2015 Offseason Thread

I don't know what people expect when they say "blow it up" but for me a complete roster re-haul doesn't make sense right now.

There are some good pieces in place and with a few changes I can see the raptors in a position to win at least a spot in the second round of the playoffs.

For me there are 3 needed upgrades.

-A back up PG that is a pass first kind of guy. Someone who breaks down the defence to create opportunities for guys like Patterson, Lou (if he returns) and JJ. I hate what Vasquez brings to the table, and really hasn't helped this team at all this year. I blame a lot on him for the second unit not coming together.

-A big man, not a tall man, but a guy who can bang down low with guys like the gasol brothers and gortat. We seem to holding too many guys that are fineness type guys or undersized.

-A small forward. I don't see how Terrence Ross is a starter on 49 win team. They need a two way player at that position to stop double teams on offence, and stop the raptors from having to double team on defence. I thought that was the role JJ was going to play when signed, but right now I'm feeling like there must be something going on behind close doors with JJ that is being kept very quiet. It just doesnt add up.

Clearly everyone will be available this offseason in trade talks, but I expect only 2-3 will actually be dealt. Again it's still a 49 win team.... It's not the end of the world. I think things just got stale. The best way to find out if that is the case is to start fresh with a new coach.

Is Durant available yet?

I don't hate this group of players. I think there is more talent on the roster than the 2015 record and playoff performance would suggest. A better coach would be a start, then making an upgrade at either the SF or PF positions. I would love to get a guy like Nicolas Batum from Portland, but I have no idea on his availability, even with the possibility of Aldridge, Matthews, and Affalo all leaving as free agents. Failing that I expect Chandler and Gallinari are available, but i'm not sure either is much of an upgrade.

I am curious to see what management does. I really have no idea what will happen.

I think its fair to say the raptors have some talent but did not deliver based on the hyped expectations. By his own statements Casey knew the offense that was played this year would not work in the playoffs. On the plus he allowed his players room to grow. On the minus this was a wasted year in development. He basically let the players run the offense as they saw fit hence the lack of ball movement in favor of the hero ball compared to last season. I expect the coach to create the systems for the players and hold them accountable. He didn't do this and for that and having a crap ass defense he gets fired.

Point guard was a strength and weakness and its starts with Kyle. I was not impressed with the way he finished the season and especially the playoffs. Yes he got injured but he let himself get fat. Let me explain. It was expected he will not be in game shape because of all the time taken off to heal. But he gained noticeable weight. His loss of wight was a key for him playing well early in the season. I also have to question if the ALL Star selection got to his head because there was a step backwards in his play after the break. Where did the bull dog go to? I still keep him but have to consider trades. Hes not getting any younger and I question his leadership.

Grevais was bad for most of the season and I have to attribute this to the obvious change in his role off the bench. But when Lowry went down he started to play well as he got more time to play. I believe he can be a good back up point as he showed in the past season where everyone passed to make the right play. I keep him but would explore trades to improve the team.

Two Guard was a strength and a problem. Demar was an All star, Dream team member and improved his handles. He struggled to incorporate his new skills in the first months and his PEr went poo poo. He still got to the line so at least there was that. Then he got injured which was the turning point of the season for me. The lineups got weird from then, roles got changed and most importantly Lowry had to pick up the slack...to the point that by february he looked burnt out. To Demars credit he came back slowly and played well enough to get player of the month in March/April? and was the Raptors best player in the playoffs. At the same time he abused Paul Peirce he got stopped by Porter. Demar is a nice player but will never be a franchise player. Franchise guys should be dictating to the defense and putting them on their heels. Instead we see countless players this season make Demar look ... well ordinary. I look to trade him as his value will be as high as it ever will be.

Lou Williams played very well then he didn't. He's a 6th man of the year and I would love to have him back but in a system which is more structured and does not rely on hero ball for every play. Perhaps only then Lou and Grevais can co exist. I tend to think Lou will be gone as the the cap space clearing will be more important.

