Windhorst: Raptors making noise around the league looking for a “big fish” // Giannis & Toronto "Mutual Interest"/KD too

[JB7]

Toronto was already looking to move RJ in a BI deal. If they get Giannis they are even more inclined to move him.

Best deal is

Barnes, JKW or Dick and RJ plus picks for Giannis and Connington

RJ is more valuable to the Raps than Connaughton. And I don't see RJ being the piece that the Bucks are really attached too. And the Bucks are not in a situation where they need to dump their bad contracts. Their salary situation is not horrible, and they are the type of team that can now eat bad contracts for picks.

And if I'm the Raps, I trust RJ to hit a big shot or make a big play over Agbaji.

Its not about Connington lol. It's just for salary purposes.
Even if Bucks dont want him, TOR will look to move him somewhere else. You need defense and 3's next to Giannis and we already have IQ and BI who arent the greatest defenders.

They also need legit players around Giannis. RJ proved in his first season with the Raps that he could be more efficient from 3 in the right lineup. And in terms of D, that is where the bench comes in with Mogbo, Shead & JKW.

With 4 starters legitimately 20+pts per game threats, I would think they could mix and match with the young guys.

[OakleyDokely]

Giannis' wife is from Cali and she attended uni in Houston.

If he goes to the west, I'd bet on those two locations.

[TheRaptor!]

Yeah we not getting Giannis without Barnes....Bucks will want Barnes to build around in that scenario along with the #9th pick and prolly RJ or Gradey along with all the picks we can offer...This is not the Kawhi situation where Kawhi was injured on his walk year....Bucks are going to get a bag for Giannis in this deal to who ever they trade him to...

I'm more than fine dealing Barnes. And quite honestly, I don't even think Barnes/Giannis would work all that well or I should say it wouldn't be Giannis' fully optimal lineup offensively.


Giannis wants to be the sole downhill initiator from his end of season comments. He would have BI and IQ on the side and we would need another 3 and D guy

They had RJ playing the right way when he first came to the Raps, focusing on open 3's and just slashing to the basket. That went out the window last year with sitting so many players. But I think that efficiency could come back in a lineup with Giannis, BI & IQ.

I think RJ is a player worth holding onto, because Giannis is going to need guys that can get a bucket in the crunch, and I would think that would be left to BI and RJ.

I'm positive RJ would be a leathal 3rd option

But I'll be glad if the Bucks dont think we will be any good after the trade

Why would they want to gift a championship to a fellow Eastern conference team?

IQ BI RJ can all drop 20 on any given night, and I think all 3 fits well next to Giannis. Its Poeltl thats the problem, but we can get Lopez and maybe Horford for the Vets minimum or something

[Tha Cynic]

I would think they try it with RJ first, and then look to trade if it doesn't work.

But the deal I have been saying for awhile that I think makes sense is Barnes ($38.6M), Dick ($5M), Agbaji ($6.4M), 9th pick (~$6M), and another FRP (and maybe a swap or two) for Giannis ($54M). Bucks rebuild their starting lineup with youth (9th pick could be a PG or C with what is available in the draft at 9).

Raps lineup:
C) Poeltl (Mogbo)
PF) Giannis
SF) Ingram (Battle)
SG) RJ (JKW)
PG) IQ (Shead)

The cheap bench helps offset the expensive starting lineup, to stay close to the 1st apron. I could see them run that out for at least half a season to see if if works.

All of those players would be locked in for the next 2 seasons, so expiring contracts and salary demands won't get in the way.

Toronto was already looking to move RJ in a BI deal. If they get Giannis they are even more inclined to move him.

Best deal is

Barnes, JKW or Dick and RJ plus picks for Giannis and Connington

Why do we continue to act like RJ has no value? I simply do not get this.

