New Raptors plan - post Gay trade

[Machine]

we've got to give bargs a shot with this lineup and see if they can all play into the extra pass system. if we have four guys out there who can average 15 a game they should be able to get good looks on every possesion

I agree with this whether we keep or trade bargnani.. I love the addition of Gay but we still do not have an allstar on this team and all this talk of ISO's in this and other threads is driving me crazy.. all we did was iso during our 4-19 start and as good as gay may be as an iso player we aren't gonna win games if he iso's everytime down the court.. we still have to play team ball. This team kinda reminds me of the old pistons when they went on their playoff runs and when none of them were allstars.. they played great team ball with 4 capable scorers and it got them a championship.. I think that's how we have to play with or without bargnani.. it will be nice to have gay in crunch time at the end of games but all this talk about being excited to ditch the team ball and run iso's everytime down the court needs to stop imo.

[thead]

just listened to an interview with BC the gist is as follows

- He wants to address the backup PG spot ASAP
- Haddadi might still be brought in. They haven't decided to waive him yet. There are immigration issues...
- Bargnani will be back within the week and come off the bench...just enough to prove he is healthy I hope
- Other moves are likely coming.
- DeRozan was mentioned briefly as player that might be moved ( my interpretation that wasn't explicitly stated)

[planetmars]

Bryan better make another move before the deadline.. although I have painful memories from the past summer. Bryan had cap space and assets, and he blew his wad on Fields and trying to chase Nash. Got Lowry which was great, but the highlight of that trade didn't last to long when he gave DeMar that extension.

I see Gay as a good move.. however I'm afraid of what he might do next (assuming he has another move lined up).

[mcHAPPY]

With Rudy Gay now officially a Toronto Raptor, it begs the question: What kinda team are we exactly?. I mean with Gay on the team, we don't really have any cap space and we're reaching the luxury tax soon. This basically means that for the next three years, our team isn't really gonna change much unless we execute big trades. Our roster will hinge upon the core of Lowry, Derozan, Gay, Andrea (if we do decide to keep him), and Val. Our bench can always change, but our starting line-up will most likely not change unless a Bargnani trade happens or if Ross moves to the starting line-up in the next year or two. So back to my question. What team are we? Are we still a fringe-playoff team? Are we an 6-8th seed for the next three years? Will we ever break out of the first round? That's just some of the major concerns with this trade. Will we be stuck in the bottom of the playoffs for 3 years? I guess it all depends on how Derozan, Val, and Ross continue to develop over these next three years. Thoughts?

Raps are a team in transition from the old guard to the new.

What happens between now and trade deadline is eagerly awaited.

[AJ360]

For the time being this team has waaayyy too many wing players, but at least our starting PG and SF have been settled, and in reality, we also have our SG (either DD or TR) and C of the future. Heck, even Amir has been great in starting this season at PF and Acy has potential as an energy player off the bench.

Taking a look at the entire roster, I expect there to be more moves before the deadline in order to create more balance.

[wallz]

I think most people are gonna wait till the trade deadline to evaluate the team. I'm expecting pretty significant changes within the next few weeks.

But to answer your question: at the moment the raptors are an overpayed 6-10th place team.

[Blacklash2k4]

What kinda team are we exactly?

With Rudy Gay now officially a Toronto Raptor, it begs the question: What kinda team are we exactly?. I mean with Gay on the team, we don't really have any cap space and we're reaching the luxury tax soon. This basically means that for the next three years, our team isn't really gonna change much unless we execute big trades. Our roster will hinge upon the core of Lowry, Derozan, Gay, Andrea (if we do decide to keep him), and Val. Our bench can always change, but our starting line-up will most likely not change unless a Bargnani trade happens or if Ross moves to the starting line-up in the next year or two. So back to my question. What team are we? Are we still a fringe-playoff team? Are we an 6-8th seed for the next three years? Will we ever break out of the first round? That's just some of the major concerns with this trade. Will we be stuck in the bottom of the playoffs for 3 years? I guess it all depends on how Derozan, Val, and Ross continue to develop over these next three years. Thoughts?

[Eric Akshinthala]

we've got to give bargs a shot with this lineup and see if they can all play into the extra pass system. if we have four guys out there who can average 15 a game they should be able to get good looks on every possesion

I agree. My only concern is that Lowry may not be the right PG for that style of play. Let's see. We may be in for a surprise.

