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Just had a bit of a thought this morning. The Raptors are widely assumed to be tanking for the purposes of having a high draft pick in a loaded draft lottery. I'm not saying that's not true, but I think there may be another plan in the works.
What we know: the Rudy Gay and Andrea Bargnani trades, if nothing else, have given the Raptors a tremendous amount of financial flexibility, but in all honesty, neither trade seems to have made them any worse. If anything, they stand to be better off for them. They now have a number of packageable assets in the form of expiring contracts and good value players (Lowry, Johnson, maybe even Vazquez in the right deal). They now have a much deeper roster, and while it isn't a very good roster as constructed, they're really not as far from a top tier team as we would believe (assuming that a solid coach comes in to oversee the whole operation). 1-2 players could make all the difference.
Masai Ujiri is quoted as saying that the Raptors won't be in the middle of the standings. But a high draft pick won't jump the Raptors up to respectability right away, even if it is Wiggins or any other of the top prep stars. Besides, as things stand now, we can get Wiggins when his rookie contract expires.
If the Raps end up with a top pick this year, I think that would be a fortunate side-effect, but not the ultimate goal. I think the ultimate goal is...LeBron James.
As currently comprised, the Raptors would present a very intriguing opportunity for LeBron James. The Heat are an aging roster on the downside of their potential. Of all the teams with the resources to sign LeBron should he choose early termination, the Raps would have one of the best rosters. A starting lineup of Valanciunas, James, Johnson, Derozan and a warm body all of a sudden becomes tremendously solid. James is a fan of Toronto and could be sold on representing a country. He also knows what kind of crowds Toronto had in the Carter/McGrady days and would thrive in that environment. The Raps could also promote their future financial flexibility, even after signing James, as their only long-term assets would be James, Derozan, Steve Novak, and Valanciunas and Ross's rookie deals, as a team positioned to compete for years to come.
So, the more this team wins, the more that a top-tier free agent like James could be convinced that the supporting pieces are here to create an instant winner. The more the team loses, the closer they get to top pick. With both the roster and financial flexibility that Ujiri has given this team in such a short time, it seems as though both options are possible.
As long as Casey is not coaching the team next year, I really like this team's situation going forward.
What we know: the Rudy Gay and Andrea Bargnani trades, if nothing else, have given the Raptors a tremendous amount of financial flexibility, but in all honesty, neither trade seems to have made them any worse. If anything, they stand to be better off for them. They now have a number of packageable assets in the form of expiring contracts and good value players (Lowry, Johnson, maybe even Vazquez in the right deal). They now have a much deeper roster, and while it isn't a very good roster as constructed, they're really not as far from a top tier team as we would believe (assuming that a solid coach comes in to oversee the whole operation). 1-2 players could make all the difference.
Masai Ujiri is quoted as saying that the Raptors won't be in the middle of the standings. But a high draft pick won't jump the Raptors up to respectability right away, even if it is Wiggins or any other of the top prep stars. Besides, as things stand now, we can get Wiggins when his rookie contract expires.
If the Raps end up with a top pick this year, I think that would be a fortunate side-effect, but not the ultimate goal. I think the ultimate goal is...LeBron James.
As currently comprised, the Raptors would present a very intriguing opportunity for LeBron James. The Heat are an aging roster on the downside of their potential. Of all the teams with the resources to sign LeBron should he choose early termination, the Raps would have one of the best rosters. A starting lineup of Valanciunas, James, Johnson, Derozan and a warm body all of a sudden becomes tremendously solid. James is a fan of Toronto and could be sold on representing a country. He also knows what kind of crowds Toronto had in the Carter/McGrady days and would thrive in that environment. The Raps could also promote their future financial flexibility, even after signing James, as their only long-term assets would be James, Derozan, Steve Novak, and Valanciunas and Ross's rookie deals, as a team positioned to compete for years to come.
So, the more this team wins, the more that a top-tier free agent like James could be convinced that the supporting pieces are here to create an instant winner. The more the team loses, the closer they get to top pick. With both the roster and financial flexibility that Ujiri has given this team in such a short time, it seems as though both options are possible.
As long as Casey is not coaching the team next year, I really like this team's situation going forward.
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