Very true, they say Raps fans are the biggest online presence (in individual terms). KD won't have to defend himself anymore, he'll have an army online warriors to fight for him all the time.
Raptors Discussion: v97 Raptor's 2024-2025 - Training camp begins Oct. 1
- Thread starter The Nemesis
- Start date
I feel like as long as you don't give up Barnes, you give what it takes for Durant. The risk of his health is too high to risk Barnes. Everyone else + 1sts can be rationalized. Feel like Siakam+OG+ton of 1st picks isn't that far off.
PG - FVV
SG - Trent
SF - Durant
PF - Barnes
C - Young
Bench:
Curry (probably as cap dump)
Boucher
Porter
Achiuwa
Worst case scenario Durant barely plays after coming to Toronto due to injuries. You'll still have Barnes under control for a while to feed the ball and be the guy to make this team at least somewhat competitive/build around. The picks they give the Nets may be high in this scenario but you still have someone young and good to build on. I can't see Raps take that risk, it's too potentially crippling, especially with him being in same division.
PG - FVV
SG - Trent
SF - Durant
PF - Barnes
C - Young
Bench:
Curry (probably as cap dump)
Boucher
Porter
Achiuwa
Worst case scenario Durant barely plays after coming to Toronto due to injuries. You'll still have Barnes under control for a while to feed the ball and be the guy to make this team at least somewhat competitive/build around. The picks they give the Nets may be high in this scenario but you still have someone young and good to build on. I can't see Raps take that risk, it's too potentially crippling, especially with him being in same division.
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Feschuk on what it'll take to get Durant, the risk in trading Barnes and Ujiri's gutsy approach - TSN.ca
Toronto Star columnist Dave Feschuk joins First Up to chat about the ongoing rumors surrounding Kevin Durant and the Raptors, just how much teams will have to give up to pry Durant away from the Nets, why trading Scottie Barnes is a tough proposition for the Raptors and more.
Toronto Star columnist Dave Feschuk joins First Up to chat about the ongoing rumors surrounding Kevin Durant and the Raptors, just how much teams will have to give up to pry Durant away from the Nets, why trading Scottie Barnes is a tough proposition for the Raptors and more.
Let's add Feschuk to any trade as a sweetener.
I'd be supportive of any deal that removes Feschuk from the Toronto sports scene.
EpochLink
Canucks and Jets fan
stickty111
Registered User
- Jan 23, 2017
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donghabs98
Moderator
The panel's facial reaction sums up the universal reaction to his comments.
HamiltonNHL
Resigning Marner == Running it back
- Jan 4, 2012
- 22,710
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I should say.
Toronto is the most racially accepting place ON THE PLANET.
Ridiculous.
All the players know Toronto is a legit destination.
He Come.
Clark4Ever
What we do in hockey echoes in eternity...
He's right, it is different up here. There's much more racism in the U.S.
Canada is by no means perfect and has many issues on this front, but to say that Canada isn't friendly to Black people compared to the United States is quite the hot take
Trade for Kevin Durant? Raptors' player development ethos make it a difficult decision
Talk of the Raptors courting Kevin Durant is heating up. What would it take to land the NBA mega star – and is it even worth it for Toronto?
theathletic.com
Not only do the Raptors not have the repeated failure that they had back in 2018, but they don’t have the Lakers’ history as a destination for top players nor the Bucks’ urgency from 2020. What they have is one of the best track records in the draft.
• Norman Powell was picked 46th in 2015, developed into a starting-quality player, and moved to Portland at the height of his trade value for the younger Trent. (Powell was selected between Marcus Thornton and Arturis Gudaitis.)
• Siakam, a two-time All-NBA member, was picked 27th in 2016. (Siakam was selected between Furkan Korkmaz and Skal Labrissière.) VanVleet, an All-Star and 2019 Finals MVP vote-getter, was undrafted that same year, and was signed by the Raptors.
• Anunoby was picked 23rd in 2017. (Anunoby was selected between Jarrett Allen — good pick! — and Tyler Lydon.)
