Sunday Thought – The Importance of the "Slasher" in Today's NBA.

Franchise, you make a good case that regardless of the path a franchise takes, you eventually need at least one "slasher" to make the tough decisions when the offense has broken down, and have the vision to see something in the midst of nothing.

From a Raptors perspective, it introduces the possibility that trading Bosh could be less about a complete roster tear down, and more about a redistribution of assets which makes the team function better as a whole. Let's float the hypothetical of Bosh being traded for a package including James Harden. He's not the fastest, strongest, or most athletic. He could very well be the anti-lebron to cite a past post. However, in a Hedo-kind of way, he has the potential to be a decision-maker on the court.

As a sidenote, I have a feeling that players like Harden and Blair will surprise alot of people with their improved physiques, and associated gains in speed, agility, and explosiveness. The body's metabolism is a funny thing, and I think pre-draft training is one of the first places where a player's diet is analyzed, and an optimal mix is found. For Kevin Love it was ditching chocolate milk and no snacking between meals. For Bill Walker, it was cutting out sugar completely. For Zach Randolph, it was switching to a lean meat and veggies diet. Given the latter example especially, a player's dedication and will power are a large part of sustaining these habits throughout the year. That's on the team to figure out.

Man, Kobe was KILLING THE NUGGS LAST NIGHT!!!

That 3 was huge at the end, and when you can shoot like that, it opens up the slashing game.

So i guess the one thing id say is that besides being able to get to the hoop, the player toronto needs is also going to at least have to be a threat to shooot the rock. Or maybe you have a bunch of shooters around him so that other teams can crowd his dribble.

My question is will there be any SG or SF available at #9 that can come in and help the raptors in the way described in this article? Are any of these draftees better than Delfino and Parker? They may be younger with more potential, but can we realistically draft someone in this draft at #9 that we could give the ball to in crunch time? Don’t want to sound pessimistic but I’d have to say that guy probably won’t be there at 9.

Where does BC find that IMPACT wing? The draft is not a realistic place unless we’re drafting higher than 9. Free agency? Trade?

Franchise, I’d love for you to give a detailed breakdown of which players can provide that slashing quality and are realistically obtainable via draft, trade, or FA as you mentioned in this article. I kinda disagree that there are options out there. I mean, it’s easy to obtain a wing player, but not easy to obtain one that slashes regularly and can take the final shot with any degree of success. Those players, like you said "don’t just fall off trees", so who specifically to do have in mind?

We will have more slashing this year. One of the things BC loves about Marion is that he will slash, though he is not very good at creating his own shot, mostly because he has to get close to the basket to have a hope of scoring. The man has to stop shooting like a 6 year old girl.

I had hopes for Joey, but he's definitely gone. No one is even talking about him.

Delfino is another story. He brings driving to the hoop, stupid shots, and inconsistent efforts. But he does play with a testicle or 2 more than a lot of the guys on the team.

Calderon never goes to the hole enough.
Ukic gives me hope as he was developing that driving and slashing game.

Member29 - There aren't a ton of options, but off the top of my head, someone like Jamal Crawford might be had and via the draft, obviously Tyreke Evans. I think it might be good though to put together a comprehensive list, something I expect we'll do prior to free agency.

Yardly, I couldn't agree more re: Bosh. Trading him isn't about "re-building" as much as it is just "building" because he could be used to acquire the talent to build the championship caliber team we all want. Those who want to keep Bosh long term overlook the fact that if we are to do so this team would be hard pressed to add any other talent because we would be financially tied to Bosh/Bargnani with little money left for a top flight scoring/slashing wing and depth.

