Raptors Official 2013 Offseason Transaction Idea Thread

[Rapsobsessed7]

No. The rumor was Calderon + Bargnani for Gasol. Never was it Derozan & Bargnani.

[Double Helix]

No. The rumor was Calderon + Bargnani for Gasol. Never was it Derozan & Bargnani.

True. The talks were clearly advanced though. The rumor was widespread and seemed imminent for a time.

[miruss2001]

Bargs, Fields and Gray to GS for Jefferson and Biedrins and a protected 1st.
GS adds more shooting/diversity for spare bits. Raps get 2 expiring deals and a protected first.

A tank deal, but the type of tank deal you need: cash and hope (pick).

[StMikes31]

Going from a 34 win team to a 4-6 team would seem underwhelming and treadmill-Ish to you? You do realize that you could tank for 3 years in a row and rise up with that core and NEVER reach 4-6 seed status, right?

The Pacers were a number 8 seed not too long ago and added their own older PF in West and became top 3 and are now in the East Finals right now in game 6.

Yes it would be a treadmill move because it's a one year thing. Please tell me what's the point of that? Like we just got a new GM and now guys want to rush and make short sighted moves in order to have one glory year? How the hell do you think we got into this mess of a team anyway? Does that make much sense to you?

We have to look at the big picture here. With TL wanting a championship team and going public not agreeing with Bryan on the make up of the roster, how the hell does he go back on his word and make a run for not even a guaranteed 7-8 seed?

And you just said, we are going to rebuild. Don't you think it's wise on Masai's part to do that right away? The guy got a 5 year deal and has a lot of work to do here, he isn't going to waste time and satisfy fans like you on a one hit wonder. Give me a break.

This press conference needs to come quick because I don't think I can handle all this brutal speculation.

If the one year wonder works and you could use some of the 19 million to land a Cousins to the mix then perhaps you keep moving forward and up just as Indiana is.

Ask yourself this:

Over the course of a 3-yr rebuild do you think you will do better than:

A 17.5 PER 2-way PG
A 17.5 PER 2-way SF with athleticism to guard the Bron's, George's and Durant's of the league.
A 19.0 PER PF/C

I'd suggest that's easier said than done in 3 consecutive drafts.

A core of Lowry, Rudy, Cousins, Jonas, Ross and Amir is relatively young and talented on both ends of the court. Doing better than that in the draft is easier said than done.

And if Gasol's presence doesn't push us to another level than perhaps nobody can and we simply rebuild.

The 17.5 per 2-way PG cannot run a team nor is he a good fit with this squad. We brought this poor guy in to be an attacker, hit shots and have the ball in his hands but we don't even allow him to do it. Instead, we want the guy to play like Calderon and defer every time to Demar, Rudy. This will never work IMO. I do agree with keeping him on to increase his value and trade him at the deadline as long as one of or both of Demar and Rudy are gone.

Rudy Gay is a good player but it's his contract that's the problem. He gets paid like a superstar but hasn't liven up to it. And In 2 years, how much do you think he is going to ask for? People think he is going to get a pay cut so from what? 16 to 14 mil? Great... Need to get value for him within the next year knowing that he probably won't re-sign and we probably don't want to give him a massive contract.

Valanciunas is a stud, that is all.

Demar is a good player but is not consistent and still has some holes in his game. His D is poor and he can't hit a consistent 3. Not to mention how inefficient he is by all the long 2's he takes. Again, I would look to trade him because he still has good value.

I would certainly take the next 2 drafts and look to draft a couple stars (especially with Masai's drafting ability) and build with JV then to go ahead with the current core.

I just can't see them taking your approach. TL wants to rag on BC for his poor vision and making knee jerk moves, the one you are suggesting is just that.

[Rapsobsessed7]

No. The rumor was Calderon + Bargnani for Gasol. Never was it Derozan & Bargnani.

True. The talks were clearly advanced though. The rumor was widespread and seemed imminent for a time.

