Did Zach Lowe identify some convincing points for being low on Raptors?

[ontnut]

I don’t think any of our players will be difficult to trade. The contract thing is just a talking point one person brought up and now everyone else repeats it. I would love for analysts to never listen to other analysts and give their own views. It will most likely show how much these guys don’t follow 80% of the teams they talk about.

Give Quickley a healthy season and he will make that contract look acceptable.

Yah. IQ's deal is probably our most negatively-perceived contract, and now looking at the deal Fox just got...I don't see how IQ is "immovable", or that we'd need to attach picks. Even as-is, we can move him for something in return - but I'm still optimistic on him having a strong season this upcoming season.

Reaves turned down a 4 year $90m deal and is looking for a $30+AAV deal. Clearly his agent thinks he's worth it. I don't think Reaves is any better than IQ....

I didn't think IQ's deal was way overpriced at the time it was given out. I thought it was rich but not insane. I don't think there was as much chatter about that contract until end of last season when the team and him weren't performing. And in the context of the hyperinflation that we're seeing in contracts, people will have to do a revision to their opinions. Just like everyone else, I think we have talent, some pieces. I just don't know about the "fit". Which is the recurring theme of roster construction post 2019.

I have more than a little faith that the FO recognizes the fit issues and will correct it in due time. People just want things done NOW. We barely saw the starters healthy together last year, and now we add in a offensive focal point - the thing everyone was clamoring over for years - and still - people don't even want to give it a chance. Our bench looks pretty solid too. Two major issues from last year were addressed. Third being a legit backup C. I just don't understand what people expect to happen to a roster esp without giving up future 1sts - which lord forbid - if we were to trade any 1st round pick it's like the sky is falling lol.

[Merit]

Raps sat him the rest of the season because they were tanking. Easiest way to tank. Just don’t play your starters. He agreed to it, because they already had an extension in place.

…and because he was legitimately recovering. If there’s anything I have faith in it’s Alex McKechnie’s ability to rehabilitate players. Exhibit A: Kawhi.

And who's Exhibit B? - Kawhi was a long time ago and Alex McKechnie didn't seem to prevent all those injuries last season. BI is drifting into chronic injury territory IMO - He's not played 65 games in a season since his rookie campaign and odds are he's not going meet that threshold this coming season especially with him getting paid.

Exhibit b is how many injuries the lakers had after Alex left. Exhibit c is preventative maintenance.

A lot of this goes out the window when tanking though.

[Merit]

Um. First off, MPJ helped win them a chip. Second, the Nuggets also got back Cam Johnson, a better player overall and better fit for their team - who also happens to be making only $21m for the next 2 years, and thus allowed them to also sign Bruce Brown, THJ and JV.. So...yeah. If we get a better player back than BI and save half the money, which allows us to sign multiple solid FAs, I'd be ok with giving up a 2032 first too. Nevermind the fact that in terms of cap %, BI is getting paid LESS than MPJ was at the time of their signings. Context, sir.

I was actually proposing that Cam would be a solid fit here too, but was laughed at. Nuggets FO thought he was worth it though, maybe we're both dumdums.

Denver had possibly the best offseason in the game. They are deep enough to get to the finals again next year. Not everyone is gifted the option to get out of an underperforming asset for a first. It just so happens Brooklyn is in peak sell off mode. I for one was not averse to cam, but BI is just better than he is, and we needed a #1 scoring option more than a complementary one.

Agree on most points. BI is better for this team.
But on the " getting out of underperforming asset" part, the only two I can recall off the top of my head were the Beal and Lillard deals where they had to eat it. Beal's deal was catastrophic from the moment it was signed, and Lillard's was really only because he's out for the year (although the trade was bad business to begin with). What was the last 20ppg-near-allstar contract that had to be paid to get off? Wiggins, Lavine both got traded for value. Derozan got moved for next to nothing which was just weird business on the part of the Bulls, but I'd argue BI has way more utility/tradeability in 2025 than Derozan.

I don’t think BI is an underperforming asset. I think he’s an undervalued one. I agree with your assessment that BI has more utility and is easier to trade in 2025 than Demar.

I was referring to Brooklyn taking on MPJ for an unprotected future first that has a fair bit of value with current aging trends/projections.

[ontnut]

Denver had possibly the best offseason in the game. They are deep enough to get to the finals again next year. Not everyone is gifted the option to get out of an underperforming asset for a first. It just so happens Brooklyn is in peak sell off mode. I for one was not averse to cam, but BI is just better than he is, and we needed a #1 scoring option more than a complementary one.