Rob

So if we trade Bosh so that we can afford (and get) a top flight slashing wing, I suppose that next spring everybody will be moaning that we don't have tough scoring power forward. I don't get all this trade Bosh stuff. His only crime is that he's been surrounded by so-so talent. Until Christmas last year he was the "ONLY" offensive option Raptors had. When the Raptors started losing, Bosh's play appeared to suffer but I defy anybody being upbeat in a losing situation. I'd like to think Coangelo could improve the rebounding, the defense, the penetration, the intensity etc, etc.(just has to wave his magic wand, isn't that how they do it). We've got Bosh and Bargnani, a very good start. If the Raps improve the other personnel, Bosh and Barg's won't be looking to move to a "better" situation.

Melon, if we could acquire an impact wing that slashes and takes the final shot while keeping Bosh I would absolutely love that. Can that guy be acquired without trading Bosh? Can we improve on our overall so so talent without trading one of our assets?

M29 - everybody seems to think that there are lots of Lebron/Wade/Bryant type of penetrators in the NBA. Obviously they are unavailable and anybody else would always be a unequal value for Bosh.

Agree that finding for a Bryant, Wade or James are rare but would Turkoglu not look good on our Raptors? I know financially it will be tough for the Magic to keep. He might be the best free agent out there. From what I see these playoffs, he's better than Marion.

so we have bosh and bargs, most of our money will be spent on these two guys, both are shooting bigs, and both are NOT a threat defensively or rebounding. if you think we can spend a large chunk on these two and make it far in the playoffs. you are wrong! bosh will stay as our first option, every play will be centered around him and we all know how that turned out. bosh and bargs will take up most of the salary cap which will tie us up from using money on a sg/sf. and what makes you think trading bosh will only leave us with unequal value? i would trade bosh for a good young sg/sf, a decent centre who rebounds and defends well, and a few draft picks. im sure theres at least a team willing to give that amount of talent to get a talented pf. bargs should be playing pf so we just slide him there and having a team comprised of a bunch of good players w/ potential instead of just one all-star, im sure will lead us further into the playoffs.

bosh is good, but right now our team needs a shake-up and obviously our starting line-up is still not good enough. if we can strike gold in the draft, then sure, lets keep bosh, but in reality, this is one weak ass draft. hopefully im wrong and we end up getting a good player. but please do not take out the possiblity of trading bosh, cause right now, this team is just bad. plus his contract is the major issue so ya. think about that too. lol

why about colangelo calling warriors GM , and ask them about jamal crawford ,Warriors will probably let him due to his feud with Donald Neilson

You guys make a solid point abt Crawford (Franchise, mobchester), he actually might be available but who do we have that they would want in return? Considering they want him to opt out and walk away, I wonder if they would do a Humphries for Crawford trade if he doesn’t opt out? Hump’s contract is definitely easier to manage.
Either Crawford or Ellis would look good with Bosh. If Marion doesn’t want to stay, I wonder if he’d play in sunny Golden State and if the GSW would trade Ellis for Marion. Those are the type of offense minded slashers we need, guys who want to and can make shots. I think this team, with Bargs, Bosh, Marion, Calderon and anyone of Crawford, Ellis, Gordon or even Hedo would do some damage, especially if we pick well in the draft.

It still baffles me that certain people still don't understand that there is a salary cap in the NBA, and don't address that aspect in their opinion regarding Bosh.

I would love to keep Bosh, Bargs, Calderon then add a scoring wing and have a very deep bench; except that would put us over the cap an into the luxury tax (which management has said they are not willing to pay). As a result, a decision has to be made regarding Bosh OR Bargnani because you can't keep both and address this team's GLARING needs. In deciding between the two you have to assess the cost of keeping them, their individual upside and the value they would bring back in a trade. Bosh has reached his potential (I don't see him giving more than 22/10) will cost you the max to keep him and he would also be the guy that would bring back the most value; conversely Bargnani still has upside, can be had at a cheaper rate and is not likely to bring back as much value in a trade. Therefore, you trade Bosh to address some of this team's needs, keep Bargs and use the extra cash to address the rest of the holes.

Bosh, Bargs and Calderon, is not a championship core. We're missing the go to guy at the end of games who can create off the dribble, get to the line or make the three. Bosh isn't that guy, and Bargs isn't that guy YET.

