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Raptors Mailbag: Bosh, Bennett, Bargaining, and Bullet Club

The mailbag is just a conduit to talk about Shinsuke Nakamura.

The Raptors are enjoying their third of four consecutive days off. As has been the custom when the team gets extra rest, it’s mailbag time. Are the Raptors-related questions just something I’m getting out of the way so I can talk about the impending New Japan invasion of WWE? Of course not. I care deeply about your questions and answer them to the fullest of my abilities. At the same time…Shinsuke Nakamura.

Let us.

A word on Chris Bosh
This wasn’t a question that was officially a part of the mailbag, but RR alum William Lou asked me yesterday what my favorite Chris Bosh moment was. It took me about 0.1 seconds to come up with an answer.


This game stands out to me so much. Growing up, I was hockey first, hockey second, and maybe baseball third. Around Grade 10, I stopped playing competitively, started wrestling, and began varying my sports viewing some. Most of my friends played on the basketball team, and sometime in Grade 11 (the 2002-03 season) I started watching the Raptors. That offseason, they drafted Chris Bosh fourth overall, and as the 2003-04 season tipped off, I kind of felt a connection to him. All my friends had watched far longer and had fan relationships with Vince Carter or Alvin Williams or JYD or whoever, but Bosh was about as new to the Raptors as I was. This is super corny and probably only how I feel now in retrospect, but in any case, Bosh was my dude.

And so on Nov. 16, 2013, I’m at my friend Adam’s place, watching Raptors-Rockets with a friend named James Johnson (seriously, though everyone calls him Silky). The Raptors tip off at 1 p.m., and I have a hockey game at 4, plenty of time to make the short trek after the final buzzer (again, I wasn’t playing competitively anymore, so it’s not like I needed to stretch or do anything other than sit around eating pizza before the game).

Bosh was playing pretty well, and with 32 seconds left he corralled a pass from Carter to bring the Raptors within a point. Steve Francis hit a stupid long two, as Steve Francis was wont to do, and the Raptors called back-to-back timeouts to try to set up a play to tie. Carter drew all the attention, kicked, and found Bosh for an open triple. Cash. Bosh’s first career 3-point attempt was good, and it sent the game to overtime (after Francis missed a heave).

In overtime, Bosh scored on another bucket inside from Carter then, trailing by two, was fouled by Kelvin Cato. Having just forced overtime with his first ever triple, Bosh now stood at the free-throw line trying to tie the game. No pressure. He sank both, the Rockets missed a pair of looks in the final 40 seconds, and the game went to a second overtime. Bosh missed a pair of mid-range jumpers to start but then grabbed a massive offensive rebound off of a Davis miss, putting it back to give the Raptors a three-point lead. He then got intentionally fouled and again hit both free throws.

Raptors win, 101-97 in double overtime, against a team that would go on to finish 45-37 (the Raptors were 33-49, the Kevin O’Neill season). Bosh, playing in his 10th career game, went 7-of-11 from the floor for 25 points with nine rebounds and an assist. That would stand as his career-high in points until Jan. 12, 2005. He’d average 11.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors. He’d play seven seasons with the team, making five All-Star appearances and cementing himself as the second-best player in franchise history (so far) before leaving for the Miami Heat. On his way out, he returned the pick that became Jonas Valanciunas (which the Raptors had previously dealt in the Shawn Marion trade) and the pick that became the first go-round with James Johnson (the one who is not my friend).

I couldn’t find highlights from the game, so here’s a Bosh rookie season mixtape.

Trades


I spent about 4,000 words shooting down trade ideas a month ago and I have something on potential trade targets coming tomorrow. Check back for that.

For the Raptors, absolutely. The Bulls have a glut of frontcourt players and could use help on the wing, but Johnson isn’t nearly valuable enough to land a player of Gibson’s caliber, one who has one more affordable year left on this deal. I like Gibson as a target for the Raptors, but you’re probably looking at a three-team deal – the Bulls will want a better wing than Johnson, Terrence Ross’ Poison Pill provision prevents a straight swap (and a lot of deals in general), and the Raptors would need to swing Patrick Patterson for a wing to re-balance the roster.


