Raptors Offseason Report Card
by Marz on Sep 9, 2009 9:52 PM EDT
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PrintWith the offseason basically over, training camp approaching, and the Banks-for-Caroll trade no longer in consideration, we can finally recap what Colangelo has done these past few months. Many fans seems to be excited of the acquisitions this past summer, while a few remain skeptical. I'll break down each off-season move as objectively as I can, and then look at the end result as a whole.
May 11 - Jay Triano signed as head coach
Before Glen Grunwald got the axe, he hired rookie head coach Kevin O'Neil. The firey, hot-headed, defensive minded K.O. somehow managed to squeeze 33 wins out of lackluster players, a wire thin Chris Bosh, and an inconsistent Vince Carter. In the Rob Babcock Era, we saw yet another rookie head coach take the helm, Sam Mitchell. This time instead of relying on X's and O's, Sam Mitchell relied on... well, I have no idea. And now finally, in the 09-10 season we'll see yet another rookie head coach take the helm, our very own Jay Triano.
For a team looking to "win now" and advance to the second round of the playoffs, another rookie coach just doesn't make sense. Sure, Jay is experienced at the international level, but in the NBA he's just another rookie head coach without playoff experience. On the bright side, Jay Triano brings in a happy medium of X's and O's, push-the-ball offense, and motivation. And he's Canadian! What could possibly go wrong?
Individual Grade: C+
June 9 - Kapono traded for Reggie Evans
Many fans seem to believe Kapono is a bad player, and with his play these past few seasons for the Raptors, who can blame them? What they fail to understand is that Kapono is a niche player, and when a team can't provide him with that niche to be in, his flaws will be exposed. The guy can't dribble without travelling, yet he was asked to create off the bench. The blame can be placed on Kapono just as much as Mitchell, Triano, and even Colangelo for acquiring a 6th man that just didn't fit.
Reggie Evans to the Raptors just made sense. For a team that was out-hustled on rebounding, even when the big men were blocking out, a player that averages one of the highest rates of rebounds per minute is a godsend. His limited offensive abilities may be cause for concern, except no one is expecting him to have any offensive production to begin with. This is a perfect swap between two teams at the beginning of the offseason.
Individual Grade: A-
June 25 - DeMar DeRozan is drafted
How do you think Rob Babcock would have handled this draft class? Thank god we drafted DeRozan, a player who has drawn comparisons to Vince Carter (unlikely), Andre Igoudala (more likely), and Jason Richardson (most likely). The other two options here were Gerald Henderson and Terrence Williams, but with DeRozan showing the most potential I think we made the right pick.
Individual Grade: A
July 7 - Andrea Bargnani signs 5-year 50 million dollar extension
After an abysmal second season in the NBA, Bargnani didn't do much to doubt his naysayers early on last season. Being asked to play outside of his comfort zone in a variety of different roles, several fans were calling for his head. "Bustnani" was his new nickname. At least, up until the second half of the season. With a defined role and a coach that doesn't suck, Bargnani exploded onto the scene, averaging 19 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and a scorching 43.5 percent from 3 point range. So given these numbers, why was this extension over-priced?
If we take a look at the current economic climate, we'll notice that many teams are being stingy with their dollars. David Lee, a player who's production surpasses Bargnani, was not able to land the dollars he was looking for. And in this market, the rumour mill had it that 4 years 36 million would be something Lee would gladly take. A more concrete case is Charlie Villanueva, a stretch big-man that averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds last season. Well he got about 7 million a season. Considering Bargnanni is also a "stretch big-man" (a big man that can space the floor because of his shooting ability), is he worth an additional 3 million a season over Villanueva? He certainly has the height advantage and the shooting efficiency, but I feel we could have had Bargs for 8-9 million a season.