• Barnes was picked fourth in a draft touted for having a clear top four that did not include him. After winning rookie of the year, he is as reasonable of a bet as Cade Cunningham or Evan Mobley to be the best player of what should wind up being remembered as a loaded draft class.
Yet, the Raptors have had some misses deeper in the draft. Since picking Anunoby, they have taken Dewan Hernandez (59th in 2019), Malachi Flynn (29th in 2020), Jalen Harris (59th in 2020), Barnes, Dalano Banton (46th in 2021), David Johnson (47th in 2021) and Christian Koloko (33rd in 2022). Acknowledging that Koloko’s future is unwritten, Barnes is the only home run there. He should be — the other picks, by definition, are hard ones to nail. However, the Raptors’ recent history should underscore that they’re merely good at this drafting-and-developing business, not unimpeachable. (That several of the club’s most notable development-focused coaches, from Jama Mahlalela to Brittni Donaldson to Patrick Mutombo, have left the Raptors in recent years is worth acknowledging, too.) Those higher-leverage picks are still hugely important, and even more so to the Raptors in particular.
First-round draft picks went from being massively coveted in the middle and back half of the 2010’s to being thrown into trades for superstars and even regular, top-40 players in the past few seasons. Their true value probably lies somewhere between the two poles. But under this Raptors front office, they will always carry a little more weight.
Ultimately, I would rather do a trade centred on Siakam than Barnes, partly because Barnes could extend the Raptors’ future past Durant’s hypothetical time in Toronto in a way Siakam could not, and also because Barnes’ rookie contract is so low it essentially necessitates throwing in both Anunoby and Trent with him to make the math work. Perhaps it is a touch cute to think so long-term when a player of Durant’s ability is available.
Perhaps it is that ability to not come at it with the same urgency as other teams because of the plausibility of a longer title window in the future that ultimately keeps the Raptors from pulling off a second trade for a transformational player in four years.
Not only have the Raptors won a title recently, but their future in both the medium and long terms are uncertain enough that they could very well conclude Durant, and the cost to acquire him, are not worth the risk.
Do the Raptors want to maximize and guarantee some championship equity now, or do they want to play the long game and bank on incremental growth not only opening a window, but keeping it open for longer? Pretending that decision is easy is pure fallacy.
Incognito
Registered User
What an imbecile. Someone who has clearly never even been to Toronto (or Canada, for that matter) is claiming to know what it's like up here. He doesn't have a clue.
I loathe racial-based comments like this.
Not only is it fabricated, but it's an issue that I'd say 99.8% of the people would never have even thought or considered existed that for some reason will now become "a thing".
Woodman19
Registered User
- Jun 14, 2008
- 18,569
- 2,053
Im going with OG + Trent Jr. + Birch (For salary filler) and a ton of picks and swaps. Can't see any other teams who can beat that without gutting their core that Durant would go to.
Woodman19
Registered User
- Jun 14, 2008
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Dont blink or you will miss the moment Toronto became 1950's Alabama...
You have to be careful with giving too many picks in a trade no matter how good the player is. The Nets know this better than any team. Toronto needs those picks to build in the future, we don't attract free agents like the Lakers or Heat.
I'm not saying don't give any, but giving 2027 and 2029 unprotected picks would be extremely dangerous, as an example.
I'm against the trade anyway. I don't want to gamble everything on 34-year-old (and counting) KD who has hardly played over the last three years. We're not desperate, we have a lot of positives. I do think we need to make a deal soon to balance the roster, I just don't think this is it.
Of course I'd do a deal if he comes "cheap", but that's obviously very unlikely. I think whatever the cost will be, it likely eats too much depth from a team where depth is one of our biggest problems. Then you're one KD injury away from being in the lottery with no picks and little youth, just like the Nets have been.
I think Brossard is an absolute hack but lemme play Devils Advocate for a bit.
African-American could be seen as a synonym for black.
But it could also specifically mean black American which is something Toronto isn't going to be able to offer. African-American culture is (obviously) unique to America.