I don’t. Talent wise, if the price is cheap enough, it’d be tough to pass up, but I have trouble seeing Phoenix moving him without getting a first back. For an organization that values personality so highly to add a combustible element like that seems risky if you’re also giving up assets (Patterson would probably go back to make the math work). If the Suns come down on asking price to where it’s a straight swap, then it’s hard not to like getting a free piece on a decent deal, but I don’t see why the Suns would be in a rush to move him for nothing in a lost season.

Draft


It’s early enough in draft season that the answer is “everyone,” really. Already we’ve seen bubble first-rounders play their way into a possible lottery spot (Buddy Hield, a guy I identified in our Christmas live thread as a potential target in the 20s for Toronto), a mid-lottery guy play his way into top-five status (Henry Ellenson), and a top-five guy slide to the mid-late lottery (Jamal Murray). The Raptors will probably pick in the 18-22 range again, but the Knicks/Nuggets pick could realistically fall in the 10-16 range, so you’ve got about half a round to look at. Here are the tiers I’d probably have guys in right now (this is SUPER rough/put together quickly, and I may have missed a name or two):

Tier 1: Simmons, Ingram, Bender
Tier 2: Dunn, Murray, Ellenson, Brown, Poeltl, Rabb
Tier 3: Korkmaz, Baldwin IV, Hield, Jackson, Luwawu, Labissiere
Tier 4: Stone, Sabonis, LeVert, Valentine, Prince, Zimmerman Jr., Bryant, Dorsey, Payton II, Hayes

As for Joseph, I think he’s there. he’s mostly bounced back on the defensive end and his confidence appears to be back offensively. The single game in eight days should help him, too.


The issue with trading up is that this isn’t a great draft class, so the extra pick doesn’t move the needle a ton. If the Raptors end up with #10 and #20, maybe that’s enough to move up to #7 or #8, where you might need to be to snag Murray (he’s anywhere from 5-9 right now). I actually just watched a ton of Murray tape yesterday for a piece I’m doing for Vice,a nd I remain encouraged – he might not be a point guard and he’ll top out as average defensively, if that, but I think he’s got enough size and raw skill that he’s going to be a solid NBA player on offense, whatever the guard spot. I have him fifth in my very rough rankings, but given he’s a combo-guard too small to play the three, he doesn’t really fit for the Raptors unless one of DeRozan or Ross leave.

Current players


Not really. It’s something to keep in mind when picturing how the team will look down the line, but there’s not really a realistic scenario in which Lowry signs an extension (for the same reason DeRozan didn’t – the CBA rules around extensions are incredibly limiting and, well, stupid). Lowry will be 31 when he can opt out at the end of 2016-17, and he probably will, given he’ll be at that age where he’s probably getting his last big multi-year deal, and given that the cap will be substantially higher based on current estimates (a potential 2017 lockout could change his thinking but there’s good reason for optimism there won’t be a work stoppage). The Lowry question is a big part of the Raptors’ future, but it’s not worth worrying about yet because, quite frankly, there’s nothing to be done about it yet.


Timing on help at the rim. He does a decent job contesting a lot of shots that come near the rim, but he doesn’t have much of an effect on them when he does contest. I think it’s more important for the team for his defense to improve than his offense (I think he’s underused some on that side), and while the passing he’s flashed of late would raise his ceiling, too, being able to better time his contests could help make up for the athletic and positioning shortcomings that sometimes present themselves inside.


I think Powell has the best floor, just because he can be so good defensively and is insanely athletic. I think he’s pretty certain to stick in the league for at least a few years to see if the other parts of his game can round out and make him a functional rotation piece. In terms of ceiling, forced to choose I’d say Nogueira. I know he’s been up and down and is already 23, but his length and passing ability are elite. If he can figure out how to be consistent, there’s a lot to like. (I think Wright leans closer to Powell with floor over ceiling, might be able to carve out a role as a quality backup; Caboclo, who the hell knows?)


