Time to fill the haunting void by emptying out the mailbag.
@william_lou @raptorsrepublic On Monty rumors: Do you think the Raptors would be better off with Monty as HC instead of assisting Casey?
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) May 16, 2015
Quite frankly, I don’t know enough about Monty Williams and how things went down in New Orleans to make any definitive statements about his abilities as a coach. From an outsider’s perspective, Williams looks like a player’s coach. His star players adored him (Chris Paul, Anthony Davis) but his Xs and Os are bland. He has a solid pedigree dating back to his early years as an assistant with the Spurs and later with the Trail Blazers. And finally, this can’t be discounted, Williams looks like a nice man to work for. He’s not a bitter task-master like Tom Thibodeau or Stan Van Gundy.
If that description of Williams sounded familiar, it’s because almost every point can be similarly applied to Dwane Casey. In that regard, shifting Williams up a desk (should he accept the Raptors’ overtures) seems largely moot.
https://twitter.com/TheBlane16/status/599613257473724416
Yes and no.
Yes, because Williams’s presence did force the Raptors to play iso, especially with the second unit. That’s just who he is as a player, and Casey used him accordingly. Casey catches a lot of flack for letting Williams run wild as opposed to implementing strict sets, but what coach has ever gotten Williams to play any differently? That’s part of why Williams was jettisoned from the Hawks. He simply couldn’t adhere to Mike Budenholzer’s (who won Coach of the Year) schemes. Sure, the end-of-quarter isolations became something of a cruel joke, but that’s the trade-off you make by having Williams on the team.
That being said, Williams playing in isolation shouldn’t be mistaken for ineffectiveness or selfishness. Williams was successful in the regular season doing what he did. He jacked up enough threes and coaxed enough fouls to nudge his true-shooting percentage above par, which is really all you can ask for with a bench gunner. And how he played wasn’t necessarily selfish, either. The Raptors ran schemes that best maximized Williams’s talents, which is to say they played him with bigs who scrambled like crazy to cover for him on defense and who got out of his way on offense.
There is a growing sentiment among fans that Williams’s style of play might have rubbed off on the other players, notably Greivis Vasquez, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. I’ve never been in the locker room, nor do I know what happens behind closed doors, so I have no true insight into the team’s dynamic. However, it is readily apparent that the coaching staff – perhaps as an adaptation to fit Williams – did change their schemes to favor its ball handlers.
https://twitter.com/27AjazA/status/599615710684295169
This question can effectively be reduced down to, “should the Raptors rebuild?”
The goal of trading up in the draft is to acquire more young talent. Dealing one of Terrence Ross or Jonas Valanciunas in that pursuit is moot and Amir Johnson is a free agent. So the only remaining options out of the starting lineup is to deal one of the Raptors two foundational players in Lowry or DeRozan for young talent, which would qualify as a rebuild.
I doubt Masai Ujiri intends to blow up the core. He’s preached patience in most of his interviews. But if it were up to me, I’d keep Lowry and gauge DeRozan’s value. DeRozan can opt out of his contract next summer and is in line for a significant raise. Unless the Raptors are confident in DeRozan and willing to make a significant investment in his future (like, tying up 15-25 percent of the cap), moving DeRozan right now might be the best way to maximize value.
@william_lou @raptorsrepublic what you think raps big moves should be. Is Amir coming back and backup? Should we package tross with draft?
— rdsauce (@r1_slick) May 16, 2015
I think the Raptors should chase a major free agent. I like the idea of spending big to sign a player like Khris Middleton, Draymond Green, Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng (if he opts out), Tobias Harris or Wesley Matthews. The idea is the get a two-way player who can shoot and defend on the wing or at power forward. Granted, it’s not going to be easy because that’s what everyone is looking for, but the Raptors have cap space this summer and they need to address some significant holes on the roster.
As for Amir, I’d love to see him back on the team. When healthy, he’s almost exactly what this team needs. However, unless one of Valanciunas or Patterson gets moved, I really can’t see the fit for yet another fringe starter with a mid-level type contract. So unless someone gets moved, or Amir takes a huge discount, his time with the Raptors may have come to an end.
@william_lou @raptorsrepublic Assuming we keep DeMar and Kyle, what changes do we need to make as an off. and def. system standpoint?
— J Yeo (@YeoJulian) May 16, 2015
Defensively, the Raptors need to play more conservatively. Instead of letting opposing guards use screens and compensating by over-aggressively sending help, the Raptors should limit help by forcing action towards the sidelines as much as possible. The Raptors don’t have the athleticism, nor the instincts to run the schemes they did last season. Also, it would be great if the guards generally gave a damn about limiting dribble penetration.
Offensively, I don’t have a particular system in mind. I think most of the Raptors’ staples are fine. Their offense out of HORNS is solid. The guards have a tendency to turn pick-and-rolls into isolations, but they shoot enough threes and they get fouled a tonne on jumpshots which makes it work. Most of their offense is simple, but that might just be a reflection of the talent on the roster. Obviously I would prefer for the Raptors to play a more intricate system – like the Warriors, Spurs and Hawks – but that might be too demanding for this current roster.