Small Forward was a hole all season long and will be addressed in the offseaon. TRoss played pretty bad. His role as spot up three point shooter failed and as defensive stopper he failed. Admittedly he played just ok in the playoffs and no one really gets shots with kyle, Demar and Lou shoot dominance. I would relegate him to the bench or trade him.

James Johnson should have been utilized more especially as a starter. To his credit he has matured compared to previous seasons. Who knows how good he would have been in the playoffs? Casey didn't develop him all season long in favor of playing Ross and even sometimes fields. I seriously think JJ is having good times with casey wife or something. I mean what else could explain his lack of PT all season long. I would keep him. But he needs to improve his shot and handles.

Power forward was a mixed bag and where money will be spent. Amir Johnson had maybe his worst season ever as a raptor. It absolutely kills me to say this but I think hes gone unless he signs really really cheap and takes a bench.

2Pat was just ok this year. His offense took a back seat to the shoot happy guards and his rebounding wasn't all to bad. He probably stays but might be traded.

Center. Well there was only one...Jonas. Steadily improved but still foul prone and often ignored by his team. His biggest weakness is paint protection. Because of this I would favor trading him or putting on the bench if a better center can be brought in. Odds are he stays and continues to be the starter.

As free agents go I would be happy to get any one OR two of these players:

WET DREAM LIST
Marc gasol
LaMarcus Aldridge
Kawhi Leonard
kevin Love
Jimmy Butler

COULD HAPPEN
Paul Millsap
Al Jefferson
Tyson Chandler
David West
Robin Lopez
Ed Davis

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I thought this was an interesting point worth talking about. At the beginning of most games through the season the raptors gave JV lots of touches in the post and he was often quite successful with his face up, pump fake, take it to the hoop moves. By the end of all 1st quarters they looked away from JV as an option and started launching 3's. I understand that JV's offensive game is limited especially when defenders don't bite on the first, second, or third pump fake that he struggles with his shot. I also understand that every time JV touches the ball he's going to shoot it weather it's a good shot or not(or turn it over). All that being said there has been many games where he's had great first quarters and for whatever reason they go away from him. I'd be interested to know if that's a result of the guards simply not passing to him or if that's dwayne Casey's play calling. JV's overall game is still very raw and he has to become more consistent but when he is on his game, they have to feed him for the high percentage shots. Thoughts on his lack of touches after first quarter success?

So I watched the San Antonio clippers game seven last night and was highly entertained. Comparing those 2teams to the raptors and it's not even close.
Casey is severely out classed by rivers and pop. Our starters are out classed too. Both of those teams have two way players who make big shots and compete. Maybe our bench is on equal level.
The raptors Need a new coach. It all starts there. As an example pop was able to take raptors cast offs Bonner and belli and made the contributors over the years.
As far as star power the raptors have one in lowry when he's healthy. Derozan is far to inefficient a shooter to rely upon. He needs to be traded while his stock is high. If we get a good coach like thibs I can see Ross getting better. Same with Jonas. We need a power forward who has inside game with a shot and defends. And finally we need a two way small forward who can stick a three.
Sound like a lot to ask for? I think this gets the raptors into the conversation of teams with a good chance to reach the finals.

Well so far it sounds only like Grievus, but I want him gone anyways. Lou could be a nice piece off the bench is he is put in a better system. The one we had showcased his bad habits and not his good. DeMar certainly seems to like him, he went to the conference for his award and was quoted as saying he's the coolest guy in the world.

Yeah, Trashquez needs to find a new home. Hopefully they can figure something out for him where we get something back useful.

Ultimately I think two starters at least need to be upgraded. As much as I like them individually, I don't think DeRozan and Valanciunas mesh all that well. DeRozan has zero ball-screen skills and Valanciunas has such a limited post-up game that I think one of those two needs to be one of them that needs to go.

First off I think its assumed that there will be moving parts in the trade as the financials don't work. Secondly if you see the name Julius Randle and the first thing you think of is #7 pick then you probably don't know much if anything about Julius Randle. 

What you have with Julius Randle is an athletic specimen + actual basketball skills. He has some obvious deficiencies (length) but has everything else you want in a player (heart, ball handling, passing skills, shooting, rebounding skills). He's a freaking gazelle after pulling down a board. 




