TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[KillerLeft]

All the TOR players values have to be considered suspect imo. That's because on paper they are oh-so-valuable, but the ability to win games doesn't seem to follow, despite having a roster full of "high value" talent.

Well, that's kind of the whole point. Siakim and FVV both fall a little short of being the engine for a great team, but the Raptors have been able to stay relevant (until now, apparently) because every player on that team is good, and they all fit within a smarter-than-average, synergetic roster/team building approach that seems from a far to use the franchise's real lead asset, Nick Nurse, for everything he's worth. (side bar: why was Ujiri not considered here??? blech)

But, if they're breaking the team up, then FVV and Siakim both represent great opportunities to put another all-star caliber guy next to Luka, imo, though I'd much prefer Siakim. 

Heck, even if you favor smaller deals for slight rotation upgrades, there are many to be had from Toronto if this all really goes down.

In terms of cost, I have given up predicting that because I feel each deal in recent memory (basically since the Porzingis deal between NY and DAL) has been shocking, details wise, and not always because the price was higher than I expected. At some point, 3-4 teams are going to have effectively all the draft capital in play, and those just aren't the teams that will seem like fits for 28-yo all star types. Something has to give, eventually.

Then again, Ujiri is too smart to give away assets, so...

Just saying, if I knew I could snag any player in the NBA to play with Luka, that list would obviously start with Giannis, but Siakim, for me, would pretty high. Top 10, maybe? It's an ideal fit, imho. Much better than John Colins, for example, another name we've talked about nonstop. 

If you don't believe in Wood, the equation might change, but I'm still hopeful about that one, so a ball-handling, non-screen and roll guy with the ideal size, length and athletic ability to play the 4 is just what the doctor ordered, I think. In fact, I can see Luka/Siakim/Wood being an amazing trio if things work out just right. Then again, Wood probably goes out in that deal, so that's probably not worth arguing.