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Thaddy wrote:I wonder if the Suns would do a Saric for Boucher trade, I don't want his contract to stick around with us. He's not a good partner for Achiuwa off the bench. We need a shooter that can space the floor for our starters more than a hustle big.
Kingsway_fan wrote:So pi*ss Ed masai did not resign Norm... didn't like it then... dont like it now... ffs he better to much better this trade deadline... his record getting more spotty with time....
LarSiN wrote:Kingsway_fan wrote:So pi*ss Ed masai did not resign Norm... didn't like it then... dont like it now... ffs he better to much better this trade deadline... his record getting more spotty with time....
Have you watched Norm since the trade ? Gary has a higher FT%, 3pt, Points, Steals & lower TO's. Norm has 3 more Blocks, 6 more Assists, 18 more Rebounds & slightly higher FG%. That's it. Norm is 29 & signed through 2026 when he'll be turning 34. Gary is 24.
Be as upset as you want, but it was a great move then & now.
Syd-TK3 wrote:Didn't even realize the Pelicans have lost 8 in a row wow
Zeno wrote:Thaddy wrote:I wonder if the Suns would do a Saric for Boucher trade, I don't want his contract to stick around with us. He's not a good partner for Achiuwa off the bench. We need a shooter that can space the floor for our starters more than a hustle big.
I was thinking Josh Hart for Boucher. Maybe someone who you might keep around. But a player option, non-guaranteed if picked up.
Boogie_Smooth wrote:Syd-TK3 wrote:Didn't even realize the Pelicans have lost 8 in a row wow
Pascal destination in the offseason? At some point they have a transcendent talent in Zion and they shouldn't be wasting any of those years. NOP seems like the team that needs to consolidate their resources, I would not be surprised for a blockbuster come the summer to get more healthy dudes are Zion.
Meanwhile, league sources peg Trent Jr.’s likely trade value at a protected first-round or two good second-round picks, along with a matching salary.
alpngso wrote:Per Grange's article from today, GTJ price tag maybe two 2nd rd picksMeanwhile, league sources peg Trent Jr.’s likely trade value at a protected first-round or two good second-round picks, along with a matching salary.
For weeks now the Toronto Raptors have been in the centre of that world, with a roster heavy with the kind of players who could join the rotations of high-end teams and potentially shift a playoff race, and maybe even shift the league’s balance of power.
On Monday night in Phoenix, you could see the wheels turning. The Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls each had senior members of their pro scouting staff on hand. A clip from Arizona Sports made the rounds on social media of Raptors president Masai Ujiri heading down the tunnel in the company of Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones. Suns-Raptors trade scenarios were bolstered.
The Raptors' director of global scouting, Patrick Engelbrecht, was at the game, along with Ujiri, general manager Bobby Webster and vice-president of basketball operations Therese Resch. It’s unusual that many of the Raptors' top staff to be in one place at one time.
Some version of the same scene have played out at all four of the stops on the Raptors' road trip. It’s not hard to construct deals that would be of interest to Sacramento, Golden State and Portland – all organizations that are on good terms with the Raptors' front office. A similar scenario will likely unfold again Wednesday night in Salt Lake City as the Raptors visit the Utah Jazz, another team that’s expected to be active at the trade deadline.
But as the interest builds, internally there is a sense of caution. No one wants to overreact to a season that has, in some ways, unfolded as a worst-case scenario, with injuries, chemistry and bad luck all contributing to a team that has underperformed.
Even fixing apparent gaps has to be examined carefully. It makes sense the Raptors would benefit from having an experienced big man who can offer a porous half-court defence rim protection. But is using current or future assets to acquire a centre who might not finish games in the small-ball era make sense?
The flip side is also true: it’s the small-ball era, but two – if not the most dominant – players in the game are Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic. Does making a run at a gifted young big man with upside such as the Phoenix Suns' DeAndre Ayton make sense? Should the Raptors zag?
Ayton has his fans in the organization, certainly, but enough to make a big swing?