Rob

Excuse me guys, but if Orlando can afford Howard, Lewis and Turgolu, Raptors can afford Bosh and Bargnani. And please get off the Crawford bandwagon. If we want someone to shoot 25 times a game to get his 20 and pay him a big contract to boot. Jeez, we're already saddled with Kopono. Alan Iverson is probably available, if you're really serious about getting a scorer. Torgolu would have to be brain damaged to leave Orlando for Toronto if Bosh weren't here.

Melon, how can you compare Orlando to Toronto? The magic have spent their money wisely and we have NOT. They have players who could be considered overachievers and we do NOT. They have a mid-first round pick playing important minutes at the SG spot under a rookie scale contract and we do NOT. They spent their mid-level exception on a player who is contributing solid play in the eastern conference finals and we spent ours on a 3 point specialist who is supposed to shoot threes, but does NOT.

Comparing these two teams, and the way they've spent their money is complete non-sense.

Rob

Franchise, I also think that the playoffs have shown, that you absolutely need a SG or SF who has the ability to isolate and score in clutch situations. It's imperative in today's NBA, like you said. Just think, what could have been if we had signed John Salmons--plus, he has a very cheap contract relative to his production.

That said, I've some guys in mind. One is Marvin Williams. Atlanta may or may not be able to keep him, as they do have cap space. While Marvin Williams hasn't shown much in scoring off the dribble/shot-creating...I think he can develop that ability.

I think a slasher is important in today's NBA, but I'd argue if you have a PG who can penetrate and surround him with athletic, slashing wings, that guys like John Salmons, Richard Jefferson, or Jamal Crawford may suffice.

And it appears to be much easier to find a PG who has that ability to penetrate + score than a wing who can do it. Just from looking at this draft, there's a handful of guys that could help...guys like Ty Lawson, Brandon Jennings, Jonny Flynn, etc.

If we can get this type of PG, wing players such as Josh Howard, Richard Jefferson, Boris Diaw...those types would be more than fine, as opposed to our current situation, where it is clear that we need a SG or SF who can consistently score and make plays for others. Like, James Harden would be awesome for this Raptors team as currently constructed. But otherwise, I'd look to get a penetrating PG IF we can't attain that said wing player.

Why can't Bosh be the slasher we need to finish games off? How often does he get to the line aka driving to the rim aka slashing past his man. Was he not one of the best in the entire NBA at getting to the line? You say that the 'slasher' has to shoot...well Bosh has the ability to shoot from distance.

Is the problem with Bosh being our slasher that he is too easy to stop by rotating, or double teaming? Is it beacuse Bosh doesnt have the makeup to take that last shot?

I am confused here, as Bosh has seems to have the attributes needed for a 'slasher' just from a PF perspective. Does the slasher have to be a SG/SF type is is fast enough and good enough at ball handling to beat the double team and rotations?

Scott, IMO there is no substitute for an authentic slashing SG. Bosh is currently our best slasher and we've seen how far that's gotten us. At the end of the day, you can't ask a 6'10 PF to play like a SG and do both PF stuff and SG stuff, that’s what SGs are for and we need to find one. It’s a fact that the best and better teams in the NBA rely on a slashing wing player to breakdown the defence and get to the line during crunch time. We need one of them, like yesterday.

Melon - You also cant compare Crawford to Kapono as Crawford can create off the dribble and Kapono, well not so much. Crawford is overpaid but he is probably the best 2 available who can help the team.

