How do we fix our defense?

[Ball]

Judging from your profile pick, Colangelo

Hmm I just thought of an even bigger sucker: Vlade Divac

[Rudy Bargnani]

I think it's gonna be tough to move Carroll without throwing in a sweetener. I hope it doesn't cost us a pick but it might. Remember we will be trying to dump salary and not bring much back.

Maybe trading back in the draft allows the raps to move him to a team with space. For example the Raps are projected to have the 22nd pick, while Brooklynn is projected to have the 25 and 26 pick. (From Washington and Boston).
So something like Carroll and the 22nd pick to Brooklynn for the 25th pick and a guy we can immediately cut.

Obviously I'd prefer to trade him without having to do add a prospect or a pick but I think it's unlikely there will be a big market for Carroll.

[golden]

The GM did his job and got the talent. The coach is doing his job and translating that talent into winning. plenty of scenarios where talented teams didn't live up to expectations but so far so good for this years Raptors. Let's see what this team looks like once Lowry gets back. Oh and for everyone that has written off Carroll, I have a feeling that he continues his recent trend and improves once Lowry gets back.

The GM is doing more than his job, compared to other GMs. Talent alone doesn't win. Talent + fit + attitude wins. I think this is where Masai separates himself from other GMs. He seems obsessed with things like fit and attitude, beyond talent and is loathe to mess with a successful team chemistry - but rather he continues to slowly tweak around the edges. That's why I was positive he would never bring in a guy like Cousins, who some feel is the most talented center in the NBA.

Look at Ibaka and Tucker. Could you imagine 2 more perfect fits for this team at a time when the season was heading south? And they were picked up for next to nothing at the trade deadline, where the sellers are trying to get you into an auction. That's brilliant GM'ing, putting a coach in a great position to win. Masai just seems to have that knack of acquiring what we need and giving up what we don't, for the most part.

Conversely, look at what Boston did at the trade deadline, with their motherlode of priceless trade assets. Crickets. And remember when the Celtics tanked the season for that one in a decade Wiggins draft. The big payoff was ......... Marcus Smart. lol.

[LJ2]

The GM is doing more than his job, compared to other GMs. Talent alone doesn't win. Talent + fit + attitude wins. I think this is where Masai separates himself from other GMs. He seems obsessed with things like fit and attitude, beyond talent and is loathe to mess with a successful team chemistry - but rather he continues to slowly tweak around the edges. That's why I was positive he would never bring in a guy like Cousins, who some feel is the most talented center in the NBA.

Look at Ibaka and Tucker. Could you imagine 2 more perfect fits for this team at a time when the season was heading south? And they were picked up for next to nothing at the trade deadline, where the sellers are trying to get you into an auction. That's brilliant GM'ing, putting a coach in a great position to win. Masai just seems to have that knack of acquiring what we need and giving up what we don't, for the most part.

Conversely, look at what Boston did at the trade deadline, with their motherlode of priceless trade assets. Crickets. And remember when the Celtics tanked the season for that one in a decade Wiggins draft. The big payoff was ......... Marcus Smart. lol.

Oh I totally agree. MU does look for players that fit and have great attitude. So do the Spurs. But to think that Pop doesn't play a big role in their success is crazy right? And remember before the trade for tucker and Ibaka and prior to This seasons version of DeMar, this team looked pretty ordinary. Lowry with a bunch of scrubs which Casey helped to make look like legit talent. And how great was Lowry before Casey started maximizing his talent? I think we take for granted that Lowry and DeMar blossomed under Casey. Both guys were super ordinary previously.

Anyway don't want to add to the same old argument. As we get near the playoffs I'm just hoping everyone gets behind both the team and coach. For better or worse this is the team we are going into the playoffs with so I'm going to support everyone.

[golden]

Oh I totally agree. MU does look for players that fit and have great attitude. So do the Spurs. But to think that Pop doesn't play a big role in their success is crazy right? And remember before the trade for tucker and Ibaka and prior to This seasons version of DeMar, this team looked pretty ordinary. Lowry with a bunch of scrubs which Casey helped to make look like legit talent. And how great was Lowry before Casey started maximizing his talent? I think we take for granted that Lowry and DeMar blossomed under Casey. Both guys were super ordinary previously.

Anyway don't want to add to the same old argument. As we get near the playoffs I'm just hoping everyone gets behind both the team and coach. For better or worse this is the team we are going into the playoffs with so I'm going to support everyone.

Yeah, just want to enjoy this run and looking forward to the playoffs, excitedly now. But one thing we do have to clear up here is that Kyle Lowry was not "super ordinary" before he came to the Raptors. In both 2011 and 2012 Lowry made appearances on the NBA MVP ladder top 10 rankings, while playing for Houston. It's hard to find the original Nba.com links now, but you'll have to take my word for it and check out the links below. Lowry's previous issues were injuries and inability to sustain his play over a whole season, but he wasn't some scrub off the scrap heap that was mentored by Casey. The issue was his attitude and the story of Masai giving him "the talk" has been told many times over, as well as the initial mis-use of Lowry by Casey. Glad that's all behind us.

NBA MVP Power Rankings: Static On Top As Kyle Lowry, Kyrie Irving Rise Up / Jan 25, 2012, 10:01am EST

7. Kyle Lowry Rockets 16.5 points on .564 TS%, 8.7 assists, 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals 10
The Rockets are now reflecting Lowry's genius, riding a hot streak into the playoff seeds. If Lowry and Kevin Martin can carry Houston all of the way into the postseason in Kevin McHale's first full season as a head coach, a whole lot of crow will be eaten around the league.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/1/2...y-kyrie-irving

UPDATED NBA MVP RANKINGS January 10, 2012

10. Kyle Lowry, PG Houston Rockets
Stats: 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.3 blocks, 3.2 turnovers, 43.8 percent shooting

Lowry has played at an All-Star level since long before last season ended, but he's only just starting to gain attention in the public sphere.He's fantastic at facilitating the offense for the Rockets and is incredibly involved at both ends of the court. This isn't a new trend for Lowry, and as long as he can stay healthy, it's hard to imagine his pace of play dropping off to the point where he doesn't remain firmly fixated in the mix.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...a-mvp-rankings

[SkywalkerAC]

This constitutes an epic defensive improvement - kudos all around!

[ogi]

Yeah, just want to enjoy this run and looking forward to the playoffs, excitedly now. But one thing we do have to clear up here is that Kyle Lowry was not "super ordinary" before he came to the Raptors. In both 2011 and 2012 Lowry made appearances on the NBA MVP ladder top 10 rankings, while playing for Houston. It's hard to find the original Nba.com links now, but you'll have to take my word for it and check out the links below. Lowry's previous issues were injuries and inability to sustain his play over a whole season, but he wasn't some scrub off the scrap heap that was mentored by Casey. The issue was his attitude and the story of Masai giving him "the talk" has been told many times over, as well as the initial mis-use of Lowry by Casey. Glad that's all behind us.

NBA MVP Power Rankings: Static On Top As Kyle Lowry, Kyrie Irving Rise Up / Jan 25, 2012, 10:01am EST


http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/1/2...y-kyrie-irving

UPDATED NBA MVP RANKINGS January 10, 2012


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...a-mvp-rankings

Yeah it's known Lowry was always a super talented dude who played hard. But what really surprised me is that those numbers get you to 7th in the MVP race lol.