| Raptors Report | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 18 2009, 01:46 AM (65 Views) | |
| Manhattan Project | Aug 18 2009, 01:46 AM Post #1 |
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Hall-of-Famer
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The fans are starting to wonder if the Raptors have any luck. The development of Divac and Blaylock has gone as planned, but the rest of the team is questionable. While Kukoc is coming off a season in which he earned All-SSBL second team honors, after him there is no team. The Raptors just landed the third overall pick in a very weak draft, so don't expect a impact player. The fans know that there are going to be lumps in the growth department, but the Raptors have been trying. It's just hard to make any moves when you don't have the assets the rest of the teams have. The Raptors drafted Chris Gatling with the third overall pick in the draft, a move that questioned throughout the league. In this draft, everyone knows that it was a two player draft. Both players Larry Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo would have helped the Raptors tremendously. The Raptors were armed with the most lottery balls, however it goes to prove that you need more than just that, you need luck. In this situation the Raptors feel from the projected first overall pick to the third overall pick. The Raptors drafted the forward center Gatling from Old Dominion University. He is coming off a 21/11 season and projects to be a scrappy player for the Raptors. When drafting with the third overall pick you always hope for someone better than an energizer player, but the Raptors love the fact that he can play the C-PF-SF position all the same. Combine that with the versatile Kukoc SG-SF and Vlade Divac PF-C the Raptors are trying to build a team that is versatile and able to throw out different looks at teams. Heading into free agency the Raptors are armed with enough money to throw a nice contract at players, however the Raptors also know that next season the free agency really starts. First off both Mookie and Vlade will be free agents so the Raptors don't want to throw out a lucrative to some free agents. There are a few players that can help the Raptors in this free agency, but they will have to take a one year deal in order to join the Raptors. The Raptors are active in pursuit but are paying due diligence in the process. This training camp is going to be quite important to the Raptors this year. They need to get a solid growth from both Vlade and Mookie, but also need Toni to develop into a reliable third option. They need Gatling to be able to be a healthy body from the most part, they are expecting him to create mismatch problems if he plays at the center position. However they also have the Blazers pick and are hoping to have Malone's side kicks to take a step back, though that is unlikely. Also the Raptors own the Celtics pick, but that is contingent on what the Suns do. The Suns have first swap rights to the Celtics pick, so it is possible the Raptors get a pick this year or next. Overall the Raptors should make some strides this year but the fans are not expecting anything special from this team this year. Hopefully the Raptors can make some moves to energize this franchise but at this time it don't have many options. Possibly after free agency the Raptors will be able to combine a pick and a free agent to upgrade a position. All options are being considered. |
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| Maverick41 | Aug 18 2009, 04:37 AM Post #2 |
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$125 |
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| ib4 | Aug 18 2009, 05:55 AM Post #3 |
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SSBL's YOURE FIRED guy
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kukoc was 2nd all rookie team |
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| Manhattan Project | Aug 18 2009, 08:08 PM Post #4 |
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Hall-of-Famer
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![]() Yeah, forgot that one significant word. |
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