Generally speaking, I like my wings to be able to shoot, drive and pass. Only Lowry fits that criteria. DeRozan can’t shoot from deep, Ross can only spot-up, Vasquez can’t break down defenses on the drive and Williams does his own thing. As for my bigs, I like them to be able to screen effectively and to be able to make quick, smart decisions with the ball. Patterson and Amir are the only two that fit that criteria. Valanciunas can’t shoot and doesn’t make good reads.
https://twitter.com/TRILLBASSILY/status/599632407038275585
I’m not entirely sure what the deal is with Bebe. He’s not injured, he’s not that young (he’ll be 23 next season) and he was successful overseas (named as the top defender in the ACB league). He should be able to contribute.
My guess is that Bebe is not physically ready to play. He’s still extremely lanky and perhaps he doesn’t yet have the strength to bang inside the paint. However, I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t at least able to play a Clint Capela-type role next season with about 5-10 minutes per game. He shouldn’t be one year from two years like his buddy Bruno. His time should have already come.
https://twitter.com/lancelayman/status/599632425023451136
The simple answer is that you add more talent. Give them a two-way power forward and a solid 3-and-D wing and this team should have what it takes to advance into the second round.
However, that’s also contingent on Valanciunas developing better defensive instincts. He’s always a step slow defensively and doesn’t have the athleticism to make up for his blunders. On offense, Valanciunas needs to be more decisive and he needs to be able to make a move – pass, shoot, drive – when he gets the ball at the elbow. He can’t just be a post-up player.
@raptorsrepublic @william_lou why do we criticize athletes when the give the sterio typical answer but when the give you an honest answer..
— RonaldWilson (@gargonne) May 16, 2015
@raptorsrepublic @william_lou … You bash them. ie T Ross this week
— RonaldWilson (@gargonne) May 16, 2015
It’s a matter of optics with Terrence Ross’s Instagram post. It would be one thing if it were someone like Patterson or DeRozan – the truly hardworking players – who came out with something like that. You can respect it. But Ross is the wrong messenger for that type of pep talk. Aside from his 3-point shooting, Ross hasn’t really made any substantial improvements through three seasons in the league. As fans, you want to see action, not talk, especially from Ross, who has mostly underachieved given his talents.
The wider conversation with respect to comments made by athletes is a separate topic. Personally, I love it when athletes speak their minds. I think everybody does. But I understand why they don’t. Everything they say gets put under the magnifying glass and it gets blown out of proportion. So while it would be nice to keep it real, most players keep it hush because it’s not worth the headache.
A large part of that is on the media. Too often, a players words get twisted or context is conveniently ignored. Sports is an entertainment business, and it’s easier to consume when there’s a narrative to peddle. It’s easy to fall into a habit of sensationalizing. It’s easy to simplify, to abjectly declare right and wrong, good or bad. But while athletes are effectively fictitious characters to fans, the burden of living with their prescribed narratives is very real. That’s not to say the media shouldn’t ever criticize, but a balance has to be struck between telling a good story, and telling the truth.
If we want players to keep it real instead of spouting mundane cliches, the fans and the media has to meet them halfway.
@william_lou @raptorsrepublic Would the Toronto sports media still be pro retaining Casey if the Wiz fired Wittman after their run?
— Pandemic P (@BrotherPeart) May 16, 2015
Here’s my understanding of what the “Toronto sports media” (which is not homogeneous, so don’t paint with a broad brush) sees with the Casey situation. Although it wasn’t pretty, Casey got a lot more than what could be expected out of the pieces he was given to work with. So while he’s not magically breathing life into a lifeless squad (like Brad Stevens), it’s also not entirely fair to fire him for not overachieving.
That being said, I’m personally of the belief that the goal should always be to improve and I believe there are better candidates to coach the Raptors.
Also, I doubt Wittman gets fired. He did everything the fans wanted him to in this year’s playoffs. Maybe he has turned the corner.
https://twitter.com/Swarlayzers/status/599647786695577600
Shuffling assistants is pussyfooting around the bigger problem and it’s not a solution. Bringing a guy like Monty Williams or Scott Brooks (who will surely latch on with either the Nuggets or Magic) only serves to put the heat on Casey, as if there wasn’t enough already. He’s on the last year of his deal (team option for 2016-17) and the fanbase has turned on him.
https://twitter.com/Swarlayzers/status/599647532982136832
If the Raptors want to trade Valanciunas, the time to do it is this offseason. Trading for Valanciunas doubles as an intention to keep him long-term (he’s not much of a rental) and the deadline to sign him to an extension is Oct. 31.
Again, I get the sense that Ujiri is high on Valanciunas. He’s no longer untouchable as he once was (RIP the Harden swap), but Valanciunas is the Raptors’ best shot at internal improvement. He’s a durable center with deft touch, an effective (if rudimentary) post game and he’s a passable rim protector. But, I can also see the case for trading him. He’s an awkward fit in the modern NBA and he has never once posted a positive net rating.
It would all depend on what the Raptors could get for Valanciunas. I wouldn’t settle for anything short of a top-10 pick.
