Jonas Valanciunas in T.O means Raptors 2012 season almost here .

[JamesDouglas]

Guys, don't worry about Bargnani coming back and ruining this team again, he's as good as gone, he'll likely be shipped before the trade deadline.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/225277/Raptors_Remain_Likely_To_Trade_Bargnani

 

[ZeroSumPlus]

I say when Andrea comes back, just leave him on the bench or play him 10-15 minutes as a sub, tops.

This thread has got me watching the Raptors again...
But poor Andrea has to be moved (so he needs to be showcased on the 2nd team).

You have to package him creatively...
And send him to a team with good inside defense.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...rs-forward-andrea-bargnani-a-lock-to-be-moved

 

[frankcastle]

I think we need to move Bargs. Try and get some high draft picks for him. Well okay one high draft pick.

Getting rid of him should open up cap space. Resist the urge to fill it.

BEtter to have a young team develop and start to look promising then decide on the free agent that best fills a need. The raptors have not had a major free agent signing of note that I can think of. Maybe Antonio Davis? OR was he a trade.

If they deal Jose I think that would be a bad idea. Having to solid PGs is paramount. Especially with injuries likely to happen. Obviously the loss of any starter is a big deal but losing your "quarterback" is probgably the worst thing that can happen.

I looked over at the standings in the west. Rockets are 6th with a PG that everyone has been dogging. And who's in 5th? The Golden State Warriors. I had to look up their roster as I couldn't name one person. Apologies to Stephen Curry.... I should have know he was on that team. But they are having great success with a fairly low profile roster. So it's possible that the Raptors could be turned into a winner and it wouldn't take much. I like Davis, Jonas, Ross..... they are young enough that they might still have some room to improve. Demar needs to go along with Bargs. That should secure as at least one very good pick and if the record continues they might have two good picks. Start from there and keep trying to free up cap space.

Ideal situation is you draft a guy who develops into a star and that attracts a free agent to sign. With two top notch players now your a contender..... three and you start thinking finals.

For now let's just start with a good draft pick.

 

[Powershot]

I don't think Bargs will get you a top 6 draft pick given how he's performed and how much better they look without him, same goes for Derozan and his poor outside shooting (also they would have to take salary back to match their $10 million per year salaries). They don't have a draft pick this year, gave it up for Lowry.

The Raptors roster sucks compared to GS for the most part? Lets see how they look after 20 more games though, this season the schedule has been really tough followed by lousy teams, need a little more time with the current players minus Bargs to evaluate.

 

[Dawgger]

I don't think you get much for Bargnani by himself, but a package that includes him with either Lowry or DeRozen may get you either a body or decent draft pick.
I still think Bargnani is a talent. Everything I read leads me to believe he is a lazy under achiever. Maybe a trade wakes him up and the talent emerges and then again, maybe not.
Frankcastle, I believe the last major free agent signing was Hedu, enough said!
I too like Jonas and Davis, and I'm starting to see more and more good things in Ross. He seems to be a quick learner as I have seen an improvement in him as the season has progressed. I still like Amir. Nothing fancy, still too many fouls, but tough as nails and gives you effort.
It will be interesting to see how the Raps do going forward as they play some of the lower tier teams. They sure could use another big as Gray ain't getting it done. I really liked him last year but his play since Jonas went down has been sub par.

 

[teassoc]

Next two games are winnable vs Portland and Sacramento, both at home. That would make them 9 - 1 in last 10 games. Huge turnround on a team 4 - 19.

Still a chance they can finish 7th or 8th as the schedule now favors them. Bet those last 10 to vote are now sweating they made the right choice!

 

[JamesDouglas]

The problem with Bargnani is that he's a lazy ass motherfu....he reminds of Turkoglu, completely lazy and a guy who lacks passion. He's not a leader, and if he were to be a valuable member of any team it would be coming off the bench. He's 7 feet tall, yet he can't block, can't rebound, can't post-up, all he can do is jack up threes, and even with his shooting he's very inconsistent. He's 27 years old, if he hasn't started producing consistently by now, he likely never will. Most players start their decline once they reach 30, so I can see him being out of the league in 4 or 5 years. He just brings the entire team down, when he's their "best" player and he doesn't play defence, doesn't play hard and lacks passion, it trickles down to the rest of the team. That's why when he's out they win 7 of 8 of their last games, and when he's in they lose, lose, and lose some more. Most NBA execs agree he'll be shipped by the trade deadline, the question is what garbage we'll get in return since his value is so low right now.

