2022 Toronto Raptors Thread

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Fair to wonder why Embiid was in the game up 30 with four minutes left. Even without the injury he suffered he already had the hand issue.

Ego. Wanted to be there when they when he got his revenge from a couple seasons ago.


Anyway, judging from his hugging of Siakam at the end, he probably acts this way to light a fire under his own butt and probably isn't that much of dbag in real life. He's just taking the WWE approach to getting those to hate him.

[Hockey_Ninja]

I remember when people said that Tatum and Brown wouldn’t work together. Guess they were wrong

[Senator Clay Davis]

The thought of 36 year old James Harden making $61 million......wow lol. In some ways the Sixers are kinda pot committed to extending him, but doubling down on a mistake rarely works. Either way, Morey has a hell of a decision ahead of him.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

The thought of 36 year old James Harden making $61 million......wow lol. In some ways the Sixers are kinda pot committed to extending him, but doubling down on a mistake rarely works. Either way, Morey has a hell of a decision ahead of him.

Care to explain what the situation is? I'd think if he's a simple FA, they just cut the line. Why would they look to extend him when you can get comparable players for cheaper?

[Senator Clay Davis]

So he's eligible for a supermax extension after this year, which adds something like 4 years and $225 million to his current deal; he will become a UFA after next year. It sounds straightforward to just walk away, but remember they gave up a fairly decent haul for him. To trade the package they did just for Harden to be an extended rental would be dubious asset management.....but, yeah Harden just looks very washed right now. Hasn't taken over 20 shots in a single game in Philly, which is hard to believe considering how much he dominated the ball in his prime years.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So he's eligible for a supermax extension after this year, which adds something like 4 years and $225 million to his current deal; he will become a UFA after next year. It sounds straightforward to just walk away, but remember they gave up a fairly decent haul for him. To trade the package they did just for Harden to be an extended rental would be dubious asset management.....but, yeah Harden just looks very washed right now. Hasn't taken over 20 shots in a single game in Philly, which is hard to believe considering how much he dominated the ball in his prime years.

Thanks. I'd still walk away. The guy is a serial loafer every off-season. I think he lives the life most would if you made that much money. He doesn't really care anymore and doesn't fall into the power structure of pro sports, much like Kyrie doesn't care either. Some guys made such a crazy amount of money that they don't have to obey expectations anymore. He's getting older and his weight and conditioning will only get worse.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by fleury

Care to explain what the situation is? I'd think if he's a simple FA, they just cut the line. Why would they look to extend him when you can get comparable players for cheaper?

To add to what Senator said, it's not like they've just got an unlimited budget to work with. By my math they'd have less than $20m to work with in cap space, but could get closer to $30m if they let Danny Green walk as well. But that's not enough to get in on the top class of free agents like Beal or LaVine, and most of the other options for wings/guards are guys like Simons, Bridges, or Sexton where their teams have RFA rights. I have a hard time seeing a path to a reasonable replacement for Harden through free agency on their budget.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by octothorp

To add to what Senator said, it's not like they've just got an unlimited budget to work with. By my math they'd have less than $20m to work with in cap space, but could get closer to $30m if they let Danny Green walk as well. But that's not enough to get in on the top class of free agents like Beal or LaVine, and most of the other options for wings/guards are guys like Simons, Bridges, or Sexton where their teams have RFA rights. I have a hard time seeing a path to a reasonable replacement for Harden through free agency on their budget.

Fair. Still doesn't make sense to tie up money in someone not wanting to be in good condition. And not just a one year affair either. This is a multi-year commitment. I'd walk and try and swing a trade, or rebuild. Their roster is good but not great, with guys like Harden and Embiid aging. Could get some amazing for Embiid, I'd think.

[octothorp]

True enough, we'll see if sunk-cost fallacy prevails here.

There's definitely a worse-case scenario where they max Harden on a five-year deal, and then have $100m plus per year for the next 5 years tied up in two guys who can't stay healthy.

[octothorp]

Thoughts on the second round so far? None of the series has had a really high quality of basketball IMO, but maybe that's just a matter of the defenses being able to muck things up. I do think a Warriors/Suns WCF has the potential to be fantastic, and on the other side I'd expect whoever wins the Celtics/Bucks series to get to the finals.

[Hockey_Ninja]

I’ve honestly been pretty locked into the NHL playoffs and have mostly watched highlights so I can’t fully judge the 2nd round. This year’s playoffs in general haven’t been as interesting as last years were

[Hockey_Ninja]

I do have to say that the butt hurt reactions to Jokic winning MVP have been funny. People seriously trying to lump in playoffs for a regular season award. It’s not even like Jokic was the unanimous MVP. It was a pretty close MVP race this year

[Senator Clay Davis]

Just so few close games this year, feels like every game is over before the fourth even begins, so it just hasn't been all that compelling. Which is funny because by all accounts TV ratings are up a fair amount. Haven't exactly got a great playoffs for the viewers. As for the Jokic slander, I think the funniest part is I don't think he genuinely cares about winning the MVP, whereas Embiid was desperate for it, and Sixers fans have lost it over the result.

[Senator Clay Davis]

This series has actually been pretty good to be fair. Bucks absolutely stole that one/Cetics absolutely choked that one.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Brutal choke by the Celtics. Man Jrue is such a good defender. It’s hard to believe he’s never won DPOTY

[octothorp]

Yeah, love that defense by Jrue. Boston is a super-talented young team, but there's something to be said for being in those situations before and knowing how to execute.

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Brutal choke by the Celtics. Man Jrue is such a good defender. It’s hard to believe he’s never won DPOTY

I'm the biggest fan of whoever plays the Bucks. Huge dissapointment last night..

Time to close out the Mavs tonight!

[Hockey_Ninja]

Harden is the most overrated player of all-time. Anyone who tried to put him on Kobe or DWade’s level should be ashamed of themselves

[Senator Clay Davis]

Sixers are in a really bad spot as far as improving their roster for next year. They are pretty much compelled to give this group another go and then when it inevitable fails then you can truly nuke it. But giving Harden a max is insane, even something like 4yrs and $140 million is gonna be tough to swallow by year two. And the Raps should be stronger next year and so should Cleveland, Brooklyn....Sixers window might be shut.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Lol

https://twitter.com/user/status/1524915252185354240