Raptors Express Interest in Retaining Amir, but Not Wright.

[Buddahfan]

Third tier free agents like Amir and Antoine will find a tough market this summer.

Amir Johnson at $3.4m is overpaid now. 5 & 5 guys who have constant foul trouble aren't going to be getting big deals.
Wright has improved over the season, but guys with his stats last year were fighting for jobs in August - it'll be worse this summer.

You would think you would have something better to do than continue to bash the Big Cat. But if that is your thing have at it.

What you saw tonight is only a sampling of what he can do. The game is finally starting to slow down for him. At 22 how much is he worth?

Lets see what Duffy can get for him.

He has started two games for the Raptors this year

As a starter in two games

MPG 33
PPG 16
RPG 10.5
FG% 60%
+/- Per game + 14

Can he average those numbers as a regular starter? Maybe yes and maybe no. Maybe worse and maybe even better as he continues to improve.

So 16 and 10 shooting 60% with a per game +/- of +14 is not worth $3.5 million a year.

I think you have a very big hole in your screen door.


But let us say that he can average 16 and 10 as a starter

[Creebrave]

Your attempting to say with conviction that he can avg 16 & 10 based on a two game sample size over an 82 game season?? It must be late & your drunk or delirious or all of the above lol... but in all seriousness your argument needs better evidence of support than 2 games...

[Hotshot]

Just asking, how do you know this is his view? I haven't heard him say it anywhere.

On one of the reports eariler in the year they interviewed Amir and he said that he believes that he is good enough to be a starter.

[DonCarlos]

I think this is how it will play out:

If Bosh goes, Amir stays.
If Bosh stays, sign and trade Amir so he can start somewhere and hopefully get a serviceable backup SF or C in return.

[LBF]

I think this is how it will play out:

If Bosh goes, Amir stays.
If Bosh stays, sign and trade Amir so he can start somewhere and hopefully get a serviceable backup SF or C in return.

he said he'd likje to start one day dude your 22, you've got a lot of yeaRS ahead of you, don't worry about that right now in the meantime you should consider packing on a few pounds if you really want to start.

[huskies2raps]

Amir is the ideal backup 4 spot for the raps. regardless of fouls, he brings the raptors exactly what they lack on most nights, and that's energy, rebounding, defence, and sometimes a decent scoring game.....it'll be a bad loss for the raps to lose a player like Amir

[Apollo]

... Guys, 16 and 10 while shooting 60%? Seriously? What happens when teams focus on not letting him get those easy buckets? What happens when teams focus on not letting his PG get him those easy looks? Can he create 16PPG on his own? Can he create 4PPG on his own?

[DonCarlos]

... Guys, 16 and 10 while shooting 60%? Seriously? What happens when teams focus on not letting him get those easy buckets? What happens when teams focus on not letting his PG get him those easy looks? Can he create 16PPG on his own? Can he create 4PPG on his own?

This is the idea. With the Raps' wings looking to make up more of the offence, they won't need Bosh-type production from the PF spot, they'll need shot-blocking and rebounding to make up for the fact that they have Bargnani at C. If Bosh and Wright leave, a starting lineup of one of Calderon or Jack, Weems, Turkoglu, Johnson and Bargnani is somewhat approaching a more conventional NBA lineup. Johnson won't create for himself unless he has a matchup that he can totally dominate, and there are more shots for Weems and Turkoglu, and the ball doesn't get stuck on the elbow. That, and I would even go as far as to claim that Amir's hands are better than Bosh, though Bosh has a better handle.

The only issue is that without a draft pick (I can't see Chicago winning another game this year), their bench so far is the non-starting PG, DeRozan, Evans and Bellinelli. Ouch.

Therefore, in this scenario, getting something back for Bosh is absolutely essential.

[Buddahfan]

Your attempting to say with conviction that he can avg 16 & 10 based on a two game sample size over an 82 game season?? It must be late & your drunk or delirious or all of the above lol... but in all seriousness your argument needs better evidence of support than 2 games...

I am not saying that he can do it now. However, there is no doubt if he continues to get coaching, works on his shots and is with a team that will get him the ball when he is open then he can average a lot more than 16 a game. Make no mistake about it.

What you saw yesterday against the Hawks was nothing for him. All he was doing was finishing on passes from Jose. Big deal. He can do that in his sleep. Notice he didn't post up and was limited to only 10 shots. If the Raptors ran plays for him other than the give and go and backcuts he could average over 20 no doubt and shoot over 50% in the process.

This is based on watching him play for years.

His biggest problem is that he is too selfless and only cares about winning and not putting up big numbers. However, I have a sense that that is going to change as he gets older and more experienced.

Against the Cavs he hit a number of mid-range jump shots. Last night I don't know if he even took one.

I would say at this point he is worth a full MLE for a team that is willing to start him which could be the Raptors next year if Bosh walks or is traded for someone other than a replacement big. In fact I would say that it is possible that if Johnson stays with the Raptors he could start next season over Bargnani. Why not? The Raptors are a better team when he is on the court than when Bargnani is.

[Tim W.]

no, it'sbecause bargnani is better and more mature than amir he's got a better undertsandin of the game.

amir=good energy/hustle guy off bench

amir as starter= lost

Amir = defense and rebounding
Bargnani = ?????

If Bargnani has a better understanding of the game, why does he have almost no understanding of how to play team defense, box out, grab rebounds or score inside? None of those part of the game?

[Apollo]

This is the idea. With the Raps' wings looking to make up more of the offence, they won't need Bosh-type production from the PF spot

My question was about the stat line, not about what they may not need.