Grange: Raptors prepared to be patient with Webster leading over the long term

[Raptorfan2012]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/raptors-prepared-to-be-patient-with-webster-leading-over-the-long-term/

Not sure how much Grange knows, but basically Raptors are not in for Morant, Davis doesn't really make sense for our timeline, have not verified whether the Raptors are in on Sabonis, Raptors don't have expiring deals that other teams may value, and Raptors more likely to just trade Abaji for a back up C.

[Lord_Zedd]

I’ve had two NBA insiders suggest to me in recent weeks that Webster is in the last year of his contract and, as a result, is scouring the market for bold moves that could accelerate the Raptors' timeline.

Whichever direction Webster and the Raptors take as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches, there is one thing that is certain:
Webster is not making short-term decisions based on his contract status.

Wait what? I thought he signed an 2yr extension this summer

[WuTang_CMB]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/raptors-prepared-to-be-patient-with-webster-leading-over-the-long-term/

I thought they extended Webster in the off-season ?
Well at least ownership and him are on the same page. See where we are after the deadline. But seems like Pelley/Rogers are invested in Bobby and giving him the road to improve the club over the long term. Last thing we want is meddling and rash decisions.

As Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster nears his first trade deadline as the club’s top decision-maker, there have been various theories floated about how he’ll approach one of the key inflection points on the NBA calendar.

Will he be aggressive, trying to take advantage of the Raptors' unexpectedly good start, and a relatively wide-open Eastern Conference, even if it means risking future flexibility?

Or will he treat it like a bargain shopper might, picking over potential deals nearing their best-before date, and try to exact a good deal even if there might be some warts on it?

Or will he simply stand pat and allow the remainder of the regular season to unfold mostly undisturbed, content to continue gathering information with an eye towards making roster-shifting moves in the summer?

There is even a school of thought in the NBA marketplace of whispered ideas that Webster is under pressure to prove himself to new bosses and a new ownership structure at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (now majority-owned by Rogers Communications, which also owns Sportsnet).

I’ve had two NBA insiders suggest to me in recent weeks that Webster is in the last year of his contract and, as a result, is scouring the market for bold moves that could accelerate the Raptors' timeline.

I spoke with another on Monday: “I’ve heard multiple times that they are feeling some pressure to win,” said one Western Conference source. “They are interested in a significant move because they feel some heat to justify their jobs.”

It’s the undercurrent that helps explain why the Raptors have so often been rumoured as a team of interest when it comes to any of the so-called needle-movers that may be available for trade, from Trae Young to Anthony Davis to Ja Morant or Domantas Sabonis.

But quite often the collective wisdom trails the on-the-ground reality.

Whichever direction Webster and the Raptors take as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches, there is one thing that is certain:

Webster is not making short-term decisions based on his contract status.

Quite the opposite.

According to multiple sources, Webster and the Raptors have had meaningful discussions on a multi-year extension to his current deal with talks expected to pick up after the trade deadline.

Certainly the notion that Webster is under any sort of expectation to pull a rabbit out of a hat to ensure his long-term future seemed far-fetched if you watched him interact comfortably with a rarely seen but noteworthy group prior to the Raptors' game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.

Well before tip-off, Webster was holding court with not only MLSE president Keith Pelley — the two have forged what is described by insiders as “an incredibly strong” relationship since Pelley took over the reins at the Raptors' parent company in April 2024 — but also Edward Rogers and Tony Staffieri, executive chairman and chief executive officer, respectively, of Rogers Communications.

“There’s a really good vibe,” said one. “Everyone is comfortable with each other. The communication is good. It seems like there is a big-picture view of the whole thing. It’s kind of (an) old-school approach to dealing with management. There’s a lot of runway, and no rush. Everything has cooled off (since the decision to part ways with former Raptors president Masai Ujiri last June). They’ve really come a long way, considering there was an executive search this past summer.”

Said another: “Everything is with a view to the long term. There was some pressure early on regarding proof-of-concept — Could Scottie Barnes take a step? How would Brandon Ingram fit? — but that’s there in every job.”

The relationship has grown steadily since Webster was given the top basketball role — although not a new title — after Pelley concluded his search for a new president last summer to replace Ujiri by deciding to stick with Webster as the team’s top executive.

There was a feeling-out process, initially, regarding how Webster would handle himself in the top role but how the team performed at Summer League, the strong showing by Raptors 905 in the G League and, most importantly, the Raptors' good showing in the first half of the NBA season has built trust on all sides.

Six months since Pelley decided his best choice to lead the Raptors was already in-house, there are no regrets.

Asked directly about Webster’s contract status and how it may or may not be a factor in any decisions that need to be made leading up to the trade deadline, Pelley was crystal clear, telling me: “There is no pressure regarding the trade deadline or his contract,” said Pelley. “And he is 100 per cent aware of that. The team is moving in the right direction and I’m convinced that Bobby will make the right moves, at the right time, to make us better. This team under Bobby’s direction, will contend for championships.”

