Snapbacks and Handshakes: The 2017 Draft (Raps pick #23)

[CoachJReturns]

What the hell are you talking about "by my logic"?! lol

Don't be a troll.

I said nothing about hitting 3s and in fact I said I thought Masai was wrong to want to bring back Lowry which OPPOSES his new found philosphy on what our team supposedly needs to be. But as suspected your post offers nothing in the way of facts to try to dispute what I've said but rather a weak attempt to bait. It's FACT that Masai said he would like to bring back Lowry, it's in the year end presser amongst various other interviews where he stated as such. Don't be mad that your day dreams of Dennis Smith Jr are nothing more than that.

Again, he's not going to tell exactly what he's going to do.

If you believe everything that Management says is FACT then I guess you assume we will hit 32 3's next year too?

It's one thing to not tell EXACTLY what they're going/want to do, it's another to do the exact OPPOSITE.

Masai has...

1. Stated his full intention to bring back Lowry which is a DIRECT opposition to YOUR desired outcome
2. Emphasized ad nauseam that he wants to win now and isn't waving the white towel because of LeBron or the Warriors
3. Wants to make THIS team a 3pt shooting team BECAUSE he believes that's how he can win NOW
4. Has held on to Casey to give him another shot to win...when?! NOW

This is also without even mentioning the obvious of re-signing DeMar to a long term contract and him wanting bring back Ibaka.

None of his words or actions coincide with YOUR desire to tank/trade up for Dennis Smith Jr. There are absolutely NO indications at all that Masai has any intentions of going next year with a team IN a rebuild state, none. EVERYTHING points to (a futile) attempt to re-configure our crap and see if they can do it again.

I'm with Lonzo in spirit, but you're correct that everything will remain basically the same. There simply isn't any pressure/incentive for a major change, even if it were the right decision. If this team were to only sneak into an 8th seed(highly unlikely), we'd still have Lowry and DeMar leading the way along with Casey. Frankly, I'm trying to occupy myself with anything other than watching the Raptors this upcoming season because there's not a lot for me personally to be excited about. Better off watching other teams since this one bores me to tears.
Here's hoping for an exciting pick, but I suspect our pick will be less than thrilling to say the least, if not entirely underwhelming. We're picking 23rd so there's not really any special talent available unless someone takes a huge slide. Even if someone did, I would expect Masai to go ahead and draft someone he scouted more and was more comfortable taking. It's going to be a long season.

[DG88]

I think this is the best scouting staff we've had in our history tbh. I still believe in Masai

Based on what, exactly? The drafting has been mediocre at best, and Masai's one big FA signing was one of the worst in Franchise history.

Clearly you don't remember who we had before as our director of scouting.

[HeadtopChunes]

Not saying I like Adebayo but if a team takes him he really looks like he has a skill set where you can try to develop him to be like Blake Griffin.

Looks closer to DeAndre Jordan than BG.

[PhilBlackson]

Again, he's not going to tell exactly what he's going to do.

If you believe everything that Management says is FACT then I guess you assume we will hit 32 3's next year too?

It's one thing to not tell EXACTLY what they're going/want to do, it's another to do the exact OPPOSITE.

Masai has...

1. Stated his full intention to bring back Lowry which is a DIRECT opposition to YOUR desired outcome
2. Emphasized ad nauseam that he wants to win now and isn't waving the white towel because of LeBron or the Warriors
3. Wants to make THIS team a 3pt shooting team BECAUSE he believes that's how he can win NOW
4. Has held on to Casey to give him another shot to win...when?! NOW

This is also without even mentioning the obvious of re-signing DeMar to a long term contract and him wanting bring back Ibaka.

None of his words or actions coincide with YOUR desire to tank/trade up for Dennis Smith Jr. There are absolutely NO indications at all that Masai has any intentions of going next year with a team IN a rebuild state, none. EVERYTHING points to (a futile) attempt to re-configure our crap and see if they can do it again.