Individual Grade: B-
July 9 - Toronto Acquires Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright, and Devean George in a 4-way trade
A little before this trade transpired, it seemed as if Hedo Turkoglu was heading to Portland. My thinking at the time? A sigh of relief. The guy was going to be paid 50 million dollars for 5 years. A point-forward who had peaked in Orlando was being paid 10 million dollars as season! Thank god we wouldn't throw away all our rights and cap space at one player... AGAIN (recall: Jermaine O'Neil). Alas, my relief was short lived after I found out Colangelo stole him away from the Blazers. Luckily, the front office found a way to not lose our mid-level exception and land Antoine Wright/Devean George as well. This means we wouldn't end up in the Will Solomon/Hassan Adams fiasco like last season.
But is the acquisition of Hedo good enough to propel us into the second round of the playoffs? People keep heralding his clutch abilities, but forget about his suspect shot selection. They talk about his playmaking abilities, but forget that he no longer has the brick wall that is Dwight Howard setting the pick. I certainly hope all the intangibles Hedo brings help the Raptors - his leadership and experience will be vital, especially for Bargnani. But at 53 million a season, it just seems too much.
The other big acquisition here is Antoine Wright. You know that when Rick Carlisle is singing you praises, you did something right. Remember that it was Rick Carlisle and Kevin O'Neil that originally made the Pistons into the defensive power house that they were. Wright will be a key player in stopping opposing teams' runs, and help in closing close games.
Individual Grade: B
July 13 - Jarret Jack Signed for 4 years, 20 million
When the Pacers didn't match the deal 7 days later, Raptors fans could finally free their minds of the horrible point guard play they endured last season. The steep price tag for a back-up point guard such as Jack was necessary to ensure Indiana didn't match, but at the same time was Jack the only option? There were several other back up point guards available this off-season: Earl Watson, CJ Watson, Marcus Williams, Jayson Williams, etc. What made Jack stand out was his ability to play physical defense at BOTH guard positions, allowing him to play alongside Calderon to close out games. Oh, and he's Chris Bosh's best friend. Yeah, that helped too.
Individual Grade: B+
July 30 - Devean George traded for Marco Belinelli
Quite possibly the steal of the offseason, especially since all we gave up an ailing forward who wasn't going to play much anyway. If Belinelli doesn't work out, well, we wasted close to 3 million dollars for the season. But if he shows some potential, like the potential Bryan Colangelo sees in him when he calls him a potential 6th man of the year candidate, then this is one hell of a deal. What are the chances Belinelli isn't a dud? Given Nellie's track record of hating rookie players more than Rosie O'Donnel hates low fat yogurt, I'd say the chances are pretty good.
Individual Grade: A+
July 30 - Rasho Nesterovic signed to a 1 year deal
After playing with the Raptors for over 8 million a season just a short while ago, bringing back the locker room presence that is Rasho Nesterovic at a reasonable 2 million is a solid pickup. He's not getting any younger, and he's slower than he once was, but as a position based defender Rasho is one of the best in the business - making life easier for PFs like Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. And he's the only Raptor with a championship ring.
Individual Grade: B
August 18 - Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic traded for Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems
The key thing to note here is we were not going to get Carlos Delfino. We weren't going to sign him for 3.5 million dollars after loading up the wings of the roster, and he wouldn't sign here even if we did offer that. This trade is essentially Roko Ukic for Amir Johnson. One is a tall point guard who has shown flashes of greatness, and the other is an athletic forward who has shown beatly efficiency in the post. But Amir is younger, and given the influx of point guards we have on the roster (still sitting at 4 with Jose, Jack, Douby, and Banks) this trade makes a lot of sense for the Raptors. It also means Patrick O'Bryant gets pushed one spot further down the bench, a huge plus in my books.
Individual Grade: B+
Conclusion
Overall Bryan Colangelo has managed to overhaul the roster and solidify a core starting line of Jose, Bargs, and Turkoglu with 6th man Jack. Is that a scary core? Not at all, but it's one hell of a complementary core, especially if Turkoglu manages to bring his intangibles to the Raptors. Add a max-money player (we all hope it will be Chris Bosh proving that he deserves it) and we should be able to compete for quite a while. Especially when you consider that the aging Celtics have a maximum of 2 seasons to go, LeBron's Cavs are about to hit a wall at the centre position (Big Z and Shaq are old), and Orlando can't keep paying that much luxury tax for much longer without dumping some of it on Mark Cuban.
