Everything Derozan

[mcHAPPY]

I just don't see why KD would play here without DD. OKC team would be a better than this team w/ out Dd.

K low < Westbrook
Ross < Anyone
2pat < Ibaka
Jonas = Kanter

Try looking at it like this:

What happens to Raptors, in the East, if you replace DD with KD?

Raptors get a hell of a lot better..... in the east no less.


You are looking at each piece individually and neglecting the whole picture.


Lowry is not as good as Westbrook but Lowry fits with the team.

Ross is gone if KD is here - pointless.

2Pat is not as good as Ibaka but 2Pat is never going to be looking for max or near max (more on max consequences coming up).

Jonas and Kanter are a wash but it would be interesting to see what would happen with Kanters OKC touches going to JV.


Carroll was left out? Why? Ultimate compliment to KD and would allow him to guard weaker wing...basically take DD's defensive role now.

Bench was neglected - Raptors destroy here.

Future flexibility was neglected. Raptors will have, even with Durant signed, opportunity to sign another max free agent in 2017. OKC is going to be stuck spinning in the mud with team they currently have, and no means to improve, besides minimum contracts, exceptions, and draft picks.

Raptors have a high lottery pick coming next summer (knock on wood).


Ownership. OKC is limited by realities of market. They aren't going to be a tax team. KD has already witnessed the loss of players for financial reasons.


Market. Toronto kicks ass.

Drake. Bromance.

Masai. He has crazy voodoo.

[mcHAPPY]

KD wants to win now. He doesn't care about lotto picks in a weak draft. A lot of the money will be used to bring KD in.

Weak draft? LOL

No one knows what this draft will be.

There was a time when 2011 was called a weak draft.


And it is a good thing KD is leaving the west to come east. That should help his winning now.


Just imagine a team with DD gone and KD brought in his place.

With another max contract possible in 2017.....

[Snooch]

Just another example.

I'm not saying he's Kyrie, where he can produce a montage of ankle breakers and has yo-yo handles, but his handle has drastically improved. He also has a really, really low turnover rate for someone with as much usage as he has.

And giving him zero credit for the other move is sort of ridiculous dude... that's extremely difficult to do at full speed.

He is an nba athelte, those moves should be easy. If I can do them as a 37 year old overweight father, I would fully expect someone making million per year to be able to do it routinely.

And I do think he has improved, its jsut that he came into the league with nothing, and I dont think I am being overly critical when I proclaim that his handles are still below average in terms of an nba level swing.

[Snooch]

Weak draft? LOL

No one knows what this draft will be.

There was a time when 2011 was called a weak draft.


And it is a good thing KD is leaving the west to come east. That should help his winning now.


Just imagine a team with DD gone and KD brought in his place.

With another max contract possible in 2017.....

Allstar Lowry with great depth at pg.

Emerging borderline allstar center

MVP candidate at Sg/sf

3and D guy, one of the best at it at the other wingspot.

Lotto Pick(pf)

Great depth

Max space in 2017

[SkywalkerAC]

I think it is more reasonable at this point in time to say that his peak in 3pt shooting in 2013-2014 was more an anomoly than to blame his poor shooting on his injury and use of Isolations last season.

I still do not think that he isolated more last year than in previous, I still havent looked overly hard to prove it, but I am confident in my memory.

But then you look at the last 3 months of this season and playoffs (all above 35% I believe) and some exhibition stuff from this summer where he's lit it up, and suddenly his over 30% shooting season looks like progression more than it does anomaly.

[Chr1s1anL]

If NBA player X widely known by other NBA players as your best NBA player. Do you think KD is going to go to the team whose about to lose their best player?

Unless if JV becomes a top 3 big by the end of the year I just don't see KD coming to play with a 30 year old PG and starting caliber C.

[mcHAPPY]

If NBA player X widely known by other NBA players as your best NBA player. Do you think KD is going to go to the team whose about to lose their best player?

Unless if JV becomes a top 3 big by the end of the year I just don't see KD coming to play with a 30 year old PG and starting caliber C.

