No doubt it is too early to say for sure but as the deals pile up around the league the Raptors remain silent on franchise shifting moves after the departure of all-star guard Fred VanVleet for nothing in return and continuing a disturbing trend of losing their championship pieces for nothing over the last 3 years. Let’s dig down and have a look at both the early action in this free agency period and the loss of our championship pieces.
Raptors 2023 off season moves to date:
Fired: Nick Nurse, Head Coach;
Hired: Darko Rajakovic, Head Coach;
I guess we all come to understand that there was something funny in Raptorland the past couple of seasons when Nurse was riding the starters really long minutes to the exclusion of getting the young guys more playing time. Normally, development was crucially important in the Raptor system so we had to deduce that either the young guys weren’t promising enough to get minutes or some coaching money was tied to team performance, specifically, wins. That didn’t make any sense and when Masai didn’t go out and get a bunch of new young guys, it only clouded an already cloudy picture of what was going on.
About the only tidbit to come out of the organization was that there was some friction in the locker room between the old guard and the new. While I don’t claim to have any inside sources, everything reads like it was between Scotty and Fred. Early in the season Scotty voiced his desire to do more of a point-forward role and I believe that put Fred’s knickers in a knot. He looked so grumpy this season, he never looked like he was having fun.
Lost: Fred VanVleet – for nothing;
Justin Champagne – for nothing;
Dalano Banton – for nothing;
I’ll always respect Fred. I wrote a farewell post to him and I only do that for players I like and respect. And because he helped win our organization a championship, he and his entire family will always be welcomed to my home, but I’m not sorry he’s gone. I think Fred was a terrific backup point guard but I never thought he was good enough to be an effective PG on a successful team. Maybe I’m being hard on him, but when I compare him to Kyle Lowry, he just doesn’t stack up. Good luck in Houston, Fred, and congratulations for betting on yourself.
Justin and Dalano both ended up in Boston this year so clearly that organization saw something in these 2 young players that the Raptors could not capitalize on the last couple of years.
Perhaps most disturbing is the continued loss of assets for nothing in return. Fred represents the 5th significant piece of the Championship roster leaving the team for no return at all after Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol.
Drafted: Grady Dick with the 13th pick;
Good pick? Who knows for sure. This is a question that could be years in the answering. One thing that we do know is that the VP of Player Personnel for the Raptors told the media they would be picking best talent with the pick but instead took a guy with a very limited and specific skill set. Of course, the memo these days says he’s a better all rounder than anyone gave him credit for so we’ll see. I like his attitude, let’s give him a chance to develop and show us what he can be.
Acquired: Guard Dennis Schroder for a 1 and 1 on the cheap;
Guard Markquis Nowell on a 2-way;
It is doubtful in the end that I will be writing a farewell post to new Raptor Dennis Schroder and I sure hope that he has been hired to play no more than backup point guard.
I like Markquis Nowell a lot but he’s only my height, 5’7”. On a 2 way contract, he’ll be fun to watch but he’s not going to make an impact on the Raptor lineup.
Re-signed: Jakob Poeltl; 4 years, $80 million;
Gary Trent Jr.; took his option;
Welcome back Jakob. I was sorry to see you go and I’m glad you’re back but I’m sorry you cost us next year’s draft pick. I fear it could be a good one.
Gary on a 1 year contract certainly isn’t making any long term statement except we’ll see who offers the most money next year.
Nothing here points to any desire to improve in the standing this coming year but it certainly isn’t tearing it apart and rebuilding either. So far, it’s a treadmill kind of offseason, and not the interesting kind where you can rely on watching the young guys develop their skills and chemistry. What’s going on? We’ll dig even deeper in Part 2. Coming soon.