Overall Grade: B-
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B-?
Your grades were: C+, A-, A, B-, B, B+, A+, B, B+, B-.
3 A grades, 6 B grades and 1 C+ grade. How does that come out to a mark of ‘B-’?
In terms of the actual grades themselves, I’ve gotta disagree in several spots.
Coaching: who would you have hired? Remember, a new coach is either a rookie or a failure somewhere else. Triano knows the players, has a great rep internationally and with the USA basketball folks, and showed significant improvement in the quality of play last year (if not the resulting record). I’d personally give that a B. Maybe a B-, but I don’t see how this deserves a C+ grade.
Bargnani: Where to start? Economic climate… Looking around the league, 10 per is pretty much acceptable for a starting C, even if Bargs doesn’t break out further as expected.
And the main difference between Bargs and CV is on the defensive side of the ball (along with size), where Bargs might become a contributor, but CV will eternally be a liability.
And you end with “we could have had Bargs for 8-9 million a season?” Really? That 1 million per year (1/58th of the salary cap) is the back-breaker on this deal? If that’s the ideal goal for this contract, you gotta give this a B or B+, even though I think I’d give it an A-. If this was the number BC and the agent could agree on, better to get him locked in now, than pay a max contract (15M per for <6 years experience) after he breaks out with a full season of what he did from January on. That means that’s a 1 million dollar gamble (from your numbers) for 5M in savings per year.
re: coaching
I’m in agreement. For the less attractive coaching destinations, they usually opt for a greenhorn head coach. It’s much easier to keep a coach that becomes good under your watch, then it is to bring an established coach to an unstable situation. Coaches know they get more then their share of both the credit and the blame. People slag Phil Jackson for only going to teams that have great players…as if a another coach wouldn’t make the same choice.
re: Bargnani
I think the Agent came in with an offer of 5 years, 11million per year. BC came back with 5 years, 9mill per, and they split the difference. Andrea doesn’t have to progress greatly on offense to justify the deal. However, he has to grow into the role of being the last line of Raptor defense. And part of that will mean making up for other people’s mistakes via help defense. We are gambling that he can become more well rounded given time and instruction.
Bargs got to contribute more at $10M per
We hope Bargs had studied how to rebound in the past two years. There will also be nights when he does not have the hot hand from the 3’s. Learning to drive from the top of the key when the lanes are open for a close in bucket will surprise a lot of defenders who may play him close. At that price, Bargs should be averaging close to 9/9.5 rebounds per game.
Re: B-
Hi dhackett, thank you for your feedback.
The overall grade wasn’t meant to be an average, but rather how I felt the offseason moves came together as a whole. The grades before it were based on the individual merits of the acquisition, but a team is rarely just the sum of its parts.
In terms of coaching, I don’t know who else I would have taken. But your argument that “he knows the players” is kind of funny seeing as how we’ve had such high turnover this offseason. I know he has a great rep internationally and with USA basketball folk, how does that help us win games? When he gets the playoffs, is he going to be able to call up someone in vital moments to figure out what to do? A rookie head coach is a project, much like a player. They learn from their mistakes as their career progresses. This seems to juxtapose what we’re trying to do this season, and that is progress past the first round of the playoffs. If this were another rebuilding year, then Triano would get a higher grade.
Finally, yes I am arguing over 1-2 million per year. Over 5 years that’s 5-10 million dollars, and it also allows us greater flexibility next season with the projected lower salary cap. If there was ever a time to squeeze a player for his dollar, now was it. And this is without debating the fact that Bargnani is yet to perform at a high level for a full season, something we could have used at the bargaining table to lower the 10 mil/year price tag.
