Fischer/Stein: Raps trying to see what RJ/IQ/Poeltl gets // Still trying for Anthony Davis

[Zeno]

Don't know why people would be excited about Anthony Davis who barely plays. Considering BI's injury history too we would end up playing a tiny lineup while these two guys are inevitably out. We also would have no depth left. It feels like a tanking move.

Yes but can you imagine the flex if Alex kept all of BI, Ja and AD healthy for the rest of the season and playoffs. Lol

[ropjhk]

The good thing is that the Raptors don't need to give up any valuable picks to acquire Ja and AD. Those guys will be available at a steep discount. If they are injured, then you tank and you build up your roster. They are under contract for the next few years, so that would be the timeframe to put together a team that can carry Ja and/or AD to the playoffs in the hopes they can be healthy enough to carry the Raptors to a championship.

Worst case would be that the Raptors keep ending up as a lower playoff seed that can't make it out of the first round with injured stars. You'd think the worst case would be if the Raptors are amongst the worst teams each season until 2028 as their stars are always injured, but that situation would result in draft picks that could set the Raps up for another rebuild.

Hmmm... I might actually be talking myself into believing that trading for both Ja and AD could be a good idea.

[Tripod]

https://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/8895693

Passes the trade checker.

Toronto trades away Quickley, Barrett, Dick, Abaji, Poetle and Temple and get back Morant and AD.

Morant / Walter / Ingram / Barnes / AD

w

Shead / Mamu / CMB / Martin / Lawson / Battle

Need some bench help.

Between Ja / BI / AD we might see them play 5 games together.

We have only had 6 games this year with 5 starters+CMB

[Tripod]

It would be crazy to all the sudden have Ja, BI, Barnes and Davis along with all our picks in the future.

[Thaddy]

Davis
Barnes
Ingram
Walter
Morant

That is great on paper, not IRL though. But it would draw viewership?

[tdotrep2]

Davis
Barnes
Ingram
Walter
Morant

That is great on paper, not IRL though. But it would draw viewership?

If healthy that is great irl.

[Westside Gunn]

They are still trying for AD? Webster will be the worst exec of all time if he does this

[Raptors Realtor]

Davis
Barnes
Ingram
Walter
Morant

That is great on paper, not IRL though. But it would draw viewership?

If healthy that is great irl.

[ArthurVandelay]

With all these rumours, how many red shoe laces has Alex McKechnie ordered?

[Son Goku 25]

The Toronto Rehabs soon

[NotMyKawhi]

Kind of crazy to not want AD when your only excuse is injury and Poeltl always out more.

In a few years you'll say Giannis the only active guy with more points than AD.

Poeltl is just as injury prone if not more

[ArthurVandelay]

Going to need a third team involved if the rumours have legs.

Not much being said about Dallas’ cap sheet state. They are only $1.2m away from the second apron and deep in the tax. Plus, they don’t own their picks in 2027 or 2028. No one wants to be a laughingstock like the Pelicans this year.

[Raptors Realtor]

Kind of crazy to not want AD when your only excuse is injury and Poeltl always out more.

In a few years you'll say Giannis the only active guy with more points than AD.

Poeltl is just as injury prone if not more

Kind of crazy when you don't realize AD older, misses more games then Poeltl and will be making about $60M each of the next 2 seasons after this current one.

[onions17]

pretty sure Darko coached morant in the past, any clues whether they had a good relationship? couldn't be worse than the euro coach memphis has this season

[Indeed]

Going to need a third team involved if the rumours have legs.

Not much being said about Dallas’ cap sheet state. They are only $1.2m away from the second apron and deep in the tax. Plus, they don’t own their picks in 2027 or 2028. No one wants to be a laughingstock like the Pelicans this year.

I wouldnt mind not having future picks when I can draft Flagg. I mean, you cant even trade for Flagg with multiple top 10 picks.

[Indeed]

Davis
Barnes
Ingram
Walter
Morant

That is great on paper, not IRL though. But it would draw viewership?

If healthy that is great irl.

Over the tax as well.

[Spida888]

Going to need a third team involved if the rumours have legs.

Not much being said about Dallas’ cap sheet state. They are only $1.2m away from the second apron and deep in the tax. Plus, they don’t own their picks in 2027 or 2028. No one wants to be a laughingstock like the Pelicans this year.

CHI has a bunch of expirings, but not sure what their plan is. WAS still has Middleton's expiring 33M contract.

[TGM]

If you look at the state of the current team. If we kept everything as is. Our cap situation is not great cause of the IQ and Jak contracts. Yet our ceiling is quite obvious. You can only internally develop players so much. CMB is good but he is not Cooper Flagg. So we have basically two paths trade or draft. Where we are in the standings who you draft in the summer likely needs 2-3 years to be a contributor and that’s assuming you nail the draft. But if you add another decent starter rotation non-star piece which is highly and good outcome, you once again are not raising your ceiling by much. The current teams starters also have a physical and mental timeline and will expect improvements and not just wait till management nails th draft finding the next Jokic.