Agree on most points. BI is better for this team.
But on the " getting out of underperforming asset" part, the only two I can recall off the top of my head were the Beal and Lillard deals where they had to eat it. Beal's deal was catastrophic from the moment it was signed, and Lillard's was really only because he's out for the year (although the trade was bad business to begin with). What was the last 20ppg-near-allstar contract that had to be paid to get off? Wiggins, Lavine both got traded for value. Derozan got moved for next to nothing which was just weird business on the part of the Bulls, but I'd argue BI has way more utility/tradeability in 2025 than Derozan.

I don’t think BI is an underperforming asset. I think he’s an undervalued one. I agree with your assessment that BI has more utility and is easier to trade in 2025 than Demar.

I was referring to Brooklyn taking on MPJ for an unprotected future first that has a fair bit of value with current aging trends/projections.

Yeah the pick is probably going to be decent. But it's also 7 years in the future. DEN has to win now so I can see why they valued that pick less than BKN does.

[Tha Cynic]

I disagree with Zach Lowe, but I agree that it’s unorthodox.

You have two options as a non desirable superstar market. You can tank year after year and hope you get lucky, or you can try to win on the margins, trade well, draft well and develop well, while increasing player value. If you lose players for nothing or let them walk, it’s much harder for a team like this to recover. I consider myself a die hard fan, but even I am not sitting here watching a team tank every season. There are too many things to do for entertainment and people don’t have the patience to watch a losing product.

I do agree that the Raptors are in a position where players will get expensive if they do well and they will need to make decisions, but that’s the nature of sports and Raptors have a smart cap guy who can navigate it.

[Young Moosehead]

Raps sat him the rest of the season because they were tanking. Easiest way to tank. Just don’t play your starters. He agreed to it, because they already had an extension in place.

…and because he was legitimately recovering. If there’s anything I have faith in it’s Alex McKechnie’s ability to rehabilitate players. Exhibit A: Kawhi.

And who's Exhibit B? - Kawhi was a long time ago and Alex McKechnie didn't seem to prevent all those injuries last season. BI is drifting into chronic injury territory IMO - He's not played 65 games in a season since his rookie campaign and odds are he's not going meet that threshold this coming season especially with him getting paid.

We will see how bad it is. I think a lot of his missed games are more of a result of tanking.

I was just talking to a buddy who used that same arbitrary line in the sand - 65 games. Like that number meant something particular. Then I checked BI's stats, and saw it as just goosing the statistics. He has played 65+ games 1 of 8 season, sounds really scary, until you realize He has played 59 games or more 5 out of 8 seasons. Fun with numbers. Or, check this: He has only missed more than 38 games once in his entire career, last year with us, and we were tanking and didn't want him to play.

But more importantly, for context, almost all of those seasons were on tanking post-Kobe LAL and tanking NOP teams with an injured Zion. We just saw what it looks like when teams tanks. Players are held out of a lot of games that they would be playing in if the team was playing for something.

[tsherkin]

I was just talking to a buddy who used that same arbitrary line in the sand - 65 games. Like that number meant something particular. Then I checked BI's stats, and saw it as just goosing the statistics. He has played 65+ games 1 of 8 season, sounds really scary, until you realize He has played 59 games or more 5 out of 8 seasons. Fun with numbers. Or, check this: He has only missed more than 38 games once in his entire career, last year with us, and we were tanking and didn't want him to play.

I think it's a rough benchmark. 65 games is a little over 79% of a season. 65 versus 64 vs 66 isn't a huge deal. Under 60 games is a problem, and even 65 means you're missing 17 games, which can pivot a whole season. It can make a very large difference in seeding, right?

[Young Moosehead]

I was just talking to a buddy who used that same arbitrary line in the sand - 65 games. Like that number meant something particular. Then I checked BI's stats, and saw it as just goosing the statistics. He has played 65+ games 1 of 8 season, sounds really scary, until you realize He has played 59 games or more 5 out of 8 seasons. Fun with numbers. Or, check this: He has only missed more than 38 games once in his entire career, last year with us, and we were tanking and didn't want him to play.

I think it's a rough benchmark. 65 games is a little over 79% of a season. 65 versus 64 vs 66 isn't a huge deal. Under 60 games is a problem, and even 65 means you're missing 17 games, which can pivot a whole season. It can make a very large difference in seeding, right?