I still do not believe we should be trading Bosh but if people are feeling that strongly about it then maybe we should go all the way.
1. trade Calderon to Memphis for Mike Conely Jr, Darko and a swap of 1st round picks. Memphis gets a true starting pg to play with Gay and OJ which should help them at the box office. Toronto gets a potential starting PG and Darko's expiring contract plus they can then draft Ricky Rubio and have Rubio and Conley duke it out for the starting PG spot.
2. Trade Bosh to Chicago for Gordon and their choice of Tyrus Thomas or Side show mel (I rufuse to refer to Noah as Side show bob as that is Anderson Varajao's title) plus their 1st round pick.
or
Bosh to Cleveland for side show bob and Boobie gibson plus their 1st round pick.
The chicago trade is better for us but depending on salaries etc either way we get an energy PF to play along side Andrea to vacuum up rebounds.
3. With the additional cap space we make a play for Von Wafer or another FA swing in that range to come off the bench.
4. Use Cleveland's pick and trade it along with either Kapono or Banks to another team for their 2nd round pick. Getting one of these stiffs off the team is an imperative (maybe we could even package one of the in the Calderon trade.
Ultimately we would be starting over in this scenario but we would be positioned nicely for the future as we would have potentially 2 starting PGs, a decent if undersized 2 and depending on the sign and trade we can orchestrate with Marion, we could get a decent group of young forwards as well. Plus we would also free up some cap room going into 2010 as Darko's contract expires. I do not advocate trading the core of our team away but if yall insist on trading Bosh then I think we might as well go all the way and start from scratch.

One more note. I find it strange (understatement) that Ricky Rubio has to pay 8 million dollars to get out of his contract (when he only makes like 100000) in Europe but Tinsley is trying to force Indiana into buying him out. I mean am I the only one who thinks the solution to Tinsley's problems are simple? If he simply voided his contract he could probably move on with his career. True, he would be leaving that money on the table but if he truely wanted out, wouldn't that be the solution?
The Ricky Rubio side of the story is interesting as well. Not only does he have to buy his own contract out for a ridiculous amount of money but his agent (Fegans) is basically trying to scare everyone away so that he ends up in either LA or Sacramento. I don't know about you but I am getting tired of players in general trying to strong arm the league into letting them get around the draft system (Steve Francis, Yi Jianlin etc). The two cases only show how the players in the NBA have too much power (as individuals) and maybe it's time the league did something about it. I do not agree that player's should be forced to spend their whole careers playing for crappy franchises but they should honour their commitments at least at the beginning. I also do not understand why Rubio would want to go to Sacramento when their team is actually worse than the Grizzlies and Thunder?

member 29...at times this past year actually Bargs was more of a go to the rim guy than Bosh was....i guess that is our problem !!!

A few notes:

-I’m not a HUGE Jamal Crawford fan. But I think he’s matured a lot from when he first came into the league and in the right system with the right coach, could be very effective. I actually think he’s a great option therefore at the 2 as he can light it up and create off the bounce, and really, there’s not a lot of other options out there this summer as many have indicated.

I like Marvin Williams, but he’s not a creator off the bounce. And while I like Harden, and think he’ll be solid, I’m not going to get him confused with Brandon Roy. Roy had many of the same skeptics in regards to his NBA future prior to being drafted but Roy was a stud in college – he carried a team that had only Bobby Jones and a few decent players quite far in the tourney. Harden couldn’t do that. Again, I think he’ll be solid, and I’d be thrilled if he fell to the Raps somehow, but I don’t see him being the shot-creator and clutch guy Toronto needs. In fact, I’m still a big advocate of guys like Flynn and Teague, both of whom relentlessly attack the rim, can handle the ball on a string and will create off the bounce and push the tempo. So if the Raps can’t get an upgrade in that respect at the 2-3, then maybe a back-up 1 who can do these things would be a good idea. The problem is then, what happens with Roko?

-While I think that Bosh is possibly the best "slashing" 4, the issue with having him take on that role is that he’s not a good enough ball-handler from the perimeter in to attack. If Toronto gets him the ball in the low-post in an isolation situation then yes, he’s tough to stop. But on final possessions, teams force players to come to the ball to start their attack, and therefore Bosh catching the ball outside the 3-point line negates a lot of his effectiveness.