 

[frankcastle]

Dawgger thanks for the Hedu reference......it's hard to remember who comes by trade and who by signing.

JAmesDouglas..... to call Bargs lazy is wrong. That suggests that he isn't putting in the effort and that there's a switch that can be turned on.

Sometimes telling a dumb kid to smarten up does nothing as what you see is what you get.

He is what he is a tall guy who is a better than average shooter (for a big guy). Rebounding and defense.... well those are skills and clearly he just doesn't have them. Not all tall people can play centre or PF even with all the extra training. I think playing in Euro leagues which tend to be a less physical game than the US made Bargs look better than he is. He has shown that he has finesse and offensive ability but to expect to see rebounding and defense two things he's never been know for is a stretch.

If he was a good rebounder and defender for a long enough stretch then yes I'd say he was lazy. At that level who doesn't want another contract and who doesn't want to win?

 

[ZeroSumPlus]

Next two games are winnable vs Portland and Sacramento, both at home. That would make them 9 - 1 in last 10 games. Huge turnround on a team 4 - 19.

Raptors fans are totally on drugs right now...
After the December Raps go 1-5 vs .500 teams and 6-1 versus the 7-25 dogs.

The whole Bargnani thing is not complicated...
With the right character makeup he is Dirk Nowitski...

Problem is, the guy has no drive, no will to win, zero leadership abilities...
Michael Jordan with Andrea's character = bench warmer.

I remember Andrea's rookie year... this was all PAINFULLY evident...
The guy was like an ALIEN from another planet...
He made no friends among his teammates...
How many sophisticated Europeans in 2006 do not speak a word of English?

The GM job, Colangelo's BASIC job...
Is to weed out stiffs like this in 5 minutes...
As opposed to setting a franchise back for a decade.

 

[teassoc]

Raptors fans are totally on drugs right now...
After the December Raps go 1-5 vs .500 teams and 6-1 versus the 7-25 dogs.

The whole Bargnani thing is not complicated...
With the right character makeup he is Dirk Nowitski...

Problem is, the guy has no drive, no will to win, zero leadership abilities...
Michael Jordan with Andrea's character = bench warmer.

I remember Andrea's rookie year... this was all PAINFULLY evident...
The guy was like an ALIEN from another planet...
He made no friends among his teammates...
How many sophisticated Europeans in 2006 do not speak a word of English?

The GM job, Colangelo's BASIC job...
Is to weed out stiffs like this in 5 minutes...
As opposed to setting a franchise back for a decade.

I think most of us are now hoping Bargnani gets traded. The team seems much stronger without him.

They now have their next 6 games at home whereas some of those teams slightly above them have more difficult schedules. Big chance therefore for Raptors to narrow the gap and be close to that 7th or 8th slot, which currently is around 3.

 

[Dawgger]

I think most of us are now hoping Bargnani gets traded. The team seems much stronger without him.

They now have their next 6 games at home whereas some of those teams slightly above them have more difficult schedules. Big chance therefore for Raptors to narrow the gap and be close to that 7th or 8th slot, which currently is around 3.

HOPING OK we will go with HOPING! Problem being is there any team willing to give The Raps anything for him?
BC got rid of Hedu, HOPE he can find someone willing to take this guy too. I think they will have to put a warm body with him to get anything back.

I still think Bargnani can play at a much higher level than he has shown here, I just don't know how you motivate him and obviously, no one else
has figured that out either. If there is a coach or GM that thinks they can motivate him that may get the Raps a reasonable return.

 

[frankcastle]

Character or whatever you want to call that intangible that makes one athlete a killer and another a lamb...... Bargs doesn't have it.

Potential is just a dirty word that agents got GMs and fans to believe in. It's a nice way of saying player X could be good given time.

I guess anything is possible but very few players flourish most sink or swim. Two three seasons tops is all a player should ever get.

Trade him.

