Bobby Webster Interviews Fan590/Tsn1050

[WuTang_CMB]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/590/writers-bloc/bobby-webster-dragic-barnes-siakam-rumours/

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[Dalek]

Thanks for sharing, that was a good interview with Bobby. They covered all the rumors head on.

Wants to hear Dragic wants out directly from the source (guess Bobby's Slovenian is rusty)
Siakam rumors are mainly outside noise from other teams not within the Raps - still have a high level trust
Toronto has a strong culture around not sharing rumors

Bobby's Dragic quote:

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[ATLTimekeeper]

Loads of good questions in here by guys that don't cover basketball or the NBA. The beat writers all shied away from direct Siakam questions in the presser with Bobby, but the puckheads got good solid answers out of him.

[scuervo1]

My main takeaways were that the FO tried swinging for the fences by opening salary cap space to acquire Giannis, and then having some sort of remorse when Giannis extended with Milwaukee. Bobby also said that the Raptors are not looking to go under the cap again in the foreseeable future, which means in order to to get a superstar we would be looking to develop one internally or by trading for one with another team.

[2019nbachamps]

What did he say about rebuilding?

[Clay Davis]

One interesting tidbit was when he mentioned how Masai was actually their second choice for VPBO (or whatever his title was), and that they actually struck out on convincing a couple of extremely educated and lucid posters from here to take the role, as they realized that being an armchair GM is actually more difficult and involved than being an actual GM.

[gojoorange]

Finally someone asks real questions. Bobby was more candid than normal too.

[Adopt_Me_Masai]

Bobby also said that the Raptors are not looking to go under the cap again in the foreseeable future, which means in order to to get a superstar we would be looking to develop one internally or by trading for one with another team.

Ya I think it's pretty clear looking at our cap sheet that we won't have cap space for the next 3 years. Between Siakam, FVV, OG, Trent, Barnes, and Birch that's already close to $100 million plus their salaries escalate. In addition to the Flynn and Achiuwa rookie scale contracts for 3 more years + minimums/empty roster cap charges, we're going to have to rely more on internal development and the trade market but those are what the Raps are good at anyways so no one should be too bothered.

[WeTheNorth123]

Really liked the questions being asked in this interview

[StopitLeo]

My main takeaways were that the FO tried swinging for the fences by opening salary cap space to acquire Giannis, and then having some sort of remorse when Giannis extended with Milwaukee. Bobby also said that the Raptors are not looking to go under the cap again in the foreseeable future, which means in order to to get a superstar we would be looking to develop one internally or by trading for one with another team.

Good summary. I’ll add that in other interviews Bobby said that the team had targets in free agency this year but those players were getting bigger contracts than the Raptors would have offered (e.g., Jarrett Allen getting $100M). This means that the team initially looked to operate as an under-the-cap team but the market suggested it was better to pivot and operate as an over-the-cap team.

So, instead of overpaying (by their assessment) one free agent or losing Lowry for nothing they decided to do a S&T to get some asset(s) back and have the flexibility to use the non-taxpayer MLE.

All seems pretty reasonable to me.

[c3luong]

I didn't really hear anything from Bobby that was not already obvious tbh. I think these non-basketball folks are good at asking the questions that matter, but anyone that's actually following the team should know the answers to all those questions already.

[ForeverTFC]

My main takeaways were that the FO tried swinging for the fences by opening salary cap space to acquire Giannis, and then having some sort of remorse when Giannis extended with Milwaukee. Bobby also said that the Raptors are not looking to go under the cap again in the foreseeable future, which means in order to to get a superstar we would be looking to develop one internally or by trading for one with another team.

Good summary. I’ll add that in other interviews Bobby said that the team had targets in free agency this year but those players were getting bigger contracts than the Raptors would have offered (e.g., Jarrett Allen getting $100M). This means that the team initially looked to operate as an under-the-cap team but the market suggested it was better to pivot and operate as an over-the-cap team.

So, instead of overpaying (by their assessment) one free agent or losing Lowry for nothing they decided to do a S&T to get some asset(s) back and have the flexibility to use the non-taxpayer MLE.

All seems pretty reasonable to me.

aWfUl AsSeT mAnAgEmEnT crew will enter this thread shortly...

This is an important point. Folks keep saying well we could have been capped out during the deadline if we took those deals or that we could have taken the deals at the deadline and been under the cap. Yeah, sure, but this was about optionality. They had the option to be under the cap this offseason, didn't want it, and went to an over the cap team with the trade.

Now we have ~19m to add another player if something worthwhile becomes available, and if not, then it doesn't. Again optionality - which is worth a second round pick that you can buy with $3m.

[Purple+Black]

Interesting tidbit in there about #4 not being only about Suggs vs. Barnes, they had other names in contention as well. Leads me to believe that our FO really didn’t feel that the tiering was 1-4, 4-14. Also mentioned that had they had a top 2 pick, they’d have brought in upper tier prospects before making a decision. I think our draft board was something like so:

1. Evan Mobley
2. Scottie Barnes
3. Cade Cunningham
4. Jalen Green
5. Josh Giddey
6. Jalen Suggs
7. Kuminga

[will]

One interesting tidbit was when he mentioned how Masai was actually their second choice for VPBO (or whatever his title was), and that they actually struck out on convincing a couple of extremely educated and lucid posters from here to take the role, as they realized that being an armchair GM is actually more difficult and involved than being an actual GM.

[will]

Interesting tidbit in there about #4 not being only about Suggs vs. Barnes, they had other names in contention as well. Leads me to believe that our FO really didn’t feel that the tiering was 1-4, 4-14. Also mentioned that had they had a top 2 pick, they’d have brought in upper tier prospects before making a decision. I think our draft board was something like so:

1. Evan Mobley
2. Scottie Barnes
3. Cade Cunningham
4. Jalen Green
5. Josh Giddey
6. Jalen Suggs
7. Kuminga

Hilarious thing is some posters believe their mock board is more accurate than whatever the Raps had.

