ac1011990 wrote:
What part of what I said was wrong… maybe elaborate instead of saying I’m completely wrong? These are real problems going into the season, it’s kind of obvious. We will have a huge hole at PG, our team will struggle to hit 100 points on many nights and we have a win now vs develop for the future issue that’s going to rear it’s ugly head. There are already rumblings of Siakam being upset with the organization, I have no idea if that’s true or not but there is no way, as constructed, this team will make any noise in the playoffs (if they even get there). An all defence no offense team is not how a winning team looks, we’ve seen the opposite of that falling flat (Nets playing all offence) what makes you think being a one dimensional team is winning anything. Nurse literally looked like he was having an aneurysm half the season, without Lowry, the dude might actually keel over mid season.
Look, I get the hype with Barnes I really hope he pans out and we’ve got a superstar in the making but all this talk about his shot changing drastically in the last few months means nothing till he hits the court. OG is still developing into a good offensive player and he was miles better then Barnes on that end. This dude is a project and honestly, I’m ok with that as long as we fully commit to this. No half assing things and yanking Barnes for mistakes he makes. If our front office wants to draft a raw, full of potential guy, then give these young dudes the reigns and see what we got,
Who was the first Raptors guy to talk to the media after the draft? Answer: Nick Nurse.
Who is Nurse's favourite all-time Raptor (in inverse proportion to their lack of talent)? Answer: Pat McCaw.
Raptors were never going to outscore the Nets next season. And, assuming Nets are healthy, Nurse wasn't going to Box and 1 them. Something that someone said in the last two days resonated - Raps want to be able to do low risk switching. It doesn't help for a long, range-y defender to get switched-off a star. Having two long, range-y defenders (OG and Pascal) helps, but what happens if you're facing KD+Kyrie+Harden? Or a Giannis who is better than he was in 2019, and has better complementary players? I think Barnes himself talked about the benefits of having OG, Pascal AND him when going up a team with three superstars.
Nick Nurse has taken over construction of this team. Are we trying to win next year? Of course. Nurse is usually coaching to win - e.g. he was coaching to win that last Orlando game without Kyle, Fred, OG or Pascal. (But Watson and Yuta combined for 50, and Raps beat the Magic.) We weren't necessarily trying to tank around that time, we were trying to develop the players, and it was upper level management's decision as to whether the stars would play or not. Raps wanted to see what they had on the bench going into next season.
That development focus will continue into next season, especially with Pascal out for the first month or so. Raps are going to develop Barnes, while holding him accountable on defence. That seems to be his calling card, so it shouldn't be a problem. Recall that Pascal started games in the first 20-30 games of his rookie season, before finally being sent down to the G-League. But Barnes will stay with the big club all season, and try to get into rhythm shooting 3s (as Pascal did in his second season). As a much more talented version of McCaw, Barnes will get all the minutes he wants from Nurse.
Lowry's not coming back. Nurse never wants to run out the two/too small PG lineup again. Fred, Pascal, OG and Barnes will take turns bringing the ball up. And a LOT of offence will come in transition, because all four of those guys can really dig in on the ball handler and force TOs. If Lowry can be signed and traded to NO for Lonzo, then Raps would be a crazy defence to play against. It will be like the 90s Nets - winning 92 to 85 most nights. Some losses, and I think more wins.
The fascinating issue is what to do at C. Birch is OK, depending on the matchup, but even a guy like Baynes helped to shut Embiid down in that Sixers mini-series. If Raps really are going for Lonzo, it's a sign that they simply don't believe in over-investing in a centre in today's game. They'll just split the MLE between Birch and a random big body (Cody Zeller?). But Portis looked really good moving his feet on the perimeter in Game 6 of the Finals, and making those shots, so maybe he (or Kelly O, or Theis) gets the full MLE and Raps try to sign Birch with the BAE. But my guess is that Kyle walks for nothing and Raptors use cap space and the room exception to round out the C rotation.
Anyway, I'm not going to even attempt to rebut your Negative Nancy thesis on a point-by-point basis. The selection of Barnes shows that the Post-Kawhi, post-Lowry Raptors are on a different, long-term trajectory - with the goal of having the most ferocious defence in the league. It may not all come together next season. But eventually it will.