Toronto needs a new Center

[PushDaRock]

Someone like Kalkbrenner would've been a good add, too bad he went earlier than our pick. But a big in general would've been a nice addition over Martin who I like but they found someone similar in Chucky for free. And I don't know if he'll ever make it.

It's a bit frustrating as they have Walter/Gradey/Ochai all fighting for one spot and disappointing at the same time and Battle may well end up as more ready, at least right now. And CMB has come along and taken Mogbo's role on the team. So there's just a lot of unnecessary duplication on the roster right now. It is also a shame that the young promising bigs they have found in Koloko/Porter/Chomche all haven't worked out for various reasons but they gotta keep looking and trying.

But even a stop gap is much-needed right now if they're serious about winning as much as possible. We've already seen for multiple seasons that utilizing undersized players to pick up that slack is unsustainable and a real grind on their bodies. You can't beat simple physics.

And yes, you can't just sign any random big and expect it to work but I don't think anyone is thinking or saying that. But I also dont think anyone is thinking we need some Gasol level adďition either. Just an average bench big. And that's what they get paid the big bucks to try and find. At least someone that can spell some minutes and not be a huge minus.

Their insistence and stubborness on making Malakai work was a big thing that sunk those Nurse teams and it's frustrating to see another obvious hole being ignored for whatever reason. The huburistic days of them thinking that they're the smartest guys in the room over the rest of the league has to be over.

So hopefully they address this soon instead of waiting til the deadline

Duplication isn't a problem if there isn't talent. Mogbo needs prove he's worth NBA minutes before we worry about CMB taking his minutes. Walter/Gradey/Ochao are all struggling, so you have a few shots at one of them developing into a quality rotation piece. They are still in talent acquisition mode so always take BPA on draft.

Don't know what they could have done to get a back up C this season without giving up assets. They got Sandro as a small ball C for now which was a big success. Might as well be patient and wait for an opportunity for a big man for cheap

I find it amusing the targets that people have for a Backup C. They want size, rebounding, rim protection, floor spacing on the other end. lol if someone did all those things, they would be starting at the very least. There's also many issues with those Nick Richards types who the board seems to be targeting. If you look at just the box score, they seem decent and productive. Then, you see they're only productive on trash teams and those bad teams are often times even worse defensively with them on the court than off. If we're playing a scrub like that in the first place, something already went wrong and having some extra size out there for the sake of size is not helping us win games. Better off just giving those mins to Mamu and CMB.

[LoveMyRaps]

Poeltl has become quite injury prone.

It's kind of worrisome that we gave him that contract.

[Johnny Bball]

This team needs to find minutes for CMB at the 5, no matter how it looks against Embiid, and bring in a backup just to get smoked by Embiid all the same does nothing positive. They just need to figure out gang rebounding and boxing out is required. One backup C wasn't changing that.

We traded a 1st rounder for Poeltl (dumbass trade considering the position of this franchise at the time, almost as bad as trading a 1st for Thad Young), not only did it cost us a 1st it also hurt our tank positions in subsequent years. Only for the guy to get injured when we are finally ready to be “competitive”.

This team isn't ready to be competitive.

[Brinbe]

Someone like Kalkbrenner would've been a good add, too bad he went earlier than our pick. But a big in general would've been a nice addition over Martin who I like but they found someone similar in Chucky for free. And I don't know if he'll ever make it.

It's a bit frustrating as they have Walter/Gradey/Ochai all fighting for one spot and disappointing at the same time and Battle may well end up as more ready, at least right now. And CMB has come along and taken Mogbo's role on the team. So there's just a lot of unnecessary duplication on the roster right now. It is also a shame that the young promising bigs they have found in Koloko/Porter/Chomche all haven't worked out for various reasons but they gotta keep looking and trying.

But even a stop gap is much-needed right now if they're serious about winning as much as possible. We've already seen for multiple seasons that utilizing undersized players to pick up that slack is unsustainable and a real grind on their bodies. You can't beat simple physics.

And yes, you can't just sign any random big and expect it to work but I don't think anyone is thinking or saying that. But I also dont think anyone is thinking we need some Gasol level adďition either. Just an average bench big. And that's what they get paid the big bucks to try and find. At least someone that can spell some minutes and not be a huge minus.

Their insistence and stubborness on making Malakai work was a big thing that sunk those Nurse teams and it's frustrating to see another obvious hole being ignored for whatever reason. The huburistic days of them thinking that they're the smartest guys in the room over the rest of the league has to be over.

