Doug Smith Thinks a Roster Blowup is Likely

[Apollo]

Bye, Rasho.

See ya, Patrick.

I can say with pretty much certainty that those are two fellows – both good guys who’ll be missed in the whole ‘hey, what’s happening’ conversational vein – who will have walked off the Air Canada Centre court last night for the last time as Raptors but it begs the question, who else is gone?

Of course, Chris Bosh is the big question and we all know there’ll be more than enough speculation about him for the next little while that it’s not worth getting into it today.

But how about a couple of others? As I watched Antoine Wright walk to the elevator on crutches after it was all over, I figure that might the last time I see him around the Raptors locker room because he’s a free agent and I’m not sure there’s room for him, as I’ve mentioned a few times before.

But what about Turk? Or one of the point guards? Or Reggie Evans?

Think they’ll all be back?

If I had to guess, and that’s all it is right now, I would think Bryan would want to give Turk another year to redeem himself but I do think he’ll move one of his point guards and I am pretty certain he’ll try hard to move Reggie sometime this summer.

So that’d make another five guys at least gone from the roster and if Bosh goes, that’ll make six. And let’s say they can’t find a contract number that suits Amir Johnson, also a free agent, and that promising young big moves, too.

That’s seven guys gone, almost half the roster, and here we go again with the blowing up.

Doug Smith's Toronto Raptors blog

[cornbreadd]

Of course Turk will be back, I think Bryan will know that no other team would think about taking Turk off our hands now

[Doc]

Although a blow-up is likely in the books, no wonder this team goes nowhere season to season. We have no cohesiveness and when you change your roster a considerable amount every year you don't allow yourself a team that can mesh together as one. While I agree and that changes need to be made, its time for BC to earn his pay, smarten up and make changes where guys can grow together moving forward instead introducing 6 to 7 new players every bloody season.

[Apollo]

The last off-season changes were a bid to keep Bosh. This years changes will be part of a rebuild. I think things will slow down a little after this summer. The summer after they won the division Colangelo had little activity. I think it was because he didn't want to tamper with something that was working and he had no real pressures on him like he does now.

[Dave]

Radical offseason changes will continue as long as Bargnani is considered a foundation block.

His lack of impact will forever cause this team to under-perform relative to management's expectations = need for change

[Apollo]

Why is that? Why can't he be a supporting #2 option like Rashard Lewis? He already posts better numbers than Rashard at half the cost. You place him with a traditional center who can clean the boards and suddenly his perceived impact might greatly increase. Bargnani is a building block, not the cornerstone.

[Dave]

Why is that? Why can't he be a supporting #2 option like Rashard Lewis? He already posts better numbers than Rashard at half the cost. You place him with a traditional center who can clean the boards and suddenly his perceived impact might greatly increase. Bargnani is a building block, not the cornerstone.

(1) The main difference between Lewis and Bargnani is their defensive play. Lewis is an above average defensive power forward who plays good-to-very good man-to-man defense and very good team defense whereas Bargnani is a below average man-to-man defender and a very poor team defender. Consequently, Bargnani's positive offensive contributions become negated by his lousy defense while Lewis adds positive defensive contributions on top of his positive offensive contributions.

(2) Lewis is a poor example because he has a horrific contract and the only reason Orlando is able to be successful with him is their ownership's willingness to pay ridiculous luxury tax costs to bail out their GM's mistakes + the individual brilliance of one Dwight Howard.

Making decisions based on Lewis' situation without having those two variables in place will lead to disaster.

(3) Lewis is the third or fourth option offensively for the Magic. Bargnani would be a very effective offensive player if in a similar role, pecking order, offensively ... but is, to date, incapable of being a #2 option because of his reliance on others to create his scoring opportunities. Not a go-to scorer. A complementary + highly effective weapon offensively.

[Apollo]

Did you watch the game last night? Andrea was driving to the hoops like he owned the court. I think he can create on his own. He just needs to become more aggressive. I also think he has all the tools to be an excellent defender. He just needs the right teacher and to hold himself accountable on that end. I think he's an excellent piece to a core group if he's used properly.

[Dave]

Did you watch the game last night? Andrea was driving to the hoops like he owned the court. I think he can create on his own. He just needs to become more aggressive. I also think he has all the tools to be an excellent defender. He just needs the right teacher and to hold himself accountable on that end. I think he's an excellent piece to a core group if he's used properly.

If one feels that Bargnani has that type of potential then the Raptors should keep him.

I, however, have no confidence in Bargnani's potential.

[Apollo]

He's improved every year in the league. I have no confidence in his consistency right now but I appreciate what he can do when he puts it together.

[Dave]

He's improved every year in the league. I have no confidence in his consistency right now but I appreciate what he can do when he puts it together.

I don't think Bargnani has shown much improvement over his first four seasons. Some, yes, but not a lot. Especially not over a four year period.

I believe most of Bargnani's perceived development is down to playing time. He has simply been given more minutes than he was in the past ... with no regard to his limitations/flaws.

I do not think Bargnani's past improvements are a positive indicator of future development. I think it's the opposite. I view it as damning evidence.

[mo-sales]

Bargs major problem is that he can't put a full season together. Everyone forgets the first half the year when he was killing opponents inside and out. When his three is dropping he is as dangerous a weapon as there is.

Everyone keeps trying to turn him into something he is not. Why can't we just accept that he is a streaky shooter/scorer who can at times be tantalizing and others infuriating. He needs to improve his focus and effort level. He will never be a great rebounder so lets stop trying to force him to be. I think his biggest obstacle is that coaches keep trying to force him into a mold instead of just constantly tweaking what they've got.

I also understand I am extremely biased towards Bargs and will defend him until he abandons me in the fox hole.

[Dave]

I can live with Bargnani's rebounding so long as (1) His defense gets to the good-to-very good level at the very least (2) He grows more as a go-to scorer and becomes more difficult to take out of games

It's too difficult for a big man to have a consistent positive influence on his team when he is so poor on the backboards + well below average defensively. Too many negative contributions. They wipe out too many of the positives that Bargnani does bring to the table offensively.

[Apollo]

I'm not so sure he's below average on defense. I would call him average. If he had some more dependable teammates he may look a lot better.

[LBF]

(1) The main difference between Lewis and Bargnani is their defensive play. Lewis is an above average defensive power forward who plays good-to-very good man-to-man defense and very good team defense whereas Bargnani is a below average man-to-man defender and a very poor team defender. Consequently, Bargnani's positive offensive contributions become negated by his lousy defense while Lewis adds positive defensive contributions on top of his positive offensive contributions.

(2) Lewis is a poor example because he has a horrific contract and the only reason Orlando is able to be successful with him is their ownership's willingness to pay ridiculous luxury tax costs to bail out their GM's mistakes + the individual brilliance of one Dwight Howard.

Making decisions based on Lewis' situation without having those two variables in place will lead to disaster.

(3) Lewis is the third or fourth option offensively for the Magic. Bargnani would be a very effective offensive player if in a similar role, pecking order, offensively ... but is, to date, incapable of being a #2 option because of his reliance on others to create his scoring opportunities. Not a go-to scorer. A complementary + highly effective weapon offensively.

sorry, but bargnani is a good player and you're wrong on this.

Did you watch the game last night? Andrea was driving to the hoops like he owned the court. I think he can create on his own. He just needs to become more aggressive. I also think he has all the tools to be an excellent defender. He just needs the right teacher and to hold himself accountable on that end. I think he's an excellent piece to a core group if he's used properly.

where as you, you are right. i see his aggresiveness come out sometimes and i think once someone triggers him somehow he'll be really good.