I'm with Lonzo in spirit, but you're correct that everything will remain basically the same. There simply isn't any pressure/incentive for a major change, even if it were the right decision. If this team were to only sneak into an 8th seed(highly unlikely), we'd still have Lowry and DeMar leading the way along with Casey. Frankly, I'm trying to occupy myself with anything other than watching the Raptors this upcoming season because there's not a lot for me personally to be excited about. Better off watching other teams since this one bores me to tears.
Here's hoping for an exciting pick, but I suspect our pick will be less than thrilling to say the least, if not entirely underwhelming. We're picking 23rd so there's not really any special talent available unless someone takes a huge slide. Even if someone did, I would expect Masai to go ahead and draft someone he scouted more and was more comfortable taking. It's going to be a long season.

I'm with both you "in spirit" too...but in reality it's simply not going to happen.

There just isn't a single tea leaf that shows any hint of Masai looking to actually follow through on rebuild NOW. Now if by chance we hit mid-season or so and the team is supposedly "underperforming", Casey will then be fired and someone will step in (ie/ Stackhouse or whoever), we will continue to be mediocre and teams like WAS and MIL will be closing the gap while our team tries to figure out how to change their stripes from iso ball and fails because you're not going to suddenly not only adapt a new style of play, you're not going to do so at such a level you can beat the second GOAT and his far more loaded team especially with a broken down Lowry.

All this to say, what's far more likely to happen is Masai will be able to say he's "tried everything" to help this core get over the hump and they (not him *ahem* save his job) simply couldn't get it done. THEN you will likely see 2 players (possibly 3 with Ibaka) with long term contracts get shipped out for assets hoping to crack the top 10 of next year's draft to grab someone like Kostas Antentokoumnpo and actually rebuild. But right now it appears we are stubbornly holding on to our fool's gold and just my opinion but I would actually take Jackson over DS Jr but it's really no point in even worrying about that.

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

It's one thing to not tell EXACTLY what they're going/want to do, it's another to do the exact OPPOSITE.

Masai has...

1. Stated his full intention to bring back Lowry which is a DIRECT opposition to YOUR desired outcome
2. Emphasized ad nauseam that he wants to win now and isn't waving the white towel because of LeBron or the Warriors
3. Wants to make THIS team a 3pt shooting team BECAUSE he believes that's how he can win NOW
4. Has held on to Casey to give him another shot to win...when?! NOW

This is also without even mentioning the obvious of re-signing DeMar to a long term contract and him wanting bring back Ibaka.

None of his words or actions coincide with YOUR desire to tank/trade up for Dennis Smith Jr. There are absolutely NO indications at all that Masai has any intentions of going next year with a team IN a rebuild state, none. EVERYTHING points to (a futile) attempt to re-configure our crap and see if they can do it again.

I'm with Lonzo in spirit, but you're correct that everything will remain basically the same. There simply isn't any pressure/incentive for a major change, even if it were the right decision. If this team were to only sneak into an 8th seed(highly unlikely), we'd still have Lowry and DeMar leading the way along with Casey. Frankly, I'm trying to occupy myself with anything other than watching the Raptors this upcoming season because there's not a lot for me personally to be excited about. Better off watching other teams since this one bores me to tears.
Here's hoping for an exciting pick, but I suspect our pick will be less than thrilling to say the least, if not entirely underwhelming. We're picking 23rd so there's not really any special talent available unless someone takes a huge slide. Even if someone did, I would expect Masai to go ahead and draft someone he scouted more and was more comfortable taking. It's going to be a long season.

I'm with both you "in spirit" too...but in reality it's simply not going to happen.

There just isn't a single tea leaf that shows any hint of Masai looking to actually follow through on rebuild NOW. Now if by chance we hit mid-season or so and the team is supposedly "underperforming", Casey will then be fired and someone will step in (ie/ Stackhouse or whoever), we will continue to be mediocre and teams like WAS and MIL will be closing the gap while our team tries to figure out how to change their stripes from iso ball and fails because you're not going to suddenly not only adapt a new style of play, you're not going to do so at such a level you can beat the second GOAT and his far more loaded team especially with a broken down Lowry.

