Ed Davis

[Tim W.]

I am one of those who have said that if the Raptors trade Davis instead Bargnani I'm done with the team. The reason is less to do with how good Davis can potentially be and what it means to the direction of the organization. A team that would value Bargnani over Davis is a team that I feel has their priorities wrong and will never be a contender. Yes, the Raptors would probably get something back in return, but that's not the point. The point is that I simply would lose complete confidence in them building a team.

I was a big fan of the Miami Heat in the early 90s, before the Raptors existed, and really liked the direction their team looked to be heading. Then they made a series of bad trades that I felt completely derailed the future. At one point I just threw up my hands and stopped being a fan. And it wasn't until Pat Riley came on board did they recover. But by then I was done with them and had moved on.

Now, I have much more of connection with Toronto, not only because I'm Canadian, but because I'm from there, but the Raptors have struggled with mediocrity for far too long. If Colangelo truly can't see the damage that keeping Bargnani over Davis will inflict upon the Raptors then I will stop following the team until he's gone.

[KingRaptors]

Many people have expressed there views that Davis is a big part of our future going forward which i agree with. Of those however some have commented that if he's moved they won't be fans of the organization any more. This leads me to the question how good is Ed and how good can he become? Does he have the potential to be a regular in the All-Star game, a potential all NBA defensive team member or is he likely to become a very good role player/starter in the league? Does anyone have a player who they'd compare him to (best case/worst case)?

Being one of the fans that actually says this, to me it's more if Ed Davis is traded in order to accommodate for Bargnani to play PF. Bargnani playing PF will be the biggest failed experiment,
EDIT: no wait that was Bargnani playing SF. The firing of Sam Mitchell just cause he benched Bargnani, like WTF!!! another act of Bargnani being accommodated. Whether it's he can't or won't play any D, has 5 years in the NBA not shown this guy cannot get it done.

[RAPresenting]

Can we please focus on the topic at hand and that's where people see his potential taking him (Davis that is). I know it's tough but please refrain from bringing Dre into the conversations. There are a ton of threads about him but this is about Davis and what kind of potential he has as a player.

[RAPresenting]

he already finishes in traffic very well and seems to have a relatively soft touch. id like to see him have a couple post moves this season. big men usually take a solid 4-5 years to figure out their offense. what he really needs to work on though is free throws.

Agreed the other parts of his offense will come but free throws will be an easy way for him to tally on easy points. With his ability to hit the offensive boards there is no reason he can't go to the line 5-6 times a game. Converting them would make him a hell of a player going forward.

[RAPresenting]

Being one of the fans that actually says this, to me it's more if Ed Davis is traded in order to accommodate for Bargnani to play PF. Bargnani playing PF will be the biggest failed experiment,
EDIT: no wait that was Bargnani playing SF. The firing of Sam Mitchell just cause he benched Bargnani, like WTF!!! another act of Bargnani being accommodated. Whether it's he can't or won't play any D, has 5 years in the NBA not shown this guy cannot get it done.

Understand the accommodation point I just wanted to see what kind of value he has with the fan base based on play not emotional attachment. So do you see his as a potential all star or would you have any comparisons to make of him to a current or past player?

As for the Mitchell comment he was awful coach. Great personality/dresser but thats about it. Just cause he yells at players, blasts them in the media, cracks jokes about the Washington Generals and jerks off CB4 doesn't make him a good coach. The worst thing that happened to the franchise was when he won "coach of the year" which has more to do with the solid veterans acquired and roster overhaul by BC then his actual coaching. This handcuffed BC to resigning him and set the organization back several years IMO.

But again lets keep it to Davis not Dre or Smitch

[grindhouse]

rasheed wallace on defense and jermaine o'neal on offense

[MyMomLovesMe]

As for the Mitchell comment he was awful coach. Great personality/dresser but thats about it. Just cause he yells at players, blasts them in the media, cracks jokes about the Washington Generals and jerks off CB4 doesn't make him a good coach. The worst thing that happened to the franchise was when he won "coach of the year" which has more to do with the solid veterans acquired and roster overhaul by BC then his actual coaching. This handcuffed BC to resigning him and set the organization back several years IMO.

Bullshit, you don't know anything about Sam or coaching in the NBA.

...and this is why its still going to take years for puck heads to understand basketball. All Sam did was bring us to the playoffs, won COY, but it should have been Bryan with the COY, LOL. When Sam left, so did the teams accountability. As did our playoff hopes, as did our respect around the league.

Sam won, in-spite of Bryan's blunders and asinine ideas. How do you play defence with Kapono and Belineli?

[Boomer]

I would be very happy if he was almost as good as Jermaine O'Neal. The Horford comparison is a good one, I think. Same kind of body, as well.

[Marz]

Jermaine O'Neal is a horrible comparison for offense. The dude shot a horrible FG% for a PF because he took way too many jump shots. Thankfully Ed Davis' game is closer to the rim and hopefully he doesn't turn into the jump shooter O'Neal/Bosh were/are, or the jump shooter that Antonio Davis became (those baseline jumpers made me shudder).

I think Al Horford is the best comparison.

[zulfi]

I agree with the JO comparison as well. They both play with a chip on their shoulder and if Ed can be near JO in his prime, the Raptors will be good.

[Apollo]

It's not a fair comparison because Jermaine in his prime was a polished scorer both with his back to the bucket and while facing up.

