RealGM

Centers
Jakob Poeltl, 28 years old, 7'0, 7'2.25 wingspan, 260 lbs, 14% of the cap
Ulrich Chomche, 18 years old, 6'10, 7'4 wingspan, 232 lbs, two-way

Forwards and/or Smallball Cs
Scottie Barnes, 22 years old, 6'7, 7'2.75 wingspan, 237 lbs, 7% of the cap
Kelly Olynyk, 33 years old, 6'11, 6'9.75 wingspan, 240 lbs, 11% of the cap
Chris Boucher, 31 years old, 6'9, 7'4 wingspan, 200 lbs, 8% of the cap
Jonathan Mogbo, 22 years old, 6'6, 7'2 wingspan, 217 lbs, 1% of the cap
Branden Carlson, 25 years old, 6'11, 7'1 wingspan, 206 lbs, two-way

Guards and/or Small Wings
RJ Barrett, 24 years old, 6'6, 6'10 wingspan, 214 lbs, 18% of the cap
Bruce Brown, 27 years old, 6'4, 6'8.5 wingspan, 202 lbs, 16% of the cap
Gradey Dick, 20 years old, 6'6, 6'8.75 wingspan, 200 lbs, 3% of the cap
Ochai Agbaji, 24 years old, 6'5, 6'10.25 wingspan, 215 lbs, 3% of the cap
Ja'Kobe Walter, 19 years old, 6'4, 6'10 wingspan, 197 lbs, 2% of the cap
Garrett Temple, 38 years old, 6'5, 6'9 wingspan, 195 lbs, 1% of the cap

Guards
Immanuel Quickley, 25 years old, 6'2, 6'7.75 wingspan, 190 lbs, 25% of the cap
Davion Mitchell, 25 years old, 6'0, 6'4.25 wingspan, 202 lbs, 5% of the cap
Jamal Shead, 21 years old, 6'0, 6'3 wingspan, 200 lbs, 1% of the cap
DJ Carton, 23 years old, 6'3, 6'6.25 wingspan, 200lbs, two-way

Missing DJ Carton and Braden Carlson as 2 way contracts.

Hopefully we can package Boucher and Brown for a C

DG88 wrote:Missing DJ Carton and Braden Carlson as 2 way contracts.

added!

I still see back-up C as the area of greatest need. Olynyk can play "minutes" as small ball C, but not games and certainly not starting in the middle. Chomche is either going to be a two-way or (if possible) a Euro stash so that a roster spot isn't eaten up for his 2-3 years of "training".

I would love for the back-up C to be a flier on a younger player - someone who can deter shots at the rim rather than reaching for some unicorn that can block shots and shoot 3s. Gawd I wish Koloko was healthy again.

I think they should not be shy about sending Mogbo and Walter to the G-League or putting them on the same conditioning-only stints that Gradey went on to start his 2024. It seemed to work well with him. And I actually like tracking 905 games and reviewing 905 box scores.

I kinda love the "Guards" rotation. I mean, maybe I am dreaming too much on them but that's a potential dynamic starting PG with two potential lock-down back-ups if all goes well. I think Chris Vernon (via Mismatch Podcast) wondered whether it was a good idea, with every team going with size and switchability in the backcourt, for the Raptors to be going with small pitbulls. I dunno. Gotta zag somewhere. And I am willing to bet any college guards in the NBA that remember playing Davion or Shead will not remember those nights fondly.

Another potential problem is that this is a roster of names that I see Masai and Bobby getting "stuck" on. Their history is one of falling in love with their own guys and sticking with them as opposed to seeing their limits in the team collective. I worry that if this mix doesn't work, guys like Poeltl, Olynyk, RJ, Dick and Agbaji are just going to hang around because Masai/Bobby acquired them and overvalues each of them. I hope Jak and Kelly prove to be valuable and I hope RJ, Dick and Agbaji each have leaps to come, but this FO has to be quicker on the draw if it is not there collectively - not just wait until the spreadsheet projections play out in the aggregate (ask Ross Atkins how that is going). Otherwise, it'll be another 2-3 years of wandering the NBA mid-tier wilderness only to end up hoping for lottery balls again.

But if this is it... I'll admit that I am in. I'll even accept keeping Brown and Veznekov if they seem to fit (and wait to see what value plays there are once the season begins). I want to watch this team play and I am excited for the possibilities, which is much more than I was saying last year.

imo we need another big to backup to offset KOs weakness.

Would love to find a way to get Okoro on this team and start him at the 3. He'd fit into our starting lineup nicely.

I'm good with this roster as is. Things could change depending on a Bruce Brown trade.

The average age of the roster is 25.2 years old, 24.4 if you don't include Temple.

The average of the roster minus the two-way players is 25.8, 24.9 if you don't include Temple.

pharring wrote:I still see back-up C as the area of greatest need. Olynyk can play "minutes" as small ball C, but not games and certainly not starting in the middle. Chomche is either going to be a two-way or (if possible) a Euro stash so that a roster spot isn't eaten up for his 2-3 years of "training".