Because he’s not regarded highly around the league. He was barely a plus player while having his best offensive season ever. We’re kind of overrating RJ here but Masai seems to keep trying to sneak him in deals

[WuTang_CMB]

RJ is more valuable to the Raps than Connaughton. And I don't see RJ being the piece that the Bucks are really attached too. And the Bucks are not in a situation where they need to dump their bad contracts. Their salary situation is not horrible, and they are the type of team that can now eat bad contracts for picks.

And if I'm the Raps, I trust RJ to hit a big shot or make a big play over Agbaji.

Its not about Connington lol. It's just for salary purposes.
Even if Bucks dont want him, TOR will look to move him somewhere else. You need defense and 3's next to Giannis and we already have IQ and BI who arent the greatest defenders.

They also need legit players around Giannis. RJ proved in his first season with the Raps that he could be more efficient from 3 in the right lineup. And in terms of D, that is where the bench comes in with Mogbo, Shead & JKW.

With 4 starters legitimately 20+pts per game threats, I would think they could mix and match with the young guys.

They have legit players. With BI, IQ next to him that's enough of a scoring punch. You need to add a 3 and D to that to be fully optimal for Giannis. That is not RJ's game - plus he's been horrendous at the line.

[Tor_Raps]

And what about Giannis...

Giannis isn't carrying those guys to the finals

lol

First Travis Scott ruins Wresltemania and now he's ruining Realgm!!! Lol

[WuTang_CMB]

This guy said Giannis mom and Masai's wife are friends lol

[tsherkin]

IQ BI RJ can all drop 20 on any given night,

Yes, but how well can they do it? Can RJ get himself back to being an actually efficient option for us? Can Quickley have his first season at/above league-average efficiency?

We don't necessarily want them dropping 20 if they're basically just lobbing shots in volume.

[Tha Cynic]

RJ is more valuable to the Raps than Connaughton. And I don't see RJ being the piece that the Bucks are really attached too. And the Bucks are not in a situation where they need to dump their bad contracts. Their salary situation is not horrible, and they are the type of team that can now eat bad contracts for picks.

And if I'm the Raps, I trust RJ to hit a big shot or make a big play over Agbaji.

Its not about Connington lol. It's just for salary purposes.
Even if Bucks dont want him, TOR will look to move him somewhere else. You need defense and 3's next to Giannis and we already have IQ and BI who arent the greatest defenders.

They also need legit players around Giannis. RJ proved in his first season with the Raps that he could be more efficient from 3 in the right lineup. And in terms of D, that is where the bench comes in with Mogbo, Shead & JKW.

With 4 starters legitimately 20+pts per game threats, I would think they could mix and match with the young guys.

If the Raptors get Giannis, I think it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that RJ is being moved. You’re not starting him with Poeltl, Giannis and Ingram. The best part of RJs game is what Giannis is best at.

He is actually the worst fit in our starting lineup with Giannis and Ingram.

[tsherkin]

Its not about Connington lol. It's just for salary purposes.
Even if Bucks dont want him, TOR will look to move him somewhere else. You need defense and 3's next to Giannis and we already have IQ and BI who arent the greatest defenders.

They also need legit players around Giannis. RJ proved in his first season with the Raps that he could be more efficient from 3 in the right lineup. And in terms of D, that is where the bench comes in with Mogbo, Shead & JKW.

With 4 starters legitimately 20+pts per game threats, I would think they could mix and match with the young guys.

If the Raptors get Giannis, I think it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that RJ is being moved. You’re not starting him with Poeltl, Giannis and Ingram. The best part of RJs game is what Giannis is best at.

He is actually the worst fit in our starting lineup with Giannis and Ingram.

But unlike Barnes, he can at least hit corner 3s and isn't overlapping by position.

[Airmiess]

Im hearing its a go.

[WuTang_CMB]

If the Raptors get Giannis, I think it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that RJ is being moved. You’re not starting him with Poeltl, Giannis and Ingram. The best part of RJs game is what Giannis is best at.

He is actually the worst fit in our starting lineup with Giannis and Ingram.

This fixation of RJ on this board is getting a little ridiculous. Masai didn't want to promote him for All-Star, looked to deal him for BI - he is not in our long term plans. His stats are empty calories. All analytics point to him being a neutral player.

