Some Raptors players and staff members are eager to see their one-season experiment in Tampa come to an end, sources tell Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
The Florida city served as a temporary home as restrictions on traveling to Canada due to COVID-19 made it impossible for the team to play at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Crowd sizes in Tampa have been limited, and the Raptors have suffered through a forgettable season that featured a virus outbreak, a 1-13 stretch in March and virtually no chance to qualify for a play-in game heading into the season’s final week.
Toronto’s front office and coaching staff have shown for some time that they intended to prioritize player development and evaluation over a chance to sneak into postseason, Lewenberg states. That’s why it wasn’t surprising to see Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby held out of a crucial match-up with the Wizards on Thursday.
Lewenberg traces the disappointing year back to an offseason decision to prioritize financial flexibility over keeping big men Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol. The remaining frontcourt players weren’t able to match their production, which reduced the team’s chances to compete.
There’s more on the Raptors:
- Even after the slide began, the team had too much talent on hand to make tanking a realistic option, Lewenberg contends in the same piece. There’s no reason to shut down productive young players like Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet or Anunoby, while sitting out Lowry after failing to trade him at the deadline wouldn’t have put the Raptors in position to get a top pick.
- The unwillingness to give Ibaka a two-year contract played a significant role in sinking Toronto’s season, argues Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star. The front office had an eye on the salary cap when it made a one-year offer to Ibaka, a move that Feschuk says shocked many Raptors players. Ibaka wound up going to the Clippers for $19MM over two years, while Toronto replaced him with Aron Baynes on a two-year, $14MM deal (with a non-guaranteed second year).
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet calls on team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster to address the fanbase about the organization’s medium- and long-term goals. Grange notes that the Raptors have been making conflicting moves this season, with some designed to win now and others focused on the future. Coach Nick Nurse has been left to explain how the team fell from an NBA title to out of the playoffs in two seasons.
NBA draft award system encourages tanking
Luka 4 year 32 million
Celtics signed Walker 4 years 140 million
You save $108 million to sign free agents
Huh? How would you structure any draft? Teams with the best records should get the 1st picks? Declaring all players free agents might change the tanking issue, that doesn’t really exist.
Not really. Besides, those are just two specific examples; you can tank and end up with Anthony Bennett just like you could spend big in free agency and end up with Nicolas Batum.
Ujiri & Webster are a mess of a FO, yes they lucked out with a ring, the luckiest ever probably, right?
But boy what a pair of clowns, not signing a decent back up like Ibaka for 19/2 but instead they signed a total bum like Baynes for 14/2… the FO should be fired like yesterday!
Facts! The basketball Gods smiled and gifted the Raptors a couple of good bounces then everybody started using words like “genius” and “best” this and that and they started to believe the hype.
Wwwell. The Raptors sitting Anunoby & Lowry (tanking), while almost getting mathematically eliminated, seems to have spurred a bevy of think pieces on the Raps. I think the Star’s was the best of four.
However I’m still waiting for a pro writer to say what I have been saying: Ujiri, like Riley, doomed his team with Giannis-dreaming. Writers hover around the topic, but it gets a shrugging treatment, maybe to maintain Ujiri as a key news source. Then MIL or Giannis played him in waiting to sign.
In more detail, Ujiri did not offer much to Gasol or Ibaka, saving money for 2021 free agency and Giannis, and did not even keep the coveting private. Following roughly in order, spurned Ibaka left; Ujiri signed Baynes and Len; Gasol left for LA too; and Giannis signed for MIL, making those efforts moot.
After a slow start with centers not productive, Toronto fans online got frustrated and consistently said (in the Athletic) that they would rather tank than be mediocre. It was much discussed by earnest Canadians and they can deliberate! The FO seemed to take different directions, and lately, get dissed for indecision.
As a neutral, with no love for tanking, I feel free to chuckle. People don’t know how hard losing on purpose is. Who do you root for, and what? Players are also fans, usually, unless there is Lemon Pepper Chicken around lol.
This is a great point. I also think it hurts the team that it feels like since the title that Ujiri has had one foot out the door and has remained noncommittal on an extension. I think it’s affecting how he does business. It almost feels like the plan was to swing for a home run with Giannis or find an exit plan for himself. He has the right to do what he pleases personally, but I think it’s affecting the franchise.
