By doing nothing as Thursday’s trade deadline, the Raptors probably hurt their odds of winning one series. At least one potential opponent — Miami, who acquired Goran Dragic from the Phoenix Suns — got better in the short-term. Milwaukee, another potential matchup, got even longer and more athletic (but not necessarily better) by trading Brandon Knight for Michael Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis. And the Raptors did nothing to make a victory over Cleveland, Chicago or Washington, should they end up in the 4-5 series, more likely. These Raptors are capable, as currently assembled, of winning a first-round series. It is a proposition, however, that is not as certain as their 36-17 record would indicate. In the words of Casey and general Masai Ujiri, a message became clear: winning one series this year is not essential. Ujiri’s vision, even if the Raptors should repeat as first-round losers, goes far beyond this season.
For me, no,” he said. “It’s not kind of how I think or operate. We’ve made a commitment I think, trying to give this group a chance and then we are a summer team I think. In summer, you can do more due diligence. You can study more and you have a little bit of (cap) space, you have guys to re-sign, you have the draft. We have future picks … I think we have good placement for now and then in the summer we will evaluate again.”
He said sitting second in the Eastern Conference at 36-17 is a good position. Even with the East down this season, he wasn’t tempted to make a move for short-term gain. “Teams are going to get better in the East,” Ujiri said. “That’s why we have to build a program here that is going to sustain long term.” Ujiri said he didn’t want to mess with the Raptors’ chemistry now, and would re-evaluate again in the summer.
Ujiri and the team’s front office staff fielded calls in the hours leading up to the deadline, garnering interest in some of their young players, draft picks and expiring contracts but, ultimately, they opted for continuity, a philosophy they have emphasized throughout the last 12 months. “We feel confident in this team in terms of growth, in terms of growing,” Ujiri said. “We’re still a long ways away, we understand that, but a lot of things that were put in front of us were things that maybe… makes you slightly better now, but it also takes away from younger guys continuing to grow.” “We felt it wasn’t the time. Yeah, a vote of confidence to our players, team, coach. Keep plugging away.”
“We believe in Terrence, I’ve said that all along,” Casey said. “Just because he’s coming off the bench right now, he’s still a big piece of what we’re doing, he and (Jonas Valanciunas) both. Because he wasn’t moved, any of our guys who weren’t moved, means we still believe in them and still want to see them grow.” Whether that is the long term plan or a stay of execution until the next trading window comes open in the summer, only Ujiri can know for sure. If nothing else, Ross and every other would-be trade chip in the organization has been given a platform to make their case for long term employment over the next 21/2 months. “We’re going to have to make some decisions at the end of the year of who is going to be here, who’s not, or if we have to make any moves at all,” Casey said. “But it’s up to our guys and this is a great platform for them to show what they can do. We’re making a commitment to them as an organization so in turn (they need to) give it to us and take us as far as we can go this year.”
Toronto wasn’t alone in standing pat. In fact, the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers were quiet also quiet as Thursday’s deadline passed. The Washington Wizards made a minor move, swapping Andre Miller for Ramon Sessions. The big trades in the Eastern Conference came further down the standings. Most notably, the Miami Heat picked up point guard Goran Dragic while the Milwaukee Bucks sent Brandon Knight to Phoenix in a three-team deal and received Michael Carter-Williams from Philadelphia and Miles Plumlee and Tyler Ennis from the Suns. Two of Toronto’s potential first round opponents just got better.
You’ve Been Traded | The Players’ Tribune
When I started getting to know Toronto, I fell in love with the city. If you come here, you will too. When free agency rolled around, I explored my options, but ultimately it wasn’t a hard call to remain in a Raptors uniform. I knew I was a part of something special here. I learned a lot about the business of the NBA from these experiences, and a lot about myself. You’re not going to immediately love everything about a new job. But you still have to go to work every day and do your best. The less time you spend concerned with circumstances beyond your control, the more time you have to adjust and adapt. This I learned the hard way. Out of respect, I think NBA teams should let players know if they might potentially be involved in a trade. Yes, the NBA is a business, but I think that would be a better way to treat its employees. If you told me two years ago that I’d be a Toronto Raptor, I would have thought you were crazy. But here I am, freezing my ass off, smiling and winning basketball games. I’d call that a fair trade.
The Raptors and the First Round of the Playoffs: Early Evaluation of the Opposition | Raptors HQ
As a realist Raptors fan, I’m all but assured that Toronto’s current roster would lose to Chicago or Cleveland in a seven-game series. As for Washington, the Raptors have played them 3-0 this season, but the Wizards played through Nene and Marcin Gortat far more in last year’s playoffs than they do now. If they go that way again, in the slower pace of the playoffs, Toronto’s lack of frontcourt depth could sink the ship. I have hopes Toronto could win against Washington, but I’m certainly not convinced. So, if the Raptors want to meet their goal, the ideal is to hold on to a top-three seed and avoid Washington, Cleveland or Chicago in the first round. That too raises an interesting conundrum, though – of those bottom three teams, who would we rather play? There are five teams I think are most likely to take the six through eight seeds. The Raptors have had varying success against them this season, for many different reasons.
Toronto Raptors at Atlanta Hawks: Friday NBA game preview | Toronto Star
The all-star break wasn’t much of a rest for the Atlanta Hawks. Four of their five starters were on the Eastern Conference roster in New York. The odd man out? DeMarre Carroll. . . . Kyle Korver leads the NBA in three-point shooting percentage, with a gaudy 52.3 per cent mark from beyond the arc.
NBA Preview – Toronto Raptors at Atlanta Hawks – Feb 20, 2015 | CBSSports.com
After an 89-88 loss to Boston in its final game before the break Feb. 11, Atlanta will try to avoid its first back-to-back losses since mid-November. It’s looking for a 13th straight home win, which would give the club its longest such streak since a 20-game run in the 1996-97 season. ”We were just going through the motions, weren’t really playing hard,” forward DeMarre Carroll said of the loss to the Celtics. ”So that’s what happens when you take any NBA team not seriously.” The Hawks aren’t likely to make that mistake against Atlantic Division-leading Toronto (36-17), which is seeking its first five-game road win streak since Nov. 14-Dec. 1, 2001. The Raptors, with an NBA-high 14 1/2-game division lead, were also quiet at the trade deadline after winning nine of 11 en route to the best record at All-Star weekend in the team’s 20-year history.
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