-Finally – JUST SAY NO TO HEDO. I’m telling you, if he was playing in a Raptors’ uniform you’d be as frustrated watching him as you were watching Jalen Rose or Vince when he stopped dunking. Last night’s game was a PERFECT example. He was hit his first field goal with about four minutes left in the game and I think finished one-for-nine on the night. That field goal was a GARBAGE shot too, classic Hedo. Yes, he’s hit some big shots and he’s quite talented I’m not denying that. But his shot selection is atrocious and he disappears in games for long stretches. No thanks.

What about this idea...

1) Trade Calderon, Kapono to Portland for: Bayless, Outlaw, Frye and their #1 pick..
(They need a pg, and love the spanish connection)

2) Trade Bosh to GS for Biedrins, Randolph and their #1

3) Draft Evans with Gs pick, Blair with our pick, and Hansborough with Portland's pick. Buy a pick like BC talked about and grab Jeff Teague

PG- Teague/Bayless/Roko
SG- Evans/Bayless
SF- Outlaw/Randolph
PF- Bargs/Blair/Hansborough
C- Biedrins/Frye

That gives us depth, toughness inside, youth, slashing wings and potential superstars in evans, ransolph, bargs (maybe blair or teague)

These are all very doable as opposed to some of the dream scenarios I read on here.. WHat do you think Franchise

I admire your trade moxy "member 8" but unless we want to have the youngest and most unproven team in the league, I'd say no go on those options...

And um...why the hell are we saying that the Magic have done a good job with the cap??? They've got Rashard on that ridiculous deal and with and Howard taking up all their cap they've got no money now for a lot of key pieces like Hedo and even others down the road like Lee and Gortat. And what do they do with Rafer now?

News from Jose Calderon's web site. He will take the summer off, and will not play for Spain in the Euro Champioships in September, to be 100% for the NBA in 09/10.

Why waste your time with Bosh trade talk. Colangelo has repeatedly said he has no intention of trading his best player, a 4 time All-Star, top 10 player as a PF.

Johnn19,

Regardless of what BC has said about Bosh, I think it is more realistic that he trade Bosh than Calderone or Bargs (as some people keep suggesting). It's safe to say that Jose and Andrea are happy in Toronto, but Bosh is another story.

Hi Guys,can you please remove the score of the last game ,where we beat Chicago...and the Knicks get to pick ahead of us,just like the nets did last year....douglas......who is the knicks going to screw us out of this year...

why about kapono for michael pietrus it works on espn trade machine and pietrus is good lock down defender( him guarding lebron one on one the whole series) not scared to take the ball to the rim and can shoot the 3 ball, i would rather have him over hedo and marvin willaims

Bosh twittered that he is real tired of all this non-sense of being courted by fans from every corner of the continent recently. That and baseless media and fan rumours...

Personally alot of this talk is really annoying me too.

I was listening to some Miami Heat fans talk about how they were easily going bring Bosh to Miami by trading J.O. to Toronto; as he would be a better a fit for us, and how that would be such a great deal for us...oh and the Miami Heat get their championship....

Whats the moral of thids story? I have no idea -- except that I personally feel irritated... and sympathize for Bosh.... who is trying to catch up on zzzz's and things which are far more important than basketball....

here is an article by espn KOBE VS LEBRON, VERY INTERESTING
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=Roundup-KobeLeBron

[" ...If the Raps improve the other personnel, Bosh and Barg's won't be looking to move to a "better" situation."]

melon,
While I would love to keep Bosh, I have a hard time believing he's worth 130 million over 6 years (I keep hearing these numbers).

If Bosh was a 15 - 17 million guy, I'd be okay. Hitting 20 or 21 mil, doesn't make me enthusiastic about keeping him. It'll end up hurting the Raptors down the road.

