Anthony Davis in Toronto?
So the Raptors are reeling a bit. Had a few days off and came back out on the home court, only to drop an ugly one to the Bucks, 105-92.
The game was so frustrating to watch on so many levels, though it's kind of become a pattern with the boys of late. Three-point shooting once again was the major undoing. We shot just 26 percent (7-of-27) while the other guys made 37 percent (14-of-38). That's a 21-point difference from downtown. We missed a handful of open looks, though the Bucks also deserve credit for strong perimeter D.
We're attempting more 3s than the Warriors (okay, it's only 33.3 per game to 33.2, but still). That's 9th in the league. But we're 18th in percentage at 34.8 percent. The Bucks are only slightly better at 35 percent, but they're second in attempts and second in makes, both behind Houston. This is a volume shooting team.
Their starting lineup is basically Giannis and four shooters. Brook Lopez will jack up shots from Steph Curry range. Even this kid named D.J. Wilson was having himself a day against us, making 3-of-6 from deep for a 16-point game.
I think we've gone way past a point where we could make excuses for the team and say, "Hey, shots come and go. The Raptors will be fine as long as some of the guys turn their season around."
I dunno. It's February. We've played more than 50 games. If you don't have your shooting stroke by now, you probably won't the rest of the season.
C.J. Miles got another DNP-CD, despite a mini run he had in January. Kyle Lowry isn't close to being the shooter he has been. (40 percent the past two years, 32 percent this year.) Serge Ibaka is 0-for-18 from the long range in the past few games, though at least he's doing other things well and he's not really there to be our 3-point shooter.
It took me a few paragraphs, but this leads to my main point of this post.
We should trade for Anthony Davis.
I know, I know. Davis isn't a three-point shooter and he's not going to solve our perimeter shooting issues. But HE'S GOING TO DO EVERYTHING ELSE FOR THE RAPTORS!!!
Of course, I am not saying we will make that trade: only that we should pursue it, make an offer or five. The Lakers may have more chips now, or if the Pels don't want to move AD right away, they can wait till summer and negotiate a trade with Boston.
In all sports that I follow, I've long been in the "trade prospects/chips for proven talent when you can and if you can" school.
Why? Because the window to contend in basketball, hockey or baseball is never as wide open as teams or media may lead you to believe. And I really believe not pouncing on proven stars when they're available is even a bigger risk than losing young prospects who may or may not pan out.
The Jays traded for David Price in 2015 for three young pitchers, and we made it to the ALCS. Well, Price himself may not have contributed directly to the postseason run, but he was excellent down the stretch in the regular season (9-1, 2.30 ERA in 11 starts) to take us there in the first place. It was totally worth it, if you ask me. Even if we didn't win the World Series, the return to the postseason after more than two decades away absolutely galvanized the city and the fan base. We were tops in attendance in the AL the following year, when we returned to the ALCS.
And do you remember those three guys we shipped to Detroit in that deal? Do you know what's happened to those guys? Do you even care?
Exactly.
Look, developing prospects is always a crapshoot. Only the few chosen ones ever live up to their hype. And by the time young guys mature, other pieces around them will have gotten worse or have been dealt to another team, or both. Then what? You have to scramble to surround those young players with the right pieces again. That will take at least another couple of years, right?
Why sit on that kind of uncertainty when certainty presents itself?
This time, that certainty is in the form of one of the very best players in the NBA today. There's really no other way to put it. He's avearging 29/13/4, all career highs, plus 2.6 blocks. Shooting 54 percent from the field, 81 percent from the line and 33 percent from deep. He's an automatic All-NBA and All-Defensive teams selection. There's not a team in the NBA, maybe other than the Pelicans, who wouldn't want to have him.
He's sidelined now, and Davis does have history of missing games to injuries. But he only missed 7 games in each of the past two seasons. I think Kawhi has missed 14 games this season alone!
Anyway, the Raptors are in the midst of a strong regular season, the recent swoon notwithstanding, but we all know this team will only be judged by the playoff success. With Bron out of the conference, can we finally get past the conference finals and into the big stage?
The window is small, I tell you. Kawhi Leonard could be gone this summer. Kyle Lowry isn't getting younger and he's already showing some of that this year. OG Anunoby and Delon Wright have stalled (see what I said about developing young athletes?). Even if we don't get Davis and keep all those young guys, we could still be screwed next season.
So here's what I think. Only Kawhi and Lowry should be untouchable. Everyone else is fair game, even Pascal Siakam.
I know many of our fans would be reluctant to deal the young guy who has been coming into his own this season. He's a borderline All-Star, a strong Most Improved Player candidate, and he should continue to get better.
But you know, Siakam is 24 years old, and AD is only a year older, playing in his seventh season already. I don't know how much better Siakam will get, but he'll never be the player that Davis is.
So the question is, do you still hold out hope that Siakam will be someone like AD in a couple of years, or do you play the "basketball is all business" card and make a cold-hearted trade to get the real AD by packaging Siakam and a few others?
I'd go with the latter.
