Bobby Webster Press Conference Today (First as the Boss)

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

Stop getting offended by nothing.

It's a true statement, having kids will mature many men. He did not say men without kids aren't mature.

It's a bit sad that it's the only talking point he has to point to Scottie's improvement, no?

You would rather the usual BS of "this guy got better over the summer"?

The results on the court will dictate everything. This time last year half the board thought Ochai would not even get a next contract.

Everything is lip service this time of year so who case what is and isn't said. They will run with who they have and the results will dictate what they do next.

Does it seem like Ochai is going to get another contract, I think deserves one butI doubt he gets one from us, despite imo, being the best compliment we have to Scottie, BI and IQ.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

The role of the PG is initiate the offense and defend the other lead guard. I don't have much appreciation for IQ defensively and I don't know that he has it in his game to be the main initiator of the offence. Before coming here and being paid like our long term future pg - IQ hadn't averaged 2 assist per game in college and had played less the 25 mpg in the NBA. He averaged at his highest at 3.5 in NYK. Its only since he's been here that he has any track record as starting PG and has been available so little that I still don't know that he's a good fit, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be with us for a few years at least. I think at some point they play him as a SG - but again, that's complicated by our overinvestment in that position. That's why I think our best line up maybe with IQ at the 2, and Shead at the 1 and RJ as the sixth man.

Time will tell.

[Duffman100]

The role of the PG is initiate the offense and defend the other lead guard. I don't have much appreciation for IQ defensively and I don't know that he has it in his game to be the main initiator of the offence. Before coming here and being paid like our long term future pg - IQ hadn't averaged 2 assist per game in college and had played less the 25 mpg in the NBA. He averaged at his highest at 3.5 in NYK. Its only since he's been here that he has any track record as starting PG and has been available so little that I still don't know that he's a good fit, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be with us for a few years at least. I think at some point they play him as a SG - but again, that's complicated by our overinvestment in that position. That's why I think our best line up maybe with IQ at the 2, and Shead at the 1 and RJ as the sixth man.

Time will tell.

Shead isn't really that PG either (sure a better POA defender) but he's not really a distributor / game manager.

[ConSarnit]

It's a bit sad that it's the only talking point he has to point to Scottie's improvement, no?

You would rather the usual BS of "this guy got better over the summer"?

The results on the court will dictate everything. This time last year half the board thought Ochai would not even get a next contract.

Everything is lip service this time of year so who case what is and isn't said. They will run with who they have and the results will dictate what they do next.

Does it seem like Ochai is going to get another contract, I think deserves one butI doubt he gets one from us, despite imo, being the best compliment we have to Scottie, BI and IQ.

I think what we’re doing with Ochai and his contract is the smartest approach. The gap between what he probably wants and the certainty between what he is is currently too big. We need to see him prove his shooting wasn’t a fluke if we’re going to pay him. Paying semi-unproven 3+D guys too early is a mistake imo. If Ochai’s shooting regresses and we had given him the MLE we’d be stuck with him. It’s too high risk to pay any 3+D guy based on one solid shooting season when those guys are prone to regression. A below average shooting Ochai is an end of bench guy. Most analytics guys say it takes 2 seasons of data to determine if someone’s shooting is real. This season should let us know if Ochai is for real.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

I think they placed a few obstacles in the way for Ochai. I think he’s the most suited rn to play with the SL but I think the team is more invested in RJ, IQ Walter and Gradey - so in the long term - they’re not going to want to find time for recent 1st rounders - while also keeping RJ in the mix. I don’t see a huge appetite for the team to go into the tax for another guard- and it’s not like anyone is coming off the books next year.

[ConSarnit]

The role of the PG is initiate the offense and defend the other lead guard. I don't have much appreciation for IQ defensively and I don't know that he has it in his game to be the main initiator of the offence. Before coming here and being paid like our long term future pg - IQ hadn't averaged 2 assist per game in college and had played less the 25 mpg in the NBA. He averaged at his highest at 3.5 in NYK. Its only since he's been here that he has any track record as starting PG and has been available so little that I still don't know that he's a good fit, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be with us for a few years at least. I think at some point they play him as a SG - but again, that's complicated by our overinvestment in that position. That's why I think our best line up maybe with IQ at the 2, and Shead at the 1 and RJ as the sixth man.

Time will tell.

Shead isn't really that PG either (sure a better POA defender) but he's not really a distributor / game manager.

I’d wager trying to start Shead/Barnes/Poeltl together would put us into the bottom 7 on offense. Our 3pt volume and % would possibly be worst in the league (at least as far as starters go). Not to mention any downstream effects like the paint getting shut off for a lineup that really doesn’t pressure the rim. If RJ’s rim pressure is gone we have to replace that with shooting. We can’t lose RJ’s rim pressure AND make our shooting even worse by starting someone like Shead.

