Starting C in 2012-13

[NoPropsneeded]

have you totally forgotten about the draft pick? why use money when you can draft a SF

[ReubenJRD]

Jonas as the starter. He is not one of those drafted players that is potential protected, in other words, someone like an Ed Davis. Jonas can play, no doubt about it, he's been playing with and against big time players, he'll know what to expect. The only thing to be careful of is his minutes, and we'll have to expect him to have inconsistent production because, he is a rookie, playing different style basketball, and because he's still raw skill-wise.

Save the cap space for the SF we need. James Johnson is playing well recently, but unless he shows the different gear, he's gonna be a rotational player, 6th man at most. Rasual Butler is not an ideal rotational player, and Kleiza... im still waiting. Let the big man grow in his position, because as a rebuilding team trying to develop their players, letting him develop in a position potentially he's going to be in, will give him the experience and knowledge he'll need. But, having someone like Ben Wallace, Ryan Hollins, Asik at the back up is a complete upgrade to Magloire. I like Gray, he's physical.

[Shantz]

It depends on how you listen to. There are many who feel Drummond is the number 1. I follow the NCAA and personally I think Davis is head and shoulders above Drummond but Drummond is pretty much ignored on the offensive end at UConn.

I think a frontline of JV, Bargs, and Anthony Davis would be very interesting and could possibly work. They would need two really good three point shooters at the 1 and 2 though to keep things honest. With JV and Davis it would also be Lob City North.

It would certainly help to have good three point shooters at the 1 and the 2, but I think as long as one of the two could shoot well that would be good enough. Bargs is a good long distance shooter, and both Valanciunas and Davis are set to have nice extended range as well. To have 3 big men be able to play together, all as capable shooters, would cause fits for opposing teams to plan for. I think the three (Davis, Bargs and Val) could work very well together, even with a PG who can drive and a decent spot up shooter at SG due to their versatility as bigs.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

It depends on how you listen to. There are many who feel Drummond is the number 1. I follow the NCAA and personally I think Davis is head and shoulders above Drummond but Drummond is pretty much ignored on the offensive end at UConn.

I think a frontline of JV, Bargs, and Anthony Davis would be very interesting and could possibly work. They would need two really good three point shooters at the 1 and 2 though to keep things honest. With JV and Davis it would also be Lob City North.

Man that sounds good!

[mcHAPPY]

My suspicion is that if it's not Davis at #1, the Raps will be taking a perimeter player somehow, someway. My understanding (and I don't follow NCAA ball at all) is that Davis is alone in the first tier with Drummond and others in a second tier. They've already got JV as their future 5 and a bevy of PFs.

More interesting would be if the Raps got the #1 pick cause that would basically mean moving Bargs and maybe even Ed Davis.

It depends on how you listen to. There are many who feel Drummond is the number 1. I follow the NCAA and personally I think Davis is head and shoulders above Drummond but Drummond is pretty much ignored on the offensive end at UConn.

I think a frontline of JV, Bargs, and Anthony Davis would be very interesting and could possibly work. They would need two really good three point shooters at the 1 and 2 though to keep things honest. With JV and Davis it would also be Lob City North.

[thead]

I think our big situation is more or less solved next season


Bargs/JV/Amir/Alabi/(tough veteran ala Ben Wallace)

Why I put Amir and instead of Ed

Ed will be too good to be a third stringer...he will be a solid starter within two years. We can trade for him.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

My suspicion is that if it's not Davis at #1, the Raps will be taking a perimeter player somehow, someway. My understanding (and I don't follow NCAA ball at all) is that Davis is alone in the first tier with Drummond and others in a second tier. They've already got JV as their future 5 and a bevy of PFs.

More interesting would be if the Raps got the #1 pick cause that would basically mean moving Bargs and maybe even Ed Davis.

Im not at all familiar with college basketball either, but i do hope they pick for need and not "the best player available" well unless they pick in the top 3. i want them to stick with their plan and fill in the holes of this team.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

I expect JV to log heavy minutes next season, regardless of whether or not he is the starter.

The one player on the free agency list that I think would be the ideal mentor for JV, would be Camby. I'm assuming Camby will get lots of interest, but his unselfish defense/rebounding-first mentality and his role as defensive anchor, would be the ideal type of player for JV to learn from and mimic. If the Raps could get Camby on a 1-year deal for $5M or less, knowing he is expected to be the backup/mentor for JV, it could be extremely beneficial for JV and the Raptors in the long run.

That would leave Bargnani and either Davis/Amir as the PF, with the other of Amir/Davis being used as trade bait to acquire another draft pick.

I agree with the minutes, and i hope he does start and play tons of minutes. I think basketball at this day and age is far different from old school, players dont need to be eased in, i think they should be thrown in the fire (so to speak) right away and see what they got.

I wouldnt mind Camby mentoring JV, but for me, id probably do the mentoring thing 2 or even 3 years down the road. I would like to see JV get himself organized, find out for himself the rigors of playing in the NBA, get his identity.....And then later on, when he's established the style of play that he's comfortable in, then let the mentoring begin to fix the kinks in his game.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

And McGee is a knucklehead. He's a good talent, but as another poster put it, for every positive thing he does on the court, he does something negative.

Damn right. This guy is hilarious. The first celebration was priceless, specially being down by 20+ pts.

[AJ360]

My bet is that Amir will start, at least for a while until JV becomes more acclimated the the team and league.

[pesterm1]

Mcgee is my least favorite player in the league. his stupid expressions whenever he thinks he made a nice play. the guy goaltends players shots after they have been fouled to pad his stats . he seems like a little boy still. the guy is so annoying and will never make the finals for any team he plays for. he has all the physical tools but that where it ends for him unfortunatley.

[slaw]

Well, if the Raptors get that #2 pick in the draft, it very well could be Andre Drummond playing the 5 next season.

But if they don't, just use Amir. He's been doing a very solid job this season to date.

My suspicion is that if it's not Davis at #1, the Raps will be taking a perimeter player somehow, someway. My understanding (and I don't follow NCAA ball at all) is that Davis is alone in the first tier with Drummond and others in a second tier. They've already got JV as their future 5 and a bevy of PFs.

More interesting would be if the Raps got the #1 pick cause that would basically mean moving Bargs and maybe even Ed Davis.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

I expect JV to log heavy minutes next season, regardless of whether or not he is the starter.

The one player on the free agency list that I think would be the ideal mentor for JV, would be Camby. I'm assuming Camby will get lots of interest, but his unselfish defense/rebounding-first mentality and his role as defensive anchor, would be the ideal type of player for JV to learn from and mimic. If the Raps could get Camby on a 1-year deal for $5M or less, knowing he is expected to be the backup/mentor for JV, it could be extremely beneficial for JV and the Raptors in the long run.

That would leave Bargnani and either Davis/Amir as the PF, with the other of Amir/Davis being used as trade bait to acquire another draft pick.

[MangoKid]

And McGee is a knucklehead. He's a good talent, but as another poster put it, for every positive thing he does on the court, he does something negative.

[MangoKid]

Asik is a decent depth player, but we'd already have Amir, Davis, Bargnani, Valanciunas and if the draft pick yields either Anthony Davis, Sullinger or Drummond, where would Asik fit in? And at 5-6 million?