Everything 2017 Off-Season

[Hotshot]

To me, when someone starts their segment by saying "I'm just here to tell the truth" it's kind of hard to take them seriously after that. SAS and Will are on the show more for performance art/acting more than actual analyzing. But I guess it is entertainment and they're getting paid well for it.

That's why they call it Tell-A-vision.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

Siakam pretty clearly demonstrated he has 3-point range with the 905 and in summer league.

Shot 29% in the DL I think? That needs to get better.

[SkywalkerAC]

Shot 29% in the DL I think? That needs to get better.

This was maybe from playoffs? (50% on 2.4 attempts, 5 games)

https://www.basketball-reference.com/dleague/players/s/siakapa01d.html

[Demographic Shift]

I don't think it is as simple as starting vets. If so, Patterson would have started over Siakam.

That's one of the things that always made me wonder about PatPat. That he didn't want to start. Everyone wants to start. It says your the guy at that position.

[KHD]

That's one of the things that always made me wonder about PatPat. That he didn't want to start. Everyone wants to start. It says your the guy at that position.

but he did want to start?

[Demographic Shift]

but he did want to start?

That's the head scratcher...why? He is a pro athlete. To get that far up the pyramid you have to want it. You have to be as competitive as you are skilled. And PPat got to the top. He played in a big time US basketball school and he got drafted inthe first round. Yet Pat seemed to be unwilling or uncomfortable or unsomething about starting as he seemed to be OK lining up behind Scola and Siakam.

Wonder at times if it was that quirk, an unwillingness to start in as competitive an industry as there is, pro sports, that had him fall out of favour here. Cuz he did fall. All the way to a 3 year 16$M deal in a flyover place.

[psrs1]

I don't think it is as simple as starting vets. If so, Patterson would have started over Siakam.

Part of it has to do with Casey's stubbornness. He is slow to adjust and adapt even when it is apparent to most seems most logical.

[golden]

Toronto Raptors

Additions: OG Anunoby, Lorenzo Brown, K.J. McDaniels, Alfonzo McKinnie, C.J. Miles, Malcolm Miller

Subtractions: DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Patrick Patterson, P.J. Tucker

2016-17 Cap Space: None. Above Salary Floor. Right at Luxury Tax.

2017-18 Maximum Cap Space: None. $13.5 million over

Analysis: Facing incredible luxury tax concerns with two starters and three key reserves hitting free agency at the same time, the Toronto Raptors were almost in a no-win situation. Instead they came away with better than expected deals for the two starters and committed to a youth movement for their bench.

Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka both re-signed for three years, which is a win in and of itself given their age. That they got both for less than the max is an additional win. Lowry got $93 million and Ibaka $65 million. While neither is checking into the poor house anytime soon, both took less than their respective max amount to remain in Toronto. All around, this is a win for the Raptors. Both are productive and fit in great with DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas in the starting lineup.

Filling out the opening squad is likely to be C.J. Miles or Norman Powell. Miles replaces DeMarre Carroll, who was traded to the Nets in a salary dump designed around avoiding the luxury tax. Miles brings shooting and defensive versatility, both things the Raps hoped to get from Carroll, but all too often didn’t.

Powell has had an interesting run in Toronto. He’s either started or he’s barely seen time, especially last year. He’s a good defender and decent shooter and ball handler. He’s arguably the most athletic player of the Raptors regulars and plays extremely hard. If he doesn’t start, he’s likely to fill the sixth man role this year.

Beyond the Miles/Powell starter/sixth man decision, the rest of the Raptors rotation seems reasonably set. They gave up Carroll and Cory Joseph in trade and let productive reserves Patrick Patterson and P.J. Tucker walk. There was no reasonable way to retain all of them, as the luxury tax bill to do so would have hit unprecedented territory for the franchise. By letting each go, the Raptors not only saved money, but also freed up time for younger players, with whom the team needs to figure out exactly what they have.

Delon Wright will take Joseph’s spot as the primary backup behind Lowry. Given Lowry’s sketchy health history recently, Wright may be called upon to give Toronto quality minutes on a regular basis. Joseph, while he has his flaws, was steady playing behind or next to Lowry. Wright has a lot of potential, but hasn’t shown much in his limited playing time to date.

Patterson’s minutes will largely go to last year’s lottery pick Jakob Poeltl. He flashed at times and is an interesting contrast to Jonas Valanciunas, with his offensive game. There has occasionally been buzz that the two can play together, but that screams defensive deficiencies that can’t be overcome. More likely is that Poeltl continues to develop behind Valanciunas and one or the other eventually becomes a tradable piece.

