2020-21 game thread

In regards to the off season....I think they overplayed just how much Ibaka and Gasol would sacrifice for the long term future of this team. I think they saw the Raptors asking for 1 year deals as a way to ensure they both were sent packing if they actually were able to obtain Giannis. They actually offered Gasol more money than he got in LA, he just bolted to try and go win another title. Even the money they were going to give Ibaka is more than he got from the Clippers. Ibaka was just pissed that he lost his starting gig to Gasol and felt a starting gig with Kawhi and PG13 was a better option.

Once those 2 were gone, there really wasn't much for them to go after. Baynes and Len were 2 of the best available options once Ibaka and Gasol screwed us. The FA class was that weak. I think Masai and Bobby did the best they could to try and replace them, there just were no defensive anchors out there that they could afford to go get (in any manner).

If we were still in it this season maybe the return for Powell may have been a big to go with our starting 5, but with our current situation I think they simply went long term and tried to add a couple defensive wings who could shoot for next year and some picks in this years draft to round out their new young roster ...since they only had 1 and are going to be pretty cap strapped for a while.




Keep this in mind....... If the Raptors decide to clean house after this season, they can cut ties with everyone other than FVV, Siakam OG and Flynn. (..although I think they are going to hang on to Boucher after his performance this season.) Can you imagine if they screw the Clippers and steal Kawhi (and Serge) back after a couple failures in La La land? Or they trade Lowry for a bunch of picks and a giant trade exception and pull a Yankee move and just bring Powell back after trading him using cap space and end up with Powell, GTJ and Hood next year?

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Originally Posted by manubr

9 days are left to start IPL 2021. Who will win in this IPL 2021?

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Wrong forum mate.

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Originally Posted by bartron_44

In regards to the off season....I think they overplayed just how much Ibaka and Gasol would sacrifice for the long term future of this team. I think they saw the Raptors asking for 1 year deals as a way to ensure they both were sent packing if they actually were able to obtain Giannis. They actually offered Gasol more money than he got in LA, he just bolted to try and go win another title. Even the money they were going to give Ibaka is more than he got from the Clippers. Ibaka was just pissed that he lost his starting gig to Gasol and felt a starting gig with Kawhi and PG13 was a better option.

Once those 2 were gone, there really wasn't much for them to go after. Baynes and Len were 2 of the best available options once Ibaka and Gasol screwed us. The FA class was that weak. I think Masai and Bobby did the best they could to try and replace them, there just were no defensive anchors out there that they could afford to go get (in any manner).

If we were still in it this season maybe the return for Powell may have been a big to go with our starting 5, but with our current situation I think they simply went long term and tried to add a couple defensive wings who could shoot for next year and some picks in this years draft to round out their new young roster ...since they only had 1 and are going to be pretty cap strapped for a while.




Keep this in mind....... If the Raptors decide to clean house after this season, they can cut ties with everyone other than FVV, Siakam OG and Flynn. (..although I think they are going to hang on to Boucher after his performance this season.) Can you imagine if they screw the Clippers and steal Kawhi (and Serge) back after a couple failures in La La land? Or they trade Lowry for a bunch of picks and a giant trade exception and pull a Yankee move and just bring Powell back after trading him using cap space and end up with Powell, GTJ and Hood next year?

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Better question is would Kawhi and or Serge, would they even want to come back to the Raptors?

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Originally Posted by bartron_44

In regards to the off season....I think they overplayed just how much Ibaka and Gasol would sacrifice for the long term future of this team. I think they saw the Raptors asking for 1 year deals as a way to ensure they both were sent packing if they actually were able to obtain Giannis. They actually offered Gasol more money than he got in LA, he just bolted to try and go win another title. Even the money they were going to give Ibaka is more than he got from the Clippers. Ibaka was just pissed that he lost his starting gig to Gasol and felt a starting gig with Kawhi and PG13 was a better option.

