How many moves are we from title contention?

[planetmars]

One move can be this season assuming Lebron gets injured and the Raptors play like the first half of 2013-2014 and they play defense like they did in 2012-2013. Will be more difficult with Casey as coach, but even Larry Brown won the whole thing once. Getting out of the East is getting passed Lebron. Raptors can't get that done with one move.

James is 30 now.. I'd say he'll still be in his peak for another 2-3 years.. I'll go with 2 to be on the optimistic side. In 2 years the Raptors could contend and it will take a series of moves within those 2 years to make it happen. Part of that though hinges on the hope that JV takes a huge leap, and the 2016 NY/Denver pick ends up turning into a stud. They'll need to figure out what to do at the PF spot but that could work itself out based on trades or free agency. I mean in 2 years Miami could go into the tank and decide to sell of Bosh who could be happy to return back to Toronto in hopes of winning it at all where he started his NBA career.

[iblastoff]

My point was the Spurs were a lot more than castoffs and misfits + Duncan. One great player alone gets you nowhere. Even if Pops is the coach.

it kind of fits though. patty mills? total misfit. even danny green barely got drafted. boris diaw was dumped by charlotte. a lot spurs key players outside of duncan fit that criteria.

just seems like pops actually knows how to utilize everyone properly, whereas casey just tries to follow some shitty formula and complains about not having the 'right' players

[Letter N]

1 if we get Lebron or KD.

[Uncle_Si]

It's so funny how accurate guys get with what averages players need to have to be successful lol. Bunch of Billy Beanes running around internet land

[The Great One]

It's not about how many moves.

What this team needs to contend is a FRANCHISE PLAYER.

[S.R.]

I can't believe LeBron is already 30. Gonna be a lot of bigs in the next crop of great players after Curry/Harden etc.

[Employee]

My guess is 49 moves away from a championship. Book it!

[raptors999]

My point was the Spurs were a lot more than castoffs and misfits + Duncan. One great player alone gets you nowhere. Even if Pops is the coach.

Also, Spurs have won titles whereas Casey has been an utter failure as a playoff coach. The gap is pretty big. Pop with 82 games with the Raptors roster wouldn't get swept by the Wiz and possibly beats the Hawks. Against LBJ and the Cavs who knows?

[3inthekeon]

Also, Spurs have won titles whereas Casey has been an utter failure as a playoff coach. The gap is pretty big. Pop with 82 games with the Raptors roster wouldn't get swept by the Wiz and possibly beats the Hawks. Against LBJ and the Cavs who knows?

Thanks for letting the board know Pops is better than Casey.

[raptors999]

Thanks for letting the board know Pops is better than Casey.

it was a response to some one saying Pop would do no better than Casey with this roster. Conversely they suggest Casey would be winning titles if he coached the Spurs

[SkywalkerAC]

I would say we are 1 great consolidation trade away, followed by additional depth signings.

[psrs1]

it kind of fits though. patty mills? total misfit. even danny green barely got drafted. boris diaw was dumped by charlotte. a lot spurs key players outside of duncan fit that criteria.

just seems like pops actually knows how to utilize everyone properly, whereas casey just tries to follow some shitty formula and complains about not having the 'right' players

If Pops was our coach I think we would make it as far as playing Cleveland in the playoffs. Coaching can make a difference . Yes you do need talent BUT if you have some talent coaching matters.

[Just Is]

I know, at least from the media and analyists outside of Toronto, last season, the thought was that we were a PF away from contending.

Personally, I think we're two away from it (depending on how the bench plays out next season):
- New coach is the most important
- An above average or higher PF

[KeonClark]

Most Finals winners have an MVP-level talent plus a couple other current All-Star-level talent. Often 2 or 3 of these guys are future HoF'ers. In a given season a lot of "contenders" aren't really, imho. There are several 50-win, deep playoff teams that don' really have a solid chance to win the title (barring about 15 variables breaking their way). A quick glance through the list of title winners shows how few teams are actually legitimate contenders.

Even Lebron James can't do it if his next best player is Mo Williams or Tristan Thompson. Durant/Westbrook/Ibaka haven't been able to do, Harden/Howard can't do it, Paul/Griffin/Jordan can't do it, 4 Atlanta All-Stars in a supersystem can't do it, hell, half the time the Spurs can't do it.

It would be nice to think the Raptors are one move away, but that guy would have to be Durant or Lebron and even then, I don't know. You'd get to the third or fourth round for sure, maybe Lebron would win you the Finals vs. the best team in the West, but I don't think anybody else would.

Those teams"couldn't do it" because only one team per year can. Houston and LaC are legitimate contenders. The media likes to spin narraratives at us, like paul and griffin "can't win the big one" no, they just haven't yet, id be super confident I that was my core and we had multiple cracks at the thing. People forget how razor thin the margin is inthe west round 2 and beyond. There is, legitimately, 6 teams that should basically be "spin the wheel" for who wins the title next year

[raptors999]

Those teams"couldn't do it" because only one team per year can. Houston and LaC are legitimate contenders. The media likes to spin narraratives at us, like paul and griffin "can't win the big one" no, they just haven't yet, id be super confident I that was my core and we had multiple cracks at the thing. People forget how razor thin the margin is inthe west round 2 and beyond. There is, legitimately, 6 teams that should basically be "spin the wheel" for who wins the title next year

Almost every Western series goes 7 with huge swings in-game and lucky bounces. No coach can pull a Vince Carter fade away three to win a game but they keep games close so players can make plays. Even Scotty Brookes is underrated, that conference is a dogfight. Blatt really didn't need to do anything to get to the finals except let LBJ run the team