Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Morning Coffee – Tue, Jul 8

Lowry worth every penny of his new contract | Doug Smith still not sure if the offseason was successful Caboclo: can't teach height and length

Kyle Lowry Is Worth Every Dollar of His New Deal with the Toronto Raptors | numberFire

He scored more than Deron Williams. He shot as accurately as Damian Lillard. He averaged more assists and fewer turnovers than Kyrie Irving. His 3.02 assist-to-turnover ratio was even better than the likes of noted assist gurus Rajon Rondo (2.97), Steve Nash (2.77), and Ty Lawson (2.72). He grabbed more boards than every NBA point guard not named Michael Carter-Williams. He stole the ball just as many times per game as Mike Conley, the previous year’s leader in total steals and All-Defensive honoree (second team). On the more advanced metric side, he was 8th in the entire league in offensive win shares (8.4), 8th in total win shares (11.7), and 10th in win shares per 48 minutes (.197). He was 10th on our NBA Player Rankings with a nERD score of 10.7.

Raptors took Bruno Caboclo on wingspan and a prayer | Toronto Star

“Length gives you a chance,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey says. “In a lot of ways.” With that in mind, the chance of unheralded Toronto draft pick Bruno Caboclo making a quicker transition from unknown Brazilian teenager to NBA player may be accelerated simply because of the makeup of his body. At six-foot-eight, he’s about average height for an NBA player, so there’s nothing really special about that. But he also has a wingspan that measures about seven-foot-six from fingertip to fingertip, and that is among his most intriguing characteristics. Length can make up for any number of skills that need to be developed and fine-tuned. Long players deflect more passes, protect the rim better, are more able to get off shots that cannot easily be blocked . . . it can be a huge benefit. “With guys who are challenged developing lateral quickness or physical strength length helps, especially defensively,” said Casey. “Bruno will eventually add to our defensive length.”

Bruno Caboclo’s progress – how to turn him from prospect to Raptor – Raptors Rapture

“How are you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm/after they’ve seen Par-ee?” popular post-Great War song, c.1919 – If we want Bruno to bust his hump, the best way is to show him the NBA’s excitement, then give him a few months of long bus rides to places like Bakersfield, CA, Tulsa OK, and Reno NV. Once he’s seen how the other half lives (travel on chartered jets; stay at the best hotels in the hottest cities), then had it taken away, he’s going to do everything he can to return.

Minor Raptors moves as waiting continues and what’s the best free agent ending? | Toronto Star

While I was trying to hammer out this item , the HOTH cut ties with Julyan Stone, lost Nando DeColo to Russia and finalized the IT’S ONLY SUMMER LEAGUE roster. Tiny moves and necessary ones but it underscores that there is still plenty of work for Masai to do before we can determine whether this free agency period has been a success.

Raptors Newest Rookie Prospect Lucas Nogueira | Pro Bball Report

Nicknamed Bebe, Nogueira is from Sao Goncalo, Brazil and has been playing for Asefa Estudiantes in Spain. He joined the Junior team in 2009 before moving up to play in the Spanish ACB league in 2011-12. Typical of how European teams develop young players, Nogueira had to fight for minutes and he only averaged 13.6 minutes and 16.6 minutes over the past two seasons respectively. He did, however, make an impact by blocking shots and finishing at a very high percentage around the rim. Last season he shot over 70 percent from the field and his 1.6 blocks translates to almost 4 blocks per 40 minutes. His ability to be effective in the paint was on full display with the Hawks at the 2013 NBA Summer League where he averaged 6.4 points on 62.5 percent shooting, 6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.4 blocks in 21.8 minutes.

Raptors Free Agency Thoughts

Patrick Patterson another former Rocket found a nice role with the Raptors as their stretch four shooting 41% from 3 point land in 47 games with them. In todays NBA big men that can shoot are a premium especially ones with his athleticism. This contract is interesting because at 3 years and $18 million initally your like wow $6 million a year for a backup power forward but when you think about it down the line this will be a nice trade asset Masai Ujiri can use as part of a trade to land a bigger fish if the opportunity presents itself. In a season and a half this contract may be a hot commodity as Patterson will be a coveted expiring contract along with the fact that he can shoot from three and give teams size inside. I initially thought it was a little much but he’s a guy the Raptors are going to need to help space the floor, provide depth and an asset to use down the road in a trade.