If you get Giannis you are 100% look to deal him even more.

[TheRaptor!]

and giannis is better than all of them.

Hali is not that far from Giannis. Giannis' reputation is doing a lot of heavy lifting these days.

................



This gotta be one of the worst takes I've read in a very long time.

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[WWSRD]

Im hearing its a go.

Satire?

[Tha Cynic]

They also need legit players around Giannis. RJ proved in his first season with the Raps that he could be more efficient from 3 in the right lineup. And in terms of D, that is where the bench comes in with Mogbo, Shead & JKW.

With 4 starters legitimately 20+pts per game threats, I would think they could mix and match with the young guys.

If the Raptors get Giannis, I think it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that RJ is being moved. You’re not starting him with Poeltl, Giannis and Ingram. The best part of RJs game is what Giannis is best at.

He is actually the worst fit in our starting lineup with Giannis and Ingram.

But unlike Barnes, he can at least hit corner 3s and isn't overlapping by position.

Barnes can play multiple positions and can actually defend. RJ is nothing when he’s not scoring and will most likely find himself on the bench in the playoffs due to his defense. I don’t see them keeping RJ if they’re serious about winning playoff games. Heck, even Agbaji or Dick may work better as a starter here than RJ Barrett. Barnes was a plus player while being putrid on offense. I expect he will be better on a team with Giannis and Ingram as main scorers.

We can’t on the one hand mock Barnes for being a super support player and then on the other hand say he won’t be as good as RJ Barrett with Ingram and Giannis ahead of him.

[LoveMyRaps]

Im hearing its a go.

goga bitadze to the raps confirmed

[Raps in 4]

Because Haliburton is much better than Quickley and Siakam is better than Ingram.

and giannis is better than all of them.

Hali is not that far from Giannis. Giannis' reputation is doing a lot of heavy lifting these days.

Giannis hasn't been past the second round since he won a title.

Both guys are top-10 players. Giannis is just on the wrong side of 30.

I have Giannis at #3 right now and Hali at #6.

[LoveMyRaps]

Quickley
Ochai
Ingram
Barnes
Giannis


'CHIP W/ THE DIP

[Potential]

Giannis wants to get back to the Finals ASAP and the best chance he has is to stay in the east. He's tired of losing in the 1st/2nd round every year since 2021 and it'll be more likely to continue if he goes to the superstar stacked west. All he's worried about in the east is getting passed the juggernaut Pacers but anything can happen with Masai in charge of surrounding Giannis with the right pieces

[tsherkin]

Barnes can play multiple positions and can actually defend.

Barnes can defend, absolutely. But he isn't a good option at 2, and he isn't better than Ingram, and he isn't a good option at the 5, so he's more out of sorts if Giannis comes to play the 4 than anyone else.

RJ is nothing when he’s not scoring and will most likely find himself on the bench in the playoffs due to his defense. I don’t see them keeping RJ if they’re serious about winning playoff games. Heck, even Agbaji or Dick may work better as a starter here than RJ Barrett.

Bit odd mentioning Dick at this phase, without visible improvement from him on the defensive end. He certainly has the potential to evolve into a better player than RJ is right now, but he sure isn't there.

Barnes was a plus player while being putrid on offense. I expect he will be better on a team with Giannis and Ingram as main scorers.

Hard to envision where he'd play with both of those two starting.

We can’t on the one hand mock Barnes for being a super support player and then on the other hand say he won’t be as good with Ingram and Giannis ahead of him.

I don't mock Barnes for being a super support player. I think if you have space in your lineup for a forward, he's reasonable because of his strong defense. But we have not one but TWO starters in the places he would generally play. So unless you want him copping all of the SF and PF bench minutes, which can't really work, it isn't really something that will work out well for us. Giannis doesn't want to play C, so that doesn't feel like an option.

If Barnes had the tools to be a guard, this would be a very different story, of course, but he doesn't.