Sure it can. But I thought it was clear I was making the difference largely between 65 and 59 games. Which is the difference between 1 good season out of 8, and 5.

I think it is far more disingenuous to act like the 15 or so games missed over a 4 year period is the difference between healthy and not. Especially since most of those teams were tanking.

[tsherkin]

Sure it can. But I thought it was clear I was making the difference largely between 65 and 59 games. Which is the difference between 1 good season out of 8, and 5.

I mean, the obvious answer is 17 games missed versus 23. It's 6 games, but at some point, you need to delineate a threshold. It's a lot of missed games. BI has been a disaster for availability, that much is clear. He's missed just shy of 25 games per season on his career, playing just under 69% of total games. That's... a lot of games to miss. Kawhi's missed 27+ games per season in his career and has played about 52% of available games (having a 9-game season and missing all of 2022 stings).

Like, there's no way to argue that BI is anything but unhealthy, with serious availability issues after his rookie season... so far. We're hoping that Alex will be able to do something about this, but we'll have to see. We're gambling with him, because he absolutely misses many, many more games than your average starter.

[Tripod]

But again, if BI was healthy, you don't get him for 1 1st+filler.

Healthy Siakam got 3 1sts+ filler and people still bitched about the return. Heathy BI gets the same type of return.

To me it comes down to: would I rather have another Dick/Walter level player to develop, or a guy capable of being a 24 point guy and the teams top scoring option today. That decision is quite easy.

I am not expecting good health. I am hoping for reasonable health.

[Young Moosehead]

I mean, it just feels like a concerted effort to down talk BI, and avoid context.

For example, how many of the people pointed out that in Brandon's "62 game season" in 19-20 he played almost the entire season? Covid meant most teams played around 65 games. Everyone is so hyped up to discredit the man, that they are missing pretty basic facts.

[tsherkin]

But again, if BI was healthy, you don't get him for 1 1st+filler.

Healthy Siakam got 3 1sts+ filler and people still bitched about the return. Heathy BI gets the same type of return.

To me it comes down to: would I rather have another Dick/Walter level player to develop, or a guy capable of being a 24 point guy and the teams top scoring option today. That decision is quite easy.

I am not expecting good health. I am hoping for reasonable health.

Reasonable health would be nice. I am prepared to be happy with 60+ games, personally, I agree.

My point was more a counter to the notion that 65 games can't be considered unhealthy, not a critique of BI. We know what we are getting into and are making a calculated gamble, and that's fine. That wasn't the focus of my comments.

I mean, it just feels like a concerted effort to down talk BI, and avoid context.

For example, how many of the people pointed out that in Brandon's "62 game season" in 19-20 he played almost the entire season? Covid meant most teams played around 65 games. Everyone is so hyped up to discredit the man, that they are missing pretty basic facts.

He missed 15% of the season (11 games) in 2020. That was a 72-game season, not a 65-game seasons, speaking of missing basic facts NOP was 30-42 that year.


I am not "down talking" BI. I was responding very specifically to your remark about the 65-game threshold, games missed, etc.

I'm rather happy with the BI acquisition as a low-risk gamble, and have said as much many times.

[GLF]

I mean, it just feels like a concerted effort to down talk BI, and avoid context.

For example, how many of the people pointed out that in Brandon's "62 game season" in 19-20 he played almost the entire season? Covid meant most teams played around 65 games. Everyone is so hyped up to discredit the man, that they are missing pretty basic facts.

No I do appreciate that you’ve tried to bring context to some of the missed games because I do think people forget that. They just see a certain amount of games missed and think it was all injury based. My one question is how do you know a few of those games were for tanking? Were you following the Pelicans or are you just assuming it was based on their record?

[Young Moosehead]

Sure it can. But I thought it was clear I was making the difference largely between 65 and 59 games. Which is the difference between 1 good season out of 8, and 5.

I mean, the obvious answer is 17 games missed versus 23. It's 6 games, but at some point, you need to delineate a threshold. It's a lot of missed games. BI has been a disaster for availability, that much is clear. He's missed just shy of 25 games per season on his career, playing just under 69% of total games. That's... a lot of games to miss. Kawhi's missed 27+ games per season in his career and has played about 52% of available games (having a 9-game season and missing all of 2022 stings).

Like, there's no way to argue that BI is anything but unhealthy, with serious availability issues after his rookie season... so far. We're hoping that Alex will be able to do something about this, but we'll have to see. We're gambling with him, because he absolutely misses many, many more games than your average starter.