I would love for the back-up C to be a flier on a younger player - someone who can deter shots at the rim rather than reaching for some unicorn that can block shots and shoot 3s. Gawd I wish Koloko was healthy again.

I think they should not be shy about sending Mogbo and Walter to the G-League or putting them on the same conditioning-only stints that Gradey went on to start his 2024. It seemed to work well with him. And I actually like tracking 905 games and reviewing 905 box scores.

I kinda love the "Guards" rotation. I mean, maybe I am dreaming too much on them but that's a potential dynamic starting PG with two potential lock-down back-ups if all goes well. I think Chris Vernon (via Mismatch Podcast) wondered whether it was a good idea, with every team going with size and switchability in the backcourt, for the Raptors to be going with small pitbulls. I dunno. Gotta zag somewhere. And I am willing to bet any college guards in the NBA that remember playing Davion or Shead will not remember those nights fondly.

Another potential problem is that this is a roster of names that I see Masai and Bobby getting "stuck" on. Their history is one of falling in love with their own guys and sticking with them as opposed to seeing their limits in the team collective. I worry that if this mix doesn't work, guys like Poeltl, Olynyk, RJ, Dick and Agbaji are just going to hang around because Masai/Bobby acquired them and overvalues each of them. I hope Jak and Kelly prove to be valuable and I hope RJ, Dick and Agbaji each have leaps to come, but this FO has to be quicker on the draw if it is not there collectively - not just wait until the spreadsheet projections play out in the aggregate (ask Ross Atkins how that is going). Otherwise, it'll be another 2-3 years of wandering the NBA mid-tier wilderness only to end up hoping for lottery balls again.

But if this is it... I'll admit that I am in. I'll even accept keeping Brown and Veznekov if they seem to fit (and wait to see what value plays there are once the season begins). I want to watch this team play and I am excited for the possibilities, which is much more than I was saying last year.

I think going small but tenacious at the guard spot isn't a bad play, especially if they can create turnovers. The guard spots typically have the lowest impact on team defense, so if your guards can make some plays, you could still come out ahead even if they're a little undersized. But that puts more pressure on your perimeter / paint defense.

Built to finish 11th or 10th. That's probably the best way forward. They did not get win now stupid and add pieces to get us meaningless wins. We'll need two more decent drafts before we can have enough depth to start upgrading. The goat is still 5 or 6 years away.

Aside from C, there's glut at multiple positions on the roster. This will be the season where we figure out which young guys we keep and continue developing and which ones we let go.

Shead and Mitchell competing for minutes is the obvious one (which is fine). Another one is the Dick/Walter/Agbaji trio. Another one is finding play time for Boucher/Vezenkov/Mogbo. Does Olynyk back-up Barnes or Poeltl? Olynyk is more suited to playing a PF, no? Probably depends on how usable Carlson/Chomche are and if they can give us any minutes at the 5. Maybe Mogbo for this role as well? It could easily be Scottie at the 5 for spot-minutes again but I'd rather he's developed as a combo forward full-time from now.

If Brown stays, he complicates the line-up even more, and if he's traded, we'll see if the salary coming back will be someone who's useful to the rotation, too. A few guys on the roster will be feeling the heat.

This is it + anything to come out of bruce brown. Let the young kids grow

DG88 wrote:I'm good with this roster as is. Things could change depending on a Bruce Brown trade.

I'm more than fine with this roster. Let's see what we have.

TorontoBarneys wrote:Aside from C, there's glut at multiple positions on the roster. This will be the season where we figure out which young guys we keep and continue developing and which ones we let go.

Shead and Mitchell competing for minutes is the obvious one (which is fine). Another one is the Dick/Walter/Agbaji trio. Another one is finding play time for Boucher/Vezenkov/Mogbo. Does Olynyk back-up Barnes or Poeltl? Olynyk is more suited to playing a PF, no? Probably depends on how usable Carlson/Chomche are and if they can give us any minutes at the 5. Maybe Mogbo for this role as well? It could easily be Scottie at the 5 for spot-minutes again but I'd rather he's developed as a combo forward full-time from now.

If Brown stays, he complicates the line-up even more, and if he's traded, we'll see if the salary coming back will be someone who's useful to the rotation, too. A few guys on the roster will be feeling the heat.

If Poeltl plays 28-30 minutes, the other C minutes are probably divided up between KO and Scottie, assuming they don't add anyone and the young guys aren't ready to contribute.

Problem arises when Poeltl misses a game. KO as the fulltime C would be a disaster for the defense. He's fine from an offensive standpoint, but the Raps aren't nearly good enough at the other positions to hide him defensively. Unless the strategy is just try to outscore people.

If Boucher is not a factor, they another 6-7+ wing

OakleyDokely wrote:Unless the strategy is just try to outscore people.