[ConSarnit]

I think they placed a few obstacles in the way for Ochai. I think he’s the most suited rn to play with the SL but I think the team is more invested in RJ, IQ Walter and Gradey - so in the long term - they’re not going to want to find time for recent 1st rounders - while also keeping RJ in the mix. I don’t see a huge appetite for the team to go into the tax for another guard- and it’s not like anyone is coming off the books next year.

Reports say they tried to trade RJ for Ingram. I don’t think they’re overly invested in RJ at all. I think if RJ isn’t moved it’s more likely because the can’t, not because they don’t want to.

[StopitLeo]

franchise max player is 30-35% of the cap. Barnes is 25%

need to stop referencing AAV when cap is growing these days

Whatever the % is, Barnes is overpaid for his production but that's standard practice for an overly generous FO.

It's the % that allows you to baseline, not the absolute $.

People think IQ is overpaid, completely ignoring the fact that he signed a flat (non-escalating) deal. This season, he is the 20th highest paid PG by AAV and this will continue to decline as a % of the cap (21% of cap this season, 15.4% in the final year).

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/contracts/_/position/pg

Scottie's deal will be an issue if he plays poorly in a competitive role that demands a narrower focus (eg. no more trying to perfect your pull-up 3s in game unless it's a blowout).

People also think Poeltl's extension was too much when it projects to only ~16% of the cap, which is completely reasonable for a starting centre. Ideally you want guys on rookie deals significantly outperforming their salary but that isn't always possible. I think the %cap each player is making is pretty reasonable for the starters.

The problem with RJ is that you'd probably have to extend him at 20%+ of the cap and that doesn't make sense in terms of his role moving forward.

An ideal scenario for team salary is if Barnes and Ingram play like 30-35% players when we've locked them up at 25%.

[ATLTimekeeper]

He just hinted to Kate Bierness that they have too many young players. Ochai is the guy that they will be willing to move. Better teams will want him for deeper runs than the Raptors have a hope in making. The Raptors have Gradey and Walker, and then behind them they have Martin. It's really unlikely anyone other than Gradey could bump out one of the starters through a leap in development. The competition spots are for the bench.

[djsunyc]

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/2025/09/30/raptors-gm-webster-speaks-about-his-expanded-role-teams-expectations-and-more/

Watch on YouTube

[WuTang_CMB]

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/2025/09/30/rajakovic-on-managing-expectations-this-season-ingrams-progress-raps-chemistry/

[Troubadour]

Stop getting offended by nothing.

It's a true statement, having kids will mature many men. He did not say men without kids aren't mature.

It's a bit sad that it's the only talking point he has to point to Scottie's improvement, no?

You would rather the usual BS of "this guy got better over the summer"?

The results on the court will dictate everything. This time last year half the board thought Ochai would not even get a next contract.

Everything is lip service this time of year so who case what is and isn't said. They will run with who they have and the results will dictate what they do next.

Explaining what Scottie Barnes worked on over the summer and then seeing if that translated into on-court production would be more useful than what we got.

Plenty of people have kids and rarely does it make them a better basketball player (VanVleet is really the only exception!).

[TakeYourHeart]

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/2025/09/30/raptors-gm-webster-speaks-about-his-expanded-role-teams-expectations-and-more/

Watch on YouTube

Bobby is completely out on Scottie as a scorer, this is the 2nd time he emphasized defense and de-emphasized scoring. He watched last season in horror like the rest of us.

[MEDIC]

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/2025/09/30/raptors-gm-webster-speaks-about-his-expanded-role-teams-expectations-and-more/

Watch on YouTube

Bobby is completely out on Scottie as a scorer, this is the 2nd time he emphasized defense and de-emphasized scoring. He watched last season in horror like the rest of us.

At some point you have to accept who players are and try to get the most out of their strengths.

Scottie may never become a 1st option, but I see him as an important starter on a contender one day.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/2025/09/30/raptors-gm-webster-speaks-about-his-expanded-role-teams-expectations-and-more/

Watch on YouTube

Bobby is completely out on Scottie as a scorer, this is the 2nd time he emphasized defense and de-emphasized scoring. He watched last season in horror like the rest of us.

He said Scottie will have to turn out noise about his contract, which shows that they anticipate some pushback as they try and deemphasize the scoring and focus on more connecting play and def.

I also don't know why they keep saying everyone has to earn their minutes defensively - yet every just slides RJ into the SL like there's no other options.

[mihaic]

Watch on YouTube

Bobby is completely out on Scottie as a scorer, this is the 2nd time he emphasized defense and de-emphasized scoring. He watched last season in horror like the rest of us.

He said Scottie will have to turn out noise about his contract, which shows that they anticipate some pushback as they try and deemphasize the scoring and focus on more connecting play and def.

I also don't know why they keep saying everyone has to earn their minutes defensively - yet every just slides RJ into the SL like there's no other options.

