So was plan B better than plan A?

Lowry is a very good player but there's a reason he's plan B. Yes there are benefits to his aquisition(financial, his better defense etc) compared to Nash but he is no Nash. I remember when Nash signed with Phoenix in 2004 and went on to become MVP for the next two seasons. I mean he was the reason the likes of A Stoudamire, Marion and so on shot as well as they did. They were not the same players afterwards without him. I hope that Lowry is only part of plan B 'cause there better be more. If not I see a mediocre team. Not much better than last year.

Right to some extent 'cause I don't think that would have been the case if we were a winning team. 'Winning' makes a big difference.

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RaptorReuben wrote:

City wise, wouldn't it be the 'metro' area of Toronto seem better than those of Charlotte and Milwaukee? I think the only reason why people don't wanna come over cause it's Canada, which not many players in the NBA are from...

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Eric Akshinthala wrote:

Lowry is a very good player but there's a reason he's plan B. Yes there are benefits to his aquisition(financial, his better defense etc) compared to Nash but he is no Nash. I remember when Nash signed with Phoenix in 2004 and went on to become MVP for the next two seasons. I mean he was the reason the likes of A Stoudamire, Marion and so on shot as well as they did. They were not the same players afterwards without him.I hope that Lowry is only part of plan B 'cause there better be more. If not I see a mediocre team. Not much better than last year.

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I really doubt that this Lowry move is the last deal for BC. We have not used any of our other trade chips (LK or JJ, Amir or ED, Bayless, etc.)

I do not see how this team could drastically change with a trade using a combination of those assets, but we will see. I am sort of expecting one deal to get some cap flexibility (so we can keep Caldy and be able to offer a contract larger then 2.5 mil) and then another deal to secure a veteran C, but who knows?

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thead wrote:

my heart says plan A was better

my head says plan B was much better

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JoePanini wrote:

Lowry is younger, has more potential and is a very good defender. He fits the team, especially Casey's philosophy perfectly, and far more than Steve Nash. I'd say we were unbelievably lucky we didn't sign Nash.

Let's just break down the two players' strengths, weaknesses and how they would fit in the team.

Nash: Great shooter, great distributor. But is 38 and will probably keep Raptors in mediocrity if the Raptors don't become a 50ish game winning team. Is a terrible defender.

Lowry: Young, loads of potential. Averaged 7 assists last year, for a PG his age it is pretty good. One of the better defenders in the league, seems like exactly what Casey wants and would want to coach. Has one of the best contracts in the league. Will help Raptors on the long term.


There are a lot more reasons why Lowry is clearly the better choice, but now I'm just ecstatic that this is happening and for a 1st round pick + Forbes! Our lineup next year will be great to watch, especially for those who like watching high energy hard-nosed basketball.

PG Lowry - Calderon or Bayless
SG DeRozan - Fields
SF Fields - JJ - Kleiza
PF Bargnani - Davis
C Johnson - Valanciunas

That team is a damn good team.

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And you didn't even include Ross. Damn, we are getting good.

Nash makes the Raptors better NOW.

Lowry makes the Raptors better NOW too.

Nash has a shelf life of 2-3 years.

Lowry has a shelf life of another 7-8 years minimum.

Nash would have cost around $12M each year over the next 2 years.

Lowry will cost the Raptors half each season for the next 2 years.

Nash has a significant advantage on offense.

Lowry has a significant advantage on defense.

My heart says Nash (as thead said earlier).

My brain says Lowry (as thead said earlier).

So it looks like the majority of people think that Lowry is a far better plan then Nash.

So was Nash only plan A because of the marketability,the story of him coming back to Canada, and him making the Raptors more relevant again?

I am just confused by the results of the poll, because if I can recall correctly, when Nash was considering the Raps, the majority of people argued that Nash was the better way to go, and the minority thought Lowry was the way to go.

Interesting.

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RaptorReuben wrote:

City wise, wouldn't it be the 'metro' area of Toronto seem better than those of Charlotte and Milwaukee? I think the only reason why people don't wanna come over cause it's Canada, which not many players in the NBA are from...

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I'm not lumping Toronto in with those places because of how it measures up as a city. Toronto is one of the greatest places the NBA has to offer but that doesn't seem to matter to NBA players. I don't think it has as much to do with being in Canada as it does with not being relevant in the current NBA landscape. Those other cities I mentioned can't attract top talent to sign there either and it is because it's hard to see the appeal. They have flawed rosters posting flawed results with fringe all-stars at best posing as franchise cornerstones... Overall they don't do anything remarkable or have any type of drawing power. Whether Nash matched Lowry's output on the court is irrelevant if it made the Raptors a wanted commodity again and I feel like he would have.

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Red and White wrote:

So it looks like the majority of people think that Lowry is a far better plan then Nash.

So was Nash only plan A because of the marketability,the story of him coming back to Canada, and him making the Raptors more relevant again?

I am just confused by the results of the poll, because if I can recall correctly, when Nash was considering the Raps, the majority of people argued that Nash was the better way to go, and the minority thought Lowry was the way to go.

