#FireCasey

[DogeLover1234]

http://www.vantagesports.com/#story/...aptors-decline

For those who just want a summary, it talks about how bad the Raps are over the past 10 games. Basically, they aren't making contested shots, Lowry is playing a lot worse, They aren't rebounding well (Amir hasn't boxed out for an offensive rebound), Lou is playing terrible defense as well as the defense as a whole.

[big boi]

Not supporting Casey either. Just saying that it all comes down to how MU feels about him and if he's willing to go the extra mile with him. I don't recall reading anything where Masai doesn't speak very highly of Casey and vice-versa. Not even veiled discontent, like between BC and Smith or Grunwald and KO. I think it would take a lot to get MU to even begin considering the idea of firing Casey before his contract is up.

Losing will do it. This current team is in danger of turning off a large portion of its very supportive fan base. Corporations have been flocking to the raps and to nba Canada to partner up since the huge surge in fan support last season. BMO is the latest. This team keeps losing, fans tune out, that kills the golden goose. I think there will be a lot of pressure to replace Casey at the end of the year barring something miraculous, which I don't expect. With nba all star game coming to Toronto next year the raps will want to put their best foot forward, I expect MU to have a busy summer and show his wares as gm. And I seriously hope he doesn't over pay to get a Canadian on the team.

[Primer]

Not supporting Casey either. Just saying that it all comes down to how MU feels about him and if he's willing to go the extra mile with him. I don't recall reading anything where Masai doesn't speak very highly of Casey and vice-versa. Not even veiled discontent, like between BC and Smith or Grunwald and KO. I think it would take a lot to get MU to even begin considering the idea of firing Casey before his contract is up.

Casey never said anything negative about Rudy Gay either, yet he's gone. Masai isn't an idiot, and he'll prove it when he fires Casey this offseason.

[OldSkoolCool]

With some talk on here about how possibly MU has dropped the ball along side Casey got me thinking into the short history of the team. To me, our timeline goes something like this:

1) MU is brought in during the summer of 2013. When he joined the Raptors he had no draft picks and an inflated salary.

2) He promptly traded Bargnani for cap space.

3) He told the media that the 2013/2014 season was an evaluation period.

4) 2013 was a complete disaster. We were going no where fast. MU pulled the trigger on the tank by trading Gay and finding a trade partner for Lowry. He brought in several smaller or soon-to-be expired contracts to give him the flexibility in the future.

5) Somehow we win. A lot. Get to the playoffs, fans are flooding in, we have a successful market campaigns with "We the North" and "F*** Brooklyn", and we are a highly profitable team (remember this is a business).

6) At the end of the 2014 season, MU looks at his roster and sees that he has 0 financial flexibility because of the Bargnani, Gay, Fields hamstrings that Colangelo has dealt him. He takes a gamble on the roster by keeping it together and making this a profitable market in the short term, and letting the bad contracts run their course. He gave Casey a short deal, got everyone not named Lowry signed to short term deals. He wants to ride this out, takes a swing at the fence with Bruno.

7) The 2014/2015 season starts amazingly. Stay put.

8) 2015 is a disaster. Now we hear report that "in two years", the roster will be very different and he will have put his stamp on this team.

9) Present day

I think MU has just been playing the cards he was dealt. With the length of contracts being on yearly scales, it is very tough to garner the financial flexibility needed to properly remake a PLAYOFF roster. So he is waiting for the offseason. I think move #1 is firing Casey and bringing in his own head coach. The second move is to remove the Colangelo core minus Valanciunas. Hell, Lowry may even be given the Nene treatment.

Now, if MU decides to keep Casey, then there will be a #FireMasai chant going on...

[raptors999]

Only concern is that MU seems to be bloating the roster. The Brazilians + DeAndre + new pick. Seems like a lot for a team that hopes to improve. 4 out of 15 spots with players with zero to minimal NBA playing time

[Mindlessness]

With some talk on here about how possibly MU has dropped the ball along side Casey got me thinking into the short history of the team. To me, our timeline goes something like this:

1) MU is brought in during the summer of 2013. When he joined the Raptors he had no draft picks and an inflated salary.

2) He promptly traded Bargnani for cap space.

3) He told the media that the 2013/2014 season was an evaluation period.

4) 2013 was a complete disaster. We were going no where fast. MU pulled the trigger on the tank by trading Gay and finding a trade partner for Lowry. He brought in several smaller or soon-to-be expired contracts to give him the flexibility in the future.

