Free Agency & Trades Thread 2 **NOW OPEN**

[Clutch0z24]

Both Hartenstein and Dort would have expired by the start of the 2027 season and Caruso will have two years left on 20 per year which is pretty reasonable to move. The brilliance of Presti is that he’s setup OKC’s future to rely on rookie scale and cheap contracts to fill out the bench. And that’s not even considering the vet mins and ring chasers they will be able to sign. OKC will be fine because other teams will face the same salary problems but have much worse options to round out their bench.

Yeah good point...That every NBA team will have the money issues so it will even out in the end....OKC will just have the most talented team with more options to maneuver since they have more draft picks/more valuable prospects to trade....


These OKC doomers also are forgetting to realize that Shai/Chet/JDub are not even close to being fully developed yet....These 3 prolly all have another step in their games as time goes on....

If OKC are in trouble with all the assets they have ....Every NBA team is in the gutters...

OKC doomers lol

Pointing out the reality of the cap, which impacts every team, especially impacting teams with 3 max contracts one of which is a supermax, is something worth discussing. OKC can win 3 titles in a row, but it doesn't change the reality they face.

Every team will face it....But theres ways to manuever it and like i showed you many times that you seem to not get....Presti has a plan in place for this already....They will keep the big 3 they have and find role players as they go....Because like i said 100 times already to you....Role players are the easiest roles to fill in the NBA considering the wide margin of role players in the league....

Chet/Shai/Jdub will only get better.....Young players they draft will only get better....They are not in trouble for a long long time....And even if what your saying becomes true....Guess what....They can trade Chet or JDub for another All time great to pair up with Shai.... They will be fine....Trust...

[OakleyDokely]

Yeah good point...That every NBA team will have the money issues so it will even out in the end....OKC will just have the most talented team with more options to maneuver since they have more draft picks/more valuable prospects to trade....


These OKC doomers also are forgetting to realize that Shai/Chet/JDub are not even close to being fully developed yet....These 3 prolly all have another step in their games as time goes on....

If OKC are in trouble with all the assets they have ....Every NBA team is in the gutters...

OKC doomers lol

Pointing out the reality of the cap, which impacts every team, especially impacting teams with 3 max contracts one of which is a supermax, is something worth discussing. OKC can win 3 titles in a row, but it doesn't change the reality they face.

Every team will face it....But theres ways to manuever it and like i showed you many times that you seem to not get....Presti has a plan in place for this already....They will keep the big 3 they have and find role players as they go....Because like i said 100 times already to you....Role players are the easiest roles to fill in the NBA considering the wide margin of role players in the league....

Chet/Shai/Jdub will only get better.....Young players they draft will only get better....They are not in trouble for a long long time....And even if what your saying becomes true....Guess what....They can trade Chet or JDub for another All time great to pair up with Shai.... They will be fine....Trust...

every team doesn't have a super max and two other max contracts

they don't win the title without the depth that guys like Dort, Causo provided, as good as their top 3 are.

of course they will be fine, but closing your eyes and pretending there's no cap isn't reasonable either.

[Yallbecrazy]

Presti is a top GM, he's also overrated in his drafting ability. His ability was to acquire more draft picks, something Masai should have done considering he's far superior at scouting. Memphis, Denver, and Toronto have been the top drafting organizations for a while.
Masai wanted to get a bunch of picks for Siakam and OG, he just was never offered them. Draft picks tend to be overrated, but with Masai/Bobby/Dan making them they're super valuable.

[Pointgod]

People already know that OKC will be fine for the next season or two. The problems come when SGA's supermax kicks in for the 27/28 season.

Both Hartenstein and Dort would have expired by the start of the 2027 season and Caruso will have two years left on 20 per year which is pretty reasonable to move. The brilliance of Presti is that he’s setup OKC’s future to rely on rookie scale and cheap contracts to fill out the bench. And that’s not even considering the vet mins and ring chasers they will be able to sign. OKC will be fine because other teams will face the same salary problems but have much worse options to round out their bench.

I understand the plan. But that doesn't mean that cheap depth will be as good as Hart, Caruso, Dort etc.

They barely beat a Pacers team with an injured Hali. They aren't dominant enough to be a 3 player team with just anyone filling positions 4-10.

