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

[WeThreeKings]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841171298564915227

Should be the main jerseys..

 

[Bjindaho]

Do you think Darko is the kind of coach that gets ditched once the team is ready to contend?

Sorry, I should have responded to this sooner.

A rebuilding team coach is a difficult role, but it is possible for him to turn this into a long-term gig. It comes down to him.

The short term goal has to be to find combinations that work together. This is what Dwayne Casey did extremely well in Toronto and poorly in Detroit (part of the problem in Detroit might be related to the fact that the players that don't work well together were high draft picks where the same guys had to play together to avoid making the front office look bad even if they didn't belong together).

Two things will determine how long Darko is here. The first is how good this team is this year. If he can figure out a 5th guy to play with the starters and get something resembling effective minutes and some level of team success while developing youth, he will do wonders for making the argument that he should be here.

The second thing is development. Under Nurse, Toronto either had guys that were good or had to trade for pieces. Under Darko, we need our pieces to come from within (we don't need all 5 of our picks in the last two years to become rotation players, but we need 3 or 4 plus a surprise or two if all 5 don't).

Beyond that, it comes down to implementation. Casey got a lot of rope in Toronto because he built from a very dark place to a perennial contender.

There are three scenarios for this year.

The first is that Toronto is a frustrating team to watch and nothing clicks. In this scenario, everyone from Masai to Darko is gone.

The second is that Toronto shows good things, but are a piece or two away from taking that next step (either injuries at a bad time or some bad luck losses). In this scenario, Darko is almost certainly safe, but ownership will look close at Masai's work and determine whether or not it is still heading in the direction that they want.

The third scenario (and the one that I am hoping for) is that the team is using the term rebuild now because they've already done all of the bad parts of a rebuild. This is the scenario where the team figures out some kind of workable 5 man unit, trades Brown as part of a deal to get a young piece that instantly enters the rotation, makes the playoffs (or play-in) and shows signs of growth that adding one more year to the core will be a positive.

 

[thewave]

Should be the main jerseys..

Agreed. Looks awesome

 

[Suntouchable13]

Sorry, I should have responded to this sooner.

A rebuilding team coach is a difficult role, but it is possible for him to turn this into a long-term gig. It comes down to him.

The short term goal has to be to find combinations that work together. This is what Dwayne Casey did extremely well in Toronto and poorly in Detroit (part of the problem in Detroit might be related to the fact that the players that don't work well together were high draft picks where the same guys had to play together to avoid making the front office look bad even if they didn't belong together).

Two things will determine how long Darko is here. The first is how good this team is this year. If he can figure out a 5th guy to play with the starters and get something resembling effective minutes and some level of team success while developing youth, he will do wonders for making the argument that he should be here.

The second thing is development. Under Nurse, Toronto either had guys that were good or had to trade for pieces. Under Darko, we need our pieces to come from within (we don't need all 5 of our picks in the last two years to become rotation players, but we need 3 or 4 plus a surprise or two if all 5 don't).

Beyond that, it comes down to implementation. Casey got a lot of rope in Toronto because he built from a very dark place to a perennial contender.

There are three scenarios for this year.

The first is that Toronto is a frustrating team to watch and nothing clicks. In this scenario, everyone from Masai to Darko is gone.

The second is that Toronto shows good things, but are a piece or two away from taking that next step (either injuries at a bad time or some bad luck losses). In this scenario, Darko is almost certainly safe, but ownership will look close at Masai's work and determine whether or not it is still heading in the direction that they want.

The third scenario (and the one that I am hoping for) is that the team is using the term rebuild now because they've already done all of the bad parts of a rebuild. This is the scenario where the team figures out some kind of workable 5 man unit, trades Brown as part of a deal to get a young piece that instantly enters the rotation, makes the playoffs (or play-in) and shows signs of growth that adding one more year to the core will be a positive.

It sounded like to me Masai wants to build through the draft so I doubt he expects the third scenario. Sounds like he expects to be bad.

 

[Bjindaho]

It sounded like to me Masai wants to build through the draft so I doubt he expects the third scenario. Sounds like he expects to be bad.

I don't think they expect anything.

This team could be a play-in team even with playing the crap out of the young guys. What they won't be is a top 4 team in the East this year.

At the end of the day, this season being enjoyable to watch is going to be important because the things that wrecked that two years ago also compromised the long term viability of the team as a group.