2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 9

[bboyskinnylegs]

given his strengths and weaknesses, does Ace have a reasonable shot at developing into a TM3 type of player?

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

Doesn’t seem to be sound management to put so much of last season all about a pick they allowed fall to 9th while also having to hope the bpa we select is a big, because we’re too invested in a glut of mediocre guards and wings.

They allowed to fall to 9th? Just like Utah and Washington "allowed" theirs to fall to 5th and 6th.

Was it sound management of SA and Dallas to jump to 1/2.

It's all luck

No. Decisions like letting Scottie play 65 games while not even healthy, because he wants to meanwhile teams that tanked with purpose passed us by. Philly was able to try and compete, scrap it and pivot and still blow passed us.

We lost a lot when we played the hard part of our schedule, and started winning more when it got easy. I don’t even think we tanked, we were just really bad.

[Duffman100]

Doesn’t seem to be sound management to put so much of last season all about a pick they allowed fall to 9th while also having to hope the bpa we select is a big, because we’re too invested in a glut of mediocre guards and wings.

They allowed to fall to 9th? Just like Utah and Washington "allowed" theirs to fall to 5th and 6th.

Was it sound management of SA and Dallas to jump to 1/2.

It's all luck

No. Decisions like letting Scottie play 65 games while not even healthy, because he wants to meanwhile teams that tanked with purpose passed us by. Philly was able to try and compete, scrap it and pivot and still blow passed us.

We lost a lot when we played the hard part of our schedule, and started winning more when it got easy. I don’t even think we tanked, we were just really bad.

Yeah we should have lost more like Washington and Utah ...

[tecumseh18]

Doesn’t seem to be sound management to put so much of last season all about a pick they allowed fall to 9th while also having to hope the bpa we select is a big, because we’re too invested in a glut of mediocre guards and wings.

They allowed to fall to 9th? Just like Utah and Washington "allowed" theirs to fall to 5th and 6th.

Was it sound management of SA and Dallas to jump to 1/2.

It's all luck

No. Decisions like letting Scottie play 65 games while not even healthy, because he wants to meanwhile teams that tanked with purpose passed us by. Philly was able to try and compete, scrap it and pivot and still blow passed us.

We lost a lot when we played the hard part of our schedule, and started winning more when it got easy. I don’t even think we tanked, we were just really bad.

I imagine that it's practically impossible for teams give max contracts to their players, then deny them the opportunity to earn the supermax. That's not how the business works. If the star player wants to play, they play. When OKC - to pick a random example - sat out Shai a few years ago, he wasn't in Scottie's contractual situation, IIRC.

In any case, I don't think a limping Scottie even made that much of a difference to the team's winning or losing. To the extent the team had leverage, perhaps the thinking was that Scottie dominating the ball and taking lots of threes would help his development without hurting our lottery chances.

[DG88]

Memphis got Orlando's pick with the recent trade of Desman Bane

[Jtoneller1]

Thanks JL
- What is the data filter again for Masai type?
- Did OG produce like one?

It's not a set data filter, it's class dependent. So it's different if you are a Fr/Soph/Jr/Sr.

Every FRP Masai has made post-Bruno mistake (including both Koloko pick 33 and Mogbo pick 31 which I considered pseudo-FRPs as top 5 SRPs, so very early 2nds) is on the list retroactively, including OG.

This is because the creation of these queries in 2023 was aided by the pre-existing dataset of all 7 FRP selections Masai has made since the Bruno mistake in 2014, up until 2022 (Delon/Poeltl/Siakam/OG/Malachi/Scottie/Koloko).

Was wondering about Sorber, Fleming and Drake Powell, particularly, trading down.

Hey Jerry. In what ways was Koloko a Masai-type pick that Maluach isn't?

Sent from my Pixel 6 using RealGM mobile app

[mtcan]

Doesn’t seem to be sound management to put so much of last season all about a pick they allowed fall to 9th while also having to hope the bpa we select is a big, because we’re too invested in a glut of mediocre guards and wings.

They allowed to fall to 9th? Just like Utah and Washington "allowed" theirs to fall to 5th and 6th.

Was it sound management of SA and Dallas to jump to 1/2.

It's all luck

No. Decisions like letting Scottie play 65 games while not even healthy, because he wants to meanwhile teams that tanked with purpose passed us by. Philly was able to try and compete, scrap it and pivot and still blow passed us.

We lost a lot when we played the hard part of our schedule, and started winning more when it got easy. I don’t even think we tanked, we were just really bad.

Lottery is all luck. I would hate it even more to be a Jazz fan who had to endure all that losing to end up bumped right out of the top 3. If you believe Zach Lowe...the Raptors were in for the #1 pick all the way til the end so it was the bounce of a ping pong ball that came between us and the Mavs.

Tanking guarantees nothing. Move on from any further tanking talk.

IQ got injured game 1 of the season and proceeded to play only 30 games. Jakobe Walter missed training camp/start of the season and only played 52 games. RJ injured his shoulder in preseason and missed the start of the season. Injuries matter so no wonder we lost so much earlier in the season.

[720]

They allowed to fall to 9th? Just like Utah and Washington "allowed" theirs to fall to 5th and 6th.

Was it sound management of SA and Dallas to jump to 1/2.

It's all luck

No. Decisions like letting Scottie play 65 games while not even healthy, because he wants to meanwhile teams that tanked with purpose passed us by. Philly was able to try and compete, scrap it and pivot and still blow passed us.

We lost a lot when we played the hard part of our schedule, and started winning more when it got easy. I don’t even think we tanked, we were just really bad.

Yeah we should have lost more like Washington and Utah ...