I mean you’re assuming that their core 3 and none of the guys they draft don’t get better at all over the next 3 seasons. Shai was the MVP, scoring champion and all NBA first team. Jalen Williams was all NBA and all defensive team in his 3rd year. Not to mention they won a championship their first time ever in the finals as a super young team. You’re overestimating the importance of guys like Dort and Hartenstein. They’re a reason they’re called role players.

[Clutch0z24]

OKC doomers lol

Pointing out the reality of the cap, which impacts every team, especially impacting teams with 3 max contracts one of which is a supermax, is something worth discussing. OKC can win 3 titles in a row, but it doesn't change the reality they face.

Every team will face it....But theres ways to manuever it and like i showed you many times that you seem to not get....Presti has a plan in place for this already....They will keep the big 3 they have and find role players as they go....Because like i said 100 times already to you....Role players are the easiest roles to fill in the NBA considering the wide margin of role players in the league....

Chet/Shai/Jdub will only get better.....Young players they draft will only get better....They are not in trouble for a long long time....And even if what your saying becomes true....Guess what....They can trade Chet or JDub for another All time great to pair up with Shai.... They will be fine....Trust...

every team doesn't have a super max and two other max contracts

they don't win the title without the depth that guys like Dort, Causo provided, as good as their top 3 are.

You don't think other teams will have this issue as well?....Lol....Only the OKC Thunder will face this?....Okay.....OFC not....

Ofc every player will matter but you are also again forgetting to factor in that Chet/JDub will only get better as they age and get more reps....Shai will continue to be Shai and be one of the best in the NBA.....Dort/Caruso provided alot no doubt....But they were undrafted players....So that proves the point these level of players can be found in MANY different ways....You just seem to be unwilling to admit that for some reason....

[OakleyDokely]

Presti is a top GM, he's also overrated in his drafting ability. His ability was to acquire more draft picks, something Masai should have done considering he's far superior at scouting. Memphis, Denver, and Toronto have been the top drafting organizations for a while.
Masai wanted to get a bunch of picks for Siakam and OG, he just was never offered them. Draft picks tend to be overrated, but with Masai/Bobby/Dan making them they're super valuable.

Bobby and Masai have both mentioned that it's very hard to develop multiple young guys at a time, which is why they probably don't acquire multiple picks per draft very often. It does make sense though, there's only a certain number of minutes and you will eventually need to prioritize a few guys.

[OakleyDokely]

Both Hartenstein and Dort would have expired by the start of the 2027 season and Caruso will have two years left on 20 per year which is pretty reasonable to move. The brilliance of Presti is that he’s setup OKC’s future to rely on rookie scale and cheap contracts to fill out the bench. And that’s not even considering the vet mins and ring chasers they will be able to sign. OKC will be fine because other teams will face the same salary problems but have much worse options to round out their bench.

I understand the plan. But that doesn't mean that cheap depth will be as good as Hart, Caruso, Dort etc.

They barely beat a Pacers team with an injured Hali. They aren't dominant enough to be a 3 player team with just anyone filling positions 4-10.

I mean you’re assuming that their core 3 and none of the guys they draft don’t get better at all over the next 3 seasons. Shai was the MVP, scoring champion and all NBA first team. Jalen Williams was all NBA and all defensive team in his 3rd year. Not to mention they won a championship their first time ever in the finals as a super young team. You’re overestimating the importance of guys like Dort and Hartenstein. They’re a reason they’re called role players.

The core will get better, still doesn't mean that can overcome the lack of quality on the rest of your roster (if that happens).

Dort and Caurso played the 4th/5th most minutes on their title team. Dort played the same amount of minutes as Chet. They look pretty important to me. At least their coaching staff thinks so.

[Clutch0z24]

I understand the plan. But that doesn't mean that cheap depth will be as good as Hart, Caruso, Dort etc.

They barely beat a Pacers team with an injured Hali. They aren't dominant enough to be a 3 player team with just anyone filling positions 4-10.

I mean you’re assuming that their core 3 and none of the guys they draft don’t get better at all over the next 3 seasons. Shai was the MVP, scoring champion and all NBA first team. Jalen Williams was all NBA and all defensive team in his 3rd year. Not to mention they won a championship their first time ever in the finals as a super young team. You’re overestimating the importance of guys like Dort and Hartenstein. They’re a reason they’re called role players.

The core will get better, still doesn't mean that can overcome the lack of quality on the rest of your roster (if that happens)

But you are also assuming they don't find any sort of good or usefull players in all the abundance of draft picks they have, Or even undrafted guys, Or that none of the young players they have already won't continue to get better...And no ring chasers/buy out market players consider them...