The overall grade confused me since you didn’t say anything negative in your conclusion to explain the lower-than-the-average grade. If the moves don’t fit together (thus being worth LESS than the sum of their parts) please explain why.
Well, in terms of him knowing the players, he does know the core (Bosh, Bargs, Jose) better than BC himself does, and as an assistant for the last 10 years, he would be very familiar with the games of the other players through scouting, which a head coach for another team might not be, as he would have different responsibilities.
I figured him having a good reputation with high basketball minds spoke to his overall competency and ability. Wasn’t suggesting his connections were of any actual value.
In terms of Bargs, the total amount over 5 years is misleading, as totals always are when discussing contracts. The impact of his salary on the cap (the only place we as fans should care about) will occur each year, as a single amount (1-2 million).
Your argument for next year is very flawed. If this value was the amount that was agreed on (and in the Press Conference BC mentioned that he had wanted it to be lower, but came up to meet the agent halfway), then the only other option would have been to wait it out and offer Bargs the qualifying offer at the end of the year, making him a restricted free agent. Although the cap is coming down significantly, there are still multiple teams positioning for cap room and only so many max players to go around. Who’s to say some GM wouldn’t lay down a big contract, forcing BC to match or let Bargs go for nothing?
“And this is without debating the fact that Bargnani is yet to perform at a high level for a full season” – The premise of this is ridiculous. If he played at a high level all year, he would have demanded a higher contract than what he got. See Roy’s extension. When players on rookie contracts are performing at near-all-star levels of production (20PPG,7RPG,1.5BPG), they get a max contract extension, or close to it.
by dhackett1565 on Sep 10, 2009 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions
The team not fitting together: We seem to have a lot of offensive firepower, great. Except that Hedo/Jose are more suited to a halfcourt offense, while Triano wants to push the ball. Why do we need such a versatile point-forward if our coach is looking to push the tempo? Granted, Triano said he doesn’t just want the team to run, but with our current obvious starting 4 it just seems we’re much more suited to the half-court offense. And while last season our half-court offense seemed to improve with Triano (how could it get worse after Mitchell?), it still was relatively stagnant in comparison to what I saw from the rest of the league.
I don’t buy the Triano knowing more about other players through scouting reports than other coaches. All coaches need to be well-versed in other players from other teams. The only time you can make that argument is if we were pitting Triano against a college coach for hire. Aside from knowing Jose/Bosh/Bargs, Triano will be at just as much of a disadvantage as bringing in a coach like Eddie Jordan or Maurice Cheeks (I’m not advocating either of those choices, just giving examples).
As for Bargnani, my point is we didn’t have to meet the agent halfway. They were willing to talk extension this season, and thus far he hasn’t shown enough consistency to be a 10 mil/year player. This season, the free agent economy was bad. So bad that he could’ve held out till next season if he felt the offer was too low. The chances of Bargnani flourishing this upcoming season? Pretty much the same as last season: a bunch of new players, a new system, etc. I don’t think he’ll be averaging 20/7/1.5. And the chances of him leaving Toronto where BC/Gheradini have been nothing but a blessing to Bargs? Even lower. Bargs wasn’t going anywhere, so imo there was no sense in meeting the agent half way if only to make Bargs feel wanted.
The Bargnani contract is a hedge contract. The Raptors are gambling that Bargnani plays above the level of a mediocre centre. If AB does, then the contract becomes very good and the Rap’s hedge has been successful. If he doesn’t, the contract is bad.
So why does AB sign this one? It’s because it gives him financial security over an extended time. If the Raptors don’t meet the agent 1/2 way in this case, then AB likely doesn’t sign it and then plays out his rookie contract. If he puts together a 16/8 season this year or next, his price in free agency increases dramatically.
The one thing that is bad about those hedge contracts on risky players is that they usually leave one side disappointed as the player will under/overperform. Look at a deal like Darko’s. Very high uncertainty.
