Category: 🏀 Sport

Here is a summary of the general strengths and weaknesses of Raptors management over the last 10 years, using the benefit of hindsight to note possible major successes and mistakes.

Foresight And Future Of Raptors

• Idea - Raptors management, scouts, and analysts have had outstanding foresight

Because the Raptors management, scouts, analysts, and coaches have done such an amazing job selecting and developing players, the Raptors should still have a good team this year and going forward, even after losing VanVleet in free agency. Overall, the Raptors have had an otherworldly level of decision making, player development, and culture creation in the last 10 years. The Raptors have nailed and appropriately developed more lower draft picks they have made than possibly every other team, not to mention undrafted players. That, along with many other reasons, is why they have the second most wins of any team in the NBA over the last 10 years, while enjoying an incredible run from 2013-2023. The Warriors are the team with the most wins, and it took the Raptors beating them in the Final to get the Raptors their championship.

As I see it, the Raptors and Ujiri have had amazing foresight and good decision making in some general areas from 2013-2023. These areas which have traditionally been great strengths include:

• Reset Trades - Trading away a poor contract or player to improve - Anthony, Bargnani, Gay
• Like Trades - Making trades for key players who they like - Ibaka, Leonard, Trent, Poeltl
• Rebuilding - Rebuilding and growing a lower ranked team from scratch with no stars
• Developing - Developing all players well beyond their expected ability and value
• Drafting - Drafting good players who they like - Wright, Siakam, Anunoby, Barnes
• Signing - Signing undrafted and free agent role players who they like - VanVleet, Boucher
• Patience - Being patient while players and the team go through ups and downs
• Chemistry - Creating a culture of team chemistry, working together, and having fun

Continued... >

Here are my predictions for the 2022-2023 NBA standings, ranked by western and eastern conferences.

Western Conference

• 1 - Denver Nuggets
• 2 - Minnesota Timberwolves
• 3 - Los Angeles Clippers
• 4 - Golden State Warriors
• 5 - New Orleans Pelicans
• 6 - Phoenix Suns
• ----
• 7 - Los Angeles Lakers
• 8 - Memphis Grizzlies
• 9 - Dallas Mavericks
• 10 - Sacramento Kings
• ----
• 11 - Portland Trail Blazers
• 12 - Houston Rockets
• 13 - Utah Jazz
• 14 - Oklahoma City Thunder
• 15 - San Antonio Spurs

Eastern Conference

• 1 - Brooklyn Nets
• 2 - Philadelphia 76ers
• 3 - Toronto Raptors
• 4 - Boston Celtics
• 5 - Atlanta Hawks
• 6 - Milwaukee Bucks
• ----
• 7 - Cleveland Cavaliers
• 8 - Miami Heat
• 9 - Chicago Bulls
• 10 - Indiana Pacers
• ----
• 11 - Charlotte Hornets
• 12 - Detroit Pistons
• 13 - Orlando Magic
• 14 - Washington Wizards
• 15 - New York Knicks

Here are my ideas and strategy for the potential lineup, depth chart, and final roster spots for the Toronto Raptors going into the 2022 season, now that they are heading into training camp.

This takes some points from the main ideas I previously noted in "Raptors 2022 offseason lineup changes", which I wrote shortly after the end of the season. They did follow a few of my ideas from that article already, including resigning Boucher, drafting a versatile and athletic center, and signing Champagnie to an NBA deal for now at least. And there have been some rumblings about Achiuwa having an increased role or even possibly starting as I had also crazily suggested.

Notes

• Make Achiuwa a starter and move Trent to the bench
• Give Hernangomez the 14th spot as I always thought he would make team
• Give Jackson the 15th spot over Champagnie as he is athletic and versatile
• Move Champagnie down to a 2W spot and Dowtin to Raptors 905 contract
• Make Flynn the backup PG because of good shooting and assists/turnover
• Play Koloko a lot as a main bench player in the first half of the season

Extras

• I wonder if Achiuwa's role should eventually be a 3-and-D small forward
• I wonder if Banton's role should eventually be a playmaking shooting guard
• Play the bench players much more this year and develop the young guys
• They likely can't, but try to keep Trent on bench always so he can get 6th man
• If Trent starts, the bench in my second lineup is a HUGE switchable lineup
• Thaddeus Young could be a possible small ball center over Koloko sometimes

Continued... >

Mirror, mirror on the wall, what is the fairest trade for all?

