July 6 open thread: ‘Everyone’ did not get better | Raptors Republic
Today and tomorrow should be instructive. The moratorium is lifted at 12:01 later tonight/early tomorrow, which means teams are free to “officially” make moves, which could also open up the trade market. It will also tell us if the Raptors are opting to maintain cap space (delaying DeMar DeRozan’s signing) or locking in to the trade route and the mid-level exception (in either case, they’d also have a second, smaller exception).
And yeah, I get why a lot of you are impatient. But it mostly seems unfounded, unless your expectations were too high or you haven’t been reading here. The Raptors’ offseason was always more likely to be quiet than noisy. DeRozan was always likely to stay, Bismack Biymbo was always likely to go, and barring the market proving far more reasonable than anticipated (see below), it was always going to make sense for the team to be patient for the market to settle and the trade market to establish itself. Yeah, it sucks having been on-call 24/7 for a week to have little news, and it sucks to have missed out on Boris Diaw, one of my favorite players and people in the NBA. But this was the high-likelihood path, with the Raptors staying patient with their limited cap space and exceptions, banking on further internal development and the trade market – now or during the seaosn – to fortify the core.
Meanwhile, yes, other teams have been busy. “Everyone” did not get better, though, as has been tweeted at me multiple times. Last year, NBA teams combined to win 1,230 games. In 2016-17, they will win 1,230 games. Unless the Raptors are going to win 27 games or fewer, evenly distributing those extra losses among their competitors, everyone else did not get better. The NBA is a zero-sum game. The Raptors appear likely to take a step back next year, at least in the regular season, which is exactly what I would have told you was likely when the playoffs ended. Boston got better, Cleveland is Cleveland, and some other East teams have taken some gambles that may or may not pay off.
It’s not a disaster.
Jared Sullinger – RFA$2,269,260 – Not the worst idea, to be honest.
Donatas Motiejunas – RFA$2,288,205 – Not the worst idea, to be honest.
Terrence Jones – RFA$2,489,530 – Not the worst idea, to be honest.
Raptors wisely spent a lot of this summer’s money a year ago | Toronto Star
I don’t know how many of us wrote it or who paid attention to it if and when we did but Masai knowingly spent a lot of his 2016 money in 2015 and, I’m telling you, that’s like the sale of Manhattan it’s so one sided.
Imagine in this financial atmosphere if he had to deal with restricted free agents Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross.
He would 1,000,000 per cent have to match a maximum value contract for Valanciunas because 24-year-old improving 7-foot centres don’t grow on trees and a Raptors team that’s in a win-now mode couldn’t let him go.
So the $64 million extension was, frankly, a chunk of this summer’s money spent then because it’s now on the books.
And how about Ross?
If you look at the money being thrown around – Hi, Biz and your $72 million deal and, hey, Evan Turner and your $70 million deal – I am absolutely certain Ross would be looking at something stupid like four years and $76 million and then what would Masai do?
Tie up that long-term money or let an asset – and Ross is an asset that has significant value – go for nothing.
All of a sudden, dipping into the 2016 reserves in October 2015 to lock the kid up at $10 million a year for three years might be the wisest money he’s spent, even if it somewhat limited what he’s been able to do these last five days.
Should Boston be Favored to Win Atlantic Division? | Hardwood Houdini
Forgetting DeRozan’s contract, the Celtics are just a more well-rounded team than Toronto. They might not have the star back court of Lowry and DeRozan, however Isaiah Thomas and Horford will be a force to be reckoned with, and their depth is unmatched by the Raptors.
Jakob Poeltl has a chance to contribute right away for Toronto, however his fit with Jonas Valanciunas doesn’t look great on paper. They also only have Patrick Patterson behind them, unless they go out and sign a free agent or they’ll have to trust Bruno Caboclo or Lucas Nogueira off the bench. Even then, the Celtics depth still shines brighter as it goes down to their D-League team in Maine, where they will have a couple of NBA-ready prospects waiting in case of injuries or poor play.
Right now, Toronto is swimming in unchartered waters. They should eventually sign a couple of veteran players to a minimum deal, but until they do, depth is definitely something that will hold them back.
This Celtics team has never had this much pressure going into the season under Brad Stevens, but they also haven’t had a team as well-rounded as they are. They’re going to have a lot more options on offense, will have a better overall defense and I expect the younger players to step up.