Your basically looking at the team as Shai/Chet/Jdub and saying thats all they will ever have once Caruso/Hartenstein/Dort are gone....

I don't think OKC are that bad that they will find no good players down the line.... I think thats just arguing in bad faith...

[God Squad]

Aye, can y'all stop flooding the thread with OKC talk.


Who the f cares, we're Raptor fans, aren't we? You can kiss in the DM's.

[OakleyDokely]

Every team will face it....But theres ways to manuever it and like i showed you many times that you seem to not get....Presti has a plan in place for this already....They will keep the big 3 they have and find role players as they go....Because like i said 100 times already to you....Role players are the easiest roles to fill in the NBA considering the wide margin of role players in the league....

Chet/Shai/Jdub will only get better.....Young players they draft will only get better....They are not in trouble for a long long time....And even if what your saying becomes true....Guess what....They can trade Chet or JDub for another All time great to pair up with Shai.... They will be fine....Trust...

every team doesn't have a super max and two other max contracts

they don't win the title without the depth that guys like Dort, Causo provided, as good as their top 3 are.

You don't think other teams will have this issue as well?....Lol....Only the OKC Thunder will face this?....Okay.....OFC not....

Ofc every player will matter but you are also again forgetting to factor in that Chet/JDub will only get better as they age and get more reps....Shai will continue to be Shai and be one of the best in the NBA.....Dort/Caruso provided alot no doubt....But they were undrafted players....So that proves the point these level of players can be found in MANY different ways....You just seem to be unwilling to admit that for some reason....

Do you even read what I write?

OKC is a unique situation because they have a supermax player and two other max guys. This is not a common situation around the league.

I'm not saying Presti can't manage around this, just stating that it will be more difficult compared to other organizations with less committed to their top 2-3 guys.

I'm done with this. I've made myself pretty clear numerous times already. if you want to fanboy out on OKC and ignore all cap implications have it.

[Tor_Raps]

Why derail this thread to engage with people who are homers and show they know nothing about the NBA outside of the Raptors.

[DG88]

Jamieson Battle contract got guaranteed today

[Buff]

the issue is if you dont win next year, next year someone gets injured... boom. So, if they are a dynasty with those 3... great, otherwise it gets broken immediately

[OakleyDokely]

Jamieson Battle contract got guaranteed today

was pretty much a lock

[Clutch0z24]

Why derail this thread to engage with people who are homers and show they know nothing about the NBA outside of the Raptors.

Agreed...Won't bring up OKC again....Im just a big Shai fan considering hes the best Canadian to put on a NBA jersey....Gotta support him....Sad that so many Raptor fans hate them and don't cheer for the home town kid.

[HumbleRen]

Jamieson Battle contract got guaranteed today

Love to see it.

He impressed me the most out of all of the rookies last year in terms of expectations.

[Tor_Raps]

Jamieson Battle contract got guaranteed today

Love to see it.

He impressed me the most out of all of the rookies last year in terms of expectations.

I saw him play at Summer League last year and immediately said this guy should be on the roster.

He's a rotation player in the NBA already but we have too many SG/SFs at the moment (great problem to have).

[Tripod]

Jamieson Battle contract got guaranteed today

Yay...Raptors talk!

But we all assumed it was going to be. Such a great find.

[JB7]

Why derail this thread to engage with people who are homers and show they know nothing about the NBA outside of the Raptors.

Agreed...Won't bring up OKC again....Im just a big Shai fan considering hes the best Canadian to put on a NBA jersey....Gotta support him....Sad that so many Raptor fans hate them and don't cheer for the home town kid.

Love Shai, and was so happy to see him win a chip.

Will be even happier when he is in a Raps jersey, winning a 2nd chip for Toronto

OKC maxing Chet and JDub is setting them on a path to tear down the team, hopefully leading to Shai returning home sometime in the future

[Duffman100]

Jamieson Battle contract got guaranteed today

Love to see it.

He impressed me the most out of all of the rookies last year in terms of expectations.

I saw him play at Summer League last year and immediately said this guy should be on the roster.

He's a rotation player in the NBA already but we have too many SG/SFs at the moment (great problem to have).

It was a fun summer league / preseason as the board unanimously was on board with Battle joining the team. And FO did the right thing and gave him the deal.

Not sure I've seen the board all be behind something like that.