Both of whom have higher picks than us….?

[Duffman100]

No. Decisions like letting Scottie play 65 games while not even healthy, because he wants to meanwhile teams that tanked with purpose passed us by. Philly was able to try and compete, scrap it and pivot and still blow passed us.

We lost a lot when we played the hard part of our schedule, and started winning more when it got easy. I don’t even think we tanked, we were just really bad.

Yeah we should have lost more like Washington and Utah ...

Both of whom have higher picks than us….?

Awesome. Add Tre Johnson or Fears to their 15 win teams. They might hit 16 wins next year.

[720]

Yeah we should have lost more like Washington and Utah ...

Both of whom have higher picks than us….?

Awesome. Add Tre Johnson or Fears to their 15 win teams. They might hit 16 wins next year.

Tre Johnson is a great prospect, Fears is young and ball dominant so might need extra work but he also can become an amazing player one day, by far the best ball handler in the draft. If either player landed where we pick it would be a joy for us raptors fans. Especially considering how we develop players.

If those teams win 16 games so be it, they’ll be in play for AJ or Boozer. If they manage their teams and develop them right that would be a solid core to build off of.

[Duffman100]

Both of whom have higher picks than us….?

Awesome. Add Tre Johnson or Fears to their 15 win teams. They might hit 16 wins next year.

Tre Johnson is a great prospect, Fears is young and ball dominant so might need extra work but he also can become an amazing player one day, by far the best ball handler in the draft. If either player landed where we pick it would be a joy for us raptors fans. Especially considering how we develop players.

If those teams win 16 games so be it, they’ll be in play for AJ or Boozer. If they manage their teams and development right that would be a solid core to build off of.

Or they miss out because the lottery is cruel and add another B level prospect to a terrible core.

The drop from 5 to 9 is not worth gutting your team to the core.

But now we're derailing the draft prospect thread.

[720]

Awesome. Add Tre Johnson or Fears to their 15 win teams. They might hit 16 wins next year.

Tre Johnson is a great prospect, Fears is young and ball dominant so might need extra work but he also can become an amazing player one day, by far the best ball handler in the draft. If either player landed where we pick it would be a joy for us raptors fans. Especially considering how we develop players.

If those teams win 16 games so be it, they’ll be in play for AJ or Boozer. If they manage their teams and development right that would be a solid core to build off of.

Or they miss out because the lottery is cruel and add another B level prospect to a terrible core.

The drop from 5 to 9 is not worth gutting your team to the core.

But now we're derailing the draft prospect thread.

If you gut your team you’re more likely worse case dealing with dropping from 1-5 or 2-6 and in either case it’s better than years of treadmilling with a core everyone knows won’t go far.

But now we're derailing the draft prospect thread.

I agree.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

punting this whole season for a higher chance to get a better prospect, and then downplaying the importance of it only makes sense if avoiding accountability is the goal.

[Tor_Raps]

Last season just feels like a complete waste. Masai’s been making like 15 mil a year just to set the franchise back.

If you last season was a waste then how did you feel about the year before when we gave the Spurs our pick loll

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

Preach. And if we end one season with Dick and then Walter and then pass in a decent guard wing in the draft because of our log jams it’s worse. Why are we bad and so invested in players at the same time??

What I’m most concerned about leading into the draft is passing on a better prospect because they’re a wing or guard - considering we do t really have any good complete guards or wings. Maybe Walter, could be something.

[tecumseh18]

Preach. And if we end one season with Dick and then Walter and then pass in a decent guard wing in the draft because of our log jams it’s worse. Why are we bad and so invested in players at the same time??

What I’m most concerned about leading into the draft is passing on a better prospect because they’re a wing or guard - considering we do t really have any good complete guards or wings. Maybe Walter, could be something.

Walter definitely IS something. Maybe Gradey could still be something. He looked pretty good to start last season.

Eastcoast, I know you have your legitimate reasons not to be in Masai's thrall, but Raps aren't in that bad a shape. We had some very competitive games against good teams last season, and seem to match up well against the Pacers. Everybody was crowing about the ethical tank, at one point. It's not all doom and gloom.

[Psubs]

Last season just feels like a complete waste. Masai’s been making like 15 mil a year just to set the franchise back.

If you last season was a waste then how did you feel about the year before when we gave the Spurs our pick loll

Yup, could've had Edey on a smaller contract than Poeltl and could've used the MLE. Perhaps may have lost a few more games and snuck into the #3 or #4 pick unless the NBA wanted to save Philly.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Masai was on TV comparing our rebuild to OKC's. Now that we're 9th, he's in on Durant. It's pathetic, but that's sort of the tides of league management. Utah completely boned a deeper, longer rebuild and have announced it is over. Danny Ainge was able to get his son an unearned promotion out of it. There are worse situations, currently, in our shelf of the league.

[Tor_Raps]

Masai was on TV comparing our rebuild to OKC's. Now that we're 9th, he's in on Durant. It's pathetic, but that's sort of the tides of league management. Utah completely boned a deeper, longer rebuild and have announced it is over. Danny Ainge was able to get his son an unearned promotion out of it. There are worse situations, currently, in our shelf of the league.

Not being one of the bottom 3/5 franchises in the NBA isnt really the standard Masai is being paid for, hate that argument lol.

With that said, im looking forward to next year and with 1 more good move, we can be really good next year.

[Clutch0z24]

If Durant is traded here i think the 9th pick has a chance to be gone as well....I think the 9th pick is what would put us over the top for the Suns in a package vs other teams....And its now reported by many legit reporters we are showing interest and may have put a package out for him....So if we get Durant pick is gone as well i think.