Raptors Discussion: v97 Raptor's 2024-2025 - Training camp begins Oct. 1

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Dr.Funk]

 

[saska sault]

I cant wait for the chaos I feel is coming this off season... I feel like we are experiencing the calm before the storm. As for head coaches, please go with someone new. Outside the NBA is risky as the games are officiated and played differently but that could be a breathe of fresh air. As for the roster, there is alot of urge to shake up certain rosters around the league.. Hopefully we prioritize moving out our most valuable assets before the list of suitors dries up.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[LaPlante94]

I cant wait for the chaos I feel is coming this off season... I feel like we are experiencing the calm before the storm. As for head coaches, please go with someone new. Outside the NBA is risky as the games are officiated and played differently but that could be a breathe of fresh air. As for the roster, there is alot of urge to shake up certain rosters around the league.. Hopefully we prioritize moving out our most valuable assets before the list of suitors dries up.

International coach like Sergio might attract very good international players that might not want to come over to the NBA. Sergio was an assistant for us so he is familiar with the org and how the NBA is called. We can't really attract big name FA so maybe we can attract some international hidden gems who'd be more comfortable with an international coach who knows how to coach them/use them properly.

 

[saska sault]

International coach like Sergio might attract very good international players that might not want to come over to the NBA. Sergio was an assistant for us so he is familiar with the org and how the NBA is called. We can't really attract big name FA so maybe we can attract some international hidden gems who'd be more comfortable with an international coach who knows how to coach them/use them properly.

Still waiting for Masai to use his global stardom to get us a guy like Giannis or something big. Khawi was great but that was a rental and he did not have much of a choice.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Matt Devlin eyes return to Blue Jays booth this season following foot injury

Matt Devlin has been grounded due to a weightlifting injury to his foot. In this Q&A, he talks about his plans to return to the Jays' booth.

theathletic.com

Matt Devlin, the Raptors play-by-play announcer who has made cameo appearances with the Blue Jays again this season, had shifted from his exercise bike to his weights. He was in his basement and — this part is potentially important to note — he was not wearing shoes.

A 35-pound weight changed the course of his summer as it slipped from his hands and crashed onto the bridge of his right foot. Devlin went to the emergency room, then into surgery and then onto an injured list that will keep him away from a scheduled trip to Texas with the Blue Jays later this month.

He is aiming to return to the microphone next month, in time for Globl Jam, the under-23 basketball event held at Mattamy Athletic Centre, in Toronto: “I’m hoping that by then, even if I’m in crutches or using a scooter or something, I can kind of get around.”

In part because he has spent 15 years with the Raptors, it can be easy to forget just how much Devlin had gotten around early in his career. He was a weekend sports anchor in Abilene, Tx., and moved to play-by-play, which has taken him through (almost) every major sport in North America.

With the Raptors having long departed for their offseason, Devlin filled in on two Blue Jays road trips — in Tampa and Minnesota — before the accident in his home gym. (He said he has been asked why he was working out so vigorously, and he laughed: “I’ve got to fit back in those suits, you know?”)

His injury has grounded him this month, but he hopes to return to the road for another scheduled cameo with the Blue Jays in September. He also took time out from his convalescence to field questions about his career from The Athletic.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Raptors' prolonged coaching search perplexing for those outside team

The Raptors front office has a lot on their shared plate at the moment, with the head coaching position the first domino. Hopefully they’ve got a strategy mapped out and are executing it on their own timeline. From the outside looking in, though, it’s just a little hard to guess what that might...

www.sportsnet.ca

That’s what a long-term track record of success does or should do: It provides the benefit of the doubt and leeway for doing things their own way and on their own schedule.

But even in that context, the Raptors' prolonged coaching search — the Raptors cashiered Nurse nearly two months ago now — has some folks around the NBA perplexed.

“It’s bizarre,” said one league insider. “It’s hard to know what they’re waiting for; they’re not competing against anyone at this point.”

Said another: “I keep getting questions like, 'what the hell is going on in Toronto?'"

See? People who make their living in the NBA are just like you and me.

But again, just because people outside looking in don’t have a firm grasp on where the Raptors are heading or what they’re planning — and in this, there are echoes of the leadup to the trade deadline where it seemed like the entire league was waiting for Toronto to do something, but no one knew what — is hardly a bad thing.

Raptors president Masai Ujiri, general manager Bobby Webster and the rest of their longstanding leadership group have zero obligation to share their plans with anyone.

“We’re still gathering information,” is their mantra, and “sometime before the [June 22] draft” is their timeline.

Multiple league insiders have been left with the impression that the Raptors are looking to hire a bright, young first-time head coach to lead them into the future, but the name most consistently connected to the club is 62-year-old Sergio Scariolo, the former Raptors assistant and hugely accomplished Spanish men’s national team boss who would be an NBA rookie at an age when retirement often beckons. Another name connected to the position, Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, is 56.

