Everything Derozan

[mcHAPPY]

Dd shot has been falling but, his still been productive. He still leads are team in assist(16) so far in preseason and only has 6 turnover. His rebounding the ball pretty well as well. He hasn't been as bad as 2pat. Cojo is second in assist with 13.

Preseason means nothing.

[Chr1s1anL]

Preseason means nothing.

Agreed

[mcHAPPY]

Agreed

Good.

So you can stop shitting on PP now.

We all agree - preseason means nothing.

[Chr1s1anL]

Good.

So you can stop shitting on PP now.

We all agree - preseason means nothing.

Me "shitting" on PP has nothing to do with preseason. I've been saying since July that 2Pat is not a starter.

[Miekenstien]

You tell others to relax, it's just preseason. Yet right before that you post this, getting all excited about DD's rebounds and assists, based on his preseason numbers.

tide goes out, tide comes in. you can't explain that

[mcHAPPY]

Me "shitting" on PP has nothing to do with preseason. I've been saying since July that 2Pat is not a starter.

I am pretty sure everyone has been saying PP is not a starting calibre player.

He is a stop gap on a very cheap contract who fits a need as a 5th option on offense, allowing the floor to be spread.

Scola is best suited destroying opposing bench bigs.

Bennett has a long way to go and a lot to prove beyond showing up the team who cut him just a few weeks ago.

[GLF]

I am pretty sure everyone has been saying PP is not a starting calibre player.

He is a stop gap on a very cheap contract who fits a need as a 5th option on offense, allowing the floor to be spread.

Scola is best suited destroying opposing bench bigs.

Bennett has a long way to go and a lot to prove beyond showing up the team who cut him just a few weeks ago.

Agreed

[SkywalkerAC]

I'm really hoping that DeMar is basically giving preseason the middle finger and will come out like gangbusters in game 1.

[Primer]

Looks like DD is going to have a career year in rebounding and assist. Its crazy that his matching his output in Ast and Rebs from last year. In limited minutes. How many minutes is he averaging in those games?

23.3 minutes per game. Quite literally the first thing I said in the post you quoted.

Also, DD's assists are on par with his norm, not career. The rebounding would be a slight uptick.

I'm not of the opinion pre-season means nothing. It means nothing win-loss wise, but it definitely means something performance wise. We say it doesn't mean anything in the sense that looking really good doesn't matter because the competition isn't nearly NBA caliber, which makes looking bad even worse. Guys should have at least one good game during the preseason, that's not too much to ask. It's where you show off your summer improvements or try out new stuff you added to your game. DD has done none of that, just looked even worse than last year. That concerns me, Patterson's play does too. Hopefully they show something better soon.

[SkywalkerAC]

I still wouldn't bet on DeMar laying an egg in a contract season. Once the real thing rolls around I'll be disappointed if we don't get a stone-faced killer. Now, he does have a annoying habit of starting slow and coming on strong down the stretch (I know, I know, along with all the other annoying habits)

A big factor that we haven't talked about will be how he and rest of the perimeter triumvirate lay it down on D. I think they could be pretty formidable out there, and really turn this thing around quickly on that end.

The offense will be there. He's still take (and often hit) more difficult mid-range shots, but he'll keep on attacking and drawing the foul, use the old-man game that he's painstakingly crafted over the years. He'll draw defenders and dish it off. Etc. It's going to come.

Did Casey give him the role card of 3-point shooter as I might have (not so secretly) hoped? OK, maybe not...but don't be surprised if he hits the over either

Go Raptors!

[Miekenstien]

23.3 minutes per game. Quite literally the first thing I said in the post you quoted.

Also, DD's assists are on par with his norm, not career. The rebounding would be a slight uptick.

I'm not of the opinion pre-season means nothing. It means nothing win-loss wise, but it definitely means something performance wise. We say it doesn't mean anything in the sense that looking really good doesn't matter because the competition isn't nearly NBA caliber, which makes looking bad even worse. Guys should have at least one good game during the preseason, that's not too much to ask. It's where you show off your summer improvements or try out new stuff you added to your game. DD has done none of that, just looked even worse than last year. That concerns me, Patterson's play does too. Hopefully they show something better soon.

i give 2pat more of a pass. i think he might be dealing with some psychological issues, with the addition of bennet. i would be amazed if a former first overall and canadian on top of that isn't making him think about his place in the hierarchy of the teams future. a canadian success story on the raptors is huge.

demars' play is more troubling, in my opinion. he has everything to gain by having a great season. lets say he was only able to put up 16-19 pts on a better % with the same assists and rbs, he would get an extra 15 million dollars next year. that is insane motivation to do everything that makes you look better.

[planetmars]

Perhaps DD is putting more pressure on himself because of his looming free agency... so he's playing worse because he's thinking too hard? Will be curious how he plays in the real show begins.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Perhaps DD is putting more pressure on himself because of his looming free agency... so he's playing worse because he's thinking too hard? Will be curious how he plays in the real show begins.

