OFFICIAL AROUND THE NBA: DECEMBER 2023

Webster and Ujiri held on too long, OG's value dipped, but this trade today, I think, is pretty good. Did not get a first round pick (the Detroit 2nd is close) but did get two young players. There are Raptors fans who would've traded OG for Quickley straight-up, FWIW.

At times this season OG has looked checked-out. Maybe this was coming for a while? His camp allegedly wasn't willing to discuss an extension during the summer or this season (presumably a max offer was not coming). He'll always be warmly received in Toronto despite missing the championship playoff run. His quirky personality will be remembered, as will his buzzer-beater in the bubble against the Celtics.

The trade addresses immediate and long-term needs for the Raptors. They went from having arguably the worst guard rotation in the NBA (Trent-Schröder-Flynn) to having a good one (Quickley-Barrett-Trent-Schröder), got younger, and added two players who can keep up with Barnes (plus the pick). I was encouraged by Barrett's play during the World Cup. He was fast and aggressive and shot .526/.373. He's not going to become what he was drafted to be but a Warriors Wiggins-type player, super hardworking, doesn't demand the ball--I can live with that. The price tag seems high today but won't in a couple years as the cap continues to rise.

The Toronto media will focus on hometown boy Barrett but the centrepiece of the trade is Quickley, who needs to be re-signed, but fits the Raptors (can create his own shot, hit floaters, stop-and-pop, and be a good two-man game partner with Barnes). Toronto hasn't had a player like that since Lowry (FVV was too slow, Trent is too limited). If Quickley can be our Maxey that's going to open things up a lot for Barnes and Siakam (who I assume we are keeping and re-signing). He's the kind of player the Knicks and most teams would not have traded if not for the fact he's behind Brunson in the rotation. The Knicks fans are unhappy to lose him which is a good sign.

With Toronto not wanting to give OG a $35MM+/year contract, keeping Quickley's extension reasonable will be a priority. From what we've seen, his camp was at $25MM/year and the Knicks were at $18MM/year last season, which led to him not signing. If the Raptors are paying $50MM for Quickley/Barrett vs. $37MM for OG, I think having the two players is better value.

Would not be surprised to see Schröder traded. He's displaced and is a serviceable energy bench player for playoff teams. Would be surprised to see Siakam traded. Barnes' three-point shooting explosion has made it possible to keep them together. Obviously they will struggle against the MVP-level big men but that's kinda the case for every team. Barnes idolizes Siakam despite being the guy to usurp him. Poeltl has been a terrible fit. I'm not certain our team has the balls to trade him after spending a first to get him. Feels like there would be suitors for him due to his efficiency but he's had a bad season (rarely plays in crunch time).

Best of luck to Flynn and Precious who will be free agents. I can see Flynn never seeing the floor under that greasy bastard Thibs. That's going to hurt his chances of sticking in the league. Someone will buy Precious' waning potential. About once a month he unleashes the beast for two-three games but then goes back to being the poorest decision maker on the team. Still needs a lot of refinement.

 

DAMNIT. I just wanted one more loss. Can't count on Detroit for anything.

 

The refs reviewed it. It wasn't just an eye test. They looked back at the footage and saw his foot crossed the line before he shot. It was close. One still photo doesn't show the whole picture.