[Dalek]

Interesting tidbit in there about #4 not being only about Suggs vs. Barnes, they had other names in contention as well. Leads me to believe that our FO really didn’t feel that the tiering was 1-4, 4-14. Also mentioned that had they had a top 2 pick, they’d have brought in upper tier prospects before making a decision. I think our draft board was something like so:

1. Evan Mobley
2. Scottie Barnes
3. Cade Cunningham
4. Jalen Green
5. Josh Giddey
6. Jalen Suggs
7. Kuminga

Hilarious thing is some posters believe their mock board is more accurate than whatever the Raps had.

I think that is an interesting board, but I feel like if Suggs was rated 6 and Barnes 2, then Bobby should have some confidence to say Barnes was a clear choice for Toronto at four. After all, he said that Malachi was rated much higher on their board last year during an interview.

I think Suggs had the spot to lose and he tanked the interviews and workout. To have two poor shooting sessions in a row with Toronto as reported probably means he played a bit like Steve Francis and basically hinted via the workouts at not drafting him.

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Remember, Suggs is the guy with the NFT after he hit a game winning shot, he played at Gonzaga so he didn't have pressure to perform as a true primary, and, he got his Adidas shoe deal lined up early. This guy is calculated in what he wants and likely didn't want to play in Toronto because it would hurt his brand. This is the problem with drafting high. You get the AAU guys who are less about basketball and more about brand building. Except Scottie, who just wants to work hard and impress everyone.

I do think a guy they had to think highly of was Josh Giddey. He has very similar aspects to Barnes and they were linked to him early.

[adubmac]

This guy is calculated in what he wants and likely didn't want to play in Toronto because it would hurt his brand.

If Suggs was that worried about his brand he wouldn't have tanked his workouts to be selected by Orlando. I think the FO just preferred Barnes' higher ceiling over Suggs' higher floor.

[tecumseh18]

What did he say about rebuilding?

Reading between the lines, he put the current Raps in the same category as the 2014 and 2015 teams, developing youth (Norm, Delon) while the vets led the team. So a few years away from true contention.

[Los_29]

Interesting tidbit in there about #4 not being only about Suggs vs. Barnes, they had other names in contention as well. Leads me to believe that our FO really didn’t feel that the tiering was 1-4, 4-14. Also mentioned that had they had a top 2 pick, they’d have brought in upper tier prospects before making a decision. I think our draft board was something like so:

1. Evan Mobley
2. Scottie Barnes
3. Cade Cunningham
4. Jalen Green
5. Josh Giddey
6. Jalen Suggs
7. Kuminga

Hilarious thing is some posters believe their mock board is more accurate than whatever the Raps had.

I think that is an interesting board, but I feel like if Suggs was rated 6 and Barnes 2, then Bobby should have some confidence to say Barnes was a clear choice for Toronto at four. After all, he said that Malachi was rated much higher on their board last year during an interview.

I think Suggs had the spot to lose and he tanked the interviews and workout. To have two poor shooting sessions in a row with Toronto as reported probably means he played a bit like Steve Francis and basically hinted via the workouts at not drafting him.

Read on Twitter

Remember, Suggs is the guy with the NFT after he hit a game winning shot, he played at Gonzaga so he didn't have pressure to perform as a true primary, and, he got his Adidas shoe deal lined up early. This guy is calculated in what he wants and likely didn't want to play in Toronto because it would hurt his brand. This is the problem with drafting high. You get the AAU guys who are less about basketball and more about brand building. Except Scottie, who just wants to work hard and impress everyone.

I do think a guy they had to think highly of was Josh Giddey. He has very similar aspects to Barnes and they were linked to him early.

I just can't buy into this conspiracy theory. Young guys care more about fit than building their brand. They aren't established players and have a ton of work to do to get to that level. Being in Toronto would've been much better for Suggs career than being in Orlando. In fact, Orlando is an awful fit.

And Suggs definitely doesn't strike me as that kind of guy. Look at how he played last night. He was diving for loose balls, hustling back on defense, mixing it up on the glass. This guy is all about winning. I think the reality is this team as did many others liked Barnes more than Suggs.

And I think they would've been high on Giddey as well if they stuck around that 7-10 range. With that said, I do think his defense and lateral quickness would've been a bit concerning. Just glad we got into that top 4 because all the players drafted outside the top 5 seem to have some glaring weaknesses.

[StopitLeo]

Interesting tidbit in there about #4 not being only about Suggs vs. Barnes, they had other names in contention as well. Leads me to believe that our FO really didn’t feel that the tiering was 1-4, 4-14. Also mentioned that had they had a top 2 pick, they’d have brought in upper tier prospects before making a decision. I think our draft board was something like so:

1. Evan Mobley
2. Scottie Barnes
3. Cade Cunningham
4. Jalen Green
5. Josh Giddey
6. Jalen Suggs
7. Kuminga

Bobby said they always pick the player who they think will become the best in a few years over someone who might be a better fit now but may not improve the same way.

I think you are always hoping to select a guy that turns into the MVP level player who can lead a contender. There’s a huge amount of luck involved in whether a pick becomes that guy, but those players tend to be perimeter players (2/3/4) with size who can score at all three levels. For me that would mean automatically ranking Barnes above guys like Suggs and Giddy. I think Mobley’s ranking really depends on whether you think he can play on the perimeter; if you do then he’s your top pick, if not he’s lower. They may even have had Kuminga and Bouknight over Suggs and Giddy if they felt those wings had more potential.

Maybe we will get an accidental glimpse of their board on Open Gym.