Is this summer time to move Kleiza and Amir Johnson ?

[JoePanini]

We have a real nice bigman rotation with Bargnani, Davis and Amir.

[mcHAPPY]

After Derozan's work on his jump shot, Amir has been the guy that has impressed me the MOST this season. Davis has developed nicely and hopefully will continue to develop, but Amir is playing very solid and on a VERY reasonable contract. Just because Davis has the POTENTIAL to be better than Amir is not good enough reason to trade him. Amir still has a lot of potential as well, and a lot of room for his stock to rise. Small forward is our problem but we don't need to trade amir to address that. I also think that Davis WILL NOT be ready to start next year (at least not to the very end of the season) and I have yet to hear a compelling argument AGAINST keeping both, since we DO have the money. From a contracts perspective Jose's contract is way more of a liability than Amir's (and i still say keep calderon too, but that's another argument).

Really good post.

I don't see the need to trade Amir. Injuries/bad games/match ups/rest require more than two bigs. As you said, Amir's contract is very reasonable and Ed is still on his rookie deal for 3 more seasons. To me keeping both is a no brainer.

[ezz_bee]

After Derozan's work on his jump shot, Amir has been the guy that has impressed me the MOST this season. Davis has developed nicely and hopefully will continue to develop, but Amir is playing very solid and on a VERY reasonable contract. Just because Davis has the POTENTIAL to be better than Amir is not good enough reason to trade him. Amir still has a lot of potential as well, and a lot of room for his stock to rise. Small forward is our problem but we don't need to trade amir to address that. I also think that Davis WILL NOT be ready to start next year (at least not to the very end of the season) and I have yet to hear a compelling argument AGAINST keeping both, since we DO have the money. From a contracts perspective Jose's contract is way more of a liability than Amir's (and i still say keep calderon too, but that's another argument).

[Raptor4Ever]

Another Great Night for Evans

Do we really need to keep Amir and let Evans just walk away ?

[Multipaul]

your the biggest moron on here. Why don't u get it? Its his 2nd year for god sake, he's not MJ. I strongly disagree with him playing SF. Have you seen his mid range shot? it keeps getting better and better, i think you need to get yours eyes and brain checked. You don't have to be a great shooter to play SG, look at players like Andre Iguodala.

Calling someone a moron doesn't strengthen your reputation on this site

[Joey]

That's like saying a great looking girl with an awful personality and a ugly looking girl with a great personality balance each other out. They don't. They just make an odd pair of girls that no one wants to be with.

Analogy of the year.

[ezz_bee]

I agree with timbo, calling someone a 2 or a 3, (or 1,4,5) for that matter is irrelevent. They are used because people generally matchup against the player on the opposite team who is roughly their height. You do however see teams play "big" or play "small" If demar and weems are on at the same time it doesn't matter who you call the 2 or the 3, futhermore attaching at "2" to demar and a "3" to weems doesn't mean that they have to guard their counterpart on opposite teams (although that is how it usually) works. Demar could guard the other team's 2 one game and the next team's 3, it all depends on the match ups. I would love to see play "bigger" with bargs at the 3 in certain scenarios. Not sure he can defend all opposing 3s but i definitely think getting him out there could be very effective for a few possessions a game. I could see Amir, Evans, and Bargs being an effective defensive and rebounding frontcourt. It would also pose some problems for the oppositions defense and we could also potentially get quite a lot of offensive rebounds.

[Tim W.]

SG are suppose to be able to drill open 3s

Since when? Loads of SGs have not been great 3 point shooters (Michael Jordan was horrible his first 4 years in the league). What's the difference if your SG is a good 3 point shooter or your SF? It makes absolutely no difference. I agree that ONE of them should probably be a good 3 point shooter, but that has to do with spacing, not what position they play.

I've never cared when Bargnani has scored from because I think, in today's NBA, it's irrelevant. You could have your center take threes, your SG be in the post and your PF be great from mid-range. As long as the spacing is good and your offense is efficient.

[Brasky]

SG are suppose to be able to drill open 3s (especially with our starting 5), that'll never be his strength. He might become good but never great at it. He's just not that type of player. He can drill mid range shots all he wants from SF position.

Or we can get a SF who can drill open 3s and let Demar defend, post up and ferociously attack the opposing SG. That's probably where his biggest matchup advantage lies.

Either way, Demar is already nailing long 2s at a decent enough clip now, so it shouldn't be too much for him in a year or so to take a step or two back.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

SG are suppose to be able to drill open 3s (especially with our starting 5), that'll never be his strength. He might become good but never great at it. He's just not that type of player. He can drill mid range shots all he wants from SF position.

[Raptors_]

I know it's year 2 but he shouldn't be playing SG. Shooting isn't his strength and it most likely never will be. He should gain some mass and play SF.

your the biggest moron on here. Why don't u get it? Its his 2nd year for god sake, he's not MJ. I strongly disagree with him playing SF. Have you seen his mid range shot? it keeps getting better and better, i think you need to get yours eyes and brain checked. You don't have to be a great shooter to play SG, look at players like Andre Iguodala.

[Tim W.]

This thread is ridiculous. Trading Kleiza would not only be incredibly difficult, with his injury, but incredibly stupid, since you'd be selling at as low as possible.

As for Amir, he's the only current Raptor that would be a sure-fire rotation player on a contender because he's the only player on the Raptors who consistently does the little things and dirty work that help the team, while not being a liability while on the floor. The notion that he's overpaid is preposterous, whether he's starting or not. EVen on a good team he'd play 20-25 mpg because he's simply a good player who is highly efficient on the offensive end, defends and rebounds as well as hustles. He's never going to be a star, but he's the type of player you want on your team.

And to say that playing Bargnani and Davis together balances the offense and defense is laughable. That's like saying a great looking girl with an awful personality and a ugly looking girl with a great personality balance each other out. They don't. They just make an odd pair of girls that no one wants to be with.

[Raptor4Ever]

His #s have gone up since he got healthy (exclusing 1-13 because he was sick). He's shooting ~50%

irrelevant !!!

This was posted by Jeff_Hosteler in the other thread :

Every team needs a guy like Evans. What's great about Reggie is not only is he the glue, but he's such a goddamned beast on the boards. I've said it many times before, but the redundancy on the roster has to be sorted out. Given a possible PF rotation of:

Amir/ED
Amir/Evans
ED/Evans

I'd take ED/Evans. I don't see anything stopping Davis from becoming better than Amir. Or at the very minimum as good as. There is no need for the two together going forward, not when the Raps need upgrades at nearly every position. Amir should have good market value. Given his production this year his contract is highly reasonable, which should only help under whatever new CBA gets hammered out.

JJ and Kleiza can both play the 4 as well, so depth at the 4, even without Amir, is still solid. You can't replace what Evans brings - his boards, or his attitude. It's what the Raps need, and it's why I want Evans

[RaptorsFan4Life]

Trade Amir because he is cheap and still has room to grow. I prefer to see Bargs go and his 10 Mil and trade him while his value is as high as it is going to get. Outside of his scoring, his numbers are already in decline. Will the Raps wait until his scoring dips too?

His #s have gone up since he got healthy (exclusing 1-13 because he was sick). He's shooting ~50%

[Balls of Steel]

Trade Amir because he is cheap and still has room to grow. I prefer to see Bargs go and his 10 Mil and trade him while his value is as high as it is going to get. Outside of his scoring, his numbers are already in decline. Will the Raps wait until his scoring dips too?