Shams: Raps one of teams to pursue Anthony Davis

[LoveMyRaps]

I've thought about that one. I would rather have Kyrie than AD. His price tag is a lot better& I like his game.

I'd rather have Kyrie as well. Gives us an alpha scorer. One of the best shot creators and makers in the league.

he's 33 so there's that

Still a bonafide star and one of the best combo guards in the league.

[Merit]

With Kyrie slated to return soon, would y'all trade Quickley + Ochai for him?

Hell yes and it’s not even a question. Just do that and keep poeltl instead of trading for AD.

PG Kyrie/Shead
SG RJ/Walter
SF BI/Gradey
PF Scottie/CMB
C Jak/Mamu

Now that team can really make some noise.

[ATLTimekeeper]

With Kyrie slated to return soon, would y'all trade Quickley + Ochai for him?

I've thought about that one. I would rather have Kyrie than AD. His price tag is a lot better& I like his game.

I'd rather have Kyrie as well. Gives us an alpha scorer. One of the best shot creators and makers in the league.

ACL tear in his 30s? He's cooked. Gonna be an expensive bench scorer for the rest of his career. One of those guys that will just want to play with friends in a big market.

[MEDIC]

I agree haven't healthy players is important, but our issue right now, is that the talent level doesn't cut it. For those that hated the Ingram trade, if you look back now it was worth the injury risk cause he brings a complete new dimension to the game. When Ingram hit that game winner a few weeks back, that was the first time I think anyone has felt comfortable with someone taking the game winning shot. That's the kind of talent offensively and defensively that you need to compete at the highest level.

When guys like AD come to market you need to really consider seriously!

One of our main problems is depth. We always drop off when one of our starters get injured.

We didn't give up anything for Ingram. We'd have to give up two starters for AD.

Getting a back-up defensive C and wing 6th man would improve the team a lot more than AD.

I agree. If theae guys want to get serious about winning, The Gradey & JaKobe types have to go & we need some capable bench veterans.

It did wonders for us when we added PPatt, Vasquez, Chuck, etc

Also......look at what the Pistons did last season. People.questioned their direction at the time, but....Kind.of.reminded me.of when we added.Oak & AD.

Having proven veterans makes a massive difference.

[Indeed]

Yeah, I've warmed up to the idea of trading for AD. Mainly because it'd involve getting rid of Poeltl.

Poeltl and IQs contracts could still be good. Trading them for AD makes sense from the numbers point of view and we'd get the better player.

The part that doesn't make sense is where he'd be used. Do we put him at C and get him injured again or are we looking for Gafford back there?

Gafford
AD
Ingram
Barnes?
RJ?

I'm not sure what that would look like

I don't get all of the panic over Yak's injury. I get it that it is a critical role on the team, and it is a back injury. But it seems like something that could probably be managed. Also, he just turned 30, and has generally averaged 70 games per season, vs Davis who is turning 33 soon, and has averaged closer to like 55 games per season over the last few seasons.

Giving up two starters to bring in an injury prone, highly paid star, seems like a team asking for disaster. Contracts like that can be crippling for a franchise, just look at the Sixers, with two of those deals on their books.

As much as people like to bitch about the salaries the Raps starters are getting paid, at least they are performing well on those deals. I think RJ will probably get an extension similar to IQ's. Not a massive overpayment. How is BI going to ask for more money than Barnes? He could get it from one of the bottom dwelling teams, but does he really want to be in that situation for a few extra dollars? It is still a core with ages ranging from 24 to 28, which is still decently young.

For the bench players, which are all rookies on rookie contracts, there isn't a huge investment in them. Guys that don't perform are not going to get extensions. The team needs to be tight on the next deals offered out, because their big investments are in the starters. But JKW & CMB seem to be guys that will stick around, because they still have many years left on rookie deals, and both can play D.

We cannot afford Garfford or Poeltl or a legit C with the salary of Davis, but I dont envision Davis nor Barnes will play the C, so we will need to include Barrett or Barnes or Ingram, but a big lineup may not provide enough scoring from the guards.

Afterall, Davis and Barnes play the same position, so perhaps we are just the third team to faciliate the trade if we are not including Barnes. And the passing of Poeltl fits our team, which is why we extended him.

[TGM]

I agree haven't healthy players is important, but our issue right now, is that the talent level doesn't cut it. For those that hated the Ingram trade, if you look back now it was worth the injury risk cause he brings a complete new dimension to the game. When Ingram hit that game winner a few weeks back, that was the first time I think anyone has felt comfortable with someone taking the game winning shot. That's the kind of talent offensively and defensively that you need to compete at the highest level.

When guys like AD come to market you need to really consider seriously!

One of our main problems is depth. We always drop off when one of our starters get injured.

We didn't give up anything for Ingram. We'd have to give up two starters for AD.

Getting a back-up defensive C and wing 6th man would improve the team a lot more than AD.

