Toronto Raptors 2012/2013 season

[moon]

The Thunder built from the ground up and, while not winning, have a darn good chance. The Spurs built their team from the ground up and have had decent success. The Lakers tried to buy a championship and it was a disaster.

I think the league does have a problem in these super teams being created but good management still plays a huge role and the pathetic management in TO has been the biggest obstacle to them winning not any concerns about others buying championships or not.

I think this team had a shot at competing in a few years before the Gay trade. But now they have a mediocre to bad core with very few young pieces to build on and not a whole lot of hope going forward to add to that.

With 1 good young guy in Valcunias who still has a long ways to go, no pick this year and likely a 10-15 pick next year it is going to be a long stretch of meh from this Raptors team unless they can Colangelo and the new guy is a miracle worker.

[bluejays]

As always, the Raps lost a tiebreaker draw against Philly, giving them even lesser odds to get the #1.

[Da_Chief]

There was almost no chance of them moving from 12th to 1st anyways. Give OKC the worst pick possible.

Id take lowry over whatever they would've gotten at 13th.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Just move the team and get it over with

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Just move the team and get it over with

Unfortunately the problem is that MLSE not only sees no reason to move the club but no reason to not make changes. They still have lots of butts in the seats and their empire continues to roll in the bucks.

Literally the folks in TO will support anything it seems no matter how hopeless they are.

[bluejays]

^ I agree for the most part. As long as there's hope in the team, artificial or not, Toronto fans will come out. They're very swayed by the possibility of a particular player breaking out. Interest in the Raptors this year has been pretty lackluster though, so I wouldn't take it for granted that fans will show up because this year there were incentives left, right and centre.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by fleury

^ I agree for the most part. As long as there's hope in the team, artificial or not, Toronto fans will come out. They're very swayed by the possibility of a particular player breaking out. Interest in the Raptors this year has been pretty lackluster though, so I wouldn't take it for granted that fans will show up because this year there were incentives left, right and centre.

BC is the king of koolaid. Nobody dispenses the smooth sugary taste of next year hype like KOK. He will go into heavy duty spin mode now as he attempts to keep his job for another year. The rest of the time he will spend working on his excuses in case they bomb out and fail to make the playoffs yet again.

Toronto fans as gullible as they are will suck it up the straw and lay their money down.

[octothorp]

MLSE has hired Tim Leiweke as its new president. He's got experience from LA in running AEG, which owns the Kings, Galaxy, and part of the Lakers. But the more interesting element for Raptors fans is that he is said to know Phil Jackson quite well, and rumours are everywhere that this is the first part of taking a run at offering Jackson the Raptors President and/or GM position.

So I think there's three questions here: is this really what MLSE is planning; would Jackson ever consider taking a job with the Raptors; and, would Jackson actually make a good president or GM?

As much as I respect Jackson, and as much as I would like to see the end of the Colangelo era, I would hope that MLSE doesn't have tunnel vision about Jackson this early in the process. That said, Leiweke seems like a really good hire, regardless.

edit: I have to say after reading a little bit more, it really sounds like Jackson is looking for more of a president, or president of basketball operations role, rather than GM.

[bluejays]

It seems like a good hire, I'll give it that. Jackson's an interesting one. He has a persona whereby you really feel you can't mess with him, and while I think I'm jumping to conclusions, it bodes well as a negotiating tactic. GM's tend to respect guys like him, and I'm sure players would love to play for his team. I don't know how many years he has in the tank, is really my priority concern. I don't think they should just fire Bryan, as he does great work drafting and making up for bad signings with quick trades. I say you only fire him if there's someone who you know is better than him. I'm actually thinking Phil could be that guy, even without the front-office GM experience.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Phil Jackson will never, ever come to the Raptors as a coach, GM, or President.

[kmart]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Phil Jackson will never, ever come to the Raptors as a coach, GM, or President.

This.

Anything that sounds smart with the Raptors can't be true.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by kmart

This.

Anything that sounds smart with the Raptors can't be true.

With Seattle out as a destination for PJ you never know the Raps might actually do something right. I doubt it as well but if they could get rid of BC and Casey this would be a great offseason.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Sooo. Should we be in the running for Wiggins next year?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Realistically there is no way the Raptors should be at the top of the lottery, not with the Bobcats being the Bobcats and several other teams being awful. Going for Gay was the mistake, should have traded everyone but Ross and Valanciunas and gone full tank mode. Adam Silver can make his mark though and continue the Stern legacy by rigging it for Canada. No doubt he can see how big it can potentially be for the game up here.

