PG & GT #6 - Raptors (1-4) @ Calves (3-2) - October 31st, 2025 - 7:30PM EDT - TSN/1050AM

[PushDaRock]

If NBA execs are mad, then it must be true

We have legit reporting from people who are plugged into front offices. John Hollinger (former exec) has said that front offices aren’t happy because players are trying to use IQ’s deal as baseline in negotiations. Basically, “if IQ is getting $32m then my guy must be worth at least that much”. If your contract is getting brought up as a negotiating tactic for lesser players it’s probably not a good contract. It was also signed at a time when the cap was projected to be going up more than it actually is (10% vs 7%). This has also sapped some of the potential value of IQ’s contract as it will now count more against the cap.

-disliked deal by front offices and (what I would consider) neutral NBA media (Hollinger, Duncan, etc). While not the be all end all I have not heard a single non-Raptors adjacent person (fan or media) say they think the deal is good.

-cap not rising as fast as previously thought making relative value of contract worse

-new dynamic of RFA’s getting squeezed more

Add it all up and it’s not looking all that great that we gave IQ $30m+ per year.

It's pretty good starter money and the FO made a bet that he could play up to it or even slightly surpass it in those latter years with the flat strutcture, but unfortunately he's not proven he can do it, at least so far. And the new CBA environment exacerbates it even more since scoring guards of his ilk generally aren't being given big contracts.

Based on his play in NY there was some reason to believe he could breakout and he was def one of those literati darlings before he got traded but it just hasn't worked out here.

22/5/5 on 59 TS% as a Starter for the Knicks in 27 games.

People have this weird idea that he's only been good as a 6th man when in fact he had been much better as a starter.

We were betting that he could take another leap with more opportunity, hasn't worked out as well as we have hoped yet for various reasons. But, there's still time to turn things around.

[causal_fan]

We have legit reporting from people who are plugged into front offices. John Hollinger (former exec) has said that front offices aren’t happy because players are trying to use IQ’s deal as baseline in negotiations. Basically, “if IQ is getting $32m then my guy must be worth at least that much”. If your contract is getting brought up as a negotiating tactic for lesser players it’s probably not a good contract. It was also signed at a time when the cap was projected to be going up more than it actually is (10% vs 7%). This has also sapped some of the potential value of IQ’s contract as it will now count more against the cap.

-disliked deal by front offices and (what I would consider) neutral NBA media (Hollinger, Duncan, etc). While not the be all end all I have not heard a single non-Raptors adjacent person (fan or media) say they think the deal is good.

-cap not rising as fast as previously thought making relative value of contract worse

-new dynamic of RFA’s getting squeezed more

Add it all up and it’s not looking all that great that we gave IQ $30m+ per year.

It's pretty good starter money and the FO made a bet that he could play up to it or even slightly surpass it in those latter years with the flat strutcture, but unfortunately he's not proven he can do it, at least so far. And the new CBA environment exacerbates it even more since scoring guards of his ilk generally aren't being given big contracts.

Based on his play in NY there was some reason to believe he could breakout and he was def one of those literati darlings before he got traded but it just hasn't worked out here.

22/5/5 on 59 TS% as a Starter for the Knicks in 27 games.

People have this weird idea that he's only been good as a 6th man when in fact he had been much better as a starter.

We were betting that he could take another leap with more opportunity, hasn't worked out as well as we have hoped yet for various reasons. But, there's still time to turn things around.

IQ may rebound and become a good player but I would still give thumbs down to the contract and said so when it was signed - I'm willing to be patient on IQ the player but that doesn't change my view of the contract even if IQ becomes an all-star.

[Jerry Lucas]

Going to be a tough decision tonight. Watch the Jays win the World Series for the first time in 32 years with a bunch of likeable underdog blue collar players that never gives up? Or watch the no defense, no pressure, lost and confused Raptors get blown out again tonight. Tough choice.

NinjaBro you better zip it today. Yesterday was completely your fault. Thanks for the meaningless Raptors W compared to what could have been with the Jays yesterday lol smh.

[T_saurus]

Good to know we’re better than Mobley + scrubs. Had me worried there for a bit…

Not like we're missing our starting center.. details amirite.

Also they're underselling DeAndre hunter who's a really good player

Sent from my Pixel 8 using RealGM mobile app

[Raptorfan2012]

Is this the first Emirates NBA cup game we have ever won?

[Syd-TK3]

Read on Twitter

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[YogurtProducer]

Read on Twitter

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Highlights aren’t even bad lol

Couple plays that end in fouls a lot on the NBA, and missed catch and shoot 3’s. Oh no, the end of the world is near.

