2010/2011 Toronto Raptors thread

[Suave]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

I am really curious what kind of shape Bargniani shows up in. For some reason I keep thinking he'll pull a Big Country Reeves and show up 80 pounds overweight (or out of shape to a large degree)

Andrea Bargnani doesn’t want to talk about it, but the big man is in great shape as the season finally approaches.

Quietly, Bargnani, who has been knocked in the past for not always being the first player to arrive in the gym and the last to leave, has been in Toronto for the past few weeks undergoing vigorous individual workouts.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/11/28...ting-to-get-it

[St. Pats]

[QUOTE=Suave;3416652]Andrea Bargnani doesn’t want to talk about it, but the big man is in great shape as the season finally approaches.

Quietly, Bargnani, who has been knocked in the past for not always being the first player to arrive in the gym and the last to leave, has been in Toronto for the past few weeks undergoing vigorous individual workouts.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/11/28...ting-to-get-it[/QUO

He has trimmed down apparently at least 10 pounds to get quicker as the moves to PF. The rumour today for his mate at Center is Chuck Hayes. I like this idea a whole lot more than a Chandler/Nene. He is good defensively and cheap. Not the time to be giving out cash to a guy who will just hurt their draft chances.

Better to have a serviceable guy for Casey to work with in his efforts to put in a defensive culture. But not a guy good enough to move them up the table.

[moon]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

He has trimmed down apparently at least 10 pounds to get quicker as the moves to PF. The rumour today for his mate at Center is Chuck Hayes. I like this idea a whole lot more than a Chandler/Nene. He is good defensively and cheap. Not the time to be giving out cash to a guy who will just hurt their draft chances.

Better to have a serviceable guy for Casey to work with in his efforts to put in a defensive culture. But not a guy good enough to move them up the table.

Isn't Chuck Hayes like 6'6?

That seems pretty small for a center, especially when you have butter soft Bargnani next to you at PF watching his man get any rebound he wants.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by moon

Isn't Chuck Hayes like 6'6?

That seems pretty small for a center, especially when you have butter soft Bargnani next to you at PF watching his man get any rebound he wants.

I have a feeling that AB's playing time is going to go down significantly this year. Ed Davis and Amir Johnson are the future of our PF position.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by moon

Isn't Chuck Hayes like 6'6?

That seems pretty small for a center, especially when you have butter soft Bargnani next to you at PF watching his man get any rebound he wants.

Yes he is but he is a leader on and off the court. A fan favorite because of his toughness. A Charles Oakley type. Bargnani's rebounding is sad but then so is his defense. But he won't be the only one at the PF position as Davis will get time as well.

Amir I think will backup Hayes(or whoever they bring in) as he has apparently bulked up to 245lbs.

The key is you want Casey to have a good defensive guy to base his system on without bringing in a stellar player. You don't want in this year of a truly fabulous draft to win a whole lot of games. And there is no end of competition in the crappy team category.

Best result --team learns how to play defense and loses by a respectable score while the young guys get in another albeit partial season of development.

Plus with a guy like Hayes getting the position then JV can learn good habits when he arrives and in a couple of years when he is taking the minutes Hayes could slide to backup.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

I have a feeling that AB's playing time is going to go down significantly this year. Ed Davis and Amir Johnson are the future of our PF position.

I think this is audition time and in AB's case it's his last one. They will bring in a vet center who can anchor the defense. That leaves AB to be a PF like he should have been all along. IF he then can't get it done they will trade him for a SF or even a PG if they don't think Bayless is a starter.

Then if AB does finally show something they can move Davis who seems like a bit of a headcase anyway.

Either way I think they will have DD, JV and their pick this year going forward. Amir is perfect coming off the bench. Then they evaluate AB, Davis and Bayless. They make a deal this year to fill out one of the positions lacking and then dip into free agency to fill the other.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by moon

Isn't Chuck Hayes like 6'6?

That seems pretty small for a center, especially when you have butter soft Bargnani next to you at PF watching his man get any rebound he wants.

Do you really want the Raptors to base their long-term roster decisions on how well they play with Bargnani? I'd rather hear that Casey's going to play whatever guys are showing dedication to his system. If Hayes is going to play good defense and rebound well -- as he's done for most of his career -- then I don't really care about his height. I sort of view him as Reggie Evans with better defense. He'd be a great mentor for Davis and Johnson. Once we've got Valanciunas and Davis together next year, he'd be a good guy for situational defense.

Does he end up here? Of the teams rumoured to be interested, I think Portland must be tempting, since it's his best shot to get minutes and play for a contender. Don't see him going to Minnesota; they've got too many big men and not enough minutes to go around. Toronto is probably the only team interested in him where he could realistically compete for a starting spot, at least this year.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

Amir I think will backup Hayes(or whoever they bring in) as he has apparently bulked up to 245lbs.