I haven't argued he is healthy. I have argued for nuance in the analysis, and man do people want to ignore that.

Like you still haven't addressed that he was on bottom feeders and tanking teams for most of his career and what that could mean to games played.

Or is it your position that bottom feeders and tanking teams do not keep out their higher value players to protect their health in meaningless games and improve their draft odds?

To be clear. I am not saying he doesnt have health issues. I am saying that they look worse on the numbers because:

1) He has been on tanking teams for most his career To protect his value teams saved his body 4-5 meaningless games a year.
2) He has had 2 healthy years, not 1. Everyone forgets covid

Care to address either of those two facts, rather than show me how many games he has missed in a different way?

[Young Moosehead]

I mean, it just feels like a concerted effort to down talk BI, and avoid context.

For example, how many of the people pointed out that in Brandon's "62 game season" in 19-20 he played almost the entire season? Covid meant most teams played around 65 games. Everyone is so hyped up to discredit the man, that they are missing pretty basic facts.

No I do appreciate that you’ve tried to bring context to some of the missed games because I do think people forget that. They just see a certain amount of games missed and think it was all injury based. My one question is how do you know a few of those games were for tanking? Were you following the Pelicans or are you just assuming it was based on their record?

Largely based on record. They got him to pair with Zion. They didnt intend to tank, but it was Zion's health that made that a reality. I got Chatgpt to do look at the games missed by Zion and the impact on the other veterans, and this is what it said:

"When Zion missed large chunks of time, the Pelicans often treated other starters’ minor injuries conservatively, particularly Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.

For example, both Ingram and McCollum had stretches where they sat out multiple games with issues that might have been handled more aggressively if the team were in a strong playoff position.

The Pelicans used “injury management” designations to give players rest days on back-to-backs or long road trips, especially for veterans

Franchise-wide health philosophy shift

Early in Zion’s career, they were criticized for bringing him back cautiously and limiting his minutes.

Over time, this cautious approach expanded to other stars, reflecting an organizational pattern: if a player’s health could risk long-term availability, they often erred on the side of rest."

[tsherkin]

1) He has been on tanking teams for most his career To protect his value teams saved his body 4-5 meaningless games a year.

Let's look at his injury breakdown, yes?

-2016-17 Rookie season. 79/82 games played. Becomes a full-time starter in February and starts the last 26 games of the season excluding a 3 game injury stint for a hyper-extended left knee near the end of the season.

-2017-18. 59/82 games played. Appeared in 57 of the first 61 games of the season before suffering a left groin strain that caused him to miss 12 games. Returned for 2 games before suffering a concussion that would force him to miss the remaining 7 games of the season.

-2018-19. 52/82 games played. Ingram served a 4 game suspension for a fight just two games into the season but was healthy until spraining his left ankle in December that forced a 7 game absence. Then played every game until a deep vein thrombosis in his left arm ended his season 19 games early

-2019-20. Played in 62/72 games (71 game pace for an 82 game season). Covid/Bubble season. First season with the Pelicans. Missed 4 games in November with a hyper-extended right knee. Missed 3 games with a right ankle sprain in February. Sat the last two games of the season once the Pels were eliminated in the bubble. Earned MIP and made his lone all-star game this season.

(I noted this as a 73-game season because several teams did play 73 games, but that was a minor error, because the Pels only played 72).

So there's your example of missing a couple games due to team quality/circumstance. Can't project what would have happened over 10 remaining games, but this wasn't so bad.

-2020-21. Played in 61/72 games (69 game pace for 82 game season). Another Covid season. Played every game until Apr 1st, when a toe injury forced a 5 game absence. Then played the rest of the season until a left ankle sprain ended his season 6 games early.

-2021-22. Played in 55/82 and 6/6 playoff games. 7 games missed early in the season with a right hip contusion. Had a left Achilles scare in December that ended up being minor and only needed two games to heal. A left ankle sprain then forced a 5 game absence in January. Then another 10 game absence from a right hamstring injury. Returned for 5 games before the hamstring caused him to miss the final three games of the season. Did return for the playoffs.

Not tanking, bunch of repeated injuries. And hamstring stuff always needs to be taken seriously.

-2022-23. Played in 45/82 games. Missed 3 games with a concussion early in the season. Suffered a sprained toe in November that caused him to miss 28 straight games (29 total). Essentially played the rest of the season short of a 2 game absence from a right ankle sprain.

This was a 42-win team, not a tanking team.

