NBA Thread

[Brownie19]

A lot of their top players have regressed this season, especially Fred VanVleet only shooting 38.2 FG% and who has been injured on and off.

 

Barnes hasn't taken that next step yet and struggling in his sophomore season. Trent has been meh.

 

Also, this team hasn't been fully healthy it seems.

 

I think VanVleet or Trent get moved at some point if the team doesn't get out of this rut.

 

Need to strip it down. Keep Scottie and OG and then you have 2 options:

 

1. Trade Siakam and get a f***ing HAUL like Utah did with Mitchell and Gobert.

2. Keep Siakam and re-tool around Siakam, Scott and OG.

 

Trade FVV, Boucher, Trent, etc. - continue to tank this year and then rebuild through the draft.

[jaysblue]

Need to strip it down. Keep Scottie and OG and then you have 2 options:

 

1. Trade Siakam and get a f***ing HAUL like Utah did with Mitchell and Gobert.

2. Keep Siakam and re-tool around Siakam, Scott and OG.

 

Trade FVV, Boucher, Trent, etc. - continue to tank this year and then rebuild through the draft.

 

Yeah agree. I don't think its worth finishing in 8th place and getting knocked out in the first round. Or even worse, finish 9th or 10th and not even sniff the playoffs.

 

Definitely need to trade FVV and Trent.

 

Would definitely be open to trading Siakam for a haul like Utah did with Mitchell and Gobert.

[jaysblue]

Bet the Grizzlies or Raptors tonight?

[glory]

Need to strip it down. Keep Scottie and OG and then you have 2 options:

 

1. Trade Siakam and get a f***ing HAUL like Utah did with Mitchell and Gobert.

2. Keep Siakam and re-tool around Siakam, Scott and OG.

 

Trade FVV, Boucher, Trent, etc. - continue to tank this year and then rebuild through the draft.

 

My guess is the bold part above is what will happen. Siakam is looking like a legit star now. I don't think they move him given how hard it is to get players like him. The issue the Raptors will have is that Barnes and Pascal are similar players, so it's going to be harder for Barnes to reach whatever his ceiling is with Pascal on the team too. But I think they at least try to make it work. Trading Fred and Trent is a no brainer at this point.

[Krylian]

Bet the Grizzlies or Raptors tonight?

 

Grizzlies

[Krylian]

Need to strip it down. Keep Scottie and OG and then you have 2 options:

 

1. Trade Siakam and get a f***ing HAUL like Utah did with Mitchell and Gobert.

2. Keep Siakam and re-tool around Siakam, Scott and OG.

 

Trade FVV, Boucher, Trent, etc. - continue to tank this year and then rebuild through the draft.

 

Throw a COVID party every week and keep the entire team quarantining. Sign a bunch of bums to play out the rest of the season. Lose every game. Win the lottery. Draft Victor Wembanyama. Profit.

[jaysblue]

My guess is the bold part above is what will happen. Siakam is looking like a legit star now. I don't think they move him given how hard it is to get players like him. The issue the Raptors will have is that Barnes and Pascal are similar players, so it's going to be harder for Barnes to reach whatever his ceiling is with Pascal on the team too. But I think they at least try to make it work. Trading Fred and Trent is a no brainer at this point.

 

Yeah the way Siakam is playing this season, he looks like a legit star or 1A type guy now. Plus his contract isn't that bad when you factor how NBA player salaries have been increasing every season.

 

I think FVV and Trent need to be traded.

 

We'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks if the team can get back to .500 though don't think its worth coming in 7th or 8th and getting knocked out in the first round.

[connorp]

Damn. Donovan Mitchell drops 71. I kind of thought he was a volume shooting scorer before this year but he’s definitely legit

[Spanky99]

That was a hell of a comeback.

[jaysblue]

That was a hell of a comeback.

 

Raps always play well at home. Still unbelievable to make that comeback against a tough team. Maybe this lights the fire under them and they can go on a little bit a role. They have a lot of home games in January.

[jaysblue]

Mavericks acquire Kyrie!

[connorp]

Mavericks acquire Kyrie!

