Wouldn't the best source be Neil Olshey? Why has no reporter asked? Is it because no one has access to him unless he decides to give a presser?
If we landed DD for DJJ/Picks and somehow convinced CJ to be Super Bench Scorer I’d stomach it. I know his salary makes it asinine but I think that team would be better. Dame/Ant Norm/CJ Derozan/Nas RoCo Nurk/Zeller Size in frontcourt and a backup PG still needed.
The center market sucks: Zeller/Drummond got min. Theis got 9M which is lower than he's worth IMO. Holmes went for 14M which is also lower than he could have gotten.
A CJ for Siakam trade is sitting right there to balance that. Dame / Simons Norm / McLemore DD / Little Siakam / ?Millsap? Nurk / Zeller Jesus, so much skill and versatility. It's so freaking obvious. Now we need to convince Olshey that that's a good exchange, and need to find a 3rd team to send CJ to (NO struck out on everyone, and need a lead guard in the worst way).
the irony of that is the first line of the song: "everything is going your way"....exactly the opposite of the Olshey era
Why is everyone so obsessed with Siakam? The dude is out 6 months with shoulder surgery...no ones mentioned this? Out until atleast November, likely Dec. https://www.raptorshq.com/2021/6/11...-raptors-pascal-siakam-shoulder-surgery-rehab
cuz he's a two way forward who can give us the length and versatility we desperately need? And whose talent is about on par with CJ's? We can sustain an injury to Siakam for two months without much issue. As long as he's back by mid season, it really is meaningless.
Maybe because we want to aim for winning in the playoffs? Maybe because it makes him a little bit more affordable?
I’m sure they are talking to GMs, however I base most of my Neil opinions on facts and the facts are he has continued to fail at constructing a well balanced team around a top 10 NBA player, he has failed at drafting players who can help this team win now, he has failed at landing ANY impactful FAs, he has failed at creating an environment where his best player feels stable with the direction of the franchise. Neil is about the most mediocre GM I can think of. Our best players aren’t in their mid 20s, if there was ever a time to go for it it’s now, who gives a fuck if it doesn’t work out, I’d rather gamble on a chance at getting better than going into a season knowing we aren’t good enough from day 1.
I don't think anyone answered this for you but Dame and CJ who have the same strengths and weaknesses making 70M which is 50% of the way to the luxury tax doesn't help anything. More importantly the way a team like the Warriors has guys like Steph, Klay and Dray but then seemingly keep adding other high priced pieces to them is because they are smart. They got all of those guys on rookie deals and had expensive players around them. Instead of letting those expensive players walk they traded them for multiple players on medium salaries that might have gotten better and they'd have bird rights to. So they were then able to sign those players to lucrative deals and then move them when it made sense. Making sure you have a stable of players with bird rights and medium sized contracts that don't suck, instead of renting everyone that isn't a starter is how you achieve the ability to add as much salary as you want. These other GMs are thinking about positioning their teams to win any season the opportunity might arise in the future. Neil is just reacting to everything like a dumb animal.
There is more evidence than it's the min than it being a TPMLE. But until the roster is finalized, I guess we won't know for sure.
I'm not defending Olshey or the lack of upgrade options that he's stuck the team with. That said, you've gotta pick your moments to trash him more judiciously. Whether or not he can pull off a trade of CJ for an upgrade at SF or PF isn't related to potentially signing a backup PF.