Listen to The HeadQuarters: Episode 37, Brought to you by Bismack Biyombo | Raptors HQ
This week Sean Woodley is joined by Harsh Dave to react to Kevin Durant’s move to the Warriors, assess DeMar DeRozan’s hefty contract to stick with the Raptors, search for some bargain bin additions that still might be available to Masai Ujiri, and take stock of a reshuffled Eastern Conference. This episode is brought to you by Bismack Biyombo.
Canada beats Senegal ugly to move on to Olympic Qualifying Tournament semis | Raptors Republic
Make no mistake, Canada was very lucky to hang on here. Senegal wasn’t nearly the underdog the broadcast made them out to be, and their energy was something the Canadians struggled to match on their second day of a back-to-back. Senegal lacks a certain finesse and consistency of execution in their sets, but it was strange to see Canada, who out-worked Turkey a day earlier, prove thoroughly incapable of keeping Senegal off the glass. Senegal grabbed 18 (!) offensive rebounds (including eight in the game’s first eight minutes), and had those second chances not produced a poor mark from outside, they may very well have done the Canadians in and left their path to the Olympics up to point differential.
This was on display a great deal down the stretch as Senegal slowly trimmed what was a steady five-point lead down to one. After Canada missed multiple looks around the paint, Maleya Ndoye hit a huge three. Cory Joseph tried to settle things with a blow-by for two, but a brutal Anthony Bennett turnover in space produced a Maurice Ndour three the other way. The next time down, Ndour pump-faked, stepped in, and kicked to an open shooter, who missed the cleanest of looks with 17 seconds left.
Canada Holds on for 58-55 Win Against Senegal | Raptors HQ
Senegal came out guns a blazing right from tip off, using their size and speed to throw Canada off early with relentless offensive rebounding early on. Maurice Ndour led the charge with three blocks while also knocking down two quick three balls. Jay Triano decided to go with Joel Anthony (who was a DNP-CD yesterday) to counter the towers inside and it worked extremely well to close the quarter, as he chipped in 4 points including a tip in at the buzzer to give Canada a 22-20 lead.
As both teams shooting percentages dropped, so did the quality of play in the 2nd quarter. Canada did outscore Senegal 11-8, with a stronger emphasis on taking the ball hard into the paint and going right at the bodies of the Senegalese bigs.
After a disjointed third quarter for both sides as the whistle tightened up, the fourth quarter was much of the same until the three minute mark, when Senegal forward Maleye Ndoye knocked down a three to bring his team within one at 51-50. After layups from Joseph and Ennis, Ndour hit a three to make the score 55-53 and following an Anthony Bennett turnover swung the ball to Clevin Hannah for a wide-open go ahead three ball that fell off side rim.
Canada reaches FIBA OQT semifinal with sloppy win over Senegal | Sportsnet.ca
“We’ve had a mixture of games, we’ve had some blowouts or close-to-blowouts, and tonight was a close game,” said Ennis. “I think it’s great for us heading into the next couple games, just having one that was close under the belt and we had to really seal the game at the end.”
Canada opened the tournament with a 77-69 win over Turkey on Tuesday.
The top two teams from each group in the preliminary round move on to the semifinals. The winners will then compete in the final, with the champion qualifying for Rio. France, ranked fifth in the world, New Zealand and the Philippines make up Group B.
The case for Patrick Patterson at PF next year | RealGM
We need a STRETCH 4. We all know Demar isn’t great at 3s. You can’t have a PF that is close to the basket too. It clogs up the paint for Demar and Lowry to operate. If you have Demar it’s better to have Carroll and a 3pt shooter at PF. Yes he has struggled at times but Patt is that. He is also quicker and good defensively, especially on the pnr. Most PFs that are available are either grinders and play close to the basket like Amir or slower mid range post players like DWest.
NBA non-parity & Raptors future | Raptors Rapture
Teams can come undone in surprising ways. Meanwhile, the Raptors have been remarkably stable. While the loss of Bismack Biyombo stings, I don’t view it as any sort of a body blow. Nor am I bothered by the “loss” of Pau Gasol (not really a loss – we never had him) or others. DeMar DeRozan is with us for the foreseeable future, as are the other core pieces, and we have some interesting kids on the ascendancy. Coach Dwane Casey can put 10 legitimate NBAers on the floor, a luxury few other teams can boast.
The Raptors are in the next group of hopefuls, with Boston, the L.A. Clippers, and perhaps Portland, OKC, Atlanta, and Charlotte. Anyone else who emerges as a contender next season will be a huge surprise. The problem for all the second-tier squads was once memorably described decades ago by the late great tennis player Arthur Ashe, who said the difference between the number three and number ten seed on the men’s tour is like the difference between apples and trucks.
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