That honestly wouldn't surprise me. DeRozan has the best of intentions in terms of wanting to be 'the guy' for the Raptors. Unfortunately, as he's shown in the past, he thinks the way to achieve that is to try and carry the team [scoring] singlehandedly on his back. Not only does he fail to understand how being a leader and being 'the guy' doesn't necessarily mean having to be god-mode scorer, but his inefficiency tends to have a positive correlation with the amount of pressure he puts on himself (ie: more pressure to be 'the guy' = lower efficiency).

If only he'd play a more team-oriented guy and realize that he can be a far more positive overall contributor by trying to do less all by himself. Damn Casey, he sure doesn't help DeRozan get over that hump.

[Axel]

Once the real thing rolls around I'll be disappointed if we don't get a stone-faced killer.

That idea scares the hell out of me because of this:

That honestly wouldn't surprise me. DeRozan has the best of intentions in terms of wanting to be 'the guy' for the Raptors. Unfortunately, as he's shown in the past, he thinks the way to achieve that is to try and carry the team [scoring] singlehandedly on his back. Not only does he fail to understand how being a leader and being 'the guy' doesn't necessarily mean having to be god-mode scorer, but his inefficiency tends to have a positive correlation with the amount of pressure he puts on himself (ie: more pressure to be 'the guy' = lower efficiency).

If only he'd play a more team-oriented guy and realize that he can be a far more positive overall contributor by trying to do less all by himself. Damn Casey, he sure doesn't help DeRozan get over that hump.

Hero ball won't help the Raptors and it will scare off some of the smarter potential suitors (so won't help DD either) but there will always be some dumb team that will pay for hero ball (Charlotte? NYK?)

[Axel]

From SI, looking at the second tier UFAs who could take advantage of the cap jump next season.

http://www.si.com/nba/2015/10/15/nba...nley-contracts

"The start of the NBA’s 2015–16 season is less than two weeks away, which means the race to the gigantic pot of gold that’s waiting in the summer of 2016 is about to begin.

Although LeBron James (yes, again) and Kevin Durant are both on track to be free agents, next summer’s headliner will be the salary cap itself. The NBA’s new nine-year, $24 billion media rights deals will kick in for the 2016–17 season, leading to a gigantic jump in the salary cap. As a reminder, the 2015–16 salary cap is set at $70 million, while the 2016–17 cap projects to be roughly $89 million. That one-year, $19 million jump nearly matches the total increase in cap size the league saw over the last 10 seasons combined (going from $49.5 million in 2005–06 to its current level).

If you’re still warming to the idea that Al-Farouq Aminu might be worth $30 million over four years or that Brandon Knight might represent decent value at $70 million over five years, then shield your eyes. The supply/demand relationship will be really out of whack next summer: While teams will have hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in new cap space to fill, there will be precious few star players for the taking.

Here’s the list of 2015 All-Stars who can become free agents next summer: James, Durant, Pau Gasol, Al Horford, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki. From that group—which swells in number thanks to aging legacy players like Duncan and Wade on short-term deals—there are probably only three targets who might change teams: Durant, Horford and Gasol. All three play for contending-type teams currently, making pitches from outsiders that much more difficult.

What happens if they use the same strategy as most of the 2015 free agency headliners and stay put? Second-tier and third-tier talents will get paid so much money. With that inevitable endgame in mind, let’s survey some of the most fascinating contract years that will play out over the next six months. Included with each player is a comparable contract signed this summer. "


DeMar DeRozan, Raptors

2015-16 salary: $9.5 million | Last contract: 4-years, $38 million

DeRozan is the early leader in the clubhouse when it comes to projecting the most polarizing contract of 2016 (assuming he opts out of his 2016–17 player option). In an era when 3-and-D wings are getting paid left and right, DeRozan is 3-less and D-less. To make up for his lack of perimeter range and minus defensive contributions, he scores in volume through trial-and-error (16.5 FGA per game last year) and sheer force (6 FTA per game). There are other nits to pick: he’s not a natural playmaker for others, he’s struggled to play efficiently in the postseason, and his lone All-Star selection came in a down year (and in the weaker East).

While DeRozan runs counter to the archetype that got Khris Middleton and Wesley Matthews paid this summer, he’ll still be one of the biggest names at his position next summer. Bryant, Wade and Wizards’ restricted free agent Bradley Beal are all likely to stay put (or in Bryant’s case possibly retire), leaving DeRozan as arguably the best remaining name that has a chance of moving. He is, after all, an athletic 26-year-old wing with traditional size who has averaged 20+ points twice for teams that have enjoyed significant success.

Toronto has a lot of emotional capital invested in DeRozan and no obvious candidates to replace him if he walks. That said, it’s fair to wonder how far the Raptors’ current core of Kyle Lowry, DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas can go, and if there’s enough money to keep all four on big-dollar contracts. Whether or not Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is the one to pay up, there’s a strong chance someone pays DeRozan somewhere in the neighborhood of Dallas’s Matthews ($70 million over four years) and Chicago’s Jimmy Butler ($92 million over five years) if he elects to hit the market.