Waiting until 2013?

[Apollo]

Now is the time. They won't have more flexibility than this summer.

[chrischris]

IMO, we're already at rock bottom and the franchise cannot wait another year. With JV and another 1-5 pick coming next year, losing this year is bareable to the common fan. Another year of waiting would send too many fans to another sport. Like baseball. Believe it or not, same city sport teams fight for fans and the Jays are going to clean up if the Raps and Leafs rebuild any longer with losing teams

[chrischris]

Yeah but in 2013, we'll have our own rookies to resign/extend, impacting our cap space, right ?

Everyone forgets about resigning players...as well as additions made this offseason. Most teams have lots of cap space looking that far ahead

[Nilanka]

IMO, we're already at rock bottom and the franchise cannot wait another year. With JV and another 1-5 pick coming next year, losing this year is bareable to the common fan. Another year of waiting would send too many fans to another sport. Like baseball. Believe it or not, same city sport teams fight for fans and the Jays are going to clean up if the Raps and Leafs rebuild any longer with losing teams

I'm pretty pumped for the upcoming Jays season.

But considering the fact that MLB and NBA seasons don't overlap, I would hope that fans can easily follow both franchises.

[chrischris]

I bet that if Sportsnet showed a Jays preseason game right now...it would outview the Raptors playing in the same timeslot against any team in the league...even Miami or LAL. I dont want to hijack the thread so thats it for me on mlb

It comes down to the Raps franchise not being able to afford another season of waiting. Especially Colangelo. Even though he is arguably one of the best GM's out there...I doubt he is resigned if things dont turn around by the midpoint of next season

[mcHAPPY]

Now is the time. They won't have more flexibility than this summer.

+1

[ebrian]

I bet that if Sportsnet showed a Jays preseason game right now...it would outview the Raptors playing in the same timeslot against any team in the league...even Miami or LAL. I dont want to hijack the thread so thats it for me on mlb

It comes down to the Raps franchise not being able to afford another season of waiting. Especially Colangelo. Even though he is arguably one of the best GM's out there...I doubt he is resigned if things dont turn around by the midpoint of next season

Chris, if they were worried about waiting they wouldn't have drafted a guy who wasn't even playing in the NBA this year. I've been waiting for 5+ years and I was pissed when we picked JV (due to the management's blatant disregard for ticket holders), but at this point I'm pretty numb to the whole thing. What's another year anyway. Go Not-Heat!

[mcHAPPY]

Chris, if they were worried about waiting they wouldn't have drafted a guy who wasn't even playing in the NBA this year. I've been waiting for 5+ years and I was pissed when we picked JV (due to the management's blatant disregard for ticket holders), but at this point I'm pretty numb to the whole thing. What's another year anyway. Go Not-Heat!

Out of curiosity, are you still pissed with JV's selection given his performance last summer, his growth this season versus overall higher competition than NCAA, the difficulty of finding a starting NBA C who is very good, and the overall underwhelming performance of Walker?

[chrischris]

Chris, if they were worried about waiting they wouldn't have drafted a guy who wasn't even playing in the NBA this year.

Drafting JV was the right move regardless of the plan. It was pretty clear that no other rookie this year would have helped the team long or short term...with the current roster. It would have only hurt this years draft. It made too much sense to pick a guy that wouldnt play this year while he and the Raps improve their position for next season.

This offseason is the best oppertunity the Raps have to get it right or else we're going to stay a mediocre team for a long time. When you look at the salary room, player contracts coming to an end (trade bait or salary relief) and potentially 2 top 5 picks...we'll be reaching a crossroad next season.

[ebrian]

Out of curiosity, are you still pissed with JV's selection given his performance last summer, his growth this season versus overall higher competition than NCAA, the difficulty of finding a starting NBA C who is very good, and the overall underwhelming performance of Walker?