In the absence of firm information, rumours, triangulation and educated guesses fill the void.
In conversations with representatives of different teams, general themes coalesce.
One of the main themes is that the Raptors likely won’t be able to move forward long-term with all four of their core pieces, defined as Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, O.G. Anunoby and Scottie Barnes. The reasons are financial – paying them all this year or next will put the Raptors on the path to the luxury tax, which is bad business for a team that was out in the first round last year and is idling in 12th place after 52 games this season.
Given Barnes is just 21 and on the second year of a rookie deal and – after an uneven follow-up to his rookie-of-the-year debut – is playing at a level that justifies the Raptors declaring him off-limits in trade discussions for Kevin Durant this past summer, the expectation is Barnes will be a Raptor for a long time.
Which of the other three – VanVleet, Anunoby and Siakam -- ends up moving, and when, is why the Raptors are the focal point of so much discussion at the moment, from league insiders to bar stools to front offices around the league.
Where does Gary Trent Jr. fit? The Raptors are more than open to keeping the fifth-year guard who fits the role of a floor-spreader and instant offence microwave, and those with knowledge of his thoughts assert that there’s mutual interest of staying in Toronto. Price will be the issue.
According to league sources, Trent could expect a deal in the $20-million range if he opts out of the last year of his contract, which is set to pay him $18.8 million next season. In other words, the idea of a Jordan Poole or Tyler Herro-like payday – two young scorers with comparable statistical profiles as Trent Jr. who scored extensions with their own teams in the $30-million per season range -- may not be readily available in free agency.
Meanwhile, league sources peg Trent Jr.’s likely trade value at a protected first-round or two good second-round picks, along with a matching salary. From the Raptors' point of view, the likelihood of improving your team by moving on from a 24-year-old who has proven himself as a quality perimeter shooter is relatively low. If Trent Jr. was determined to leave, or the Raptors didn’t believe they could re-sign him in free agency, the story might be different.
Which isn’t to say the Raptors won’t trade him or include him in a bigger deal by next Thursday – and his theoretical on-court fit and his status as a client of Klutch Sports, the agency that has so much sway with the Lakers, hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice. It’s just that Toronto doesn’t feel heavy pressure to make a move for fear of losing Trent Jr. for no return as free agency.
Syd-TK3 wrote:Didn't even realize the Pelicans have lost 8 in a row wow
alpngso wrote:Per Grange's article from today, GTJ price tag maybe two 2nd rd picksMeanwhile, league sources peg Trent Jr.’s likely trade value at a protected first-round or two good second-round picks, along with a matching salary.
Zeno wrote:Thaddy wrote:I wonder if the Suns would do a Saric for Boucher trade, I don't want his contract to stick around with us. He's not a good partner for Achiuwa off the bench. We need a shooter that can space the floor for our starters more than a hustle big.
I was thinking Josh Hart for Boucher. Maybe someone who you might keep around. But a player option, non-guaranteed if picked up.
Edrees wrote:JRoy wrote:Monta Ellis have it all
I was hoping and expecting this to be one of the first replies. You did not disappoint. Jroy have it all.
PaperHoops wrote:Suppose we went after:
Nurkic
Hart
Sharpe
For
OG
And what?
Thoughts on taking on Nurkic? I think he’s got the play making abilities in the post, plus a potential force to make other teams have to double team.
Edrees wrote:JRoy wrote:Monta Ellis have it all
I was hoping and expecting this to be one of the first replies. You did not disappoint. Jroy have it all.
JRoy wrote:Zeno wrote:Thaddy wrote:I wonder if the Suns would do a Saric for Boucher trade, I don't want his contract to stick around with us. He's not a good partner for Achiuwa off the bench. We need a shooter that can space the floor for our starters more than a hustle big.
I was thinking Josh Hart for Boucher. Maybe someone who you might keep around. But a player option, non-guaranteed if picked up.
Zero interest from POR.
Willing to move Hart for an asset, Boucher doesn’t get it done.