Call me crazy, but now that Casey is on board, could JuJu be back in our plans?

[meductic]

Yeah, he is great. A superstar. There, I said it. He is just a victim, and a well paid one, although that does not mean anything...

[GarbageTime]

Wright is not a skilled offensive player... but that hardly means he has no offensive skills. He is a good ball handler and a great passer for his position. The only thing he lacks is a jump shot... while that is a hinderence, it doesn't mean he's useless out there. He plays within himself, as his 50% fg shows. No one is calling him a superstar. No one is saying he is great. No one is saying he is anything more than a role player. But he is is for damn sure better than Kleiza and Weems.

Considering the Raps were the worst defensive team in the league, I don't see how putting out a guy every game who is actually good at defense is a problem. There was no shortage of offense out there. There was a severe shortage of defense.

Quixotic - you are very much twisting my words with regards to Barbossa.

I also find interesting....

"but it's no different when a player relies on his one strength, whether offense or defense, and doesn't work on the other"

You are now talking about nearly the entire Raps roster. So what makes Wright so much different?

[Tony West]

Julian Wright is a low level NBA player. Period. God bless the guy, but we shouldn't waste anymore time talking about him. He sealed his fate last year with his antics. It was like a homeless man turning down a 20 dollar bill, "I only take loonies dawg". I mean, who knew he had a nickname? JuJu?? I respect the fact that he tries hard, defends his position, bla bla bla...but thats most likely because he knows the D League's a comin.

[Quixotic]

No, I'd argue he has a high basketball IQ. He can still be our Shawn Marion, if he can improve his 3-point shooting a smudge. Both Marion and JuJu score most of their points 10-ft and in.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Forget Marion, he might not even be able to be our DeShawn Stevenson. While I do agree Wright did a decent job for the team, we've got to stop blowing players out of proportion. You're not going to see other teams eying Wright, because most teams have guys like him, if not better. It should tell you something that the Hornets gave up their lottery project for Belinelli, and I don't think they regretted that trade one bit.

who cares how much he is getting paid? How does that influence anything?

It doesn't matter what he's getting paid in the NBA, whether a lottery rookie scale salary or a minimum contract. What matters is he was being paid at all. You get paid, you do your job. If you don't want to do your job, don't ask to get paid.

Being 'professional' doesn't mean you just do as you are told all the time... thats called being a pussy.

Sure, you don't have to do as you are told all the time... that's called being unemployed.

This isn't Solomon Alabi we are talking about. This is a guy who proved he deserved to be out there every day

Wow, such a proven player! Wait, what exactly has he proven? That 4 years after being picked 9th overall, he still hasn't improved his overall game? That he still hasn't managed to stay on the floor for at least 15 minutes on average per game? I value defense a lot, but it's no different when a player relies on his one strength, whether offense or defense, and doesn't work on the other. His previous team gave up on him, and likely the Raptors will as well. If anything, he has only proven to be a lottery bust.

I wish more players would have done what Wright did. I would have loved if all those guys on the bench sat there and refused to go in... send a message that what had been happening for the last 2-3 years was utter bullshit.

Because all those guys on the bench are completely blameless? Weems sending a message about the last 2 years would be hilarious! Ajinca too? Wright is too good to go in during a blowout, but apparently Barbosa isn't? Barbosa was such a "pussy" for going back out there and doing his job!

[Tim W.]

JuJu is a Baller. Its difficult to evaluate players under a horrible coach, and Jay is one of the worst ever. But Ju. did all the small things right. played good D. smart passes. out hussled most starters. showed a real ball awareness. if we let him go we will kick ourselves later.

You haven't watched a lot of coaches if you think Triano was one of the worst ever. The record he had, with the roster he had, was pretty much what most coaches would have gotten.

The big problem with Wright is that he hasn't improved at all in his 4 seasons. That tells me he might have a problem with his work ethic, especially since it's pretty apparent what he needs to work on. This is a case when just watching him in a game doesn't tell you the whole story. He seems like he hustles, but what does he do behind the scenes?

[meductic]

I am sold. this is what we have to do:
1) Get the raps to re up JW and then use him for trade bait ( Chandler? Kobe? Lebron\ DWade? Dwight? Dirk? Dirk?)
2) Contact the Human Rights Commission for a clear case of abusing an employee. JW has rights.
3) Figure out how to get YouTube to make that dunk attempt clip go away
I am all in. Julian Wright, Victim. Lets do this...

[Balls of Steel]

Juju ain't it. It was nice to see you. I have one less guy to worry about fumbling as a turnover machine. Bye.

[malefax]

We really won't. Players like him are not assets because they are easy to replace. Athletic wings with weak shots are a dime a dozen in the NBA. 4 million is too much to pay: 4 million in cap space is more valuable than Julian Wright.

And yes, in theory, we can sign him for less than 4 million, but that would (unless I am mistaken) be after we declined to make him the qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent. And honestly, if we are looking at free agents, we don't need a weak-shooting 3. If we're signing a free agent 3, he needs 3-point range, end of story.

[Zigus]

JuJu is a Baller. Its difficult to evaluate players under a horrible coach, and Jay is one of the worst ever. But Ju. did all the small things right. played good D. smart passes. out hussled most starters. showed a real ball awareness. if we let him go we will kick ourselves later.

[meductic]

Yeah, sure, bring him back. Great basketball IQ. Excellent offensive player around the net. Great team player. Give him the 4 million because money should have nothing to do with it. Just misunderstood and abused by the system. I had it all wrong. Julian Wright... Victim.

[Apollo]

They don't need to give him $4M to sign him. Just wanted to make that clear.

[malefax]

He is not worth 4 million dollars, it's as simple as that. We can sign someone better for less.

[RAPresenting]

The comparisons to Marion need to stop that's ridiculous. Marion was a bonifide all-star and stuffed the box score in every category while doing all other intangibles that don't show up as well. Comparing a guy who can't get minutes on a 22 win team is not fair or warranted what so ever.

As for the comparison to JJ I'll take JJ 10 out of 10 times. As good if not better man to man defense, much better rebounder, way better shot blocker and help defender, finishes at the rim better, similar shooters and passers. Not sure what category I can put Wright ahead of JJ in at this point.

If we're looking for another wing draft Leonard or sign a professional, hard working, blue collar vet. Wight or "JuJu" as some call him should be shown the door!

[NoPropsneeded]

That's not good gauge for a guy who got most of his points through putting in junk around the rim. I don't want either of those guys getting many looks.

JJ has a decent jumper but it still has ways to go. If he can fix that his offense will be enough and i agree i don't want him getting too many touches. JJ i believe is a bigger and better version of JW with more athletisism, height, strength, hops, better jumper, defender and shot blocker.

[NoPropsneeded]

Deshawn Stevenson might be a good replacement. Yeah he has a drinking problem but he can ball. Casey might be an influence as well. I believe he is a f/a.

but he was lights out in the finals. Rainin all over miami