Valuable of course . . . but how valuable is the questions. 1. It's not going to be enough to make a team gung-ho to trade valuable pieces unless Toronto is absolutely terrible. Which is slight achievable with injuries. (Possible high lottery pick) 2. Though, I'd imagine they'll be mediocre again or even fighting for a playoff spot for the next season or so. (Moderate to low lottery pick). 3. To get Dwight Howard, Houston is going to have gut the team for him. There's a reason that he's still in Orlando, they see nothing they want in return or the returns are not all that favorable or enticing. Andrew Bynum - Great exchange, though he's not making any promises or signing long term. Bad investment, but would be the most ideal prospect. Cavs package (Howard via LA) -Enticing, because they will take on the bad salaries, possibly 2 or more with a host of picks. Maybe Thompson and Waiters. Enticing, but not a great deal. Nets package - Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks, filler, and three 1st Round picks (lower) ... Ok deal, but you could do better with Dwight Howard. Rockets package - Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, (select 3 to Orlando's liking: Marcus Morris, Jeremy Lamb, Donatas Motiejunas, Chandler Parsons, and Terrence Ross), and a couple of first rounders. Morey is probably low-balling Orlando (he's probably stuck to some of those players), and the Magic were like thanks (for now), but do try again. BIGGEST PROBLEM: Houston does not want to take on Orlando's salaries (2-3 salaries) Houston may have the best (available) package, but that's not saying much. Orlando seems to want alot more things in their favor. Other likely suitors: Golden State Other unlikely suitors with enough pieces to get a deal done: OKC, Denver, and New York. No deal for Dwight Howard is going to be all that great for the Magic, since he apparently will enter Free Agency and only has about two or three favorable destinations on his board. WHich means you are going to get a disgruntled Dwight Howard, if you aren't in Brooklyn or maybe LA and Dallas.
They have the potential to be a playoff team, but that's all it is is potential. Lowry, Fields, Derozan, and Bargnani is not good enough core to get you there IMO unless it is an extremely weak year in the East. Jonas and Ross are very promising prospects but you never know with rookies. And most of all, they don't have the competitive pedigree as a team. Teams like the Clippers and Warriors have a had a lot of teams with decent talent and prospects but still couldn't put it together. Let's hope the Raptors are the same way for our sake.
They'll fall in the 6-8 range in the EC. DeRozan can't hit the broad side of a barn, but he's one of the most gifted athletes in the NBA. A freak. He'll love Lowry's pace, and should get more opportunities to showcase his athleticism in the open floor. Ross is a nice compliment to DeRozan with his outside stroke. The Fields tender was obviously part of a larger ploy to keep Nash from NY. Definitely overpaid and failed to land Nash, but Casey will put Fields' defense and smarts to good use. I don't expect Barg to stray from his trigger-happy ways, and Vally's going to take some time to develop, but he'll eventually be a 20-10 guy. Depth could be an issue, though I've always been a Kleiza fan, dating back to his days at Mizzou. He brings a nice combination of skill and physicality. Great young talent, great head coach. Like others have mentioned, I think this team will be one of next season's biggest surprises.
In fact the next year it's less protected it goes top 3, then rolls to top 2 protected, them unprotected, then if all is worse we just get the pick.
With our luck Lowry will become a superstar and it will be #14. Realistic side of me says more like 11, 12ish.
Remember when everyone (not me) hoped on Minnisota's bandwagon and said they'd make the playoffs last year. Same story here. I say they get us the 7th pick
New York is not a for sure playoff team. They lost Lin, Fields, and Douglas. Adding Camby is nice, but I'm not so sure a drunk Jason Kidd or a fat Raymond Felton could lead the team at PG.
Toronto has a Playoff quality Roster. But it's all dependent on the variables consistent in the drag of a full season. We've seen first hand how competitive teams can crumble with bad chemistry, injury, lackluster coaching, or slow personnel moves.... I think there is a good chance that Toronto will be in the playoffs. But are they building a dynasty? Likely not, hence it could be a 2 years playoff stint... The Toronto pick is valuable because it's coming from a team that free agents aren't clamoring to go play for. Hence, if it's not via trade or draft, the team isn't likely to improve or put a band-aid quick enough to salvage a season.
Pick value appreciating: early returns are that Jonas Valenciunas kind of sucks and has a long development window.
this roller coaster is ridiculous. the guy beats up 19 year olds last summer and basically sucks ever since, but his reviews keep going up and down. it's so obvious most of these media scouts aren't really watching games and just picking a subject and doing research by mostly reading around. obvious talent but also obviously not a net positive NBA level player yet.
Jonas is going to struggle. He's playing the one position that requires the most physicality and he's a 19-y/o kid. He's going to get dominated on many nights simply because of his age/lack of maturity. Can't help that. So, don't look for him to be a guy that helps them get tothe playoffs. He'll be doing well if he is able to get 20 mpg by the end of the season. And if he's playing 30+ for the entire season, they are going to the lottery.
Same thing for all those Motie fans with high expectations this season. Just chill and let's see if he earns minutes from Patterson.
