Windhorst: Raptors making noise around the league looking for a “big fish” // Giannis & Toronto "Mutual Interest"/KD too

[dTox]

Well, atleast now we can confirm that Giannis has no interest in Toronto.

[tsherkin]

For a player of Giannis' caliber it's going to take Scottie+picks....the RJ+Dick+picks is wishful thinking, that would be a Kawhi trade robbery.

Honestly, sending Scottie to get Giannis is a very HIGHLY palatable option. We don't need Scottie at all if we have Giannis.

Giannis wants to play PF, not C. Ingram is going to be our starting SF. We have no need to play Scottie as a bench guy and Poeltl is a better center than Scottie would be.

If it's Scottie+picks, I think we should jump on that, as long as the picks aren't future-destroyingly awful.

[NinjaBro]

Don't do this to yourselves guys. Always remember Shohei Otani, never forget.

[MiamiSPX]

The inevitable kiss of death from a Toronto beat writer, sigh.

[Pointgod]

Giannis definitely wants to stay in the East.

West is a bloodbath - his chances of making the finals would be significantly less.

Giannis makes any of the rumoured teams he’s joining in the West the front runners in the conference.

[MoneyBall]

Still dont get it. Unless were getting a sweetheart deal from the bucks, how are we better for giannis than the bucks

You don't think IQ, RJ, and Ingram next to Giannis would be an upgrade over an over the hill Lillard, Lopez, and Kuzma?

[AbC?]

The career of a tier 1 superstar like Giannis is a precious thing - he would be foolish to waste his remaining prime years in Toronto. If the front office had better positioned themselves the last 3+ years in terms of accumulating surplus assets this might've been a conversation. Why would he want to hitch his wagon to an oft-injured Ingram and a bunch of unproven, largely mediocre young guys? Of course from the Raptors POV if he's willing to come you do whatever it takes and figure out the rest later.

[MiamiSPX]

Giannis definitely wants to stay in the East.

West is a bloodbath - his chances of making the finals would be significantly less.

Giannis makes any of the rumoured teams he’s joint in the West the front runners in the conference.

Yeah, even if we all concede Fox is overrated, a trio of him, Giannis and Wemby is as good as any out West.

[Yallbecrazy]

Don't do this to yourselves guys. Always remember Shohei Otani, never forget.

That was the Blue Jays. I never believed Ohtani was coming here. I think there's a good chance with Giannis.

[Landomar]

Sabonis is absurdly good. I wanted to draft him back in 2016, and he's exceeded my wildest expectations. He's just put up BPMs of 5.8, 6.5, and 5.2 while leading the league in rebounding 3 years in a row. He's also been a very durable player, and at 29 is still in his prime.

If for some reason Sacramento wanted to trade him, we absolutely should be interested. I'd imagine Giannis would be plan A for this offseason, but Sabonis is a good plan B in terms of taking a big swing. If possible, it would actually be great to get both of them.

[manjusaka]

We can all jump off the train. It is Doug Smith reporting Giannis has any degree of interest in playing for Toronto.

[TravisScott55]

Going after Giannis would gut the team, and not leave them with enough to be a contender after

Feels like there have been plenty of proposals here that are realistic - please explain what you mean.

Ingram Giannis and Quickley is not a contender. And keeping Scottie means horrible spacing.

[niQ]

Don't do this to yourselves guys. Always remember Shohei Otani, never forget.

Don't even need Ohtani. We've done this Giannis dance like 2 or 3 times already. It's the same old song.

[Son Goku 25]

Apparently the betting odds are dropping fast in our favor.

I'd be shocked if it gets done that fast I'd guess we're waiting for another month and a half. And not gonna hold my breath that we'll be the team to get him. It's fun and all but man is it exhausting lol

[Quattro]

Still dont get it. Unless were getting a sweetheart deal from the bucks, how are we better for giannis than the bucks

You don't think IQ, RJ, and Ingram next to Giannis would be an upgrade over an over the hill Lillard, Lopez, and Kuzma?

