So the Raptors had 3 players in the Olympics on the current roster. Linas Kleiza, Jose Calderon and of course Jonas Valancuinas. Let's first take a look at Jose Calderon who won a silver medal again with Spain. His experience with Spain are a reflection of his time with the Raptors in a way. In 2008 he did not play in the Gold Medal game as he was out with injury. This time around he did play and was terrible in doing so with no points in 17 minutes and found himself glued to the bench for his lack of defense. In addition make no mistake that had Ricky Rubio been healthy, Calderon would have been the back-up for Spain. Just like he will be with the Raptors if in fact he is still a part of this roster by the time training camp roles around. After a brilliant game in the Semi Final vs Russia in the 2nd half he once again failed to deliver in the biggest game for his team. This was the case with the Raptors as well in playoff series with the Nets and Magic. Safe to say his terrible performance in the Gold Medal game did nothing but hurt his trade value for the Raptors. While everyone just assumes Jose will return and accept his fate and not be a problem, I think that is a bit of an optimistic point of view. Calderon would have every reason to be fed up with what has happened with him in Toronto. After being basically traded to Charlotte not that long ago, this off-season he watch his team go all in to get Nash and when they failed agreed to trade a lottery pick in the future to acquire Kyle Lowry. Jose Calderon for his squeaky clean reputation has still driven out indirectly T.J Ford, Jarrett Jack and Jerryd Bayless. All of those scenarios saw him as the chosen starter. The writing is on the wall he will not win this battle with Lowry.
One thing I have learned is the both Calderon and Linas Kleiza care far more about playing good basketball in their national team jersey than they do in their NBA Jerseys. Kleiza was a key part of his squad at the Olympics and put up impressive numbers. However I have seen this movie before and so have you. The year the Raptors signed Kleiza he went nuts for Lithuania in the Euro Basket tournament. He would arrive for the Raptors season and be often injured and seldom a factor. Which pretty much can sum up his entire time with the Raptors. He is here as much to be a buddy for Jonas Valancuinas if for nothing else. So if you think the fact Kleiza leading his team with 13.8 points and having 6.3 rebounds means anything for the Raptors you might want to think again.
That said, most Raptor fans were concerned with one guy at the Olympics and that was Jonas. Some look at his performance and see it as concerning for his NBA Future. Others are still on this Jonas is the next big thing train. He did only manage 4.2 points and 4 rebounds in 6 games. I would say to both sides of the debate it really didn't tell us anything. What everyone seems to conveniently forget is these games are played under FIBA rules which makes these projections of failure or greatness a little out of whack. We could have learned a lot more about Jonas playing in Summer League under NBA Rules against lesser competition but with much more minutes than what we did from 6 games in London. Still maybe this will bring some sanity to what have been unrealistic expectations for the start of his NBA career. Both he and Anthony Davis didn't prove a thing about what they will be in the NBA. I have heard this constant noise about what a great experience this was for Anthony Davis. May I remind you all of the only other college player to be on a Dream Team or Pro U.S roster. That would be Christian Laettner, who was a college superstar at Duke, but in the NBA while he had longevity was far from a superstar in his NBA Career. He played for Minnesota (Drafted 3rd Overall), Atlanta, Washington, Detroit, Dallas and Miami in 17 seasons in the NBA 12.8 points and 6.7 rebounds for his career. He played with all due respect to Kobe, the greatest ever version of the "Dream Team", but it never translated to a great NBA Career. Davis and Jonas for that matter, will succeed or fail this season and it will have very little to do with how they spent their Summer in London barely playing for their respective nations.