I agree. If theae guys want to get serious about winning, The Gradey & JaKobe types have to go & we need some capable bench veterans.

It did wonders for us when we added PPatt, Vasquez, Chuck, etc

Also......look at what the Pistons did last season. People.questioned their direction at the time, but....Kind.of.reminded me.of when we added.Oak & AD.

Having proven veterans makes a massive difference.

Absolutely! Some folks on here think it’s just about pure young talent. However, every team that has won a chip added vet talent to put them to the next level. Caruso and Hartenstein for OKC, Fred for Houston, San Antonio adding guys like Kornet, Paul. You need the vets so I can see how guys like Klay, Paul make sense. With this being said we are still need another alpha scorer. We need two guys on our team that want the ball at anytime of the game. OKC had both Jalen and SGA. Celtics had Tatum and Brown, Nuggets had Murray and Jokic, Lakers had Bron and AD, Gs had Curry and Klay and KD. Bucks had Giannis and prime Middleton. At the moment we have Ingram only and no second alpha scorer.

[Jstock12]

You only trade for AD if you're 1 piece away from being a contender. Do people here really think AD elevates this Raptors team to OKC level? I would say not even close. Contender to get to ECF? Yeah maybe. That doesn't seem like the goal you should give up your future (or current depth) assets for.

[sidsid]

Yeah, I've warmed up to the idea of trading for AD. Mainly because it'd involve getting rid of Poeltl.

Poeltl and IQs contracts could still be good. Trading them for AD makes sense from the numbers point of view and we'd get the better player.

The part that doesn't make sense is where he'd be used. Do we put him at C and get him injured again or are we looking for Gafford back there?

Gafford
AD
Ingram
Barnes?
RJ?

I'm not sure what that would look like

I don't get all of the panic over Yak's injury. I get it that it is a critical role on the team, and it is a back injury. But it seems like something that could probably be managed. Also, he just turned 30, and has generally averaged 70 games per season, vs Davis who is turning 33 soon, and has averaged closer to like 55 games per season over the last few seasons.

Giving up two starters to bring in an injury prone, highly paid star, seems like a team asking for disaster. Contracts like that can be crippling for a franchise, just look at the Sixers, with two of those deals on their books.

As much as people like to bitch about the salaries the Raps starters are getting paid, at least they are performing well on those deals. I think RJ will probably get an extension similar to IQ's. Not a massive overpayment. How is BI going to ask for more money than Barnes? He could get it from one of the bottom dwelling teams, but does he really want to be in that situation for a few extra dollars? It is still a core with ages ranging from 24 to 28, which is still decently young.

For the bench players, which are all rookies on rookie contracts, there isn't a huge investment in them. Guys that don't perform are not going to get extensions. The team needs to be tight on the next deals offered out, because their big investments are in the starters. But JKW & CMB seem to be guys that will stick around, because they still have many years left on rookie deals, and both can play D.

Trading starters is a pretty irrelevant distinction. The vast majority of most teams big contracts - what you need for trades - end up in the starting lineup. The distinction that matters is moving 2 role players who take up cap space for a bonafide superstar, which in the NBA is a locked in decision (the issue is the future assets). The Cavs playoff fit issues with Collins/Garland are known to everyone, and the ideal scenario isn't to swap them out individually for different pieces, but to upgrade to a superstar (Giannis) to change their status from pretender to contender; but they're a second apron team so they're stuck.

The injury issue matters a lot if we're giving up unprotected picks in the next few years. Because that leads to the bad tanking scenarios. If you have your pick, then it's just a bonus tanking scenario for that year of injuries come up.

As for the AD regular season PF issue. That's what young players like Barnes and CMB are for. To take some of that wear and tear at C while they're young and can absorb it (see JDub in OKC last year). They also get to play next to an all-time great defender. Good reps to have and learn.

[LoveMyRaps]

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Wording on this sounds a bit weird. Idk feels like the Raps are telling the rest of the league that he’s clear to be traded.

[Merit]

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Wording on this sounds a bit weird. Idk feels like the Raps are telling the rest of the league that he’s clear to be traded.

I feel you’re overthinking it, but yes, there is a lot of smoke right now. Most of it coming from this board, LOL.

[mademan]

It would likely be RJ + pick(s) based, and its hard to make the money work without Poeltl who has absolute terrible value right now. If we could do it for RJ/Poeltl and a pair of 1sts, ya, sign me up. I doubt it though

[mademan]

Hollinger and Duncan had a pod recently and they said basically we overpay everyone and, it should be no shock that there a cost for that.

Nothing truer has been stated about the Masai FO the last couple years. You look at IQ and Poeltl early extensions....who the hell are we bidding against? They bent over backwards to please role players instead of just competing for their services in the open market

[JB7]

Poeltl and IQs contracts could still be good. Trading them for AD makes sense from the numbers point of view and we'd get the better player.

The part that doesn't make sense is where he'd be used. Do we put him at C and get him injured again or are we looking for Gafford back there?