All this to say, what's far more likely to happen is Masai will be able to say he's "tried everything" to help this core get over the hump and they (not him *ahem* save his job) simply couldn't get it done. THEN you will likely see 2 players (possibly 3 with Ibaka) with long term contracts get shipped out for assets hoping to crack the top 10 of next year's draft to grab someone like Kostas Antentokoumnpo and actually rebuild. But right now it appears we are stubbornly holding on to our fool's gold and just my opinion but I would actually take Jackson over DS Jr but it's really no point in even worrying about that.

There is a vehicle of change at play here, and it's Lowry. If dude for some reason doesn't want to re-sign, there will inevitably be change. That'll be a big blow to the team to where Masai might have to contemplate something close to a rebuild, although I think he'd try to get creative in replacing Lowry. But, we're talking about possibly losing a top 15 player in the league. That's hard to replace. DeMar already is a top 3 in usage guy. How much more can you put on his plate and expect the team to be the same or even improve over last year?

[OAKLEY_2]

Not saying I like Adebayo but if a team takes him he really looks like he has a skill set where you can try to develop him to be like Blake Griffin.

Looks closer to DeAndre Jordan than BG.

Really like Bam and he wants to be a stretch four. Wants to be and is may two different things.

In terms of really changing the culture you either replace the coach or make a bigtime trade that dispatches the two allstars. Derozan for a Deangelo Russell package comes to mind. But what GM not named Morey would jettison their two allstars?

[PhilBlackson]

Not saying I like Adebayo but if a team takes him he really looks like he has a skill set where you can try to develop him to be like Blake Griffin.

Looks closer to DeAndre Jordan than BG.

If you only look at how Calipari allowed him to play sure...

That's a very oversimplified stance. However if you look at Cal's track record of how he completely underutilizes his big men offensively ie/ Davis, KAT and now starting look like Skal, there's fair reason to believe it's happened to Bam as well. I'm not saying Bam is anywhere near the level of Davis and KAT but what I am saying is Cal sucks at showcasing his big man's skills especially if they are not playing like traditional back to the basket big men. Multiple scouts now have pointed out that Adebayo is showing a lot more ballhandling skills and shooting touch than we seen at UK, coincidence?! I don't think so.

Again I said "develop him to BE LIKE..." not that he would be as good as Blake Griffin and given his physical traits and apparent skillset I fail to see why not. Bam's 2pt% (60%) and FT% (65%) are far more on par with Blake's numbers in college (62% and 59% respectively) than DeAndre, so unlike Jordan he has a much better shooting touch AND ballhandling skills. Then combine that with their physical traits...

Blake Griffin
6'8 1/2 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 248pds, wingspan 6'11, no step vert 32 inches, max vert 35 inches

Bam Adebayo
6'8 3/4 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 243pds, wingspan 7'2, no step vert 33.5 inches, max vert 38.5 inches

Remind me again what makes him more similar to DeAndre Jordan?!

[HeadtopChunes]

Not saying I like Adebayo but if a team takes him he really looks like he has a skill set where you can try to develop him to be like Blake Griffin.

Looks closer to DeAndre Jordan than BG.

If you only look at how Calipari allowed him to play sure...

That's a very oversimplified stance. However if you look at Cal's track record of how he completely underutilizes his big men offensively ie/ Davis, KAT and now starting look like Skal, there's fair reason to believe it's happened to Bam as well. I'm not saying Bam is anywhere near the level of Davis and KAT but what I am saying is Cal sucks at showcasing his big man's skills especially if they are not playing like traditional back to the basket big men. Multiple scouts now have pointed out that Adebayo is showing a lot more ballhandling skills and shooting touch than we seen at UK, coincidence?! I don't think so.

Again I said "develop him to BE LIKE..." not that he would be as good as Blake Griffin and given his physical traits and apparent skillset I fail to see why not. Bam's 2pt% (60%) and FT% (65%) are far more on par with Blake's numbers in college (62% and 59% respectively) than DeAndre, so unlike Jordan he has a much better shooting touch AND ballhandling skills. Then combine that with their physical traits...