Calderon in case you wondered averaged just 7 points and 2.5 assists in his 8 games with Spain. He did manage to not get himself hurt which ultimately is all I care about when any Raptor plays internationally. As for the tournament itself, it has become a complete joke and any time the U.S sends the best possible roster they have available they are going to win. It really is that simple. I enjoyed the Olympics for everything other than Men's Basketball. It was much more thrilling to watch Canadian Women's Soccer for me than any game in this tournament. When Canada has a horse in the race my feelings will change. But as we all know Canada only had an entry on the Women's side of basketball in this Olympics. Hope is high that will change for Rio in 2016. Now with the Olympics behind us we enter the dog days of summer before the NBA Season. Still we had a big Dwight Howard trade finally happen so maybe it will be more exciting than we think. In terms of the Raptors I wouldn't hold my breath I think what you see is what you get at this point.
Showing posts with label Anthony Davis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anthony Davis. Show all posts
8/13/12
4/27/12
Raptors Last Day Of School
It was a long day in Toronto for me yesterday. First there was the annual end of the year press conference for the players. Normally commonly refereed to as locker clean out day, but the Raptors still had a game to play. A concert by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers allowed this uncommon event to take place. The common theme of those exit interviews was a general consensus that things had changed for the Raptors. This was stated from longest serving Raptor Jose Calderon to second year man Ed Davis. What was also a common theme was a desire to grab the brass ring and make it to the NBA Playoffs next season. To say it is one thing, to believe it is another. The respect this team seems to universally have for Dwane Casey has been obvious throughout the season. Ultimately the Raptors seem to feel they now have an identity and blue print to build on towards that goal of returning to the post season.
No one seemed to have any answers or be willing to share thoughts of what they needed in terms of additions to the roster that will help in that goal of being a playoff team in 2012-13. They all deferred to Bryan Colangelo who has a massive off-season in front of him. The days of everyone just accepting the genius of Bryan Colangelo is no longer just accepted anymore. The first thing that he will be judged on is his draft choice from last season in Jonas Valanciunas who if you hadn't heard will be coming next year. While the Raptors odds of landing Anthony Davis seem bleak at this point, if Valancinus lives up to the considerable hype it might not be the disaster it appears to be for some. In my opinion the Raptors would actually be better served in some respects to wind up the runner-up and select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also of Kentucky. The Raptors need a better option at the small forward position. James Johnson can be a good player for this team but ultimately does not have the overall skill set to be in the starting line-up. Johnson spoke of his late season blow up with coach Casey and said it is in the past and that he respects him. If the Raptors add someone that ultimately will play in front of him, it will be vital that he is able to stay motivated and contributing. While he still strongly believes in his game on the offensive end, it will be his defensive game that will be what is required for him to be part of the solution.
Andrea Bargnani looked like another person when this season began. When asked what was his best memory from this season, he said it was two minutes prior to ultimately re-injuring his calf muscle in Utah. When that happened you saw some rare raw emotion from Andrea Bargnani. After that we saw little of Bargnani and the Andrea we saw after that point looked a lot more like the Bargnani we had seen in the past. Dwane Casey in his post season remarks today praised Andrea for allowing him to push him. Ultimately heading into next season there will be two main questions. One is if Andrea Bargnani can be healthy and when injures happen can he grind and play through them. The fact this same injury was a factor no less than three times this season has to be a major concern. In addition Andrea Bargnani needs to prove the guy that many were saying was playing at an all-star level is the guy that shows up next season. Italy will not be going to Olympics so Andrea unlike some other players will not be part of things in London. He will have a entire off-season to figure all this out.
Jose Calderon will be in London and likely playing major minutes for Spain given the fact Ricky Rubio is no longer an option for the Spanish Team. Raptor fans outside of Spain may not be so thrilled with that. The Raptors have not exactly had the best of luck in terms of players participating for Spain. Calderon had one of the more solid seasons he has had in the past few years. Colangelo dismissed any thought that Calderon will be going anywhere in his remarks to the media today. He praised Calderon's defense which has improved to some degree under Casey. I would debate how much it has in comparison to Colangelo's assessment.