He'll need a good coach to continue his development but the tools are there. I don't know what kind of player he'd end up being but imo he'd be a step in the right direction. As for his injury it was a freak accident. He looks like he's healthy now.  Even stretching out his range to the three point line. You might be looking at a more athletic and stronger Patrick Patterson with room to grow. 


 

Yeah, I've been a big fan of his for years. He'd look great here.

Thats the idea, but I doubt Milsap is looking to move from a viable contender to team that just got swept. 

Let's play Keep/Trade/Release.

Lowry
For now we should keep him. If you wanna move him, and you might it should be done early next season, when the perpetual chip on his shoulder with be a good thing.

DeRozan
Trade. Enough is enough, the only thing that has consistently increased throughout his career is his usage. Unless he comes back with a 3 ball, then it's just time to let go. His trade value should still be pretty high, and I think that he's one of the more overrated players in the league. Of course, perhaps with a coach telling him "No DeMar, taking a 16 footer over 2 defenders is NOT ok," he'd actually be able to sustain efficient production.

Val
Keep. Unless we're making some Godfather offer for Cousins or something. As far as his raw stats go, it'll be hard to replace him. VERY hard. And let's not forget that he's a pick and roll big playing without pick and roll guards, or rather guards that are willing to pass. Just imagine how good he'd look in Washington if you'd just swap him with Gortat. If he slims down, gets his conditioning in check and finally gets confidence in his jumper, he should make a nice leap. Though I wonder why he was told to bulk up so much when Casey's system demands such high mobility. Giving him the ball in basically the exact same spot for a few token touches probably contributes to how robotic he looks at times. I'm not ready to give up on him, I think he's improved this year, and said improvement seems to be in spite of the team.

Ross
Keep? His trade value must be non-existent, and he'll be out of the league after his rookie contract at this rate. He's got to be the most disappointing player in the league. He can be a decent bench player, I guess.

Amir
Release. He's broken and it's breaking my heart to watch him. He's played through injury when he clearly shouldn't have in meaningless games in the pursuit of Winning Culture and making up for Bargnani's uselessness. Letting him go is gonna be like putting down your own dog.

Lou
I'd pull a Nene on him. Re-sign him, then ruthlessly flip him for value. He seems to become useless in the playoffs, which scares the crap out of me.

Vasquez
Trade. I think they'd be a good market for him; he can still be a good backup PG. But if we're going to keep Lowry, we are going to absolutely need a young heir apparent in his role. He also doesn't seem to mesh with Lou.

Patterson
Keep. There's nothing really wrong with him. He's almost a generic stretch big of sorts.

James Johnson
Keep. He's obviously been great... when he played. He can at least be quite productive off the bench.

Psycho T
Release. I think that he's actually been good for Dinosaur Team. But he's an odd fit here, we need an actual backup center.

Bruno/Bebe
Keep. One year away from being two years away. D-League team for Bruno. Low cap hit. Low trade value. Nothing to lose.

And we obviously let everyone else go. Though I think Hayes can still be helpful in certain situations.

I agree with pseudo for the most part as well. Obviously Lou and grevis can't coexsist so Perhaps they just let Williams walk this offseason and keep vasquez. Sounds like I'm the only one who really wants to keep Derozen and I understand why. He's been developing slower than most would've liked but his midrange shot and ability to create his own shot makes him extremely valuable to this team that really struggles offensively. I'd be fine with moving anyone else for the right pieces. I also strongly agree that either Bruno or Bebe should at least be dressing. I would like phsyco T back for Cheap because of his energy and "bad boy" physicality. I would love millsap but don't think he'll leave a good situation in Atlanta even if they do get bounced by Washington. Tobias Harris is a similar type player I like too but given that he's a restricted free agent, I don't think Orlando will let him go this offseason. I'm wondering if those kind of stretch forwards is the way to go or would a more traditional big that can rebound and play the 4 or 5 like Monroe or Jefferson be better free agent targets? That way they could start with JV or take his place when he gets in foul trouble. Thoughts anyone??

For the most part, I agree with Pseudo. I can't disagree with too many takes of his, actually.