Stein/Fischer: Toronto willing to deal RJ Barrett, IQ, Poeltl for Significant Upgrades // #9 Available

[SFour]

I don't see how giving up 2 starters plus the 9th pick makes sense for a 37 year old KD that doesn't even want to play here...I don't see it happening.

Once you give up Poeltl and the 9th pick Raptors will have no starting or backup center....it will be a nightmare. Even if they're receiving a center back in the trade they won't be anything special, probably backup worthy at best.

No, it doesn't make sense but we might very well have a guy who's desperate to make a splash leading the charge. That's what it looks like if rumors are true. I thought Masai Ujiri was above stooping to Colangelo level but maybe not.

I'm sincerely rooting for Durant to go where he wants.

Imo Masai just wants to get rid of RJ before his new big contract is signed, at that point RJ will be hard to trade.....I don't think KD is the answer to that problem though.

[PhilBlackson]

This is honestly such a bad/stupid plan if we include the 9th overall pick...because the bottomline is we won't have a good C and when KD inevitably bolts (he's leaving either way) but when we don't get it done, he's gone and we just burnt our best draft pick for the foreseeable future for absolutely nothing.

This is like a simp that wants a woman out his league that he'll buy her the fanciest dinners, nicest hotels and the most luxurious gifts in the hopes she'll get engaged to him and she's made it clear he will never be more than a friend LMAO that's how pathetically desperate this is getting.

I honestly wish Masai would just stop but clearly this is all about getting another big contract and not a lasting solution.

[ConSarnit]

Masai is going to do something stupid to justify his contract.

I can definitely see Rogers not re-signing him and removing the position completely like they did with Shanny and the Leafs.

Give examples of him doing this in the past?

I don’t get this line of thinking that Masai is going to make a desperation move to save his job. If he gets fired he’ll get another job almost immediately I would assume.

[PhilBlackson]

I don't see how giving up 2 starters plus the 9th pick makes sense for a 37 year old KD that doesn't even want to play here...I don't see it happening.

Once you give up Poeltl and the 9th pick Raptors will have no starting or backup center....it will be a nightmare. Even if they're receiving a center back in the trade they won't be anything special, probably backup worthy at best.

No, it doesn't make sense but we might very well have a guy who's desperate to make a splash leading the charge. That's what it looks like if rumors are true. I thought Masai Ujiri was above stooping to Colangelo level but maybe not.

I'm sincerely rooting for Durant to go where he wants.

Imo Masai just wants to get rid of RJ before his new big contract is signed, at that point RJ will be hard to trade

If he wants to trade RJ, cool!

But don't waste our 9th overall and Yak on a rental that doesn't have his heart in it, on a team that has no experience in the hopes they'll suddenly do what no young team has done before and that's win it all in their FIRST Playoff appearance together. It's such a stupid risk. Use it on a player that has more years of control...ie/ I rather spend this on Murphy and maybe even add something if need be, than to waste it on an overly ambitious/not realistic hope of a championship run only to watch that star peace out and us waste our best assets for absolutely nothing.

[LoveMyRaps]

This is honestly such a bad/stupid plan if we include the 9th overall pick...because the bottomline is we won't have a good C and when KD inevitably bolts (he's leaving either way) but when we don't get it done, he's gone and we just burnt our best draft pick for the foreseeable future for absolutely nothing.

This is like a simp that wants a woman out his league that he'll buy her the fanciest dinners, nicest hotels and the most luxurious gifts in the hopes she'll get engaged to him and she's made it clear he will never be more than a friend LMAO that's how pathetically desperate this is getting.

I honestly wish Masai would just stop but clearly this is all about getting another big contract and not a lasting solution.

How about we don't believe every rumor that's thrown out there and wait till something actually gets done before jumping to any conclusions.

[WeThe2019Champs]

Nothing will happen, better stay with the team we have now.

[MoneyBall]

Not if that trade is for a 28 year-old role player C that doesn't fit the team's timeline or roster or a 37 year-old who will be warming the bench or retired in a year or two.

That's what the 9th pick got them many years ago when they drafted Poeltl, a role player. So the question is, with the pick they sent for Jakob, would they have drafted a player that would have given them more value than Poeltl? I'm not sure we can sit here and they would have. For all we know, they made the right move there.

Sure, but a young role player on a cheap rookie deal is worth more than an old role player. Yak was a bad fit for the Raptors at the time of the trade, and still is.

27 is not old. A rookie role player is cheaper, but he's also gonna make a lot of mistakes and take a lot of time to develop into a serviceable player (if at all). I don't think the calculation is nearly as clear as people make it out to be.

[ciueli]

Masai is going to do something stupid to justify his contract.

I can definitely see Rogers not re-signing him and removing the position completely like they did with Shanny and the Leafs.

Give examples of him doing this in the past?

I don’t get this line of thinking that Masai is going to make a desperation move to save his job. If he gets fired he’ll get another job almost immediately I would assume.