-2023-24. Played in 64/82 games and 4/4 playoff games. Missed 3 games early in the season with right knee soreness. Achilles soreness kept him out of one game in January but in March he hyper-extended his left knee causing a bone contusion that forced him to miss 12 games, before returning for the playoffs.

This was a 49-win team.


So there, we've had a chance to discuss team context a little, and it mostly appears that tanking didn't really factor into the major amounts of missed games at all. He was actually his healthiest in the seasons with the fewest wins.

2) He has had 2 healthy years, not 1. Everyone forgets covid

If you're talking about 2020 again, we went over that. It was a 72-game season, not a 65-game season. The 66-game season was in 2012, not 2020 or 2021. That was a lockout year. I suppose you can call it a relatively healthy season, but let's stop saying people are forgetting it, because I'd already addressed this prior to this post.

Just for reference.

Code: Select all


League Games Played, BI Games, Games Missed
2017........82........79.........3
2018........82........59.........23
2019........82........52.........30
2020........73........62.........11
2021........72........61.........11
2022........82........55.........27
2023........82........45.........37
2024........82........64.........18
2025........82........18.........64


[Young Moosehead]

1) He has been on tanking teams for most his career To protect his value teams saved his body 4-5 meaningless games a year.

Let's look at his injury breakdown, yes?

-2016-17 Rookie season. 79/82 games played. Becomes a full-time starter in February and starts the last 26 games of the season excluding a 3 game injury stint for a hyper-extended left knee near the end of the season.

-2017-18. 59/82 games played. Appeared in 57 of the first 61 games of the season before suffering a left groin strain that caused him to miss 12 games. Returned for 2 games before suffering a concussion that would force him to miss the remaining 7 games of the season.

-2018-19. 52/82 games played. Ingram served a 4 game suspension for a fight just two games into the season but was healthy until spraining his left ankle in December that forced a 7 game absence. Then played every game until a deep vein thrombosis in his left arm ended his season 19 games early

-2019-20. Played in 62/72 games (71 game pace for an 82 game season). Covid/Bubble season. First season with the Pelicans. Missed 4 games in November with a hyper-extended right knee. Missed 3 games with a right ankle sprain in February. Sat the last two games of the season once the Pels were eliminated in the bubble. Earned MIP and made his lone all-star game this season.

(I noted this as a 73-game season because several teams did play 73 games, but that was a minor error, because the Pels only played 72).

So there's your example of missing a couple games due to team quality/circumstance. Can't project what would have happened over 10 remaining games, but this wasn't so bad.

-2020-21. Played in 61/72 games (69 game pace for 82 game season). Another Covid season. Played every game until Apr 1st, when a toe injury forced a 5 game absence. Then played the rest of the season until a left ankle sprain ended his season 6 games early.

-2021-22. Played in 55/82 and 6/6 playoff games. 7 games missed early in the season with a right hip contusion. Had a left Achilles scare in December that ended up being minor and only needed two games to heal. A left ankle sprain then forced a 5 game absence in January. Then another 10 game absence from a right hamstring injury. Returned for 5 games before the hamstring caused him to miss the final three games of the season. Did return for the playoffs.

Not tanking, bunch of repeated injuries. And hamstring stuff always needs to be taken seriously.

-2022-23. Played in 45/82 games. Missed 3 games with a concussion early in the season. Suffered a sprained toe in November that caused him to miss 28 straight games (29 total). Essentially played the rest of the season short of a 2 game absence from a right ankle sprain.

This was a 42-win team, not a tanking team.

-2023-24. Played in 64/82 games and 4/4 playoff games. Missed 3 games early in the season with right knee soreness. Achilles soreness kept him out of one game in January but in March he hyper-extended his left knee causing a bone contusion that forced him to miss 12 games, before returning for the playoffs.

This was a 49-win team.


So there, we've had a chance to discuss team context a little, and it mostly appears that tanking didn't really factor into the major amounts of missed games at all. He was actually his healthiest in the seasons with the fewest wins.

2) He has had 2 healthy years, not 1. Everyone forgets covid

If you're talking about 2020 again, we went over that. It was a 72-game season, not a 65-game season. The 66-game season was in 2012, not 2020 or 2021. That was a lockout year. I suppose you can call it a relatively healthy season, but let's stop saying people are forgetting it, because I'd already addressed this prior to this post.

Just for reference.

