PG: Raptors Win!

[PushDaRock]

The best part is they reacquired the pick during the Finals. Dumars was completely out to lunch. The moment Indy called them about the pick, a day after Hali originally injured his leg (before his achilles went the game after), you would think Dumars would question the timing. Nope, Pelicans gladly traded Indy's 2026 FRP for Indy's 2025 FRP.

That wasn't even the reasoning behind why Indy did the deal though. They did it to save some money to sign Turner thinking the 23rd pick from this last draft wasn't going to help them this upcoming season with all the depth they had.

I think the timing of the deal leads me to think Hali's injury played a role. They could have traded that FRP at any point up to the draft, to clear money. I wonder if Hali actually partially tore his Achilles in a game earlier, before it actually tore completely. This injury has shades of the Durant Achilles tear.

He suffered a calf strain in game 5 and the very next day the trade happened. You think they just called them right after the game and completed the trade in that time span?

[ill-Will03]

No clue how you can have any negative thoughts after that game. That was a great win.

Such a nice change after what we went through for the last 3 years. This team is genuinely fun to watch.

[tsherkin]

Such a nice change after what we went through for the last 3 years. This team is genuinely fun to watch.

It was awesome to watch, wasn't it? Competitive, playing the way they should play. Nice distribution of offense, but everyone doing their thing. A bunch of guys all contributing together.

Was good times.

[MEDIC]

Also, once Hali went down for the season, it became clear with the team not resigning Turner and trading to reacquire their 1st for the upcoming draft, that they were probably looking at tanking this season. Their tank has been aided by injuries to start the season (much as was the case for the Raps last season).

I'm sure competitive players like Nesmith/Nembhard/Siakam who just made it to the final the previous season, are not exactly thrilled with tanking this season, especially since they only have so many years left in their careers.

I had no idea that they re-acquired their pick. This makes sense now. They are in full on tank mode.

The best part is they reacquired the pick during the Finals. Dumars was completely out to lunch. The moment Indy called them about the pick, a day after Hali originally injured his leg (before his achilles went the game after), you would think Dumars would question the timing. Nope, Pelicans gladly traded Indy's 2026 FRP for Indy's 2025 FRP.

Haha. Short sighted for sure. Maybe the Pels thought they would already have too many youngsters on the roster.....or maybe they thought the Pacers would decline over the years.

Super smart move by the Pacers. It's an interesting situation. It kind of feels like an "insider trader" situation. The value of that pick had obviously increased substantially after that injury, but it may not have been known by all parties.

[MEDIC]

Some easy games this month, if Dick does decent, you need to trade him. His individual and team defense hasn't improved at all. What he's providing the team is replaceable. Don't see a bigger role possibly either with this roster. Plus it frees up minutes.

He’s a cost controlled asset and 22. And he’s not a main contributor right now. We can afford to be patient on this

A great selling point to a potential trade partner. If you don't see him as a shot creator, then there are lots of players like him in the league. The only likely scenario for his defense is to improve it from very bad to bad.

I do think they should sell high on Gradey if something useful comes up. I don't see his game translating in the playoffs & I don't see him as a championship level piece.

Trading him for the sake of trading him though.......bad asset management.

[Yallbecrazy]

I had no idea that they re-acquired their pick. This makes sense now. They are in full on tank mode.

The best part is they reacquired the pick during the Finals. Dumars was completely out to lunch. The moment Indy called them about the pick, a day after Hali originally injured his leg (before his achilles went the game after), you would think Dumars would question the timing. Nope, Pelicans gladly traded Indy's 2026 FRP for Indy's 2025 FRP.

Haha. Short sighted for sure. Maybe the Pels thought they would already have too many youngsters on the roster.....or maybe they thought the Pacers would decline over the years.

Super smart move by the Pacers. It's an interesting situation. It kind of feels like an "insider trader" situation. The value of that pick had obviously increased substantially after that injury, but it may not have been known by all parties.

Wait, how did they trade picks during the playoffs? Is there not a deadline where that's not allowed?

[MEDIC]

The best part is they reacquired the pick during the Finals. Dumars was completely out to lunch. The moment Indy called them about the pick, a day after Hali originally injured his leg (before his achilles went the game after), you would think Dumars would question the timing. Nope, Pelicans gladly traded Indy's 2026 FRP for Indy's 2025 FRP.

Haha. Short sighted for sure. Maybe the Pels thought they would already have too many youngsters on the roster.....or maybe they thought the Pacers would decline over the years.