Once those 2 were gone, there really wasn't much for them to go after. Baynes and Len were 2 of the best available options once Ibaka and Gasol screwed us. The FA class was that weak. I think Masai and Bobby did the best they could to try and replace them, there just were no defensive anchors out there that they could afford to go get (in any manner).

If we were still in it this season maybe the return for Powell may have been a big to go with our starting 5, but with our current situation I think they simply went long term and tried to add a couple defensive wings who could shoot for next year and some picks in this years draft to round out their new young roster ...since they only had 1 and are going to be pretty cap strapped for a while.




Keep this in mind....... If the Raptors decide to clean house after this season, they can cut ties with everyone other than FVV, Siakam OG and Flynn. (..although I think they are going to hang on to Boucher after his performance this season.) Can you imagine if they screw the Clippers and steal Kawhi (and Serge) back after a couple failures in La La land? Or they trade Lowry for a bunch of picks and a giant trade exception and pull a Yankee move and just bring Powell back after trading him using cap space and end up with Powell, GTJ and Hood next year?

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This is some revision. It wasn't about the money or losing his starting spot. We disrespected him by telling him to wait behind Gasol. So Ibaka just left and didn't even want to negotiate.

Baynes and Len weren't the best options by a long shot.

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Originally Posted by ecart

This is some revision. It wasn't about the money or losing his starting spot. We disrespected him by telling him to wait behind Gasol. So Ibaka just left and didn't even want to negotiate.

Baynes and Len weren't the best options by a long shot.

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I think it was a combination of both. I also read article suggesting Serge was not thrilled to be coming off the bench for Gasol, and didn’t like the fact that he Gasol was being prioritized in free agency too. I think the latter was the last straw though. Imagine making Ibaka wait for a 90 year old like Gasol to sign fist lol 😆


And I agree, Baynes and Len were not the best options at all, I dunno why our fan base keeps convincing themselves they were. Our FO wiffed on its on own free agents, and the available ones that could have helped.

Please tell me the bigs that were available at the time that were considered better than Baynes? They needed size, and they wanted shooting (which Baynes somehow did last year). I remember quite a few people on here being happy when they were able to grab him after losing Ibaka and Gasol in a matter of hours.

Lets not forget they weren't just looking for a big. They were looking for a big that would take a deal with only 1 year guaranteed. The only guys that got more money were :

Ibaka- already turned them down
Favors- doesn't shoot the 3 and got a 3 year deal
Poeltl- doesn't shoot the 3 and was an RFA that got a multi-year deal so he wasn't really attainable even if they wanted him
Thompson- doesn't shoot the 3 and got 2 guaranteed years from Boston


another defensive option would have been Noel if he wanted to come here instead of NY....but he doesn't shoot the 3 either, doesn't gobble up rebounds at any kind of exceptional rate, and is more of a back up 5 on a good team.

So please tell me, who exactly were they supposed to sign when the best 2 C's on the market just turned them down?

Once they lost both of their own guys, they were screwed at the C position. My only problem was Nurse being so stubborn at the beginning of the year trying to force Baynes into the starting lineup. If they would have gone small from day 1 I think their record would have been well above .500 when Covid struck.

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Originally Posted by bartron_44

Please tell me the bigs that were available at the time that were considered better than Baynes? They needed size, and they wanted shooting (which Baynes somehow did last year). I remember quite a few people on here being happy when they were able to grab him after losing Ibaka and Gasol in a matter of hours.

Lets not forget they weren't just looking for a big. They were looking for a big that would take a deal with only 1 year guaranteed. The only guys that got more money were :

Ibaka- already turned them down
Favors- doesn't shoot the 3 and got a 3 year deal
Poeltl- doesn't shoot the 3 and was an RFA that got a multi-year deal so he wasn't really attainable even if they wanted him
Thompson- doesn't shoot the 3 and got 2 guaranteed years from Boston


another defensive option would have been Noel if he wanted to come here instead of NY....but he doesn't shoot the 3 either, doesn't gobble up rebounds at any kind of exceptional rate, and is more of a back up 5 on a good team.

