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[toooskies]

Not quite at the deadline yet, but disappointed that 2nds seemed to be able to get guys like Jalen McDaniels, Mike Muscala, Thomas Bryant and we're sitting on our hands.

McDaniels I agree with, although Hornets got their own second back which probably tilted it.

The other two guys are very meh.

Muscala's had a +10 on/off each of the past three years and adds shooting from the center spot that is useful off the bench. Bryant is efficient from 2 and from 3 for a center, although he has more challenges defensively. Both are big upgrades over RoLo and good insurance in case of minor injury to our bigs either down the stretch or for a game or two in the playoffs.

[mcfly1204]

What do the Raptors think they are doing? Very surprised to see them trying to compete this season.

[jbk1234]

Not quite at the deadline yet, but disappointed that 2nds seemed to be able to get guys like Jalen McDaniels, Mike Muscala, Thomas Bryant and we're sitting on our hands.

McDaniels I agree with, although Hornets got their own second back which probably tilted it.

The other two guys are very meh.

Muscala's had a +10 on/off each of the past three years and adds shooting from the center spot that is useful off the bench. Bryant is efficient from 2 and from 3 for a center, although he has more challenges defensively. Both are big upgrades over RoLo and good insurance in case of minor injury to our bigs either down the stretch or for a game or two in the playoffs.

You need to be very careful using on/off numbers for teams constructed like Thunder over the last three years.

[toooskies]

McDaniels I agree with, although Hornets got their own second back which probably tilted it.

The other two guys are very meh.

Muscala's had a +10 on/off each of the past three years and adds shooting from the center spot that is useful off the bench. Bryant is efficient from 2 and from 3 for a center, although he has more challenges defensively. Both are big upgrades over RoLo and good insurance in case of minor injury to our bigs either down the stretch or for a game or two in the playoffs.

You need to be very careful using on/off numbers for teams constructed like Thunder over the last three years.

I'm not using them to justify Muscala as an all-NBA player, I'm just using them to say he's probably better than RoLo or Goga.

[JonFromVA]

What do the Raptors think they are doing? Very surprised to see them trying to compete this season.

Well, they're in the play-in right now ... so why not try to fix their biggest hole?

[mcfly1204]

What do the Raptors think they are doing? Very surprised to see them trying to compete this season.

Well, they're in the play-in right now ... so why not try to fix their biggest hole?

Yeah, because that's what has been holding them back all year... The main point is the diminished return they will receive for their players, unless you think they are going to resign FVV, Siakam, Anunoby, and Trent.

[JonFromVA]

What do the Raptors think they are doing? Very surprised to see them trying to compete this season.

Well, they're in the play-in right now ... so why not try to fix their biggest hole?

Yeah, because that's what has been holding them back all year... The main point is the diminished return they will receive for their players, unless you think they are going to resign FVV, Siakam, Anunoby, and Trent.

Yes the lack of a C and arguably someone to replace Lowry has been holding them back, and since those guys are under contract next season and Scottie is still developing they can presumably afford to see what Poetl does for them.

And if they do want to trade OG or Siakim for picks, they are far better served doing after the ping pong balls have landed.

[JujitsuFlip]

Congrats to Markkanen on his first All-Star nod, well deserved, ballin' out this season.

Lauri now going to start for Zion in the ASG, kudos to him!

[jbk1234]

What do the Raptors think they are doing? Very surprised to see them trying to compete this season.

There are a handful of teams whose players get relentlessly hyped by their own organizations, and the danger there is twofold: (1) You fall hostage to your own public expectations in that it's viewed as a loss if you move them for their actual market value; and (2) you start to believe the hype yourself and make contract decisions based on the same.

I also think Masai might be trying to protect his reputation as a great G.M. a bit here by refusing to take suboptimal returns for guys who are flight risks. Ainge fell into that trap a bit himself with the Celtics.

[JonFromVA]

What do the Raptors think they are doing? Very surprised to see them trying to compete this season.

There are a handful of teams whose players get relentlessly hyped by their own organizations, and the danger there is twofold: (1) You fall hostage to your own public expectations in that it's viewed as a loss if you move them for their actual market value; and (2) you start to believe the hype yourself and make contract decisions based on the same.

I also think Masai might be trying to protect his reputation as a great G.M. a bit here by refusing to take suboptimal returns for guys who are flight risks. Ainge fell into that trap a bit himself with the Celtics.

Interesting, because seems to me Ainge's biggest mistake running the Celtics was not trusting what he had. Brad Stevens had to revert some of Ainge's trades to get the Celtics back on track ... and once all the noise about breaking up Smart and Brown ended the Celtics started playing like one of the best team's in the league.

