Gasolina wrote:Scottie4Bro wrote:Dunno what the plan is long-term. I don't think you can win a chip with this core. Barnes will mature into a fantastic player one day but you will need another elite prospect next to him, soon.
Either the Raps go all-in next year and do something like a Lillard/Siakam tandem with Barnes, Precious, Boucher, Young etc. supporting or trade one or some of our core to grab that elite prospect to play next to Barnes.
However I think Masai is giving this core another year in incubation to see what happens. Not anticipating major moves this offseason. Earliest by the next deadline.
Dame is absolutely cooked lmao. Giving up a bunch of pieces or draft picks to get some aging, diminutive nodefense chucker would be the best way for your Raptors to lock themselves into a treadmill. Same thing with a guy like Beal, who has never been a winner, is a garbage defender, and who doesn't elevate his teammates because of how much he has to dominate the ball to be effective.
Raptors have a very interesting experiment going with this "longball" strategy, and it already proved capable of punching far above its weight and talent level. The biggest mistake your franchise could make would be to start hedging against that strategy now, so I am utterly baffled when I see some of you guys clamouring for another midget chucker like Dame to put next to Fred, or for some slow-footed 7 footer who is never going to be able to match up against Embiid anyways. It's very reactionary thinking. Fortunately for you, I think your front office is a lot smarter than the team's fans, and they will keep pushing forward with this ahead-of-the-curve style of play.
What the Raptors really need is to develop some more bench pieces so they don't have to grind their top 6 into dust during the regular season, and to wait for the opportunity to go all-in for an elite big forward. Guys in the mold of Giannis, Kawhi, LeBron, Tatum, Brown, PG13, Middleton, Butler, AD, etc. would fit perfectly with the team. Obviously, a few of those guys are untouchable and some others are getting kinda old, but that's the type of player that Toronto needs to become a real contender again. Not some washed point guard, nodefense shooting guard, or overrated garbage big like Myles Turner and Vucevic.
. They talk a lot for a franchise that still isn't a true contender.