You don't think Masai breaks down to KD why DD isn't a good player for him to play with?

You don't think players understand and follow advanced stats? Aldridge was very interested throughout his process.


Masai hits the presentation with the team as constructed with his numbers versus DeRozan's, hands him a pen, KD signs on dotted line. Drake faints.

[JWash]

Anyone have an example of a team unloading their perceived best player to make room for and sign a superior #1 guy?

[JWash]

Anyone have an example of a team unloading their perceived best player to make room for and sign a superior #1 guy?

To answer my own question, I guess the Lakers signing Shaq in 1996 and then trading Cedric Ceballos and his 21ppg the next season would be the closest example of this. With Kobe being the Knicks 2016 pick lol.

[JWash]

You don't think Masai breaks down to KD why DD isn't a good player for him to play with?

You don't think players understand and follow advanced stats? Aldridge was very interested throughout his process.


Masai hits the presentation with the team as constructed with his numbers versus DeRozan's, hands him a pen, KD signs on dotted line. Drake faints.

Just wanna point out that Aldridge basically shoots from the same spots on the floor as DD and gets to the line less and was less efficient in their best seasons.

That's all

[Chr1s1anL]

You don't think Masai breaks down to KD why DD isn't a good player for him to play with?

You don't think players understand and follow advanced stats? Aldridge was very interested throughout his process.


Masai hits the presentation with the team as constructed with his numbers versus DeRozan's, hands him a pen, KD signs on dotted line. Drake faints.

I honestly don't think NBA players follow and live by advance stats as much as fans do. I would be willing to bet that KD doesn't know that JV is an advance stats monster either.

[Chr1s1anL]

You don't think Masai breaks down to KD why DD isn't a good player for him to play with?

You don't think players understand and follow advanced stats? Aldridge was very interested throughout his process.


Masai hits the presentation with the team as constructed with his numbers versus DeRozan's, hands him a pen, KD signs on dotted line. Drake faints.

Also I don't think Masai saying how bad DD is would be an appealing pitch to his friend KD.

[DanH]

Aldridge is a great defender and rebounder and as such posts very good advanced stats in spite of his reduced efficiency - and that reduced efficiency, a symptom of his midrange game, is infinitely more valuable from a big pulling a rim protector out of the paint than from a shooting guard.

[DanH]

Why are we talking about keeping DD and getting KD? Doesn't matter if that would be a stronger pitch - it is not happening.

We'd need to clear 15M in cap room. Before getting a yes from KD, if we don't want to be completely screwed in negotiations.

[SkywalkerAC]

If NBA player X widely known by other NBA players as your best NBA player. Do you think KD is going to go to the team whose about to lose their best player?

Unless if JV becomes a top 3 big by the end of the year I just don't see KD coming to play with a 30 year old PG and starting caliber C.

I agree with you, but if KD does somehow decide to come, it will be for the mix of personalities the team has to offer - GM + veteran character + professional youth + amiable star-types + coach (?). Obviously the 'amiable star-types' might reign number 1 amongst those factors, as they have the biggest impact on the team's culture and success.

I, for one, am confident that our Big 4 (Lowry, DeMar, Carroll, JV) + Masai + 5ers Development Brigade + yes, even Casey (granted he doesn't fuck up)/whoever KD wants as coach = warranted interest. Now, that's based on where I see this season taking us rather than the close to our 2015 season, but I think that those NBA circles probably look at Kyle and DeMar much as I do - these guys are on the cusp, having been 'part of the solution' in Toronto, building a program that is also on the cusp of something special. Lowry bought in, Patterson bought in, Carroll bought in, Biyombo bought in, Valanciunas bought in, there's something going on here and even the likes of KD have to be at least a little intrigued.

If everything goes right this season, and stranger things have happened, we're a 55 win team with room to improve. And DeMar figures to be a huge part of that success. So yeah, if KD wants to come to the Raps, it will be in large part to DeMar being on the team.