2015-16 Raptors and General NBA Thread

[Hockey_Ninja]

Man I wish George broke that record. Last all-star game with Kobe. Damn does time fly.

[You Need a Thneed]

139 - 3 pointer attempts, and 7 free throw attempts, just like a regular NBA game.

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by Trojan97

Nelly Furtado absolutely butchered the Canadian anthem at the all star game IMO. I see opinions are pretty split on social media, people seemed to either love it or hate it. What did everyone here think about it?

Loved it.
She put in the passion and soul that her later albums are known for.

[octothorp]

So Chris Bosh might have another blood clot, this one in his leg. If he goes on blood thinners again, he'd need to shut it down for the season. The other option is apparently some sort of filter in his leg that would prevent the clots from moving to his heart/lungs and may allow him to continue to play. It's a bit alarming because he was already under supervision/treatment to try to prevent blood clots, so this may be an ongoing issue for him for as long as he chooses to continue his basketball career.

[GirlySports]

the nba is off til thursday! that's an all-star break

[St. Pats]

Raptors trade rumours continue to appear. Almost all involve a move at PF. I see them doing something minor if anything and that won't help them. They really do need an upgrade on Patterson and Scola though.

[Imported_Aussie]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

Raptors trade rumours continue to appear. Almost all involve a move at PF. I see them doing something minor if anything and that won't help them. They really do need an upgrade on Patterson and Scola though.

I could see a guy like Thad Young being picked up. Nets are looking to offload $$.
A pipe-dream would be Gasol - rumours are that the Bulls are shopping him and Taj Gibson, looking to move one of them, wanting a roster player and a 1st round pick. Patterson + 1st round pick would be a good deal

[octothorp]

Gasol would be great, but also looks like a pure rental. Where-as Horford, you could realistically resign, but the cost to get Horford would probably be huge.

I'm not a fan of getting Young, if it means giving up more than Raptors' own first, + non-rotation filler. His contract isn't great, his 3pt shooting is worse than Patterson, his defense is on par with Patterson, and as a starter he'll really only take touches away from JV, who's a superior TS% offensive player, because Lowry and DeRozan aren't giving up their touches. Gibson's got nice defense, but kills spacing.

Terrence Jones would have been my top target, but with Houston trading Motiejunas, there's probably little chance of them trading Jones too.

[octothorp]

No moves for Raptors, it looks like, and not many moves overall. Certainly no big names moved, despite guys like Howard and Horford being talked about.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I actually was hoping they'd try and get Gallinari out of Denver. Probably be too expensive but he's exactly what the Raps need.

[dino7c]

They might win a round but they can't beat the top teams

[octothorp]

It's also significant that neither Denver or NYK improved... infact Denver got a bit worse, moving out Foye. That pick is starting to look like a solid top-10, maybe top 8.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Imagine that becomes like a top 6 pick in the lottery and the Raps win it and get Ben Simmons. I think it's totally unprotected too so Bargnani can ultimately turn into Simmons. They'd have to start building the Masai statue after the draft.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Imagine that becomes like a top 6 pick in the lottery and the Raps win it and get Ben Simmons. I think it's totally unprotected too so Bargnani can ultimately turn into Simmons. They'd have to start building the Masai statue after the draft.

It's the worst of Denver and Knicks pick after the lottery. So it's impossible for them to get the #1 overall pick; Denver would get it. But there's that tiny, (less than 1%) chance that Knicks and Nuggets picks get #1 & #2 in the lottery, giving Toronto #2 overall.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by dino7c

They might win a round but they can't beat the top teams

Which is precisely why I think MU did zip. I'll bet he kicked the tires on the likes of Young trying to fleece some GM. Meanwhile he really went after Horford. Why bother unless it's something that gives you a shot against the Cavs.

MU needs to make a BIG splash this summer. A major piece added to give them a realistic shot.

[bluejays]

Yeah, to some degree I'm glad MU didn't make a knee jerk reaction. Personally I don't think this is a championship team at all. Having said this, to make it a championship team you probably need a little more veteran leadership as well as a bonafide clutch guy. Plus a PF. Having said this, adding a salary now would probably have cost us large when trying to make a big splash this summer. How's this years draft class overall looking?

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by fleury

Yeah, to some degree I'm glad MU didn't make a knee jerk reaction. Personally I don't think this is a championship team at all. Having said this, to make it a championship team you probably need a little more veteran leadership as well as a bonafide clutch guy. Plus a PF. Having said this, adding a salary now would probably have cost us large when trying to make a big splash this summer. How's this years draft class overall looking?

They for sure are not championship contenders. I mean heck I'm still, like most Raptor fans methinks, scared they will lose the first round yet again.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by fleury

How's this years draft class overall looking?

Okay, not great. Especially with an 8-10 pick, there's probably not going to be anyone without some blemishes. I feel like there's a definite drop-off after the top 8 or so. Canadian Jamal Murray, perhaps (although not an obvious positional fit for the Raptors). I love PF Henry Ellenson as a fit for the Raptors but he's probably off the board before #8. Lots of Cs, including Poetl (former teammate of Wright at Utah); Skal Labissiere, who was previously #1 but has fallen all year; Diamond Stone, who I'm not crazy about. International wings Korkmaz and Luwawu both seem like Masai-type players (especially Luwawu). SG Buddy Hield is one of the big mid-season risers, but he's also a college senior, which is going to cast some skepticism on him.

Personally, guys I'd like to see the Raptors consider who might be available with either of their picks are:
Ellenson
Murray
Skal
Luwawe
Rabb
Diallo
Sabonis
LeVert

I know a lot of Raptors fans are already locked in on Murray. And I really like him but I'm a little bit skeptical about him being the right fit for the Raptors.

[Machiavelli]

Hmmm, I really hope they don't whimper into the playoffs again.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I'm gonna choose to look at last night as an outlier and not a sign of things to come. Doug McDermott is not scoring 30 points a game more than 5 more times in his career, so they simply ran into an average player having a huge night. I do hope Jonas having a big night against Gasol will have Casey running more offense through him, though I won't hold my breath.

And the Warriors lost, and while they are a great team, Steph's average at best defense could be a problem for them in the playoffs if they draw a top point guard or two. Lillard has dropped 40+ twice on him (including last night's 51) and Wall dropped 40 on him too. Attacking Curry appears to be a good strategy, and maybe that's why the Raps match up so well with the Warriors is they have a backcourt that can push Curry.