5) Somehow we win. A lot. Get to the playoffs, fans are flooding in, we have a successful market campaigns with "We the North" and "F*** Brooklyn", and we are a highly profitable team (remember this is a business).

6) At the end of the 2014 season, MU looks at his roster and sees that he has 0 financial flexibility because of the Bargnani, Gay, Fields hamstrings that Colangelo has dealt him. He takes a gamble on the roster by keeping it together and making this a profitable market in the short term, and letting the bad contracts run their course. He gave Casey a short deal, got everyone not named Lowry signed to short term deals. He wants to ride this out, takes a swing at the fence with Bruno.

7) The 2014/2015 season starts amazingly. Stay put.

8) 2015 is a disaster. Now we hear report that "in two years", the roster will be very different and he will have put his stamp on this team.

9) Present day

I think MU has just been playing the cards he was dealt. With the length of contracts being on yearly scales, it is very tough to garner the financial flexibility needed to properly remake a PLAYOFF roster. So he is waiting for the offseason. I think move #1 is firing Casey and bringing in his own head coach. The second move is to remove the Colangelo core minus Valanciunas. Hell, Lowry may even be given the Nene treatment.

Now, if MU decides to keep Casey, then there will be a #FireMasai chant going on...

I agree with a lot of that except the Lowry part, I don't see him moving Lowry. To me, he's the kind of point guard who won't decline quickly. I mean, he's always compared to Billups and he was an all star selection until the age of 33. Billups didn't totally lose it until 35 because of injuries. Until then, he was a starter on his teams.

Lowry doesn't rely on athleticism or speed.

[white men can't jump]

I agree with a lot of that except the Lowry part, I don't see him moving Lowry. To me, he's the kind of point guard who won't decline quickly. I mean, he's always compared to Billups and he was an all star selection until the age of 33. Billups didn't totally lose it until 35 because of injuries. Until then, he was a starter on his teams.

Lowry doesn't rely on athleticism or speed.

Billups was far less reckless with his body than Lowry, not to mention you wouldn't fuck with him because he had two guys named Wallace on the team that you didn't want to piss off.

Lowry takes a lot of punishment. It's hard to guess at his longevity, but I wouldn't be surprised if he starts declining by the 3rd or 4th year of his current deal. And we definitely already need him to start playing more like his old self, where he was known as a defensive PG. I don't want the bad defensive Lowry, because he's not that amazing an offensive player to make up for it.

[raptors999]

Billups was far less reckless with his body than Lowry, not to mention you wouldn't fuck with him because he had two guys named Wallace on the team that you didn't want to piss off.

Lowry takes a lot of punishment. It's hard to guess at his longevity, but I wouldn't be surprised if he starts declining by the 3rd or 4th year of his current deal. And we definitely already need him to start playing more like his old self, where he was known as a defensive PG. I don't want the bad defensive Lowry, because he's not that amazing an offensive player to make up for it.

Lowry takes punishment but it isn't the kind that damages knees. Guys like Rose with the stop-starts are more injury prone. Lowrys style leads to bruises not ACL tears

[white men can't jump]

Lowry takes punishment but it isn't the kind that damages knees. Guys like Rose with the stop-starts are more injury prone. Lowrys style leads to bruises not ACL tears

Lowry has torn his ACL before. Way back in college. It doesn't mean he'll be more prone to tears, but it's not just about career-ending injuries. It's also about when everyday soreness starts to impact performance. Lowry hits the ground a lot. Hits other players a lot. And he's frequently the smallest guy on the court, which is never good. Everybody is different, and it's hard to predict what will screw someone over. But consistently taking a pounding is never good for longevity.

[raptors999]

Lowry has torn his ACL before. Way back in college. It doesn't mean he'll be more prone to tears, but it's not just about career-ending injuries. It's also about when everyday soreness starts to impact performance. Lowry hits the ground a lot. Hits other players a lot. And he's frequently the smallest guy on the court, which is never good. Everybody is different, and it's hard to predict what will screw someone over. But consistently taking a pounding is never good for longevity.