It’s funny that in the NBA – teams love potential and will overpay to get it. But if you don’t get enough high-ceiling players, you can’t make it to the finals. There’s just so much luck in building a championship team or even an NBA roster.
I agree that hedge contracts are risky and I think that they are actually riskier for the team. For the team, if a player turns out to be relatively underpaid and is unhappy about it, you have a reasonable chance of being able to trade that player for good value or you can renegotiate (I don’t think you are allowed to renegotiate existing contracts, but you could add years for higher dollars). The only way you really lose in this situation is if the player is a real malcontent, which would decrease his value to other teams. If the player sucks, then the team is stuck with a bad contract that will be difficult to get rid of.
So why would team’s take the risk of hedging with contracts? I think it’s all about getting value out of each player. If you can assemble a team in which each player plays to the value of his contract or better, you have a good chance at a championship. Hedging a contract on a young player is one way of trying to have that player play above his value.
Hey guys,
Im a Warrior fan, from GSOM and just roaming around trying to find good conversation. Not trying to be a jerk or anything, just giving you an outside point of view.
The Raptors are gambling that Bargnani plays above the level of a mediocre centre
Well my take is that Bargnani is not even at the level of mediocre center at the moment. 5.3 rebs per 31 minutes is horriable for a 7 footer and his +/- and his roland rating are horriable.
http://www.82games.com/0809/08TOR14.HTM
Giving him 10 mil per deal doesnt make any sense. Whats the reasoning? Was anybody going to give him that much money next season?
Bosh is going to get a max contract either from some team next season, the only thing thats going to keep him in Toronto is winning. AB, was going to be on the team next season anyway, so I dont see how this contract helps that.
Bargnani right now is a borderline starter. His defense is so bad and is rebounding is horriable, that is it possiable that he hurts his team more than he helps. Just curious, do you guys really see Bargnani is good player and as a possiable All Star?
Thing B
by warriorsscore110 on Sep 18, 2009 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions
....
looking at the stats yeah you can say he’s a border line starter. Stats dont say everything though… Last year after Sam was fired Bargs became a very good ball player. He needs a system that suits him and that didn’t happen with Sam. His defense improved greatly in the second half and he is finally understanding how to play D in the NBA. It’s a process and Bargs has taken a huge leap in the right direction last season. He has put on some more weight and I believe will have a monster season this year.
There’s plenty of argument about whether Bargnani played at mediocre center or not last year. It really doesn’t matter. Because the Raptors are gambling that Bargnani will play above that level next year, or even more importantly, the following years.
True, Bargnani would be with this team anyway. But if he had a successful year (basically, the second 1/2 of last year sustained throughout the year or better), he would have cost a lot more to sign. Yes, the Raptors are gambling on potential, rather than actual play, but that happens frequently in the NBA.
Bargnani's value
If he puts together a 16/8 season this year or next, his price in free agency increases dramatically.
The problem is that Bargnani has shown little or no proclivity to putting up the rebounding numbers that you need out of a starting center. The Raps will basically have to play Bargnani along with Bosh and Evans to have the kind of rebounding lineup that you need to succeed. For an analogous case, when the Pacers had the Dunking Dutchman, they were only successful because they had the Davis (non-)brothers to mask Smits’ rebounding deficiencies.
Morgan breaks through in 2009!
Good article. I think the overall grade is pretty accurate. When you look at it, the point guard position is pretty full now. I’m happy about that because that means, the Raptors have a couple options to choose from, whether moving up the court fast or slow. Calderon doesn’t have much more speeds than slow and steady and I think the Raps need to push the ball up the floor more to expose the weaknesses of their aging competitors.
Good post
An above average grade for the Legomaster.
Couple of these could be interesting –
Triano’s fair C+ has the potential to increase in best case scenario and also could easily drop should this talented group underachieve.
I am sincerely hoping that Andrea grade, easily, turns into an A+..
