Everything 2018 Off Season

[Ebonhawke]

I'm sure one of the 'concerns' with the Raptors trading into the draft, is that they won't have had any of their potential picks in for a workout, may not have attended any relevant 'pro days', and so you're making a franchise-altering decision based on watching NCAA games, and film.

[Other Scott]

Nurse: "I think we’re really close. Indiana takes Cleveland to 7, Boston takes them to 7, and we’re every bit as good as those 2 teams. I think a bounce of the ball here or there, us playing a little bit better, us coaching a little bit better and we’re in a dog fight."

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) June 14, 2018

wouldn't pay too much attention to quotes like these. Obviously he's trying to heal bruised egos

I mean, they ARE every bit as good (probably better) as Indiana and a Kyrie and Hayward-less Celtics team.

[KeonClark]

I mean, they ARE every bit as good (probably better) as Indiana and a Kyrie and Hayward-less Celtics team.

They are every bit as good as this years Cleveland Cavaliers. They choked

[Mindlessness]

Would watch out for the Cavs and Love. If Lebron leaves town that's a trade I could see the Cavs making. Raptors need to jump on that one quick.

Love was a great player but concussions have really dropped his play. In fact, I'd be worried for his health, he should consider retiring, concussions are no joke.

[MixxAOR]

"It's all coming down to the playoffs for us... that's where we find ourselves... and that's what we care about the most." - Nick Nurse right now on #TimAndSid pic.twitter.com/KzxCa0KHiS

— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) June 14, 2018

[Hotshot]

"It's all coming down to the playoffs for us... that's where we find ourselves... and that's what we care about the most." - Nick Nurse right now on #TimAndSid pic.twitter.com/KzxCa0KHiS

— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) June 14, 2018

Same team, no big changes confirmed.

[KeonClark]

"It's all coming down to the playoffs for us... that's where we find ourselves... and that's what we care about the most." - Nick Nurse right now on #TimAndSid pic.twitter.com/KzxCa0KHiS

— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) June 14, 2018

With each passing year the regular season becomes more and more meaningless. What a tough slog this is gonna be

[Rudy Bargnani]

Nice article by Koreen in The Athletic.
Nurse said he was asked during the interview “what happens if you get the job and then changes are made on draft night?”

Obviously doesn’t necessarily mean anything. But maybe it does....

[rapaholic]

https://theathletic.com/392853/2018/...alks-continue/

Memphis is looking to possibly unload Chandler Parsons contract and #4 pick. Would anyone be for trading Derozan for this? We would still be a playoff team for the next 2 years and at which point all of our contracts basically (including Parsons) would come off and we could possibly have enough money to sign 2 max FA's. We would be able to net 1 of Doncic / Bagley / Bamba / Jackson jr ..... I am a Derozan fan but would be all for this. Not sure Memphis would be interested though.

[The Great One]

Very close with DeRozan https://t.co/tjsgjSZjYw

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 14, 2018

[white men can't jump]

I'm already more excited for next season than I was at this time last summer for this past season.

My thoughts on the core and roster:

Now if we can just find a way to shed Ibaka and actually get even one half-decent piece and/or pick. Ibaka is the only guy who I think needs to be gone for basketball reasons. Guy just looked completely done in the playoffs, and even if he can start the season strong, it's hard to imagine him ever looking good in the playoffs again (unless we move him to the bench and just play him 20 mpg) after going through the grind of a season.

I'd like to see if DeMar can bring back either a high pick in this draft, or a nice package of young pieces and picks. If you can't figure something out at the draft, I'd try to get a deal done with his hometown Lakers. Something like Ingram/Randle, Kuzma and a future 1st (that might only be protected in the high lotto) would make me happy. Randle is an RFA though, so they might have to get creative if he's involved, and if it's Ingram they probably have to take back Deng's contract. I think if you want to get the best return for DeMar, it's risky to hold on to him. Not the end of the world or anything, but it's hard to see his value going up. I know people say "DeMar improves every year, though", but his game hasn't really grown in the right directions still after all this time. Still not defending, still not shooting well enough and despite noticeable improvement, still not playmaking as well as he could with the options at his disposal. Another poor playoff performance next year could crater his value.

Lowry is a tough call. His value in terms of return might be higher this summer than next, but next summer you can shop him as an expiring so it might be easier to find a trade partner. If you could trade him to a team in the late lotto for someone like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, though, I would have a hard time not pulling the trigger on that kind of deal. Happy to keep him if there's no "right" deal, though.

I don't think you really look to trade JV unless you're blown away by a deal. I wasn't too impressed with Poeltl's development. He is a good, mobile defender at C and strong offensive rebounder, but he is sorely lacking in other areas (defensive rebounding and offensive versatility being big concerns) and still just way too soft. With JV showing better speed/mobility last season and his D looking pretty strong most nights, I'd rather keep rolling with him. The age difference isn't that big, JV is on a cheap deal for what he brings to the table, and you might be able to get better value putting Poeltl in a deal (say, attaching him to Ibaka) than putting JV in one. Most importantly, JV once again showed he can be a big factor in playoff basketball. None of our other bigs, except at times Siakam (who's still kind of erratic), really showed that last year. Poeltl could still improve some of his weaknesses, but the softness and defensive rebounding really worry me. Those kinds of things rarely improve.

And don't trade any of the young guys if you don't have to, including Poeltl, who I just shat on in the last paragraph. Many of them showed good things in the playoff run and still have room to grow. Especially OG who is near-untouchable.

[slaw]

His wife (or maybe the team) finally made Nurse shave off that ridiculous goatee. Thank fuck.

[Joey]

His wife (or maybe the team) finally made Nurse shave off that ridiculous goatee. Thank fuck.

LOL Never realized what an incredible chin the man has:

I mean look at that thing .. why would you ever cover that up??

[Hotshot]

LOL Never realized what an incredible chin the man has:

I mean look at that thing .. why would you ever cover that up??

[KeonClark]

LOL Never realized what an incredible chin the man has:

I mean look at that thing .. why would you ever cover that up??

I'm not big on the dimple it's a step away from a butt chin.