Yahoo: Raps sign Linas Kleiza to 4 year 18.8M offer sheet

[mowcrowbar]

Whats up with the reaction by the board? Kleiza is a good player, at the good price. Tough gritty player who can shoot and play multiple positions.

[rdtx2005]

WHAT THE ****.... Definitely not something to wake up to. I'm done.

good.. go watch the Jays

[EventHorizon]

Firstly, Kleiza played the 2, 3 and 4 in Denver. He is not solely a 4. I was fully supporting Linas Kleiza, last year, I don't know if this is the right time to sign a guy like this.

[Brinbe]

Bye

Done with BC, not with the team. Key distinction.

Go back to bed then.

I just might... Disappointing.

[Brinbe]

WHAT THE ****.... Definitely not something to wake up to. I'm done.

good.. go watch the Jays

Oh shut up.

[Strategist1]

Yea the Nets are in a better situation. They got a new owner, they'll be moving to Brooklyn.... And that owner seems committed to putting a winning team together.

they also have flexibility long term...and aren't burdened by long term contracts.

[Too Late Crew]

As an idividual player in a vacum I like him. He's tough, he works for his offense, he can shoot and he's a decent rebounder for a 3 (anyone who thinks he can play the 2 hasn't watched him)

However this needs to be looked at based on how he fits with the current makeup of the raptors. If the Lakers signed him I probaly say SLAM DUNK.

Here is the draft express report on his defense:

Defense: Plays with good intensity on the defensive end, but isn’t quick enough laterally to make an impact. Does a good job staying in position and doesn’t miss many rotations, but lacks the foot-speed to keep up with the more athletic small forwards in the game. Will get beat of the dribble pretty frequently, and while he is strong enough to keep some players out of the lane, many are capable of blowing by him. He compensates for his lack of quickness by playing off his man, allowing him to take jump shots instead of making him give the ball up. Rebounds the ball at a decent rate, but will leak out rather than helping out on the glass on some occasions.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Lin ... z0t6H39w3x
http://www.draftexpress.com

Do we really need yet another guy who gets blown by frequently?

Offensivley nearly all his offense is created by others. over 90% of his jumpers come from assits and over 80% of his close shots. Who is going to create his offesne for him?

I see him as a very good bench player for a team with either an inside presence or at least a creative wing or PG.

I don't dislike his game I just don't understand how he fits with the Raptors.

[Champipple]

I don't get some of you. The whining and crying around here over the past 2 months is how we need toughness, grit, players that play with a purpose and want to be here.

Then we sign a player that is all that to a reasonable contract and you are all whining and crying and complaining how it makes no sense.

This is exactly the types of signings I want to see more of. No flashy one dimensional 3pnt shooters with no toughness or grit.

We signed Amir, now hopefully Kleiza. We drafted two young grittier players in Alabi and Davis. We are reshaping the team into a defensive, young gritty and fiery team. This makes me happy.

We might not win alot of games next season but we will see a team with more energy, better defense and more toughness than we have over the past 5 seasons.

Agreed 100% After last season, I want to see toughness and effort. So far, that's the team BC is building.

[SDM]

Whats up with the reaction by the board? Kleiza is a good player, at the good price. Tough gritty player who can shoot and play multiple positions.

This is acknowledged. The problem is that it's a lateral move designed to help a bad team win a few more games, being packaged and sold back to the fanbase as a move for the future. There's still far too much junk to justify this type of signing, which is something a team like Orlando, Boston, or San Antonio should look into to fill out their roster. A team like Toronto needs to shed as much salary as possible and not add more, especially when at least one (if not all) of those four years will be a lost season.

[brownbobcat]

So you'd rather watch a 10 win team that no one wants to sign with, that was hoping to get John Wall but didn't and who's future doesn't look significantly better than ours at this point. They struck out completely on Free Agency. Awesome, let's do that.

So what's so great about the future of a 30-win team like Toronto? NJ has some good young talent, they'll get an opportunity to pick high again next year and their cap space will still be there in 2011.

I'd rather be NJ right now.

really?.. with no major free agents coming to them?

Looking forward, yes.

