Raptors Targeting a Free Agent Centre? Chisholm's 2 cents post #71

[white men can't jump]

I agree one (Bargs) would have to go (Bargs), and I (Bargs) hope it is (Bargs!!!), but the fact that Casey has neglected to mention Ed Davis in many comments about the team (except when asked directly about him) concerns me that Ed may be the one (Bargs).

Good god no. At least the ACC is wheelchair accessible! Ok Parker is less of a stretch, but the other 3? You were being sarcastic I hope.

Age is not the issue with the guys I mentioned. Remember I said consolotion prizes. We're not going to sign Thomas to be our starting C. More like he'd be a great vet to add to this team of young guys, fits with Casey's mentality and despite his age, still showed some game last year, especially in the regular season (not like we'll need a playoff performance from him anyway). Foster I think also fits that bill: type of player we need and veteran presence (6rpg in 16mpg not so bad for an "old" guy). Parker and Hill both could do the same at wing. Despite Hill's age he was arguably Phoenix's best defensive player last year. On top of it all, some of these guys would come cheap, right? at least one or two?

I do share your concern about Ed though. Casey did mostly speak of Andrea, Jose and Demar though, so maybe he was just focusing on the guys whose games he knows the best. God I hope that's all it was

[Marz]

Actually I think that would be 1 step back and then 3 more steps back. Or were you referring to the step forward as the drafting of Valanciunas? Then that would be 2 steps forward and 9 steps back.

You guys don't even know what we'd get back for Ed Davis yet! :P

[Maleko]

You guys don't even know what we'd get back for Ed Davis yet! :P

Fair

[jeff_hostetler]

You guys don't even know what we'd get back for Ed Davis yet! :P

It's the principle of the thing. Two coaches fired for Bargnani not living up to his 1st overall hype, then the sending off last years lottery pick and one of the team's two bright spots just so they can waste yet another season on the Bargnani experiment? I swear, if they think Bargnani is more valuable than Ed Davis, I wouldn't be surprised if they drafted John Wall last year, then traded him this year just so they could try and see if Bargnani has actually been a point guard this whole time, he's just been forced to play out of position.

[LBF]

That plunger video is annoying as hell.

i believe its called a gif,for fr
and yes it is annoying as hell.
especially when youre as high as I am. its a trip.

[Mediumcore]

We don't need to get a Centre, we already have Alabi who is going to see some minutes in a game other than a D-League game, and you have AB, ED and Amir to round out the bigs. Resign Reggie or Dorsey as a back up.

[GoHuskies]

Do we try something crazy and try our luck on ODEN?

[CalgaryRapsFan]

I had heard/read rumors (sorry, no link, but it was in ESPN's June 23rd NBA rumor section) the past few days about Dalembert having worn out his welcome in Sacramento. I wonder if the Raps might have use for him as a defensive/rebounding backup C for a season or two, while JV bulks up in Europe. He could be a good short-term fit.

[white men can't jump]

We don't need to get a Centre, we already have Alabi who is going to see some minutes in a game other than a D-League game, and you have AB, ED and Amir to round out the bigs. Resign Reggie or Dorsey as a back up.

Hence my endorsement of some backup vets at C like Jeff Foster and Kurt Thomas. No need to try and hit a home run this year. It's going to be tough to get some of the better options like Chandler and Jordan(restricted). I hope we do not go after Dalembert. Anyway, a lot of the better names are restricted or big, big, GIGANTIC risks (Oden, Yao) and that just seems so extremely unnecessary. So if we can't get a real starter, we just need one or two stable guys backing up our young bigs.

[Tim W.]

You guys don't even know what we'd get back for Ed Davis yet! :P

Unless what the Raptors get back in exchange for Davis is Dwight Howard's body to implant Bargnani's shooting skills, then it doesn't matter. Trading Davis and keeping Bargnani would be an incredibly poor move for the Raptors.

