Everything Derozan

[Rudy Bargnani]

DeRozan had a really, really good regular season. But watching the two conference finals is a bit painful - if there's ANY weakness in the opposing lineup defensively, teams at this stage are good enough to relentlessly go at it immediately and repeatedly.

DeRozan showed in this year's playoffs (again) that you can't even hide him on D. You can give him a stationary shooter who doesn't even run off picks and DD won't stay with him. There's virtually no assignment to give him short of lucking into some Andre Roberson kind of wing player who can't shoot a basketball. Wherever you put him, DD is going to cost your team at the defensive end.

Boston is having success against Cleveland because they don't have any defensive weak links, particularly on the wing. Cleveland gets their switches, just like they did against the Raptors, but unlike against the Raptors they still have a tough time scoring after the switch.

Harden's not great defensively, but he just had a GOAT iso scoring season and is a top 2 MVP candidate. Nowitzki won a championship but he was surrounded by a defensively stellar supporting cast and he is a GOAT scorer at his position. DeRozan is not on their level offensively and he's worse defensively. The Raptors goal is to be in the 3rd and 4th rounds - it's just hard to do with core players who take that much off the table for you. I mean damn - Casey benched him for the entire 4th quarter of a critical playoff game. That doesn't happen to franchise players, ever.

Great post. Demar does some things really well but his weaknesses are really big in today’s NBA. You have to surround him with shooters..so you get CJ. But you also have to surround him with strong defenders because he’s so weak there. It just seems like grasping at air trying to build a lineup around the guy without sacrificing spacing or defense.

[KeonClark]

Derozans best role still will probably always be 6th man on a champion...Manu Ginobili

[Quirk]

DeRozan had a really, really good regular season. But watching the two conference finals is a bit painful - if there's ANY weakness in the opposing lineup defensively, teams at this stage are good enough to relentlessly go at it immediately and repeatedly.

DeRozan showed in this year's playoffs (again) that you can't even hide him on D. You can give him a stationary shooter who doesn't even run off picks and DD won't stay with him. There's virtually no assignment to give him short of lucking into some Andre Roberson kind of wing player who can't shoot a basketball. Wherever you put him, DD is going to cost your team at the defensive end.

Boston is having success against Cleveland because they don't have any defensive weak links, particularly on the wing. Cleveland gets their switches, just like they did against the Raptors, but unlike against the Raptors they still have a tough time scoring after the switch.

Harden's not great defensively, but he just had a GOAT iso scoring season and is a top 2 MVP candidate. Nowitzki won a championship but he was surrounded by a defensively stellar supporting cast and he is a GOAT scorer at his position. DeRozan is not on their level offensively and he's worse defensively. The Raptors goal is to be in the 3rd and 4th rounds - it's just hard to do with core players who take that much off the table for you. I mean damn - Casey benched him for the entire 4th quarter of a critical playoff game. That doesn't happen to franchise players, ever.

Well, as somebody who has never liked DeRozan's game, all I can say as that since he has improved in so many areas that he is now a good player, perhaps his defence can also be improved by a better coach, and in any case a better coach can reduce his usage and minutes to between 3th and 6th most on the team, rather than first, which would go a long to improving the overall team productivity.

[grindhouse]

Wtf we haven’t traded him yet?

[DanH]

Wtf we haven’t traded him yet?

A lot of DeRozan deals will be more feasible a) at the draft and b) even moreso, in the summer. Same goes for all the other players on the team, except Norm, who is at his peak tradeability before July.

Even if the team is eager to make changes, the time to do so is a two week span from late June to early July.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

A lot of DeRozan deals will be more feasible a) at the draft and b) even moreso, in the summer. Same goes for all the other players on the team, except Norm, who is at his peak tradeability before July.

Even if the team is eager to make changes, the time to do so is a two week span from late June to early July.

I think he was just joking lol.

[S.R.]

A lot of DeRozan deals will be more feasible a) at the draft and b) even moreso, in the summer. Same goes for all the other players on the team, except Norm, who is at his peak tradeability before July.

Even if the team is eager to make changes, the time to do so is a two week span from late June to early July.

Next year mid-season to the deadline could work well for a Blake Griffin type of trade. The Pistons had been whiffing on trade targets (PG, Kemba) and FA chases (Al Horford), ownership with deep pockets that had yet to make a splash, and a borderline playoff team that needed some star power.

Blake's a little DeRozan-esque, five time All-Star with some holes in his game and reasonable questions about his net value to the team, but putting up just 18 & 6 Blake's recent production is way below what DD gives you. Still, he got the Clippers Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, a 1st round pick (12th overall now), and a second rounder. Some filler in there, too.