Raptors

• Kevin Durant
• Kyrie Irving

Nets

• Pascal Siakam
• Gary Trent Jr.
• Khem Birch
• Malachi Flynn
• Svi Mykhaliuk
• Armoni Brooks
• 1st 2023, 2025
• Swap 2024

Here is a potential trade I like for the Raptors to get a player in the draft lottery this year. The Kings, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Wizards all might be teams they could potentially trade with to get Daniels, or someone else if they prefer.

Raptors

• Dyson Daniels - 7th Pick
• Eric Bledsoe
• Greg Brown - Hopefully

Blazers

• Gary Trent Jr.
• Malachi Flynn
• Khem Birch - Hopefully

Here are some other players I like for the Raptors in this year's draft. All of these are players I have picked out that could be good players worth picking, with a focus on defensive potential as much as offense.

Trade Up

• Dyson Daniels
• Tari Eason
• Dalen Terry
• AJ Griffin - Maybe

#33 Draft Pick

• Dalen Terry - Unlikely available
• Khalifa Diop
• Justin Lewis
• Ron Harper Jr. - Maybe

Undrafted

• Khalifa Diop - C
• Justin Lewis - F
• Ron Harper Jr. - SG
• Scottie Pippen Jr. - PG
• Ibou Badji - C
• Julian Champagnie - SF
• Hyunjung Lee - SF

Here is how I see the Raptors lineup if they could somehow add both Dyson Daniels and Dalen Terry. Beyond their top 10 players, they could keep Thaddeus Young possibly, or look to other free agents and undrafted players.

Lineup

• Fred VanVleet - Dalano Banton - Eric Bledsoe
• Dyson Daniels - Dalen Terry - Ron Harper Jr.?
• OG Anunoby - Justin Champagnie - Thaddeus Young?
• Scottie Barnes - Chris Boucher - Greg Brown
• Pascal Siakam - Precious Achiuwa - Khalifa Diop?

2-Ways

• Scottie Pippen Jr? Khalifa Diop?
• Ibou Badji? Julian Champagnie?

These ideas do not take into account future FA or trade upgrades.

Notes

• Make Achiuwa the starting center
• Move Trent to the bench as 6th man
• Resign Boucher as backup big
• Sign Champagnie to NBA deal as 3-and-D bench player
• Let Thaddeus Young go - Better Shooter or Younger
• Move Birch to 3rd string 7K contract only - Better Shooter
• ----
• Run offense through Barnes and Banton handling ball much more
• Turn Fred and Malachi into shooters more often than ball handlers
• Make Fred, OG, Malachi, Gary do catch and shoot 3 PTs mainly
• Make Fred and Gary shoot only from 3 PT line, not 5 feet back
• Have Pascal, Prec, Justin, Chris focus on catch and shoot 3 PTs
• Give ball to Pascal or Gary if near end of shot clock to score
• ----
• Draft or add versatile athletic center with shooting potential
• Bench is Banton, Trent, Champagnie, Boucher, 2nd Rd Pick or FA
• Play the bench more and rest the starters more in season
• Playoff 7-8 might be Trent, Boucher, Banton/Champagnie
• If keep Young, make him small ball center, trade Birch if possible
• Bench would then be Banton, Trent, Champagnie, Boucher, Young

Lineup Option 1

• VanVleet - Banton
• Barnes - Trent
• Anunoby - Champagnie
• Siakam - Boucher
• Achiuwa - Draft Pick / Young / FA

Lineup Option 2

• VanVleet - Flynn
• Barnes - Banton
• Anunoby - Trent
• Siakam - Champagnie
• Achiuwa - Boucher

Here are my thoughts and some potential trade options to be involved in a trade for Simmons currently.

Trade Options

• Raptors - 76ers
• Ben Simmons - Fred VanVleet
• Matisse Thybulle - Goran Dragic
• $8.2M Trade Exception - 2022 1st Rd Pick

Lineup 1

• PG - Simmons - Flynn - Banton
• SG - Trent - Mykhailiuk - Wainwright
• SF - Anunoby - Thybulle - Watanabe
• PF - Barnes - Bonga - Dekker
• C - Siakam - Achiuwa - Birch

Lineup 2

• PG - Dragic - Flynn - Banton
• SG - Trent - Mykhailiuk - Bonga
• SF - Anunoby - Wainwright - Watanabe
• PF - Simmons - Barnes - Dekker
• C - Siakam - Achiuwa - Birch

Lineup (No Trades)

• PG - VanVleet - Flynn - Banton
• SG - Dragic* - Trent - Mykhailiuk
• SF - Anunoby - Wainwright - Bonga
• PF - Boucher* - Barnes - Dekker
• C - Siakam** (INJ) - Achiuwa - Birch** (START)

* Note - Maybe Dragic and Boucher could be starters, with all our young guys playing together on the bench, to also boost Dragic's trade value and because Boucher is better than Birch.