[grindhouse]

I was thinking today about something BC said and that was that if jonas doesn't play this year he is not on their salary for the year. That gives them the money to overpay for a free agent especially if barbosa opts out. So even tho we did nothing for this team this year in the draft which I and many of the people I talked to are mad about BC has the opportunity to recover from this.

[dzoni71]

I don't like the idea of going after a free agent C unless it is on min salary at all:
1. Top tier centers won't come to TO unless grossly overpaid, or the offer sheets will be matched if they are restricted (Marc Gasol)
2. Middle of the pack centers would just eat up into our cap and get us some more W's which is not what I'm looking for

Think the best approach is:
1. Giving Bargs, Ed, Amir and Alabi all the minutes they can handle to further develop and see which will be our future players. The rest of the minutes can be given to min salary type players.
2. Maintaining cap flexibility is always a good approach, especially at a possible lockout year. It's very possible that some teams will look to dump salary due to poor finances or/and underachieving - I think Josh Smith is a perfect candidate, and we can grab him for next to nothing.
3. I actually don't mind another 25 win season cause there is no way we can make the playoffs, so why not just increase our chances of striking gold in a loaded draft?

Yes, this way we will most likely have another horrid season, but starting from 2012-13 we can really start a quick rise in the standings and very likely a most competitive team in team history.

[ebrian]

You guys do realize he is almost 40 right?

He's 38. Nothing wrong with that. He's going to be with us for at most 2 more years if you sign him, and his rebounding is decent. Averaged 5.8 rpg in only 22 minutes, and he only made $1.5M last season. Basically he does most everything we need from a C, and at a fraction of the cost of most guys available.

[grindhouse]

I don't like the idea of going after a free agent C unless it is on min salary at all:

trust me bro I don't like getting players through free agency to try and come in and save our team I am 100% for the NFL approach where you build through the draft but BC has put us in this position so he better recover from this.

[RAPresenting]

I like the idea of a vet like Foster on a 2 year 4-5 million (total not a year) and would prefer him to Reggie. Then look at a solid vet to mentor Demar on the wing like Hill or Battier in an perfect world. We have some nice young pieces going forward that will not only need coaching but guidance and leadership which our current roster doesn't have.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

During the presser last night, Dwane Casey hinted that the Raptors might be targeting a potential centre during free agency this summer. I didn't hear the press conference myself and the liklihood of names mentioned were probably slim, but outside of Tyson Chandler which other centres are available this summer and who do you think we might be pursuing?

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Who are we going to get though? I don't really like the idea of us throwing a ton of money at an aging Chandler and I don't think we get get Gasol (marc)....

[Apollo]

This was my thinking exactly. Everyone assumes the Raptors will be targeting top tier (for this free agent class, anyway) free agent when that's highly doubtful. Most likely they are simply looking at guys who can temporarily man the position for a year.

Oh, and Jeffries isn't a center. He's a small forward.

He plays center, and both forward spots. Hence I said tweener.

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Who are we going to get though? I don't really like the idea of us throwing a ton of money at an aging Chandler and I don't think we get get Gasol (marc)....

Joel Przybilla should be #1 on the list. He's like a poor man's Chandler. His final year of his "payday contract" was $7.4M. I think you can divide that by two for his next contract. Think $3-4M range.

[Tony West]

I still say Tyson Chandler is overrated and not worth the bill. Guys like him tend to look good on well built, veteran laced teams like the Mavs. If he comes to Toronto. Bust.

[Hassan]

no chance chandler leaves the mavs after winning a title

[dzoni71]

trust me bro I don't like getting players through free agency to try and come in and save our team I am 100% for the NFL approach where you build through the draft but BC has put us in this position so he better recover from this.

Agreed 100%, but ever since the Bosh fiasco I really liked what BC has done (OK, Kleiza should have been a 2 year contract) so I'm all for giving him a chance and see what he can do now that he doesn't have a must win-now situation.