But when?

That’s where this trade deadline comes in and the answer, per multiple sources, is that the Raptors are prepared to be patient. The Raptors, who continue their road trip Tuesday against Golden State (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT), have the seventh-youngest roster in the NBA at 25.8 years old, and that’s with little-used 39-year-old Garrett Temple bringing up the average. Jakob Poeltl, 30, is the only rotation player older than 28. The franchise’s best player, Barnes, is just 24 and in the midst of a career season, and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles is proving to be the rarest kind of rookie: one who impacts winning. The Raptors' hopes for the 21-year-old are very high.

[Clutch0z24]

So basically everything you just said the opposite is the truth Grange does not have sources....He is wrong more than he is right about anything.

[WuTang_CMB]

A more likely scenario for the Raptors is they explore the market for rotation-level bigs that they can acquire for trades centring on Ochai Agbaji’s expiring $6.4-million contract. The search might be more urgent if Poeltl’s return (he was last healthy on Dec. 15) continues to get pushed back and the thumb injury Murray-Boyles — who has performed well at centre even at six-foot-seven — suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers keeps the talented rookie off the floor for an extended period.

The names to watch there include Day’Ron Sharpe of the Brooklyn Nets and Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic.

I have also heard from multiple sources that second-year centre Yves Missi is available from New Orleans as the Pelicans look to focus their rebuild around rookie big Derik Queen, although the Raptors' interest in the 21-year-old taken 21st in the 2024 draft is unclear.

But there are two seeming certainties as the trade deadline approaches: Toronto will make a move to duck under the luxury-tax line (they are $967,269 over it, per Spotrac.com) and whatever ever else the Raptors decide to do, Webster’s timeline to reshape the Raptors into a contender extends well past this season.

[Spates]

LMAO. Bad omen for Bobby. We are getting Morant

[WuTang_CMB]

Watch on YouTube

[ItsDanger]

Bobby is officially on the hot seat.

[earthtone]

People believe un-sourced rumours from random Twitter bots, but choose to disregard an article by a writer who's followed the team for 20 years and got the President of MLSE on record for the story.

Bobby being on the hot seat/under pressure to make a huge splash never made any sense. We're young, we're clearly improving, and we're less than a year removed from having already made a big move

[WuTang_CMB]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[sidsid]

Trying to push this as some sort of shift in direction is nonsense.

We've been trying to acquire star players every year since the Giannis offseason. Durant, then Dame, then Durant again, now every guard and big on the market, Giannis in perpetuity.

We've traded or swapped around picks to get immediate talent almost every year. Jak trade, Thad trade, Ochai trade, BI trade.

The FO has tripled down on this approach and there is no evidence of daylight between Masai and Bobby on this.

[NBA Sheady]

Level setting expectations before the deadline.

[Basketball_Jones]

Is grange the new Doug smith lol. I mean this is good news depending on your stance but I’m at least happy we’re not in on Morant and Davis.

[sidsid]

Level setting expectations before the deadline.

Yeah. I've bolded the only random musing Grange stumbled upon that matters for this deadline.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/raptors-prepared-to-be-patient-with-webster-leading-over-the-long-term/

Not sure how much Grange knows, but basically Raptors are not in for Morant, Davis doesn't really make sense for our timeline, have not verified whether the Raptors are in on Sabonis, Raptors don't have expiring deals that other teams may value, and Raptors more likely to just trade Abaji for a back up C.

[LoveMyRaps]

I’d rather we stand pat than get desperate and trade a bunch of picks for Morant and/or AD.

[Nature]

People believe un-sourced rumours from random Twitter bots, but choose to disregard an article by a writer who's followed the team for 20 years and got the President of MLSE on record for the story.

Bobby being on the hot seat/under pressure to make a huge splash never made any sense. We're young, we're clearly improving, and we're less than a year removed from having already made a big move

I get your point but Grange doesn't have the best track record.

[WWSRD]

blah blah blah.............fix the roster ya suits.

[Tripod]

He was just on The Raps Show and he seemed quite confident that they won't go after Ja and they WILL be under the cap.

Missi seems like a guy they are looking at with intent.

[Tor_Raps]

Lets be real, no one wants IQ/Poeltl and only our fanbase seems to value RJ. We probably checked if they want our trash and probably had to include a ton more to make it happen, which wasn't happening.

Gotta hope CMB becomes a star because thats our only pathway to relevancy. Not enough upside on this roster outside of another Ingram like trade.

[Clutch0z24]

People believe un-sourced rumours from random Twitter bots, but choose to disregard an article by a writer who's followed the team for 20 years and got the President of MLSE on record for the story.

Bobby being on the hot seat/under pressure to make a huge splash never made any sense. We're young, we're clearly improving, and we're less than a year removed from having already made a big move

Its because Grange has a history of being very wrong about so many things in the past its hard to take reporting serious from someone who has a history of reporting false information in the past.