You just hope Toronto has a clear plan, since in the meantime five other organizations have combed through the relatively finite pool of coaching candidates and hired someone who — it’s safe to infer — they believe is better for the job than whoever the Raptors end up with.

..............

All of that said, the explanation for why the coaching search has gone on this long may be hiding in plain sight. If, for example, Scariolo is their primary target, it just may be a matter of waiting until his Virtus Bologna club finishes playing in the Serie A Finals, which begin Saturday.

There is certainly mutual interest: Ujiri and Webster flew to Italy to meet with him back in May — with permission from Virtus, who have Scariolo under contract for another year — and reports in the Italian media suggest that the Raptors job is definitely something Scariolo is considering, but not something he wants to discuss while his team is trying to win a title.

So it could be as simple as that: Scariolo is their preferred candidate, and the perceived 'delay' is a matter of logistics.

With the rest of the coaching positions filled you could make the argument that the Raptors are in a good position. The other candidates that reports have suggested remain on the Raptors' radar — Memphis Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic is another rumoured finalist, along with Atkinson — don’t have any other options but to wait things out if they want to be a head coach next season.

But slow playing the process does have costs. The Raptors only have two coaches under contract in Jim Sann and Rico Hines, and there is a growing expectation that Hines — who the Raptors hired last season to re-energize their player development program — is a strong candidate to join Nurse’s staff in Philadelphia.

Whoever does get the job will have their hands full building out a staff of assistants and player development people in relatively short order. It’s not an impossible task — finding quality people who want to work in the NBA isn’t that hard, and any worthy head coaching candidate should have the bones of a staff on a group chat — but identifying, vetting and interviewing six-to-10 player-facing employees takes time and energy at a point of the calendar when the draft, free agency and filling out the roster is usually front-and-centre. There’s a knock-on effect too, with the Raptors 905 staffing picture in limbo as well. That’s not the biggest issue Toronto is facing but considering the pipeline of useful talent from the G-League/two-way contract pool has hit a dry spell in recent seasons, it can’t be ignored.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[hockeywiz542]

The Toronto Raptors are willing to wait until June 23, 2023 for the last face-to-face interview with coach Sergio Scariolo.

 

[tmlfan98]

The Toronto Raptors are willing to wait until June 23, 2023 for the last face-to-face interview with coach Sergio Scariolo.

This almost certainly means it will end up being Scariolo. Masai had originally said when asked about a timeline for hiring a new HC that he wanted to have it done before the draft (June 22). There's nothing stopping Masai from hiring Kenny Atkinson or Darko Rajakovic (reportedly the other 2 finalists) between today and the 22nd.

If Masai is willing to wait until after draft day because Scariolo's season in Italy still might not be done by then, that means he's waiting on his guy. He wouldn't alter his timeline for just another candidate, considering it's extremely rare for NBA teams to not have a HC in place on draft day.

 

[Amadeus]

Would love it if we can get Sergio.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Would love it if we can get Sergio.

Sergio would be a terrific coach for us. His international success, and his time with us from 2018 to 2021 including our championship, give us a fresh but experienced perspective on the NBA.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Bjindaho]

This is terrible reporting. Just because they are playing their cards close to their chest doesn't mean they don't know what they are doing.

It not fitting this guy's news cycle is not a Raptors problem.

 

[DuklaNation]

You'd normally make a decision on a coach by now. Maybe its just a timing thing with games ongoing. Or is this just another example of the front office being indecisive. The bigger problem of poor roster fit and overall lack of talent is still #1 problem. My impression is that Masai has mentally checked out and is focused on his charities and Giants of Africa stuff. Honeymoon is over after 23/24 season and MLSE will be forced to make a tough decision, unfortunately damage may be done by then and the fix will be much harder.

 

[Amadeus]

He's got no sources and that's what adds to their frustrations because the Raptors tend to keep things very contained.

 

[thewave]

Don't want Sergio. Big players want big coaches. It matters. Masai just doing a lazy treadmill run with MLSE. They made a big trade at the right time and won. He left. Treadmill and false hope ever since. Everyone could tell Pascal cant get it done. Did Bobby and Masai do anything last deadline? No they got shut out on a day that was a great opportunity to start doing what was needed to be done.

Masai is on hero to zero trajectory.

 

[DuklaNation]

Don't want Sergio. Big players want big coaches. It matters. Masai just doing a lazy treadmill run with MLSE. They made a big trade at the right time and won. He left. Treadmill and false hope ever since. Everyone could tell Pascal cant get it done. Did Bobby and Masai do anything last deadline? No they got shut out on a day that was a great opportunity to start doing what was needed to be done.