[octothorp]

I've mentioned this before I think, but the Raptors should spend the first couple months trying to win with this core, and if they aren't coming together, blow it up mid-season. There will be a market for DeRozan, gay, and Lowry if they're blowing up, maybe amir too, and the last 50 games is plenty of time to get to the bottom of the standings.

And for me it's not just wiggins: it looks right now like a deep, strong draft. A top five pick may get you a franchise guy. Lottery should be full of impact players.

[octothorp]

ESPN Insider speculates that the Raptors are the top destination for Jackson. The 11 potential destinations they list, in order, are:

1) Toronto
2) Sacramento
3) Charlotte
4) Lakers
5) Phoenix
6) Brooklyn
7) Washington
8) Philadelphia
9) Minnesota
10) Clippers
11) New York

This reminds me of the Nash situation where my first reaction is 'meh, it probably won't happen, and I'm not sure it would actually be a good thing, so I'm just going to hope it doesn't happen.' But the more it gets turned into a competition between different franchises by the media, the more I can't help actually rooting for the Raptors to 'win' over other teams.

(I don't have access to ESPN insider so I don't know what's actually said about these situations).

[moon]

It basically talks about his relationship with Liewecke, his relationship with head of sports science and that the roster doesn't really fit with his style.

Also mentions staff already here- Colangelo's, Stefanski, Casey- doesn't affect him coming or not.

[OzSome]

Raptors' problem is trying to hire cheap head coaches who never had any coaching experience anywhere aside from Lenny Wilkens. Unfortunately when they hired Wilkens, he is already going close to retirement or should be in retirement.

Here's the list :
1. Brendan Malone - no head coaching experience.
2. Darrell Walker - same. 1st head coaching job
3. Butch Carter - assistant coach for Milwaukee. 1st HC job
4. Lenny Wilkens - one of the Top 10 head coaches in the NBA history. Raptors is his 2nd last HC gig.
5. Kevin O'Neill - asst coach for Detroit Pistons. No HC job experience in the NBA prior to the Raptors.
6. Sam Mitchell - asst coach for Charlotte Bobcats. No HC experience. He turned out to be the best HC Raptors have by winning Coach of the Year and that says much.
7. Jay Triano - asst coach for the Raptors under Wilkens, O'Neill and Mitchell. No HC gig.
8. Dwayne Casey - head coaching job in Minnesota (fired after two seasons), asst coach for Dallas.

So, i think it is time for the Raptors to hire some young experience head coaches. Potential good coaches doesn't work for this team anymore. Also, time to cut the cord on Bargnani and Colangelo admit that he made a terrible mistakes in drafting his first overall.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by octothorp

ESPN Insider speculates that the Raptors are the top destination for Jackson. The 11 potential destinations they list, in order, are:

1) Toronto
2) Sacramento
3) Charlotte
4) Lakers
5) Phoenix
6) Brooklyn
7) Washington
8) Philadelphia
9) Minnesota
10) Clippers
11) New York

This reminds me of the Nash situation where my first reaction is 'meh, it probably won't happen, and I'm not sure it would actually be a good thing, so I'm just going to hope it doesn't happen.' But the more it gets turned into a competition between different franchises by the media, the more I can't help actually rooting for the Raptors to 'win' over other teams.

(I don't have access to ESPN insider so I don't know what's actually said about these situations).

Or he'll consult with Detroit, because why would he ever come to Toronto?

I love that Detroit wasn't even on that list. Of course he's not coaching them or joining the organization, but it's just great that it's out of the blue for the "insiders".

[Rapidfire999]

Phil Jackson - C - Lakers
The Raptors have the best shot at luring Phil Jackson out of retirement due to the presence of former AEG exec Tim Leiweke, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

The Zen Master recently turned down a coaching job with the Nets and reportedly is in "listen mode" at this point. If he returns, Jackson is reportedly looking for a Pat Riley-type role overseeing a team's basketball operations department. The Raptors have been prominently linked to Jackson ever since Leiweke was hired as the new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the fit makes a ton of sense if Jackson wouldn't mind taking over a franchise that has cap issues and probably needs a serious overhaul, which has never really been Jackson's M.O. At this point, only time (and dollars) will tell.
Related: Raptors

from rotoworld