Super smart move by the Pacers. It's an interesting situation. It kind of feels like an "insider trader" situation. The value of that pick had obviously increased substantially after that injury, but it may not have been known by all parties.

Wait, how did they trade picks during the playoffs? Is there not a deadline where that's not allowed?

I was thinking the same.

[JB7]

That wasn't even the reasoning behind why Indy did the deal though. They did it to save some money to sign Turner thinking the 23rd pick from this last draft wasn't going to help them this upcoming season with all the depth they had.

I think the timing of the deal leads me to think Hali's injury played a role. They could have traded that FRP at any point up to the draft, to clear money. I wonder if Hali actually partially tore his Achilles in a game earlier, before it actually tore completely. This injury has shades of the Durant Achilles tear.

He suffered a calf strain in game 5 and the very next day the trade happened. You think they just called them right after the game and completed the trade in that time span?

It was Dumars on the Pelicans side, so who knows?

[ItsDanger]

He’s a cost controlled asset and 22. And he’s not a main contributor right now. We can afford to be patient on this

A great selling point to a potential trade partner. If you don't see him as a shot creator, then there are lots of players like him in the league. The only likely scenario for his defense is to improve it from very bad to bad.

I do think they should sell high on Gradey if something useful comes up. I don't see his game translating in the playoffs & I don't see him as a championship level piece.

Trading him for the sake of trading him though.......bad asset management.

Cutting losses is a viable strategy.

[JB7]

I had no idea that they re-acquired their pick. This makes sense now. They are in full on tank mode.

The best part is they reacquired the pick during the Finals. Dumars was completely out to lunch. The moment Indy called them about the pick, a day after Hali originally injured his leg (before his achilles went the game after), you would think Dumars would question the timing. Nope, Pelicans gladly traded Indy's 2026 FRP for Indy's 2025 FRP.

Haha. Short sighted for sure. Maybe the Pels thought they would already have too many youngsters on the roster.....or maybe they thought the Pacers would decline over the years.

Super smart move by the Pacers. It's an interesting situation. It kind of feels like an "insider trader" situation. The value of that pick had obviously increased substantially after that injury, but it may not have been known by all parties.

Pelicans I believed packaged the Pacers pick in 2025 with their unprotected pick in 2026 to move up and draft Derik Queen. The brilliance of Dumars

[JB7]

He’s a cost controlled asset and 22. And he’s not a main contributor right now. We can afford to be patient on this

A great selling point to a potential trade partner. If you don't see him as a shot creator, then there are lots of players like him in the league. The only likely scenario for his defense is to improve it from very bad to bad.

I do think they should sell high on Gradey if something useful comes up. I don't see his game translating in the playoffs & I don't see him as a championship level piece.

Trading him for the sake of trading him though.......bad asset management.

The Raps need to move soon on Gradey, because next year is his last in his rookie deal. So I think they are showcasing him for a potential deal, since they already have Battle and Walter whose combined salaries in 2026-27 will be $1M less than Gradey's salary next season. While Battle is a FA the same summer as Gradey, Battle's cap hold is only $3.1M, while Gradey's is $21.4M. Battle could probably be signed to less than Gradey, and gives the team what they really need out of Gradey anyways (3pt shooting).

[JB7]

Haha. Short sighted for sure. Maybe the Pels thought they would already have too many youngsters on the roster.....or maybe they thought the Pacers would decline over the years.

Super smart move by the Pacers. It's an interesting situation. It kind of feels like an "insider trader" situation. The value of that pick had obviously increased substantially after that injury, but it may not have been known by all parties.

Wait, how did they trade picks during the playoffs? Is there not a deadline where that's not allowed?

I was thinking the same.

I think they can make trades at any time. It is about player eligibility, for instance, the trade deadline during the season is the last date a player can be traded and still be eligible to play in the playoffs for the team acquiring them.

In the case of this deal between the Pacers and Pelicans, since is was draft picks being traded, it didn't impact any rosters.

[dTox]

Read on Twitter

/mediaviewer

[Tripod]

He can’t do it in half court sets because he doesn’t have the first step for it… it works in transition because it always has… why do you think the raptors try to so hard to push every time they can… it’s easier to exploit defenses that aren’t set and are scrambling back… stop expecting things that will never happen.

lol you’re so negative bro. I am well aware of Scottie’s limitations and don’t expect him to be a franchise player or even all star to be honest but let’s wait and see.

