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Lou won't shut up about the Raps. Every single day he mentions them.

That said, they look really good right now.

Whaaat?  Fairweather-Dan.  Don't tell me you left with Bosh and are cheering for the Heat right now!  I don't have the time to watch all of the games of all of my teams.  But I don't tend to miss any when they're funner to watch.  Like the Raps right now.  :)

I didn't realize until a few weeks ago about the major blunder of a 20-year TV deal that Atlanta is rocking.  Ooops.

Lol, I almost told Scott to shut it.

Shut it, Dann-o, enjoy the ride while u can, like the way the leafs started the year.

Meanwhile, I wonder if Masai is still after AA ...I know I'd be dangling this years first as the centerpiece.

I absolutely hate the win steak we're on right now. The situation is a complete replicate of BC's first year.

Couple of kids that are alright but no superstar (Ross, Val vs Bosh, Primo pasta), steady vets (Salmons lol, Hayes etc vs Parker, Garbo etc), PG playing for their next contract (Lowry v Ford), mediocre coaches (Casey v Mitchell), a medium level of cap space next season, ridiculously weak division/conference.

We should've sold our players in quick succession after the Gay trade and aim for a high pick. Instead we're now stuck in no mans land. Too good to tank but not good enough to win consistently.

Sigh. We just never learn...

I absolutely hate the win steak we're on right now. The situation is a complete replicate of BC's first year.

Couple of kids that are alright but no superstar (Ross, Val vs Bosh, Primo pasta), steady vets (Salmons lol, Hayes etc vs Parker, Garbo etc), PG playing for their next contract (Lowry v Ford), mediocre coaches (Casey v Mitchell), a medium level of cap space next season, ridiculously weak division/conference.

We should've sold our players in quick succession after the Gay trade and aim for a high pick. Instead we're now stuck in no mans land. Too good to tank but not good enough to win consistently.

Sigh. We just never learn...

I absolutely HATE this mentality..

We're winning the division, breeding a losing culture does dick for your franchise. You can only be a joke of a team for so long before people don't come and your team relocates. We tank, get a high draft pick who tanks, and then we cry that the team can't draft for shit. Losing is a vicious cycle, just enjoy the fact that right now we'd be hosting a playoff round.

Don't get me wrong. It'd be nice to see them win, but this roster is simply not good enough, and will spend yet another lifetime as a treadmill team.

As a fan of a team who got two #1 overalls and #4 overalls recently, I'd much rather be hosting a playoff game than dealing with the culture of losing that has surrounded this franchise recently.

You'd want to get swept in the first round over drafting a guy like Jabari Parker? If you, or the Raptors had a strong enough management system, worrying about consistently drafting busts wouldn't be an issue. It starts at the top.

After Lowry comes back down to earth next year after he signs his contract, what value is on the roster? Up until a few weeks ago, we'd get a Rudy Gay like return for Derozan. We tried trading Lowry for a future first, and the rest of the roster is filled with 6th man type role players on a good team.

The team is blinded by a string of wins, and a bunch of Fan590 guys flapping about a winning culture. Making the playoffs is exciting, sure. With that said, this team is just simply not good enough moving forward. We have no star, and you need a star to compete in this league.

If we had a good young core, I'd be all for making the playoffs and letting these guys experience it. We don't have that. This team needs to pick a direction and stick to it, but being a treadmill team that's going to get trounced in the first round is not good enough.

I disagree that our roster is not talented.. Derozan is coming into his own, Jonas could legit be a star in this league, Ross is developing rapidly..

Maybe they did pick a direction, and they're just outperforming expectations? Ujiri decided he didnt want all that money tied up into a guy that wasn't getting him anywhere, so he got some cap flexibility and short-term depth in return for him. The East is fucking pathetic, everybody and their mama is tanking for a shot at a few guys who you have no guarantees about. SOMEBODY has to win the games that are played, I know fans of 1/3 of the league's teams wish both teams could lose sometimes, but thats not the way it works.

Also, constantly losing gets you fired, very few executives/coaches ever have the job security to do this kinda stuff all the time.

As a fan of a team who got two #1 overalls and #4 overalls recently, I'd much rather be hosting a playoff game than dealing with the culture of losing that has surrounded this franchise recently.

As a fan of a team who got two #1 overalls and #4 overalls recently, I'd much rather be hosting a playoff game than dealing with the culture of losing that has surrounded this franchise recently.

As a life long Suns fan,  I hear you trust me. But sometimes your team is just better than you thought. Our new GM sent out anyone resembling an NBA player minus Dragic, and they still are on pace to almost double their win total from last year. Sometimes there's not a lot you can do. What're you going to do? Tell the players to stop trying? As I said, somebody has to win every game.

Well, I've repeated this on RealGM umpteenth times. But this was the right year to tank for a sustained future (not just a feel good hand job that'll leave you empty inside for years after). Why?

1. Great depth of talents available
2. A top ranked Canadian star is in the mix
3. We just hired a new GM
4. Everyone expected us to tank
5. Shit-ass coach who is in the last year of his contract

Masai was signed to a 5 year contract. He has time and the support of management to tank if he deemed it to be a good route. Good for him to trade Gay out for smaller contracts. But when he decided to wait and see about the rest of the roster, we're left with the same quagmire. Every time.

Oh BTW even if you think JV and Ross will be future super-duper stars (and I don't), what's the harm in tanking one more year to get another great young player to make us a true championship contender? Imagine Parker with us? Or Embiid? Or Wiggins? Or .....?

Love the way the city/province rallied around them.

Other than fat crackhead politicians, there's nothing Torontonians love more than a garbage franchise that under performs year after year.

under performs?

Only a Torontonian would think that six playoff appearances in 20 years, and only one trip to the second round, was anything other than under performing.  I understand though; making the playoffs 30% of the time (regardless of their pitiful results in the post-season) is pretty incredible when you compare it against the Leafs, Jays or TFC's performance over the last two decades. 

This isn't a team that's going to become a contender in a couple years, nobody ever stays in Toronto any longer than they have to.  Toronto sucks for four years, drafts high, develops a couple young players enough to make the playoffs, gives the city a collective boner, and then loses their core in FA and starts all over again.

As a team, the 2014 Raps were alright.  As a franchise, they're garbage, always have been, always will be.  Same as the Leafs, same as TFC, and the Jays are trying hard to make their World Series wins a distant memory by playing as shitty as possible for the last 20 years.  #torontlol

This Wizards team is fun to watch.


I actually think the Raps have a nice little core. I was reading an article talking about what they should do next bring Vince back would be interesting, not sure its the best way to spend $. I think long terms they go as Joans goes. Do they have any other guys overseas right now?

Or maybe it's called cheering my team regardless of success?

Just a commentary on the very unique ability of Toronto sports fans to turn mediocrity into promise for the future, year after year and sport after sport, for decades at a time.   ;)

4 steps for Raptors:

1. Re-sign Lowry.
2. DeRozan needs improve.
3. Val needs to improve.
4. Ross needs to improve.

Bonuses:

- Miami needs to implode and Lebron needs to go to the West
- Hibbert's real life Space Jam experience continues and Lance Stephenson leaves


Toronto could win the East!  :P