This is kind of an elephant in the room of late.

Here’s the background: The Raptors liked Ronald Roberts enough in summer league to give him a $75,000 guarantee to come to training camp. He had the inside track on the 15th roster spot, but the Raptors opted to sign Anthony Bennett with that space, instead. Roberts opted for the D-League believing he was close to the NBA, and has since shown he’s unquestionably an NBA talent.

He was the victim of some bad luck during NBA cut week, as fewer roster spots were opened up than anticipated, and none of the teams with room have a frontcourt need. A source confirmed to me that Roberts received overtures from Maccabi Tel Aviv. It would have put his NBA hopes on hold for the season, but he’d cash in, and playing alongside Dragan Bender would mean there would be plenty of scouts seeing him play. He’s opted to turn that deal down, and I think that’s smart – roster situations can change between now and the trade deadline, and there will be (lesser) international opportunities in late-February, too.

Now, as to where the Raptors figure in: They have no recourse if Roberts walks for an NBA team or international opportunity (he could be subject to a buyout in the latter case but it seems unlikely the organization would be sticklers about it). Roberts is free to sign with any NBA team, and the only thing the 905 would get is a) first waiver priority once Roberts has been up for 21 days, and/or b) first dibs on him if he re-enters the D-League player pool. That’s not much, and many have asked me why the Raptors would bother investing in the development of someone who could benefit another team later. The long answer centers on the D-League growing so rapidly since the last CBA, but the short answer is that this is life for a D-League squad. You build relationships and build culture, hope it rubs off on your assignees, and just be happy for a guy if he gets a chance. That’ll change in the future, but for now, it is what it is.

The Raptors could call Roberts up themselves, but doing so means cutting someone. They have 15 guaranteed NBA contracts, and it doesn’t work like MLB/NHL where, say, Anthony Bennett could be sent down and Roberts called up, while the team keeps a claim to both. Calling Roberts up means cutting Bennett (or a 2-for-1/3-for-2 type trade before the deadline), and the organization obviously hasn’t saw fit to do that.

My take on it, without the benefit of any inside information, is that the Raptors see Bennett as having more long-term potential. That certainly makes sense, given that they think he can guard threes and fours and stretch the floor a bit, and given that he’s a young, recent No. 1 pick. Roberts has more utility to an NBA team right now – his energy, rebounding, and ability to get cheap, easy buckets is unparalleled int he D-League or on the Raptors roster – but the Raptors don’t really have a spot for him. They have three centers, and Roberts would be filling Bennett’s limited role as the sixth big. He’d also be tough to play with Valanciunas or Biyombo, because even though he can knock down an 18-footer, teams aren’t going to guard him as such (and he’s most valuable round the rim).

If the Raptors think Bennett’s a better longer-term prospect, and if Roberts would only be filling Bennett’s minimal role, the trade-off favors Bennett (in their eyes). Personally, I think the Raptors are risking watching a guy who could be a team’s fourth big get an opportunity and prosper with someone else, but they (ostensibly) know better than me.

Miscellaneous


That’s an interesting question. It’s kind of hard to compare given it’s been a few years since Chuck was around. I think I lean Swirsky, if only because he was the voice of the team as I first started watching and getting really into the team, so I kind of still hear him calling things in big moments. He was an unabashed homer, of course, but Devlin skews that way, too. Devlin’s solid, don’t get me wrong here. I thought he’s done great filling in on Jays’ telecasts and he and Jack Armstrong have a great chemistry together. But forced to choose, a bit of nostalgia gets Swirsky the nod.


I’m my own boss and get to spend like 70 hours a week watching and writing about basketball. Downsides: Work-life balance, pay, my boss is a dick.


There are a lot of good answers for this one. Most recently, I really enjoyed HBO’s “Minority of One” on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I think my No. 1 overall might be “The Other Dream Team,” a documentary about the 1992 Lithuanian national basketball team that came out a few years back. And Space Jam is really good, too.


