Taking The Next Step: How the Raptors compare to recent finalists and champions | Raptors Republic
So how do the Raptors stack up against the last 20 NBA finalists? One of the first things that jump out is the reliance on free throws as a major part of the offense. The Raptors ranked 2nd and 3rd in free throws made and free throw rate respectively in the 15/16 season. This stands in contrast to their 14th and 19th rankings in 3-pointers made and attempted respectively. The offensive strategy makes sense in a vacuum, as the Raptors are short on reliable long distance shooters and possess a quality slasher in DeRozan. The solution to shift the offense to the perimeter lies in the acquisition of more shooters. That makes Terrence Ross more valuable than Toronto fans might like, possibly meaning he will remain on the roster into next season.
Another statistic where the Raptors lag far behind the elite is assists, ranking 29th. This would come as no surprise for a team that bases its offense on free throws where no assists can be earned (aside from and-ones), and is low on long distance shooting. This ranking should improve significantly with the addition of another shooter or two, as they would act as outlets for the penetration of Toronto’s guards.
The Raptors’ defense trended in the right direction this past season, but it needs to improve further if the franchise is to fulfill its ultimate ambition. This is where Andy Greer’s recently announced departure really hurts the team. With defense in mind, the picture of the perfect free agent forms quickly – a quality 3 and D guy. Not surprisingly, these are the most coveted players in the league today. The team’s cap situation likely won’t allow Ujiri to sign a game-changer with those skills, but he doesn’t necessarily need to. The club will hope DeMarre Carroll can be that guy after a summer of rest and a full training camp with the rest of the roster – his skillset is exactly what the doctor ordered.
The team should still seek out quality shooters that are capable of defending at a decent level, as their presence alone will change how the offense is structured. Toronto ranked 7th in the league in the lowest turnover percentage, giving them some buffer room to make mistakes. If the Raptors can increase their long-range attempts (while maintaining a decent percentage), reduce their dependency on free throws, and increase their assist numbers all at the expense of a few more turnovers, the team will be better for it. Due to the lack of cap room, they key will be to find a hidden gem in the mold of Bismack Biyombo.
Report: Raptors interested in Nerlens Noel | Raptors Republic
Noels is only 21 years old (compared to Biyombo’s “23”), and much like Biybomo, is a defensive-minded player who has a greater (albeit limited) offensive upside. Biyombo has the edge in the PER36 numbers last year, but with experience, you would expect Noels to eventually catch up:
This can definitely be classified as a “win now” moved while giving the future some thought. The article mentions Terrence Ross going the other way, which would leave us with a shooting hole to fill, but you could make a case that that is easier to fill than frontcourt defense. What is perplexing to me is why the Raptors, if they had such a move in mind, would not sure up the three-point shooting in the draft by drafting a wing instead of a project center.
Do remember that Masai Ujiri and Bryan Colangelo have a relationship (Colangelo used to be his boss in Toronto), and given Colangelo’s propensity to trade picks away, and possible desire to bring back a player he drafted in Ross, this one is adding up.
NBA Trade Rumour: Raptors have approached the Sixers about a deal for Nerlens Noel | Raptors HQ
Ah yes, but now the main event: apparently Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is talking to his old friend Bryan Colangelo — imagine that phone call — of the Sixers with a deal proposal to pry away Nerlens Noel. The 21 year old centre is just two seasons into the league, on a contract with two rookie deal years left on it; he averaged 11.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 52 percent from the field last season.
Noel has clear value as defensive player, and could be the guy to replace Biyombo for the Raps. (And those of you questioning Noel’s worth, remember: it wasn’t so long ago many NBA fans were laughing at Bismack, the hapless colossus.) Theoretically, Noel could grow into a great backup centre option, particularly when you consider him paired with Patrick Patterson. That part makes this proposal intriguing.
As Lowe rightly points out though, any deal would presumably include Terrence Ross, the team’s best and most real trade asset. This would mean the trade still doesn’t quite address the strange logjam the Raps have at backup centre, and it still doesn’t give Jonas Valanciunas a true, viable starting power forward to play with. (It does clear the way for the Year of Norm, though.)
Also, what it would mean for the Raptors newest draft picks — Jakob Poeltl, backup centre, and Pascal Siakam, springy backup PF — remains to be seen. Though, maybe one of them would also have to be included in said deal?
Dull offseason awaits the Raptors (plus 5 bargain free agents to consider) | The Defeated
One — the Raptors need more depth at the forward positions. Carroll was limited to 26 games last season and it stretched their rotation way too thin. The Raptors need defense and 3-point shooting from those spots, but the market isn’t exactly undervaluing 3-and-D wings.
