Official Toronto Raptors Offseason Thread . First (preseason) game in 2 days! Season Thread is up!

[clutchshooter]

Originally Posted by Blazers21NTNP

Originally Posted by Clutchshooter

Originally Posted by Blazers21NTNP

Mendez is a completely different player than English & Brown. He's an undersized post player who can step out and and hit the mid-range J, which is why he's not in the league. He was a great college player, but nobody wants a 6'8" center. I think saying he can do the "same things as English" is ridiculous.

english cant pass, handle, board, defend ,or get to the basket, or do anything that a team needs their guards to do.

mendez (and denham for that matter) is bigger, more athletic, and versatile.

What can exactly can Mendez as a big do to help an NBA squad?

He is not versatile at all... he can hit a mid-range jump shot, is too slow to take anybody off the dribble, and not tall enough/strong enough to play on the block.

apply the same question to english and i think you might fiiiiiinally get my point.

.

 

[blazers21ntnp]

Originally Posted by Clutchshooter

apply the same question to english and i think you might fiiiiiinally get my point.

.

English can be an effective spot-up shooter, can create his own shot, and isn't an automatic defensive liability while on the court, as Mendezwould be.

There's a reason why Mendez isn't even getting a bunk summer league roster spot only a few years removed from college, people know his game has 0%chance of being successful in the NBA.

 

[clutchshooter]

Originally Posted by Blazers21NTNP

Originally Posted by Clutchshooter

apply the same question to english and i think you might fiiiiiinally get my point.

.

English can be an effective spot-up shooter, can create his own shot, and isn't an automatic defensive liability while on the court, as Mendez would be.

.

 

[blazers21ntnp]

Rather than going on and on arguing about Mendez & English (A first on NT?

) andtaking this thread off-topic, let's just agree to disagree.

And hope BC doesn't sign Smush like he did in PHX.

 

[clutchshooter]

Originally Posted by Blazers21NTNP

Rather than going on and on arguing about Mendez & English (A first on NT?

) and taking this thread off-topic, let's just agree to disagree.

And hope BC doesn't sign Smush like he did in PHX.

i disagree, smush is awesome.

.

 

[carlos tevez]

Our starting line-up is very good on paper but there are still some major concerns. Our D is very questionnable (Calderon will never improvedefensively...Bargs just needs to work on his help D...Bosh needs to step up his intensity on D...Hedo is average on D). If Derozan is our starting SG, ourback-court will get exposed on a nightly basis. I'm not saying that Derozan is a horrible defender (I've never seen him play), but putting a rookie SGalongside one of the weakest defensive PG's in the league is a recipe for disaster.

Our bench is atrocious. Evans, Jawai, Humphries, Banks, Ukic as of right now. That is quite possibly the worst bench in the NBA and the worst in Raps history.

And if Smush Parker comes to Toronto, all our Filipino NTers better keep their girlfriends on a leach

 

[quik1987]

I say we go for walter hermann for cheap, i wouldn't mind josh childress either

 

[carlos tevez]

Walter Hermann would be a great addition, he's a good player who would be effective if given 20 mins a game. That being said, due to our lack of cap room,our bench will be non-existent next season.

 

[bangdak]

josh childress/walter hermann would be an GREAT spark off the bench.
can bargani play the 5? if so, IMO, trade bosh for valuable young assets/draft picks.
see if marion would resign for around 7-8mil (yes i know hes asking for 10) and use the remaining cap space to sign those two players.
which players are taking up so much cap space on your roster, besides turkeylou....?

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by BangDak

josh childress/walter hermann would be an GREAT spark off the bench.
can bargani play the 5? if so, IMO, trade bosh for valuable young assets/draft picks.
see if marion would resign for around 7-8mil (yes i know hes asking for 10) and use the remaining cap space to sign those two players.
which players are taking up so much cap space on your roster, besides turkeylou....?

After signing Hedo, the Raps wont have cap room to sign Marion. They'll probably structure Hedo's deal so that the Raps have some cap roomto make 1 more significant signing this summer. Bosh, Hedo, Calderon, Bargnani, Banks, Evans, etc. make a good enough amount of money to take up almost all ofthe team's cap room.

 

[brrraptors]

i leave for a few days and the raptors do THIS?

hedo! amazing pick up.everybody already knows what he brings to the table and its a great fit in toronto. lets hope he doesnt have another change of mind before the 8th

the bench though... we'll see what BC can do before season starts.

 

[bangdak]

forgot all about jose. if hes healthy, he better prove that he deserved that fat contract extension.

 

[clutchshooter]

it would be a huge boost if ukic could solidify his spot as the main backup at the point.

the will solomon thing just did not work.

how the hell did marcus banks ever get any sort of contract at all? it's bafoonery.

