Toronto Raptors' Off-Season Needs - Floor Stretchers
by Adam Francis on Oct 11, 2011 9:45 AM EDT
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The HQ notes the importance of an upgrade from long-range for the Dinos next season...whenever that is...
Last year the Toronto Raptors finished with a 3-point percentage of .316.
That was the league's worst mark, and a key part of the club's 22 wins last year. Without the consistent ability to spread the floor on offence, opposing teams would often pack the lane and the Raptors, normally one of the league's most explosive offensive clubs, ended up averaging a middling 99.1 points per game, 17th best in the league.
However it wasn't that the Dinos kept chucking them up despite the fact that they didn't go in. Toronto knew it couldn't shoot to a certain extent, and averaged only 13.3 long-range bombs a game, second worst in the league.
To put things in perspective, the top teams in this department like Orlando and Houston and Dallas all took 20 or more 3's a game, and considering their much higher conversion rates on said shots, this represented a distinct advantage over teams like Toronto.
So why the lack of 3 point success?
For starters, the team had lost some of its long-range fire-power via trades and free agency prior to the start of last season, as even folks like Chris Bosh were fairly competent from beyond the arc.
Second, many of the players Toronto was counting on to produce in this fashion, just didn't.
Guys like Linas Kleiza and Leandro Barbosa battled injuries and weren't the long-range threat most expected them to be, and others like Jose Calderon simply struggled to knock their shots down. Jose actually hit on nearly 37 per cent of his shots, well above the team average, but as we've noted before, that mark represented a drop for the fourth straight year. At one point, Jose hit nearly 44 per cent of his 3-point attempts. Jose also attempted the fewest amount of 3's a game since 2007-08 seasons.
Other players like Andrea Bargnani followed suit, posting near career lows in 3-point categories. Bargs' numbers actually mirrored those of his sophomore season, and for someone who was supposed to be a floor-stretcher, he fent far too much time attempting long-range two's.
Oh.
And DeMar DeRozan, one of the team's top two offensive options, shot under 10 per cent from 3.
Perhaps then it's no surprise that numerous Raptors turned up recently on Golden State of Mind's post on the topic.
GSM has been doing some statistical work this off-season having developed a new scoring metric (PSAMS), and in their investigation of 3-point prowess, there wasn't a lot of Toronto love. The Raps didn't have a single player in their "top 25 starters" category, but unfortunately DeRozan, Barbosa and Sonny Weems all showed up in the "bottom" categories.
Regardless of how you feel about the PSAMS metric, the point here is that this is indeed an area that Toronto needs some serious upgrades in. If and when the season ever gets going, getting a true floor stretching threat should be a top priority for management, which may or may not include Ed Stefanski.
However this won't be an easy task.
We've gone through the porous options at the 1 already regarding free agents, and with DeMar firmly entrenched at the 2, any upgrade in 3-point shooting from the starting group would likely have to come via the 3 spot, and at the expense of James Johnson. Of course it's possible that Johnson and DeRozan have been working on their long-range game during this extend off-season, but both have a long ways to go before proving to be even adequate "floor stretchers."
Looking again then at top SF free agent options, guys like Tayshaun Prince (career 37% shooter from 3), Caron Butler (43% from 3 last season) and Shane Battier (career 39% shooter from 3) all fit this mould, although perhaps not ideal due to other factors like age and salary demands.
Maybe then the key is to find a dead-eye marksmen off the bench, someone who could play a sixth man role at a reasonable cost, someone like say Shawne Williams, who hit 40% from 3 last year for the Knicks. His acquisition could be one of those subtle, "Moneyball" type upgrades that could pay big dividends, especially if guys like Barbosa continue their slide in terms of 3-point accuracy.
Other options like James Jones and Reggie Williams make sense along these lines, and without a ton of cash to spend on a one-dimensional player, this may be the way Toronto has to go. We've seen players of this ilk play big roles for clubs during championship drives (Eddie House, Sasha Vujacic etc) although teams predicated on this facet alone, haven't exactly guaranteed themselves titles.
Forget titles though.
For a team like Toronto just trying to crawl back into playoff relevance, a good first step towards increased on-court success would be to look for immediate upgrades in this area.
And by this I'm not talking about the return of Mr. Kleiza...
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Of course its Stefanski!
We’re talking about Brian Colangelo making a hire here! Why would he select the best candidate in the field (Pritchard)? I bet you Stefanski’s interview with Colangelo went something like this:
BC: "Ed, will you fall in line, brown nose, do what I say and join my organizatoin of sycophants, Yes Men and Empty Suits?
ES: “Yes sir, Mr. Colangelo sir.”
BC: “Will you execute my every last whim, even if it makes no basketbal sense whatsoever and further damages the franchise?”