If IQ still can’t hit the broad side of a barn in another 20 games, we can worry.

[YogurtProducer]

We have legit reporting from people who are plugged into front offices. John Hollinger (former exec) has said that front offices aren’t happy because players are trying to use IQ’s deal as baseline in negotiations. Basically, “if IQ is getting $32m then my guy must be worth at least that much”. If your contract is getting brought up as a negotiating tactic for lesser players it’s probably not a good contract. It was also signed at a time when the cap was projected to be going up more than it actually is (10% vs 7%). This has also sapped some of the potential value of IQ’s contract as it will now count more against the cap.

-disliked deal by front offices and (what I would consider) neutral NBA media (Hollinger, Duncan, etc). While not the be all end all I have not heard a single non-Raptors adjacent person (fan or media) say they think the deal is good.

-cap not rising as fast as previously thought making relative value of contract worse

-new dynamic of RFA’s getting squeezed more

Add it all up and it’s not looking all that great that we gave IQ $30m+ per year.

It's pretty good starter money and the FO made a bet that he could play up to it or even slightly surpass it in those latter years with the flat strutcture, but unfortunately he's not proven he can do it, at least so far. And the new CBA environment exacerbates it even more since scoring guards of his ilk generally aren't being given big contracts.

Based on his play in NY there was some reason to believe he could breakout and he was def one of those literati darlings before he got traded but it just hasn't worked out here.

22/5/5 on 59 TS% as a Starter for the Knicks in 27 games.

People have this weird idea that he's only been good as a 6th man when in fact he had been much better as a starter.

We were betting that he could take another leap with more opportunity, hasn't worked out as well as we have hoped yet for various reasons. But, there's still time to turn things around.

And he’s been pretty good here as well - the 6 games to start this year have been the outlier really.

He’s gonna shoot better than this more than likely, you can almost guarantee that.

[Brinbe]

It's pretty good starter money and the FO made a bet that he could play up to it or even slightly surpass it in those latter years with the flat strutcture, but unfortunately he's not proven he can do it, at least so far. And the new CBA environment exacerbates it even more since scoring guards of his ilk generally aren't being given big contracts.

Based on his play in NY there was some reason to believe he could breakout and he was def one of those literati darlings before he got traded but it just hasn't worked out here.

22/5/5 on 59 TS% as a Starter for the Knicks in 27 games.

People have this weird idea that he's only been good as a 6th man when in fact he had been much better as a starter.

We were betting that he could take another leap with more opportunity, hasn't worked out as well as we have hoped yet for various reasons. But, there's still time to turn things around.

And he’s been pretty good here as well - the 6 games to start this year have been the outlier really.

He’s gonna shoot better than this more than likely, you can almost guarantee that.

he really hasn't. he had one okay stretch last season in like feb but that was about it. he wasn't good after the trade and he hasn't been good so far. but he will def bounce back shooting wise. no one questions that, it's if he'll be worth his contract and about his future fit on the team.

and it's not like I'm some super IQ hater or anything. I really like the guy and want him to succeed but no use sugarcoating things. gotta call it how it is

[MiamiSPX]

Suggs got 5 years 150m in the same off season as a far less productive player and track record.

Not so sure about that. Suggs was coming off being a full-time starter for a playoff team, and was named All-Defensive 2nd Team. I feel quite comfortable saying Suggs will be named to a few of those, while IQ will never be named to anything like that (A/S, All-NBA, All-Defensive, etc). Not a knock on IQ at all, but Suggs is pretty elite defensively. Their career averages are actually pretty similar too, with Suggs being a lot bigger, and 2 years younger.

[YogurtProducer]

22/5/5 on 59 TS% as a Starter for the Knicks in 27 games.

People have this weird idea that he's only been good as a 6th man when in fact he had been much better as a starter.

We were betting that he could take another leap with more opportunity, hasn't worked out as well as we have hoped yet for various reasons. But, there's still time to turn things around.

And he’s been pretty good here as well - the 6 games to start this year have been the outlier really.

He’s gonna shoot better than this more than likely, you can almost guarantee that.

he really hasn't. he had one okay stretch last season in like feb but that was about it. he wasn't good after the trade and he hasn't been good so far. but he will def bounce back shooting wise. no one questions that, it's if he'll be worth his contract and about his future fit on the team.

and it's not like I'm some super IQ hater or anything. I really like the guy and want him to succeed but no use sugarcoating things. gotta call it how it is

That is just very, very far from the truth.

he put up 19/7 immediately following the trade, including a 23/8 on 64TS% in the last month of the season in 2024.

