Do the raptors have a bright future?

[realball]

In a certain context, I'd say we have a very bright future.

One big problem we have is that we don't have a franchise player. Teams like Orlando, Cleveland, OKC, Denver, and NOH needed guys like Howard, James, Durant, Melo, and Paul to turn their franchises around, and they had to suck really badly to get them. However, when they first drafted these players, they did not have a talented core at all. Orlando had just traded for for Francis and Doug Christie and were had the aging Grant Hill and Hedo. Cleveland had Ilgauskas, Darius Miles, and Ricky Davis. OKC was giving big minutes to guys like Earl Watson, Luke Ridnour, and Chris Wilcox. NO had PJ Brown and Speedy Claxton. All these teams had franchise players, but had very poor supporting casts built around them.

The Raptors are going to suck like all these teams did and will probably draft a franchise player next year. But the difference is that we already have a solid supporting cast of young players. Demar and Bargs, imo, will be top ten players at their respective positions in a few years. Furthermore, I think Demar, with his athleticism and ability to create off broken plays, and Bargs, with his pick-and-pop ability, will be perfect compliments to a play-making PG like Kyrie Erving or a ball-handling SF like Barnes or Jones.

And then we have the rest of the team. Jarrett Jack, Amir Johnson, and Linus Kleiza are all hard-working vets in their mid-twenties and signed to MLE contracts. I think all three will start for us this year, but in the future, they will be valuable bench players, with JJ as a scoring combo guard, Kleiza as a 3-pt shooting combo forward, and Amir as a hustling defensive big man. The fact that we have three very good role-players signed to fair long-term contracts instead of having a lot of crappy bloated contracts is really a relief considering the huge contracts and overpaid players we've had in the past few years. Having Weems, Beli, and Davis on rookie contracts is icing on the cake.

I feel that the Raptors have always had a cornerstone piece (Vince Carter, Chris Bosh), but have always surrounded them with a pathetic supporting cast. But now I think that we finally have a very good supporting cast, and are only missing a cornerstone piece. Franchise players don't exactly fall out of trees, but next year's draft seems to have 3/4 potential superstars. And once Jose is moved, we'll probably have max cap space too.

[dacrusha]

A bright future starts with a franchise player. I don't see one.

Absolutely... it's a star driven league and we have none as of right now.

Perhaps we'll pick up a great player over the next couple of drafts, but I'd say we're treading water at the bottom of the league with Minny for the near future... but at least they have something exciting (Rubio) to look forward to.

[realball]

A bright future starts with a franchise player. I don't see one.

Absolutely... it's a star driven league and we have none as of right now.

Perhaps we'll pick up a great player over the next couple of drafts, but I'd say we're treading water at the bottom of the league with Minny for the near future... but at least they have something exciting (Rubio) to look forward to.

We don't have a superstar, but we all the young pieces to surround a superstar with. And we will have a high lottery pick and a lot of cap space, so we will soon be in the position to acquire a superstar. I think the position we are in now is a lot better than previous years, when we had a superstar (though that's really stretching the truth) but not a lot of talent around him.

[Latrell]

We will eventually groom DeMar into a 25ppg all-star only to see him bolt to the Lakers just in time as Kobe retires and he becomes new hometown franchise player for the Lakers.

[Too Late Crew]

Its not dismal but honestly its not particularly bright. The future sucess of this team is amlost entitley dependant on a draft pick that won't be made for a year. We don't even know how high that pick will be. We don't know what the draft next year will look like (players may pull out due to the lockout.

its not reasonable to assume we are getting a top 3 pick next year and drafting a franchise player. It could just as easily end up as a 10 pick who nothing much.

At this time the team does not have anyone I'd consider a future franchise player. I hate to do this because the defenders will be out in force even though I'm not really attacking him BUT having Bargs as one of BCs main cogs just doesn't make the future very bright. Certain players while its possible are very hard to build around sucessfuly. Ball hogging PGs, sub 6 foot Sgs (like Iverson) jumpshooting non rebounding centers. If bargs is going to be a main cog he needs to be a PF, and he needs stong defending, athletic Sf and C next to him , a low post scorer . Thise things are very hard to find. No team has ever won a ring with a center that shoots more than 2 3s game. Unless BC sees Bargs as a secondary player or is willing to trade him I don't see the future as bright. I see it as uncertain and dependant on the luck of the lottery and the draft

[vc_rulez]

No, not a bright future. Incompetent GM, and still have a couple of bad contracts tying up cap space going forward. The young players currently on our roster are unlikely to be good enough to build a competitive team around.

The good thing about the NBA is that things can change quickly. You only need a couple of great players to turn things around. Also, there are enough horrible GMs out there -- many just as stupid as Colangelo -- that mistakes can be fixed. So although our prospects look bleak relative to other teams at the moment, there's always the hope that the outlook can change.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

how do people know that the core is not good enough to build around with out actually giving them a chance to sink or swim?

It's like hearing your Doctor tell you he's going to perform surgery on you because he has a "feeling" you have brain cancer. Some of us would like a little proof before comming to a decision.

[DreamTeam09]

If we get a top 5-7 pick for next yr and are able to offer a max contract next summer then we'll be in great shape going foward. Theres several players on this team I would like to move fwd with for the next 4+ years.

[OhMyBosh]

We don’t have a bright future as of right now. But “bright” is interpreted differently by everyone’s expectations.

We’re not exactly stockpiled with young talent that have high potential like the baby Bulls of a couple years back or the more recent Blazers. DeRozan, Weems, and Johnson will not cut it for a bright, contending future. I know some people think DeMar can be a star, but he’s not about to reach the level of the Joe Johnson’s or Brandon Roy’s any time soon (if ever), let alone the Kobe’s or Wade’s. I have him pegged as a J-Rich. He’ll get his points but won’t have enough impact to lead teams himself. Jury is completely out on Davis, but no one is exactly expecting an all-star out of him.

If by “bright” you mean being able to make the playoffs year in and year out, I don’t think we’re too far off. With all major deadweight contracts off the books in the next 3 years, we can slowly begin to accumulate talent with cap space while getting high lotto picks. Eventually, we’ll be able to trade some young talent away to get the right mixture of youth and vets to make the playoffs consistently.

Also hate to rehash on this topic, but someone had to. Toronto still has that stigma of being different. We need to give American free agents a reason to come up north by having a player that’s worth playing with. Right now, we don’t have that. No offence to Bargnani, but he is not someone you would want to protect your paint. He’s very offensively talented in some aspects, but he has no personality and no presence in a game.

It all depends if we’re able to luck out at the lottery and get a franchise player like Barnes or Jones. There is no one on the roster that shows any drop of leadership that you need in a franchise player. If we’re looking for a championship, we’re just going to have to wait in line for the next LeBron, Duncan, or Shaq to roll out.

[JamesNaismith]

If we draft Barnes or Perry Jones while adding Rubio via free agency after the lockout then YES!




As it stands now.....NO.

[vergogna]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-44bR7H4m7c[/youtube]