 

[brrraptors]

^ ukic is definitely capable but his skills are raw and his judgments need to improve. both mentally and physically hes still a project but he has shown theflashes of his good game. hes very crafty with the ball, hes got good handles, hes not afraid to drive to the basket, hes quick. he just needs to be lessreckless such as not driving in and looking to pass after hes jumped up. with a full season under his belt he should be better prepared to play this year andhe'll also be more comfortable around the guys in the team. i believe in ukic, he seems like a smart kid. when hes really utilizing his speed and drivingin hes pretty crazy to watch with his unorthodox finishing at the basket.

solomon was good in very very small stretches, he made too many bad decisions. he just didnt seem to gel that well with the team. its uber important that josestays healthy!

any news on what bargnani has been upto this offseason? dude better be hitting the weight room and the hardwood floor much like he did last summer. the payoffwas evident especially as the season progressed. he HAS to get better at rebounding, for a dude his size and wingspan he needs to take advantage and grabboards, especially on the offensive end. second chance points close to the basket can ease the pressure off the perimeter shooters so much.

 

[clutchshooter]

as much size as bargs gained in the weightroom before last season he still only managed a measely 5 reb per.

at 7'1" 250lbs that's just unacceptable.

his offense and decision making definitely improved in the 2nd half of the season.

now is the time that we should be seeing a drastic boost in his statistical output.

him showing up to play from the very start of the season is going to be crucial.



the great thing about the hedo signing is that when the ball gets kicked out from either bosh or bargnani, there's finally a player who doesnt face thelimited option of , j or pass it.

hedo can score by putting the ball on the floor and being a great passer, bosh and bargs should benefit from many drop off passes down in the paint.

 

[ballinboykz]

All I know is (and this has mentioned before), stopping the pick and roll with Hedo and Bosh/Bargs combo will be deadly. That is all.

Walter (I will not say his last name, it looks weird), would be a good signing. He would be able to play the backup role perfectly. With the fact that Evans isa solid rebounder off the bench, Hermmannnnnnnnn could be that spot up shooter off the bench.

Maybe im off though. I would rather have Kleiza than Herrmaamanannn though.

 

[goofy08]

rumor of sign and trade marion for stackhouse + cash/picks. the raps may then buy out stackhouse, but i think he'd be solid off the bench, especially onnight derozan doesnt show up

 

[ballinboykz]

That would be FANTASTIC!

 

[wttm]

am i the only thing who is not that optimistic about the hedo signing in terms of his ability to create?

yea he can create his own shots but he also flip a lot of whack shots up hoping Dwight gets it and often times he does, and we don't have a reboudningpresnece like dwight for him to do that. just my opinion.......really hope this work out as planned.

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by goofy08

rumor of sign and trade marion for stackhouse + cash/picks. the raps may then buy out stackhouse, but i think he'd be solid off the bench, especially on night derozan doesnt show up

Stackhouse would be just what we need. A solid veteran SG who can still play and be a mentor for Derozan. Stack's contract is expiring sohe'd be a good rental player for this upcoming season. If Andrea can get around 20 ppg, Bosh 20+ ppg, Hedo 17 ppg and Calderon 12 ppg, 10 ppg fromStackhouse would be good enough.

 

[clutchshooter]

im not really sure about the stack thing.

he missed essentially entire season this season, so durability is going to be a major issue.

it would only be for a season but i think a more productive and useful player could be found.

 

[bangdak]

getting cash considerations+jerry would be better then just letting shawn walk.
if he doesnt work out well, cut him. what this team needs is cap relief so they could get an better bench, otherwise they'll be going nowhere.
by the time playoffs come, this team would be exhausted, with no energy to play.

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by Clutchshooter

im not really sure about the stack thing.

he missed essentially entire season this season, so durability is going to be a major issue.

it would only be for a season but i think a more productive and useful player could be found.

Like who? Stackhouse is only guaranteed $2 million (remember that we have virtually no cap room after signing Hedo)

Anyways, according to Toronto media, the Raptors are willing to sign-and-trade Marion as a favor to Marion but they do not want to take back any salary inreturn (due to lack of cap space). By signing-and-trading him, Marion would get a higher base salary and an annual raise of 10%. If he signs somewhere as aunrestricted free agent, its expected that teams will not offer him more than the mid-level exception (which offers a lower base and an 8% raise annually).

I think that Matrix would be a great fit in Dallas as he'll benefit tremendously from a running PG like Jason Kidd. I'm guessing that if the trade withDallas goes through, the Raps would want a minimum salary player in return...possibly a draft pick...or maybe they get a guy with a small salary likeStackhouse and buy him out.

 

[brrraptors]

^ exactly, its only $2mil guaranteed. plus stackhouse would be a good veteran presence on the bench. he can still knockdown the open jumpers and he'd be anupgrade over more than half that current bench. he'd be an worthy 6th man.

why are so many raptor fans hung up on bringing back delfino?? i never liked his game when he was a rap and i don't want him back. i'll take AP'sdefense, character, 3pt shooting and pass before shoot mentality over delfino.

i cant believe banks is gonna be making $5mil

 

[cquan05]

THE TORONTO RAPTORS HAVE SIGNED ANDREA BARGNANI TO A 5 YEAR $50 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT EXTENSION.