I think the strategy is to not care too much about wins and losses

Duffman100 wrote:

OakleyDokely wrote:Unless the strategy is just try to outscore people.

I think the strategy is to not care too much about wins and losses

Piling up the losses wouldn't be a terrible result, but what ends up happening when Poeltl is out and they aren't actively tanking, Barnes is forced to play the position more and while he can functionally do it, I'm not sure that's best for him long term, especially health wise.

Picking up a bargain bin traditional C that can eat some minutes might not be the worst idea.

This is how I see the depth chart. JFL is still in the mix. Team is much more balanced.

Centers/Bigs
Jakob Poeltl, 28 years old, 7'0, 7'2.25 wingspan, 260 lbs, 14% of the cap
Kelly Olynyk, 33 years old, 6'11, 6'9.75 wingspan, 240 lbs, 11% of the cap
Jonathan Mogbo, 22 years old, 6'6, 7'2 wingspan, 217 lbs, 1-2% of the cap (to be confirmed)
Branden Carlson, 25 years old, 6'11, 7'1 wingspan, 206 lbs, 1-2% of the cap (to be confirmed)
Ulrich Chomche, 18 years old, 6'10, 7'4 wingspan, 232 lbs, 1-2% of the cap (to be confirmed)

Big Wings/ Forwards
Scottie Barnes, 22 years old, 6'7, 7'2.75 wingspan, 237 lbs, 7% of the cap
RJ Barrett, 24 years old, 6'6, 6'10 wingspan, 214 lbs, 18% of the cap
Sasha Vezenkov, 28 years old, 6'8, 7'1 wingspan, 225 lbs, 5% of the cap
Chris Boucher, 31 years old, 6'9, 7'4 wingspan, 200 lbs, 8% of the cap

Small Wings
Bruce Brown, 27 years old, 6'4, 6'8.5 wingspan, 202 lbs, 16% of the cap
Gradey Dick, 20 years old, 6'6, 6'8.75 wingspan, 200 lbs, 3% of the cap
Ochai Agbaji, 24 years old, 6'5, 6'10.25 wingspan, 215 lbs, 3% of the cap
Ja'Kobe Walter, 19 years old, 6'4, 6'10 wingspan, 197 lbs, 2% of the cap
Javon Freeman-Liberty, 24 years old, 6'3, 6'9" wingspan, 190 lbs, 1-2% of the cap
Garrett Temple, 38 years old, 6'5, 6'9 wingspan, 195 lbs, 2% of the cap (to be confirmed)

Point Guards
Immanuel Quickley, 25 years old, 6'2, 6'7.75 wingspan, 190 lbs, 21% of the cap (to be confirmed)
Davion Mitchell, 25 years old, 6'0, 6'4.25 wingspan, 202 lbs, 5% of the cap
Jamal Shead, 21 years old, 6'0, 6'3 wingspan, 200 lbs, 1-2% of the cap (to be confirmed)
DJ Carton, 23 years old, 6'3, 6'6.25 wingspan, 200lbs, 1-2% of the cap (to be confirmed)

OakleyDokely wrote:

TorontoBarneys wrote:Aside from C, there's glut at multiple positions on the roster. This will be the season where we figure out which young guys we keep and continue developing and which ones we let go.

Shead and Mitchell competing for minutes is the obvious one (which is fine). Another one is the Dick/Walter/Agbaji trio. Another one is finding play time for Boucher/Vezenkov/Mogbo. Does Olynyk back-up Barnes or Poeltl? Olynyk is more suited to playing a PF, no? Probably depends on how usable Carlson/Chomche are and if they can give us any minutes at the 5. Maybe Mogbo for this role as well? It could easily be Scottie at the 5 for spot-minutes again but I'd rather he's developed as a combo forward full-time from now.

If Brown stays, he complicates the line-up even more, and if he's traded, we'll see if the salary coming back will be someone who's useful to the rotation, too. A few guys on the roster will be feeling the heat.

If Poeltl plays 28-30 minutes, the other C minutes are probably divided up between KO and Scottie, assuming they don't add anyone and the young guys aren't ready to contribute.

Problem arises when Poeltl misses a game. KO as the fulltime C would be a disaster for the defense. He's fine from an offensive standpoint, but the Raps aren't nearly good enough at the other positions to hide him defensively. Unless the strategy is just try to outscore people.

Yeah I was hoping for Jalen Smith with part of the MLE, but looks like they're either going to have to plug a hole with a veteran (Holmes, Theis, Zeller) or take a gamble on a younger 5 who can be 'coached up' as long as the floor minutes aren't too ugly (Yurtseven and Bryant are still 26, maybe Wiseman but he remains such a project).

Slim pickings.

Duffman100 wrote:imo we need another big to backup to offset KOs weakness.

Would love to find a way to get Okoro on this team and start him at the 3. He'd fit into our starting lineup nicely.

Ya I agree. We need some athletic guys who can play the 3/4 for balance and internal competition. Okoro would be a good get.