Then last year he barely played and his minutes were low, but his per 36 was 22/8 on 57TS% which is better than he ever performed in NYK. But you are right, his best stretch was in Feb last year when he put up 21/5/5 on good %'s over an 11 game span. That was also the only 10+ game span he played all year.

Unless your bar for good is "all-star caliber", then sure, he hasn't been good. but he certainly was playing at a starter level and was showing signs he could potentially grow into more.

Maybe lets give the guy who has barely played consecutive games for 2 years to get a few weeks on a new look team to get his feet under him.

[PushDaRock]

Suggs got 5 years 150m in the same off season as a far less productive player and track record.

Not so sure about that. Suggs was coming off being a full-time starter for a playoff team, and was named All-Defensive 2nd Team. I feel quite comfortable saying Suggs will be named to a few of those, while IQ will never be named to anything like that (A/S, All-NBA, All-Defensive, etc). Not a knock on IQ at all, but Suggs is pretty elite defensively. Their career averages are actually pretty similar too, with Suggs being a lot bigger, and 2 years younger.

Suggs 13/3/3 on 60 TS%
IQ 17/5/4 on 58 TS% (18.6/6.8/4.8 as a Raptor)

Those were the seasons each was coming off of when they signed their contracts and Suggs was terrible offensively along with being injury prone his first 2 seasons in the league so there was less of a track record and whether it was sustainable. Suggs wasn't great last season either, so that's still a question mark.

[PushDaRock]

It's pretty good starter money and the FO made a bet that he could play up to it or even slightly surpass it in those latter years with the flat strutcture, but unfortunately he's not proven he can do it, at least so far. And the new CBA environment exacerbates it even more since scoring guards of his ilk generally aren't being given big contracts.

Based on his play in NY there was some reason to believe he could breakout and he was def one of those literati darlings before he got traded but it just hasn't worked out here.

22/5/5 on 59 TS% as a Starter for the Knicks in 27 games.

People have this weird idea that he's only been good as a 6th man when in fact he had been much better as a starter.

We were betting that he could take another leap with more opportunity, hasn't worked out as well as we have hoped yet for various reasons. But, there's still time to turn things around.

And he’s been pretty good here as well - the 6 games to start this year have been the outlier really.

He’s gonna shoot better than this more than likely, you can almost guarantee that.

Main thing is he's been hurt a lot and had his minutes limited when he did play last season. The PER 36 numbers were pretty good though.

I would say his advanced metrics have been a bit disappointing as well as he had a track record of being really good in New York in on court and on/off splits, but it's taken a hit since coming here.

[YogurtProducer]

22/5/5 on 59 TS% as a Starter for the Knicks in 27 games.

People have this weird idea that he's only been good as a 6th man when in fact he had been much better as a starter.

We were betting that he could take another leap with more opportunity, hasn't worked out as well as we have hoped yet for various reasons. But, there's still time to turn things around.

And he’s been pretty good here as well - the 6 games to start this year have been the outlier really.

He’s gonna shoot better than this more than likely, you can almost guarantee that.

Main thing is he's been hurt a lot and had his minutes limited when he did play last season. The PER 36 numbers were pretty good though.

I would say his advanced metrics have been a bit disappointing as well as he had a track record of being really good in New York in on court and on/off splits, but it's taken a hit since coming here.

Honestly it is hard to take anything from the last 2 years seriously for anyone on this team. It has been a complete trainwreck that would be hard for even the best of players to perform in.

I'm not gonna call for the guys head until he has a decent body of work with a consistent set of lineups, and has consistent time in the lineup himself.

Even missing all the time last year you could tell it was a lot of manufactured time out just so we could tank.

[Reeko]

Nothing in the data or eye test supports that IMO

Of course nothing in the data supports that, Gradey is getting 6 fga per game. He's getting less shots this season than he did his rookie season.

If they gave him a proper role within the offense for a string of 20-30 games and he failed after showing what he could/couldn't do, then I could get behind trading him. But so far what you have is him getting limited touches, less than his rookie year, on offense and then having him play this insanely terrible defensive scheme that does not fit the team personnel at all.

I just don't see how anyone, and especially the FO, can look at what Darko is running out there and think that he is optimizing the talent on this team.

Dick hasn’t done a thing to suggest he deserves touches over IQ.