Masai is on hero to zero trajectory.

That deal for Poeltl a day before the deadline while maintaining a narrative that they were shopping their other players appears contradictory. Masai did state trades are the new free agency so I retain some hope that he will do the right thing and blow this team up. Its core just isn't talented enough.

For perspective, Charlotte who was bottom 4 this season was a .500 team year before. They won't be as bad in 23/24. Orlando with 2 lottery picks will be a force next season also. The competitive landscape is just going to get worse while Raps players get older and FAR more expensive. Next month or so is a major fork in the road.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Forget the coach, what is the direction of this team going to be?

 

[LaPlante94]

Now that's over

 

[trellaine201]

hihi someone explain what a sign and trade means? Other than the obvious . Who does this benefit and does the team signing and trading every get anything useful?

Thanks

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[The Nemesis]

hihi someone explain what a sign and trade means? Other than the obvious . Who does this benefit and does the team signing and trading every get anything useful?

Thanks

The NBA's salary cap and player contract rules are super complex and there are some wrinkles to be taken advantage of if a player is signed to a contract by their previous team and dealt to the team they intend to go to vs just signing with the new team as a free agent. Chiefly:

1) In some situations the old team is capable of offering a larger/longer contract than the new one based on rules designed to help teams retain their players. For example, a player whose current/last team has his "bird rights" (a cap quirk created to help teams retain stars by allowing them to work around the salary cap rules a little bit) can offer him a larger year-over-year pay increase on a new contract, and I believe also an extra year on the contract compared to a new team that doesn't have those rights.

2) The acquiring team may not be able to easily take the team on the new player's salary given their cap situation, so a sign-and-trade allows them to ship salaries out in the process of bringing the new player in so that they remain cap compliant. This can be easier than trying to cut guys (with associated cap penalties) or work out trades with other teams who may be less interested in helping you acquire the new guy and charge a steeper price.


Generally in sign and trades the team trading the player away doesn't get anything massive. It's mostly a case of "you're getting more than you'd get if he left for nothing as a free agent."

The biggest things that the sending team usually gets is a "trade exception" which is like a voucher for a cap hit equal to the salary of the traded away player and allows the team to then acquire players within that exception's value without screwing up their cap setup (mostly in cases where they are over the cap because of allowable overages like retaining players with bird rights or signing guys to contracts designed to be excepted from counting against the cap.)

They may also get a draft pick (usually of middling or low value. It's not like these deals often send players to teams willing to part with expected lottery picks) or a depth player or young prospect with significant warts.

Just as examples:

The Raptors traded Chris Bosh to Miami in 2010 for 2 first round draft picks (Miami's lottery protected pick in 2011 and Toronto's own 2011 pick that they had previously dealt to the Heat in a different trade) and a $16.5m trade exception. The team eventually used like $4m and change of that exception in trades that I can't pinpoint an appear to have let the rest of it lapse after being unable to find a suitable deal to take on money with (they are only valid for a year). Their own 1st round pick that they reacquired in the deal ended up as the 5th pick and was used on Jonas Valanciunas. They traded Miami's pick (28th) to Chicago for James Johnson.

When they dealt Kyle Lowry to the Heat before the 2021-22 season they got back Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa. There was no trade exception because the salaries more or less matched. Dragic was later flipped to San Antonio for Thaddeus Young.

so basically the returns on sign and trades are often not that huge. Toronto getting their own 2011 pick back in the Bosh deal was big and its value was more or less predicated on them sucking for that 10-11 season but the value is that you get something in the deal for helping the other team facilitate taking in that player (because the good teams that want expensive players via sign and trade usually are cap-strapped enough that they can't simply sign the guy to a huge contract in free agency) vs just getting nothing if he walks in free agency

 

[hockeywiz542]

Two 3-team Trades to Make James Harden Think Hard About Houston Rockets

The NBA free-agent scramble starts about a week after June 22 draft, and Harden may be the biggest name on the market. While he can opt into one more season…

bleacherreport.com

Sources also say that new Houston coach Ime Udoka would like to instill a defensive mindset, but ownership hasn't exactly enjoyed the recent lean rebuilding years. Getting back to the postseason would do a lot for the franchise, and Harden's scoring with Green captaining the defense and running 4-on-3 offense could do the trick.

But is it enough? That's where the Raptors join the fray. The franchise is deciding its direction, and many around the league believe Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. won't return (both have player options). Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are heading into the final years of their contracts (Anunoby has a player option for 2024-25).

Either the Raptors recommit fully to that group (the team doesn't have a head coach yet) or go in a different direction entirely. Several competing executives anticipate Toronto will build around Scottie Barnes and young talent with deals leading into the NBA draft.