2023-24 NBA Season | Page 45 | Syracusefan.com

2023-24 NBA Season

As for the trade.

At the time the deal was made I thought it was probably a deal that would help both teams now.

For the Knicks
I view OG as an elite 3+D player. Great defensively and can guard any position, except for perhaps elite PG's with speed at the POA. But he is great against wing scoring threats... even 4's.

I think OG, AS OF NOW, is the best player in the deal in terms of floor impact. (potentially in the futre it could become IQ but he is not a fit for the Knicks like OG) And it seems like it has worked well to date with the Knicks 6-1 record with OG playing.

Barrett had flaws, and IQ was going to be an issue contractually, and it seemed the Brunson/IQ backcourt was not something that Thibs loked. Looking into next year, you were probably looking at near $50m of contracts for the two of them -- with OG it might be $35+ but you are saying some money.

My concern post deal is do the Knicks have enough shot creation? That was the issue with the Raptors who play an unstructured offence and OG did not have the handles at some times demanded of him.

Precious is just not a very smart player. Skilled, and sometimes he competes, but he also wanders at time. I don't think he comes back.

Flynn is just a throw in.

For the Raptors
The team was a mess. Barnes, Siakam, Anunoby as the core lacked ball handling or attacking skills at times. And more importantly our guards reallly sucked.

We needed a change, and we needed an impact guard who could score and attack. IQ is that. So that makes it a win for the Raptors.

Barrett was a meh to me when he deal was made. Was he any good? Is he just a neutral asset? Or is he actually a negative asset because of the contract. At the time of the deal I viewed him as a neutral asset... I would have preferred Fournier (Expiring) + 2 of the protected firsts instead of Barrett and the Detroit 2nd, but I don't know if that was really out there either at this point.

But Barrett has been outstanding in the 7 games he has played so far. Been very strong offensively, constantly attacking, hitting 3's, and for the most part been fairly engaged defensively (but he is no OG).

Despite shooting 2-9 last game, his TS% so far for the Raptors is 67% on nearly 20 a game.

Both IQ and Barrett added creativity and shot-making so far to the team that was really needed.

Theco 31st pick in the draft from the Pistons is also not bad. Honestly its probably as good as some of those heavily protected picks from Wizards or Pistons, that will probably ultimately turn into seconds by 2026 or 2027. Those teams are bad!

Myself, like almost all Raptors fans are very happy with the Deal.
But I think, its probably a better situation for all players involved, and I see it as a positive for all.
 
Never addressed the Knicks-Raptors OG Trade.
My thought at the time was that it was a trade that could work for both teams, and I think so far that has been the case ... I'll address it in the next post I make.

But first I want to address Precious Achiuwa. Has he already frustrated Knicks fans? He had so many low IQ, "precious" moments with the Raptors, which was made worse when they would try to make him an offensive "hub" at times. I can't see him working under Thibs.

But this highlight below was as bad as anything I saw from Previous in Toronto. Anyway, he was a small part of the deal anyway, so it makes really no difference in my analyiss

Maliq Brown can make that pass.
 
As for the trade.

At the time the deal was made I thought it was probably a deal that would help both teams now.

For the Knicks
I view OG as an elite 3+D player. Great defensively and can guard any position, except for perhaps elite PG's with speed at the POA. But he is great against wing scoring threats... even 4's.

I think OG, AS OF NOW, is the best player in the deal in terms of floor impact. (potentially in the futre it could become IQ but he is not a fit for the Knicks like OG) And it seems like it has worked well to date with the Knicks 6-1 record with OG playing.

Barrett had flaws, and IQ was going to be an issue contractually, and it seemed the Brunson/IQ backcourt was not something that Thibs loked. Looking into next year, you were probably looking at near $50m of contracts for the two of them -- with OG it might be $35+ but you are saying some money.

My concern post deal is do the Knicks have enough shot creation? That was the issue with the Raptors who play an unstructured offence and OG did not have the handles at some times demanded of him.

Precious is just not a very smart player. Skilled, and sometimes he competes, but he also wanders at time. I don't think he comes back.

Flynn is just a throw in.