I swear yall are losing your mind over a shooting slump

This isn't about his shooting slump. It plays a part sure, but the problems with IQ go deeper than just shooting.

[Brinbe]

And he’s been pretty good here as well - the 6 games to start this year have been the outlier really.

He’s gonna shoot better than this more than likely, you can almost guarantee that.

he really hasn't. he had one okay stretch last season in like feb but that was about it. he wasn't good after the trade and he hasn't been good so far. but he will def bounce back shooting wise. no one questions that, it's if he'll be worth his contract and about his future fit on the team.

and it's not like I'm some super IQ hater or anything. I really like the guy and want him to succeed but no use sugarcoating things. gotta call it how it is

That is just very, very far from the truth.

he put up 19/7 immediately following the trade, including a 23/8 on 64TS% in the last month of the season in 2024.

Then last year he barely played and his minutes were low, but his per 36 was 22/8 on 57TS% which is better than he ever performed in NYK. But you are right, his best stretch was in Feb last year when he put up 21/5/5 on good %'s over an 11 game span. That was also the only 10+ game span he played all year.

Unless your bar for good is "all-star caliber", then sure, he hasn't been good. but he certainly was playing at a starter level and was showing signs he could potentially grow into more.

Maybe lets give the guy who has barely played consecutive games for 2 years to get a few weeks on a new look team to get his feet under him.

Really using April numbers? You're better than that... And nah, RJ was the one who was impressive right away and IQ never lived up to his billing. We watched all those games. But I agree that was a wash because of how things went that season.

Last year was okay but also not quite 32 million good. But I agree that it was also a developmental season so whatever.

But he's simply disappointing right now and there expectations now. And he hasn't played to his level considering his contract. And no, never said anything about all star. Just said good. And he simply hasn't been.

But you move the goalposts for the guys you like. And others get more scrutiny. It is what it is but if Scottie were struggling I don't think you'd be saying the same things.

[HumbleRen]

Of course nothing in the data supports that, Gradey is getting 6 fga per game. He's getting less shots this season than he did his rookie season.

If they gave him a proper role within the offense for a string of 20-30 games and he failed after showing what he could/couldn't do, then I could get behind trading him. But so far what you have is him getting limited touches, less than his rookie year, on offense and then having him play this insanely terrible defensive scheme that does not fit the team personnel at all.

I just don't see how anyone, and especially the FO, can look at what Darko is running out there and think that he is optimizing the talent on this team.

Dick hasn’t done a thing to suggest he deserves touches over IQ.

I swear yall are losing your mind over a shooting slump

This isn't about his shooting slump. It plays a part sure, but the problems with IQ go deeper than just shooting.

Agreed. I was a huge supporter of the IQ trade but its very clear that IQ just doesn't have enough experience as a lead playmaker for a team nor does he have the ability to create any type of separation from his defender. He's an adequate PG to pair along side Lebron or Luka of the worlds as a simple 3&D guy but we didn't pay him to be that, we paid him to be our lead playmaker.

[Reeko]

Dick hasn’t done a thing to suggest he deserves touches over IQ.

I swear yall are losing your mind over a shooting slump

This isn't about his shooting slump. It plays a part sure, but the problems with IQ go deeper than just shooting.

Agreed. I was a huge supporter of the IQ trade but its very clear that IQ just doesn't have enough experience as a lead playmaker for a team nor does he have the ability to create any type of separation from his defender. He's an adequate PG to pair along side Lebron or Luka of the worlds as a simple 3&D guy but we didn't pay him to be that, we paid him to be our lead playmaker.

His defense isn't even adequate enough to qualify as a 3 and D PG.

[HumbleRen]

This isn't about his shooting slump. It plays a part sure, but the problems with IQ go deeper than just shooting.

Agreed. I was a huge supporter of the IQ trade but its very clear that IQ just doesn't have enough experience as a lead playmaker for a team nor does he have the ability to create any type of separation from his defender. He's an adequate PG to pair along side Lebron or Luka of the worlds as a simple 3&D guy but we didn't pay him to be that, we paid him to be our lead playmaker.

His defense isn't even adequate enough to qualify as a 3 and D PG.

I think he can be a very positive team defender but he can't be your main perimeter defender.

[Got Nuffin]

I would like to see Darko give Jakobe Walter a chance to start as a pure 3&D guy to compliment our main ball handlers.

Give IQ the reigns off the bench and see if he regains his spark doing what he has always done best.

Unless Battle has shown real progression and can keep up some semblance of this form, we are still in real trouble with some of our young bench guys really underperforming.