There seems to be a common consensus that both Ed Davis and Amir Johnson can not both remain as part of this team moving forward. I would tend to disagree with that given the uncertainty to Bargnani's health moving forward. You can throw Linas Kleiza is in that mix as well but given the coming of Jonas, if for no other reason than to help with his transition to life in the NBA and North America it would make sense that he remains on the roster.
In terms of Ed Davis this off-season will be vital for him and his long term future with the Raptors. He has yet to have a full off-season and training camp based on injuries and the NBA Lockout. I personally have concerns about Ed and his ability to develop. He seems to need to be constantly pushed. Casey consistently as mentioned his desire to see Ed and Demar both hit the weights in the off-season and get stronger. Davis when asked about it responded in a rather concerning way. He felt that people will always be questioning his size throughout his NBA Career. This sounded a lot like what use to be said by a young Chris Bosh. That said, the comparison between Bosh and Davis ends there. It is one thing to put up 24 points in a game that the other team had no desire to win and doing it in a game that matters. The organization has stated that he will be the primary focus of the Raptors Summer League team in Las Vegas. Colangelo in his remarks today basically stated that Ed Davis will be held more accountable moving forward and there will be less tolerance in terms of allowing him to develop.
There will be not much said about Demar DeRozan in this post because I had a chance to talk with him later in the day prior to the game last night. Colangelo in his remarks today said that the sky was the limit for DeRozan and he mentioned the same things that Coach Casey has stated about Demar getting bigger and stronger. He also made the point that Demar was the youngest player on this roster on a team full of young players. Colangelo also broke some news in his remarks as he stated that Dwane Casey has got his contract extended. He also made reference to Casey earning bonuses based on this teams dramatic improvement on defense.
That sums up the interviews of the players and we touched on what Casey and Colangelo had to say. Will have more on that later today or tomorrow. However let's shift to the game from last night briefly and touch on a few points.
First the crowd was addressed by Jaamal Magloire and as I had mentioned I was not looking forward to this. It was all I expected and even more. Keeping in mind that Magloire is not even under contract for next season at this point. It is thought that the Raptors might be willing to keep him around and it is clear he is desperate to be around. All of that said he when out and thanked the fans and encouraged them to stick with the team. That is your standard stuff no shock in that. The next part was, in which he more or less gave a promise of the playoffs next season. I am fine if that is Andrea Bargnani talking or Demar DeRozan stating that. We are confident they are going to be here and be a huge part in making that happen. Jaamal Magloire for all of the praise he gets has little impact directly on the floor. Everyone will tell you about his impact off of the floor and that is hard to evaluate in it's actual impact. If he is back I would not be happy about it, but that will not shock anyone.
This game was a utter shame on so many levels. The Raptors and Nets played in effect a glorified Vegas Summer League game. The only thing that made this somewhat bearable was the performance of Ben Uzoh. He got a triple double and became the first Raptor to do so since Alvin Williams in 2001. Sure this game was utterly without meaning in almost every way. That said to get a triple double under any circumstances is not easy to achieve. If it was than surly someone on the Raptors would have done it in 12 years. If you want to earn some respect or dough in the future remember the name Ben Uzoh and triple double and you will have the ultimate trivia question in about 5 years. Who is to say what the future holds for Alan Anderson and Ben Uzoh and if they will ever wear a Raptor jersey again. What you can say is good for them in doing a solid job in building a case for themselves to be in the NBA even if that isn't here in Toronto. They had an opportunity and they ceased it and took advantage of it.
Ultimately this season was about Dwane Casey establish a positive identity for the Toronto Raptors. Everyone from the players, to the fans, to other NBA Teams now have an understanding of what it means to be or face the Toronto Raptors. It seems almost comical now how some people at this time last season were still convinced that Jay Triano would still be the coach of this team heading into this season. The best decision the Raptors made this past off-season was hiring Dwane Casey and nothing else comes even close to that. The fact he earned an extension based on his performance this season will surprise no one. The Raptors will pick up the option year on his contract. He has brought back an accountability to the Toronto Raptors that had been lacking for years. When you go in the Raptor locker room it is very clear who the boss is on this team and it is him. To earn the respect of NBA players and be able to get them to buy into what you are selling is a tough job and a constant struggle. In a season that was challenging for any coach in the NBA, it allowed Casey to thrive and survive his first season exceeding almost all expectations that may have been made on what he could realistically achieve.