Blake Griffin
6'8 1/2 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 248pds, wingspan 6'11, no step vert 32 inches, max vert 35 inches

Bam Adebayo
6'8 3/4 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 243pds, wingspan 7'2, no step vert 33.5 inches, max vert 38.5 inches

Remind me again what makes him more similar to DeAndre Jordan?!

Well I haven't done any research on the guy. I'll take your word for it. Why is he ranked so low if he's that skilled and another atheltic big?

[CoachJReturns]

Not saying I like Adebayo but if a team takes him he really looks like he has a skill set where you can try to develop him to be like Blake Griffin.

Looks closer to DeAndre Jordan than BG.

If you only look at how Calipari allowed him to play sure...

That's a very oversimplified stance. However if you look at Cal's track record of how he completely underutilizes his big men offensively ie/ Davis, KAT and now starting look like Skal, there's fair reason to believe it's happened to Bam as well. I'm not saying Bam is anywhere near the level of Davis and KAT but what I am saying is Cal sucks at showcasing his big man's skills especially if they are not playing like traditional back to the basket big men. Multiple scouts now have pointed out that Adebayo is showing a lot more ballhandling skills and shooting touch than we seen at UK, coincidence?! I don't think so.

Again I said "develop him to BE LIKE..." not that he would be as good as Blake Griffin and given his physical traits and apparent skillset I fail to see why not. Bam's 2pt% (60%) and FT% (65%) are far more on par with Blake's numbers in college (62% and 59% respectively) than DeAndre, so unlike Jordan he has a much better shooting touch AND ballhandling skills. Then combine that with their physical traits...

Blake Griffin
6'8 1/2 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 248pds, wingspan 6'11, no step vert 32 inches, max vert 35 inches

Bam Adebayo
6'8 3/4 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 243pds, wingspan 7'2, no step vert 33.5 inches, max vert 38.5 inches

Remind me again what makes him more similar to DeAndre Jordan?!

I don't really want Bam, but I wouldn't be mad about taking him either. The guys I don't want are guys like Semi who apart from 3 point shooting, have underwhelming production even as juniors and seniors in college. Personally, I'm the 1 guy left that still prefers Rabb to many of the guys likely available, but otherwise I'd be happier with someone with a potentially higher ceiling and Bam could be one of those guys.

[PhilBlackson]

Looks closer to DeAndre Jordan than BG.

If you only look at how Calipari allowed him to play sure...

That's a very oversimplified stance. However if you look at Cal's track record of how he completely underutilizes his big men offensively ie/ Davis, KAT and now starting look like Skal, there's fair reason to believe it's happened to Bam as well. I'm not saying Bam is anywhere near the level of Davis and KAT but what I am saying is Cal sucks at showcasing his big man's skills especially if they are not playing like traditional back to the basket big men. Multiple scouts now have pointed out that Adebayo is showing a lot more ballhandling skills and shooting touch than we seen at UK, coincidence?! I don't think so.

Again I said "develop him to BE LIKE..." not that he would be as good as Blake Griffin and given his physical traits and apparent skillset I fail to see why not. Bam's 2pt% (60%) and FT% (65%) are far more on par with Blake's numbers in college (62% and 59% respectively) than DeAndre, so unlike Jordan he has a much better shooting touch AND ballhandling skills. Then combine that with their physical traits...

Blake Griffin
6'8 1/2 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 248pds, wingspan 6'11, no step vert 32 inches, max vert 35 inches

Bam Adebayo
6'8 3/4 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 243pds, wingspan 7'2, no step vert 33.5 inches, max vert 38.5 inches

Remind me again what makes him more similar to DeAndre Jordan?!

Well I haven't done any research on the guy. I'll take your word for it. Why is he ranked so low if he's that skilled and another atheltic big?

For the same reason I just stated. He wasn't allowed to showcase his abilities.

So of course when GMs look at a guy that Cal played as a back to the basket C, that likely should be a mid range PF, he's going to look underwhelming because people are looking at him from the perspective of how he stacks up as defensive anchor C and from that vantage point yeah he just seems like he's a bit undersized. But if you look at his skillset and try to use it properly you could have an entirely different player on your hands. Just like last year people thought Skal (who was FAR more underwhelming) was too weak and not very good but Cal idiotically was trying to play him from the post?!? Like why the hell was Cal doing that when clearly Skal's strength was his jumpshot?! Now as a true stretch 4 we're seeing it.

