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Raptors Discussion: v95|Masai's back! The panic and dread can now end.

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The Nemesis said:
It's one of those "perception is reality" things. Plenty of Americans think that Canada is this frigid wasteland that's 10s of degrees colder than comparable US cities because they honestly can't be bothered to do any research or pay attention to reality in situations where they would be exposed to actual Canadian weather. Lots of players who have come to play for the Raptors (or the Grizzlies when they were here) have complained about the weather or prepared to step out of the airport into a blizzard at any time of the year. Famously when the Grizzlies traded disgruntled draft pick Steve Francis (who has made no secret that his unwillingness to go to Vancouver was in part because "it's a different country"), return piece Othella Harrington showed up in Vancouver wearing a parka. IN JULY. I also seem to recall people whinging about the weather when the NBA ASG was in Toronto a few years ago.

None of the popular complaints about coming to Canada are really that big of a deal if you really care to address them (the weather isn't different than most NE US cities, you can find all manner of food in most major metropolitan areas around the country, if you're worried about cable and "wahhh, but the TV is different and it's all about hockey!" you can get a satellite dish that gets Dish Network or whatever from the US or use a VPN with streaming platforms, etc) but nobody ever said professional athletes are always the most sensible bunch.


Re: the Blue Jays signings -

Springer they just backed the money truck up to for a long time. And Semien is a unique situation because he purposely took a 1 year "prove-it" deal on a team that needed middle infield help and let him dictate the terms (that he would play 2B and not 3B) while giving him a pretty hefty salary for the one season and also featuring a lineup designed to maximize his value. Plus the team is good right now.

It's not the same as the Raptors currently in a bit of a retool mode trying to attract players when they can't offer big money or a legitimate title shot in the next year or two.
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Most of these ‘issues’ don’t really hold up to scrutiny when you step back and evaluate. I guess customs is a pain when you’re used to domestic travel, taxes are always a pain, and not being able to invite the homies kind of sucks, but everything else is pretty trivial IMo.

It’s unfortunate because it seemed the stigma was lifting, maybe it actually has and this just wasn’t the year… but again, I think the added travel restrictions + Masai’s uncertainty definitely hindered their chances this year.
 
Basketball is a sport that just caters too much to its players......IMO, they dictate more then any other sport where they want to play and it usually works out for them.

This is evident more and more each year and it's happening with rookies (drafts).

Raptors will re-tool and be fine in a couple years.
 
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Greek_physique said:
Basketball is a sport that just caters too much to its players......IMO, they dictate more then any other sport where they want to play and it usually works out for them.

This is evident more and more each year and it's happening with rookies (drafts).

Raptors will re-tool and be fine in a couple years.
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You’re not wrong, but, basketball is also the sport most impacted by a single star and the stars know this.

LeBron, Kawhi, KD, Giannis etc can conduct themselves as if they’re ‘bigger than the team’ because they pretty much are from a competitive standpoint.
 
sparxx87 said:
You’re not wrong, but, basketball is also the sport most impacted by a single star and the stars know this.

LeBron, Kawhi, KD, Giannis etc can conduct themselves as if they’re ‘bigger than the team’ because they pretty much are from a competitive standpoint.
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100% agree with this assessment as well, however I do feel like this changed dramatically over the past 10 years. While players have always been disgruntled, I don't think they've had this much power.

Just look at Iguadala...a guy that's nothing more then a good player, was able to flex his muscle.
 
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Greek_physique said:
100% agree with this assessment as well, however I do feel like this changed dramatically over the past 10 years. While players have always been disgruntled, I don't think they've had this much power.

Just look at Iguadala...a guy that's nothing more then a good player, was able to flex his muscle.
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I think social media influence has impacted this. Teams were always able to evaluate the impact of a player on the floor, but now they have means to measure their value to the brand and organization.

I also think years of the rich white owners exploiting these athletes has garnered some sympathy from the public to the point that many appreciate players who do things on their own terms as long as they sell out to win for the team between the lines.

Iguodala was a unique situation. A few Grizzlies were vocal about their dislike of him rejecting their team, but he’s also one of the most respected people in the game so I think he was given some special treatment. I’m not mad at that. He earned the right to choose and had taken team friendly deals to stay with the Warriors for several years. He signed with the intention to do so and they traded him.
 
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sparxx87 said:
I think social media influence has impacted this. Teams were always able to evaluate the impact of a player on the floor, but now they have means to measure their value to the brand and organization.

I also think years of the rich white owners exploiting these athletes has garnered some sympathy from the public to the point that many appreciate players who do things on their own terms as long as they sell out to win for the team between the lines.

Iguodala was a unique situation. A few Grizzlies were vocal about their dislike of him rejecting their team, but he’s also one of the most respected people in the game so I think he was given some special treatment. I’m not mad at that. He earned the right to choose and had taken team friendly deals to stay with the Warriors for several years. He signed with the intention to do so and they traded him.
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This is where I have issue with what he did. Lots of players, in every sport, take team friendly deals to help teams reach the ultimate goal...however once GS traded him, he all of a sudden earned the right to stiff a team like Memphis and choose his next destination? I get this happens more and more every year, especially after trade deadline where guys get traded then bought-out, I still don't agree with it...even though its the norm.
 