I think OG and Delon have hurt their value somewhat this year, though the outside perspective may be different than that of people who watch them on a daily basis. Maybe the Pelicans are still high on them. Fred VanVleet was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate last season, but he has either stalled or regressed a bit. I think it is mostly due to the instability in the lineup brought on by multiple injuries. He's been forced to start 20 games already, after making none the past two seasons, and FVV himself has been banged up. But he's a gamer and a reliable defender in closing moments.
So Siakam, OG, Delon and FVV and picks if necessary for Davis. Would the Pelicans want Jonas Valanciunas thrown in there instead of, say, Delon? Or would they want Norman Powell as part of the deal? Hey, gotta do whatever you gotta do.
This will obviously gut our roster. And the Raptors have developed this reputation of having a strong bench.
But I think depth is overrated in the NBA. Yes, we had our "Bench Mob" last season. Got us 59 wins. And Bron still swept us aside in the playoffs. Teams shorten their benches in the postseason anyway. What's the point of putting in your reserves when the other team still has its starting 5 on the court? It's like sending your third line to try to score against the other team's top line in hockey.
It'd be nice to get some production from your bench, for sure, but in the NBA, more so than other sports, the big guys have to carry the load. If the Raptors get Davis, we'll have two bona fide stars in our starting lineup. That's totally worth gutting our bench, in my mind.
Our bench has struggled this year because Siakam has moved into the starting lineup and FVV has had to make a bunch of starts as well, while C.J. has been slumping and Powell has been hurt, etc.
But how about the starting five? Kyle-Kawhi-Danny G-Serge-Davis. Two of the top-five, maybe top-seven players, plus a veteran point guard who can run the show as well as anyone, a 3-and-D wing, and a big who can score from mid-range and block shots.
Not quite Curry-Thompson-KD-Green-Cousins, obviously, but I will put that up against any starting five in the East.
If those five are healthy for the playoffs, we basically need 3 guys, maybe 4, off the bench to fill in the gaps. If I am sticking to the Siakam-OG-FVV-Delon package, we'll still have JV and Powell, two very capable players who used to start. JV was having a very good season before he got hurt. Powell can handle the ball and he's been a really steady offensive force. And hopefully, Miles will get his stroke back soon.
And we'll also have Patrick McCaw and Chris Boucher. Not exactly awe-inspiring names, I know, but they could be useful at some point.
And I think that's enough to get us into the NBA Finals. I really do.
I am not a gambler, and I don't know what the odds are that the Raptors will win this AD sweepstakes. I won't be holding my breath.
But if Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster and Co. pull this off, it won't surprise me one bit.
The game was so frustrating to watch on so many levels, though it's kind of become a pattern with the boys of late. Three-point shooting once again was the major undoing. We shot just 26 percent (7-of-27) while the other guys made 37 percent (14-of-38). That's a 21-point difference from downtown. We missed a handful of open looks, though the Bucks also deserve credit for strong perimeter D.
We're attempting more 3s than the Warriors (okay, it's only 33.3 per game to 33.2, but still). That's 9th in the league. But we're 18th in percentage at 34.8 percent. The Bucks are only slightly better at 35 percent, but they're second in attempts and second in makes, both behind Houston. This is a volume shooting team.
Their starting lineup is basically Giannis and four shooters. Brook Lopez will jack up shots from Steph Curry range. Even this kid named D.J. Wilson was having himself a day against us, making 3-of-6 from deep for a 16-point game.
I think we've gone way past a point where we could make excuses for the team and say, "Hey, shots come and go. The Raptors will be fine as long as some of the guys turn their season around."
I dunno. It's February. We've played more than 50 games. If you don't have your shooting stroke by now, you probably won't the rest of the season.
C.J. Miles got another DNP-CD, despite a mini run he had in January. Kyle Lowry isn't close to being the shooter he has been. (40 percent the past two years, 32 percent this year.) Serge Ibaka is 0-for-18 from the long range in the past few games, though at least he's doing other things well and he's not really there to be our 3-point shooter.
It took me a few paragraphs, but this leads to my main point of this post.
We should trade for Anthony Davis.
I know, I know. Davis isn't a three-point shooter and he's not going to solve our perimeter shooting issues. But HE'S GOING TO DO EVERYTHING ELSE FOR THE RAPTORS!!!
Of course, I am not saying we will make that trade: only that we should pursue it, make an offer or five. The Lakers may have more chips now, or if the Pels don't want to move AD right away, they can wait till summer and negotiate a trade with Boston.
In all sports that I follow, I've long been in the "trade prospects/chips for proven talent when you can and if you can" school.
Why? Because the window to contend in basketball, hockey or baseball is never as wide open as teams or media may lead you to believe. And I really believe not pouncing on proven stars when they're available is even a bigger risk than losing young prospects who may or may not pan out.
