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The Official 2008-2009 NBA/Toronto Raptors Discussion Thread (pg. 38)
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| slingshot |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sly_Guy
DeRozan...
Is he the player we need, or the second coming of Joey Graham?
discuss. |
I like him a lot...he's the player I wanted them to get, and I think he's the player they coveted all along. For some reason I see him turning into a much more dynamic player than Joey Graham. One thing to remember is that Joey Graham played a full 4 years of college where Derozan has only played one. His game right now isn't that far off of where Joey's was when he was coming out after 4 years. In highlights he also looks much more fluid than Joey in plays....in a way he kind of reminds me of Kevin Durant a bit sans the silky smooth stroke. |
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| MarkT |
good pick in a very weak draft. there's no one that will help the Raps right away, so why not go with a raw, athletic talent with a ton of upside?
I love that they pointed out he first dunked in GRADE 6, haha. crazy.
all this talk of him needing to improve his shot was intersting...because then it was pointed out that he was 60% from the floor in the 2nd half of the season. good. a player that realizes his game is to take it to the basket. what a refreshing change for the Raps! |
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| Sly_Guy |
| quote: | Originally posted by MarkT
good pick in a very weak draft. there's no one that will help the Raps right away, so why not go with a raw, athletic talent with a ton of upside?
I love that they pointed out he first dunked in GRADE 6, haha. crazy.
all this talk of him needing to improve his shot was intersting...because then it was pointed out that he was 60% from the floor in the 2nd half of the season. good. a player that realizes his game is to take it to the basket. what a refreshing change for the Raps! |
Maybe so, but a one-dimensional offensive player is as good as shut down already due to the scouting of the NBA. That being said, a jumper can be learned, and he's got plenty of time to learn it. Solid pick, but far from solving our wing problems for the time being. |
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| slingshot |
| We still desperately need a back up pg....maybe even as much as a good wing. Hopefully they swing some kind of trade to bring someone in or sign a vet. |
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| MarkT |
so Detroit signs Ben Gordon and Charlie V. I guess that means Hamilton is outta there.
holy f**k would Rip ever look good in a Raps uniform...but unfortunately that's not really possible :(
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2009/07/01/the-toronto-raptors-are-chasing-linas-kleiza-shawn-marion.aspx
National Post blog seems to hit on what (so far) seems like a reasonable scenario...still lots of 'ifs' in there and Colangelo is anything but predictable, lol.
| quote: | The Toronto Raptors are chasing Linas Kleiza, Shawn Marion
Posted: July 01, 2009, 3:31 PM by Bruce Arthur
As NBA free agency gets off to a slow start — naturally, since nobody can officially sign for another week — the Toronto Raptors are chasing two players of note at the moment: Denver forward Linas Kleiza, a gritty scorer who has rarely gotten the chance to play big minutes behind Carmelo Anthony. He's just 24, scores 16 points per 36 minutes for his career, hits threes, and has more toughness than any other Raptors small forward in recent memory.
The other target is Shawn Marion, who is the key to all this. If the Raptors can re-sign the four-time All-Star, then they have a bundle of length and athleticism at the two and three positions, with rookie DeMar DeRozan slated to probably start at shooting guard.
Toronto also expressed interest to Charlie Villanueva's people just after free agency opened at midnight Tuesday night, along with Kleiza, but the ex-Raptor seems destined for Detroit, along with former Connecticut teammate Ben Gordon.