I do think this was a year to tank and I disagree with the writer Lewenberg (who contradicts himself by saying they kept Anonoby and Lowry out of key games yet aren’t tanking somehow). They haven’t played well in Tampa and sold off people like Powell. Just look at this draft and imagine them with a top five pick to pair with VanFleet, Anonoby, and Siakam. This is also why they were wrong not to trade Lowry for Maxey and a first.
I agree trying to preserve cap space for Giannis was a bad idea from the start, but let’s be real here, Ibaka would not have made this team a contender.
Having to play a whole season away from home is tough. Not adding the necessary depth in the offseason or early season along with injuries and COVID put them really behind the eight ball.
Above and beyond all of that though is the fact that even if all had gone right and they had kept Ibaka, this was still only a 36 to 40 win team and a six seed. Siakim is not a number 1 guy, he’s potentially one of the top 5-10 best complimentary players to a true star. Fred’s a quality player, but I think we’ve seen his max and it’s still below All-Star level. I’m not sold at all on OG as being anything more than a solid three and D guy, and as well as Lowry has played this year, he’s at a point where the production is going to slow sooner than later.
Flynn looks like he’s got some potential, maybe Birch sticks around and their 1st brings in another quality contributor. If they keep Trent and potentially move Boucher for for depth they could bounce back some next year, but there are only a select few guys in the NBA that can take a team to an NBA Finals win, and the Raps don’t have one. The goal is to win a ring, and Ujiri made the bold move to make it happen. With that winning team being full of vets, this was bound to happen sooner than later.
There are 10 NBA teams that have never won a Chip, and only the Bobcats/Hornets are a team younger than the Raps. Rings are hard to come by, Raps fans should be happy they got one and trust that long term the folks in the FO will make them competitive again.
Everything you mentioned was good until the comment about Flynn who is a wasted pick. You can pick up this type of player anytime from the G-league. Unfortunate that Raps did not instead take D.Bane who is solid shooter and rotation piece for Grizz. Anyhow, nothing is being said about the elephant in the room. Masai thanks for the memories but you can take your sthick to D.C. and make them droul about Medela every year.
Ibaka has really fallen off after a hot start… and the Clippers got better with another center.
I thought Anunoby would be farther along. Now I’m also a Flynn fan, maybe not a good sign!
Ujiri struck when the opportunity arose. But Giannis is not another Kawhi… never was.
Very literate fan base takes them seriously… no dinosaur would be allowed now!
Come on my friend!
Giannis is sooo much better than Kawhi, that actually is rather insulting to put Kawhi in the same sentence that you put Giannis, anyway that is my opinion!
Giannis is one of the best ever, Kawhi is a very good player, but not even one of the best now, huge difference if you ask me, right?
Thanks I was unclear. I meant Giannis is not a gun for hire; he wants to build something not blow it up. Not a blamer. He was never leaving his team, assuming a max contract of course.
Sorry for misunderstanding x%sure… got you now & totally agree with you! =)
Let’s see, Ibaka’s been out for 23 or more games without any signs of returning soon and Gasol looks pretty good sitting on the bench in LA.
Yes Bains was a disaster but who knew? He looked good last year.
The Raptors had figured it out and got back to .500 when Covid decimatd the front court. Non of the covid protocol players returned to full strength to play meaningfully.
I am quite happy that they took their foot of the gas and let the bench and deep bench play to see what they have and give them quality minutes.
I would rather they stop playing this week than go through another two weeks for no other reason than to placate the critics. With the short time off between last season and this season, and the anticipated short lay off after this season, they should come back as contenders next year with a solid, rested line up and (hopefully) a quality 1st round pick.
agree and saw this post after I wrote mine. I am excited to see what the Raps will be in 2-3 years. Let Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Philly dominate the next few seasons in the East.
Masai takes calculated risks and we have seen that over the years (Ibaka, Gasol, FVV, etc). His calculated risk to sign Giannis was not a bad one but it failed and who knew Baynes would be this awful. Who knew that playing in Tampa would have been this awful and who knew the Covid outbreak would produce a March that was awful. I am ok with how the season played out because we will get into a good lottery year and we got to see what potential the future raps have. Masai has gotten us to the playoffs for a long time and next season should be fun to watch as the younger team takes the court