The Raptors took a big blow because Lowry and Gasol got old. They won 59 games before Kawhi, 53 games after Kawhi, and even 48 games last season. It's not unreasonable to think that a couple of moves and/or some improvement from Barnes might get them back on the rails.

Meanwhile they can consider what sort of move they should make if they make a move ... so for instance, rather than getting a pile of draft picks for Fred, Pascal or OG ... shouldn't they try to obtain a younger/cheaper player that fills a need?

Raptors fans who want to steal Mobley or Garland from us have the right idea, just the wrong sucker.

[jbk1234]

What do the Raptors think they are doing? Very surprised to see them trying to compete this season.

There are a handful of teams whose players get relentlessly hyped by their own organizations, and the danger there is twofold: (1) You fall hostage to your own public expectations in that it's viewed as a loss if you move them for their actual market value; and (2) you start to believe the hype yourself and make contract decisions based on the same.

I also think Masai might be trying to protect his reputation as a great G.M. a bit here by refusing to take suboptimal returns for guys who are flight risks. Ainge fell into that trap a bit himself with the Celtics.

Interesting, because seems to me Ainge's biggest mistake running the Celtics was not trusting what he had. Brad Stevens had to revert some of Ainge's trades to get the Celtics back on track ... and once all the noise about breaking up Smart and Brown ended the Celtics started playing like one of the best team's in the league.

The Raptors took a big blow because Lowry and Gasol got old. They won 59 games before Kawhi, 53 games after Kawhi, and even 48 games last season. It's not unreasonable to think that a couple of moves and/or some improvement from Barnes might get them back on the rails.

Meanwhile they can consider what sort of move they should make if they make a move ... so for instance, rather than getting a pile of draft picks for Fred, Pascal or OG ... shouldn't they try to obtain a younger/cheaper player that fills a need?

Raptors fans who want to steal Mobley or Garland from us have the right idea, just the wrong sucker.

I struggle with the idea that either GTJ or FVV will have better trade value in a S&T this summer than they did at this deadline. The Magic are a real risk to sign FVV outright. Poeltl needs a new deal as well and he turned down a $58M extension offer from the Spurs. All of these guys are unrestricted and extending any of them at the numbers they want seems dicey (although GTJ might come back for something reasonable).

O.G. wants out, and he wants a bigger role in the offense, and he'll only have one year left on his contract this summer.

There's an entire discussion to be had re Ainge with the Celtics.

[JonFromVA]

There are a handful of teams whose players get relentlessly hyped by their own organizations, and the danger there is twofold: (1) You fall hostage to your own public expectations in that it's viewed as a loss if you move them for their actual market value; and (2) you start to believe the hype yourself and make contract decisions based on the same.

I also think Masai might be trying to protect his reputation as a great G.M. a bit here by refusing to take suboptimal returns for guys who are flight risks. Ainge fell into that trap a bit himself with the Celtics.

Interesting, because seems to me Ainge's biggest mistake running the Celtics was not trusting what he had. Brad Stevens had to revert some of Ainge's trades to get the Celtics back on track ... and once all the noise about breaking up Smart and Brown ended the Celtics started playing like one of the best team's in the league.

The Raptors took a big blow because Lowry and Gasol got old. They won 59 games before Kawhi, 53 games after Kawhi, and even 48 games last season. It's not unreasonable to think that a couple of moves and/or some improvement from Barnes might get them back on the rails.

Meanwhile they can consider what sort of move they should make if they make a move ... so for instance, rather than getting a pile of draft picks for Fred, Pascal or OG ... shouldn't they try to obtain a younger/cheaper player that fills a need?

Raptors fans who want to steal Mobley or Garland from us have the right idea, just the wrong sucker.

I struggle with the idea that either GTJ or FVV will have better trade value in a S&T this summer than they did at this deadline. The Magic are a real risk to sign FVV outright. Poeltl needs a new deal as well and he turned down a $58M extension offer from the Spurs. All of these guys are unrestricted and extending any of them at the numbers they want seems dicey (although GTJ might come back for something reasonable).

O.G. wants out, and he wants a bigger role in the offense, and he'll only have one year left on his contract this summer.

There's an entire discussion to be had re Ainge with the Celtics.

I'm not a fan of the something is better than nothing approach to dumping players at the trade deadline, so, you'd have to refer me to a legit trade offer made to the Raptors and unless that trade includes something that actually helps the Raptors more than FFV, I'm just going to come back and say ... meh - ride it out and see where it goes.

I mean, surely the moral of the story for the Cavs this deadline is there's very little interest in LeVert or Love at the price they're getting paid, not even their ability to absorb a longer contract. So on one hand that sucks that we couldn't improve our roster, and on the other hand ... we know they're unlikely to get much interest as free-agents. If we want to retain them, we should be able to get it done without too much pain.

