s silhouette. I don’t think the league should associate anything with Kobe.

im also a Steeler’s fan (not even close to the same level as a Raptors fan) but I’m happy Ben is gone. I had a hard time cheering for them while he was there.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Until someone can convince me that he didn't rape that maid in the hotel (and the money he paid her out of court wasn't hush money), I don't want to hear word one of his "advocacy for women's sports" ....

Today, even Kobe would be unceremoniously drummed out of the league. Then, she was terrified to take him to court and rightly so.

which is fair I was quite young and I would need to read up on the case... my point was more about russell rather than kobe... Kag wanted to focus on Kobe so I tried to engage.

[G__Deane]

Kobe was a phenomenal player, almost without peer with some of things he could do/worth ethic etc.
He was also entitled and arrogant as they come .... and 100% he raped that girl.

She received death threats and victim blaming, took some of his money and learned to live with it.
Kobe bought his wife a nice "I'm sorry, it will never happen again" diamond and went on with his life.

Today, the whole event would be very different.

[Puffer]

This is the first year I have ridden the video off-season hot takes so much. Apparently, virtually every Raptor will see significant improvement in their skill set as well as become smarter in their play, barring the ones who may be cut or waived before the start of the season. In addition, we are going to see the uninjured edition of Khem Birch, the rested and refreshed as well as now acclimated Thad Young, and the "perfect fit" and injury-free Otto Porter who will slip seamlessly into the rotation.

Amid all of the online gushing, I'm trying to steel myself with some doses of reality. Just how much do rookies improve by their second season? How much impact does an attitude change and a reframing of self-awareness have on a Chris Boucher? Will it at least lead to a continued performance in accord with his play from the start of the new year? Scottie's increase in size seems obvious. His shooting seems smoother and more consistent. It that real? Players do see significant improvements in 3 pt % from season to season. I suspect improvements are larger earlier in their career. Winning ROY must do wonders for a player's confidence.

Does Precious start the season as well as he finished the last quarter of the previous seasons? His trainer is gushing.

Banton and Champagnie had moments of impact last season. Can they string more of those moments together for this one? You would think so. Being young, and working hard to improve virtually always leads to improvements.

There is no question that Nurse has more acceptable options off of the bench. This should lead to fewer minutes for the top 5 members of the rotation. That should result in better health for the core. All of last years players should have a better grasp of the defensive and offensive schemes and options. The win total must go up.

There really is no other option.

52-56 wins.

[Demographic Shift]

Someone needs to tell the Warriors you need a traditional big man to win championships. They're doing it all wrong.

I thought Gasol and Ibaka did a good job of highlighting that to them....
Such a long long long time ago.
The last year we had those disposable traditional C's.

[Demographic Shift]

Yeah, for example....if wanting to end racism is a divisive issue for some people, then if I was the NBA, I wouldn't want money from people on the wrong side of that issue.

Agreed. The "Shut up and dribble" minority is probably the group you don't want to cater to.

I was thinking China .
The moral stand the NBA took on China post the Daryl Morey comments was truly brave and heroic.
Xi's China is the gold standard for an open and tolerant nation disposed to the rule of law. A true human rights leader.
This is easily seen in its treatment of its minority Christian, Muslim and Tibetan populations.

And the NBA went out of its way to remain silent on those human rights issues as to not upset the Chinese govt and the incredible merch revenue from "that group". It still goes out of its way to take their money.

So theres that bit of uncomfortable truth that stands in the way of an enlightened progressive knighthood for the league.

[Quirk]

Xi's China is the gold standard for an open and tolerant nation disposed to the rule of law. A true human rights leader.

This is actually true, but you will never believe it, because you are too stoned on propaganda.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sino/wiki/fakenews-china

Don't @ me, as the kids say, I'm not going to waste my time discussion this here, and it's also off topic.

[The Great One]

No Raps. The Knicks on the other hand continues to get Christmas day games.

[golden]

I was thinking China .
The moral stand the NBA took on China post the Daryl Morey comments was truly brave and heroic.
Xi's China is the gold standard for an open and tolerant nation disposed to the rule of law. A true human rights leader.
This is easily seen in its treatment of its minority Christian, Muslim and Tibetan populations.

And the NBA went out of its way to remain silent on those human rights issues as to not upset the Chinese govt and the incredible merch revenue from "that group". It still goes out of its way to take their money.

So theres that bit of uncomfortable truth that stands in the way of an enlightened progressive knighthood for the league.

No doubt social justice and business is indeed a slippery slope… where do you draw the line? It’s literally endless. I mean, have you or I stopped buying products from China? Look in the mirror. That’s where Xi’s power is really coming from: Our wallets. If anything, the NBA is bringing some of our capital back to North America and putting it in friendly (albeit greedy) hands.

But it’s easy to understand why the NBA would take a stand on police brutality against young black men. That’s a no brainer issue to rally behind, given the demographics of the players.

[Kagemusha]

This is actually true, but you will never believe it, because you are too stoned on propaganda.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sino/wiki/fakenews-china

Don't @ me, as the kids say, I'm not going to waste my time discussion this here, and it's also off topic.

Thank you.
Many folks need to get the story from the other side.