What happens if Bosh blows out his knee -- we'd be saying goodbye to a competitive team for a few years. I really don't think the risk is worth it.

what do u guys think of von wafer as a slasher...if i recall he is a free agent...and he seems like he would be really good in a full court game

Mobchester,

That article is pretty bogus if you ask me. They shouldn't even be comparing the two. If you look at what Kobe accomplished by the time he was twenty four versus what James has, it's no contest. Kobe hands down has had the better career. And for them to say that a 24 year old Lebron is better than a 24 year old Kobe is ludicrous. They should do a little research instead of buying into the hype that is Lebri=on James. James' pre-game antics make him better suited for the WWE than the NBA. Let James actually accomplish something other than all-star MVP, then they can start comparing.

Mobchester, that article is pure trash, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering it's an ESPN piece. ESPN has turned into the TMZ of the sports world.

LeBron James will have the better career? Really? Kobe Bryant has already been to the NBA Finals 5 times, and he's won 3 championships. And don't give me any garbage about how Shaq helped him out (like Chris "I can't believe they're paying me for this" Sheridan suggested). In those three seasons, Bryant was averaging 25.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, and 5.1 apg in the regular season. During the Lakers' 00-01 playoff run, Bryant was averaging 29.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and 6.1 apg. Those championships are as much Bryant's as they are Shaq's. If you want to say Shaq helped Bryant, then you can use the reverse argument: Without Bryant, Shaq doesn't have as many rings as he has now.

How many times has James been to the Finals? Only once. Ooh! I'm not going to give a guy credit for something he MIGHT do. That's just dumb.

Bryant is by far the better player. Let’s see James make shot after shot with guys like Shane Battier blocking his entire face.

And the garbage about taking 24-year-old James over 24-year-old Bryant? Please. When Bryant was 24, he was averaging 30.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg (career high), 5.9 apg (career high at the time, but 0.1 short of his current career high), and 2.2 spg (career high). Also, he was shooting 45% from the field and 38% from downtown (another career high).

The only advantage James has over Bryant is he’s younger, and so his career is fresher. People need to be reminded of what Bryant was doing in his heyday. Maybe then they’d be willing to give him a little more respect.

It drives me up the wall… James hasn’t done jack (Ooh, he won the MVP award), and yet people are ready to hand him the league. Give me a break…

End rant/

Who has Lebron had to play with? Kobe won championships with Shaq,since then zero, I would argue also Paul Gasol is better than any player Lebron has played with on Cleveland, So when Kobe can lead a team to a championship without Shaq, he not a better individual player than Lebron.

So are we going to question Michael Jordan then? After all, he won his championships with guys like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Just the same old, same old...

I'll give LeBron James credit when he actually does something, but I won't give him credit because a bunch of hacks at ESPN.com think he can win a bunch of championships.

To further James' point, does any of Tim Duncan's accomplishments become suspect because he played next to David Robinson followed by Tony Parker? The question posed is not "Who is better CONSIDERING WHO THEY PLAY NEXT TO?" or "Who has had the better career BASED ON TEAM MATES?"

Do Lebron James' accomplishements become less impressive if he does get that second scoring option (a la Shaq)?

To say Kobe's championships are tainted because he couldn't do it without Shaq is ridiculous. Neither can Lebron apparently. Lebron's only finals appearance so far resulted in the Cavs getting swatted out in four games. To say the end result would be any different had he been playing next to a player if Shaq's caliber is pure speculation.

Let me ask you this, who is better Tim Duncan or Chris Bosh? They put up pretty much the same numbers (20-10). I'll tell you who Chris Bosh will say, Duncan. Why? Because Duncan has won championships. If you don't believe me, then check out the interview his brother Joel Bosh did with him. No where did he mention David Robinson or Tony Parker.

Fact is, Kobe is better and has had the better career because he has the stats and awards and CHAMPIONSHIPS to back it up.

Lebron still has a lot to prove. Just ask Vince Carter and Grant Hill. They were each supposed to be the next Michael Jordan. I don't think anyone is making that argument now.