The Raptors and the 2014 Draft

[Axel]

W - i - g - g - i - n - s.

I want Wiggans on Toronto for toronto.
I want wiggans in Kansas another year or two for Wiggans.

...

[Axel]

W - i - g - g - i - n - s.

My Predictions

-Casey gets axed after the season or earliest Feb.
-Ujiri moves Gay for a 1st rounder and expiring + young unproven prospect to a team that is looking to make playoffs and compete.
-Ujiri pursues George Karl
-Karl declines, Ujiri pursues and attains Lionel hollins
-JV stays
-DeMar is shopped but ends up staying
-Ross is moved sold high because he is an unknown and Slam Dunk champion for a late first rounder and 2nd rounder.
-Lowry is traded for a young prospect or packaged with Ross for a good player (?)

Raps finish 12th

go into June's draft with

3 #1s 2 #2s

Hollins would not be a good fit for a young rebuilding team. He is probably more youth averse than Casey. We need someone who will embrace the youth development. One name I'd like to consider is Shaka Smart at VCU. Others on my watch list include Nate Tibbets (assisstant in Portland who worked with Kyrie in Cleveland), Scott Drew at Baylor.

SVG would be the best choice but can we get him?

[white men can't jump]

Hollins would not be a good fit for a young rebuilding team. He is probably more youth averse than Casey. We need someone who will embrace the youth development. One name I'd like to consider is Shaka Smart at VCU. Others on my watch list include Nate Tibbets (assisstant in Portland who worked with Kyrie in Cleveland), Scott Drew at Baylor.

SVG would be the best choice but can we get him?

I'm not confident we can, but I'm pretty sure we need a top 3 pick this year to have a shot. I mean, if we called him with Jonas and Wiggins/Parker/Randle on the roster, he'd have to at least listen to the pitch, right? It would still be tough to get him, but at least it'd be hard to imagine he wouldn't at least give it minimal consideration.

[Rapstor4Life]

IF Hollins wants a job and hes ok with coaching in Toronto he will play the youth cause thats all Masai will give him, besides some role palyers off the bench

[Axel]

I'm not confident we can, but I'm pretty sure we need a top 3 pick this year to have a shot. I mean, if we called him with Jonas and Wiggins/Parker/Randle on the roster, he'd have to at least listen to the pitch, right? It would still be tough to get him, but at least it'd be hard to imagine he wouldn't at least give it minimal consideration.

Agreed. A top 3 pick makes us a much better coaching destination. Plus a veteran guy like SVG could basically command any salary terms and the owners would pay it.

[Axel]

IF Hollins wants a job and hes ok with coaching in Toronto he will play the youth cause thats all Masai will give him, besides some role palyers off the bench

Have you not seen Aaron Gray come in over Ed Davis, and JV the last 2 years? Hollins is more hardcore vet than DC. Any scrub with experience would get minutes.

[The Great One]

Anyone watched the Duke game last night? geez, Rodney Hood looking like a lottery pick. So much for my dream of him being available to the Raps in the 10-15 range.

[mcHAPPY]

Agreed. A top 3 pick makes us a much better coaching destination. Plus a veteran guy like SVG could basically command any salary terms and the owners would pay it.

If the rumour I read was true, considering they doubled Weltman's salary ($500K in MIL to $1M in TOR) then I think that is a fair statement.

[Burnit482]

As a coach a guy i would look at is Nate Mcmillian. I really liked him in Portland and think he could go a good job balancing win now (next year) and still developing the young guys i think he has a real good balance of that. I'm going to be a dumb fan for a second… i want a high pick and will do whatever to get it. And i want people gone and i want more 1st rounders this year don't care where they are but we can trade them around. Idc if we take on some bad contracts if we get 1st rounders.

[Mediumcore]

We'd have to trade our pick as well as acquire someone elses first rounder to just move into the top 10. Do the Knicks have a first rounder this year? If Knicks have a first round pick they might make good trading partners. They have to be getting desperate to make Melo happy right about now.