Colangelo basically turned Shaun Marion into Turkoglu, hopefully a much needed defensive minded Wright and, perhaps the most interesting of all, Belinelli. If by end of season this merits an A or A+ we are in for a great season.
Although I think Roko will find a place in the NBA, I am hoping Amir Johnson finally finds his groove. This might well turn out to be the big steal of the offseason.
re Grades
Kapono for Evans was a case of specialist for specialist.
I would give it a B, since we’re filling a need, and shipping out someone who
didn’t fit the current personnel.
re: Hedo trade
There is one debate which centers on resigning Marion vs. signing Hedo
We would’ve gotten Jack regardless, but missed out on Wright and Bellinelli.
Another debate centers on not signing Hedo at that dollar figure.
I’m down with Hedo over Marion, but Hedo’s contract, at his age, on THIS team, is prohibitive. Given his age, I question whether he can be a major factor in making Bosh resign. IF Bosh resigns, it will be because of players he feels will either maintain performance or get better over the next few years. This means Bargnani, Calderon, Jack, and DeRozan perhaps. Hedo will make things interesting in the present. When the Raptors roster is closer to full potential, he will be transitioning into a supporting role.
Disagree with the grades given to the Jack and Belinelli signings relative to each other.
With Jack, who has a proven track record, the only thing it cost to acquire him was money. Belinelli cost the Raptors an expiring contract, and cash equal to George’s expiring deal. In sum, he only cost the Raptors cash to acquire as well. However, he hasn’t proven anything consistently outside of some big scoring games with the Italian national team. If Jack is a B+, then Belinelli is a B+ as well, assuming that he’s able to play rotation minutes at SG. If he overachieves and does a great job, ie become a sixth-man type for the bench crew, then this transaction retroactively get’s boosted to an A or A+. He’s a question mark, not quite as big as DeRozan, and that’s what prevents me from looking at the best case scenario when it comes to grading.
I would give the Rasho signing an A. Jack was a solid signing, but there is no doubt that we paid full price for his services. In Rasho’s case, i think we’re getting a bargain as insurance at the center spot. Take a look around at what a player like Ryan Hollins was able to pull down from Minnesota ( 3 years / 7 milllion ). And what Wilcox got from Detroit, 3 million per year. Mix in our familiarity with his game from past seasons, and this signing was great value, while give us flexibility next season.
I like the breakdown of the trade to Ukic for Amir. We couldn’t get that calibre of bigman on the free agent market, since we’d spent our exemptions. Ukic was logjammed, while having two years of salary on the books. I’m not expecting a breakout from Amir, but he should bring something unique to the backup bigman rotation. Given his youth, it would be nice to have him under contract for a few seasons, to make sure that the effort spent on him yielded returns for the team down the line. I guess we can look at his as a free look at his game and work ethic. And if we want to resign him next offseason, we can go over the soft cap to do it.
Jarret Jack is a B+ because we signed him to 4 years at an “overpriced” price tag. Yes, he’s proven more than Belinelli, but we can “cut” our commitment from belinelli at the end of this season (team option). So the grade was overpriced proven commodity for 4 years vs no risk young potential. The fact that we traded an “expiring contract” in Devean George for him makes no difference – we don’t have to keep Belinelli after this season if he dissapoints.
Rasho was certainly great value. I still think grade of B is fair. The move wasn’t a “holy crap I can’t believe we got that guy” signing. It was a sound signing that helps the Raptors in many ways, but not in significant ways.
Fairly certain the team option has to be exercised before the start of the season.
by dhackett1565 on Sep 22, 2009 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I’ll start by saying I should have used C’s in my evaluation. Such as C for satisfactory, B for good, A for great? There just isn’t enough separation otherwise between solid moves, good moves, and “holy crap I can’t believe we got that guy” moves. Will also refrain from comparing signings to trades, I some ways its like comparing apples to oranges, they have unique genre-specific criteria.