My absolute BEST offer to LAL for Gasol would be

- Andrea Bargnani
- Kleiza/Gray (think Kleiza needs to be in it for it to work)
- Quincy Acy
- Option to swap 2014 1st RD Picks (top 10 protected)

For

- Pau Gasol

Wouldn't do more than that.

[Rapsobsessed7]

Assuming Howard stays.

To TOR: Gasol
To LAL: Bargnani + Kleiza + Acy + Option To Swap 2014 1sts (top 10 protected)

- RealGM trade checker says it works with Gray instead which would save LAL solid money

LAL saves money (3+ million) and likely moves up. Gets a better fit next to Howard

Toronto gets a win now piece + a expiring

Lowry / PG
Derozan / Ross
Gay / Fields
Gasol / Amir
Val / C

[Double Helix]

2014 Raptors

PG - K. Lowry
SG - T. Ross / L. Fields
SF - R. Gay
PF - P. Gasol / A. Johnson / Q. Acy
C - J. Valanciunas / P. Gasol

2015 Raptors

PG - K. Lowry
SG - T. Ross / L. Fields
SF - R. Gay
PF - D. Cousins / A. Johnson / Q. Acy
C - J. Valanciunas / D. Cousins

Or... You could rebuild in 2015 if Pau proves that a talented PF and some 3 point shooting at the SG spot aren't enough to push this core to new heights.

[tms]

never rly understood the logic of excluding any 23-yo from the 'rebuilding' effort- esp to acquire cap room this franchise has been historically unable to translate into star pieces. i guess i see the value in the end, potentially, but the whole thing is just too risky for me. as for highlighting guys like Deron (with Father Time already breathing down his neck!) or, yikes, DMC as possible targets... i dunno. count me out. not saying it wouldnt work looking back on it five yrs from now but... too many dominoes for me. i.d much rather look elsewhere. and anyone questioning Derozans heart or dedication should be banned .

[Saul Goodman]

Assuming Howard stays.

To TOR: Gasol
To LAL: Bargnani + Kleiza + Acy + Option To Swap 2014 1sts (top 10 protected)

- RealGM trade checker says it works with Gray instead which would save LAL solid money

LAL saves money (3+ million) and likely moves up. Gets a better fit next to Howard

Toronto gets a win now piece + a expiring

Lowry / PG
Derozan / Ross
Gay / Fields
Gasol / Amir
Val / C

I'd rather send Fields.

[Rapsobsessed7]

Assuming Howard stays.

To TOR: Gasol
To LAL: Bargnani + Kleiza + Acy + Option To Swap 2014 1sts (top 10 protected)

- RealGM trade checker says it works with Gray instead which would save LAL solid money

LAL saves money (3+ million) and likely moves up. Gets a better fit next to Howard

Toronto gets a win now piece + a expiring

Lowry / PG
Derozan / Ross
Gay / Fields
Gasol / Amir
Val / C

I'd rather send Fields.

Won't fly. Takes away their ability to sign a max FA in 2014/2015. Everyone would rather send Fields, takes 2 to agree to a deal.

[Double Helix]

Other restricted targets you could try to overspend to get with some of that Pau Gasol money beyond Cousins include:

Restricted:
Demarcus Cousins
Greg Monroe
Derrick Favors
Larry Sanders

Unrestricted Free Agents
Chris Bosh
Marcin Gortat
Amare Stoudamire
Andrew Bogut
Zach Randolph
Pau Gasol
Tim Duncan

Keep in mind that you'd only go after these guys in the Pau gamble paid off and the team had a good year and a solid playoff showing. That year and showing would make it easier to pitch to the free agents on the potential for winning. We also have Leiweke here to help on pitches and explain that we are willing to go into the tax when the time is right.

[nodeal]

LA isnt doing this. Its beyond horrible for them.

[Komodo]

DH, weren't you one who said Drummond couldn't play with Val? But then you list Gortat. All those RFAs will be matched and that UFA list is horrible. I think your outlined strategy is a little clueless.

[dagger]

How is trading our longest contract (DD), and biggest dead weight ($22M/2 yrs for Bargs) for a $23 M expiring that might even be attached to a individual with a pulse a short sighted move?