 

[wonkyknee]

I think you're being a little hard on Derozan, especially as he seems to have improved considerably both in a physical sense as well as his all round game..including his shooting. Unless there is a "phenom" in the draft, and available to us, why would we trade derozan??? What are the chances we draft someone better than derozan?

I don't think Bargs will get you a top 6 draft pick given how he's performed and how much better they look without him, same goes for Derozan and his poor outside shooting (also they would have to take salary back to match their $10 million per year salaries). They don't have a draft pick this year, gave it up for Lowry.

The Raptors roster sucks compared to GS for the most part? Lets see how they look after 20 more games though, this season the schedule has been really tough followed by lousy teams, need a little more time with the current players minus Bargs to evaluate.

 

[JamesDouglas]

Nothing can motivate or inspire Bargnani.

Being famous and playing in the NBA? Nope.
Getting paid millions of dollars every year? Nope.
Being with hot women and getting the hottest pussy on the planet? Nope.
Winning an NBA championship? Nope.

Bargs has never won an NBA championship but I don't think the chance to win one would motivate him, he just doesn't care about anything, he's the most indifferent athlete in professional sports.

 

[JamesDouglas]

The Raptors keep winning, they've won 8 of their last 9, and they're one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. Hard to believe but they're tied for 10th spot in the East, and only 3 games out of the 8th spot. Not surprisingly this has all been done without Bargnani, it's clear that DeRozan, Ross, and Davis are the future of this team, the more minutes they get, the better they become, and they're showing us just how good they can be, with Ross pouring in a career high 26 points tonight.

At this point, it's pretty obvious that the Raptors cannot let Bargnani suit up for them again, he's a poison for this team. His laziness, indifference and losing attitude is infectious, especially for the young guys like DeRozan, Ross, and Davis, they need to keep him away from them and trade him immediately. I'm actually liking this team, and I don't care if they trade Bargnani away for draft picks, just do not let him play another game as a Raptor.

 

[thewalker]

it's clear that DeRozan, Ross, and Davis are the future of this team

Don't forget about Jonas!

At this point, it's pretty obvious that the Raptors cannot let Bargnani suit up for them again, he's a poison for this team. His laziness, indifference and losing attitude is infectious, especially for the young guys like DeRozan, Ross, and Davis, they need to keep him away from them and trade him immediately. I'm actually liking this team, and I don't care if they trade Bargnani away for draft picks, just do not let him play another game as a Raptor.

I agree, it's the addition by subtraction phenomenon you sometimes see in sports.
The only problem is who wants him? Injured, $10 million dollar contract and not playing well.

 

[teassoc]

Lots of praise from Portland who talked about how much stronger this team is now. Next up Sacramento which should be winnable. Oklahoma to follow which will be much more difficult.

Raptors now 2 1/2 games behind 8th place.

 

[wonkyknee]

..... it's clear that DeRozan, Ross, and Davis are the future of this team, the more minutes they get, the better they become, and they're showing us just how good they can be, with Ross pouring in a career high 26 points tonight.

At this point, it's pretty obvious that the Raptors cannot let Bargnani suit up for them again, he's a poison for this team. .

Interesting how much progress Ed Davis has made. Awhile back I couldn't see him amounting to much, but he has this enigmatic greatness to him around the basket...an awkward prowess, and now his confidence in his shooting makes him even better.
Unless Bargnani truly is a poisonous presence and I'm not sure he actually is..(only eyes in the locker room these days could answer that question)...it could be argued that Bargnani could only improve the position now occupied by Aaron Gray??
Is it possible that Bargani was a "cancer on the growth" of some of these players and not necessarily a "cancer on the team"....and not necessarily Bargnani being the cancer but the "offense surrounding Bargnani" could have been the cancer.

I'm just saying... I'm not certain of anything here.

 

[Powershot]

I wonder if Casey is wishing he could take back his Bargs post game quote from a month or so ago after pulling an on fire Davis out of a game for Bargs in the fourth and going on to lose.... "come hell or high water , he's our guy".. Effin idiot. Imagine if Bargs didn't get hurt.

 

[ahlungjai]

even fields is contributing lol loving the way were playing and keep bargs on bench when hes healthy till we find some team(sucker) willing to take him!