[magoon]

We'd have to trade our pick as well as acquire someone elses first rounder to just move into the top 10. Do the Knicks have a first rounder this year? If Knicks have a first round pick they might make good trading partners. They have to be getting desperate to make Melo happy right about now.

The Knicks don't have their first-rounder. They traded it to Denver in the Melo trade.

Comprehensive list of which teams have first-rounders this year:

Atlanta (may swap with the Brooklyn pick owned by Boston)
Boston (theirs plus Brooklyn's)
Charlotte (have Detroit's protected 1-8 and Portland's protected 1-12)
Chicago (their own plus Charlotte's protected 1-10)
Cleveland (their own plus Sacramento's protected 1-12)
Denver (have the better of their pick and New York's pick; the worse one goes to Orlando)
Houston (their own)
L.A. Clippers (their own)
L.A. Lakers (their own)
Memphis (their own)
Miami (their own plus Philly's protected 1-14)
Milwaukee (their own)
OKC (their own plus Dallas' protected 1-20)
Orlando (their own plus the worse of the Denver/New York picks)
Philly (New Orleans' protected 1-5)
Phoenix (their own, Indiana's protected 1-14, Minnesota's protected 1-13 and Washington's protected 1-12)
San Antonio (their own)
Toronto (our own)
Utah (their own plus Golden State's)

Also note that the Clippers, Lakers, Memphis and Miami have all dealt their 2015 picks and therefore cannot deal their 2014 picks unless they acquired another pick.

At this point, with respect to the horde of protected picks floating about, it looks like they will pan out as follows:

KEEPING THEIR PICK THIS YEAR: Philly, Dallas, Sacramento
LOSING THEIR PICK THIS YEAR: Indiana, Minnesota, Portland, New Orleans
TOO CLOSE TO CALL RIGHT NOW: Charlotte, Detroit, Washington

[stretch]

Anyone watched the Duke game last night? geez, Rodney Hood looking like a lottery pick. So much for my dream of him being available to the Raps in the 10-15 range.

Hood wasn't quite as impressive with an NBA caliber player (Wiggins) guarding him last week. It was only one game, it's true, but Hood is also a couple years older than the very talented freshman class. The 10-15 range is not unrealistic.

[Black_jack71]

Hollins would not be a good fit for a young rebuilding team. He is probably more youth averse than Casey. We need someone who will embrace the youth development. One name I'd like to consider is Shaka Smart at VCU. Others on my watch list include Nate Tibbets (assisstant in Portland who worked with Kyrie in Cleveland), Scott Drew at Baylor.

SVG would be the best choice but can we get him?

Love the Shaka Smart thought. Although I would want to surround him with some good experienced assistants. Really bright mind who could grow with a young team. Similar to what Boston is doing with Butlers old coach (can't remember his name atm).

[mcHAPPY]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10004235


Durant is being wowed this year by the freshmen. After Parker and WiggIns comments last week, now we have Smart:

Marcus Smart certainly made a strong impression on Kevin Durant.

Smart erupted for a career-high 39 points Tuesday in No. 7 Oklahoma State's 101-80 victory over No. 11 Memphis in Stillwater, Okla., prompting Durant to say that the star sophomore could play in the NBA "right now."

"Marcus can play in the league right now. Definitely," Durant, who attended the game at Gallagher-Iba Arena, told USA Today Sports.

Durant was one of many basketball fans across the country interested to see Smart's return to the national stage after he bypassed the NBA draft following the Cowboys' early exit from last season's NCAA tournament.

"We saw Kevin Durant, and we just wanted to go out there and put on a show," Smart said.

Durant, who has led the NBA in scoring three times, was impressed with Smart's all-around ability.

"He was just unbelievable for them tonight," Durant told USA Today Sports. "He was doing it all for them, rebounding, blocking shots, passing, scoring. He led them.

"I knew he could do everything pretty well. But I like his demeanor. I like how he handles his teammates. A player like him, he always can burst out and get 30 or 40 points."

[Axel]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10004235


Durant is being wowed this year by the freshmen. After Parker and WiggIns comments last week, now we have Smart:

Love how much Durant loves ball. Watching the local college team game for an NBA is fairly rare (scheduling is a large part though).