Sheesh. I'd do this trade in a heartbeat, even if Pau never reported to TO. The point, IMHO, is not to get a productive PF (which we may or may not get in Pau) the point is to get rid of our major salary commitments without having to throw in picks or Acy, Ross or Amir.

We do this trade, we amnesty Kleiza, and suddenly we've got a much cleaner salary cap commitment.

So what are you going to do with this cap space. Good free agents don't sign with bad teams. Some of you are seriously delusional.

And memo to Double Helix: When has Ujiri walked away from an asset? He could have walked away from Javale McGee, and didn't. He could have walked away from Wilson Chandler, and didn't. He isn't going to give DeMar away for nothing.

This is such an ill-conceived idea. Usually you make more sense than this.

[dagger]

Other restricted targets you could try to overspend to get with some of that Pau Gasol money beyond Cousins include:

Restricted:
Demarcus Cousins
Greg Monroe
Derrick Favors
Larry Sanders

Unrestricted Free Agents
Chris Bosh
Marcin Gortat
Amare Stoudamire
Andrew Bogut
Zach Randolph
Pau Gasol
Tim Duncan

Keep in mind that you'd only go after these guys in the Pau gamble paid off and the team had a good year and a solid playoff showing. That year and showing would make it easier to pitch to the free agents on the potential for winning. We also have Leiweke here to help on pitches and explain that we are willing to go into the tax when the time is right.

What a wonderful list of UFAs, a superstar who will never play for another team but the Spurs, a supremely overpaid backup who will be getting $25 million in his final year, the invariably injured Australian big man, and a couple of over the hill guys. Gortat can't play anywhere but C, can't play a lick of D - Bargnani is a better man defender than Gortat... I mean the stupidity of it all... and seriously dude, when was the last time a leading RFA switched teams?

[Double Helix]

DH, weren't you one who said Drummond couldn't play with Val? But then you list Gortat. All those RFAs will be matched and that UFA list is horrible. I think your outlined strategy is a little clueless.

I didn't say they couldn't play together. I just didn't love Drummond as much as others did.

The only way to get a restricted free agent is to overspend to do it. Would Sacramento match 16 million per year to Cousins? Would Utah match the same for Favors? Would Detroit offer 17 million for Greg Monroe? We'd have to make it hard on them obviously. Leiweke and company know how to do that and with our willingness to go into the tax we can at least make these teams think twice.

Some of those UFAs are better fits than others obviously. Just tossing the names out there.

As for my strategy, I haven't seen anything yet from you Komodo. Must be nice to sit back and just criticize everything indefinitely and then talk about what should have happened only after the fact or discuss the unlimited potential of the draft indefinitely.

[Double Helix]

How is trading our longest contract (DD), and biggest dead weight ($22M/2 yrs for Bargs) for a $23 M expiring that might even be attached to a individual with a pulse a short sighted move?

Sheesh. I'd do this trade in a heartbeat, even if Pau never reported to TO. The point, IMHO, is not to get a productive PF (which we may or may not get in Pau) the point is to get rid of our major salary commitments without having to throw in picks or Acy, Ross or Amir.

We do this trade, we amnesty Kleiza, and suddenly we've got a much cleaner salary cap commitment.

So what are you going to do with this cap space. Good free agents don't sign with bad teams. Some of you are seriously delusional.

And memo to Double Helix: When has Ujiri walked away from an asset? He could have walked away from Javale McGee, and didn't. He could have walked away from Wilson Chandler, and didn't. He isn't going to give DeMar away for nothing.

This is such an ill-conceived idea. Usually you make more sense than this.

We wouldn't be a bad team though. We'd be good with Gasol (in theory) so pitching another PF/C on signing with us would be easier after that year.

No idea is perfect or without risk. I haven't seen much better ideas other than people talking about tanking or sticking with the status quo and Bargs being amnestied.

This move lets us see how an elite PF looks with this core. If it works we keep moving forward. If it doesn't we blow it all up. This move answers any questions we'd have of the core's upside quick.

