2018 NBA Season

[scratchswinger]

Vince hands down.

[jerebear21]

wilkins

[deadsolid...shank]

I'll date myself a little here.

 

Darell Griffith aks Dr Dunkenstein.

 

David Thompson.

[MtlJeff]

Vince Carter's in game dunks were redonkulous. He jumped over a guy in a game! I think you have to go Carter

[scratchswinger]

Tim Duncan is the second best dunker ever, LeBron or LA Bron, or Le Bronto is third on the list.

[jerebear21]

LaBum

[MtlJeff]

Tim Duncan was too smart to dunk. Conserve energy and lay it in. Then don't smile

[cdnglf]

Lavar Ball, obviously.

[SnapHooker_307]

Is their anyone that is not rooting for Isiah Thomas? I hope that guy proves everyone wrong.

I hope he has a great year and plays well enough to get the big deal after next year. I'm a Nuggets fan and still cannot believe they got him for the minimum. My only worry is that their defense is already terrible, so I'm not sure how well he will fit in. Although since their defense is already bad, maybe it won't be too bad. Going to be a 130-128 score many times in Denver next year.

[raynorfan1]

Is their anyone that is not rooting for Isiah Thomas? I hope that guy proves everyone wrong.

 

Presumably Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens.

[MtlJeff]

I hope he gets a big contract for the sake of basketball. Otherwise we'll see big name players sit out contract year seasons with mystery ailments a lot going forward.

[jerebear21]

nobody is over paying a short guy with a hip issue and can't play defense. Brad Stevens was a genius hc that shield away IT's inability to play D.

[jerebear21]

Kawhi to Canada!

[MtlJeff]

Raptors are morons

[raynorfan1]

Raptors are morons

 

So, you're saying it's not a good idea to trade your homegrown franchise player, in his prime with 3 seasons left on his deal, for a one year rental of a player who quit on his team and doesn't want to be there?

[scratchswinger]

Pretty good deal for SA. They get an all star in his prime and under contract and a FRP.

[scratchswinger]

With a healthy Kawhi I think the Raptors could beat Boston.

[MtlJeff]

Raptors are morons

 

So, you're saying it's not a good idea to trade your homegrown franchise player, in his prime with 3 seasons left on his deal, for a one year rental of a player who quit on his team and doesn't want to be there?

 

Haha, yes....

 

DeRozan is the best player in Raptors history, the first high profile player to re-sign, and has often called Toronto his second home. The Raptors are very profitable and have a loyal fan base. Second round losses aren't the end of the world....this was a tremendously popular team in Toronto

 

So of course, trade for a malcontent who doesn't want to be here.

 

Btw Jacob poetl is good too. Thankfully we didn't give up Anunoby or Siakam however.

 

I don't like the deal

[scratchswinger]

Raptors are morons

 

So, you're saying it's not a good idea to trade your homegrown franchise player, in his prime with 3 seasons left on his deal, for a one year rental of a player who quit on his team and doesn't want to be there?

 

Haha, yes....

 

DeRozan is the best player in Raptors history, the first high profile player to re-sign, and has often called Toronto his second home. The Raptors are very profitable and have a loyal fan base. Second round losses aren't the end of the world....this was a tremendously popular team in Toronto

 

So of course, trade for a malcontent who doesn't want to be here.

 

Btw Jacob poetl is good too. Thankfully we didn't give up Anunoby or Siakam however.

 

I don't like the deal

 

It's too early to judge it, the entire deal depends on Kawhi's health and if he resigns. If those two things work out in the favor of the Raptors then they robbed the Spurs. Seems unlikely that he resigns but you never know.

[jerebear21]

kawhi is such a weirdo. who knows what he's going to do.

 

POP does it again. This is more than the spurs can ever ask for after kawhi pretty much sabotage them. I hope he has a howard like post magic career.

[MtlJeff]

Raptors are morons

 

So, you're saying it's not a good idea to trade your homegrown franchise player, in his prime with 3 seasons left on his deal, for a one year rental of a player who quit on his team and doesn't want to be there?

 

Haha, yes....

 

DeRozan is the best player in Raptors history, the first high profile player to re-sign, and has often called Toronto his second home. The Raptors are very profitable and have a loyal fan base. Second round losses aren't the end of the world....this was a tremendously popular team in Toronto

 

So of course, trade for a malcontent who doesn't want to be here.

 

Btw Jacob poetl is good too. Thankfully we didn't give up Anunoby or Siakam however.

 

I don't like the deal

 

It's too early to judge it, the entire deal depends on Kawhi's health and if he resigns. If those two things work out in the favor of the Raptors then they robbed the Spurs. Seems unlikely that he resigns but you never know.

 

I don't like it even if he resigns. I think there's value in having DeMar here, eventually retiring his jersey etc. He should've been the first career Raptor. It's a business but there's value in that....I'd happily take the second round losses.

 

Toronto is a team in a different country with a different currency that doesn't sign free agents historically. DeRozan was really the first guy who really seemed at home here

[scratchswinger]

Raptors are morons

 

So, you're saying it's not a good idea to trade your homegrown franchise player, in his prime with 3 seasons left on his deal, for a one year rental of a player who quit on his team and doesn't want to be there?

 

Haha, yes....