Code: Select all


League Games Played, BI Games, Games Missed
2017........82........79.........3
2018........82........59.........23
2019........82........52.........30
2020........73........62.........11
2021........72........61.........11
2022........82........55.........27
2023........82........45.........37
2024........82........64.........18
2025........82........18.........64


So 3 seasons where BI missed fewer than 12 games for health. Look at that. With nuance you have dragged that number yourself from 1 acceptable season to 3.

I am going to choose to believe Chatgpt's analysis of whether NOP tanked and load managed when Zion was hurt. You seem to think NOP wasn't participating that much in tanking or load management at a time when the league was struggling with it so much they had to change the whole lottery system. I guess we will just have to disagree on that.

I came here to get people off of the nonsense idea that Brandon has had 1 health season. I think this is as good as I am gonna get here. Thanks for the chat.

[GLF]

I mean, it just feels like a concerted effort to down talk BI, and avoid context.

For example, how many of the people pointed out that in Brandon's "62 game season" in 19-20 he played almost the entire season? Covid meant most teams played around 65 games. Everyone is so hyped up to discredit the man, that they are missing pretty basic facts.

No I do appreciate that you’ve tried to bring context to some of the missed games because I do think people forget that. They just see a certain amount of games missed and think it was all injury based. My one question is how do you know a few of those games were for tanking? Were you following the Pelicans or are you just assuming it was based on their record?

Largely based on record. They got him to pair with Zion. They didnt intend to tank, but it was Zion's health that made that a reality. I got Chatgpt to do look at the games missed by Zion and the impact on the other veterans, and this is what it said:

"When Zion missed large chunks of time, the Pelicans often treated other starters’ minor injuries conservatively, particularly Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.

For example, both Ingram and McCollum had stretches where they sat out multiple games with issues that might have been handled more aggressively if the team were in a strong playoff position.

The Pelicans used “injury management” designations to give players rest days on back-to-backs or long road trips, especially for veterans

Franchise-wide health philosophy shift

Early in Zion’s career, they were criticized for bringing him back cautiously and limiting his minutes.

Over time, this cautious approach expanded to other stars, reflecting an organizational pattern: if a player’s health could risk long-term availability, they often erred on the side of rest."

Ahhh I see. Now I know ChatGPT isn’t always accurate but just logically this makes sense. Thanks for confirming. Also if we are talking BI’s entire career and not just Pelicans, I know one of his Laker years it was a blood clot that kept him out not injury. So there’s that bit of context too. But yes, regardless BI has missed a lot more games than one would like regardless. Health will always be a concern and it’s why we got him for almost nothing. I just wish more of the talk about him would be what he’ll bring for us when healthy instead of focusing so much on the injuries. Neither us or BI have control over whether he gets injured or not so why worry about it so much prematurely. IDK that’s just me. For me I’ll will worry about it once he gets injured, for now I rather focus on what he brings to the team when healthy bc currently he is healthy.

[tsherkin]

...

You quoted me but had no content in it. Accidental overwrite?

[___Rand___]

Yah. IQ's deal is probably our most negatively-perceived contract, and now looking at the deal Fox just got...I don't see how IQ is "immovable", or that we'd need to attach picks. Even as-is, we can move him for something in return - but I'm still optimistic on him having a strong season this upcoming season.

Reaves turned down a 4 year $90m deal and is looking for a $30+AAV deal. Clearly his agent thinks he's worth it. I don't think Reaves is any better than IQ....

I didn't think IQ's deal was way overpriced at the time it was given out. I thought it was rich but not insane. I don't think there was as much chatter about that contract until end of last season when the team and him weren't performing. And in the context of the hyperinflation that we're seeing in contracts, people will have to do a revision to their opinions. Just like everyone else, I think we have talent, some pieces. I just don't know about the "fit". Which is the recurring theme of roster construction post 2019.

I have more than a little faith that the FO recognizes the fit issues and will correct it in due time. People just want things done NOW. We barely saw the starters healthy together last year, and now we add in a offensive focal point - the thing everyone was clamoring over for years - and still - people don't even want to give it a chance. Our bench looks pretty solid too. Two major issues from last year were addressed. Third being a legit backup C. I just don't understand what people expect to happen to a roster esp without giving up future 1sts - which lord forbid - if we were to trade any 1st round pick it's like the sky is falling lol.

We just haven't reloaded/restocked as well as we could have. So giving up those 1sts are costly in the context of how well Masai has drafted objectively, feels very costly. Think Pacers and how quickly they pivoted away, 1st from Paul George, to Sabonis/Oladipo, to Haliburton/Siakam/young guys. So while I understand the logic at the time losing those picks do add up.