It sounds like there is interest in Isaac, but can't say it's exactly skyrocketed ... he's probably seen around the league kind of like a Josh Hart. That's a big improvement from earlier in the season, but in terms of his next contract something around the MLE may get it done.

[JonFromVA]

Lauri's job in Utah just got a lot tougher with the Sexton-Clarkson backcourt revivial, but it appears his assists are going up.

[JonFromVA]

Otoh, I'm not sure I'd count out the Nets; albeit I wouldn't be happy if Dinwiddie was ostensibly my starting PG. If Ben Simmons turns back in to a basketball player now that the circus has left town, they could be interesting.

[66WinCavs]

Just want to take the temperature after the trade deadline -- who are your favorites for a finals serries? My heart wants a Cavs-Grizzlies match up but if I'm using my head, Bucks-Suns is way more likely and potentially has highest entertainment upside.

[JonFromVA]

Just want to take the temperature after the trade deadline -- who are your favorites for a finals serries? My heart wants a Cavs-Grizzlies match up but if I'm using my head, Bucks-Suns is way more likely and potentially has highest entertainment upside.

Well injuries will have a lot to say about that, but the Celtics still look like the favorites in the East. How well a rookie head coach does in the playoffs is TBD, but otoh, Budenholzer and Rivers are not exactly impeccable tacticians.

It's not easy to shake up a team so much like the Suns have done at the deadline and make a finals run. It doesn't get much easier to snap in than Durant, but the Suns got older and their ability to defend opposing guards and their bench are question marks. Will the Warriors get Steph back at anything close to 100%? If so, it will be hard to discount them in the playoffs. Who knows if the Lakers, Clippers, or the TWolves will get their act together; but if they do - they won't be tough outs. And it's easy to discount Denver because they keep coming up short, but you can bet they see season as their opportunity to break through.

Memphis needs to get Adams back and healthy, but their bench depth after losing Melton and Slo Mo has been a question mark this season. Kennard should help offensively.

So, there's certainly a window for the a Cavs/Grizz finals if things break just right, but it's very difficult for young teams to knock off more veteran teams with veteran head coaches and far more championship/playoff experience.

[ijspeelman]

Just want to take the temperature after the trade deadline -- who are your favorites for a finals serries? My heart wants a Cavs-Grizzlies match up but if I'm using my head, Bucks-Suns is way more likely and potentially has highest entertainment upside.

Well injuries will have a lot to say about that, but the Celtics still look like the favorites in the East. How well a rookie head coach does in the playoffs is TBD, but otoh, Budenholzer and Rivers are not exactly impeccable tacticians.

It's not easy to shake up a team so much like the Suns have done at the deadline and make a finals run. It doesn't get much easier to snap in than Durant, but the Suns got older and their ability to defend opposing guards and their bench are question marks. Will the Warriors get Steph back at anything close to 100%? If so, it will be hard to discount them in the playoffs. Who knows if the Lakers, Clippers, or the TWolves will get their act together; but if they do - they won't be tough outs. And it's easy to discount Denver because they keep coming up short, but you can bet they see season as their opportunity to break through.

Memphis needs to get Adams back and healthy, but their bench depth after losing Melton and Slo Mo has been a question mark this season. Kennard should help offensively.

So, there's certainly a window for the a Cavs/Grizz finals if things break just right, but it's very difficult for young teams to knock off more veteran teams with veteran head coaches and far more championship/playoff experience.

Its probably Celts > Bucks (if Giannis' recent injury doesn't hamper his playoffs) > Philly = Cavs in the East and Nuggets > Memphis > Suns? (Suns are an incredibley talented roster, but I just don't think they have enough time to gel, but I could easily be proven wrong) > Mavs = Kings? in the West.

I'd bet on a Celts Nuggets finals if I were a betting man.

[KuruptedCav]

Just want to take the temperature after the trade deadline -- who are your favorites for a finals serries? My heart wants a Cavs-Grizzlies match up but if I'm using my head, Bucks-Suns is way more likely and potentially has highest entertainment upside.

Bucks/Nuggets much to the chagrin of the commish.


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[JujitsuFlip]

I would never bet on the Nuggets to make a Final, they're the Vikings of the NBA. That team is very exploitable in a 7 games series, as the previous 4 seasons have shown. Jokic will go off and they will fall short, nothing new.

[mcfly1204]

Just want to take the temperature after the trade deadline -- who are your favorites for a finals serries? My heart wants a Cavs-Grizzlies match up but if I'm using my head, Bucks-Suns is way more likely and potentially has highest entertainment upside.

Bucks/Nuggets much to the chagrin of the commish.

I'm hoping to see a Suns\Mavs WCF, first team to 150 points wins. Beyond that, Suns\Celtics gets my vote.