Depends whether all of those guys are still here. And then theres the health issues. Kawhi was stepping into a real contender. Giannis would be stepping into a 30 win team who parted with key pieces to get him.

[WuTang_CMB]

Watch on YouTube

[earthtone]

BI has not achieved anything in his entire career to suggest that, that would be one of the best duos in the league. Not to mention even if it worked out, between the two of them they'd play like 45-50 games together. You still make the trade no doubt, but I think you guys are overhyping the players this roster has, they are nothing but castoffs from other teams that have amounted to jack squat.

Jak/Giannis/Rj all occupy the same space on the court and none of them are particularly useful outside of 5ft aside from RJ, and even then, those shots need to be wide open. Giannis is just Scottie on steroids, the same limitations with the roster persist, he's not some panacea.

I think you’re heavily underrating BI, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I could say to persuade you otherwise. We’ll just have to wait and see him on the court this year.

But how is “Scottie on steroids” not a panacea? If Scottie became a perennial DPOY & MVP candidate [through development or by trading him for Giannis], how would that not significantly elevate the team?

I never said it wouldn't elevate the team, I said it's not a panacea. In case you are unfamiliar with the word, it's a cure all, as in fixes everything. A better Scottie still has the same gaps, obviously Giannis is leagues beyond Scottie, but he still lacks range which is a huge part of what holds back literally any team. Not to mention Lopez is what has freed up Giannis so much over the years, you know a 3p shooting centre....the thing we aren't even close to having.

And how the hell am I underrating BI, he's got 9 years of data out there, there's nothing to underrate. He's not a bad player by any stretch, [b]he's also never shown anything more than being an AS level player,[\b] so you'll have to forgive me for thinking that I don't expect a 28 year old with 9 years under his belt to magically have some new level to show. He has been remarkably consistent the last 6 seasons, with the major question mark always being his health, if I was underrating BI, then I guess every single team out there for years has been too, since no one but our FO showed any real interest.

By your own words, BI has shown he’s an All-star level player. Giannis + an all-star level player = one of the best duos in the league, that’s all I was saying.

And I’m well aware of what panacea means, but thank you for the english lesson. Your default stance on every topic seems to be that everything is broken and unfixable, so I doubt you’d accept the presence of a panacea if one was presented.

[LoveMyRaps]

Giannis definitely wants to stay in the East.

West is a bloodbath - his chances of making the finals would be significantly less.

Giannis makes any of the rumoured teams he’s joining in the West the front runners in the conference.

Doesn't change the fact that it'd be a cakewalk in the East, compared to the West.

Giannis + Wemby vs.

ANT + Randle + Gobert

LeBron + Luka

SGA + Chet + JDub

Jokic + Murray + Gordon



Meanwhile East has..... the Cavs? the Pacers?

[tsherkin]

Sabonis is absurdly good. I wanted to draft him back in 2016, and he's exceeded my wildest expectations. He's just put up BPMs of 5.8, 6.5, and 5.2 while leading the league in rebounding 3 years in a row. He's also been a very durable player, and at 29 is still in his prime.

If for some reason Sacramento wanted to trade him, we absolutely should be interested. I'd imagine Giannis would be plan A for this offseason, but Sabonis is a good plan B in terms of taking a big swing. If possible, it would actually be great to get both of them.

I'd be pretty happy if we nabbed Sabonis. He has his issues, of course, but we would be fun to watch, with good offense and that's often enough. Like, if you're a top-8 offense and a 20th-ranked defense, you can still do pretty well during the RS, especially in the East. And the Kings were a slightly better than average defense in 2024 (ranked 14th, -0.1 relative to average) before they added Lavine and DDR to destroy their D.

So it's not like he can't participate in an at least AVERAGE-level defense. And we have some support pieces who can help ameliorate his defensive weaknesses.

[MiamiSPX]

Don't do this to yourselves guys. Always remember Shohei Otani, never forget.

These X accounts know exactly what they are doing. Our online presence is unmatched. Everyone knows this, and yet we fall for it every singe time.