ES: "Whatever you ask Mr. Colangelo. Just as long as I have this hollow “GM” title, I’ll do whatever you say."
BC: “Will you follow the tenants of ‘The Colangelo Prime Directive’?”
ES: " Yes sir! Ummm… What is ‘The Colangelo Prime Directive’?"
BC: Basically, every decision you make is with Andrea Bargnani in mind. No action is taken that would in some way impede the inevitable success and dominance of The Chosen One… Er.. I mean, Bargnani".
ES: “Umm… sure, yes, whatever you say Mr. Colangelo!”
BC: “Ed, you’re hired!”
I believe it’s called the Primo Directive. Get your facts straight.
by dhackett1565 on Oct 11, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
funny stuff...
1. It seems our new ‘GM’ will help us with our ‘wallet stretching’ quite effectively – not that we needed help with that.
2. Colangelo wins free ’I’m with Putin’ t-shirts to give Stefanski – and other subordinates.
3. Reggie Evans becomes the Raptors best 3-point shooter in 2012 with a shooting percentage of 0 .2012%.
4. Jay Triano praises Colangelo for sticking to Triano’s mantra of: ‘There is always room for one more shooter – you know how I looooove my shooters!’….
5. Stephen Colbert put the Raptors back on his ‘on notice’ board…
6. Is Stefanski the ‘Secundo Directive’? In that he knows his place… and it’s not Primo?
'....as a child, I dreamt of being a baseball.'
It Could Have Been A Clash Of Egos With Pritchard
Pritchard is not exactly a water lilly.
Given both BC and Pritchards strong personalities I am surprised that he was even considered to begin with.
I don’t think the BC is looking for a “Yes” person to be GM, but I do think that he definitely wants “veto” capability on some stuff that a strong personality person like Pritchard would object to.
I am not in favor of Stefanski becoming the GM because when you look at the 76ers record both during his tenure and for the next couple of season after he left it was not very good on a combined basis.
Yes he drafted Holiday whose starting numbers are about what Bayless’ are. He did get Brand but at what cost. Brand stunk it up his first year or two? in Philly because of his injury. Last year he played pretty good, but not anywhere near what he should have for what he is being paid.
Anyway it will be what it will be.
I guess this is my overall point. Why hire a strong candidate who is going to have his own opinions on things, when you can hire a career yes man. Stefanski basically filled the role of empty suit GM for Rod Thorn in both NJ and Philly, so not surprised BC went with this candidate.
Why not hire an inanimate object instead...like a mop?
aaah …how actions speak louder than words….
'....as a child, I dreamt of being a baseball.'
LOL! that press conference would be hilarious. Or what about hiring a tape recorder as GM. that way BC can just record his voice and have the “GM” give interviews and make decisions. All he would have to do is press play…
by MAS11 on Oct 11, 2011 2:28 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
a tape recorder? lol...how about Rob Ford for GM?... Give 'us the people' what 'we' want!!
'....as a child, I dreamt of being a baseball.'
I Don't Think That Stefanski Will Be A Yes Person
A “Yes” person is one who does whatever someone else tells them to do and usually without ever putting up an argument.
That is not what I believe we have here.
BC wants veto rights over some decisions that a GM will make. I am guessing most likely having to do with money. That does not mean that the GM will be doing what BC tells him/her to do.
The way you are arguing it every employee is a yes person except the owner or Board of Directors. I just don’t agree with it.
ISTM that you twisted my argument for your convenience.
IMO BC does not want a “Yes” person. BC wants final veto rights over certain things that Pritchard did not want to give him.
For example lets say that BC gave Prtichard full control over trades and full control over potential free agent signing and draft choices. However, maybe BC said to Pritchard you can have control over those except I get final veto power over the money involved in all player transactions. Pritchard said forget it I want full absolute control over all player transactions and you get no veto over any of it even if you are my boss. So BC told Pritchard to look somewhere else.
In the meantime Stefanski agreed to give BC veto power over the financial end of the transactions. That doesn’t make Stefanski a “Yes” person. BC is not going to tell him what players to acquire or dispose of or even how much to pay players which would make Stefanski a “Yes” person. BC is going to retain the right to tell Stefanski, that the amount you want to spend on player so and so is too much for whatever reason. You can pay the player whatever you want as long as it doesn’t exceed x dollars.
Sounds like a good approach for a boss to take, who will ultimately be responsible for the Raptors budget eh
This of course is all supposition on my part as to why Pritchard may have fallen out of the running. Maybe BC just didn’t like Pritchards suits and/or shirts and ties. LOL
Seperate Drum
As per usual Buddahfan, you refuse to be swayed by others and have your own POV based on your own conclusions. Although I sometimes think you are a little OTT, I respect the fact that your opinions are your own and you refuse to get drawn into the group think that often happens in the comments.