Maybe he likes the life he has now in Toronto and doesn't want to have to uproot his entire life and family just to work for a small market poverty franchise in the states at a position (GM) that would be a demotion for less money?

[SFour]

This is honestly such a bad/stupid plan if we include the 9th overall pick...because the bottomline is we won't have a good C and when KD inevitably bolts (he's leaving either way) but when we don't get it done, he's gone and we just burnt our best draft pick for the foreseeable future for absolutely nothing.

This is like a simp that wants a woman out his league that he'll buy her the fanciest dinners, nicest hotels and the most luxurious gifts in the hopes she'll get engaged to him and she's made it clear he will never be more than a friend LMAO that's how pathetically desperate this is getting.

I honestly wish Masai would just stop but clearly this is all about getting another big contract and not a lasting solution.

Masai has the right idea to use RJ to try and upgrade, but KD at 37 years old isn't the way to go, especially since he doesn't even have Toronto on his short list. If Raptors were on his list then maybe you could talk yourself into it. Even then it's still iffy....it's like trading for Beal or Lillard, likely going to end up in disappointment.

[Zeno]

This is honestly such a bad/stupid plan if we include the 9th overall pick...because the bottomline is we won't have a good C and when KD inevitably bolts (he's leaving either way) but when we don't get it done, he's gone and we just burnt our best draft pick for the foreseeable future for absolutely nothing.

This is like a simp that wants a woman out his league that he'll buy her the fanciest dinners, nicest hotels and the most luxurious gifts in the hopes she'll get engaged to him and she's made it clear he will never be more than a friend LMAO that's how pathetically desperate this is getting.

I honestly wish Masai would just stop but clearly this is all about getting another big contract and not a lasting solution.

So would you like this if he really wanted to be here and we extended him for 2/120ish. I think that might actually be even worse. I am usually pretty open minded on these types of things but I pretty much hate this no matter how it is constructed or if he extends.

[Tha Cynic]

Houston doesn't have a centre to offer PHX and don't want to give up 27+29.
This would have been in the bag for HOU if they put #27 from PHX on the table .. along with #10 ... but they know PHX will implode by then so its tricky.

Houston has Phoenix’s No. 10 overall pick in this draft class and control of the Suns’ top selection in 2027 and 2029. Gathering some of those draft assets back in return for Durant would greatly appeal to Phoenix, league sources told HoopsHype.

Toronto has a decent package on the table with combo of IQ, Poeltl, RJ, #9

I wouldn’t be surprised if the #9 is not part of the package. We will need a 5 and the pick is the way to get it.

[Tha Cynic]

I remember Bobby saying that, but I recall Grange and Lewenberg portraying it as we backed off once Dame was adamant about not going to Toronto. I won't swear by that one though, so I will defer to your recollection here. Kind of makes it worse then, IMO. They need to stop chasing guys that make it clear they want no part of the Raps.

I don't think Dame made it clear publicly that he didn't want to go to Toronto. I think that came out after the fact.

My fear is that Masai isn't reading the room and thinks he's doing another 'Kawhi' trade.

You think Masai has not thought of what some random poster (maybe associated with the media) may have thought of?

[PhilBlackson]

This is honestly such a bad/stupid plan if we include the 9th overall pick...because the bottomline is we won't have a good C and when KD inevitably bolts (he's leaving either way) but when we don't get it done, he's gone and we just burnt our best draft pick for the foreseeable future for absolutely nothing.

This is like a simp that wants a woman out his league that he'll buy her the fanciest dinners, nicest hotels and the most luxurious gifts in the hopes she'll get engaged to him and she's made it clear he will never be more than a friend LMAO that's how pathetically desperate this is getting.

I honestly wish Masai would just stop but clearly this is all about getting another big contract and not a lasting solution.

So would you like this if he really wanted to be here and we extended him for 2/120ish. I think that might actually be even worse. I am usually pretty open minded on these types of things but I pretty much hate this no matter how it is constructed or if he extends.

I'm not sure if it came off that way but no, I don't want any part of this trade either. BUT if they did do they trade then YES they better damn well have an extension to at least either try to flip him again or make more than one run when guys have actually gained more than 2 minutes of Playoff experience....

I don't like how damn desperate this is (period). We were supposed to just be starting a rebuild or at least a growing process, this is just trying to microwave the process like some expired fries lol it's not a good idea.

[Brinbe]

Players will always use the media to get their demands/preferences out there but if KD was traded to Serbia, he'd learn Serbian because he ain't giving up the paycheque.

Stars will almost always get their way in the end. Teams will placate them as to not sour their reps with other agents/stars and I think Dame was the one situation where it didn't go that way and that was a pretty unique situation in that the Heat had nothing of interest to offer.

And in the end, he still okay'd the Bucks instead of coming here.

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So unless things totally fall apart with the Rockets, Spurs, Heat he'll end up in one of those three places.

The 3 KD teams have incentives to keep their ask low.