[black angus]

Time to trade Bargnani, Derozan, and if possible Kleiza - for a back-up PG, defensive/rebounding PF, and frist round picks. We can even take back some bad contracts if it gets the Raps some 1st round picks.

Example: Bargs/DD/Kleiza to Charlotte for Tyrus Thomas, Ben Gordon, and a frist round picks - Charlotte gets a scoring big-man and a young wing (and a lower cost) and removes redundancy of Thomas and Biyombo... Raptors get a defensive back-up PF, a scorer of the bench, and a lottery pick

Raptors Lineup:
C - JV, Gray, Haddadi
PF - Amir, Thomas, Acy
SF - Gay, Fields, AA
SG - Ross, Gordon
PG - Lowry, 2013 draft pick, Lucas

[slaw]

NOOO!!! No more "experimentation" with Bargnani (have we not learned our lesson after 7 excruciatingly long years?). He's done. Have to unload him to anyone who shows the slightest glimmer of interest. There is no place for him in the Raptors future. None.

What's 15 points going to do when he's proven time and time again he can't do anything else on the floor?

There is no way that you can run with Lowry, Derozan, Gay and Bargnani getting significant minutes. Too many mouths to feed. Even Jack Armstrong commented on this last night. Lowry/Derozan/Gay with Amir/Val would work better but you have no shooting on the floor with that lineup and no low post game to make up for it.

Also, big glut on the wing now. Derozan and Gay both play big minutes. There isn't time for Ross/Fields/Anderson. Something needs to be done there as well. Ross needs to be the guy off the bench or he needs to be traded. There is no sense playing him 12 minutes a game.

[Nilanka]

we've got to give bargs a shot with this lineup and see if they can all play into the extra pass system. if we have four guys out there who can average 15 a game they should be able to get good looks on every possesion

NOOO!!! No more "experimentation" with Bargnani (have we not learned our lesson after 7 excruciatingly long years?). He's done. Have to unload him to anyone who shows the slightest glimmer of interest. There is no place for him in the Raptors future. None.

What's 15 points going to do when he's proven time and time again he can't do anything else on the floor?

[DoNDaDDa]

Winning is profitable when you own the whole value chain as Rogers and Bell do...This smells a lot like the Blue Jays to me...green light to spend on elite level talent...they want to win and they want the downstream revenue that winning brings.

i agree 100% Bell/Rogers paid a hefty sum for MLSE & im sure there planning for a cash cow revenue stream to make up the $ spent on the purchase..making trades like this at the very least generate a buzz that has most fans glued to sportsnet which also benefits the bottom line..Media/entertainment companys arnt going to want a team that isnt marketable

[d749]

we've got to give bargs a shot with this lineup and see if they can all play into the extra pass system. if we have four guys out there who can average 15 a game they should be able to get good looks on every possesion

[mattscottnelson]

Winning is profitable when you own the whole value chain as Rogers and Bell do...This smells a lot like the Blue Jays to me...green light to spend on elite level talent...they want to win and they want the downstream revenue that winning brings.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Not only were the moves made to improve the teams, but I think ownership really wants to make a statement to return the Toronto franchises to relevance, both in the Toronto/Canada market and within the league. Toronto is an excellent destination, but it's fighting an uphill battle against American misperception and stereotypes (aka American ignorance). Making the team relevant and building around/with well known, established 'name' players, is a good way to improve the team's long-term perception.

Here is a good example of the inverse effect of the trade, regarding the changing perceptions of Memphis (from CNNSI.com - fannation.com)

Message Memphis sends isn't a good one

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08:05 AM ET 01.31 | Consider Rudy Gay as Trade No. 1. The first domino has fallen in the rapidly building trade frenzy leading up to the NBA's Feb. 21 deadline: [Gay] to the Raptors in return for, essentially, $26 million. That's approximately what the Memphis Grizzlies save this season and the next two by parting ways with one of their three highest-paid players -- $26.4 million to be exact. ... "They showed their hand completely," one rival executive said of the Grizzlies. "You can't fool players. They will have a hard time thinking winning is the priority. That erodes consumer confidence in the Association." Winning is important, but tax bills are real. And in my opinion, we've only seen the beginning.

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