The Raptors Reversal

[blackice]

This has been a franchise mired in mediocrity for some time now. At times just good enough to be a play-in team, but never really good enough to challenge the top teams of the East. Looking for the Raptors in a brutal division? Check the bottom of it. Always looking up, loses piling on.

The question needs to be asked, is this a situation that is salvageable by working around the edges and adding talent by drafting a certain veteran point guard and seeing what this core can do….or is it finally ready to concede that this roster has to be torn down to the very foundation and go through a long and painful rebuild?

The answer may lie in what the end goal is. This roster has the talent at every position except point guard, with a quasi-franchise player in Alen Smailagic, more affectionately known as Snail. More on him later.

This has always been a team to roll the dice and throw around their own 1st rounders like candy on Halloween. The problem is this isn’t a team that has traditionally had a top 5 player to build around, and you only get those in this league through smart drafting or absurdly good luck. After years and years of roster turnover, the past two seasons have been defined by conservative moves and a reluctance to pick a solid direction.

This dichotomy is clear and look no further then star wing “Hamidou Diallo,” who is coming off a down-ish year averaging 18/4/4 w/ 1.7 stocks. He suffered with his efficiency and struggled seeing heavy minutes at PG simply because HC Andre Miller wanted to see if he could take a player with elite handles and adequate passing with the ability to slash and kick to see if a higher USG% and playmaking responsibly would benefit him (and the team) at the point. Needless to say, it didn’t end up working, like it did with reclamation project “Nassir Little,” who is now a Buck.

Last season also saw the acquisition of former Warrior, Nimrod Levi. An elite 3 point sniper with size and the ability to play SF/PF given his size. Young enough to fit with this team. The team also has serviceable centers, but nothing special at the position. Jock Landale, Goga Bitadze and Kai Jones are ideally backup centers and in a division with Ayton/Williams looking to win a title (and the other finals team featuring Fernando/Mobley), it is clear an elite center is required, at least one who can play both ends and defend/rebound at an elite level.

So where does that leave us?

PG: ______________/ Parker Jackson-Cartwright
SG: Hamidou Diallo/Herbert Jones
SF: Nimrod Levi/ Abudushalamu Abudurexiti
PF: Alen Smailagic/_________
C:______________/ Jock Landale

Solid, but nothing approaching the level of talent on the top 8 teams in the conference, and that doesn’t take into account the behemoths that are coming up in the Western conference (and those teams that are already elite).

So the big question is what exactly is Snail and is he truly a transcendent franchise player or an elite #2 option who would benefits from another elite partner in crime? This is a player who is only 24 years of age who is coming off an “off year” averaging numbers that are still quite impressive. He’s been a 29/10/3 player in the past, and is reminiscent of a young Carmelo Anthony, or a less explosive but better passing Amare Stoudemire? Is he worth building around, or will he be flipped to a team willing to part with picks and young talent? Would this just be a move to make a move, or would it benefit the team if it decides to bottom out again for another top 5 pick next season?

The other question is, who does the team target at #4? After a full year of scouting, there are a number of different directions this pick could go but one thing is clear; it will be BPA without accounting for position, simply because the team needs an injection of young talent.

Will we see vintage BI return with a brand new roster come this time next season? Has watching the finals and two great teams inspired him to jump back into action with an eye of building this team to a contender? Time will tell.

[Stockton12]

good luck at picking at #4

interesting who u might get a pg and center

[Rizzo]

Getting the right guy at #4 will definitely help for sure. Still would allow you to hit that big, blinking "BLOW IT UP" button on the GM's desk if you really wanted to haha.

[Flaming Homer]

With getting Sharpe, I think Snail should be on his way.
It would be interesting to see if someone can build a team around Snail but my guess is it would take 4 very strong defender around him to make up for his shortcomings.

Sharpe has the tools to be a #1 guy by himself and I would go the long way and clean out the roster and try to acquire the players fitting Sharpe.

[Marcos_Beck]

I think Sharpe and Snail can co-exist as a #1 / #2 duo, with Sharpe being the #1 option. Snail at PF and three high level defenders at PG / SF / C can be good for the Raptors future. Finding defense is easier than finding offense!