Summer Runs and Random Player Sightings

[raincityraptors]

It was less "dick sucking" and more about responding to absurd haters who made weird, irrational personal attacks against Fred on a daily basis like some sort of weird high-school obsession.

That being said, Fred made great contributions to the franchise, is a top 10 Raptor of all-time, but of course he's not worth close to that Houston contract, so it's good he's gone.

Is that what you call a fanbase that is watching a player do everything possible to make the most money he can in a contract year at the expense of the team?

We all know what Fred was doing. We have seen the results of it this summer.

Give people a little grace for reacting to what was undeniably going on.

If you can't do that, I think we know who is acting like a high schooler.

Didn’t Fred just get 43 million a year from Houston? A team that was rumoured to be after Harden but pivoted the moment they hired Udoka, a coach who just so happens to have coached a Celtics team to the finals just one year ago.

The harsh reality is that what some people “thought” Fred was doing is simply not grounded in reality. His usage and FGA were lower and his assists were at a career high.

Do people honestly think that executives and coaches would want to give Fred that much money if he actually did what you think he did? Why wouldn’t they have just chosen a way better player in Harden. It’s funny that championship level coaches, executives and players around the league all view Fred entirely different than some posters on a basketball forum.

Let's see how both of our posts age going into the future.

The NBA is my main hobby. I live in Texas but as a Canadian my heart is with Canada's team. I have watched FVV play his entire career and saw how often he prioritized his shots over the team. I watched him blame young players when he was responsible for so much bad late clock execution.

Is that the kind of player you want to come work with a young team? That signing by Houston was a huge mistake.

I know what I saw last year. I don't think FVV deserves the kind of support you give him.

Good for him in having fans like you. I do hope now that he has his bag he goes back to doing the things that made him successful like actually moving his feet on defense.

Time will tell.

[TheGeneral99]

Is that what you call a fanbase that is watching a player do everything possible to make the most money he can in a contract year at the expense of the team?

We all know what Fred was doing. We have seen the results of it this summer.

Give people a little grace for reacting to what was undeniably going on.

If you can't do that, I think we know who is acting like a high schooler.

Didn’t Fred just get 43 million a year from Houston? A team that was rumoured to be after Harden but pivoted the moment they hired Udoka, a coach who just so happens to have coached a Celtics team to the finals just one year ago.

The harsh reality is that what some people “thought” Fred was doing is simply not grounded in reality. His usage and FGA were lower and his assists were at a career high.

Do people honestly think that executives and coaches would want to give Fred that much money if he actually did what you think he did? Why wouldn’t they have just chosen a way better player in Harden. It’s funny that championship level coaches, executives and players around the league all view Fred entirely different than some posters on a basketball forum.

Let's see how both of our posts age going into the future.

The NBA is my main hobby. I live in Texas but as a Canadian my heart is with Canada's team. I have watched FVV play his entire career and saw how often he prioritized his shots over the team. I watched him blame young players when he was responsible for so much bad late clock execution.

Is that the kind of player you want to come work with a young team? That signing by Houston was a huge mistake.

I know what I saw last year. I don't think FVV deserves the kind of support you give him.

Good for him in having fans like you. I do hope now that he has his bag he goes back to doing the things that made him successful like actually moving his feet on defense.

Time will tell.

It's generalized posts like these that are really devoid of logic. You saw he was "selfish" his entire career?

In his 2nd season, Fred heralded the bench mob which was one of the most unselfish and fun teams to watch, and decimated teams every night. He was a key cog on a team that won a franchise record 59 games. Did you happen to miss that season? Sounds like you didn't watch.

His 3rd season, he was an excellent back up point guard, was really good when Lowry was injured and Kawhi was load managing, which was for major chunks that season.

His 4th season, he was a very good starter who co-existed very well beside Lowry and our team was on a pace from a franchise record before COVID hit and had the 2nd best record in the league. Our team was also 13-5 that season when Lowry was injured.

His 5th season, Vanvleet was excellent and made the all-star team before he got hurt and didn't look the same after all-star break.

His 6th season, he struggled and his efficiency plummeted, resulting in his 1st subpar season. There may have been tensions between the vets and the young guys, and that may be due to Fred's serious attitude or Nurse, we don't know. We don't have actual knowledge of internal issues in the locker room. What we do know is that former players, Lowry, Derozan, Kawhi, Masai, Nurse etc. have all praised Fred for being a great leader and a really good teammate.

To make a generalized statement that Fred has been a deliberately selfish player for his ENTIRE career is just not truthful.

That being said, I didn't want to keep Fred unless he was willing to resign for a reasonable salary. He's a very good player but he has his limitations. Once Houston offered 43m/year I hoped that Masai would not match.

[ConSarnit]

It was less "dick sucking" and more about responding to absurd haters who made weird, irrational personal attacks against Fred on a daily basis like some sort of weird high-school obsession.

That being said, Fred made great contributions to the franchise, is a top 10 Raptor of all-time, but of course he's not worth close to that Houston contract, so it's good he's gone.