DeMar should get a better return than that from the right buyer. I fully expect Masai to keep his ask high and stand pat until he finds someone willing to pay it.

[DanH]

Next year mid-season to the deadline could work well for a Blake Griffin type of trade. The Pistons had been whiffing on trade targets (PG, Kemba) and FA chases (Al Horford), ownership with deep pockets that had yet to make a splash, and a borderline playoff team that needed some star power.

Blake's a little DeRozan-esque, five time All-Star with some holes in his game and reasonable questions about his net value to the team, but putting up just 18 & 6 Blake's recent production is way below what DD gives you. Still, he got the Clippers Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, a 1st round pick (12th overall now), and a second rounder. Some filler in there, too.

DeMar should get a better return than that from the right buyer. I fully expect Masai to keep his ask high and stand pat until he finds someone willing to pay it.

Oh, for sure, if the value isn't there you wait. Same goes for everyone. That's why I pegged DeMar as moving this summer and the others probably waiting a year, because that's when I think the value will be highest, but by all means, if the value isn't there for DeMar now you wait on him too. And if there's great value now for one of the other guys, no need to wait. I just don't expect either to be the case.

[golden]

Oh, for sure, if the value isn't there you wait. Same goes for everyone. That's why I pegged DeMar as moving this summer and the others probably waiting a year, because that's when I think the value will be highest, but by all means, if the value isn't there for DeMar now you wait on him too. And if there's great value now for one of the other guys, no need to wait. I just don't expect either to be the case.

Speaking of Griffin, another huge selling feature DeMar has going for him is durability. As close to an Ironman as it gets. Just our luck if we don't trade him in the off-season, that he gets injured before the trade deadline next year.

[The Claw Reborn]

Great post. Demar does some things really well but his weaknesses are really big in today’s NBA. You have to surround him with shooters..so you get CJ. But you also have to surround him with strong defenders because he’s so weak there. It just seems like grasping at air trying to build a lineup around the guy without sacrificing spacing or defense.

DeRozan had a really, really good regular season. But watching the two conference finals is a bit painful - if there's ANY weakness in the opposing lineup defensively, teams at this stage are good enough to relentlessly go at it immediately and repeatedly.

DeRozan showed in this year's playoffs (again) that you can't even hide him on D. You can give him a stationary shooter who doesn't even run off picks and DD won't stay with him. There's virtually no assignment to give him short of lucking into some Andre Roberson kind of wing player who can't shoot a basketball. Wherever you put him, DD is going to cost your team at the defensive end.

Boston is having success against Cleveland because they don't have any defensive weak links, particularly on the wing. Cleveland gets their switches, just like they did against the Raptors, but unlike against the Raptors they still have a tough time scoring after the switch.

Harden's not great defensively, but he just had a GOAT iso scoring season and is a top 2 MVP candidate. Nowitzki won a championship but he was surrounded by a defensively stellar supporting cast and he is a GOAT scorer at his position. DeRozan is not on their level offensively and he's worse defensively. The Raptors goal is to be in the 3rd and 4th rounds - it's just hard to do with core players who take that much off the table for you. I mean damn - Casey benched him for the entire 4th quarter of a critical playoff game. That doesn't happen to franchise players, ever.

Excellent post S.R.

Reality is, a coach can only play 5 players all at once. The bench was spectacular during the regular season, as a collective unit they were in a major way able to hide the flaws of Derozan. However in the playoffs when minutes are so compressed, that’s when the obvious gaps reared it’s “f”ugly head.

Unless the Raptors find another Starter with super human strength who can defend like crazy and narrow the gap Derozan leaves wide open on the court and eat away the missed clunkers then heaves away three point shots with accuracy like a machine, Raptors will continue to walk in mud during the post season.

[Maury]

http://<a href="https://youtu.be/zz0...z0YBj12gik</a>

[Mapko]

While I generally agree, I wouldn't write off Sacramento. Unstable owner with a desire to win - short sighted moves from Sac wouldn't really be a surprise.

Oh funk?
We are not going to try to screw poor Sacramento again?

[golden]

Interesting thoughts on a DD for Wiggins trade from a Wolves fan base perspective. The main theme is that Wiggins contract is an albatross, while Demar is a bonafide top 20 talent in the NBA. They suggest that the Raps could unload Ibaka in the same deal. Demar has a ton of value around the league to a lot of teams..... except vs Lebron in the playoffs.

https://dunkingwithwolves.com/2018/0...n-trade/amp/1/

[grindhouse]

If I were the Timberwolves I would trade wiggins to keep towns

[S.R.]

Personally think Butler/DeRozan/KAT is a nice combo for the Wolves. Not sure they get much more for Wiggins after the down season he just had. The KAT situation is interesting.