The Jays traded for David Price in 2015 for three young pitchers, and we made it to the ALCS. Well, Price himself may not have contributed directly to the postseason run, but he was excellent down the stretch in the regular season (9-1, 2.30 ERA in 11 starts) to take us there in the first place. It was totally worth it, if you ask me. Even if we didn't win the World Series, the return to the postseason after more than two decades away absolutely galvanized the city and the fan base. We were tops in attendance in the AL the following year, when we returned to the ALCS.
And do you remember those three guys we shipped to Detroit in that deal? Do you know what's happened to those guys? Do you even care?
Exactly.
Look, developing prospects is always a crapshoot. Only the few chosen ones ever live up to their hype. And by the time young guys mature, other pieces around them will have gotten worse or have been dealt to another team, or both. Then what? You have to scramble to surround those young players with the right pieces again. That will take at least another couple of years, right?
Why sit on that kind of uncertainty when certainty presents itself?
This time, that certainty is in the form of one of the very best players in the NBA today. There's really no other way to put it. He's avearging 29/13/4, all career highs, plus 2.6 blocks. Shooting 54 percent from the field, 81 percent from the line and 33 percent from deep. He's an automatic All-NBA and All-Defensive teams selection. There's not a team in the NBA, maybe other than the Pelicans, who wouldn't want to have him.
He's sidelined now, and Davis does have history of missing games to injuries. But he only missed 7 games in each of the past two seasons. I think Kawhi has missed 14 games this season alone!
Anyway, the Raptors are in the midst of a strong regular season, the recent swoon notwithstanding, but we all know this team will only be judged by the playoff success. With Bron out of the conference, can we finally get past the conference finals and into the big stage?
The window is small, I tell you. Kawhi Leonard could be gone this summer. Kyle Lowry isn't getting younger and he's already showing some of that this year. OG Anunoby and Delon Wright have stalled (see what I said about developing young athletes?). Even if we don't get Davis and keep all those young guys, we could still be screwed next season.
So here's what I think. Only Kawhi and Lowry should be untouchable. Everyone else is fair game, even Pascal Siakam.
I know many of our fans would be reluctant to deal the young guy who has been coming into his own this season. He's a borderline All-Star, a strong Most Improved Player candidate, and he should continue to get better.
But you know, Siakam is 24 years old, and AD is only a year older, playing in his seventh season already. I don't know how much better Siakam will get, but he'll never be the player that Davis is.
So the question is, do you still hold out hope that Siakam will be someone like AD in a couple of years, or do you play the "basketball is all business" card and make a cold-hearted trade to get the real AD by packaging Siakam and a few others?
I'd go with the latter.
I think OG and Delon have hurt their value somewhat this year, though the outside perspective may be different than that of people who watch them on a daily basis. Maybe the Pelicans are still high on them. Fred VanVleet was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate last season, but he has either stalled or regressed a bit. I think it is mostly due to the instability in the lineup brought on by multiple injuries. He's been forced to start 20 games already, after making none the past two seasons, and FVV himself has been banged up. But he's a gamer and a reliable defender in closing moments.
So Siakam, OG, Delon and FVV and picks if necessary for Davis. Would the Pelicans want Jonas Valanciunas thrown in there instead of, say, Delon? Or would they want Norman Powell as part of the deal? Hey, gotta do whatever you gotta do.
This will obviously gut our roster. And the Raptors have developed this reputation of having a strong bench.
But I think depth is overrated in the NBA. Yes, we had our "Bench Mob" last season. Got us 59 wins. And Bron still swept us aside in the playoffs. Teams shorten their benches in the postseason anyway. What's the point of putting in your reserves when the other team still has its starting 5 on the court? It's like sending your third line to try to score against the other team's top line in hockey.
It'd be nice to get some production from your bench, for sure, but in the NBA, more so than other sports, the big guys have to carry the load. If the Raptors get Davis, we'll have two bona fide stars in our starting lineup. That's totally worth gutting our bench, in my mind.
Our bench has struggled this year because Siakam has moved into the starting lineup and FVV has had to make a bunch of starts as well, while C.J. has been slumping and Powell has been hurt, etc.
But how about the starting five? Kyle-Kawhi-Danny G-Serge-Davis. Two of the top-five, maybe top-seven players, plus a veteran point guard who can run the show as well as anyone, a 3-and-D wing, and a big who can score from mid-range and block shots.
Not quite Curry-Thompson-KD-Green-Cousins, obviously, but I will put that up against any starting five in the East.
If those five are healthy for the playoffs, we basically need 3 guys, maybe 4, off the bench to fill in the gaps. If I am sticking to the Siakam-OG-FVV-Delon package, we'll still have JV and Powell, two very capable players who used to start. JV was having a very good season before he got hurt. Powell can handle the ball and he's been a really steady offensive force. And hopefully, Miles will get his stroke back soon.
And we'll also have Patrick McCaw and Chris Boucher. Not exactly awe-inspiring names, I know, but they could be useful at some point.
And I think that's enough to get us into the NBA Finals. I really do.
I am not a gambler, and I don't know what the odds are that the Raptors will win this AD sweepstakes. I won't be holding my breath.
But if Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster and Co. pull this off, it won't surprise me one bit.
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