I think it's because they can hide one guy in the SL and they need some scoring wing when Scottie and Yak are in. That's why they start RJ. If and when another wing scores consistently they can drop RJ from SL.

But I assume they also say this because they want to motivate RJ to step up his D as much as his limitations allow.

[Jerry Lucas]

Watch on YouTube

Bobby is completely out on Scottie as a scorer, this is the 2nd time he emphasized defense and de-emphasized scoring. He watched last season in horror like the rest of us.

He said Scottie will have to turn out noise about his contract, which shows that they anticipate some pushback as they try and deemphasize the scoring and focus on more connecting play and def.

I also don't know why they keep saying everyone has to earn their minutes defensively - yet every just slides RJ into the SL like there's no other options.

Crazy how much is already changing since Bobby took over.

Just a year ago Masai was parading Scottie and IQ as the franchise's future when he announced their extensions at the same time, at that team event.

Fast forward to now and it's Ingram and Scottie, with Bobby already anticipating the negative attention his contract will start to get when the whole fanbase realizes they're heavily de-emphasizing his scoring relative to what a max player usually provides.

[DreamTeam09]

Bobby is completely out on Scottie as a scorer, this is the 2nd time he emphasized defense and de-emphasized scoring. He watched last season in horror like the rest of us.

He said Scottie will have to turn out noise about his contract, which shows that they anticipate some pushback as they try and deemphasize the scoring and focus on more connecting play and def.

I also don't know why they keep saying everyone has to earn their minutes defensively - yet every just slides RJ into the SL like there's no other options.

Crazy how much is already changing since Bobby took over.

Just a year ago Masai was parading Scottie and IQ as the franchise's future when he announced their extensions at the same time, at that team event.

Fast forward to now and it's Ingram and Scottie, with Bobby already anticipating the negative attention his contract will start to get when the whole fanbase realizes they're heavily de-emphasizing his scoring relative to what a max player usually provides.

tell me why Scottie has to be the go-to scorer to justify his contract? There's players making double what he makes yearly

there's plenty of 50 60 70 soon to be 80m dollar players

[ConSarnit]

He said Scottie will have to turn out noise about his contract, which shows that they anticipate some pushback as they try and deemphasize the scoring and focus on more connecting play and def.

I also don't know why they keep saying everyone has to earn their minutes defensively - yet every just slides RJ into the SL like there's no other options.

Crazy how much is already changing since Bobby took over.

Just a year ago Masai was parading Scottie and IQ as the franchise's future when he announced their extensions at the same time, at that team event.

Fast forward to now and it's Ingram and Scottie, with Bobby already anticipating the negative attention his contract will start to get when the whole fanbase realizes they're heavily de-emphasizing his scoring relative to what a max player usually provides.

tell me why Scottie has to be the go-to scorer to justify his contract? There's players making double what he makes yearly

there's plenty of 50 60 70 soon to be 80m dollar players

He doesn’t have to be the go to scorer but he pretty much has to be all-defense to be worth his contract. If you’re a PF putting up 18/8/5 who can’t shoot, scores at below league average efficiency and is only playing “good” defense you’re not worth 25% of cap. Barnes had to improve his scoring (a lot) or be able to anchor the defense. Anything less and he’s a bad contract.

[ConSarnit]

Bobby is completely out on Scottie as a scorer, this is the 2nd time he emphasized defense and de-emphasized scoring. He watched last season in horror like the rest of us.

He said Scottie will have to turn out noise about his contract, which shows that they anticipate some pushback as they try and deemphasize the scoring and focus on more connecting play and def.

I also don't know why they keep saying everyone has to earn their minutes defensively - yet every just slides RJ into the SL like there's no other options.

Crazy how much is already changing since Bobby took over.

Just a year ago Masai was parading Scottie and IQ as the franchise's future when he announced their extensions at the same time, at that team event.

Fast forward to now and it's Ingram and Scottie, with Bobby already anticipating the negative attention his contract will start to get when the whole fanbase realizes they're heavily de-emphasizing his scoring relative to what a max player usually provides.

Sort of makes me wonder if big changes are coming. Lots is rumors that are either implied or have been reported by plugged in people.

Barnes: Bobby already preparing Barnes for contract backlash. Not exactly a vote of confidence for Barnes contract.

Ingram: rumored to be a Masai move. Ingram’s own agent has effectively admitted we overpaid

IQ: reporting from former FO people like John Hollinger saying IQ’s deal is looked at as stalking horse for guys trying to get paid. Basically a “if this guys worth $30m my client has to be worth more”. Again, not exactly a glowing endorsement

RJ: his contract has always been seen as bad. Maybe less bad now but still not an asset given the league’s current stance on score first, questionable defense guards

How many of our guys does Bobby think are on bad deals? How many of these guys did he actually want in the first place? I’m interested to see what direction he takes the team. I really have no idea if he’ll just be Masai 2.0 and carry on the trend or if he actually has other ideas.