Up next on our off-season madness of work will be taking a look at Demar DeRozan and hearing his thoughts on what lies ahead for his future and off-season. So be on the look out for that. Also as I was making people aware on Twitter I have lined up a number of guests to talk with us about the season that was and get their thoughts on the future. That begins with my favourite guest Jack Armstrong sometime next week. Many of you missed him on the broadcasts during the final stretch so you will get you fix of Jack here in the DNB. He always has some interesting thoughts on what is going on with the Raptors and I just love having him in the blog. He even helps me learn some things when he is. So that said the season is over but the Dino Nation Blog marches on the entire off-season for the most part. So make sure to stick with us through the off-season which promises to be an eventful one for the Raptors.
No one seemed to have any answers or be willing to share thoughts of what they needed in terms of additions to the roster that will help in that goal of being a playoff team in 2012-13. They all deferred to Bryan Colangelo who has a massive off-season in front of him. The days of everyone just accepting the genius of Bryan Colangelo is no longer just accepted anymore. The first thing that he will be judged on is his draft choice from last season in Jonas Valanciunas who if you hadn't heard will be coming next year. While the Raptors odds of landing Anthony Davis seem bleak at this point, if Valancinus lives up to the considerable hype it might not be the disaster it appears to be for some. In my opinion the Raptors would actually be better served in some respects to wind up the runner-up and select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also of Kentucky. The Raptors need a better option at the small forward position. James Johnson can be a good player for this team but ultimately does not have the overall skill set to be in the starting line-up. Johnson spoke of his late season blow up with coach Casey and said it is in the past and that he respects him. If the Raptors add someone that ultimately will play in front of him, it will be vital that he is able to stay motivated and contributing. While he still strongly believes in his game on the offensive end, it will be his defensive game that will be what is required for him to be part of the solution.
Andrea Bargnani looked like another person when this season began. When asked what was his best memory from this season, he said it was two minutes prior to ultimately re-injuring his calf muscle in Utah. When that happened you saw some rare raw emotion from Andrea Bargnani. After that we saw little of Bargnani and the Andrea we saw after that point looked a lot more like the Bargnani we had seen in the past. Dwane Casey in his post season remarks today praised Andrea for allowing him to push him. Ultimately heading into next season there will be two main questions. One is if Andrea Bargnani can be healthy and when injures happen can he grind and play through them. The fact this same injury was a factor no less than three times this season has to be a major concern. In addition Andrea Bargnani needs to prove the guy that many were saying was playing at an all-star level is the guy that shows up next season. Italy will not be going to Olympics so Andrea unlike some other players will not be part of things in London. He will have a entire off-season to figure all this out.
Jose Calderon will be in London and likely playing major minutes for Spain given the fact Ricky Rubio is no longer an option for the Spanish Team. Raptor fans outside of Spain may not be so thrilled with that. The Raptors have not exactly had the best of luck in terms of players participating for Spain. Calderon had one of the more solid seasons he has had in the past few years. Colangelo dismissed any thought that Calderon will be going anywhere in his remarks to the media today. He praised Calderon's defense which has improved to some degree under Casey. I would debate how much it has in comparison to Colangelo's assessment.
There seems to be a common consensus that both Ed Davis and Amir Johnson can not both remain as part of this team moving forward. I would tend to disagree with that given the uncertainty to Bargnani's health moving forward. You can throw Linas Kleiza is in that mix as well but given the coming of Jonas, if for no other reason than to help with his transition to life in the NBA and North America it would make sense that he remains on the roster.
