tsherkin wrote:RoteSchroder wrote:1) I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute necessity to keep RJ, I just think it’s fine to build with him. I would say the same about Scottie.
It all depends on what we get which is worthwhile as the actual core, right? If we get a SF/PF who pans out, then Scottie becomes moveable. If we get a 2-guard who pans out, then RJ becomes moveable, etc. They're both playing all right at the moment, but not enough to drive major success. But there shouldn't be a huge rush to move them until we have an actual, legitimate foundation piece, for sure.
2) There are several ways to build a team. The championship Raptors were a bit like Boston now, lots of two way players. There are also plenty of championship teams with average/poor defenders as key players.
I did a thread about this on the GB a while back. Generally speaking, we see a certain threshold of O and D from real contenders. There's some variation, but basically they're typically top-5 on either end, with some outliers. The one big one, the 2001 Lakers, flipped the script pretty sharply on defense in the playoffs, as well.
3) Offensively, I would say Scottie is a bit more like DD than RJ is.
He is. RJ provides some 3pt shooting (if mostly from the corner) and CONSIDERABLY more rim pressure. And it appears that as he's presently deployed, RJ is more efficient. That has required him to be played a certain way, of course, but still, it's happening.
5) Based on #3, are Scottie and IQ top 5-10 in the league at any important aspect of the game? Not rhetorical, but I can’t think of any at the moment.
None which come to mind.
I think the mistake is considering IQ and Poeltl as a part of the long-term starting line-up. Poeltl can eventually be moved to a back-up role if we keep him, but ideally you pair Scottie with a defensive C who can shoot (e.g. there has been decent chemistry with Boucher/Olynyk). Either replace IQ or get a PoA defender between him and RJ (e.g. a developed Edgecombe)
Poltl seems fine as a starting player, presuming sufficient talent elsewhere in the lineup. If he could hit a three, it would be nice, but teams are able to get away without a spacer 5 if everything else works well.
While I am surprised that RJ is playing better than expected, I still cannot shake the vibe that due to his game being so one dimensional, shutting it down will be a trivial process when other teams decide to start taking us seriously.
And yes I know that, that is not something that is an issue right now since we are garbage, that doesn't mean it won't be a much larger issue down the line. I don't think we should be trading RJ away now, without a good return, but I still cannot see him as a long term fit on the team.
IQ has been extremely disappointing, and I really expected MUCH better from him. So far I was very wrong on how I viewed the 2 players, quite the opposite of what I expected. That said, I think IQ is much easier to be slotted into more lineups than RJ, just from the fact that he has a more desirable and "meta" skill set.
Scottie is still the highest ceiling player of the 3 by far, his efficiency I expect to start ticking up with more focus on the mid range, and hopefully he figures out wtf he's doing wrong in the paint over the last month. Season start to Dec 31st vs Jan 1st to today, his at the rim FG% has dropped 3% and his paint FG% has dropped 9%, but his MR has jumped 6%, so I'm hoping it's just adjustment time.
Both of them need to be more efficient, Scottie just does a better job offsetting his deficiencies with things like much better defence and court vision, RJ is much more limited comparatively. Another concern of mine is the contract that RJ is going to be asking for in a couple years. Lets say Scottie is that "Eh should he really be paid that much?" type player like Siakam was, RJ will fit into that same mould, and teams cannot have multiple of those and still be successful.
All things even (which isn't the case) RJ would still be the smarter/easier player to move if we end up drafting a player that is "redundant" for either him or Scottie.
But I digress, these are things that are more of an issue a couple years from now. I hope RJ continues to improve and this becomes an extremely difficult decision down the road.