- Miami will have cap space next year to sign KD outright if he still wants a home and the Heat don't make a move with their expirings. You lose one of the last good KD years, but it comes at no cost.

- The Rockets are looking for a younger star to mesh with their young core. Keeping the Suns picks either to reap the benefit or wait for that other player to come around is likely the more sensible move.

- The Spurs are not beggars. This is the second star directly asking to play with Wemby. There will be more.

The Wolves and Raptors just need to beat out the likely already low offers. A good chance the existing package provided is already there.

i think considering the apron situation with the Suns, the deals are pretty easy to work out in terms of what contracts work, it's just a matter of what the Suns feel is best for their future.

The Heat could wait but I think Riley would be somewhat aggressive if it meant getting Durant for the next three years. Herro/KD/Bam isn't horrible, though I don't know if they're contending for anything. I don't know that Ware would be totally worth the hold up there, but we'll see about their resolve.

As for the Suns, if they think getting a starting level C is that important, (and we know ourselves from past experience that it indeed is) I can see why the Raps offer is enticing.

I don't think the Spurs have any real motion as Vassell/Johnson isn't anything to the Suns, but they might as well try.

The Suns probably have no real interest in Green as the main piece back from Houston and would probably want Jabari included too, which the Rockets probably balk at. So who knows where that goes.

The main question from our end (especially if you're going to the trouble of trading for KD) is replacing Yak with a championship-level C and that isn't exactly an easy thing.

[CazOnReal]

Masai is going to do something stupid to justify his contract.

I can definitely see Rogers not re-signing him and removing the position completely like they did with Shanny and the Leafs.

Give examples of him doing this in the past?

I don’t get this line of thinking that Masai is going to make a desperation move to save his job. If he gets fired he’ll get another job almost immediately I would assume.

More importantly, he didn't make some stupid, desperate trade for a star back in...2022 I think was when he was last in a contract year? Either way, this doesn't seem like something him and Bobby would do to save their hides.

[Tha Cynic]

Not since rumours of the Jermaine O’Neal trade began to surface have I had such a feeling of impending doom…

Uh, what about signing Landry Fields to block New York from signing Steve Nash while Steve partied with James Dolan? There was just so much wrong with that moment of time.

Hey, at least KD is still playing at a high level. Jermaine O'Neal was very washed even though I still liked his effort/attitude.

I agree though... hoping Masai doesnt do anything stupid out of desperation. We aren't in a bad spot even if we did nothing but draft 9th and/our find a backup Center for next season.

In a decade and a half, we had to go back to BC days to talk about depressing moves.

I feel good.

[PhilBlackson]

This is honestly such a bad/stupid plan if we include the 9th overall pick...because the bottomline is we won't have a good C and when KD inevitably bolts (he's leaving either way) but when we don't get it done, he's gone and we just burnt our best draft pick for the foreseeable future for absolutely nothing.

This is like a simp that wants a woman out his league that he'll buy her the fanciest dinners, nicest hotels and the most luxurious gifts in the hopes she'll get engaged to him and she's made it clear he will never be more than a friend LMAO that's how pathetically desperate this is getting.

I honestly wish Masai would just stop but clearly this is all about getting another big contract and not a lasting solution.

Masai has the right idea to use RJ to try and upgrade, but KD at 37 years old isn't the way to go, especially since he doesn't even have Toronto on his short list. If Raptors were on his list then maybe you could talk yourself into it. Even then it's still iffy....it's like trading for Beal or Lillard, likely going to end up in disappointment.

Exactly!!

I'm all for using RJ's contract to upgrade the roster but the KD short term play isn't it.

It's not even gonna accomplish what we'd hope and only makes our franchise look silly because they're foolishly thinking they can "strike lightening twice" without the context of how much better both our roster was and that player was (in his prime) was vs this situation of a young inexperienced group and an aging star on the back nine that can't carry a team like that. This is not that.

[canada_dry]

who remembers this gem of a tweet

Read on Twitter

So? It was proven to be 100% correct. Trades happen all the time with players not wanting to go to places, the whole staying thing is the issue. The Kawhi one was a calculated risk, this is just another short-sighted move in a long line of them.

I'm here for maximum chaos though, bring him in, at least it'll be entertaining.

So what .. lol Masai did the deal and didn't give af

No the real gem was when he tweeted kawhi might not even show up. THAT was funny lol.

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[WuTang_CMB]

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[mdenny]

The chance that our #9 pick ends up being better than RJ Barrett is approx 10%.

So it's hilarious that ppl would rather trade RJ than the 9th pick.

Since 2005 there are two players who were selected 9th overall that are better than RJ: derozan and Gordon haywood (still possible for rj to overtake haywood)

The other 18 players are not as good as RJ and most of them are not even close.

So it's kinda hilarious how much ppl love this 9th pick.

Rj was a 3rd pick. And he is in the 50th percentile of 3rd pick performance.