With the way some vets keep themselves in shape and have bounced back (Garnett and Duncan come to mind) another possibility could include offering Pau a small 3 year deal if we loved what he brought and Alex Mcecknie worked some magic. I'm less thrilled with that option overall but it would be a possibility.

[True_Shooting]

One of the more persistent rumors last year for Bargnani that didn't involve the Bulls and Boozer involved LA and Pau Gasol.

Andrea Bargnani and Demar Derozan for the final year of Pau Gasol's contract could allow the Raptors to explore this core's contention potential while also giving Masai greater flexibility to blow it all up if the one year all-in attempt didn't result in one of the better Raptors seasons ever.

If it didn't work we would have Pau Gasol's 19 million dollar salary expiring and could start the rebuild sooner than the original 2 year window. In that case, we could do a sign and trade of Kyle and look to trade Rudy as a 1 yr rental. We'd then begin the tank/rebuild sooner.

If it did work and we had a great run we'd be in a better position to decide if we perhaps want to keep moving forward with the core as well. We'd still have Pau Gasol's salary expiring but rather than keep that money and start a rebuild we could make a run at a younger PF/C in Demarcus Cousins who'd be a restricted free agent. We could sell him on stepping right into Pau's old role. We'd have 19 million expiring so we could really force Sacramento's hand there and Masai has show a willingness to spend on troublesome talents (McGee). There are other free agent targets in the summer of 2014 as well (Deron Williams, Paul George, amongst many others).

Pau Gasol is perhaps the best trade target for Masai this offseason because he allows both team tank and team playoffs to decide which course seems better over the next 3-5 years sooner by giving us an impact PF/C for a year and a ton of cap space later on if it doesn't work out to start the rebuild sooner.

Thoughts?

Can you imagine Kobe being forced to play alongside Bargs and DeRozan? Especially Bargs. I could just see Kobe blowing a gasket almost every game.

[Double Helix]

One of the more persistent rumors last year for Bargnani that didn't involve the Bulls and Boozer involved LA and Pau Gasol.

Andrea Bargnani and Demar Derozan for the final year of Pau Gasol's contract could allow the Raptors to explore this core's contention potential while also giving Masai greater flexibility to blow it all up if the one year all-in attempt didn't result in one of the better Raptors seasons ever.

If it didn't work we would have Pau Gasol's 19 million dollar salary expiring and could start the rebuild sooner than the original 2 year window. In that case, we could do a sign and trade of Kyle and look to trade Rudy as a 1 yr rental. We'd then begin the tank/rebuild sooner.

If it did work and we had a great run we'd be in a better position to decide if we perhaps want to keep moving forward with the core as well. We'd still have Pau Gasol's salary expiring but rather than keep that money and start a rebuild we could make a run at a younger PF/C in Demarcus Cousins who'd be a restricted free agent. We could sell him on stepping right into Pau's old role. We'd have 19 million expiring so we could really force Sacramento's hand there and Masai has show a willingness to spend on troublesome talents (McGee). There are other free agent targets in the summer of 2014 as well (Deron Williams, Paul George, amongst many others).

Pau Gasol is perhaps the best trade target for Masai this offseason because he allows both team tank and team playoffs to decide which course seems better over the next 3-5 years sooner by giving us an impact PF/C for a year and a ton of cap space later on if it doesn't work out to start the rebuild sooner.

Thoughts?

Can you imagine Kobe being forced to play alongside Bargs and DeRozan? Especially Bargs. I could just see Kobe blowing a gasket almost every game.

That would be another perk. Lol. Honestly, the Lakers are dysfunctional and if Howard sticks they may want to see how a stretch 4 looks and a relatively young, athletic 2 guard looks being groomed for the post-Kobe era. They have already shown an interest in Bargs. As others have said... Tossing in Derozan just makes the deal that much more tempting for them.

[Neutral 123]

Anything to start over, rebuild and get out from the horrible mess BC made would be great. With that said, the Lakers would want no part of this kind of deal.