[SharoneWright]

Gonna lock down LBJ!!

Actually, my mood improved seeing this, if only that it may suggest a higher probability Turk is being dealt.

[Air-Canada]

wanted ronnie brewer

[Brinbe]

Whats up with the reaction by the board? Kleiza is a good player, at the good price. Tough gritty player who can shoot and play multiple positions.

This is acknowledged. The problem is that it's a lateral move designed to help a bad team win a few more games, being packaged and sold back to the fanbase as a move for the future. There's still far too much junk to justify this type of signing, which is something a team like Orlando, Boston, or San Antonio should look into to fill out their roster. A team like Toronto needs to shed as much salary as possible and not add more, especially when at least one (if not all) of those four years will be a lost season.

Exactly! We've had some arguments in the past, but this is where we see eye-to-eye exactly. Should be paring down salary as much as possible, and we're doing the opposite. Without Hedo and a Jose, this is fine, but it just adds to the bloat as is, and what are we doing with Marcus and Reggie expirings then? There's not gonna be enough spots or PT to go around.

[raptorschick]

Josh childres is the better player we not try to sign him why BC ?

[junot111]

Just like acquiring Bargnani.

Just like acquiring Bellinelli.

Just like acquiring Hedo.

Now Kleiza.

BC makes up his mind that he WANTS this player, no matter how anyone imagines said player would fit with the team. BC just gets the player even if it's just so they can ride our bench like Belli.

Come on guys. How does this not make sense. Who is a better option for the MLE? That actually wants to come to Toronto? That's only 25 years old? And is a shooter at SF that fits the core of slashers/big men - DeRozan, Weems, Johnson, Davis, etc?

Obviously he's not going to turn this franchise around but this is not a bad move by any means.

[nostradamus]

He seems like a player the Heat or Knicks (if they get Lebron) could use. Could be a great role player who can drain the 3. If nothing else, this should become a great asset for the team.

[carlosey]

People have clearly never seen this guy play. He can play the 2, 3 and 4. Is tough as nails and has a temper on court. He has an Oakley type persona on court I guess.

[SDM]

Whats up with the reaction by the board? Kleiza is a good player, at the good price. Tough gritty player who can shoot and play multiple positions.

This is acknowledged. The problem is that it's a lateral move designed to help a bad team win a few more games, being packaged and sold back to the fanbase as a move for the future. There's still far too much junk to justify this type of signing, which is something a team like Orlando, Boston, or San Antonio should look into to fill out their roster. A team like Toronto needs to shed as much salary as possible and not add more, especially when at least one (if not all) of those four years will be a lost season.

Exactly! We've had some arguments in the past, but this is where we see eye-to-eye exactly. Should be paring down salary as much as possible, and we're doing the opposite. Without Hedo and a Jose, this is fine, but it just adds to the bloat as is, and what are we doing with Marcus and Reggie expirings then? There's not gonna be enough spots or PT to go around.

My only hope is that there are moves pending for Hedo/Calderon and maybe the expirings. Otherwise, we're going to be a team full of twenty minute per game guys, none of whom are capable of actually being starters on a good team. This is something Minnesota has been doing with awful results (i.e. not getting a top pick or even coming close to competing) post-KG. Definitely not a style of roster construction to emulate.

[Air-Canada]

WHAT THE ****.... Definitely not something to wake up to. I'm done.

good.. go watch the Jays

wowwwww

[Condi Rice]

You're probably getting late picks and fringe prospects to take back bad contracts. You're plan makes no sense to getting the team moving in the right direction. You don't get capspace to start taking bad contracts (even if they're short) to get some late picks or fringe prospets. We're already young and still lottery bound with this signing. Nothing's changed.

And his contract ends around the same time as a few other contracts so he could be flipped as an expiring later on. He's a good stop gap with a bunch of young guys around.

The right direction is to tank for more lottery balls, so it makes perfect sense. If you haven't noticed, there's a huge difference between a top 3 pick and the 14th overall pick. You collect enough young cheap players with potential and some of them might actually develop into a star player. Klieza is the type of player you sign to add depth to a contender... not when you are lottery bound.