Its a lot like running backs, the north-south vs east-west. The hard cut guys seem to just blow out. Once Casey gets canned Lowry can be effective using his brain and get back to controlling the game. This season is a terrible example of his skills and impact on the court offensively and defensively

[Mindlessness]

Lowry has torn his ACL before. Way back in college. It doesn't mean he'll be more prone to tears, but it's not just about career-ending injuries. It's also about when everyday soreness starts to impact performance. Lowry hits the ground a lot. Hits other players a lot. And he's frequently the smallest guy on the court, which is never good. Everybody is different, and it's hard to predict what will screw someone over. But consistently taking a pounding is never good for longevity.

I never said he wouldn't decline, I just said he would decline more slowly than most point guards in my opinion. He just doesn't rely on things that do decline quickly. But I do see your point on the every game poundings.

[white men can't jump]

Its a lot like running backs, the north-south vs east-west. The hard cut guys seem to just blow out. Once Casey gets canned Lowry can be effective using his brain and get back to controlling the game. This season is a terrible example of his skills and impact on the court offensively and defensively

But Lowry also hasn't shown to be much of a cerebral player either. He never has.

Coming into the league he relied a lot on speed both offensively and defensively. And takng a beating isn't just about bruising. It's about awkward landings/collisions. Hit the ground the wrong way and you can break something. Break something when you're already no spring chicken, and there's bigger risk that it becomes a chronic problem.

Start/stop oriented plays with high athleticism are not the only way to damage your long-term career outlook.

[white men can't jump]

I never said he wouldn't decline, I just said he would decline more slowly than most point guards in my opinion. He just doesn't rely on things that do decline quickly. But I do see your point on the every game poundings.

He does rely on doing things quickly. He's a driving PG. He isn't a p'n'r player. He drives full throttle into the paint. That's his go-to play, and that's how he's most effective at scoring and putting pressure on the D. He doesn't depend on crazy full-court elite speed like a Wall, Westbrook or Rose, but that doesn't mean he doesn't rely on speed.

Just because he's not as athletic as the premier athletes at his position, doesn't mean his game doesn't depend a lot on speed.

[white men can't jump]

And I'm not saying he will decline, but I wouldn't be surprised by a fairly early decline. Again, it's hard to guess at longevity. However his game doesn't seem like one that'll age well if he starts feeling the wear and tear. He's not that cerebral a player. He's not particularly good at the p'n'r or in the post, areas that are easier to stay good at as a PG when physical abilities are in decline.

[mcHAPPY]

With some talk on here about how possibly MU has dropped the ball along side Casey got me thinking into the short history of the team. To me, our timeline goes something like this:

1) MU is brought in during the summer of 2013. When he joined the Raptors he had no draft picks and an inflated salary.

2) He promptly traded Bargnani for cap space.

3) He told the media that the 2013/2014 season was an evaluation period.

4) 2013 was a complete disaster. We were going no where fast. MU pulled the trigger on the tank by trading Gay and finding a trade partner for Lowry. He brought in several smaller or soon-to-be expired contracts to give him the flexibility in the future.

5) Somehow we win. A lot. Get to the playoffs, fans are flooding in, we have a successful market campaigns with "We the North" and "F*** Brooklyn", and we are a highly profitable team (remember this is a business).

6) At the end of the 2014 season, MU looks at his roster and sees that he has 0 financial flexibility because of the Bargnani, Gay, Fields hamstrings that Colangelo has dealt him. He takes a gamble on the roster by keeping it together and making this a profitable market in the short term, and letting the bad contracts run their course. He gave Casey a short deal, got everyone not named Lowry signed to short term deals. He wants to ride this out, takes a swing at the fence with Bruno.

7) The 2014/2015 season starts amazingly. Stay put.

8) 2015 is a disaster. Now we hear report that "in two years", the roster will be very different and he will have put his stamp on this team.

9) Present day

I think MU has just been playing the cards he was dealt. With the length of contracts being on yearly scales, it is very tough to garner the financial flexibility needed to properly remake a PLAYOFF roster. So he is waiting for the offseason. I think move #1 is firing Casey and bringing in his own head coach. The second move is to remove the Colangelo core minus Valanciunas. Hell, Lowry may even be given the Nene treatment.

Now, if MU decides to keep Casey, then there will be a #FireMasai chant going on...

I agree with just about all of this except trading Lowry in the same fashion as nene. I can't see trading away the first free agent that mattered who stayed beyond his 2nd contract. Perception is very important among players and agents. I fear the ramifications would be Hinkie-like where he has been criticized of late for treating players like assets instead of people. That is the only thing that would hold me back from trading Lowry if a really good deal came along.