My answer hasn't changed. I'm still waiting, likely going on 6 years now the way things are looking. Ask me again when JV has played in the NBA. Listen, if you don't have season tickets, you can't even talk to me about this.

Are you serious about Kemba? Sure he's been shooting poorly, but everything else across the board he's been spectacular. Once Augustin leaves by way of free agency, and Kemba spends the offseason learning how to shoot again, he'll be blowing things up. His numbers, for a non-starter, are great for a rookie. Do you realize he's shooting 37% right now? Bump that up to even 40% and he's scoring 20 points per game as a starter. He's already better than Jerryd Bayless (although I realize that's not saying much).

[ebrian]

Drafting JV was the right move regardless of the plan. It was pretty clear that no other rookie this year would have helped the team long or short term...with the current roster. It would have only hurt this years draft. It made too much sense to pick a guy that wouldnt play this year while he and the Raps improve their position for next season.

This offseason is the best oppertunity the Raps have to get it right or else we're going to stay a mediocre team for a long time. When you look at the salary room, player contracts coming to an end (trade bait or salary relief) and potentially 2 top 5 picks...we'll be reaching a crossroad next season.

Chris, I'm not comparing JV with other players, my point is the management made a conscious decision to alienate paying fans by drafting a player they knew would not play this year. While it may pay off in the long run, the point I'm making is that it is obvious that the management DO NOT CARE about making fans wait. Another year is not going to make a huge difference, the Raptors are still and will continue to be the 3rd or 4th most popular team in Toronto. In the meantime while you wait, just cheer for anyone who isn't the Heat.

[ReubenJRD]

Hit it this Summer, hit the ground running. Than grab the good extra player in 2013. Just my opinion.

[mcHAPPY]

My answer hasn't changed. I'm still waiting, likely going on 6 years now the way things are looking. Ask me again when JV has played in the NBA. Listen, if you don't have season tickets, you can't even talk to me about this.

Are you serious about Kemba? Sure he's been shooting poorly, but everything else across the board he's been spectacular. Once Augustin leaves by way of free agency, and Kemba spends the offseason learning how to shoot again, he'll be blowing things up. His numbers, for a non-starter, are great for a rookie. Do you realize he's shooting 37% right now? Bump that up to even 40% and he's scoring 20 points per game as a starter. He's already better than Jerryd Bayless (although I realize that's not saying much).

OK. You are absolutely correct. A Raptor fan outside of the GTA has no right to an opinion in the company of a season ticket holder. I apologize.

I also wasn't aware that 37% is a good shooting percentage - for anyone. Nor did I realize that 40% shooting to get 20 points was a good thing. Here I thought volume scorers were a liability - especially from a barely 6 foot point guard.

[chrischris]

OK. You are absolutely correct. A Raptor fan outside of the GTA has no right to an opinion in the company of a season ticket holder. I apologize.

Seriously? I deleted what I wrote to ebrian's high horse season ticket comment. I hope this reply is sarcasm...or I think I'll type it out again

[Bendit]

Chris, I'm not comparing JV with other players, my point is the management made a conscious decision to alienate paying fans by drafting a player they knew would not play this year. While it may pay off in the long run, the point I'm making is that it is obvious that the management DO NOT CARE about making fans wait. Another year is not going to make a huge difference, the Raptors are still and will continue to be the 3rd or 4th most popular team in Toronto. In the meantime while you wait, just cheer for anyone who isn't the Heat.

Isnt this approach a form of monetizing the decision making process for short term gratification? If the Walker was truly the more superior player in BC's opinion then no doubt he should have been the one chosen. As a matter of fact it might well have been Walker or Knight had Jonas not fallen to the Raps. I just cannot buy the thinking that the choice should not be made based on the most impactful long term view beneficial to the team's success. And I was for Walker's selection pre draft but fully understood we lucked out when JV was not selected by the Cavs. There is also a view that BC should be commended for choosing JV inspite of his contractual obligation in Europe which is precisely the reason (fan backlash) why he fell in the draft.