If Amir has bulked up and can still keep most of his athleticism and hustle, then he will be twice the player of Hayes IMO. A rotation of Amir, Davis, JV and a defensive center looks very good for the front-court of the Raps moving forward.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

If Amir has bulked up and can still keep most of his athleticism and hustle, then he will be twice the player of Hayes IMO. A rotation of Amir, Davis, JV and a defensive center looks very good for the front-court of the Raps moving forward.

You have to remember with Amir that between the ears he is a little dense. He has trouble in the minutes he gets not fouling out and is very much suited to coming off the bench. He does a great job of taking it to whoever is up against him from the other teams 2nd unit.

[The Big Chill]

Interesting Dwane Casey interview:

http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/2011...casey-part-two

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

You have to remember with Amir that between the ears he is a little dense. He has trouble in the minutes he gets not fouling out and is very much suited to coming off the bench. He does a great job of taking it to whoever is up against him from the other teams 2nd unit.

He also has shown improvement in that area, as his playing time went way up last year due to taking less fouls. He still has a lot of work to do, but at 24 years old he still has plenty of time to improve.

I'd be happy if a guy like Hayes was brought in, but in a few years from now I expect the front-court minutes to be split predominantly between Amir, Davis and JV. Of course if AB miraculously steps up his game or a big man falls into our lap via the draft then that could change things a little bit too.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

He also has shown improvement in that area, as his playing time went way up last year due to taking less fouls. He still has a lot of work to do, but at 24 years old he still has plenty of time to improve.

I'd be happy if a guy like Hayes was brought in, but in a few years from now I expect the front-court minutes to be split predominantly between Amir, Davis and JV. Of course if AB miraculously steps up his game or a big man falls into our lap via the draft then that could change things a little bit too.

LOL they just have to lose games and they can pick up whatever they want in this draft. Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes, Gilchrist. I mean this draft is just loaded. I watched Kentucky last night and wow they are just some kinda team and Davis is a bigtime franchise player.

NC and Kentucky play each other soonest. Now there is a game worth watching

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

LOL they just have to lose games and they can pick up whatever they want in this draft. Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes, Gilchrist. I mean this draft is just loaded. I watched Kentucky last night and wow they are just some kinda team and Davis is a bigtime franchise player.

NC and Kentucky play each other soonest. Now there is a game worth watching

I would love to get Barnes. He would be a great fit as the SF on this team.

[CofR]

The Toronto Raptors have reportedly made contact with the agent for Jonas Valanciunas to guage his interest in playing for the team this season according to Chad Ford of ESPN.

Valanciunas, the fifth overall draft pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, was believed to be at least a year away from playing in the NBA. If the Raptors and Valanciunas reach a mutual agreement for the 19-year-old centre, Toronto would need to work out a buyout arrangement with Valanciunas' current club team, Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania.

http://www.thescore.com/nba/articles...or-2011-season

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by CofR

The Toronto Raptors have reportedly made contact with the agent for Jonas Valanciunas to guage his interest in playing for the team this season according to Chad Ford of ESPN.

Valanciunas, the fifth overall draft pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, was believed to be at least a year away from playing in the NBA. If the Raptors and Valanciunas reach a mutual agreement for the 19-year-old centre, Toronto would need to work out a buyout arrangement with Valanciunas' current club team, Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania.

http://www.thescore.com/nba/articles...or-2011-season

Interesting... depending on what the buyout amount is, it might be cheaper for the team than a free agent, but at the same time, wouldn't that use up a year of his RFA eligibility? I'd still love to see them do it if they could.

[bluejays]

I'm sure they scouted the guy endlessly and feel the benefit of him coming to NA is greater than keeping him there, but personally I wouldn't touch him this year. He needs to gain some weight at the NBA level and get more height when he's doing his jumper. Unless he improves on those, bringing him to be a end of the line bench player would be a waste. My vote would to hold off until next year.

[octothorp]

Davis spent the summer in the gym and came to camp 17 lbs heavier than how he ended last season, around 234 lbs now. I don't have a problem with him being a stopgap centre until next year.

[The Big Chill]

This years schedule is jam packed, including 5 games in 6 days at one point. Get ready for lots of sloppy basketball and injuries!

[Gozer]

Think we'll see some "Shaq rules" this season - healthy guys (that play heavy minutes) wear a suit once in a while?

[St. Pats]

The Raptors brought in a new guy to work with the players especially on their weak spots health/strength wise. As the article points out could be very important this year as regards injuries.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sport...981/story.html