So the best-case scenario for the Raptors is this: Sign Marion at a reasonable price, add Kleiza for less than the full mid-level exception — say, something between US$3-US$3.5-million per year — bring Carlos Delfino back into the fold, and spend the rest of the mid-level on a solid point guard. And, at the end, have a team under the luxury tax that looks like this:
PG Jose Calderon, unknown veteran, Roko Ukic
SG DeRozan, Carlos Delfino, Quincy Douby
SF Marion, Kleiza
PF Bosh, Reggie Evans, Kris Humphries
C Andrea Bargnani, Evans, Patrick O'Bryant, Nate Jawai
Oh, and a bought-out Marcus Banks. Evans, Kleiza and Delfino would produce toughness in the second unit, along with the ability to throw shooting (Kleiza, Delfino) onto the floor when Marion and DeRozan can't make a jump shot, and rebounding (Evans) on to juice the level of physicality. It might not be enough for 50 wins, but it looks on paper like a better team than the group that slogged its way to 33 wins in 2008-09.
If, of course, all this gets done. |
two problems: a 6'8" Reggie Evans (as big/tough as he is) as a backup C is a bit ridiculous, though it will be interesting to see how he plays with either Bosh or Bargnani.
I'm also not sure it's terribly reasonable to expect a 19 year old with a year of college ball under his belt to be the starting SG unless he's literally splitting minutes with Delfino.
I like the idea of Marion and Kleiza at SF though...that would be solid. |
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| Sly_Guy |
^^^^
still a big hole at the 2.
Delfino was a streaky shooter, DeRozan's a rook. Defense won't be solid from that spot either. |
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| MarkT |
wtf...now they are looking at David Lee? obviously a great player, but it would prob entail a sign and trade or ditching others since the Raps won't have the cash to sign him and it creates a bit of a logjam up front if they're keeping Bosh, Bargnani and Evans.
sure is an intersting off-season...and yes, Delfino and a 19 yr old would certainly be the weak link. |
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| Sly_Guy |
| quote: | Originally posted by MarkT
wtf...now they are looking at David Lee? obviously a great player, but it would prob entail a sign and trade or ditching others since the Raps won't have the cash to sign him and it creates a bit of a logjam up front if they're keeping Bosh, Bargnani and Evans.
sure is an intersting off-season...and yes, Delfino and a 19 yr old would certainly be the weak link. |
haha, see this is the next evolution of the theory "draft the best player available". Taking it to the next logical level, BC is trying to 'sign' the best possible player for the best possible trade bait. |
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| Yohan |
| I'd love to have David Lee. One of those blue collar workhorse players that I think every team needs. |
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| infinity HiGH |
| quote: | Originally posted by slingshot
Peter must be a happy camper right now, lol.
I actually like this trade...Kapono didn't really pan out that well and I bet they bring in another guy that can shoot anyways. This also saves them a few million $'s. |
LOL YES!! :D Can't believe I missed this thread but yea, I'm happy about the trade. Knowing life though, Kapono will start nailing clutch 3's now that he's out of Toronto. Hopefully Reggie Evans gives us that mental toughness we so desperately need, but I'm of the belief that mental toughness starts with the team captain first and foremost. And Bosh lacks it.
On DeRozen: I like the pick up since that's exactly what we needed, but the kid has a long way to go before he can have an impact on games. He's atrocious from 3, and his jumper isn't too hot either. Like the athleticism though, and hopefully with the right work ethic he develops a solid game for himself.
On Free Agency: Trevor Ariza would be perfect for us imo. Exactly the type of player we need. I'd also love to see Artest here but he's too much of a volume shooter and ball hog. He does make up for it on defense. David Lee would be a pointless signing. |
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| infinity HiGH |
| quote: | Originally posted by infinity HiGH
On Free Agency: Trevor Ariza would be perfect for us imo. Exactly the type of player we need. I'd also love to see Artest here but he's too much of a volume shooter and ball hog. He does make up for it on defense. David Lee would be a pointless signing. |
Ariza -> Houston
Artest -> Lakers
I guess Marion is the only realistic option left for us. |
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| Porky |
| quote: | Originally posted by infinity HiGH
Artest -> Lakers
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talk about a monster FA pickup
no matter what athletes, there are only a few that really do care about winning, and artest is one of those. he could have easily signed somewhere else for 4-5 years at $10million/yr
Lakers are going to dominate with artest next year |
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