I don’t have the same hate for BC as many fans do. I think he is doing a tough job in a unique NBA market, and learning as he goes. I don’t think he should be replaced just yet, he is a GM with clout league wide, and not many of those would take the job in TO. Although his Euro-Raptors approach hasn’t totally panned out, I understand and agree with why he is doing it. Top flight American FA’s will not want to play in Toronto, but international players won’t have the same bias. Unfortunately, we have yet to land a really top flight Euro player – hopefully Big Jonas is the guy.
I do think that a mgmt team needs to be singing from the same hymn sheet. I was never a Smitch fan and the poor relationship he had with BC was clearly effecting the team. I think that the coach and GM or the GM and president, need to be on the same page. They can and should disagree, but they should be able to do so quietly, behind closed doors, then emerge united. Building consensus behind strong leadership might reek of ‘yes man’ mentality to some, particularly if you dislike the leadership; however the opposite is open condescension and conflict within an organisation. This is worse.
I don’t mind Pritchard but I don’t think he is a savior by any means. A lot of fans dig him, I think, because of the way he built up Portland after their Jail-Blazer years. They thing to me is, they were crap at that stage, with a load of high draft picks. Admittedly, KP did very well, but he had many tools and parts to do well with.
I remember when Cho came in to Portland he said he wanted to follow the OKC model, which to me seems too easy for a GM to hold up as an example. A lot of hard core fans enjoy watching this model, as the draft becomes more important, trading away useful parts for future assets, and playing with cap figures is fun fodder for all armchair GM’s. Clearly, making your team awful enough to get high draft picks for a 3-4 consecutive years is undeniably a good way to build up the talent base on your team. But you have to overlook 3-4 years of poor performance. All Portland has done is go from a bottom dweller to a playoff team. This to me is no great accomplishment, and could in fact be accomplished by anyone in the GM seat, even by most average fans/armchair GM’s. Remember, there are years of being a bottom dwelling team there. Going up the next level is where I think real GM skill is required. GM’s that gut a team, or that take a gutted team, and acquire enough assets to become playoff teams can easily be overrated (I also acknowledge that BC did this with the team he inherited coming to Toronto, and that is the main reason why he won his top NBA Exec award).
I am happy that BC is better learning our team and our needs. Most of his moves in the last couple of years have addressed D and rebounding. I am more willing to see what BC has learned and what his next steps are, than I am willing to see another new GM come in and start from scratch again.
Walker McKenna
by Robert Archibald on Oct 12, 2011 7:55 AM EDT up reply actions
I have some bad new for you Robert. The only way the Raptors are going to be good is through the “OKC Model” which also happens to be one of only two real ways to build a championship caliber team.
1. The OKC model – Build through the draft by sucking for a multiple years and garnering high QUALITY players with your picks.
2. The Lakers/Celtics model – Trade your bad contracts and scrubs for other teams star players and capitalise on your name recognition with players.
These are really the only two ways to build your teams. Both have slight variations (i.e. Model 1 variant is San Antonio who lucked into Tim Duncan while already having a star center and then drafted extremely well with their mid to late round picks).
If you have another way to build a CHAMPIONSHIP caliber team and not just a team who make the playoffs for a few years then disappear again, I would love to hear it.
McG
can you provide an example of a championship team built that way? OKC has not won anything yet and that team will need to be dismantled soon due to salary restrictions. On top of that for any OKC that becomes OK there are 10 that fail. Since you will ask me what my model is instead, I won’t shy out. In my opinion for a secondary market (meaning for those locations that are not “making news”, Ex Toronto, but SA is too) what you need is to … be lucky and land a superstar and convince him to stick around because of the credibility of your program. That should attract enough “second tier” players and valuable veterans to have the chance to play for something big.
I think he highlighted SA as the OKC model. They sucked, got a good draft pick, lucked out on getting a super star. That is the OKC model.
also,
They were able to keep their superstar for his entire career,and the same with the Admiral. They were able to add talent despite their draft position by looking beyond the NCAA. They have kept the same coaching philosophy for years meaning needs being easily identified and addressed. They have maintained a level of excellence for longer than OKC has had a team. There is no OKC model, OKC didn’t invent building through the draft. There are loads of teams trying to build through the draft, under current conditions there are more unsuccessful attempts than successful. SA has overcome that to be competitive on the top tier for an extended period of time.
Walker McKenna
by Robert Archibald on Oct 13, 2011 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions
So what’s the answer Robert? What other means does a team in Toronto realistically have to build a true contender other than the draft. If you think it is through free agency, you are dreaming. Toronto will never have the free agent pull that other American markets have. The way the CBA is currently built, that gives the priority to the team that drafted a player through “bird rights” etc. it is obvious that the best way for a team like Toronto to build a contender is first by aquiring assets through the draft and then using them as cornerstones or trading chips in the future. There is no more practical way to build an asset base.
