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

[canz55]

Also; the Raptors aren't trading #9 unless it's for Giannis plus contract filler (i.e not Scottie).

I do wonder if you combine RJ and 9th pick. If you could get an upgrade somewhere. Not sure who though.

People might hate this idea but just throwing it out there. What about RJ, Yak and #9 for Bane and a signed and traded Santi Aldama @ about 12 million per.

swap out bane with JJJ

[KP730]

only way I’d do the Giannis trade is if there is somehow enough assets/pick collateral remaining to get KD too

Giannis/KD/Ingram

just don’t think its possible…a Giannis trade will command too many assets

[Zeno]

I do wonder if you combine RJ and 9th pick. If you could get an upgrade somewhere. Not sure who though.

People might hate this idea but just throwing it out there. What about RJ, Yak and #9 for Bane and a signed and traded Santi Aldama @ about 12 million per.

swap out bane with JJJ

Obviously I’d prefer JJJ but we aren’t able to extend him like Memphis is so that is a risk in free agency and it would also take way more than RJ and #9. I suggested JJJ earlier in this thread but the risk is real especially since I think it would take picks in multiple years.

[Scase]

I know people want to stay the course and i get the logic behind that and not spending assets right now but i think masai is viewing this as a new nba with total parity and especially the east where its wide open where a team like indiana caught lightning in a bottle since january and are now in the finals. Yes they have great depth, system and 2 stars. But if the Raps trade for a star, we can also make some noise. Matchups are everything in the playoffs.

You make a move for a star and another smaller move and you are all of a sudden one of the upper teams in the east with a shot to go far as long as u got health and some luck.

In my opinion, he’s making the right call by being aggressive this offseason and hopefully we get something thats not too expensive (giannis aside which will be)

There is too much smoke now. Masai is going to pull the trigger on a few moves this off season. He has to flex especially with ownership wanting playoffs next season.

These next couple weeks should be fun

Going for it for Giannis makes sense, especially if we can give up a pick heavy package. He’s a top 3 player and an overwhelming talent who’s easy to build around.

Trading for Durant is an idiotic move considering that he’d cost the 9th pick or two future firsts, he’s literally 2 years from 40 at the start of the season, a huge injury risk and let’s not forget his team has flamed out in spectacular fashion the past couple of years although that’s not all on him. Durant is Olajuwon 2.0.

Gotta disagree with this bit, Giannis requires a stretch 5, those are typically not commonly found and would be an absolute requirement if we were to snag him. Not sure where we'd find one, because Jak is the literal worst possible fit for him.

[Tacoma]

Masai's job is on the line, which is generally a bad thing for making big moves. Other teams know this and will squeeze us. He's already canvassed the league with our agenda. I'm not worried about the price of Giannis, because he's a top 5 player right now. I'm worried that we miss out on Giannis and get bled for lesser stars or Durant, who is still great but at an age where rapid decline can just happen one season to the next.

You realize if Masai's deal isn't renewed he'll get a gm role somewhere else the following day right?

The issue for some isn't that Masai is concerned he'd be out of a job, but rather that he'll completely mortgage the future to compete next season because he may not be here after next season. Ed Rogers has already stated Masai's last contract was an overpayment and our losing record since he signed that last contract only reinforced that opinion. So, for all we know, he may already be planning his exit and intends to go out with a bang.

[ash_k]

Masai's job is on the line, which is generally a bad thing for making big moves. Other teams know this and will squeeze us. He's already canvassed the league with our agenda. I'm not worried about the price of Giannis, because he's a top 5 player right now. I'm worried that we miss out on Giannis and get bled for lesser stars or Durant, who is still great but at an age where rapid decline can just happen one season to the next.

You realize if Masai's deal isn't renewed he'll get a gm role somewhere else the following day right?

Some posters just don't realize what Masai represents out there.