Interesting.

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Emotion combined with tunnel vision is a crazy thing.

I don't mean to sound so negative by the way. I think given the circumstances the Lowry trade was a home run. It definitely makes the Raptors a better team than when they day started. I just don't think it makes them any more relevant, which the Raptors will need to have happen if they ever want to be able to attract any one worth while.

Nash is a super-star in the league.. He is old but in the same league as guys like Paul/Dwight/Wade/Kobe, etc. He is a difference maker, and has proven it time and again. He is a far better plan because our team needs respectability and fast.

He would only last 2-3 years, but in year 2 we could have gotten our replacement as a young PG that Nash could mentor. Nash may not attract free agents directly but others would consider what Nash did and might think about Toronto come free agency in the future.

He is more expensive, and would only last a few seasons but the upside to what he can do to the franchise, IMO is far bigger than what Lowry could do to the Raptors now. I like Lowry and think it was a great move, but I would still rather have Nash then Lowry.

When considering Plan B, we have to keep in mind that Lowry may walk by contract's end. If we only get him for 2 years, then his relative youth literally means nothing.

But if he agrees to an extension at some point over the next 24 months, then Plan B is the winner.

Nash will not complete his first season with the Lakers I assure you he will go down. Dodged a real bullet.

Don't understand if you are agreeing or disagreeing. If agreeing, no comment. If disagreeing, I think you're misunderstanding a realistic comment.

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Matt52 wrote:

Emotion combined with tunnel vision is a crazy thing.

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Lowry. Younger, cheaper, plays both ends of the court. Not here primarily to sell tickets for MLSE and Rogers/Bell other than with his game.

Does anyone get the feeling that Lowry was Colangelo's and Casey's first choice? And that they only REALLY went after Nash because they had too? (They really did have an obligation to poke that bush and see what came out of it.)

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Red and White wrote:

So it looks like the majority of people think that Lowry is a far better plan then Nash.

So was Nash only plan A because of the marketability,the story of him coming back to Canada, and him making the Raptors more relevant again?

I am just confused by the results of the poll, because if I can recall correctly, when Nash was considering the Raps, the majority of people argued that Nash was the better way to go, and the minority thought Lowry was the way to go.

Interesting.

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Found this interesting as well.

I was mainly attracted to the whole Nash scenario because he's Steve Nash ... you don't really say NO to him if he wants to come to your team. Along those lines, when he started to imply that there was a certain interest, I became interested.
I was never originally keen on bringing in Nash, but mainly because I didn't think he'd even consider it, and I didn't think BC would either. But its Steve Nash. You HAVE too.. right?

As I pointed out, I feel like BC felt a certain duty to pursue Nash, being the GM of the Canadian team.

I believe in his heart of hearts, he knew Lowry would be the 'PG of the Future' that he spoke of months ago.


As Nil pointed out; if we are able to sign Lowry long term, and he continues on his impressive path of improvement, then this is by far the better deal for this team, long term, in terms of Team Success.

Nash would have been a short term boost in the Box Office and Perhaps in the overall Success. But that would be limited, regardless of an Extension, unlike Lowry.

my mood has done a complete 180 in the past 24 hours. i felt literally defeated when nash was supposedly going to the knicks, but now that we have lowry and its sunk in i'm so excited to watch this team and have a feeling it worked out for the best. between just lowry and fields the team got a major talent infusion and i can't wait to see what else BC has up his sleeve.

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joey_hesketh wrote:

Does anyone get the feeling that Lowry was Colangelo's and Casey's first choice? And that they only REALLY went after Nash because they had too? (They really did have an obligation to poke that bush and see what came out of it.)

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they went to hard for someone "just poking a bush". if their deal was comparable to others then i would agree. but they made his sure he would be getting the absolute best deal financially had he chosen us.

i think if lowry was plan a all along they would have had him earlier and went harder after batum

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ceez wrote:

my mood has done a complete 180 in the past 24 hours. i felt literally defeated when nash was supposedly going to the knicks, but now that we have lowry and its sunk in i'm so excited to watch this team and have a feeling it worked out for the best. between just lowry and fields the team got a major talent infusion and i can't wait to see what else BC has up his sleeve.

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+1 i think fields is going to grow on raptor fans. don't think he will ever live up to year 3 money but 6 million isn't damaging.

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ceez wrote:

my mood has done a complete 180 in the past 24 hours. i felt literally defeated when nash was supposedly going to the knicks, but now that we have lowry and its sunk in i'm so excited to watch this team and have a feeling it worked out for the best. between just lowry and fields the team got a major talent infusion and i can't wait to see what else BC has up his sleeve.

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Totally agree. Lowry, Fields, Valanciunas, Ross and Acy... that is a serious influx of talent for this roster! And I highly doubt BC is done his wheeling and dealing.

On an unrelated note, are you waiting for the Lowry press conference to change your avatar, or are you simply going to continue floating down denial?? lol poor ceez :-)