So hopefully they address this soon instead of waiting til the deadline

Duplication isn't a problem if there isn't talent. Mogbo needs prove he's worth NBA minutes before we worry about CMB taking his minutes. Walter/Gradey/Ochao are all struggling, so you have a few shots at one of them developing into a quality rotation piece. They are still in talent acquisition mode so always take BPA on draft.

Don't know what they could have done to get a back up C this season without giving up assets. They got Sandro as a small ball C for now which was a big success. Might as well be patient and wait for an opportunity for a big man for cheap

I find it amusing the targets that people have for a Backup C. They want size, rebounding, rim protection, floor spacing on the other end. lol if someone did all those things, they would be starting at the very least. There's also many issues with those Nick Richards types who the board seems to be targeting. If you look at just the box score, they seem decent and productive. Then, you see they're only productive on trash teams and those bad teams are often times even worse defensively with them on the court than off. If we're playing a scrub like that in the first place, something already went wrong and having some extra size out there for the sake of size is not helping us win games. Better off just giving those mins to Mamu and CMB.

who is realistically asking for that? really bad faith argument on your part.

all we need is size and rebounding. maybe set some decent screens and occupy space and other bigs. the same things that bigs have been asked to do in this league for 80 years. if they can score a bit inside that's a bonus. again, why are you trying to reinvent the wheel? there's more shooting and spacing now but basketball hasn't changed that much that needing big guys who can do the dirty work is irrelevent. and thinking CMB/Mamu or Scottie are actual bigs that can replicate that that against much bigger/stronger players is where you're wrong. And we just saw that last night. They are not real bigs though they can do the job in spurts. But physics is undefeated and they won't ever be bigger or stronger than other actual bigs.

it's especially egregious when we have a bunch of other players on this roster who do the same things fighting for one spot. we're not asking for a whole roster of bigs. it's one position that's pretty important, especially when the one guy we have in yak has a bad back that needs to be managed to get through a season.

[PushDaRock]

Duplication isn't a problem if there isn't talent. Mogbo needs prove he's worth NBA minutes before we worry about CMB taking his minutes. Walter/Gradey/Ochao are all struggling, so you have a few shots at one of them developing into a quality rotation piece. They are still in talent acquisition mode so always take BPA on draft.

Don't know what they could have done to get a back up C this season without giving up assets. They got Sandro as a small ball C for now which was a big success. Might as well be patient and wait for an opportunity for a big man for cheap

I find it amusing the targets that people have for a Backup C. They want size, rebounding, rim protection, floor spacing on the other end. lol if someone did all those things, they would be starting at the very least. There's also many issues with those Nick Richards types who the board seems to be targeting. If you look at just the box score, they seem decent and productive. Then, you see they're only productive on trash teams and those bad teams are often times even worse defensively with them on the court than off. If we're playing a scrub like that in the first place, something already went wrong and having some extra size out there for the sake of size is not helping us win games. Better off just giving those mins to Mamu and CMB.

who is realistically asking for that? really bad faith argument on your part.

all we need is size and rebounding. maybe set some decent screens and occupy space and other bigs. the same things that bigs have been asked to do in this league for 80 years. if they can score a bit inside that's a bonus. again, why are you trying to reinvent the wheel? there's more shooting and spacing now but basketball hasn't changed that much that needing big guys who can do the dirty work is irrelevent. and thinking CMB/Mamu or Scottie are actual bigs that can replicate that that against much bigger/stronger players is where you're wrong. And we just saw that last night. They are not real bigs though they can do the job in spurts. But physics is undefeated and they won't ever be bigger or stronger than other actual bigs.

it's especially egregious when we have a bunch of other players on this roster who do the same things fighting for one spot. we're not asking for a whole roster of bigs. it's one position that's pretty important, especially when the one guy we have in yak has a bad back that needs to be managed to get through a season.

Ok, so you want a Nick Richards type then?

[TheRaptor!]

Why is noone saying anything about us giving up Eubanks for nothing? Hes a quality back up

[Raptorfan2012]

Why did we cut Wiseman so fast last year? Even the Pacers tried him out again after salary dumping him. We could have at least worked him out to see what he can do.

[Johnny Bball]

Why is noone saying anything about us giving up Eubanks for nothing? Hes a quality back up

Because he isn't quality and is useful on really bad teams. How is CMB and the team not better in every way getting with CMB getting those minutes.