So please tell me, who exactly were they supposed to sign when the best 2 C's on the market just turned them down?

Once they lost both of their own guys, they were screwed at the C position. My only problem was Nurse being so stubborn at the beginning of the year trying to force Baynes into the starting lineup. If they would have gone small from day 1 I think their record would have been well above .500 when Covid struck.

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Ibaka - considering he just had the single best season of his career and isn’t a washed up shell of his former self like Gasol? This was a mistake. No matter how we look at it.

Christian Wood - who just had a break out season and still signed for a bargain + fits our core age and window

Montrez Harrell - def a way better option than Baynes even if he’s not a perfect fit.

Whiteside - signed for like 2-3 mill to be a back up in Sacramento. A cheap option as a stop gap would have sufficed as he is a solid rebounder and rim protector, cheaper than Baynes and would have had more impact.


We can say hey there’s not a lot of options. But it’s free agency, it’s not like there’s 20 great canters that become free agents annually. You target 3-4 guys and you go balls out the minute free agency opens. Not wait let’s see how the market shapes out, let’s feel Gasol out, and then use Ibaka as option b and then if that doesn’t work see what’s left. No sir, that’s not how I want my FO approaching free agency when they are at risk of losing key assets. Clearly the front office believes in its core and wants to compete. Well that core needs a solid supporting cast in order to do so and with glaring holes at the 5 position I simply think they ****ed up. They messed up how they handled Ibaka and they went in to panic mode when all the alternatives were off the board. We can admit that they ****ed up it’s ok, I don’t think they are with out flaw. It’s bound to happen here and there. I just hope they learned that lesson and have a better plan heading in to this off-season as currently we have no 5, or a bench.

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Originally Posted by bartron_44

Please tell me the bigs that were available at the time that were considered better than Baynes? They needed size, and they wanted shooting (which Baynes somehow did last year). I remember quite a few people on here being happy when they were able to grab him after losing Ibaka and Gasol in a matter of hours.

Lets not forget they weren't just looking for a big. They were looking for a big that would take a deal with only 1 year guaranteed. The only guys that got more money were :

Ibaka- already turned them down
Favors- doesn't shoot the 3 and got a 3 year deal
Poeltl- doesn't shoot the 3 and was an RFA that got a multi-year deal so he wasn't really attainable even if they wanted him
Thompson- doesn't shoot the 3 and got 2 guaranteed years from Boston


another defensive option would have been Noel if he wanted to come here instead of NY....but he doesn't shoot the 3 either, doesn't gobble up rebounds at any kind of exceptional rate, and is more of a back up 5 on a good team.

So please tell me, who exactly were they supposed to sign when the best 2 C's on the market just turned them down?

Once they lost both of their own guys, they were screwed at the C position. My only problem was Nurse being so stubborn at the beginning of the year trying to force Baynes into the starting lineup. If they would have gone small from day 1 I think their record would have been well above .500 when Covid struck.

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Nobody bought Baynes' outlier streak. It's not even worth bringing up. To say that he was signed for his shooting is an absolute joke. The only people bringing it up were basketball nerds who were more fascinated by the novelty of Baynes' twitter fan club than his actual talent. The only guy on here who was happy about Baynes kept muttering on about his fake advanced stats and refused to name a single one when challenged. Dude literally shut down any conversation with "muh advanced stats" he couldn't cite. A ton of people thought it was a lame signing.

Really they wanted a defensive big that can shoot 3s? Alex Len plays defence and can shoot? That's what you're going with? Really?

Who the **** cares about the 1 year guaranteed? That's such a lame excuse. The money is so low even a ****ing intern could take that money off the books.

You're overthinking this so hard. They didn't need to dig deep to find some needle in the haystack. Even Kanter would have been better than Len.