Is that what you call a fanbase that is watching a player do everything possible to make the most money he can in a contract year at the expense of the team?

We all know what Fred was doing. We have seen the results of it this summer.

Give people a little grace for reacting to what was undeniably going on.

If you can't do that, I think we know who is acting like a high schooler.

Didn’t Fred just get 43 million a year from Houston? A team that was rumoured to be after Harden but pivoted the moment they hired Udoka, a coach who just so happens to have coached a Celtics team to the finals just one year ago.

The harsh reality is that what some people “thought” Fred was doing is simply not grounded in reality. His usage and FGA were lower and his assists were at a career high.

Do people honestly think that executives and coaches would want to give Fred that much money if he actually did what you think he did? Why wouldn’t they have just chosen a way better player in Harden. It’s funny that championship level coaches, executives and players around the league all view Fred entirely different than some posters on a basketball forum.

They don't know what they're watching or why things are happening. They act in outrage that the only guy on the team who dribble, shoot and run an offensive set got a lot of reps. They can see that FVV is overcast in that role yet can't see that every single other player on the team would be way overcast in that role. I'm not even a huge FVV fan but you don't have to be a genius to understand why he had the role he had on this team: because no one else could do it. Given the odds that our half-court offense will be terrible again this year they'll move on to a new whipping boy, which of course will be insufferable.

[Dalek]

Read on Twitter

Boucher looks like he gained at least 5 lbs of muscle this offseason. Seriously, the guy looks in great shape. To me he has the best contract considering the production he gives. Plus, he is a great culture guy. I want him to be a Raptor for life.

[DreamTeam09]

Read on Twitter

Boucher looks like he gained at least 5 lbs of muscle this offseason. Seriously, the guy looks in great shape. To me he has the best contract considering the production he gives. Plus, he is a great culture guy. I want him to be a Raptor for life.

He'll 100% will be traded by the deadline.

Jakob
Pascal
Precious
Koloko

As well as potentially Barnes/OG/McDaniels

[God Squad]

Read on Twitter

Boucher looks like he gained at least 5 lbs of muscle this offseason. Seriously, the guy looks in great shape. To me he has the best contract considering the production he gives. Plus, he is a great culture guy. I want him to be a Raptor for life.

He'll 100% will be traded by the deadline.

Jakob
Pascal
Precious
Koloko

As well as potentially Barnes/OG/McDaniels

I'm honestly surprised he's lasted this long.

[hyper316]

The slander pods give credence to the notion that Will’s personality played a big part in the growth of his following rather than whatever analysis he provides (which is good btw). It’s a combination of both. In my opinion.

Yeah, without a doubt it was his personality and analysis that got him to where he is. My issue is more so with Alex and how he impacts Will and the direction of the shows. I think Blake will keep them more on track with the Raptors content, just make the show better overall.

I agree that Blake is a great addition. His episodes with Will have always been entertaining. Personally I also find Blake to be more realistic. It took Will forever to realize this core was flawed and the long term outlook of this team as unrealistic (going for development and winning at the same time). He finally came around to the realities of the team but it took him awhile. Blake meanwhile asked these questions much earlier and was questioning the decisions made by the org much earlier than Will. I find Will is still one of those guys that puts a disproportionate amount of blame on Nurse plus role players and not enough on Fred, Siakam, Masai, etc. He has gotten a lot better with that more recently though. Blake is a good additional voice.

Will and others as sports writer often have a biased relationship with the players they write about. If they write something bad, it hurts their relationship and may get less access. It's clear with Will and FVV

[SkywalkerAC]

Read on Twitter

Boucher looks like he gained at least 5 lbs of muscle this offseason. Seriously, the guy looks in great shape. To me he has the best contract considering the production he gives. Plus, he is a great culture guy. I want him to be a Raptor for life.

Koloko better be ready or Boucher will eat those backup frontcourt minutes.

Dennis
Gradey
OG
Pascal
Boucher

Lineups like this one could be really freaking good.

[Los_29]

Is that what you call a fanbase that is watching a player do everything possible to make the most money he can in a contract year at the expense of the team?

We all know what Fred was doing. We have seen the results of it this summer.

Give people a little grace for reacting to what was undeniably going on.

If you can't do that, I think we know who is acting like a high schooler.

Didn’t Fred just get 43 million a year from Houston? A team that was rumoured to be after Harden but pivoted the moment they hired Udoka, a coach who just so happens to have coached a Celtics team to the finals just one year ago.

The harsh reality is that what some people “thought” Fred was doing is simply not grounded in reality. His usage and FGA were lower and his assists were at a career high.

Do people honestly think that executives and coaches would want to give Fred that much money if he actually did what you think he did? Why wouldn’t they have just chosen a way better player in Harden. It’s funny that championship level coaches, executives and players around the league all view Fred entirely different than some posters on a basketball forum.