[everdiso]

How many teams really have more than 1 Poeltl body type that can actually play?

[PushDaRock]

Why is noone saying anything about us giving up Eubanks for nothing? Hes a quality back up

Because he isn't quality and is useful on really bad teams. How is CMB and the team not better in every way getting with CMB getting those minutes.

It's so weird how people keep bringing up these bigs we could get or could have had that are only productive on teams that suck.

Getting a scrub big and actually playing them also means less mins for Mamu and CMB, how are those good ideas?

[Raptorfan2012]

Why is noone saying anything about us giving up Eubanks for nothing? Hes a quality back up

Because he isn't quality and is useful on really bad teams. How is CMB and the team not better in every way getting with CMB getting those minutes.

It's so weird how people keep bringing up these bigs we could get or could have had that are only productive on teams that suck.

Getting a scrub big and actually playing them also means less mins for Mamu and CMB, how are those good ideas?

We have a roster spot open and we are consistently being out-rebounded by other teams that are bigger than us. CMB is more of a forward who can play occasional C minutes; he cannot keep playing against guys who are bigger and stronger than him without extra wear and tear. Getting a guy who can step in just to throw their size around and grab a few boards when needed will help; we don't have anyone with that skill set right now.

[PushDaRock]

Because he isn't quality and is useful on really bad teams. How is CMB and the team not better in every way getting with CMB getting those minutes.

It's so weird how people keep bringing up these bigs we could get or could have had that are only productive on teams that suck.

Getting a scrub big and actually playing them also means less mins for Mamu and CMB, how are those good ideas?

We have a roster spot open and we are consistently being out-rebounded by other teams that are bigger than us. CMB is more of a forward who can play occasional C minutes; he cannot keep playing against guys who are bigger and stronger than him without extra wear and tear. Getting a guy who can step in just to throw their size around and grab a few boards when needed will help; we don't have anyone with that skill set right now.

There's tax considerations. If they were set to go over the tax no matter what, obviously it's a no brainer to add an emergency break the glass C with the empty roster spot that's not being used anyways. But, that's an ownership decision. It's most likely that we will wait for the deadline to see how well the team is doing before doing something on this front and deciding what to do about the tax situation.

The point is having no Jak also allows for extra mins to be given to CMB. If Jak is out there, he's only getting the Scottie backup mins which is about 15 mins a game. Adding a scrub big and playing them means less mins for CMB and I would prefer they just give those mins to CMB instead when Jak is out. If Jak is out long term, that's a different consideration and another big is absolutely necessary.

[anotherhomer]

It's so weird how people keep bringing up these bigs we could get or could have had that are only productive on teams that suck.

Getting a scrub big and actually playing them also means less mins for Mamu and CMB, how are those good ideas?

We have a roster spot open and we are consistently being out-rebounded by other teams that are bigger than us. CMB is more of a forward who can play occasional C minutes; he cannot keep playing against guys who are bigger and stronger than him without extra wear and tear. Getting a guy who can step in just to throw their size around and grab a few boards when needed will help; we don't have anyone with that skill set right now.

There's tax considerations. If they were set to go over the tax no matter what, obviously it's a no brainer to add an emergency break the glass C with the empty roster spot that's not being used anyways. But, that's an ownership decision. It's most likely that we will wait for the deadline to see how well the team is doing before doing something on this front and deciding what to do about the tax situation.

The point is having no Jak also allows for extra mins to be given to CMB. If Jak is out there, he's only getting the Scottie backup mins which is about 15 mins a game. Adding a scrub big and playing them means less mins for CMB and I would prefer they just give those mins to CMB instead when Jak is out. If Jak is out long term, that's a different consideration and another big is absolutely necessary.

ya i agree, we seen what happen in 22-23, OG, Scottie, Pascal took turns playing center, and it wore them down

[Johnny Bball]

Because he isn't quality and is useful on really bad teams. How is CMB and the team not better in every way getting with CMB getting those minutes.

It's so weird how people keep bringing up these bigs we could get or could have had that are only productive on teams that suck.

Getting a scrub big and actually playing them also means less mins for Mamu and CMB, how are those good ideas?

We have a roster spot open and we are consistently being out-rebounded by other teams that are bigger than us. CMB is more of a forward who can play occasional C minutes; he cannot keep playing against guys who are bigger and stronger than him without extra wear and tear. Getting a guy who can step in just to throw their size around and grab a few boards when needed will help; we don't have anyone with that skill set right now.