Same goes for much greater talents like AD and KAT. People thought all Davis was, was a defensive anchor despite showing a plethora of guard skills in HS but why?! Because Cal tried to use him as a post player and that's not AD's game. Fortunately for KAT, he developed a post game before UK but there's a reason why he didn't receive the hype he was worthy of. We never got to see any of his perimeter skills. Now from the combine workouts etc it's seem to be being reported that Bam was not being able to showcase his ballhandling or shooting ability either. Again I'm not saying he's anywhere near the level of KAT, AD or even that we should take him per say (although I'm not opposed to it) but I can very easily see him suffering as Skal did as a result of how Cal uses his big men. He wants them to play like Cousins, they want to play more like KG or Griffin....I think if a GM recognizes that and uses him as such he too will be a steal.

[Kevin Willis]

If you only look at how Calipari allowed him to play sure...

That's a very oversimplified stance. However if you look at Cal's track record of how he completely underutilizes his big men offensively ie/ Davis, KAT and now starting look like Skal, there's fair reason to believe it's happened to Bam as well. I'm not saying Bam is anywhere near the level of Davis and KAT but what I am saying is Cal sucks at showcasing his big man's skills especially if they are not playing like traditional back to the basket big men. Multiple scouts now have pointed out that Adebayo is showing a lot more ballhandling skills and shooting touch than we seen at UK, coincidence?! I don't think so.

Again I said "develop him to BE LIKE..." not that he would be as good as Blake Griffin and given his physical traits and apparent skillset I fail to see why not. Bam's 2pt% (60%) and FT% (65%) are far more on par with Blake's numbers in college (62% and 59% respectively) than DeAndre, so unlike Jordan he has a much better shooting touch AND ballhandling skills. Then combine that with their physical traits...

Blake Griffin
6'8 1/2 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 248pds, wingspan 6'11, no step vert 32 inches, max vert 35 inches

Bam Adebayo
6'8 3/4 w/o shoes (6'10 in shoes), weight 243pds, wingspan 7'2, no step vert 33.5 inches, max vert 38.5 inches

Remind me again what makes him more similar to DeAndre Jordan?!

Well I haven't done any research on the guy. I'll take your word for it. Why is he ranked so low if he's that skilled and another atheltic big?

For the same reason I just stated. He wasn't allowed to showcase his abilities.

So of course when GMs look at a guy that Cal played as a back to the basket C, that likely should be a mid range PF, he's going to look underwhelming because people are looking at him from the perspective of how he stacks up as defensive anchor C and from that vantage point yeah he just seems like he's a bit undersized. But if you look at his skillset and try to use it properly you could have an entirely different player on your hands. Just like last year people thought Skal (who was FAR more underwhelming) was too weak and not very good but Cal idiotically was trying to play him from the post?!? Like why the hell was Cal doing that when clearly Skal's strength was his jumpshot?! Now as a true stretch 4 we're seeing it.

Same goes for much greater talents like AD and KAT. People thought all Davis was, was a defensive anchor despite showing a plethora of guard skills in HS but why?! Because Cal tried to use him as a post player and that's not AD's game. Fortunately for KAT, he developed a post game before UK but there's a reason why he didn't receive the hype he was worthy of. We never got to see any of his perimeter skills. Now from the combine workouts etc it's seem to be being reported that Bam was not being able to showcase his ballhandling or shooting ability either. Again I'm not saying he's anywhere near the level of KAT, AD or even that we should take him per say (although I'm not opposed to it) but I can very easily see him suffering as Skal did as a result of how Cal uses his big men. He wants them to play like Cousins, they want to play more like KG or Griffin....I think if a GM recognizes that and uses him as such he too will be a steal.