Boogie's not wrong. It doesn't have to be received from a perspective of perpetual negativity, though. Just consider the criticism. Everyone already knows that Scottie doesn't have an impressive first step. And we don't REALLY want him creating a ton in isolation in the half-court. That's what hasn't been working for is in volume for several years.

What we have right now is a space where Scottie is thriving in transition, off-ball and when he can post. And that's what we want. We've found the happy place where we can enable him in sets where he's strong, and look elsewhere for the things he cannot do. That's what BI is for. That's a bit what Quick can do. And if our ball movement is good, we've got some spacing now, and the odd guy who can attack a closeout.

No need to task Scottie with stuff we know he isn't good at. He's thriving right now in the role we've crafted for him this year. We just need to maintain that environment for him.

As someone said earlier, all of our starting guys do things that the others can't...like RJ driving, or IQ deep 3's, etc... And on certain nights, one guys strengths might be neutralized but that's where the others need to step up and win their mismatches. Last night, BI was targeted by them and IQ, Barnes and Yak made them pay. Next fane, it might be Barnes shut down or Yak and RJ and BI will lead.

It's just finally nice to have enough talent that you don't have to FORCE guys into doing what they struggle at due to lack of options. Raps can beat teams in different ways and with different leaders on any given night.

[tsherkin]

As someone said earlier, all of our starting guys do things that the others can't...like RJ driving, or IQ deep 3's, etc... And on certain nights, one guys strengths might be neutralized but that's where the others need to step up and win their mismatches. Last night, BI was targeted by them and IQ, Barnes and Yak made them pay. Next fane, it might be Barnes shut down or Yak and RJ and BI will lead.

Yes. The talent we've assembled now has pretty good chemistry and synergy, I agree. And it's nice to see.

It's just finally nice to have enough talent that you don't have to FORCE guys into doing what they struggle at due to lack of options. Raps can beat teams in different ways and with different leaders on any given night.

Yep. Although I would still say that BI unlocks more for RJ and Scottie than vice versa, it's a pretty nice core trio to work with, and has been pretty successful so far. We're presently 9th in the league on offense, which is quite a reversal from last year. Early going, la la la, but it's been enjoyable so far.

[Tripod]

As someone said earlier, all of our starting guys do things that the others can't...like RJ driving, or IQ deep 3's, etc... And on certain nights, one guys strengths might be neutralized but that's where the others need to step up and win their mismatches. Last night, BI was targeted by them and IQ, Barnes and Yak made them pay. Next fane, it might be Barnes shut down or Yak and RJ and BI will lead.

Yes. The talent we've assembled now has pretty good chemistry and synergy, I agree. And it's nice to see.

It's just finally nice to have enough talent that you don't have to FORCE guys into doing what they struggle at due to lack of options. Raps can beat teams in different ways and with different leaders on any given night.

Yep. Although I would still say that BI unlocks more for RJ and Scottie than vice versa, it's a pretty nice core trio to work with, and has been pretty successful so far. We're presently 9th in the league on offense, which is quite a reversal from last year. Early going, la la la, but it's been enjoyable so far.

Oh for sure BI opens things up for them. On the flipside, BI can let Barnes run wild in transition or RJ driving the basket, or IQ and Jak PnR which allows BI to take some offensive plays "off".

Not "having" to have player X lead you in points every night is great to have. Balance.

[tsherkin]

Oh for sure BI opens things up for them. On the flipside, BI can let Barnes run wild in transition or RJ driving the basket, or IQ and Jak PnR which allows BI to take some offensive plays "off".

Yes, absolutely. They cover some areas for each of one another, no doubt. Balance, as you say. It's quite a shift from last year.

[Thaddy]

Scottie first team all defense

He's more effective than Mobley and with a worse front court partner in Poeltl. If Mobley was the DPOTY it's in Barnes cards too. He should be a lock for all defense this year.

[bballsparkin]

Scottie first team all defense

He's more effective than Mobley and with a worse front court partner in Poeltl. If Mobley was the DPOTY it's in Barnes cards too. He should be a lock for all defense this year.

These awards are team awards largely.

Mobley 64 wins
Gobert 56 wins
JJJ 51 wins
Smart 51 wins
Gobert 52 wins
Giannis 56 wins
Gobert 50 wins
Gobert 48 wins

Looks like you need to get around 50 wins area to get considerations.

[rapluva]

5 blocks for Scottie!?!

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And more importantly.. Zero blocks for Mobley..who was on a streak of 1 block a game.