The difference is...
I don’t disagree that building through the draft is the most practical way to build a team, especially for teams that don’t attract FA’s. I am just questioning the value of that experience being on Pritchard’s resume (and Cho’s too). Being a GM of a team going through the rebuilding process, and nothing else – doesn’t speak to me as a strong resume for a GM candidate.
I don’t disagree that the Raps are going to have to build through the draft to acquire premiere talent. I like the draft picks of Ed and Big Jonas, don’t love Bargs or DeRozan but recognise that they are both assets. The Raps have drafted in the lotto for the past few years and have improved their talent level. The future is quite bright with JV, Ed, DD all recent draft picks looking to play big roles going forward, not to mention our next draft pick which should be quite high unless we get another Raptor Draft Jinx. So all in all the future is bright due to building through the draft.
That said, most of our picks were no brainers for the GM. No picks made were radically outside of predictions. We might have lucked into a couple of guys dropping. BC doesn’t deserve any great credit for drafting so well over the last three years – he was near the front of the line, the pickins were good. With the long view now on Pritchards picks, re gambled twice and lost twice on injured players. He made a few nice draft day deals, but despite some nice pieces Portland is no longer positioned as the team of the future. Our next GM has to have done something to a franchise besides spending a few years in the basement acquiring talent through the draft. That is why the dude from SA would be the first name on my list.
Walker McKenna
by Robert Archibald on Oct 13, 2011 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Chris Bosh competent 3pointers?
can I have an advanced stat on that? also supported by the number of 3 he shot pls
i don't have a link... but I think that Bosh was shooting 100% from 3 for quite a few months in his career... you know 1 for 1, 2 for2, 3 for 3... etc
'....as a child, I dreamt of being a baseball.'
Bosh Is A Career 29% Three Point Shooter
Last season he shot 24% on his 3FGA. He has never exceeded 40% on 3FGA in a season in his career. In fact in his third season with the Raptors he made zero of his 3FGA and he took over 10 of them.
I think you are thinking of a couple years back when he was 6/6 through the first 20 games or so, then missed something like 20 of 22 3 pointers the rest of the season (or something along those lines).
by dhackett1565 on Oct 12, 2011 8:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Sorry, should have put a little more context around things, meant that he helped stretch things out a bit because unlike most PF’s, he was at least a threat in the “long-range” area.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
by Adam Francis on Oct 12, 2011 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
The NBA Lockout is Breaking Barack Obama’s Heart
As the Commander-in-Chief, shouldn’t he be able to press a button and automatically end this bloody NBA lockout? Barack Obama says he’s heartbroken over the labor impasse in the NBA. From ABS-CBN News: "President Barack Obama says he is heartbroken over the delay in the 2011-2012 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. NBA Commissioner David Stern announced [Monday] that the first two weeks of the season will be cancelled after the league and the NBA Players Association failed to come up with a new collective bargaining agreement. Obama is now urging all involved in the league to come up with an agreement. ‘I’m a little heartbroken the NBA season is getting delayed here. So, I’m hoping that those guys are back on the court soon,’ Obama said."
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2011/10/the-nba-lockout-is-breaking-barack-obamas-heart/
Lockout update: Federal mediation coming
October 12, 2011 By Chris Sheridan
Perhaps President Obama saw my tweet early this morning?
@BarackObama Any chance you tell the NLRB to speed up its decision-making process in the NBA vs. NBPA case?
From Ken Berger of CBSSports.com:
The NBA labor talks are headed for government intervention after the canceling of games drew the attention of the nation’s top federal mediator. George Cohen, director of the federal mediation and conciliation service, will be in New York City on Monday to interview separately executives from the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, two people with knowledge of the meeting told CBSSports.com Wednesday. The two parties will then meet in Cohen’s office Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Billy Hunter, the NBPA’s executive director, divulged in a radio interview with WFAN in New York earlier Wednesday that the two sides had agreed to have their failed negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement federally mediated. Cohen, appointed by President Obama, was called upon to mediate the NFL’s labor negotiation with the NFL Players Association before that sport’s recent lockout was imposed. He has no binding authority and can only make suggestions. If nothing else, a fresh set of eyes and opinions — not to mention meetings with a different venue and format — couldn’t hurt.
http://sheridanhoops.com/2011/10/12/lockout-update-federal-mediation-coming/
3-point shot: ACC additions excite BC
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/36602/3-point-shot-acc-additions-excite-bc
Sorry the title was too perfect a fit for this article to pass up on. LOL
Love it…
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
by Adam Francis on Oct 12, 2011 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
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