In terms of Ed Davis this off-season will be vital for him and his long term future with the Raptors. He has yet to have a full off-season and training camp based on injuries and the NBA Lockout. I personally have concerns about Ed and his ability to develop. He seems to need to be constantly pushed. Casey consistently as mentioned his desire to see Ed and Demar both hit the weights in the off-season and get stronger. Davis when asked about it responded in a rather concerning way. He felt that people will always be questioning his size throughout his NBA Career. This sounded a lot like what use to be said by a young Chris Bosh. That said, the comparison between Bosh and Davis ends there. It is one thing to put up 24 points in a game that the other team had no desire to win and doing it in a game that matters. The organization has stated that he will be the primary focus of the Raptors Summer League team in Las Vegas. Colangelo in his remarks today basically stated that Ed Davis will be held more accountable moving forward and there will be less tolerance in terms of allowing him to develop.
There will be not much said about Demar DeRozan in this post because I had a chance to talk with him later in the day prior to the game last night. Colangelo in his remarks today said that the sky was the limit for DeRozan and he mentioned the same things that Coach Casey has stated about Demar getting bigger and stronger. He also made the point that Demar was the youngest player on this roster on a team full of young players. Colangelo also broke some news in his remarks as he stated that Dwane Casey has got his contract extended. He also made reference to Casey earning bonuses based on this teams dramatic improvement on defense.
That sums up the interviews of the players and we touched on what Casey and Colangelo had to say. Will have more on that later today or tomorrow. However let's shift to the game from last night briefly and touch on a few points.
First the crowd was addressed by Jaamal Magloire and as I had mentioned I was not looking forward to this. It was all I expected and even more. Keeping in mind that Magloire is not even under contract for next season at this point. It is thought that the Raptors might be willing to keep him around and it is clear he is desperate to be around. All of that said he when out and thanked the fans and encouraged them to stick with the team. That is your standard stuff no shock in that. The next part was, in which he more or less gave a promise of the playoffs next season. I am fine if that is Andrea Bargnani talking or Demar DeRozan stating that. We are confident they are going to be here and be a huge part in making that happen. Jaamal Magloire for all of the praise he gets has little impact directly on the floor. Everyone will tell you about his impact off of the floor and that is hard to evaluate in it's actual impact. If he is back I would not be happy about it, but that will not shock anyone.
This game was a utter shame on so many levels. The Raptors and Nets played in effect a glorified Vegas Summer League game. The only thing that made this somewhat bearable was the performance of Ben Uzoh. He got a triple double and became the first Raptor to do so since Alvin Williams in 2001. Sure this game was utterly without meaning in almost every way. That said to get a triple double under any circumstances is not easy to achieve. If it was than surly someone on the Raptors would have done it in 12 years. If you want to earn some respect or dough in the future remember the name Ben Uzoh and triple double and you will have the ultimate trivia question in about 5 years. Who is to say what the future holds for Alan Anderson and Ben Uzoh and if they will ever wear a Raptor jersey again. What you can say is good for them in doing a solid job in building a case for themselves to be in the NBA even if that isn't here in Toronto. They had an opportunity and they ceased it and took advantage of it.
Ultimately this season was about Dwane Casey establish a positive identity for the Toronto Raptors. Everyone from the players, to the fans, to other NBA Teams now have an understanding of what it means to be or face the Toronto Raptors. It seems almost comical now how some people at this time last season were still convinced that Jay Triano would still be the coach of this team heading into this season. The best decision the Raptors made this past off-season was hiring Dwane Casey and nothing else comes even close to that. The fact he earned an extension based on his performance this season will surprise no one. The Raptors will pick up the option year on his contract. He has brought back an accountability to the Toronto Raptors that had been lacking for years. When you go in the Raptor locker room it is very clear who the boss is on this team and it is him. To earn the respect of NBA players and be able to get them to buy into what you are selling is a tough job and a constant struggle. In a season that was challenging for any coach in the NBA, it allowed Casey to thrive and survive his first season exceeding almost all expectations that may have been made on what he could realistically achieve.