[WuTang_OG]

Bought top quality greek feta @ st lawrence this morning

Had to get the good stuff for Giannis

[ATLTimekeeper]

Masai's job is on the line, which is generally a bad thing for making big moves. Other teams know this and will squeeze us. He's already canvassed the league with our agenda. I'm not worried about the price of Giannis, because he's a top 5 player right now. I'm worried that we miss out on Giannis and get bled for lesser stars or Durant, who is still great but at an age where rapid decline can just happen one season to the next.

You realize if Masai's deal isn't renewed he'll get a gm role somewhere else the following day right?

Cool. Can he use that in a trade negotiation? If he has to telegraph any big move as being on the agenda, he's already leveraged.

[ontnut]

As much as I would trade the farm for Giannis, I don't think I'd give up that much for KD. He's no longer a guy that can single handedly carry a franchise, and he hasn't been that healthy, plus he's way older. Still an all-NBA caliber player (closer to 3rd team than 1st), so he'd fit great on a more contender-ready franchise.

To put it another way, KD is solely a ceiling raiser not a floor raiser, and we need a floor raiser more than we need a ceiling raiser.

[Raptors Realtor]

Bought top quality greek feta @ st lawrence this morning

Had to get the good stuff for Giannis

If you want to pair it with the best tzatziki or souvlakis, head to Astoria at Chester and Danforth.

[WuTang_OG]

I know people want to stay the course and i get the logic behind that and not spending assets right now but i think masai is viewing this as a new nba with total parity and especially the east where its wide open where a team like indiana caught lightning in a bottle since january and are now in the finals. Yes they have great depth, system and 2 stars. But if the Raps trade for a star, we can also make some noise. Matchups are everything in the playoffs.

You make a move for a star and another smaller move and you are all of a sudden one of the upper teams in the east with a shot to go far as long as u got health and some luck.

In my opinion, he’s making the right call by being aggressive this offseason and hopefully we get something thats not too expensive (giannis aside which will be)

There is too much smoke now. Masai is going to pull the trigger on a few moves this off season. He has to flex especially with ownership wanting playoffs next season.

These next couple weeks should be fun

Going for it for Giannis makes sense, especially if we can give up a pick heavy package. He’s a top 3 player and an overwhelming talent who’s easy to build around.

Trading for Durant is an idiotic move considering that he’d cost the 9th pick or two future firsts, he’s literally 2 years from 40 at the start of the season, a huge injury risk and let’s not forget his team has flamed out in spectacular fashion the past couple of years although that’s not all on him. Durant is Olajuwon 2.0.

Masai is not overpaying with 9 or future firsts for 1 year of durant.

[WuTang_OG]

Bang

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg

[720]

If the core is KD, Scottie, Ingram, that’s like a 2 year window without having to sacrifice everything (from draft picks to Scottie and other players going the other way). It looks like Phoenix just wants a couple picks and contracts to unload KD’s contract.

If it is Giannis and Ingram, then that’s probably a slight longer window (maybe 3-4 years? MAYBE?) but in turn it costs us everything to get him, since Giannis is much younger than KD.

I just don’t trust Ingram as a second option given his health history and overall game. If he’s a third option it could work (KD would be the first option, Scottie the facilitator, Ingram the second scoring option but third in pecking order.

[ciueli]

Going for it for Giannis makes sense, especially if we can give up a pick heavy package. He’s a top 3 player and an overwhelming talent who’s easy to build around.

Trading for Durant is an idiotic move considering that he’d cost the 9th pick or two future firsts, he’s literally 2 years from 40 at the start of the season, a huge injury risk and let’s not forget his team has flamed out in spectacular fashion the past couple of years although that’s not all on him. Durant is Olajuwon 2.0.