** Note - Maybe Siakam or Barnes could actually play center, with Birch starting the year there as a solid player, but really being our 3rd string center later in the year when Siakam returns.

Continued... >

Hey Ben and Ryker. Do you have any thoughts or feel like discussing this trade and potential roster lineup on an episode?

Here is a link to a super long take with some more thoughts about this idea, which neither of you will probably read at all 😉 Have a good one and great work on the new changes to your setup and the show this year guys.

Raptors Digest - 2021 Raptors Trade, Draft, and Lineup

Trade

• Raptors - 76ers - Magic
• Jonathan Kuminga: 2021 5th Pick - Fred VanVleet - Ben Simmons
• Matisse Thybulle - Terrence Ross - 2022 1st Rd: TOR
• Blank - Paul Watson - 2021 2nd Rd: PHI

Lineup

• PG - Lowry - Suggs - Flynn
• SG - Trent - Oladipo/FA - 2nd/Nix
• SF - Anunoby - Thybulle - Watanabe
• PF - Siakam - Kuminga - Gillespie
• C - Boucher - FA/Giles - 2nd/Maker

Continued... >

What

• Rebuild to the future if can get a top passing and IQ point guard in draft
• Take on others large contracts and 1-year veterans to still be good this year
• Open room to move Norm Powell into the starting lineup to be 2nd scorer
• Put Lowry and VanVleet in good situations to win and make money at home

Why

• All-in on rebuild with young players and aim for 2021 free agents or star trade
• Open cap room for 2nd player to come with Giannis to join Siakam and Anunoby
• Competition too good this year, take a step back to rebuild, let VanVleet etc. go
• Need more to beat BKN, GSW, MIL, LAL, BOS, LAC as well as PHI, DAL, MIA, DEN

Trade 1 - Draft

Golden State Warriors

• Kyle Lowry
• Patrick McCaw

Charlotte Hornets

• Andrew Wiggins
• 2020 #29 Draft Pick

Toronto Raptors

• Nicolas Batum
• 2020 #2 Draft Pick - LaMelo Ball
• 2020 #3 Draft Pick - Tyrese Haliburton

Continued... >

What And Why For Us - Raptors

• Trade poor ball handlers - Miles, Anunoby, Ibaka, Valanciunas
• Keep good ball handlers - VanVleet, Siakam, Wright
• Trade future money to clear contracts - Lowry, Ibaka, Valanciunas, Miles
• Keep core for chemistry, fans, future - Wright, Powell, Siakam, VanVleet
• Gain young star player to combine with Siakam for future - Holiday
• Gain stretch four and three point shooting for playoffs this year - Mirotic
• Possible great team for both this year and next year with shot at title
• Possible young stars lineup for future - Holiday, Leonard, Siakam, Davis

Trade

• Pelicans - Raptors
• Lowry - Davis
• Ibaka - Holiday
• Valanciunas - Mirotic
• Anunoby - Hill
• Miles - Johnson
• 2021 1st Rd Pick - X
• 2020 2nd Rd Pick - X

This Year

• Holiday - VanVleet - Loyd
• Green - Wright - McCaw
• Leonard - Powell - Johnson
• Siakam - Mirotic - Hill
• Davis - Monroe - Boucher

Next Year

• VanVleet - Loyd
• Holiday - Wright
• Leonard - Powell - Hill
• Siakam - Boucher
• Davis

What And Why For Them - Pelicans

• Combine some current players along with some future players
• Take poor contracts that Pelicans don't want to sweeten the deal - Hill, Johnson
• Current players to have good team next year - Lowry, Moore, Anunoby, Randle, Ibaka
• Future players along with Lowry or Ibaka going forward - Anunoby, Valanciunas, Picks
• Get rid of all future contracts beyond next year, other than small Anunoby contract
• Get potential young two way star with Anunoby and offensive threat with Valanciunas
• Could sit Lowry and Valanciunas with injuries to increase odds of high pick in draft
• Could trade Ibaka and/or Lowry next year - Jackson, Payton, Anunoby, Randle, Valanciunas