For the Raptors
The team was a mess. Barnes, Siakam, Anunoby as the core lacked ball handling or attacking skills at times. And more importantly our guards reallly sucked.

We needed a change, and we needed an impact guard who could score and attack. IQ is that. So that makes it a win for the Raptors.

Barrett was a meh to me when he deal was made. Was he any good? Is he just a neutral asset? Or is he actually a negative asset because of the contract. At the time of the deal I viewed him as a neutral asset... I would have preferred Fournier (Expiring) + 2 of the protected firsts instead of Barrett and the Detroit 2nd, but I don't know if that was really out there either at this point.

But Barrett has been outstanding in the 7 games he has played so far. Been very strong offensively, constantly attacking, hitting 3's, and for the most part been fairly engaged defensively (but he is no OG).

Despite shooting 2-9 last game, his TS% so far for the Raptors is 67% on nearly 20 a game.

Both IQ and Barrett added creativity and shot-making so far to the team that was really needed.

Theco 31st pick in the draft from the Pistons is also not bad. Honestly its probably as good as some of those heavily protected picks from Wizards or Pistons, that will probably ultimately turn into seconds by 2026 or 2027. Those teams are bad!

Myself, like almost all Raptors fans are very happy with the Deal.
But I think, its probably a better situation for all players involved, and I see it as a positive for all.


Agree with most all of this.

I have some takes on RJ. I do think Toronto may have preferred him vs draft capital in part due to the Canadian angle, which isnt the best way to make trades.

RJ is kind of a frustrating player, he has the pedigree (#3 pick, Duke, highly ranked HS player, decent scoring average etc) so you sort of keep waiting for him to become really good, but I just don't see it. I couldnt really tell you what he's good at. He's kinda just meh across the board. The one skill he has is he is pretty good at generating shots at the rim, but he's not very good at making them. (I see he's doing very well at that so far, I remain skeptical that will carry). The one positive argument you can make is that with the Knicks he was always dealing with a 5 who was near the basket as well as Randle, who did a look of work near the basket, so maybe the paint will be open a little more. Usually he has these stretches where he plays well and his fans start thinking he's turned the corner only for him to regress back to the same player he's always been.

I dont think the contract is awful, the cap is going up so its not like a huge burden. I dont think it's great either though.
 
Agree with most all of this.

I have some takes on RJ. I do think Toronto may have preferred him vs draft capital in part due to the Canadian angle, which isnt the best way to make trades.

RJ is kind of a frustrating player, he has the pedigree (#3 pick, Duke, highly ranked HS player, decent scoring average etc) so you sort of keep waiting for him to become really good, but I just don't see it. I couldnt really tell you what he's good at. He's kinda just meh across the board. The one skill he has is he is pretty good at generating shots at the rim, but he's not very good at making them. (I see he's doing very well at that so far, I remain skeptical that will carry). The one positive argument you can make is that with the Knicks he was always dealing with a 5 who was near the basket as well as Randle, who did a look of work near the basket, so maybe the paint will be open a little more. Usually he has these stretches where he plays well and his fans start thinking he's turned the corner only for him to regress back to the same player he's always been.

I dont think the contract is awful, the cap is going up so its not like a huge burden. I dont think it's great either though.

IQ should help them. They can fall in love with RJ at their own risk. We’ve had years of evidence that he’s an ok player, but hasn’t elevated to where you need him to be.

Toronto has a few more steps needed before they’ll be legit, but I like the trade for them.
 
Who is the first? ;)
Jazz beat the Pacers by 27 tonight. Winners of 11 out of last 13 games. Makes them the hottest team in the league. They have Warriors and OKC at home in B2B on Wed and Thursday.
 
Yep he can be added as a candidate but he won’t make it this year.
But Markkenen has really turned his game up a notch during the latest Jazz winning streak and starting to get noticed as last week won Western Conference POW.

 
But Markkenen has really turned his game up a notch during the latest Jazz winning streak and starting to get noticed as last week won Western Conference POW.

I’ve got no problem if he makes it, but there’s stiff competition bottom line. Who does he make it over?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
171,668
Messages
4,971,443
Members
6,021
Latest member
OldeOstrom

Online statistics

Members online
191
Guests online
3,535
Total visitors
3,726


...
Top Bottom