Two — the prospects have to step up and contribute. Ujiri is playing both sides by filling out his playoff rotation with rookie-scale deals, but that creates something of a Catch-22. Without playing time, the prospects can’t develop nor can they increase their value. But if they play, the Raptors might not have the stomach for rookie mistakes. The best case scenario would be something like Norman Powell, where the prospect becomes a rotation player on a bargain contract. The worst case scenario is Bruno Caboclo, where he can’t contribute nor can he become a trade asset because he’s constantly riding the pine or playing in the D-League.
This is the path Ujiri has chosen, and it’s the correct call. Truth be told, the Raptors really don’t have the surefire top-tier talent that would justify an all-in contention push. It makes sense to keep playing both sides in case the other shoe drops with this current core, and should the Raptors ever need to pivot into a rebuild, Ujiri has an on-going project that he can quickly turn to.
Why Raptors’ negotiation with DeMar DeRozan could be a quick one | Sportsnet.ca
DeRozan will surely want to know who he’s going to be playing with, another interesting question. The Raptors’ primary vacancy is at power forward and as their efforts to land Serge Ibaka in a trade indicated, they have ambitions about how to fill it.
In the end the Raptors balked at sending Cory Joseph, Norman Powell, Patrick Patterson and their No. 9 pick to Oklahoma City for Ibaka. Ujiri wants to add to his talent base, not create a new weakness (bench strength), which is why he stood still at the trade deadline too.
Patience has been his calling card and he could be wise to wait another year. In the summer of 2017 Ibaka – who Ujiri has known since the Cameroonian was a teenager – is a free agent when all he would cost the Raptors is money. Another name to watch? Danilo Galinari, the centrepiece of the Carmelo Anthony trade Ujiri engineered when he was general manager of the Denver Nuggets.
If the Raptors are comfortable with Patterson starting at power forward this coming season – and there is every sense that they are – Toronto could end up sitting out this year’s free agency frenzy with an eye towards finding the right fit a year from now.
Which brings us back to DeRozan. Shaving a few million off the max helps the Raptors add the talent around him that a winning team needs.
Would the trade still have been a loss if they were able to sign a point guard in free agency?
For example, if they picked up Lin, they would have a quality lineup, and they could fill the PF gap with making a move for Darrell Arthur (whose jumpshot has improved), Teletovic, Luol Deng, Trevor Booker, or Kris Humphries? It just seems worth it considering how great a fit Ibaka is…maybe they highly value Norman Powell?
[Sixers fan] What would Terrence Ross realistically cost? | Reddit
I can see why people undervalue him, his role on our squad is just so limited, he comes in shoots a few 3s plays some D and thats it.
Ross still has a great upside. But this dude needs to play somewhere as a starter, he needs to find is own game rather than filling a role in a system. Give him some freedom on court and I believe he can have a breakout year next year, just not on our team.
A photo posted by Bismack Biyombo (@bismackbiyombo) on
What can Raptors do when NBA free agency starts? | Toronto Star
By trading a player into another team’s cap space and not having to take existing salary back, they can create room to add to the $5 million they have.
Dealing away Terrence Ross would get them to about $15 million of space; moving the expiring contract of Patrick Patterson would get them close to $12 million to spend on free agents.
And if they don’t want to go that route, they could trade either and assume that $15 million or $12 million on the player coming back.
Those options are the ones under most serious consideration according to league and team sources but Ujiri plays his cards so close to his vest, getting more than that is virtually impossible.
In a wild summer of NBA spending, these eight players will be overpaid | CBSSports.com
He can’t hit 3’s.
That’s really what it comes down to.
You can get past the defense which can be top level or only mediocre if he’s run down. You can overlook his reliance on getting to the free throw line and the impact that has on his game in the playoffs. You can look past the fact that he has a great post-up game he almost never uses.
You can find ways all over the place to rationalize committing at the highest level to DeMar DeRozan… if he could only hit 3-pointers.
But he can’t. He’s a career 28-percent 3-point shooter. He shot 4 of 26 for 15 percent in this year’s playoffs from deep. The NBA is 3-point crazy right now, it’s a necessary element for efficiency, and everyone has shooters. If you’re going in with DeMar DeRozan as a max, top-level, key component, you’re going to be faced with what we call “The Math Problem” when it comes to teams like Golden State or Cleveland. Three points will always be more than two points and with DeRozan, you’ll never keep pace. DeRozan is, at his heart, a product of the Kobe Bryant model. That comes with work ethic, that comes with fluidity and a penchant for midrange jumpers, and that comes with inefficiency.
The Raptors are about to commit five years to a guard who can’t hit the most important shot in basketball right now. He’s not a top-end playmaker, he’s not a top-end defender, he’s not a top-end rebounder, and in the playoffs, his game dissipates; he’s a career 39 percent shooter from the field — not from 3-point range, the field — in the playoffs.