FREE AGENTS:
JACK
In my eyes, whether Jack was overpriced or not, depends on how well he’s able to meet our needs. First and foremost, he has to be able to handle starting duties ie 30 min +. The main reason for acquiring him was as a hedge against everything falling apart should Calderon go down. At a five mill price tag i would expect him to fulfil the role of a solid starter, without being great at any one thing. In short, not expecting him to win games for us if he starts. Second, he has to have enough versatility to contribute significant minutes in a 6/7th man role, while backing up JC and the 2-G. We are paying a premium for his abiilty to play two positions, thus increasing his potential contribution to the team.
I’ll use the comparable of Ramon Sessions, who recently signed with Minnesota for 4 years at 4mill a year. From what little I’ve read, Sessions is the better pg then Jack. He’s better at running a team, and better at distributing the ball. However, he can only play PG, so would not suit our needs as well as Jack.
IMHO,
(this is a shaky comparison, since this isn’t a proper analysis, just pulling names out of the air) A good backup PG, but mediocre starter, is worth 3 million (Duhon, perhaps Dooling). Sessions is a solid starter and worth 4 million. Jack is worth 4 million as well, but we overpaid by 1 million to ensure that Indiana didn’t match. I also think that Jack was a better fit for our particular team needs then Sessions, and that his particular mix of abilities isn’t common. ie There are undersized SGs like Juan Dixon or Douby, but big PGs that can defend SG’s are less common. It was an overpayment but a justifiable overpayment given the scarcity of that mix of attributes in a PG.
It was a good, not great, since a great FA signing includes the attribute of Value for money. Assigning a grade of B+
RASHO
Your reasoning sounds good, but I will (completely subjectively) go with B+. Great value, but lacked in significance, the opposite of Jack. Perhaps some kind of formula (Significance x Value)?
TRADES
Belinelli: I will stick with B+. DHackett is right about the team option being due just before the season starts. I view acquiring him the same way i do buying a mid-late first round pick . Except Belinelli has some NBA experience, and was acquired for ~1.6 mill not the 3million picks in the last draft cost. This is what elevates him above a C for a first round pick purchase. If I don’t give him an A, its because I can’t give any trade for a “mid-late first round”pick" an A, there is too much uncertainty. From comparisons sake, trading ~1.6 million for DeRozen, would garner an A, since he has a combination of potential and past performance that is higher then Belinelli. With two years experience, Belinelli’s potential is less “exciting” as (inevitably) warts in his game have been exposed. Since drafting is all about potential, this is reflected in the grade assigned.
There is no science to this, which is what makes the discussion so interesting.
Good job with the fanpost.
All of these moves grade out well, but what is the actual impact to the W column?
I find it a little silly.
Plus, we are only rating additions, not subtractions, and fans of a team have a tendency to overrate their own.
re: post
Speculating on the actual impact on the W column could be a fanpost for another day. We just came off of the Raptors Roundtable feature, so (for now) I think people got their say in the comments of that article.
Rating additions and subtractions could likewise be a post for another day.
Fans, and this fan (yardly) in particular, have a tendency to overrate their own. When you know some past history and the rationale / perceived rationale for any move, then its hard not to overrate based on best fit. As an extreme example,were I fan of another team, I wouldn’t look favorably upon Bargs performance to date and his recent extension. A cursory glance at his stats, coverage in the print media, and his atypical game for a center combine to paint a negative picture. This is only cemented if you happened to watch your team play him while he was in a funk. I don’t have this array of information for other teams, so perhaps this bias is removed.
The fact the bias is there shouldn’t prevent people from rating players, moves, or even draft picks. It’s easy enough to present a different perspective in the comments, and we’ll all be better for it.
"But at 53 million a season, it just seems too much."
yeah that does seem a little high… lol
1998 is Back
Any guess on what Bosh will be worth?
If Bargnani and Hedo, both supporting cast are being paid at $50 Million for 5 years, I would think BC need to put Bosh at $100 Million for 7 years to keep him. Toronto fans, be prepared for the ticket price increases for the next 5 years.
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