Up next on our off-season madness of work will be taking a look at Demar DeRozan and hearing his thoughts on what lies ahead for his future and off-season. So be on the look out for that. Also as I was making people aware on Twitter I have lined up a number of guests to talk with us about the season that was and get their thoughts on the future. That begins with my favourite guest Jack Armstrong sometime next week. Many of you missed him on the broadcasts during the final stretch so you will get you fix of Jack here in the DNB. He always has some interesting thoughts on what is going on with the Raptors and I just love having him in the blog. He even helps me learn some things when he is. So that said the season is over but the Dino Nation Blog marches on the entire off-season for the most part. So make sure to stick with us through the off-season which promises to be an eventful one for the Raptors.
4/16/12
A Cold, No Net And Another Win
So it has been a bad 24 hours here at DNB HQ. I had a lousy spring cold and to make matters worse had no internet access, so the combination of those two things made it pretty impossible to offer much opinion on the Raptors second win in a row vs the Hawks in Atlanta. The first time the Raptors have won in the ATL in awhile as they had lost 7 straight there until last night. That included a thrashing on the MLK holiday for the Raptors with much more health bodies. Based on that win the Raptors match their win total from last season in a shorter season this year. The Raptors are already 4 games better on the road this season as well with 10 wins and still 3 more road games to play. It proves the old phrase that defense travels to be true.
The Raptors are as Tank Nation will point out, really messing with there lottery odds winning a couple games they were not suppose too against Boston and Atlanta. They now are tied with the Nets and a half game behind the Pistons. Both of whom they will play down the stretch and will have a direct impact on their lottery odds. They play the Pistons on the road on the 22nd with 3 days rest prior to that game and close out the season against the Nets on the 26th. Golden State also is one of 4 teams with 22 wins but have 2 fewer losses than the Raptors. What you love about Casey is the exact thing that is costing the Raptors in terms of the lottery. He refuses to allow his team to quit and they continue to bring effort. What it might cost you in the draft might be worth it in terms of what you have in a coach.
Also the way Demar DeRozan has been playing down the stretch has to be impressing some folks. Even Ed Davis has shown signs of life in this late part of the season. I can't imagine the Raptors finding a way to win the next two games. An angry Hawks team rolls into Toronto tonight and then playing the Miami Heat on Wednesday should be losses. What you can take good from these games is the Raptors have competed well against some teams with everything to play for. If you choose to see the glass half empty you can say that the Raptors are playing with no pressure on them and the teams they are beating have simply overlooked them. I can't deny either of those things being true. Still you are building some confidence for some players and showing that this team will not roll over and die like it has in the past.
While I won't go as far as some have said that this team could be a playoff team if not for injuries, I will say that this is a team heading in the right direction. In terms of what happens with the Lottery if they win or lose is not the point. Let's say they did lose all of these games down the stretch and still find a way to not win at the Lottery than where are you at? At least players are ending the season on a high note and enter the off-season more motivated to improve for the future. The Charlotte Bobcats will have the best chance to win the Lottery and that has been clear for awhile. Even if they were to win and land Anthony Davis does anyone think that takes them to the next level? Worse if they don't where are they at? If the Raptors don't get Anthony Davis it likely allows them to not have to decide on if they have to say good bye to Amir Johnson or Ed Davis. They still may ultimately make a decision on those players but if they do they won't be forced into it. Besides at the end of the day isn't Jonas Valanciunas basically the guy you have for that spot? If the Raptors landed at the 3rd spot and got a shot at Kidd-Gilchrist that would be a much easier guy to fit into what you already have without having to be forced into altering the roster.