 

DeRozan is the best player in Raptors history, the first high profile player to re-sign, and has often called Toronto his second home. The Raptors are very profitable and have a loyal fan base. Second round losses aren't the end of the world....this was a tremendously popular team in Toronto

 

So of course, trade for a malcontent who doesn't want to be here.

 

Btw Jacob poetl is good too. Thankfully we didn't give up Anunoby or Siakam however.

 

I don't like the deal

 

It's too early to judge it, the entire deal depends on Kawhi's health and if he resigns. If those two things work out in the favor of the Raptors then they robbed the Spurs. Seems unlikely that he resigns but you never know.

 

I don't like it even if he resigns. I think there's value in having DeMar here, eventually retiring his jersey etc. He should've been the first career Raptor. It's a business but there's value in that....I'd happily take the second round losses.

 

Toronto is a team in a different country with a different currency that doesn't sign free agents historically. DeRozan was really the first guy who really seemed at home here

 

I agree to a certain extent with your logic. It's basically the same as the thank you contract that the Lakers gave Kobe at the end of the career.

[MtlJeff]

Yeah exactly, I think there is business value to him being a career Raptor and having his jersey in the rafters.

 

We still don't have a "guy". Leonard will not be it

[cdnglf]

Yeah exactly, I think there is business value to him being a career Raptor and having his jersey in the rafters.

 

We still don't have a "guy". Leonard will not be it

 

I dunno... DeRozen is what, maybe a top 20 player in the league?

That is only a "guy" by the standard of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who celebrate Doug Gilmour as if he was Gretzky, Lemieux, or Lafleur.

[MtlJeff]

Yeah exactly, I think there is business value to him being a career Raptor and having his jersey in the rafters.

 

We still don't have a "guy". Leonard will not be it

 

I dunno... DeRozen is what, maybe a top 20 player in the league?

That is only a "guy" by the standard of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who celebrate Doug Gilmour as if he was Gretzky, Lemieux, or Lafleur.

 

Raptors are very profitable though. Same ownership as Leafs I believe and right now they are printing money

 

I have read that the ownership group does not pressure them to win a title necessarily. They are happy with the team. Sellouts, playoff revenue etc.

 

This does jeopardize that a bit.

 

With DeRozan and the youngsters you probably had 5 more years of playoffs guaranteed

[MtlJeff]

And a top 20 player in the league playing his whole career here isn't horrible either. The team won 59 games a year ago , more than they ever did with Carter or Bosh. Obviously Lowry and gang were a big part of that

[raynorfan1]

I just don't get the move for the Raptors.

 

Leonard might get them over the hump into the Eastern Conference Finals, especially if they manage to draw the #1 seed with Philly and Boston playing each other in the second round (and no Cleveland to bounce them).

 

He *might* be enough to beat Boston/Philly in the Conference Finals if things bounce their way.

 

But they wouldn't be competitive in the NBA finals.

 

And unlike Boston or Philly...this is a ONE YEAR play. Boston is in the same boat (can make it to be slaughtered in the NBA finals), BUT they've got 5+ years to improve while Golden State et. al. get older. Toronto is cashing in long term chips for a "win now" player...but there's no chance they win.

[jerebear21]

maybe Raptors wasn't in love with DeRozan and wanted an out from his contract. This satisfies the "tanking" perception by getting back a top 5 player when healthy and freeing themselves. I don't know their cap situation. But it was a questionable move for sure.

[cdnglf]

And a top 20 player in the league playing his whole career here isn't horrible either. The team won 59 games a year ago , more than they ever did with Carter or Bosh. Obviously Lowry and gang were a big part of that

 

Sure. It was a great regular season and DeRozan is a very good player. But I guess Masai wasn't content doing the Leafs thing (nobody celebrates beings slightly above average better than they do).

 

In the NBA, it feels like you need to have a top 3 player to win a championship - top 5 at worst. How many recent champions haven't had a guy at that level?

The Pistons, maybe the Mavs, maybe the Wade/Shaq Heat?

 

Kawhi is that good; DeRozan never will be. So I can kind of understand why Masai rolled the dice here. Maybe Kawhi pulls a Paul George.

[MtlJeff]

And a top 20 player in the league playing his whole career here isn't horrible either. The team won 59 games a year ago , more than they ever did with Carter or Bosh. Obviously Lowry and gang were a big part of that

 

Sure. It was a great regular season and DeRozan is a very good player. But I guess Masai wasn't content doing the Leafs thing (nobody celebrates beings slightly above average better than they do).

 

In the NBA, it feels like you need to have a top 3 player to win a championship - top 5 at worst. How many recent champions haven't had a guy at that level?

The Pistons, maybe the Mavs, maybe the Wade/Shaq Heat?

 

Kawhi is that good; DeRozan never will be. So I can kind of understand why Masai rolled the dice here. Maybe Kawhi pulls a Paul George.

 

I think the championship or bust thing is bad business though. People love Philadelphia and praise the process, but they went through 3-4 years of sagging attendance at home and killed attendance at road games. This is the major reason other teams complained to the league and got hinkie ousted. Even their owner eventually wilted.

 

If Kawhi leaves it could be many years before we see playoffs again.

 

A lot of fans consider the Atlanta Hawks a cautionary tale of mediocrity for their famous #4 finishes, but many owners would've traded with them. Zach Lowe used to regularly discuss these things

 

Toronto is a very good team, not a title threat, but very good. And there is value in that