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I would disagree that Toronto is in "no man's land" and I don't want to get into the treadmill/tank debate but Ujiri isn't going to blow up a team that has won 48 and 49 games (and will win about that again) and will make the playoffs three years straight. It isn't going to happen. He didn't sign Carroll, JV, Joseph and try to sign Aldridge cause he wants to rebuild. This trade Lowry and Derozan nonsense is fantasy land stuff. It isn't happening.
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Bought into the nonsense hype of having an all 6'6 and up starting lineup. Then they said fuck it, let's get a 6'6 backup PG too. I mean, a pick for Vasquez? What else were they thinking? Then they decided they needed more scoring. So.. Monroe.S.R. wrote: View Post
Bucks didn't learn from us: if you had a good defensive team the year before, going after offensive players will hurt your defense.Comment
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Good teams do tend to get better or stay good (until things start going wrong and the plug gets pulled). For years and years I predicted that the Hawks would fail out of the playoffs and time and time again they've at it, even without a good fanship to buoy them up! Next thing you know they're one of the top teams in the league. The Bulls had an MVP in Rose but for the most part they've just gotten better without him. The Mavs are constantly rotating in new faded stars around Dirk, and they hang in there. The Spurs are the Spurs.
Sure, there are truly great players, but we've got a pretty great player in Lowry. The difference maker for a lot of these teams is just a relentless pursuit of winning basketball. We've become a winning basketball organization and we (probably) haven't found our long-term coach yet, we haven't added our Pau Gasol/LMA/veteran star yet (though Scola is pretty sweet at times), and we already have a prospect-laden roster (and rights to some not on the roster).
Bruno, Bebe, Powell, Wright, Daniels, Bennett. Then Cory, Jonas, Ross, Biyombo are how old? Then you get into JJ and DeMar and Patterson starting to approach their primes, with Lowry and Carroll being the guys in the thick of it, and Scola at the tail end. That you have all this youth developing on a competitive squad is something to be celebrated.
If you really want to 'get out of no man's land' and get good, you've got to be willing to let your team grow up and become a veteran.
And don't forget about the picks we already have, Nando neither.Comment
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Wouldn't that be how we define "no man's land" though? That is, a playoff team that isn't much of a threat to advance? A team that is too good for a high draft pick, and too crappy to compete for a title? A team that is on the verge of maintaining this status for the 3rd consecutive year?slaw wrote: View PostComment
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I want to say i appreciate you certainty, but alas, I cannot.slaw wrote: View Post
Lowry I can agree with, but in no way does keepeing demar make us a bettter team. I am not going into that debate again, but if you search it you will find about a billion results as to why keeping Demar is a pisspoor idea that does nothing to benefit this team as it is now being constructed.Comment
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Another thing to think about is that Ujiri is also playing the ultra-long game and positioning himself for #BringWiggyHome. The earliest that can happen is 2019, albeit very unlikely. Knowing that Wiggins and other Canadian stars are available as part of the Lebron-inspired "stars coming home" NBA trend is a huge recruiting advantage to the Raps in the next decade. or so. Just gotta be patient folks - which pro-tankers should really have no problem with.
http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/...r-now-at-leastIf the Timberwolves do everything they can to keep him around, the earliest Wiggins can become an unrestricted free agent — and come home to Toronto, naturally — is after the 2018-19 season, which would be Wiggins’ fifth year in the league. To earn free agency, Wiggins would, theoretically, have to turn down a large contract extension from Minnesota following the 2016-17 season and eschew the restricted free agency process, which would allow the Timberwolves to match any offer, a year later. It is worth noting that since the current structure of the collective bargaining agreement has been in place, no player has turned down a maximum-value extension from his incumbent team. So, the dreamers have Wiggins likely doing something unprecedented.Comment
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Can we really call it a "trend" if it only happened once? It certainly didn't happen for Nashgolden wrote: View Post
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True, enough. Melo went home, as did Aldridge (sort of). T-Mac, of course. But you're right, there always seems to be way more 'chatter' about FAs going home than actually doing it (Bosh, Dwight, CP3, Draymond, D-Will, and Nash - thank god to name a few). Money talks the loudest, with the extra year of security that the current team can offer trumping almost anything else. Best chance to win a chip is also a big factor.Nilanka wrote: View PostCan we really call it a "trend" if it only happened once? It certainly didn't happen for Nash
But, hey, we got CoJo! And Bennett, lol. That's a start.Comment
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I'm not making a normative judgment about keeping or trading either of them. I'm just stating the obvious: Ujiri isn't trading either guy. It isn't going to happen. Should he? That's another question entirely.Snooch wrote: View PostComment
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we are in a real pickle with DD.
Sure, right now we go iso DD too much, but let's not forget this team actually talks about not having an offensive system. They have plays that they run but it's sporadic and not part of a system.
The pickle is, we don't know how DD would perform in a real system. Look at the coaches we've had since we got DeMar. As much as DeMar is guilty of trying to be Kobe lite, it's not like he's ever had to change his play or be held accountable for it.
So, do you let him go and give up? Or do you sign him and a new coach and see how things play out? It's a misjudgment in my opinion by Masai, and one that could potentially come back and bite him in the ass whether we sign DD or not.
Sunny ways my friends, sunny ways
Because its 2015 Comment
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Without a doubt resigning DD will be a big concern for MU. He has on a smaller scale let people walk as in the case with Lou. Lou wanted to be here but did not help our perimeter defense issues. We have extended Ross which may prove to be a mistake. It will be interesting to see what type of money demar is expecting. Also Amir was allowed to walk and mainly I think it had to do with his health going forward. MU is capable of making good choices.Comment
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Didn't think it deserved it's own thread, but thought this should be seen. Here it is:
Records & efficiency in games played between teams that are currently over .500. 4 games within this group tonight: pic.twitter.com/0cYQKHZs7J
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) November 27, 2015
Raptors are currently tied with Golden State for the most wins (5) against teams with a record over .500, and have the third best winning percentage in such games (behind San Antonio and GS obviously) at .714.Comment
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But those wins don't count man because the other team wasn't trying or they were tired or they had injuries or the Raps just got lucky or Saturn was in it's Taurus phase or something. But can you believe they lost 2 of those games!? God the Raptors suck. Terrible.Shantz wrote: View PostComment
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Golden State's numbers, holy shit. That's against winning teams.Shantz wrote: View Post"We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi LeonardComment
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My take:
(1) Get a true superstar, a proven #1 or #2 option who can carry the burden of a team - Lowry is there, but he can't do it alone. Ideally this person is a wing (2 or 3).
(2) DeRozan needs to go (UNLESS we can sign him for a non-max salary AND we bring in a coach who can keep his inefficient game and poor decision making in check). He's not a #1 or #2 option player.
(3) KEEP LOWRY AT ALL COSTS - elite PG's are essential in today's NBA and he is one of them
(4) Fire Casey - hire a good coach
Everything else is just minor tweaking.Comment
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