What IS the core? Who make it up?

[Katman]

if you tear down a team you keep the Max player since others are replaceable. Max players are tough to replace so they are Max

lol or tough to trade because you are an idiot GM who grossly overpaid

[DanH]

The core of this team, as being judged right now to see if they can work together, is JV, DD and KL. Our two all-stars and our most promising young player.

[Snooch]

Honestly the core right now is

Cujo, JV, Ross and the rookies.

Demar and Lowry are at an age where they are gonna produce the most now and for maybe 2 more years, then that production declines and others need to take up the mantle and they take on a more supportive role. Efficiencies should then increase.

Only I cannot see Demar doing that, nor can I see his efficiency increasing after 6 years of playing basketball in the nba.


Demar and Lowry are for winning now and aquiring more core pieces.

[planetmars]

From an outsider looking in I would think that Casey, DD and KL make the core.. and that Carrolll was just added to it.

[distorsun]

It's a project-core and it's build to sustain change.
In other words, MU is putting himself in a position to upgrade when the opportunity shows up.
That being said.
Right now : DD Klow JV Carrol

Eventually, one of them will be used for an upgrade within the next 15months.

[BobLoblaw]

Masai never liked letting decent players walk, he prefered to re-sign / extend them and then maybe trade eventually.

Now with the cap going up and cap space losing a lot of its value for the next two years, that strategy makes even more sense.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

I think the core refers to the key players on the team who are the focal points, around which the team is built. Ideally, the core would be relatively young, or at least within a similar age range, so that their window for winning is the same.

Role players get added around the core, to fill gaps. Young players can be added in the hopes that they will develop, both individually skill-wise and chemistry-wise with the existing core, so that they become part of the core going forward. Older players eventually slip out of the core, to be replaced with younger players.

I see the core breaking down as this:

Primary Core - DeRozan, Lowry

Secondary Core - Valanciunas, Patterson, Carroll, Joseph

Could become part of the core - Ross, Wright, Bruno, Bebe, Powell, Daniels

Not part of the core - Scola, JJ

[Apollo]

Masai never liked letting decent players walk, he prefered to re-sign / extend them and then maybe trade eventually.

Now with the cap going up and cap space losing a lot of its value for the next two years, that strategy makes even more sense.

Right, now it's a buyers' market in terms of FA and re-signings. In two years who really knows what the going rate is going to be. I know it's probably not as simple as applying a ratio.

I see the core breaking down as this:

Primary Core - DeRozan, Lowry

Secondary Core - Valanciunas, Patterson, Carroll, Joseph

Could become part of the core - Ross, Wright, Bruno, Bebe, Powell, Daniels

Not part of the core - Scola, JJ

Marketwise it may not be the case right now but in my opinion there isn't a more valuable player on roster than JV. He's a young skilled big man with lots of upside, who plays efficient ball and were he getting the volume and minutes of DeMar DeRozan he would be an all-star (ie: Give him ten more minutes and twice as many attempts and he'd average 24 & 12). In fact I think he will be an all-star this year because Casey can't keep the dog on the leash anymore. Kid is ready. Game on.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Marketwise it may not be the case right now but in my opinion there isn't a more valuable player on roster than JV. He's a young skilled big man with lots of upside, who plays efficient ball and were he getting the volume and minutes of DeMar DeRozan he would be an all-star (ie: Give him ten more minutes and twice as many attempts and he'd average 24 & 12). In fact I think he will be an all-star this year because Casey can't keep the dog on the leash anymore. Kid is ready. Game on.

Oh you don't have to convince me. If the Raptors were a teen romance novel, I'd totally be team-Valanciunas!

Having said that, given all the talk from both MU & DC about JV still being a work in progress, I don't think he's viewed as an equal part of the primary core alongside DeRozan and Lowry; it's still their team. There's no doubt that he's on the cusp of joining them, and I think that is MU's expectation.

[007]

I think Ross will definitely get extended. At best, he turns out to be a fringe starter, a good player to have coming off the bench, and a good trade chip. At worst he stays at the level he is, but he's on a low contract and we can keep him as an okay bench player who knows the system + the players here.


And JV is the most valuable player on the team. We need to extend him.

[Cody73]

The core group of players is JV, Lowry, DD and Carroll. Everyone else is simply part of the supporting cast until proven otherwise. If Ross was a core piece of the puzzle they wouldn't have had to go out and spend $60 million on Carroll.

Doesn't mean you don't extend Ross if the price is right.

How many times do we have to discuss that Ross has been playing out of position for ages? He was never fully suited to play SF, yet because of our options, we put him there.


If Fields still had a shot, he'd be our SF and Ross would've been the back-up SG.

[Snooch]

How many times do we have to discuss that Ross has been playing out of position for ages? He was never fully suited to play SF, yet because of our options, we put him there.


If Fields still had a shot, he'd be our SF and Ross would've been the back-up SG.

Its because of Ross' low iq and lack of cutting backdoor though that is the real reason he has been forced to play out of position since he was a rookie.

[Apollo]

Oh you don't have to convince me. If the Raptors were a teen romance novel, I'd totally be team-Valanciunas!

Having said that, given all the talk from both MU & DC about JV still being a work in progress, I don't think he's viewed as an equal part of the primary core alongside DeRozan and Lowry; it's still their team. There's no doubt that he's on the cusp of joining them, and I think that is MU's expectation.

Must be a difference in definition then. I think JV is the player least likely to be traded, most valuable, most important to the future and so certainly a part of the core. It doesn't matter that he's not in his prime in my definition.

[raptors999]

Its because of Ross' low iq and lack of cutting backdoor though that is the real reason he has been forced to play out of position since he was a rookie.

Nobody in Casey's offence cuts. 2Pats didn't decide to suddenly stopped playing pick n poo and players didn't suddenly stop passing because they're selfish. It's been 5 years its by design. It's stupid but planned, just like the retarded defense.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Must be a difference in definition then. I think JV is the player least likely to be traded, most valuable, most important to the future and so certainly a part of the core. It doesn't matter that he's not in his prime in my definition.

In terms of long-term value and likeliness to be traded, I definitely agree. I think part of the definition includes role and usage, in terms of the player's importance to the team's overall game-planning - that's where I see him being a rung lower than DeRozan and Lowry (rightfully or wrongfully).