Raptors Offseason 2022

[DanH]

DJ Wilson's salary is showing at $2.1M - do we have some type of option on him? Can he be signed & traded?

That would make a Khem+DJ+Malachi work for Clarkson.

We can trade DJ in December, not before.

[bertarapsfan]

Utah will be able to get a 1st round pick for clarkson at the deadline from a playoff team. They wouldn't move him for that package

[Hotshot]

Wembanyama is a string bean ready to snap at any moment.

You have to take him 1st overall but I really doubt he has a long injury free career.

You don't have to take him 1st overall. Every year new players emerge that could be stars, you just have to know what you are doing & have a bit of luck.

I think it's a big gamble reminiscent of the Zion Williamson draft. There was a concern at the time of his draft that his weight could cause him to be injury prone & maybe it was best to select Ja Morrant 1st overall cause he too looked like he is going to be a good player & safer pick. 3 years later and thus far it appears that going with Zion was the wrong pick (the next 2 seasons will clarify the situation a lot better if it hasn't already). This is also why Chet Holmgren was not picked first overall as he had the opposite problem (too skinny) and maybe now if you do a draft re-do (after the injury at the drew league) he might not be picked in the top 3.

Also the market does dictate if you are willing to take that gamble. 3 or 4 teams next season looking like they might get a shot at him: (Jazz, Pacers, Spurs and Rockets). I think in markets like Utah and San Antonio you might be more hesitant to take that gamble cause you have more issues of attracting free agents than markets such as Indiana or Houston and the setback of getting it wrong will be greater.

Edit: Than again Utah and Spurs got a whole bunch of picks to play with so maybe they can gamble more and select Wemban' first overall.

[planetmars]

RIP the Queen

[SkywalkerAC]

I don't think I see the same need for additional scoring punch that others are seeing. Moving Gary to a 6th man (of the year) role, and Scottie being so far ahead on his offensive development schedule, takes care of a lot of that.

[DanH]

I don't think I see the same need for additional scoring punch that others are seeing. Moving Gary to a 6th man (of the year) role, and Scottie being so far ahead on his offensive development schedule, takes care of a lot of that.

Agreed. IF (big if) they bring Gary off the bench, much is solved.

[big boi]

I don't think I see the same need for additional scoring punch that others are seeing. Moving Gary to a 6th man (of the year) role, and Scottie being so far ahead on his offensive development schedule, takes care of a lot of that.

We missed Gary's shooting in the starting lineup when he was unavailable last year, Hopefully improved and consistent shooting from Pascal, Scottie and Precious will mean he can be used as a 6th man this year.

[DanH]

We missed Gary's shooting in the starting lineup when he was unavailable last year, Hopefully improved and consistent shooting from Pascal, Scottie and Precious will mean he can be used as a 6th man this year.

We played 13 games where Trent didn't start.

One we started Dragic (LOL why). Two we started Svi for some reason. One was that December game against the Cavs where we had no roster players. Two more Yuta started.

So we had 7 games of non-Gary starters of any real predictive power for this season.

5 were with perpetually injured Khem Birch starting in his place. 2 were with Precious.

Not sure we have nearly enough evidence to suggest we know exactly what the team will struggle with if Gary doesn't start. I personally suspect we won't miss it as much as people assume - we played our best ball last season in the final couple months during which a) OG barely played and b) Fred shot like 28% from 3. Having those two guys in the lineup and healthy should more than offset the shooting Gary can bring to the lineup.

[big boi]

We played 13 games where Trent didn't start.

One we started Dragic (LOL why). Two we started Svi for some reason. One was that December game against the Cavs where we had no roster players. Two more Yuta started.

So we had 7 games of non-Gary starters of any real predictive power for this season.

5 were with perpetually injured Khem Birch starting in his place. 2 were with Precious.

Not sure we have nearly enough evidence to suggest we know exactly what the team will struggle with if Gary doesn't start. I personally suspect we won't miss it as much as people assume - we played our best ball last season in the final couple months during which a) OG barely played and b) Fred shot like 28% from 3. Having those two guys in the lineup and healthy should more than offset the shooting Gary can bring to the lineup.

Yeah, it really just appeared that we struggled to find high quality shots without him. Obviously small sample, we didn't have adequate depth, but I was surprised how much we seemed to miss him.

Although I will say another thing, when we missed other key players from the starting lineup, it also appeared that Gary had a much harder time finding the space to get the shots he wanted. I believe hat coincided with his slump last year if I recall correctly.

Hope springs eternal that he could slot in to the 6th man role, because I suspect it would be the best fit for the team, and I suspect it would even be the best fit for Gary - but I also suspect he won't see it that way.

[TrueTorontoFan]

We missed Gary's shooting in the starting lineup when he was unavailable last year, Hopefully improved and consistent shooting from Pascal, Scottie and Precious will mean he can be used as a 6th man this year.

we will see consistent shooting from pascal and Scottie this year I think a 1-2% improvement from each is possible and not too high in terms of expectations pascal shot 34.4 % last year he has shot as high as 36.8 in his career. I can see 35-36 and that is good enough and thats all you need not 40% not perfection good enough to keep defences honest and let the passing do the rest. gtj doesn't even shoot 40% himself... if you want a good shooter and you want one of the better shooters on the team inserted into the line up Otto exists. I wouldn't be against that but I also would understand if they kept him on the bench.

[TrueTorontoFan]

when ppl say I am a hater for saying more off ball fred

[SkywalkerAC]

Who isn't saying more off ball Fred (please)? Just don't say he's "not a point guard", that's just dumb and is akin to saying Steph Curry isn't a point guard.

[slaw]

Who isn't saying more off ball Fred (please)? Just don't say he's "not a point guard", that's just dumb and is akin to saying Steph Curry isn't a point guard.

If the Raps had a PG, which they don't, it's now Siakam. I would guess Pascal, Barnes and FVV will be the most common ballhandlers this season but if things work out they way they are supposed to then it won't matter who is initiating the offense.

[LJ2]

I don't think I see the same need for additional scoring punch that others are seeing. Moving Gary to a 6th man (of the year) role, and Scottie being so far ahead on his offensive development schedule, takes care of a lot of that.

I'll kind of disagree with this for now since this really is a brand new version of the offense which we'll be seeing this season. Last season being muddied with all the new faces combined with it being the first time Fred and Siakam were the clear leaders of the team. The hope is that you are absolutely correct about not needing additional scoring, however in the past we know once the Raps get into the playoffs we've needed and lacked that one guy who can go out there and get us a bucket no matter what the defense throws at them. Not expecting Siakam or Fred to provide the type of scoring Kawhi was able to, so having as many guys on the court that can score at a high level would be a good idea.

[Jclaw]

Thoughts on this? Seems like a schedule nightmare but I'm sure they've thought it out

Like, they say the rest of the teams will continue their normal schedule. But what if they were supposed to play one of the 8 playoff teams? And if you are one of the tournament teams, you get more games against good teams? Although I guess with the single elimination that works itself out. You only get more games if you win and wins are what counts.