This brings us to option two. You trade to raise your ceiling. Call us a 50 win team right now. The guys we are rumoured to be trading for pretty much could raise our ceiling to a 60 win team and advance us one more round further in the playoffs or pull us to parity with teams like the Knicks. But cause of their injury risk we could be a 40 win team. Is there really a difference between a 40 and 50 win team? The reality is there isn’t.That is why trading for the possibility of a 60 win team makes sense. Even if it means going into the tax. If you can get AD and Ja and the cost is RJ, IQ, Jak and only one first in 2026. You absolutely do it! Even if it means extending AD for 3 years at max. You play basketball to win a championship and not to put a treadmill team. 40-50 wins are treadmill teams.if Raptors can add AD and Ja or Ja and Sabonis while keeping most of their draft capital what you have given up is really a 2026!or 2027 first round pick to raise your teams ceiling. You do that trade everyday of the week. We shouldn’t be keeping IQ, RJ and Jak just for the sake of seeing them on the floor to deliver a 50 win team.

IQ and Jak’s contracts are slight negatives to neutrals. RH I think has value. We ain’t having cap space for anytime soon.

So you either make a trade with more upside and downside or you stay put.

We had a 50 win team for many years with the Lowry Derozan combo, but to get destroyed in the playoffs for I don’t know how many years until we got Kawhi. First it was the Nets and Pierce than it was Lebronto. Now it will be Payton Pritchard, Brunson and Maxey. I have little interest watching a decade long 50 win team that sometimes gets past the first round, sometimes doesn’t and always gets eliminated in the second round.

[mtcan]

Davis
Barnes
Ingram
Walter
Morant

That is great on paper, not IRL though. But it would draw viewership?

If healthy that is great irl.

Over the tax as well.

Sounds like Rogers has no problem paying the tax. Seems like they want to run the Raptors like the Jays and based on this past World Series appearance and how aggressive they have been in the offseason...might not be a bad thing.

[SurgeIblocka]

If you look at the state of the current team. If we kept everything as is. Our cap situation is not great cause of the IQ and Jak contracts. Yet our ceiling is quite obvious. You can only internally develop players so much. CMB is good but he is not Cooper Flagg. So we have basically two paths trade or draft. Where we are in the standings who you draft in the summer likely needs 2-3 years to be a contributor and that’s assuming you nail the draft. But if you add another decent starter rotation non-star piece which is highly and good outcome, you once again are not raising your ceiling by much. The current teams starters also have a physical and mental timeline and will expect improvements and not just wait till management nails th draft finding the next Jokic.

This brings us to option two. You trade to raise your ceiling. Call us a 50 win team right now. The guys we are rumoured to be trading for pretty much could raise our ceiling to a 60 win team and advance us one more round further in the playoffs or pull us to parity with teams like the Knicks. But cause of their injury risk we could be a 40 win team. Is there really a difference between a 40 and 50 win team? The reality is there isn’t.That is why trading for the possibility of a 60 win team makes sense. Even if it means going into the tax. If you can get AD and Ja and the cost is RJ, IQ, Jak and only one first in 2026. You absolutely do it! Even if it means extending AD for 3 years at max. You play basketball to win a championship and not to put a treadmill team. 40-50 wins are treadmill teams.if Raptors can add AD and Ja or Ja and Sabonis while keeping most of their draft capital what you have given up is really a 2026!or 2027 first round pick to raise your teams ceiling. You do that trade everyday of the week. We shouldn’t be keeping IQ, RJ and Jak just for the sake of seeing them on the floor to deliver a 50 win team.

IQ and Jak’s contracts are slight negatives to neutrals. RH I think has value. We ain’t having cap space for anytime soon.

So you either make a trade with more upside and downside or you stay put.

We had a 50 win team for many years with the Lowry Derozan combo, but to get destroyed in the playoffs for I don’t know how many years until we got Kawhi. First it was the Nets and Pierce than it was Lebronto. Now it will be Payton Pritchard, Brunson and Maxey. I have little interest watching a decade long 50 win team that sometimes gets past the first round, sometimes doesn’t and always gets eliminated in the second round.

Morant wants to be in Miami, AD just wants the $ and extension.
These are not players that will take you to the finals. They are selfish and winning a championship is very low on their priority list. Kawhi at least had something to prove and his talent level was top 5 in the league. Morant is not even in top 50 considerations, AD can be top 15 but hardly plays and that is not changing because it has been proven his entire 10 year career.