 

Yeah. Another case of an NBA player forcing a trade. I read he was going to sit out. As a basketball fan though, the Mavs will be a nice watch in the playoffs if Kylie can stay healthy, which is hardly a given

[connorp]

I’ll bet you LBJ is pissed lol

[Krylian]

I’ll bet you LBJ is pissed lol

 

LBJ is always pissed at something

[jaysblue]

Yeah. Another case of an NBA player forcing a trade. I read he was going to sit out. As a basketball fan though, the Mavs will be a nice watch in the playoffs if Kylie can stay healthy, which is hardly a given

 

Yeah hope Luka and Kyrie can play well together. Should be a fun team to watch down the stretch for sure, but we always see in basketball how some star players don't play well alongside each other.

[jaysblue]

Will be interesting to see who the Raptors trade before the deadline.

[Abomination]

Will be interesting to see who the Raptors trade before the deadline.

 

It'll be interesting to see what direction they go. I could see an argument for adding or subtracting (or maybe even both). One or two bench tweaks is probably all that's needed to turn a bunch of those recent single digit losses into wins.

[Laika]

As long as Gary Trent leaves town I don't care what else they do

[Krylian]

Will be interesting to see who the Raptors trade before the deadline.

 

I'm on the side of, this team isn't anywhere close to being good enough to contend anytime soon. I think they should maximize what assets they have and blow it up. NBA is not a league where you can sneak in and win. Look at the numbers historically...you have to be a very good team to win. And, unless you're the early 2004 Pistons, you need a Superstar on your roster to win too.

[Laika]

I'm on the side of, this team isn't anywhere close to being good enough to contend anytime soon. I think they should maximize what assets they have and blow it up. NBA is not a league where you can sneak in and win. Look at the numbers historically...you have to be a very good team to win. And, unless you're the early 2004 Pistons, you need a Superstar on your roster to win too.

 

"blowing it up" is rarely a viable strategy though, given the nature of the draft and the developmental league

 

like, you just end up with a bunch of repetitive late or mid round first round picks and okay-ish young players...

 

it's not like baseball where you can just stockpile infinite actually good prospects and then hope an elite farm system blossoms for you

 

to "blow it up" in the NBA you need to basically tank and try to draft a franchise cornerstone. I guess.

[connorp]

"blowing it up" is rarely a viable strategy though, given the nature of the draft and the developmental league

 

like, you just end up with a bunch of repetitive late or mid round first round picks and okay-ish young players...

 

it's not like baseball where you can just stockpile infinite actually good prospects and then hope an elite farm system blossoms for you

 

to "blow it up" in the NBA you need to basically tank and try to draft a franchise cornerstone. I guess.

 

I don’t think that’s true. As usual you’re wrong. It’s better to say there’s no guarantee on the turnaround but if you look at most of the top teams in the East say, they “blew it up” at some point in the last decade. Boston and Philly being the most prominent of that group. Yes, Toronto will never land a superstar in FA, but there’s only a handful of teams that will anyway. Team like Philly and Boston are mostly built from within or trades. There’s a lot of teams that have blown it up in the last 5 years that are getting there, or hope to.

 

Really you just have to hit on a couple draft picks. I don’t know if Toronto can get firsts out of anyone other than Pascal and Barnes but if they could, they should

[connorp]

I’m not sure what FVV gets you. Not much control if he opts out, which is likely and only shoots less than 40% FG and 34% on 3.

[Laika]

I don’t think that’s true. As usual you’re wrong. It’s better to say there’s no guarantee on the turnaround but if you look at most of the top teams in the East say, they “blew it up” at some point in the last decade. Boston and Philly being the most prominent of that group. Yes, Toronto will never land a superstar in FA, but there’s only a handful of teams that will anyway. Team like Philly and Boston are mostly built from within or trades. There’s a lot of teams that have blown it up in the last 5 years that are getting there, or hope to.

 

Really you just have to hit on a couple draft picks. I don’t know if Toronto can get firsts out of anyone other than Pascal and Barnes but if they could, they should

 

Isn't the Celtics quick rebuild kind of just them getting insanely lucky on pick trades? Like, the huge Brooklyn blockbuster netted them 2016 3rd overall (Jaylen Brown) and the right to swap for 2017 3rd overall (Jayson Tatum). There is the entire rebuild.

