Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny199r
Ibaka and Gasol were important pieces for the Raptors. Surely it can't be a surprise to people that the Raptors are not as good without them? Those guys are tough to replace.
The Raps might be better than their 1-4 record suggests, but the days of being Eastern Conference contenders are over.
|
See, I agree with Ibaka being a leader, but I didn't see much of Gasol's influence. He took some really dumb fouls in games it mattered most, wasn't athletically inclined at this point in his career, and basically had no business being a starter in the NBA. Maybe he was good behind the scenes, but this past year I found him to be more or less a liability. Ibaka was underutilized if anything, and totally found a way to rile up his team through aggressive play. I knew he'd be hard to replace but this degree of perimeter play has been a disappointment.
Len has at times been a pleasant surprise but lacks the skill. Baynes has some of the physical tools to be a damn good player, but when he has the ball he's slow AF, and that tells me he's just not athletic enough. Go down the entire roster and there are so many glaring needs from specifically the starters. So something has to give and that give is only through a deal. The only star available at this moment is Harden, which I'd absolutely take a pass on. Generally I'm not a fan of DeRozan, because he'll surely disappear in the playoffs, but perhaps if the deal is depth for him, he'd be an upgrade. This can't go on though, because this season is going to be painful watching some guys have no future on the team getting so many minutes.