Not to mention the simple fact of you are not getting any joy out of the Raptors pulling off two pretty unexpected wins. But however those lottery balls end up your number still has to come up to win it. It would be nice if the Raptors got into the top 3 and land another good young player to add to the mix. That said this is a draft that is fairly deep and it doesn't have that break out star at the top and huge drop off beyond that. While Davis is the consensus number one pick it is not like people honestly can say he will be a giant superstar. He can be a very good NBA Player but the jury is out if he gets to that rare air of a huge superstar. There are lots of good to very good players that will be available no matter where the Raptors happen to end up selecting. There is also nothing that says Bryan Colangelo would not swing a deal to move up if he wanted to do that. He has all that cap room earlier from the Barbosa trade to play with for a reason. It could include moving up in the draft or acquiring a second first round pick. Time will tell.
The bottom line of everything is do you do not feel at least more optimistic than you were at this time last year? That is a good thing and a sign that this thing might be finally heading in the right direction.
The Raptors are as Tank Nation will point out, really messing with there lottery odds winning a couple games they were not suppose too against Boston and Atlanta. They now are tied with the Nets and a half game behind the Pistons. Both of whom they will play down the stretch and will have a direct impact on their lottery odds. They play the Pistons on the road on the 22nd with 3 days rest prior to that game and close out the season against the Nets on the 26th. Golden State also is one of 4 teams with 22 wins but have 2 fewer losses than the Raptors. What you love about Casey is the exact thing that is costing the Raptors in terms of the lottery. He refuses to allow his team to quit and they continue to bring effort. What it might cost you in the draft might be worth it in terms of what you have in a coach.
Also the way Demar DeRozan has been playing down the stretch has to be impressing some folks. Even Ed Davis has shown signs of life in this late part of the season. I can't imagine the Raptors finding a way to win the next two games. An angry Hawks team rolls into Toronto tonight and then playing the Miami Heat on Wednesday should be losses. What you can take good from these games is the Raptors have competed well against some teams with everything to play for. If you choose to see the glass half empty you can say that the Raptors are playing with no pressure on them and the teams they are beating have simply overlooked them. I can't deny either of those things being true. Still you are building some confidence for some players and showing that this team will not roll over and die like it has in the past.
While I won't go as far as some have said that this team could be a playoff team if not for injuries, I will say that this is a team heading in the right direction. In terms of what happens with the Lottery if they win or lose is not the point. Let's say they did lose all of these games down the stretch and still find a way to not win at the Lottery than where are you at? At least players are ending the season on a high note and enter the off-season more motivated to improve for the future. The Charlotte Bobcats will have the best chance to win the Lottery and that has been clear for awhile. Even if they were to win and land Anthony Davis does anyone think that takes them to the next level? Worse if they don't where are they at? If the Raptors don't get Anthony Davis it likely allows them to not have to decide on if they have to say good bye to Amir Johnson or Ed Davis. They still may ultimately make a decision on those players but if they do they won't be forced into it. Besides at the end of the day isn't Jonas Valanciunas basically the guy you have for that spot? If the Raptors landed at the 3rd spot and got a shot at Kidd-Gilchrist that would be a much easier guy to fit into what you already have without having to be forced into altering the roster.
Not to mention the simple fact of you are not getting any joy out of the Raptors pulling off two pretty unexpected wins. But however those lottery balls end up your number still has to come up to win it. It would be nice if the Raptors got into the top 3 and land another good young player to add to the mix. That said this is a draft that is fairly deep and it doesn't have that break out star at the top and huge drop off beyond that. While Davis is the consensus number one pick it is not like people honestly can say he will be a giant superstar. He can be a very good NBA Player but the jury is out if he gets to that rare air of a huge superstar. There are lots of good to very good players that will be available no matter where the Raptors happen to end up selecting. There is also nothing that says Bryan Colangelo would not swing a deal to move up if he wanted to do that. He has all that cap room earlier from the Barbosa trade to play with for a reason. It could include moving up in the draft or acquiring a second first round pick. Time will tell.
The bottom line of everything is do you do not feel at least more optimistic than you were at this time last year? That is a good thing and a sign that this thing might be finally heading in the right direction.
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