Gafford
AD
Ingram
Barnes?
RJ?

I'm not sure what that would look like

I don't get all of the panic over Yak's injury. I get it that it is a critical role on the team, and it is a back injury. But it seems like something that could probably be managed. Also, he just turned 30, and has generally averaged 70 games per season, vs Davis who is turning 33 soon, and has averaged closer to like 55 games per season over the last few seasons.

Giving up two starters to bring in an injury prone, highly paid star, seems like a team asking for disaster. Contracts like that can be crippling for a franchise, just look at the Sixers, with two of those deals on their books.

As much as people like to bitch about the salaries the Raps starters are getting paid, at least they are performing well on those deals. I think RJ will probably get an extension similar to IQ's. Not a massive overpayment. How is BI going to ask for more money than Barnes? He could get it from one of the bottom dwelling teams, but does he really want to be in that situation for a few extra dollars? It is still a core with ages ranging from 24 to 28, which is still decently young.

For the bench players, which are all rookies on rookie contracts, there isn't a huge investment in them. Guys that don't perform are not going to get extensions. The team needs to be tight on the next deals offered out, because their big investments are in the starters. But JKW & CMB seem to be guys that will stick around, because they still have many years left on rookie deals, and both can play D.

Trading starters is a pretty irrelevant distinction. The vast majority of most teams big contracts - what you need for trades - end up in the starting lineup. The distinction that matters is moving 2 role players who take up cap space for a bonafide superstar, which in the NBA is a locked in decision (the issue is the future assets). The Cavs playoff fit issues with Collins/Garland are known to everyone, and the ideal scenario isn't to swap them out individually for different pieces, but to upgrade to a superstar (Giannis) to change their status from pretender to contender; but they're a second apron team so they're stuck.

The injury issue matters a lot if we're giving up unprotected picks in the next few years. Because that leads to the bad tanking scenarios. If you have your pick, then it's just a bonus tanking scenario for that year of injuries come up.

As for the AD regular season PF issue. That's what young players like Barnes and CMB are for. To take some of that wear and tear at C while they're young and can absorb it (see JDub in OKC last year). They also get to play next to an all-time great defender. Good reps to have and learn.

Right now, this team leans heavily on its starters, for production. If they trade 2 of them for an injury prone star, they could be playing short handed for a good chunk of the season, relying on bench players that have not been able to fill the void.

I honestly don't see the Raps making any big moves. They have already done that, with the OG, Pascal and Ingram trades. Now it is just getting this team to be relevant again, which they have been successful with a record of 15-11. Being a relevant team in the East again means other star players might also be interested in playing here, which opens up future (2 years out) trade windows.

[LoveMyRaps]

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Wording on this sounds a bit weird. Idk feels like the Raps are telling the rest of the league that he’s clear to be traded.

I feel you’re overthinking it, but yes, there is a lot of smoke right now. Most of it coming from this board, LOL.

Hahaha maybe so. But you're right about their being a lot of smoke.

Marc Stein said he anticipates their being 1-2 trades between today and tomorrow.

Reason being:

“Based on the current CBA, any player that is traded by (Tuesday) December 16th 2025 is eligible to be re-packaged in a subsequent trade on February 5th 2026 deadline day.”

[LarSiN]

No AD and definitely no Kyrie please

[mademan]

No AD and definitely no Kyrie please

Only way we get Kyrie is by shipping out IQ, and i'd take that in a second

[LarSiN]

No AD and definitely no Kyrie please

Only way we get Kyrie is by shipping out IQ, and i'd take that in a second

I'm sure many would, I wouldn't.

[NinjaBro]

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Wording on this sounds a bit weird. Idk feels like the Raps are telling the rest of the league that he’s clear to be traded.

I feel you’re overthinking it, but yes, there is a lot of smoke right now. Most of it coming from this board, LOL.

It's not just this board. It's the only thing that makes sense. If we're going to trade for a big fish it's RJ, IQ or Poeltl going out to match salaries. Since we're not moving Barnes or Ingram, there's no one left of any value.

[MiamiSPX]

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Wording on this sounds a bit weird. Idk feels like the Raps are telling the rest of the league that he’s clear to be traded.

It's not just the wording that is weird, it's the timing. Today is the day a bunch of guys around the league can now be traded, and you release an official statement indicating RJ is coming back soon from injury?

[Tha Cynic]

Hollinger and Duncan had a pod recently and they said basically we overpay everyone and, it should be no shock that there a cost for that.

Nothing truer has been stated about the Masai FO the last couple years. You look at IQ and Poeltl early extensions....who the hell are we bidding against? They bent over backwards to please role players instead of just competing for their services in the open market

We are Toronto, not Miami, LA or NY.

No **** we overpay - because we have to.

I’m not sure why this keeps being brought up. Clearly those “analysts” need to look a bit deeper than surface level reporting

Our three best free agent signings ever have been two guys from Europe who were support players and Mamu.