KD is 2 years younger than Olajuwon was when we signed him, and Hakeem was coming off 2 straight seasons of subpar numbers while KD is coming off a 2 straight seasons of looking like a top 10 player still. Compare Hakeem's year 38 season to Durant's year 36 season:

Hakeem: 16.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 52.6% True Shooting, +2.8 Box +/-, 58 games played, 26.6 MPG

KD: 26.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 43.0% 3PT, 64.2% True Shooting, +3.2 Box +/-, 62 games played, 36.5 MPG

The difference here is that Hakeem was clearly falling off, he hadn't averaged 20 PPG in a season for 4 full seasons and only played anything close to a full season's worth of games once in that four years which was the lockout when the entire season was only 50 games. KD has had his own injury issues since 2019, but so has Brandon Ingram who hasn't played at an All-Star level in 5 seasons and we traded for him anyway. Flipping Ingram + filler for KD makes a lot of sense in a season Masai is desperate to make the playoffs.

[tsherkin]

If the core is KD, Scottie, Ingram, that’s like a 2 year window without having to sacrifice everything (from draft picks to Scottie and other players going the other way). It looks like Phoenix just wants a couple picks and contracts to unload KD’s contract.

That sounds like a challenging juggling effort for positional minutes. And yeah, that's a relatively short window, and you're not likely to be able to play those guys at the same time very much. So which one goes to the bench? It'd have to be Scottie. And then having an Ingram/Durant pair on D isn't super exciting either.

I just don’t trust Ingram as a second option given his health history and overall game. If he’s a third option it could work (KD would be the first option, Scottie the facilitator, Ingram the second scoring option but third in pecking order.

Not seeing a reason to put Scottie ahead of Ingram, who is a better scorer and not that dissimilar as a playmaker.

[wegotthabeet]

Bang

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg

These odds are playing out similarly to Kawhi in the summer of 2018. Not saying we’re getting him since Milwaukee is still the favorites.

If the odds jump to +200 or less then look out. Could be imminent at that point.

[Clutch0z24]

only way I’d do the Giannis trade is if there is somehow enough assets/pick collateral remaining to get KD too

Giannis/KD/Ingram

just don’t think its possible…a Giannis trade will command too many assets

As much as a good trio that could potentially be.....The cost would be too much....Id rather get Giannis/Ingram and have enough to build a decent team around them 2....If its Durant you prolly keep Barnes/Ingram so you can build a deep team as well....

I find having deeper teams is more successfull than 3 really good players and a weak all around team.

[Tor_Raps]

Isn’t Cris Davis not even a real human, never mind a real reporter?

Its time to bow down to our AI overloads lol

[Tor_Raps]

only way I’d do the Giannis trade is if there is somehow enough assets/pick collateral remaining to get KD too

Giannis/KD/Ingram

just don’t think its possible…a Giannis trade will command too many assets

As much as a good trio that could potentially be.....The cost would be too much....Id rather get Giannis/Ingram and have enough to build a decent team around them 2....If its Durant you prolly keep Barnes/Ingram so you can build a deep team as well....

I find having deeper teams is more successfull than 3 really good players and a weak all around team.

Not to mention a KD/Ingram gives you horrible perimeter defense and probably leaves a massive hole at the Center position.

[720]

If the core is KD, Scottie, Ingram, that’s like a 2 year window without having to sacrifice everything (from draft picks to Scottie and other players going the other way). It looks like Phoenix just wants a couple picks and contracts to unload KD’s contract.

That sounds like a challenging juggling effort for positional minutes. And yeah, that's a relatively short window, and you're not likely to be able to play those guys at the same time very much. So which one goes to the bench? It'd have to be Scottie. And then having an Ingram/Durant pair on D isn't super exciting either.

I just don’t trust Ingram as a second option given his health history and overall game. If he’s a third option it could work (KD would be the first option, Scottie the facilitator, Ingram the second scoring option but third in pecking order.

Not seeing a reason to put Scottie ahead of Ingram, who is a better scorer and not that dissimilar as a playmaker.

If the trio is Durant, Scottie, and Ingram, I view Scottie as the facilitator and primary defender while the other two are going to be put in positions to do the heavy lifting when it comes to scoring. Even though Ingram will be taking more shots I think in such a situation the team would have Scottie be the primary passer.