I thought the NBA slam dunk competition was excellent again this year, as long as you turned off the volume. The announcers were easily the worst part of it for me, but other than them I enjoyed it. There was a lot of great dunks even in the early rounds. And the best part was that it finished really strong which sometimes doesn't happen. The two finalists had great dunks ready to go in the final round and pretty much nailed each of them. Was a lot of fun to watch. I thought Jeremy Evans jumping over the picture was great. And Terrence Ross's final two dunks were both great, including the one off the backboard with the Vince Carter jersey. Excellent night of slam dunking again this year if you ask me.

Quick story from Bill Russell, the great NBA player who won 11 championships. He was asked by a reporter about what it would be like to play in the NBA with the current generation of players. The game has changed a lot and there are a lot of great players with great abilities. The reporter asked "If you were playing today how many points a game would you get now?" Russell replied "Probably about 10 points per game". The reporter said "Wow, just 10 points a game, because the game has changed so much and there are so many talented players now?" Russell said "Well I am 75 years old now".

Curtis Granderson has hit more than 40 homers in both of the last 2 years and is hitting 8th for the Yankees today in the playoffs. He finished 2nd this year in the MLB in homers and only 6 guys had more than 40 homers this year. Doesn’t seem right to have him so low in the lineup but that’s the luxury that the Yankees always seem to have with their huge payroll. You can bet he would hit cleanup or there abouts every night on pretty much any other team.

It’s really too bad that Josh Hamilton doesn’t know how to hit a baseball. And it’s scary how good he might have been if he didn’t have all the personal problems he has had and miss like 6 years of playing baseball because of drugs basically. He’s who I now think of when I think of a real ballplayer that I’ve watched that might be like the guy in The Natural. Him and Ken Griffey Jr.

Josh Hamilton rips 4 two-run HRs vs Orioles

After winning yesterday here is the Blue Jays record so far in spring training. They've just won 8 in a row and have 7 games left.

• 20-4 - .833 - TOR - 2012

Here are the 4 best records in spring since 2003. These are the only records above a .700 winning percentage. Also, the least amount of games lost by a team in spring in those years is 8.

• 26-9 - .765 - LAA - 2009
• 20-8 - .714 - TB - 2010
• 24-10 - .706 - NYY - 2009
• 19-8 - .704 - KC - 2003

Also this article says that spring can mean something, at least when you look at all the records combined. It doesn't mean the Blue Jays will have a great year but according to this article if they have the best record in spring they probably have a good chance of at least having a good season and finishing over a .500 winning percentage.

Spring training records really matter

Well, a 10-year look (it didn’t take me 10 years to do it, I just looked at numbers over a 10-year period!) at MLB’s spring training records reveals some interesting trends. You might have heard that “the numbers never lie;” the numbers I discovered should give baseball fans a little more reason to pay attention to spring training standings.

Here are some of the tidbits that I unearthed while looking at spring training records over the past 10 years:

• Out of the past 20 World Series participants since 2002, only six had a spring training record worse than one game under .500.
• Seven of the 10 teams that had the worst overall spring training record went on to finish last or next-to-last in their division that season.
• Only two of the 11 teams (two teams tied one year) with the best overall spring training record had a losing record that season.

And here is a look at the Jays logo changes over the years. I wonder if the 90s and 2000s will be known as years where designers and everyone else tried to be extra cool, but we go back to designing classic, simple looks over the next 20 years. I guess we’ll always need a bit of both; new and old. But in this case, I sure like the simple classic looks the best.

Toronto Blue Jays logos through the years

I couldn’t be happier with the Blue Jays new logo and uniforms. Best decision they could have made. I never liked any of their designs in between the classic uniforms and this new update to it. Good chance I’ll be buying some new Blue Jays apparel come next year. Goodbye Ricciardi era, hello Anthopoulos era.

New Toronto Blue Jays uniforms are a blast from the past

Just heard that the Cubs have hired GM Theo Epstein away from the Red Sox. My first thought is that he will do what it takes to sign Albert Pujols and make him a Cub. They probably weren’t really in the hunt for Pujols but my hunch says he wants him and could get him since the Yankees have Teixeira, the Red Sox have Gonzalez, and Fielder is also a free agent for another big market team to get.