[Hotshot]

It's not a fair comparison because Jermaine in his prime was a polished scorer both with his back to the bucket and while facing up.

Oh stop being such a party pooper! we already have the next Dirk, the next Gasol and the next Kobe. We Raptor fans like to be dissapointed even though the guy who should have been the Jordan and the guy who should have been KG came close but never made it either.

[enlightenment]

Bargs = Dirk, Demar = Kobe, Ed = JO, Val = T. Chandler. My, what a strong team we have... [;

[Tim W.]

If Bargnani is traded, I am wondering how the Raptors are going to put points on the board. Derozen is becoming a solid option and Barbosa, on a good night, can light it up off the bench, but together they accounted for just over 30 points a game last season. Where are the points going to come from with a future front line of Valanciunas, Amir/Davis, and James Johnson?

This is a team that just won 22 games and probably won't make the playoffs for at least another year. They were last in the league in defense the last two years and Bargnani is a big reason why. I think one of the last things they need to worry about is how to replace his scoring. Besides, players step up when there is a scoring void. Bargnani's points would go, but so would his shot attempts. That means there's more shot attempts for other players. It's not as if Bargnani was a very efficient scorer. Spread his shot attempts around to other players and it won't matter.

[WhatWhat]

Assuming that Bayless can keep up his play as a starter, then all we would have to do is start him over Calderon, effectively solving the void in usage. (Come on, he can put up an offensive rating of 105 on 25% usage (I think that's what it was when he was starting) or so.) Either way, we wouldn't be an actual good offensive team barring considerable internal improvement.

Secondly, I seriously struggle to see how moving an inefficient scorer in Bargnani, who is God awful at the other facets of the game will hurt the team overall. I'd go as far as saying that as long as we start him and Calderon together then it will guarantee a high lotto pick.

Or you know, get a real SF.

Also, J O'Neal is a terrible offensive player. He's ever less efficient than Bargnani. But he rebounds...and plays defense.

[Thomas A.]

With Ed, Val and Amir as our three bigs we could have 3 guys playing significant minutes and all shooting 55% to 60% from the floor. That's ridiculous. I expect Ed's FG% to slide a bit as his offensive game expands, but still.

[Tim W.]

Secondly, I seriously struggle to see how moving an inefficient scorer in Bargnani, who is God awful at the other facets of the game will hurt the team overall. I'd go as far as saying that as long as we start him and Calderon together then it will guarantee a high lotto pick.

Actually, Calderon was one of the few Raptors that actually had a positive effect when he was on the floor. If you want to lose, limit both he and Amir's minutes.

[Mack North]

Actually, Calderon was one of the few Raptors that actually had a positive effect when he was on the floor. If you want to lose, limit both he and Amir's minutes.

Ssshhh, Buddah's listening! Haha whatever happened to that guy? I'm sure he's all over the Clipper boards on some Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan business!

As for the topic at hand, I'm gonna try to not compare our draft picks to other players anymore. It just sets up false hopes or expectations if he fails to reach that said players status most of the time. I'm just gonna be patient and watch this rebuild(wait... were the Raps ever built in order to set up a rebuild??) unfold and have fun doing it.

[RAPresenting]

Bullshit, you don't know anything about Sam or coaching in the NBA.

...and this is why its still going to take years for puck heads to understand basketball. All Sam did was bring us to the playoffs, won COY, but it should have been Bryan with the COY, LOL. When Sam left, so did the teams accountability. As did our playoff hopes, as did our respect around the league.

Sam won, in-spite of Bryan's blunders and asinine ideas. How do you play defence with Kapono and Belineli?

Your right I know nothing about basketball, the NBA or coaching. Just curious how many job offers Sams turned down since his incredible run as the Raptors head coach. It's been a few years and the only rumor anyone has mentioned with him getting another shot is with the Wolves. I wonder if it was more to do with the fact he played there for so many years or that no one wants to touch that job. But wait he still didn't get it...... Weird :s

Sam was taking us to the lottery before the overhaul of 9 new faces and full of solid vets with great basketball IQ. His team had one stud player in Bosh and surrounded him with solid vets in Parker, Garbo, Rasho, a solid PG tandem of Ford and Jose and some decent weapons off the bench in Dre, Kapono and Delfino that could knock down three's. They won a division title in a horrendous Atlantic division and got bounced from the playoffs in the first round twice. They were okay at best but were never a great defensive team by any means and the offense had success from the players IQ and Bosh's efficiency not from his play calling. Sam asked for toughness and BC made the move for JO I wonder if this had Sam's approval? After an underachieving start to the season, awful rotations and the obvious lack of respect from the player in his system and coaching he was let go. This was after Mitchell claimed to have a new version of the twin towers.... With great views on the game, his rosters talent/abilities and his incredible talents of developing players I don't understand why no one has given him a job... :s

Could be tough to play D with Kapono and Marco on the floor I'll give you that...... Wait didn't Pat Riley find away to win a championship with Kapono on the floor.... Hhhmmm Marco seemed to have a starting job on a Hornets team that had the 5th best points against average this past year. Of course there is no way of playing defense with those two guys on the floor, if Sam couldn't do it no one could..... Or could they?

[RAPresenting]

By the way "mymomlovesme" Marco never played for Sam only Jay. You may want to put some research into your posts unless your sure or you might lose some credibility with your points.... Just something to consider when attacking others is to perhaps have something correct in your argument "puck head" lol