Offseason Grade: C+. Toronto has been a playoff team for four straight seasons, but the question has to be asked: Did they peak in 2016 with 56 wins and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance? The Raptors weren’t in a position to rebuild, not when they’ve been this good for a while now. They also didn’t want to lock in for four to five years with this group. They did a good job of straddling both, by signing Lowry and Ibaka, but not crippling the franchise by signing everyone. That said, this team still has major holes on the bench. Only Miles/Powell, Poeltl and Wright seem ready to contribute and the Raptors are about out of tradable assets. They need someone else to step forward or injuries and lack of depth could sink them.

Long-term Grade: C-. While they avoided the pitfall of being capped out forever, Toronto still has considerable money tied up for the next three seasons in players who are all in their post-prime years in Lowry, DeRozan and Ibaka. They also don’t have any surefire young talent on the roster. The best hope is that OG Anunoby develops into a 3&D plus player or Powell takes a major step forward. And hey, maybe Bruno Caboclo really is now just a year away!

https://basketball.realgm.com/analys...fseason-Review

[tDotted]

This. Will Cain nailed it.

Yup. Kyrie is a punk

[Cody73]

Actually, some nice things from that Casey Q and A.

He explicitly says JV will be the starting C, and that Poeltl and BeBe will be battling for backup C minutes behind him (which to me suggests that Ibaka at C looks will be somewhat limited at least, so that's good).

Really sounds like Delon will get all of Cory's minutes, Casey threw in a Van Vleet mention but he was talking primarily about Wright.

He mentions that Siakam will compete for backup 4 (not sure who with). He mentions Norm when he's talking about young players who have to step up to new roles this year, but it's unclear if he's talking about him as a bench piece.

Talks about not reinventing the wheel with the offence, says they will look to move the ball side to side more, attack a moving defence, score earlier in the clock and pass more. More disciplined shot selection, specifically references something he calls a "shot spectrum", how they judge the quality of players' shots. Says he doesn't want to change who DeMar and Kyle are, but wants to make sure they use them and Serge efficiently - which hopefully speaks to fewer post ups for Serge, fewer isolations for the guards, more PnR looks.

That all sounds reasonable and it makes sense. I hope that we see the pick & pop used more in addition to the PNR's.

[KHD]

That's the head scratcher...why? He is a pro athlete. To get that far up the pyramid you have to want it. You have to be as competitive as you are skilled. And PPat got to the top. He played in a big time US basketball school and he got drafted inthe first round. Yet Pat seemed to be unwilling or uncomfortable or unsomething about starting as he seemed to be OK lining up behind Scola and Siakam.

Wonder at times if it was that quirk, an unwillingness to start in as competitive an industry as there is, pro sports, that had him fall out of favour here. Cuz he did fall. All the way to a 3 year 16$M deal in a flyover place.

there were multiple interviews pre-season where he hinted at wanting to start prior to casey starting scola over him.

just because the guy was a good teammate doesn't mean he wasn't upset about being benched for shitty players.

[Demographic Shift]

there were multiple interviews pre-season where he hinted at wanting to start prior to casey starting scola over him.

just because the guy was a good teammate doesn't mean he wasn't upset about being benched for shitty players.

He could well have been upset....and if he was pissed by being pushed to the bench....where was the push in his game to make Casey start him by lighting it up...if he really wanted to start rather than hinting at it...in sports actions/production is paramount.

from ownership to the GM to the coach to the players to the equipment guys ...they all want to win..there is no hidden agenda in sports.... (except for the Hinkies)

To me...Ppats " I am going to ball this up and ram it up your ass motor" seemed to be intermittent....and it has probably cost him long term...he gets about the same money as Kyle Singler ...ouch.

I only follow the east..is there any news on wether pat starts in OKC ?

[Scraptor]

Long-term Grade: C-. While they avoided the pitfall of being capped out forever, Toronto still has considerable money tied up for the next three seasons in players who are all in their post-prime years in Lowry, DeRozan and Ibaka. They also don’t have any surefire young talent on the roster. The best hope is that OG Anunoby develops into a 3&D plus player or Powell takes a major step forward. And hey, maybe Bruno Caboclo really is now just a year away!

I don't think Lowry and DeRozan are in their post-prime years. But other than that, this is accurate.

[KeonClark]

I don't think Lowry and DeRozan are in their post-prime years. But other than that, this is accurate.

Yeah that's pretty ridiculous. The average age of our big 3 is 29. If that's post prime than LeBron must be getting set to retire as he's 33 at Christmas

[007]

I don't think Lowry and DeRozan are in their post-prime years. But other than that, this is accurate.

Saying that DeMar is "past his prime" is a pretty idiotic statement lol