Everything 2018 Off Season

[planetmars]

No Raptors on the NBA All-Defensive Teams. Kyle Lowry, the NBA's leader in drawn chargers, received 7 points, including 1 First Team vote. Fred VanVleet got 1 point.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 23, 2018

[KeonClark]

No Raptors on the NBA All-Defensive Teams. Kyle Lowry, the NBA's leader in drawn chargers, received 7 points, including 1 First Team vote. Fred VanVleet got 1 point.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 23, 2018

Raptors never even come close to win any awards lol

Shout out Lou Will tho I see you

[MixxAOR]

No Raptors on the NBA All-Defensive Teams. Kyle Lowry, the NBA's leader in drawn chargers, received 7 points, including 1 First Team vote. Fred VanVleet got 1 point.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 23, 2018

Top 5 defense somehow. I know it crumbled in playoffs but still

[LJ2]

The issue with Smart’s system isn’t the effort required to do it, it’s the (lack of) effort to break it at the NBA level. Smart’s system works at lower levels but would completely be destroyed at the NBA level where the ball handling, passing and athleticism of players would make it look comically bad.

Shaka Smart isn’t likely to ever leave the college level because his entire system only works at that level (or lower) of competition.

I hear ya. Gonna have to wait and see what Masai comes up with

[Shaolin Fantastic]

There's a risk to letting Lowry/Ibaka/DeMar/JV run their deals down to the last year and then hoping you can get value back for their expirings. Atlanta tried that with Horford/Teague/Millsap and got squat for them, because they likely couldn't find any good deals.

Those 4 are good players who could bring value to teams (especially Lowry, DeMar and JV), teams might actually prefer having them for a couple of years rather than giving up assets for a rental.

[rocwell]

.@Raptors will be holding a pre-draft workout today with Jon Elmore, Marcus Foster, Jairus Lyles, Dakota Mathias, Marcus Lee and Nana Foulland. #WetheNorth

— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) May 24, 2018

[Shaolin Fantastic]

Top 5 defense somehow. I know it crumbled in playoffs but still

It crumbled in the playoffs because it was 29th against top 10 offenses during the regular season.

We're flat-track bullies defensively, that's all.

[DanH]

There's a risk to letting Lowry/Ibaka/DeMar/JV run their deals down to the last year and then hoping you can get value back for their expirings. Atlanta tried that with Horford/Teague/Millsap and got squat for them, because they likely couldn't find any good deals.

Those 4 are good players who could bring value to teams (especially Lowry, DeMar and JV), teams might actually prefer having them for a couple of years rather than giving up assets for a rental.

And if that's the case, they should explore that option. I don't believe that's the case at all, and moving them for something like a late 1st will have little to no impact on any rebuild. If there are great options that can actually make a rebuild go faster, great. There won't be (except perhaps for DeMar, which is why he should really be moved now, as his value doesn't project to rise as his contract shortens) but such is life.

No one is opposed to an immediate tear down and rebuild in a world where NBA teams are offering franchise changing young talent for Serge Ibaka. We just don't live in such a world. Unless the Knicks are dumb again, which is the ultimate exception to every statement. If the Raps can get teams to bite on deals like the Fultz+ for Lowry deal, or get the Knicks to throw a 1st that could end up in the lotto for Serge, they should absolutely chase that down. I just think such offers are long shots to even exist, and if they can't get returns like that, there's little upside to taking a non-lotto 1st or package of 2nds along with dead salary rather than waiting a year and seeing if you can get better than that.

[rocwell]

Former Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey will be a primary target of the Pistons coaching search, league sources tell ESPN. Full story soon on site. https://t.co/GpB9Qs9qXt

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 24, 2018

[LJ2]

Former Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey will be a primary target of the Pistons coaching search, league sources tell ESPN. Full story soon on site. https://t.co/GpB9Qs9qXt

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 24, 2018

Interesting....

[Other Scott]

If I were Dwane I'd almost rather wait a year. There's no worse situation in the league than the Pistons, in my opinion.

[slaw]

The issue with Smart’s system isn’t the effort required to do it, it’s the (lack of) effort to break it at the NBA level. Smart’s system works at lower levels but would completely be destroyed at the NBA level where the ball handling, passing and athleticism of players would make it look comically bad.

Shaka Smart isn’t likely to ever leave the college level because his entire system only works at that level (or lower) of competition.

I think he could probably play some adapted version of it with the guys in Milwaukee (or another team with similar level of freak athletes), but yeah, it's hard to see how that kind of full-court pressing havoc would work in the NBA.

I'm pretty sure a coach can utilize more than one system. I can't believe the reason he would never leave college is cause he couldn't employ a full court press in the NBA. The idea that everyone is locked into the status quo is simply untrue.

[planetmars]

If I were Dwane I'd almost rather wait a year. There's no worse situation in the league than the Pistons, in my opinion.

The expectations in Detroit though would make that a pretty good role for Casey. They just need to make the playoffs.. and Casey is more than capable of accomplishing that goal even with that roster.

[Fully]

And if that's the case, they should explore that option. I don't believe that's the case at all, and moving them for something like a late 1st will have little to no impact on any rebuild. If there are great options that can actually make a rebuild go faster, great. There won't be (except perhaps for DeMar, which is why he should really be moved now, as his value doesn't project to rise as his contract shortens) but such is life.

No one is opposed to an immediate tear down and rebuild in a world where NBA teams are offering franchise changing young talent for Serge Ibaka. We just don't live in such a world. Unless the Knicks are dumb again, which is the ultimate exception to every statement. If the Raps can get teams to bite on deals like the Fultz+ for Lowry deal, or get the Knicks to throw a 1st that could end up in the lotto for Serge, they should absolutely chase that down. I just think such offers are long shots to even exist, and if they can't get returns like that, there's little upside to taking a non-lotto 1st or package of 2nds along with dead salary rather than waiting a year and seeing if you can get better than that.

This is well said. These conversations often become over simplified where if you're not willing to get on board with the half-baked and lopsided trade idea of the day, then you're happy with the status quo and enjoy mediocrity. I think the reality is that the trades that will be available for guys like DD, Lowry et al this summer are going to be for other high-priced players that have seemingly run their course with whatever team they're on now, or so-so draft capital and young prospects. Masai should 100% be busy this summer exploring whatever trade avenues he can, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see a very similar team return from last year. And it's not because he's afraid to rock the boat, or MLSE is handcuffing him to protect playoff revenue or whatever other narrative we've crafted in the walls of this forum over the last few weeks. It's because 95% of the deals we banter about on here never are actually on the table, and the options he does have won't likely a) improve our odds to breakthrough in the short term or b) considerably expand our ceiling in the long term.

If you can move DeRozan for a top four pick in the draft and something else, let's do it. If you can move Lowry for the number one pick from last year, Covington and other pieces, let's do it. I just find it hard to believe that teams are going to be lining up to give away big parts of their futures to us in exchange for guys we seem desperate to move after bricking out with us in the playoffs the last five years.

It's the overall disconnect in logic in these threads - "We're a fatally flawed team with guys who can't cut it when it counts and a tear down is completely necessary and oh by the way here's my list of three trades where we move those aforementioned players for assets A, B and C and build a powerhouse again in three seasons." It's never as simple as we make it out to be.

[G__Deane]

If I were Dwane I'd almost rather wait a year. There's no worse situation in the league than the Pistons, in my opinion.

Plus you have to leave Toronto for Detroit!