- Griffin plays like a PF. Bam plays like a C
- Griffin had a little of a perimeter game. Bam does not
- Griffin has skill on offense (back to the basic, face-up, spin moves, handle). Bam dunks (like Deandre)
- Griffin was a star with a star mentality . Bam is a role player (AD and KAT were limited but still they were stars on their team at least)
- Griffin and Bam are both uber athletic
- Griffin has a high BBIQ. Bam slam.

He's a good prospect but we don't need him as a C and the only thing he will stretch is his clothes. I would say he's more Biyombo or a poor man's Deandre.

[BoyzNTheHood]

The thing about Bam is it seems as though he was asked to play that hustle big man role at UK. They had guys in Fox and Monk who would do the majority of the heavy lifting offensively and didn't need Bam to do much else.

However, post draft he was shown the ability to shoot the 3 (albeit in an empty gym), and handle the ball quite well for a big man (again, in an empty gym). If those skills translate you have yourself an Amare Stoudamire type of talent.

[CoachJReturns]

The thing about Bam is it seems as though he was asked to play that hustle big man role at UK. They had guys in Fox and Monk who would do the majority of the heavy lifting offensively and didn't need Bam to do much else.

However, post draft he was shown the ability to shoot the 3 (albeit in an empty gym), and handle the ball quite well for a big man (again, in an empty gym). If those skills translate you have yourself an Amare Stoudamire type of talent.

Big if's obviously. Most NBA players, even guys we think are scrubs, can look good in an empty gym.

[RaptorsLife]

I'm mean devin Booker didn't even start with Kentucky and skal look like trash in Kentucky both look like great nba players.

Caplari got too much talent in a short amount of time to fully maximise there strengths and potential

[BoyzNTheHood]

I'm mean devin Booker didn't even start with Kentucky and skal look like trash in Kentucky both look like great nba players.

Caplari got too much talent in a short amount of time to fully maximise there strengths and potential

That's the thing, players at Kentucky are often under utilized and turn out to be better pros than college players. The jury is still out on Skal even though I was on his bandwagon last year, but Booker is a great example.

[slothrop8]

It's one thing to not tell EXACTLY what they're going/want to do, it's another to do the exact OPPOSITE.

Masai has...

1. Stated his full intention to bring back Lowry which is a DIRECT opposition to YOUR desired outcome
2. Emphasized ad nauseam that he wants to win now and isn't waving the white towel because of LeBron or the Warriors
3. Wants to make THIS team a 3pt shooting team BECAUSE he believes that's how he can win NOW
4. Has held on to Casey to give him another shot to win...when?! NOW

This is also without even mentioning the obvious of re-signing DeMar to a long term contract and him wanting bring back Ibaka.

None of his words or actions coincide with YOUR desire to tank/trade up for Dennis Smith Jr. There are absolutely NO indications at all that Masai has any intentions of going next year with a team IN a rebuild state, none. EVERYTHING points to (a futile) attempt to re-configure our crap and see if they can do it again.

I'm with Lonzo in spirit, but you're correct that everything will remain basically the same. There simply isn't any pressure/incentive for a major change, even if it were the right decision. If this team were to only sneak into an 8th seed(highly unlikely), we'd still have Lowry and DeMar leading the way along with Casey. Frankly, I'm trying to occupy myself with anything other than watching the Raptors this upcoming season because there's not a lot for me personally to be excited about. Better off watching other teams since this one bores me to tears.
Here's hoping for an exciting pick, but I suspect our pick will be less than thrilling to say the least, if not entirely underwhelming. We're picking 23rd so there's not really any special talent available unless someone takes a huge slide. Even if someone did, I would expect Masai to go ahead and draft someone he scouted more and was more comfortable taking. It's going to be a long season.

I'm with both you "in spirit" too...but in reality it's simply not going to happen.

There just isn't a single tea leaf that shows any hint of Masai looking to actually follow through on rebuild NOW. Now if by chance we hit mid-season or so and the team is supposedly "underperforming", Casey will then be fired and someone will step in (ie/ Stackhouse or whoever), we will continue to be mediocre and teams like WAS and MIL will be closing the gap while our team tries to figure out how to change their stripes from iso ball and fails because you're not going to suddenly not only adapt a new style of play, you're not going to do so at such a level you can beat the second GOAT and his far more loaded team especially with a broken down Lowry.