Why did we agree to take Dragic in the first place if they had no plan or they thought they could find an asset for him. Seems were stuck with a guy who will or will not show up and play.
 
trellaine201 said:
Why did we agree to take Dragic in the first place if they had no plan or they thought they could find an asset for him. Seems were stuck with a guy who will or will not show up and play.
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I think we'll make it work and if we can't trade him in time, I think he's a pro enough to play until we can find him a suitable destination. Clearly Dallas wants him but doesn't want to pay the price we want, so unless they want Luca upset...(which they likely don't) they'll maybe cave if not, I trust Masai enough to let him do his thing with Webster at the helm.
 
trellaine201 said:
Why did we agree to take Dragic in the first place if they had no plan or they thought they could find an asset for him. Seems were stuck with a guy who will or will not show up and play.
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Miami needed to move salary to fit in Lowry.

Some team is going to want to add Dragic at some point, ideally before the season starts but worse comes to worst we flip him at the deadline. His contract isn't a hard one to move so he's still an asset that they recouped.
 
trellaine201 said:
Why did we agree to take Dragic in the first place if they had no plan or they thought they could find an asset for him. Seems were stuck with a guy who will or will not show up and play.
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Has the trade actually been made official yet? I was kind of expecting a big announcement at !2:01 today.
 
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Greek_physique said:
This is where I have issue with what he did. Lots of players, in every sport, take team friendly deals to help teams reach the ultimate goal...however once GS traded him, he all of a sudden earned the right to stiff a team like Memphis and choose his next destination? I get this happens more and more every year, especially after trade deadline where guys get traded then bought-out, I still don't agree with it...even though its the norm.
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There was a time when I agreed with you re; players honoring their contracts but especially in the NBA over the past few years, it seems a little unfair with the amount of organizations that don't honor the contracts they hand out. Say what you want about Blake Griffin but the Clippers did him pretty dirty, and the Cav's last year telling Drummond to stay home (after they traded for him in a trade that never made sense in the first place) was a new low among the more notable examples.

I don't think Iguodala meant to disrespect the Grizzlies but he's a very sought after independent contractor who likely had several options to leave Golden State but chose them for fit over money. For many less established players I agree, they need to put in their time... but once they reach their peak and have options I think they should exercise them.

No different than you or I putting in tenure at a place to the point we can essentially pick our role in any one of 10+ cities only for the parent company to transfer you cross-country to a city and situation you didn't want to be in at that point of your career.

As much as I like to think I'd do the morally right thing and honor the contract I signed (knew this was a possibility) part of me thinks that if I was in his position, I might dig my heels in, too. Among his 1%, Iguodala is near 1% of what he brings in his uniqueness as a player. Not many that can play all NBA defense 1-4 and play the same 1-4 on offense including PG to initiate as a playmaker.... And this is before we consider his unique intangibles. He knows his worth as the 4th-5th best player and 'glue guy' on a contending team. I can understand why he wasn't interested in shouldering more offensive responsibility at this point, and why he wasn't going to bust his ass guarding top wings every night trying to grind for the playoffs only to get get killed by one of the powers in the west.

I'm probably biased because he's one of my favorite players but I see it more as him rejecting the system rather than specifically the Grizzlies. The Warriors were more interested in clearing money for D'Angelo Russell so they didn't lose Durant for nothing and this self-serving maneuver included dumping a valued and loyal player for the money, and into a city and situation he didn't want to be in. I see that more as cut-throat business by the Warriors with a player that deserved better.
 
Phion Keneuf said:
I’m really hoping we get Precious and Okpala
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Reason for optimism with the release of Bembry and Watson that they plan to acquire another 2-3 wing. Barnes and Watanabe are the only other backup wings aside from David Johnson whose more of a combo guard.

Okpala struggled this year but you could see the potential when he torched the Raptors in pre season. Would be great to grab another young athletic 6’8 wing to add to this positionless philosophy.
 
Or hold onto him until some players on teams get hurt during the season and need a point guard. Sometimes that can be beneficial. Just hope he will play in TO.
 
sparxx87 said:
Reason for optimism with the release of Bembry and Watson that they plan to acquire another 2-3 wing. Barnes and Watanabe are the only other backup wings aside from David Johnson whose more of a combo guard.

Okpala struggled this year but you could see the potential when he torched the Raptors in pre season. Would be great to grab another young athletic 6’8 wing to add to this positionless philosophy.
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hmm justin champagnie is a wing and i believe they are going to give him a legit shot to make an impact, i think people will be surprised how good he is.
 
djdev said:
hmm justin champagnie is a wing and i believe they are going to give him a legit shot to make an impact, i think people will be surprised how good he is.
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True. I’m excited to see him in summer league, a few seem pretty high on him. I guess I’ll say he seems to profile more as a 3/4 than a 2/3. I think they’re still thin at 2/3 but particularly the 2 where Okpala can hopefully play.
 
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