brownbobcat wrote:tecumseh18 wrote:Yes, Koloko was on his way to being good. And Nembhard may have dropped to us. You make that trade 10 out 10 times. Not to mention we added PF-SF depth for the 2022 playoff run (needed because of OG's fragility, but it ended up being Scottie who got injured). Thad was also supposed to be a mentor for Scottie, which was a huge driving force for the trade. The Raptors as a franchise are better than the Pistons or Hornets because we understand what "development" means. And not-so-coincidentally, Scottie is so far the only all-star of the 2021 draft class.
No way I trade Poeltl right now for the 8th pick. Poeltl is more valuable than that, and may even net us a couple of OKC's surplus FRPs along with a prospect. Would much rather have a legit C on a tradeable contract than whatever Castle is. So that aspect of the Spurs trade I'm happy with, which is why I've always been on Team Convey. As for the other aspect of the trade - i.e. whether we could have tanked our way to a better pick than Gradey if we didn't trade for Jak - I dunno. IIRC, Dick tended to be mocked in the 6-10 range anyway.
I don't even know where to start with this delusion.
Koloko was maybe on his way to possibly being something, he was far from a lock to be a rotation player. And a defense of the front office that starts with, "they're better than Detroit/Charlotte"?! I'm speechless.
You actually think Toronto is ever going to be in a position to turn down a top-10 pick for a guy who barely even plays 4th quarters for a 25 win team? I'm sure it will happen right after you turn Margot Robbie. Even Masai basically admitted it was a mistake and you guys are still here defending the move "10 out of 10 times".
I'm especially tickled by the argument that Toronto would've picked Dick anyway regardless of whether they drafted higher and its equally idiotic corollary that they would have picked Koloko with the FRP so that trade didn't matter either.
I'd rather be delusional than stupid. Or at least unable to decipher a post without a narrative playing in your head.
If Koloko was healthy and playing, we wouldn't be constantly relitigating trading down in the draft. Would we? Not that the Raptors would ever have chosen Kessler, but did he suddenly turn into Kareem Abdul Jabbar? Unfortunately, and through no fault of the Raptors, Koloko can't play in the league. Bad luck. Move on. BTW, Masai never said that the move was a mistake. You're lying about that.
If you would trade a locked up Poeltl for Castle - or Knecht (lol) - right now, then "I don't even know where to start" with your delusional thinking. Did you actually watch at least the FInal Four? Sure, it's easy to say now that we should been sellers rather than buyers at the time. I would have been happy with that - depending on the return. But the team HAD looked really good later in the 2021-2022 season, and I understand why Masai wanted to see what it would look like with a legit C. After Masai's post-trade presser, the mood of this board was like - "OK, we get why he did it. Let's move on". But many of you refuse to move on, or keep resurfacing like cockroaches.
In mentioning the Pistons and Charlotte, I was explaining why they suck all the time, and contrasting that with the Raptors approach. Once again for you in the back, Scottie is the only all-star so far from the vaunted 2021 draft. We know that the Raptors can draft AND develop (with the help of vets on the roster). That seems to contradict your narrative. Maybe you should change your narrative.
Dick was frequently mocked in the top 10. This is a fact. But if Raptors' pick had been in the 8-12 range in 2023, I'm pretty sure they would have taken Wallace. Will Wallace turn out better than Gradey? Too early to say for sure, but both have talent. OTOH, if we didn't move down in 2022, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have drafted Kessler. At least one commentator, KOC if I recall, had Koloko ranked very close to Kessler. It wouldn't shock me if the Raptors had picked Koloko in the 20s. We needed big man depth. Of course in retrospect we should have kept the pick and drafted Nembhard. But drafts are always crap shoots, especially in the 20s and beyond. And if Koloko could play, he could be really good. There's no certainties with young players, but he definitely showed promise.
All of this is uncertain, and require knowledge of what's actually going on behind the scenes and what deals are being offered. Luck - especially with Koloko - plays a role. So it makes no sense that guys like you speak so definitively and judge so harshly on such matters. It doesn't speak well for you. Are you like this in real life?