All this to say, what's far more likely to happen is Masai will be able to say he's "tried everything" to help this core get over the hump and they (not him *ahem* save his job) simply couldn't get it done. THEN you will likely see 2 players (possibly 3 with Ibaka) with long term contracts get shipped out for assets hoping to crack the top 10 of next year's draft to grab someone like Kostas Antentokoumnpo and actually rebuild. But right now it appears we are stubbornly holding on to our fool's gold and just my opinion but I would actually take Jackson over DS Jr but it's really no point in even worrying about that.

I agree with your entire post with the added caveat that I believe the reason he's not talking about rebuild now is that he's definitely not going to signal a move in that direction while potentially flippable assets like Lowry and Ibaka need to be resigned. Same deal with DeMar last offseason. We can't move in a new direction until those guys are secured - then you have to give them half a season or whatever this year after you sign Lowry for it to be evident that we still have no chance - and you hope in that same half a season the other 27 franchises that aren't Cle or GSW that have been shut out of the Finals for 3 seasons and counting are getting hungry - hungry to part with nice goodies in exchange for pieces like Lowry, DeRozan, Ibaka etc - and they will have value, even on bloated deals - much more value than letting them walk for free.
Masai is very good at his job - if we all know the Raptors have no realistic chance with this core - he knows we have no realistic chance with this core. But there's no reason to panic - LeBron was always winning the East last year, he was always winning it this year, he's exceptionally likely to win it again next year. We're pretending to compete with all the smoke and mirrors that goes along with that when you need to sign players + sell tickets and run a business - but the Lowry signing (and Ibaka) is the last big domino to drop. Once they are signed - we control DD, KL, and SI as assets - then I think our approach starts to shift. We'll give them a chunk of this coming season to see if it magically works and we look like a legit threat - but assuming it doesn't (and I strongly believe it won't) - I think you'll see Masai shift gears and start the real process of positioning us to be ready for LeBron's decline phase.

To loosely tie this to the draft - I do expect a pick with more upside this year. I think the "pseudo win-now" deals we made demonstrated our pseudo commitment to winning - I don't expect this draft to concern itself with need or NBA-readiness.

[VanWest82]

I find myself agreeing with a lot of what Mark Titus says about college basketball. In particular, it bugs me that so many great college players get discounted in favour of unproven potential when it comes to the draft.

https://theringer.com/2017-nba-draft-casual-fan-guide-justin-jackson-frank-mason-667bd53c32

Josh Hart, Villanova
Hart was a do-everything guard for a Villanova team that had about four and a half healthy players last season and won 32 games despite dealing with all the pressure that comes with being the defending national champ. He averaged 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists for the Wildcats and would have been the national player of the year if he hadn’t made the fatal mistake of being too good from Villanova’s opening game, which put him on the predictably dumb college basketball trajectory of having fans and media members fatigued by his greatness by the time February rolled around.

Frank Mason III, Kansas
Speaking of improbable rises to college basketball stardom, I think I speak for all of Middle America when I say that every NBA GM should be drawn and quartered if Mason’s name isn’t called on draft night. I just don’t think I can handle living in a world where the national player of the year is not even considered one of the 60 best NBA prospects.

Both these guys have become so underrated in the draft process I almost don't even know where to begin. How about here: I'd take either of these guys at 23 and run, draft experts be damned.

Edit: also thought this was a cool idea:

The NBA changes the one-and-done rule to a two-year thing (two-and-through?) in which prospects must be two years removed from high school before they’re eligible to enter the draft … with two crucial exceptions. First, if a freshman player is named a college first-, second-, or third-team All-American, he can jump straight to the NBA like he would in the current system. That way the guys who are ready for the next level don’t have to waste an additional year in college; the NBA doesn’t have to bother trying to make sense of a chaotic revolving door of talent; and the freshmen who get bad advice from people in their inner circles don’t keep shooting themselves in the foot and ending up in places like Poland when they could’ve become college stars if they had simply been more patient.