IMO, this is where the rather large misunderstanding is with most people here. No, he is not. They have been using Draymond as the example when talking about CMB, and that's far closer than Siakam who is never a centre.

either way, this is about minutes and bring in another backup chump just takes minutes away from 4 guys it should be going to. They already have Mamu doing some of that, and they should not make it worse.

There is nothing wrong with waiting until the deadline and spreading those minutes where they should be until then, and then deciding if another emergency centre is needed. And that is also when they will have cleared cap space.


And until then they can teach these guys the difference between blocks and challenges they should make, and when they should not and should rebound instead.

[manjusaka]

It's so weird how people keep bringing up these bigs we could get or could have had that are only productive on teams that suck.

Getting a scrub big and actually playing them also means less mins for Mamu and CMB, how are those good ideas?

We have a roster spot open and we are consistently being out-rebounded by other teams that are bigger than us. CMB is more of a forward who can play occasional C minutes; he cannot keep playing against guys who are bigger and stronger than him without extra wear and tear. Getting a guy who can step in just to throw their size around and grab a few boards when needed will help; we don't have anyone with that skill set right now.

IMO, this is where the rather large misunderstanding is with most people here. No, he is not. They have been using Draymond as the example when talking about CMB, and that's far closer than Siakam who is never a centre.

either way, this is about minutes and bring in another backup chump just takes minutes away from 4 guys it should be going to. They already have Mamu doing some of that, and they should not make it worse.

There is nothing wrong with waiting until the deadline and spreading those minutes where they should be until then, and then deciding if another emergency centre is needed. And that is also when they will have cleared cap space.


And until then they can teach these guys the difference between blocks and challenges they should make, and when they should not and should rebound instead.

Draymond was a 4 at the beginning when Bogut was the C. CMB is closer to C than Siakam, but still a power forward and small ball center, just like Draymond you had mentioned. Although CMB and Horford had the same reach, Horford has an inch or so on CMB. Again, Horford was a 4 in college, and later became a small ball C in the NBA.

[Johnny Bball]

We have a roster spot open and we are consistently being out-rebounded by other teams that are bigger than us. CMB is more of a forward who can play occasional C minutes; he cannot keep playing against guys who are bigger and stronger than him without extra wear and tear. Getting a guy who can step in just to throw their size around and grab a few boards when needed will help; we don't have anyone with that skill set right now.

IMO, this is where the rather large misunderstanding is with most people here. No, he is not. They have been using Draymond as the example when talking about CMB, and that's far closer than Siakam who is never a centre.

either way, this is about minutes and bring in another backup chump just takes minutes away from 4 guys it should be going to. They already have Mamu doing some of that, and they should not make it worse.

There is nothing wrong with waiting until the deadline and spreading those minutes where they should be until then, and then deciding if another emergency centre is needed. And that is also when they will have cleared cap space.


And until then they can teach these guys the difference between blocks and challenges they should make, and when they should not and should rebound instead.

Draymond was a 4 at the beginning when Bogut was the C. CMB is closer to C than Siakam, but still a power forward and small ball center, just like Draymond you had mentioned. Although CMB and Horford had the same reach, Horford has an inch or so on CMB. Again, Horford was a 4 in college, and later became a small ball C in the NBA.

And Horford was best at smallball C by a whole lot, and nearly useless at PF when Philly used him that way. His biggest success came as a smallball C. And nobody like Horford was a smallball C when he was in college because it didn't exist.

[Slim_Charles]

Time to make a trade for Gafford

[Jadoogar]

Time to make a trade for Gafford

Gafford or Lively should be the targets. Dallas needs some guards, maybe they are interested in Jakobe or Abaji?

Can't really move Shead since he's our only backup point guard.

[Shakril]

Poeltl has become quite injury prone.

It's kind of worrisome that we gave him that contract.

Thats not what injury prone means.

Injury prone means, that some guy is constantly injured and misses a lot of time every year.

Poeltl had exactly one injury in his career that kept him out for a longer time and that was January 2024. Every other time he missed time, was either through small things or precaution cause it wasnt necessary to play him. Right now, he missed 4 games out of 9, and one of those games was precaution.

Maybe, if the current issue lingers and stays, yes then its a problem. But he has not missed a lot of time, compared to IQ or even Barnes.

[everdiso]

more good players is always good but I don't think taking away minutes from Mamu and CMB would be my first choice in trying to upgrade the team.