Boogie! wrote:lebron stopper wrote:brownbobcat wrote:It was the right move, but definitely disappointing. Every season since, Norm has played better, been paid less and has higher trade value today.
The only possible upside is maybe they keep him for MLE money and he transforms into a serviceable 3&D player. I still think there's potential for that
Agreed on everything, except right move.
I would instead say right idea but wrong move: they went after the wrong prospect+pick package and it was very likely going to be downhill from there IMO. There were signs before that trade that Gary Trent Jr. wasn't all that he was cracked up to be. Like, for example, the fact that he had a whopping total of 3 assists in a 5-game playoff series. Or the fact that he had trouble defending during his time with the Blazers. Look at his lack of physical tools and athleticism compared to Powell, as well as Powell's improbable development curve, and you really have to wonder how Trent got hyped as "soon to be better than Powell" back then. That imagined upside was just not there.
It's one thing to covet prospects who have actually shown serious upside to speed up your rebuild timeline, as Masai did with trading OG Anunoby for Immanuel Quickley. That kind of move is understandable, especially given the situation with OG's contract, as well as IQ's impressive track record in his first few seasons with the Knicks as a reserve. Masai did well there, and I doubt many will regret that trade whatsoever when we look back 2-3 years from now.
But it's another thing to completely gamble on guys like Trent, someone who has shown little before the Raptors acquired him, and has continued to show little since then (aside from a half-season stretch of getting away with gambling on defense, which predictably fizzled out). Not only do you have to pay those "proven prospects" much more for potential, but if they fail to show anything, you are totally screwed because you threw away good talent for much less value, and you have little recourse (can't get back more value in a trade) because those players are close to being realized. As we all know right now, a part of the reason why the Raptors are stuck is because they bet on Trent, which they lost so badly that there is no way to get any value for him anymore. My guess is he will end up walking this offseason or become a throw-in for a Siakam trade (just as Achiuwa was a throw-in for the Anunoby trade).
I never understood why they traded powell who seemingly wanted to be here, and fit the timeline of both fvv and siakam, if their goal was to build with both fvv and siakam and even og. There was already chemistry in place and norman had turned a corner and became a lights out shooter with good finishing ability inside.
I knew trying to build with fvv would be a problem, but if they were gonna do it it made more sense to keep that group together. Instead they completely rucked everything up with their direction.
Craziest thing is that Masai refused to pay Norm when he got 5 years 80M (16M per) when he gave Trent 18.5M per for a lesser player