[Dalek]

I don't really want Bam, but I wouldn't be mad about taking him either. The guys I don't want are guys like Semi who apart from 3 point shooting, have underwhelming production even as juniors and seniors in college. Personally, I'm the 1 guy left that still prefers Rabb to many of the guys likely available, but otherwise I'd be happier with someone with a potentially higher ceiling and Bam could be one of those guys.

Rabb is an interesting player, but too much of a throwback to me. I looked at how he played against Kyle Kuzma and I was kind of shocked at how he was dominated:

Kuzma
Pts-Rebs
23-14
12-4
23-3

Rabb
Pts-Rebs
12-14
8-8
12-6

Kuzma is older, but I thought Rabb would be killing it on the boards. I don't know how long it will take for him to adjust to the pace of the NBA.

Toronto is a good situation for Rabb because we have a great development program. He also shares the same agent as Derozan and is a Cali guy so I could DDR pushing for him. He has that competitive edge to his game that I think Derozan will help to foster. I just don't think he progressed at all this past year, but it may have been playing at California U.

I think Semi is the can't miss prospect despite being an older guy. Mike Schmitz, the Director of Scouting at DX even said during a podcast that Semi Ojeleye is going to be the guy that we look back on as the draft steal.

Semi from a size and skill point of view is exactly where the NBA is headed (Jae Crowder type). Ojeleye is already ready from a size and conditioning POV. He is plug and play and I could see him slotting into Patrick Patterson's role easily. Maybe he will shoot even better that 2Pat.

[Wally West]

I see Bolden is mocked to go around pick 47, what gives? I know he's a tad older and went from UCLA to play in the Euroleague but still. It looks like this dude can really play. What am I missing here, why is he ranked so low?

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DX did the same thing to thon maker. That's why i wouldn't give too much concern over mocks. I think it's just hard to scout in Serbia. DX doesn't have the resources to go there and film isn't readily available. Based on what I've seen is be genuinely surprised if he didn't go first round.

Maker was the biggest surprise to me. I was absolutely inlove with him in his HS highlights and told friends he looked like the next KG.. some question marks get raised about his age and people suddenly slate him to go 2nd round. I think Milwaukee made the right move drafting him as early as they did at 10, he could be the steal of the draft.

I remember telling a friend the exact same thing about a year agp and not to base him off of a poor showing in the BioSteel All Star Game and his personality as people were saying he was an ass. Undeniable talent.

[VanWest82]

I think Semi is the can't miss prospect despite being an older guy. Mike Schmitz, the Director of Scouting at DX even said during a podcast that Semi Ojeleye is going to be the guy that we look back on as the draft steal.

Semi from a size and skill point of view is exactly where the NBA is headed (Jae Crowder type). Ojeleye is already ready from a size and conditioning POV. He is plug and play and I could see him slotting into Patrick Patterson's role easily. Maybe he will shoot even better that 2Pat.

I don't get the love for Semi. Not saying you're comparing him to Pat, but that's a terrible comparison. Pat is 6'9 with a 7'2 wingspan and ELITE twinkle toes quickness guarding the perimeter. Semi is 6'6 with a 6'9 wingspan and average quickness guarding the perimeter.

Maybe Semi is a better shooter than I think he is. If he's Ryan Anderson out there then let's go for it. But I don't think he's Ryan Anderson, unless we're talking about his inability to play the wing, in which case he's Ryan Anderson. People talk about his positional diversity as this huge asset, and I'm just not sure what they're seeing. If anything, it's his lack of positional diversity that's the problem. He's a very undersized stretch four. He doesn't have the ball skills or the quickness to play wing, and he doesn't have the size to play center. Maybe he'll make a similar transformation to PJ TUcker, though that guy could always guard wings. Can you imagine Semi trying to stay in front of Paul George?

But more problematic than all of that is his complete lack of feel for the game. He beasted against college players because he's a man child, and was able to out muscle them. That's not going to happen against NBA caliber PFs. We're already a low IQ basketball team. Need guys who know how to play!