They don't know what they're watching or why things are happening. They act in outrage that the only guy on the team who dribble, shoot and run an offensive set got a lot of reps. They can see that FVV is overcast in that role yet can't see that every single other player on the team would be way overcast in that role. I'm not even a huge FVV fan but you don't have to be a genius to understand why he had the role he had on this team: because no one else could do it. Given the odds that our half-court offense will be terrible again this year they'll move on to a new whipping boy, which of course will be insufferable.

Exactly. It’s so obvious that I’m actually a bit stunned that they still can’t see it. Or maybe they refuse to?

Fred was our 2nd best player. The team lacked talent and Fred was in a role he shouldn’t have been in. That’s not his fault though.

[AbC?]

Watch on YouTube

Sell high

[DreamTeam09]

Didn’t Fred just get 43 million a year from Houston? A team that was rumoured to be after Harden but pivoted the moment they hired Udoka, a coach who just so happens to have coached a Celtics team to the finals just one year ago.

The harsh reality is that what some people “thought” Fred was doing is simply not grounded in reality. His usage and FGA were lower and his assists were at a career high.

Do people honestly think that executives and coaches would want to give Fred that much money if he actually did what you think he did? Why wouldn’t they have just chosen a way better player in Harden. It’s funny that championship level coaches, executives and players around the league all view Fred entirely different than some posters on a basketball forum.

They don't know what they're watching or why things are happening. They act in outrage that the only guy on the team who dribble, shoot and run an offensive set got a lot of reps. They can see that FVV is overcast in that role yet can't see that every single other player on the team would be way overcast in that role. I'm not even a huge FVV fan but you don't have to be a genius to understand why he had the role he had on this team: because no one else could do it. Given the odds that our half-court offense will be terrible again this year they'll move on to a new whipping boy, which of course will be insufferable.

Exactly. It’s so obvious that I’m actually a bit stunned that they still can’t see it. Or maybe they refuse to?

Fred was our 2nd best player. The team lacked talent and Fred was in a role he shouldn’t have been in. That’s not his fault though.

Well I guess that's where the disagreement lies or even the frustration lies...

Even if FVV was our 2nd best player last year, both of you guys would/should agree that FVV is a better catch and shoot off ball secondary creator rather than your primary on ball playmaker/scorer
Last year he didn't relinquish that role, even though he himself said he's gonna play off ball more prior to the szn starting... He himself said he needs to catch and shoot more, we have Pascal nd Barnes who can facilitate the ball, weather they can do it as effectively as FVV, is a different question, but FVV can definitely shoot better than those two, and FVV has to take some blame for not embracing that more. As a leader he should've seen that and played into that, he was going to get paid regardless, he took the bet on himself route which many believe was a detriment to the team, and it clearly played out that way.

[Chandan]

Watch on YouTube

Sell high

I am going with 40 wins or under for the season after watching that. The main squad looks terrible on defense. Unless pascal comes in and absolutely tears it up.

[LoveMyRaps]

How was Scottie?

[Mark_83]

Watch on YouTube

Sell high

Scottie really has to defend smarter and stop trying to body up on smaller, quicker players. Unless he learns to slide better he's going to have to give them a cushion and use his length to contest or he'll continue to keep giving up blow-bys.

[XTC]

Watch on YouTube

Sell high

I am going with 40 wins or under for the season after watching that. The main squad looks terrible on defense. Unless pascal comes in and absolutely tears it up.

The good
I like the off ball movement Grady has, I think he's going to surprise. Barnes still showing he's a physical monster, but seems like he was going through the motions, seems like he was giving 50% effort. Malachi was making some good shots, it still perplexes me why his game isn't translating.

The Bad
Yak and GTJ... Yikes. Yak looked like he didn't belong in the NBA. I don't think I saw GTJ hit a single shot in this video, and yet he was gunning out there. He's definetly playing for a contract.

[Chandan]

Watch on YouTube

Sell high

I am going with 40 wins or under for the season after watching that. The main squad looks terrible on defense. Unless pascal comes in and absolutely tears it up.

The good
I like the off ball movement Grady has, I think he's going to surprise. Barnes still showing he's a physical monster, but seems like he was going through the motions, seems like he was giving 50% effort. Malachi was making some good shots, it still perplexes me why his game isn't translating.

The Bad
Yak and GTJ... Yikes. Yak looked like he didn't belong in the NBA. I don't think I saw GTJ hit a single shot in this video, and yet he was gunning out there. He's definetly playing for a contract.

The yak GTJ dick scottie flynn line up would have lost to a bunch of no names 3 - 6 if that guy hit the free-throw to ice the game.

[SkywalkerAC]

Overreaction much?

[DemHeavyHands]

Lol the raps vs raps scrimmage seemed chippy as hell

And nurse just sitting there probably laughing in his head

[sbsat]

Lol the raps vs raps scrimmage seemed chippy as hell

And nurse just sitting there probably laughing in his head

Nurse inherited a sh*tshow he has no business laughing at anything

[Tha Cynic]

Overreaction much?

Yeah, wtf lol.

This is nothing more than some cardiac run and each player did something or another. I'm not even sure what people saw in this video. Every team was simply going through the motions.