NEW ORLEANS — “Everything Must Go!” is a delicate, resigned song from the Weeker Sons’ 2000 album “Left and Leaving.” In it, lead singer John K. Samson lists a number of items, some specific, some not, that symbolize his youth and ended relationships. , they are put up for sale at a fictional garage sale held in the darkest night of his soul. I read the title: Contains a degree of despair.
As the song draws to a dissonant end, Samson has a final message for those who are interested. “Or the best offer.”
And here we go, the Toronto Raptors are in the final few days before Thursday's trade deadline. This is not a good team, but the trade for OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam forced them to accept that fate.
“The whole league is in a waiting period right now,” Raptors coach Darko Lajakovic said Monday before the New Orleans Pelicans thumped his team, 138-100. “I think all the players, all the coaches want to wake up on February 9th and know what the team is like and just go on from there. That's realistic for everyone.”
The Raptors roster built for the 50th game can be divided into three groups.
• Players who will definitely have a role on next year's team: Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Grady Dick, and the candidates don't particularly offer anything more than what they paid at the last deadline. Assuming that, Jakob Poeltl.
• Young players who may have a chance to compete for a role on next year's team: Jordan Nwora and three players on two-way contracts, Jontay Porter, Marquis Nowell and Javon Freeman-Liberty. Porter, who is currently out with a back injury, has played meaningful minutes for the Raptors this year.
• Players of various ages on short-term contracts who are not obvious keepers: Bruce Brown, Gary Trent Jr., Dennis Schroder, Chris Boucher, Kira Lewis Jr., Jalen McDaniels, Otto Porter Jr. Thaddeus Young, Garrett Temple. It's not necessarily a situation where everything has to go well for the Raptors, but it's not far off.
Let me paraphrase Samson's work. Everything could be fine and it's no big deal.
The expected return in a trade with the Raptors would have to be adjusted, both because of who they offer and what the many candidates offer. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns are all looking to win, but currently don't have a first-round draft pick to trade. Some teams have the pick, but the salary isn't as desirable. Teams like the Suns have gotten to the point where they would trade picks for the right to move, considering there is nothing else available.
Alas, Brown is the only player on the Raptors' roster who could potentially bring in a first-round pick, but he is overpaid strictly from a salary-to-production perspective, with a $23 million Even his situation is difficult because he has a team option. Next year, that could either be a boon for teams looking for rentals with tax and punitive second apron coverage, or a detriment for teams looking for long-term contributors. Further complicating matters: The Raptors will have at least two first-round picks in this year's draft that are considered weak, and likely a third if the pick ends up in the top six. It will be. They also acquired another top second-rounder from Detroit in the Anunoby trade. Collecting another draft pick in 2024 doesn't make much sense, other than possibly combining it with other picks or players to get something or someone that's a better fit.
For a player like Trent, the value of a return, even if marginal, outweighs preserving Bird's rights and the possibility that the Raptors could bring him back just above the mid-level exception. There will come a point where it can go lower. This would amount to a pay cut. However, other than 3-point shooting, it wasn't a good year. In Schroder's case, it could be beneficial to keep him and his $13 million salary next year for trade purposes, provided the Raptors don't get overwhelmed.
But in general, the approach should be to do everything possible with the final group of players, and it's incumbent on the Raptors to see how much the top nine players can contribute. That's not because the Raptors should try to lose games to improve their odds of keeping a top-six protected pick this June. In that case, the protection would simply move to next year, delaying the organization's purgatory. Rather, it's because those players aren't helping the Raptors win in any event. While retaining a veteran or two is good for the locker room and on-court structure, no one in the final group is going to fundamentally change what this group is capable of this year or next. No further agreements have been signed in either case.
reality? Boucher, like Trent, doesn't have the passing acumen to adapt to Lajakovic's offensive system, but his shooting is a useful release valve. Schroder is a very good backup point guard, but the position is far more important for a team trying to be good than for a team that is okay with being bad for the time being. Young and Porter could potentially be useful to a good team as end-of-rotation or injury insurance, and their contracts expire at the end of the season. Whether it's through cap space or exceptions, the Raptors will have the means to bring in a veteran next year to help guide respectability and responsible play to a young roster.
So bring in a second round pick, and maybe a first round pick if you can find one. They bring in players who are off-contract or young players who were let go by other teams and who might still find a place in the league. Take all of that back to Toronto in a trade. Or the best offer.
Note
・This game wasn't close from the beginning. Even if they are evenly matched, the Pelicans have much more size and depth than the Raptors. The Raptors were flat from the start after losing in double overtime against Oklahoma City. The game was especially lopsided for the Pelicans, who had Zion Williamson and Herb Jones in and out of the lineup. The Raptors couldn't do anything productive offensively in the early going, and things picked up from there.
“Fatigue is a part of this league,” Lajakovic said. “And this is a league where there are no excuses and no one asks, 'What did you do yesterday?'” We have work to do today. And our performance today was not acceptable. This is not the way we want to do business. ”
• Brandon Ingram came on strong late in the third quarter, hitting five 3s in 145 seconds of game time. He scored 41 points in just three quarters, and only scored fewer than 50 points.
• I think it was Larry Nance Jr.'s (unintentional?) nutmeg from Nwora to Brown. Look, to highlight the bad, we've been here for a while.
• Dick has played much better since returning to normal play after the trade, which led to him scoring 15 points in the first half in New Orleans. Dick has improved a lot physically and it shows on defense. Finally, he started doing it all over the floor. His confidence was obvious. He finished with 22 points, one shy of his season-high of 905 points with the Raptors.
• Temple played in 85 games in two years with the Pelicans and received a welcome back video. That's great, and it seems like if it wasn't someone who wasn't widely liked across the league, he probably wouldn't have gotten this honor.
“He brings tremendous leadership to our program,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “Especially me being a first-year head coach, I just relied on him for concepts and how (the players) like their practice time and 'how do you feel about team dinners and just doing different things?' Of course, we also had the opportunity to play golf together. I mean, he's a consummate professional and that's why he's had a great career and a long career. ”
I like the idea of Temple playing as long as he wants to as a veteran bare-bones roster. The only rule is that you must play on a team with a first-year coach each season.
• Barrett did not play on the second night of the back-to-back as the Raptors missed three games due to knee swelling. Trent left the game after the first half with back stiffness.
• There were quite a few Raptors fans in attendance, but I'm sure that had nothing to do with the ongoing Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans.
(Photo: Rayne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