You meant at Raptors 905 games, right? because DJ Andre 905 is that dude. I’m less enthusiastic about the ACC game-ops – they’re not bad, they’re just pretty cookie-cutter and repetitive if you attend a lot of games – and I thought playing Facts was way too big a risk (not for Nike relations, but because that song is garbage). I will give them that they work in new Drake material quickly. I don’t have an answer. Forced to choose, I always love when the beat from Grindin’ plays during live action.


I know some people are holding on, but I’m pretty confident he’s going to re-up for one year in OKC and then do the dance again in 2017. If the Raptors retain DeRozan, it would take some gymnastics to clear the requisite cap space for his 10-year max, and I’d still venture that the Thunder are a favorite to retain him. Plus, his David Price jersey is useless now. With that said, you can’t count out Masai Ujiri, Drake, and Marcus Stroman as a recruiting triumvirate, so I’ll maintain there is a greater-than-zero chance.


Apparently, that if you annoy fans long enough, they’ll promise to switch to your bank if you take your ad off the air, as I have.

Wrestling-related questions


Machine Gun Anderson and Doc/Luke Gallows. I think they’re all going to get pushed well, but when building a stable up, tag team gold is always the easiest and usually the first domino to fall. It helps that Gallows has a WWE track record and that Anderson is awesome. Part of my reasoning here is actually that the U.S. and I.C. titles just don’t mean a ton right now, so it’s not as if an NJPW-style setup (one guy for each belt/division) is necessary, other than the cool visual a five-man stable with all five belts would provide.


I was a little concerned at first given how much of his success is predicated on him just being his weird, awesome, charismatic self, and how infrequently WWE allows their wrestlers to do just that. But the fact that WWE has reportedly purchased the rights to his fantastic entrance music makes me optimistic they’re going to try to stay as true to these talents as they can (A.J. Styles, for example, can’t really be anything but A.J. Styles given his giant A.J. tattoo). Maybe they drop one of his names so he’s just Nakamura, but here’s hoping they let him be Japanese Wrestling Michael Jackson, or however you want to describe his indescribable charisma.


It’s nearing the end of the 2021 season. Cory Joseph has taken over the reigns from Kyle Lowry as the starting point guard. In a trade-deadline deal that doesn’t appear to move the needle much, the Raptors acquire Kelly Olynyk. As the season draws to a close, questions abound about the future of Andrew Wiggins, who is finishing up his second contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wiggins has eschewed signing an extension, because the new CBA still doesn’t make it beneficial for stars to do so.

In game 82, the Wolves are visiting the Raptors. The Raptors lead by one, and with the game on the line, the Wolves opt to give Karl-Anthony Towns the ball rather than Wiggins. Olynyk awkwardly flails at the shot enough to force Towns to adjust, and the shot missed. Raptors win. As the game concludes and the players do their usual post-game dap, Joseph and Wiggins meet at mid-court, right beneath that awkward, you-can-only-see-it-from-the-floor Canadian flag-slash-Air Canada logo. Joseph extends a fist, Wiggins meets it with one of his own.

Joseph and Olynyk begin cryptically tweeting about Canadian basketball, #OurCountryOurTeam, and a bunch of other weird stuff that most people assume has to do with the 2021 FIBA Americas Championship. As free agency opens, the Raptors, flush with cap space, quietly meet with Wiggins, which obviously only Woj breaks. Curiously, there’s no news of a signing, and Wiggins goes dark. Joseph and Olynyk continue tweeting cryptically, Nik Stauskas and Trey Lyles begin doing the same, and the day before the NBA’s free agency moratorium ends, Wiggins tweets out only the hashtag #OurCountryOurTeam (or whatever it is). The Raptors hold a press conference the next day introducing Wiggins, Stauskas, and Lyles under returning head coach Jay Triano and alongside Joseph and Olynyk.

This is the best I’ve got.

I might do another one of these Saturday given the light schedule. Hit me up with questions on Twitter, as it’s unlikely I’ll be in the comments to see them.

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