ESPN Insider: Raptors' Worst Free-Agent Fit

[Arsenalist]

David West - Toronto Raptors

Inking West could be tempting for the Raptors. This offseason has the makings of a Toronto makeover with some money to burn, a new head coach in Dwane Casey and a desperate need for a franchise player (sorry, it's not Andrea Bargnani).

But West isn't a franchise player. Is his knee OK? Can he thrive without Chris Paul in the pick-and-roll? Can he help anchor defensive-guru Casey's frontcourt? Too many question marks surround West, making it unwise to amnesty Leandro Barbosa to free up the necessary cap room.

[GarbageTime]

David West - Toronto Raptors

Am I the only one who finds it weird to have list of players not to sign? Man that list could be huge.

But yes I agree signing another PF soulds like a bad idea. Plus the Bosh and Bargnani tandem was abject failure. Why proceed to try it again?

[Tim W.]

Am I the only one who finds it weird to have list of players not to sign? Man that list could be huge.

But yes I agree signing another PF soulds like a bad idea. Plus the Bosh and Bargnani tandem was abject failure. Why proceed to try it again?

So West is a worse fit than, say, Gilbert Arenas?

[Hugmenot]

So West is a worse fit than, say, Gilbert Arenas?

I have not seen the list but maybe it was a list of just the free-agents franchise will spend some cycles deciding whether they are worth pursuing?

Kind of surprising West even made that list as I don't recall ever hearing anyone in the Raptors organization or on the forums suggest he would be a good fit for the Raptors.

[ceez]

What a dumb article. "Don't draft David West, Toronto!"

No shit.

[GarbageTime]

So West is a worse fit than, say, Gilbert Arenas?

There is no worse fit in the league, for any team, than Gilbert Arenas. Except for maybe........

[Puffer]

Is Gilbert Arenas available?????

Puffer

[yertu damkule]

Is Gilbert Arenas available?????

Puffer

otis smith wishes...

actually, he may be, if amnestied. but that's a pretty big pile of change to just chow down on.

[jrdyck]

What a dumb article. "Don't draft David West, Toronto!"

No shit.

This was my exact response.

Also, I think it was predicated on the assumption that Gilbert Arenas is in fact the worst free-agent fit for every team.

[Mediumcore]

If he comes back healthy and you can get him for the right contract then David West is an upgrade to any of the power forwards we have on our roster. Ed Davis is still a big unknown and has the chance to be a better player than West, but he isn't at the moment. I wouldn't take the risk of him coming back not healthy though. JV and West would be a pretty good combination of size, strength, and West is a good scoring big.

[mcHAPPY]

If he comes back healthy and you can get him for the right contract then David West is an upgrade to any of the power forwards we have on our roster. Ed Davis is still a big unknown and has the chance to be a better player than West, but he isn't at the moment. I wouldn't take the risk of him coming back not healthy though. JV and West would be a pretty good combination of size, strength, and West is a good scoring big.

David West is 31 years old and a borderline all star talent. By the time JV is ready to make a significant impact in the league West will be 34/35. No thank you.

[Tim W.]

If he comes back healthy and you can get him for the right contract then David West is an upgrade to any of the power forwards we have on our roster. Ed Davis is still a big unknown and has the chance to be a better player than West, but he isn't at the moment. I wouldn't take the risk of him coming back not healthy though. JV and West would be a pretty good combination of size, strength, and West is a good scoring big.

If he was healthy, what would see as West doing for the team, exactly?

[Mediumcore]

David West is 31 years old and a borderline all star talent. By the time JV is ready to make a significant impact in the league West will be 34/35. No thank you.

That's a good point about JV's learning curve, and I would prefer to see Ed Davis grow along side JV into a tandem. As of this moment which I tried to point out in my post, West is a better player than either of ED, AJ or AB, and he's a borderline all star in the west which has traditionally been deep at his position. Who would you have put ahead of D. West in the East besides KG those years he was playing at a high level?

It was a hypothetical scenario.

[Mediumcore]

If he was healthy, what would see as West doing for the team, exactly?

Score to balance out an ofense which if he started at PF over AB would be lacking scoring from their bigs. The scenario is if he was playing along side JV whom I don't think will score at a high rate in the NBA, but provide good defense.

[Tim W.]

Score to balance out an ofense which if he started at PF over AB would be lacking scoring from their bigs. The scenario is if he was playing along side JV whom I don't think will score at a high rate in the NBA, but provide good defense.

West isn't all that good a defender, and what exactly do you do with Ed Davis and Amir? You'd want 4 PFs on your team? Or are you saying you'd trade one of the good ones in order to keep Bargnani? And aren't you afraid he's just going to improve the team enough this year that it will prevent the Raptors from getting a top 3 pick? Plus, at 31, he'll start to decline just when the Raptors need him. All in all, I can't think of a worse person to sign other than Arenas.

And really, who cares about the offense this year?