 

Of course, if some stupid franchise that could legitimately be dogshit soon is willing to trade multiple unprotected firstround picks for all the Raps good players then maybe they should do it but that is not going to likely happen.

 

I feel like most of the teams who take packages of picks for stars end up being a bit let down. And because of trades like the Celtics-Nets one, orgs are more guarded about moving unprotected picks multiple years away.

 

But I'm a moron

 

I barely even watch basketball and don't even follow the sport

 

I can't even name a player on most other teams right now

[Laika]

And Philly was HORRIBLE for like 5 years. Nobody wants that; you start to bleed fans.

[jaysblue]

I'm on the side of, this team isn't anywhere close to being good enough to contend anytime soon. I think they should maximize what assets they have and blow it up. NBA is not a league where you can sneak in and win. Look at the numbers historically...you have to be a very good team to win. And, unless you're the early 2004 Pistons, you need a Superstar on your roster to win too.

 

Yeah the NBA Playoffs are a lot different than the MLB Postseason. Tough to sneak into one of the last spots and expect to go on a deep run, whereas in baseball you just need to get in and a Wildcard team can upset anyone or go far. There is a big difference between the top 3 or 4 teams in an NBA conference vs. the bottom 3 or 4.

 

Raptors sneaking in one of the last spots doesn't do anything IMO. They'll get knocked out R1 by a top team in 4 or 5 games.

[jaysblue]

And Philly was HORRIBLE for like 5 years. Nobody wants that; you start to bleed fans.

 

Yeah Raptors will bleed fans if they're horrible for 5 years in a row. You'll have fans watching on TV occasionally, but nobody will be going to the games unless it's a big team in town. Raptors fanbase aren't like the Leafs.

[jaysblue]

Yeah in the NBA, you have to draft a franchise cornerstone or two from the draft and they need to have an immediate impact within 1-2 years. You can't stockpile prospects/young players that easily like in baseball.

 

You can build a solid roster foundation and then when the time is right, strike and trade for a superstar. Kind of like how the Raptors when they got Kawhi. Raps were always a top 3-4 team in the Conference making the 2nd or 3rd rounds but never good enough to take that next step to get by Cleveland or another top team. Heck, even with Kawhi, Raps got lucky they won a Championship that season.

[Krylian]

"blowing it up" is rarely a viable strategy though, given the nature of the draft and the developmental league

 

like, you just end up with a bunch of repetitive late or mid round first round picks and okay-ish young players...

 

it's not like baseball where you can just stockpile infinite actually good prospects and then hope an elite farm system blossoms for you

 

to "blow it up" in the NBA you need to basically tank and try to draft a franchise cornerstone. I guess.

 

Well. When I say blow it up, I do mean the entire package...accumulate young talent and 1st rounders, and tank for high picks. Moving assets for picks and prospects will help with the tanking piece.

[connorp]

I bet Raps could get Ben Simmons for very, very cheap. Hope he comes together in a player friendly environment in Toronto.

[Dick_Pole]

For about the thousandth time I say f*** Krylian's loser mentality.

 

 

It's like people haven't watched the NBA in the last two years. This isn't 2017. There are probably more legitimate contenders to take the NBA crown right now than in the MLB to win the World Series. At the start of the year when the price was Barnes I would have said no to a gimpy Durant in the latter stages of his career. If the Raptors can pull it off with anyone other than Barnes or Siakam, do it. A team with those two plus Durant absolutely can take down anyone in the East right now. Hell, even without Durant, the team in its current form would have maybe a 25% chance of knocking off a top seed. That's more of a commentary that the top teams are just not that dominant. Boston has had a lot of losses and barely wins to s***** teams lately. As much as I dislike the 76ers, I'm reluctantly picking them as the team to beat out of the east if I had to pick someone.

 

I'll believe the Simmons rumours when I see the actual trade. Right now it looks like a bunch of butthurt Nets fans on Twitter trying to use Toronto as their garbage dump. Apparently Claxton would need to come along with him which in that case might make a bit more sense.