In 2002, DeRozan is a no-brainer max player. In 2016? Not so much.
Five things to watch for in the NBA free-agency Thunderdome | ESPN
The Raptors will need to move at least one big deal to have any hope of retaining both DeMar DeRozan and Biyombo, and teams will call about DeMarre Carroll. Toronto has already approached Philly about a deal sending out a rotation player — perhaps Terrence Ross, and other goodies — in exchange for Nerlens Noel, who could then assume Biyombo’s backup center role, according to league sources. The talks haven’t gained much traction yet.
NBA Free Agency 2016: 5 targets for Toronto Raptors | Fansided
If Deng were to head North, he would have to take a pay cut, which may be worth it to the 31-year old. There is no telling how many years he has left in the league, and with how he performed during the regular season last year, he may want to join a team where he can win now. He would be an instant upgrade to the rotation of power forwards the Raptors have now.
The Raptors may be able to swing it because Deng has made decisions that were not based on money in the past. For the past two years he has taken less money to stay with the Miami Heat, and the Raptors have moved past the Heat as the second best team in the Eastern Conference.
“A lot of teams out there can offer you a lot of money, but the feel might not be the same,” Deng told Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post earlier this month. “And there could be teams in a situation where they can’t actually give you what the other team can, but they’ve got a lot of other things they can support you with.”
Sounds as if he is speaking about the Raptors and not the Heat.
Raptors Player Review: Kyle Lowry, the man below nothing | Raptors HQ
He fulfilled the off-season muscle-watch hype, he avoided the physical breakdown that left the Raptors stranded in 2014-15 and he shot down the endless unwarranted questions about his mental fortitude in the playoffs with a string of signature games during Toronto’s deep run.
Offensively, he became the embodiment of the team the Bryan Colangelo pried him away from in the summer of 2012. He bombed threes with high-volume efficiency and charged the lane in a way that must make Houston’s Daryl Morey swoon. It all translated into the most prolific and efficient season of Lowry’s career.
On the other end, a more limber and healthy Lowry helped turn around the Raptors’ defense, sealing up the perimeter holes that did the Raptors in against the Wizards in 2015, and aggressively probing passing lanes. He was helped of course by the introduction of Cory Joseph into the team, but make no mistake, Lowry was more than just a one-way star this season — as his personal best 3.7 Defensive Win Shares per Basketball Reference would suggest.
He was a superstar, a deserved All-Star starter on his home court, and a Third Team All-NBAer — and you could make a strong case for him as a Second Teamer ahead of the more offense-leaning Damian Lillard. It was the kind of season-long individual performance Raptors fans have yearned for since Vince Carter’s peak. Toronto, after so many years of never being able to claim a top-10 player in the league, had one this year in Lowry. Maybe nine guys finished ahead of him in MVP voting, but to those who watched him closely this year, it became clear that Lowry’s “Over Everything” status is well-earned.
Odds Outlook: Odds of re-signing DeRozan are in Toronto’s favour | Raptors HQ
At Bodog, the odds of the Raptors re-signing DeRozan come in at a staggeringly high -1500. The shop has tabbed the shooting guard with a +700 chance of departing the Dinos.
To put that into perspective, if you placed a $100 bet on DeRozan to stay in Toronto you’d be rewarded with a measly $6.67. A $100 wager on the Compton product to sign with any other team pays out $700.
Of course that’s not a guarantee DeRozan will stay, but it is interesting to note the odds discrepancy. Side note: No matter how confident you are in the 26-year-old re-signing, do not even think about risking $100 to win $6.67. That’s just poor gambling.
Jakob Poeltl’s fit with the Raptors | Block U
Another possibility that has been thrown out, is maybe Poeltl is the power forward the Raptors were looking for after all. The Poeltl we saw here at Utah sure doesn’t look like an NBA power forward. He needs to develop a mid range jump shot and will definitely need to add strength. He does have quickness and athleticism however, and his free throw shooting improved dramatically between his freshman and sophomore seasons lending credence to the idea he could add a 15-18 foot jump shot into his repertoire with enough practice. Maybe that idea is not so far fetched, however his best position is undoubtedly center.
When it boils down, you will most likely see Poeltl battle for minutes at backup center with Lucas Nogueira during his first season. This will be an important role for the Raptors as they try to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals. Looking forward a few years, Poeltl will work to put on some bulk and develop a jump shot, using his athleticism to perhaps move past Valanciunas on the depth chart at some point.
Poeltl may not have filled the stretch power forward need the Raptors are looking to fill, but still provides good value for Toronto at an important position and adds depth in the short term. Along the way Poeltl will have his former college teammate Delon Wright to help him adjust to life in the NBA. Who knows? In a few years the Raptors might be relying on a Wright to Poeltl connection.
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