Missed opportunity

[WJF]

I think we all feel the season is lost, and that sucks in and of itself. The other this that sucks is the lack of development in real games that some key players are going to miss going forward. We all saw Demar grow as a a player last year, and a second year of big minutes and big responsibility would go along way to making him a player we feel he can be. Yes he can work on his game, but it is not the same as actually playing the game for real. James Johnson showed signs when given a chance last year, now he will be missing important playing time in his development, same goes for Ed Davis and Bayless. $ players that we really needed to see what they can do to know their value going forward.....man this lock out sucks!

[Nilanka]

Sad but true.

But the saving grace is that this affects all young players/teams equally (in terms of lost development time), so we won't necessarily be losing ground in that regard.

And as a side note, the Valanciunas pick seems pretty damn smart in hindsight. There are a lot of Colangelo haters out there, but at the very least, he deserves credit for not being deterred by Valanciunas' Lithuanian contract situation.

[Matt52]

I think we all feel the season is lost, and that sucks in and of itself. The other this that sucks is the lack of development in real games that some key players are going to miss going forward. We all saw Demar grow as a a player last year, and a second year of big minutes and big responsibility would go along way to making him a player we feel he can be. Yes he can work on his game, but it is not the same as actually playing the game for real. James Johnson showed signs when given a chance last year, now he will be missing important playing time in his development, same goes for Ed Davis and Bayless. $ players that we really needed to see what they can do to know their value going forward.....man this lock out sucks!

Davis and Bayless are most frustrating for me.

If the Raptors do not select high in the draft - assuming there is one - that will also be quite upsetting.

[Fanchie]

Someone tell them to pack their stuff and fly immediately to Europe. Game might be a bit different, but at least that's real competitive hoops.

And they'll learn how to defend properly

[.40 Cal Flakes]

^^^Agreed. It should and shall be done.

[Apollo]

I think we all feel the season is lost, and that sucks in and of itself. The other this that sucks is the lack of development in real games that some key players are going to miss going forward. We all saw Demar grow as a a player last year, and a second year of big minutes and big responsibility would go along way to making him a player we feel he can be. Yes he can work on his game, but it is not the same as actually playing the game for real. James Johnson showed signs when given a chance last year, now he will be missing important playing time in his development, same goes for Ed Davis and Bayless. $ players that we really needed to see what they can do to know their value going forward.....man this lock out sucks!

Great thread idea. I'm thinking a little contrary to this however. This squad is one of the youngest in the league. By all reports coming out from all over the world, Raptors players have been training hard and playing competitive ball all over the place. They're improving as we speak. The chemistry under a new head coach and new system is something important they're missing out on, no doubt. It also sucks that they're not allowed to have any contact with Casey what so ever. This is not to say that they didn't have contact with him prior to the lockout. I don't know what Casey did prior to the lockout but I hope he gave the players "assignments" and engrained the idea into their mind that the lockout is their opportunity to hone their individual skills and train their bodies on a level not possible during a regular year due to games and travel taking a big toll both in terms of energy and time. Some of the guys are also working together now as we speak by the way. Established teams are typically older teams. Most guys on those teams have either almost hit their plateau, have hit their plateau or are on the slow decline. I think if a season is missed you're going to see a very fun Raptors squad in 2012/2013 that will give you that same feel as that scrappy '98 post-lockout Butch Carter club. Amir, Ed, Val and Andrea are going to give the Raptors one of the most versatile inside games in the league on both sides of the court. Add in another high prospect (I hope) on the wing and who knows what they're capable of.