Should we get mentors for our young team?

[ballocks]

ahh, remnants of michael curry... why stop there, how bout john long? eric williams? HERB williams? now we're building a team.

u know what, maybe it is time to bring in some vets. i was thinking to give the young gunz one season to gel but maybe that's not necessary. and when you look at the roster, with the exception of jarrett jack, there's honestly no one there to set an example. thinking long-term, it could present a major risk.

of what? i don't know. moving right along...

but who? good question, self. off the top of my head, marcus camby and/or (wait for it... you'll love this one, friends) shane battier come to mind. classy vets! but seriously, players like that. i'd even look at young vets like nick collison. hell, if we're talking about tall white guys, jeff foster too. tony battie, nazr mohammed, brian cook, tim thomas, etan thomas, isiah thomas? i don't even know if some of these guys are in the league anymore! what about rasho nesterovic?

moral of the story: i don't know if it matters. and it's not like some of these players haven't played on horrible teams themselves, so what does that say? if the right guy's not available, maybe you have no choice but to play the hand you're dealt. buying an old scrub like michael curry may not necessarily pay dividends.

on that point, some people use revisionist history when talking about the mark jackson experiment. jackson was a washout in toronto. from what i saw on the court, completely useless. i think his replacement, chris childs- young, defiant and undermining of authority at the time- brought faaaar more value to that team. so maybe the grizzled vets weren't the right tonic when you think about it??. i guess every rule has its exceptions.

oak/willis/bogues/stephen curry's dad might've been the perfect storm back in the day.

perfect storm everywhere you turn this summer.

peace

[Rawker]

i agree that boogie is probably one of the best fits for our guards but someone like Hakeem Olajuwon to work with our bigs would help their development alot, footwork, positioning, post moves. then again look at orlando and what having ewing with howard has done, nothing.

[DonYon]

you ALWAYS need a good mix of vets & young guys, it doesn't matter whether you're contending or not.

[StopitLeo]

you ALWAYS need a good mix of vets & young guys, it doesn't matter whether you're contending or not.

+1

We should bring in Kurt Thomas for the bigs.

[mikero]

PJ Carlesimo should help. He's won championships and knows what it takes to win.

The Raps have Alvin and English to help with the guards / wings. A bigman coach could certainly help Bargs + Davis.

[dawn_wan]

i say hire oak as an Assistant.

[kush-]

vets are so overrated.

unless your team is contending, you don't need vets.

[RonaldArtest]

I think Eric Williams owes us one?

[Patman]

vets are so overrated.

unless your team is contending, you don't need vets.

Player development is over-rated? This isn't NBA 2K10. Players just don't automatically improve because they're young. A lot of these guys never reach their potential. I'm not saying go out and sign a vet to play 30+ minutes. Just someone who is a true professional that the boys can look up to.

[LieCheatSteal]

Sure, short term guys that can mentor kids, get playing time and be tradeable for assets at the trade deadline. Bobby Simmons (for the SFs) and Theo Ratliff (for the PF/Cs) would be good guys to have. Could also be flipped to a contender or just outright released. Will play for peanuts too.

The young guys need someone to teach them to be professionals on and off the court.

[Harry Palmer]

First build the foundation.

THEN decorate.

[Dr Octagon]

First build the foundation.

THEN decorate.

You don't see bunch of role players as a foundation?

What's wrong with you?

[markshoe]

I know he probably won't even consider coming to Toronto in the first place, but why are the Raptors not considering signing Shaq. He's not gonna make us a contender or bring us over the top, but realistically, who on the market will. So long as Miami and Orlando are around, I don't see us having a shot regardless. Bringing in a guy like Shaq will not only make me more excited about Raptor basketball, but he can also shed a lot of knowledge and veteran leadership to our young team. Any thoughts?

[LieCheatSteal]

I know he probably won't even consider coming to Toronto in the first place, but why are the Raptors not considering signing Shaq. He's not gonna make us a contender or bring us over the top, but realistically, who on the market will. So long as Miami and Orlando are around, I don't see us having a shot regardless. Bringing in a guy like Shaq will not only make me more excited about Raptor basketball, but he can also shed a lot of knowledge and veteran leadership to our young team. Any thoughts?

I doubt he'll come to Toronto.

[Harry Palmer]

First build the foundation.

THEN decorate.

You don't see bunch of role players as a foundation?

What's wrong with you?

Insufficient parenting.

[Patman]

Sure, short term guys that can mentor kids, get playing time and be tradeable for assets at the trade deadline. Bobby Simmons (for the SFs) and Theo Ratliff (for the PF/Cs) would be good guys to have. Could also be flipped to a contender or just outright released. Will play for peanuts too.

The young guys need someone to teach them to be professionals on and off the court.

Yeah, most of those guys can't be told. They have to be shown.

[dawn_wan]

Insufficient parenting.

touche