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Originally Posted by ecart

Nobody bought Baynes' outlier streak. It's not even worth bringing up. To say that he was signed for his shooting is an absolute joke. The only people bringing it up were basketball nerds who were more fascinated by the novelty of Baynes' twitter fan club than his actual talent. The only guy on here who was happy about Baynes kept muttering on about his fake advanced stats and refused to name a single one when challenged. Dude literally shut down any conversation with "advanced stats" he couldn't cite. A ton of people thought it was a lame signing.

Really they wanted a defensive big that can shoot 3s? Alex Len plays defence and can shoot? That's what you're going with? Really?

Who the **** cares about the 1 year guaranteed? That's such a lame excuse. The money is so low even a ****ing intern could take that money off the books.

You're overthinking this so hard. They didn't need to dig deep to find some needle in the haystack. Even Kanter would have been better than Len.

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Every time he shoots I laugh, even if it goes in. It’s such a dash up it’s not even funny lol

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Originally Posted by smith&wesson

Ibaka - considering he just had the single best season of his career and isn’t a washed up shell of his former self like Gasol? This was a mistake. No matter how we look at it.

Christian Wood - who just had a break out season and still signed for a bargain + fits our core age and window

Montrez Harrell - def a way better option than Baynes even if he’s not a perfect fit.

Whiteside - signed for like 2-3 mill to be a back up in Sacramento. A cheap option as a stop gap would have sufficed as he is a solid rebounder and rim protector, cheaper than Baynes and would have had more impact.


We can say hey there’s not a lot of options. But it’s free agency, it’s not like there’s 20 great canters that become free agents annually. You target 3-4 guys and you go balls out the minute free agency opens. Not wait let’s see how the market shapes out, let’s feel Gasol out, and then use Ibaka as option b and then if that doesn’t work see what’s left. No sir, that’s not how I want my FO approaching free agency when they are at risk of losing key assets. Clearly the front office believes in its core and wants to compete. Well that core needs a solid supporting cast in order to do so and with glaring holes at the 5 position I simply think they ****ed up. They messed up how they handled Ibaka and they went in to panic mode when all the alternatives were off the board. We can admit that they ****ed up it’s ok, I don’t think they are with out flaw. It’s bound to happen here and there. I just hope they learned that lesson and have a better plan heading in to this off-season as currently we have no 5, or a bench.

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Other than white side I don’t think many of those were options. We don’t even know if white side was an option.

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Originally Posted by ChongInc.

Other than white side I don’t think many of those were options. We don’t even know if white side was an option.

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Then I don't know why you just don't go after Whiteside now

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Originally Posted by ChongInc.

Other than white side I don’t think many of those were options. We don’t even know if white side was an option.

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It’s free agency everyone is an option until they sign somewhere.

Would Hassan rather be a third string centre behind Holms and Bagley on a non playoff team than start for the Raptors who had every aspiration of being a playoff team heading in to the season? I think we just missed on those options because we were to busy dicking around with Gasol. Simply put

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Originally Posted by Tg11

Then I don't know why you just don't go after Whiteside now

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Hasn’t been bought out.

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Originally Posted by smith&wesson

I think it was a combination of both. I also read article suggesting Serge was not thrilled to be coming off the bench for Gasol, and didn’t like the fact that he Gasol was being prioritized in free agency too. I think the latter was the last straw though. Imagine making Ibaka wait for a 90 year old like Gasol to sign fist lol 😆


And I agree, Baynes and Len were not the best options at all, I dunno why our fan base keeps convincing themselves they were. Our FO wiffed on its on own free agents, and the available ones that could have helped.

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I've heard it mentioned here that Raptors prioritized Gasol over Serge, but can I ask the source on that? Just seems bizarre and incredibly stupid. It's hard for me to believe that this front office would prioritize a 35 year old they've watched decline in front of their eyes.

Has that report been verified at all? Who did it come from?

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Originally Posted by pebloemer

I've heard it mentioned here that Raptors prioritized Gasol over Serge, but can I ask the source on that? Just seems bizarre and incredibly stupid. It's hard for me to believe that this front office would prioritize a 35 year old they've watched decline in front of their eyes.

Has that report been verified at all? Who did it come from?

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