Jonas Valanciunas in T.O means Raptors 2012 season almost here .

[tribunus]

I always liked Gay, wanted to draft him in 2006 instead. Seen him several times when Griz were in town and he absolutely killed us. BC made a great point during his day-after interviews, guys like Gay generally don't come here during free agency so trade is the only avenue to acquire such talent. And I'm indifferent to the loss of a solid team guy who wasn't coming back, and a still developing young big who can be solid but never a star.

The playoffs are still a stretch. At least we can now compete and not give OKC a higher lottery pick.

 

[Bargnani_]

I always liked Gay, wanted to draft him in 2006 instead. Seen him several times when Griz were in town and he absolutely killed us. BC made a great point during his day-after interviews, guys like Gay generally don't come here during free agency so trade is the only avenue to acquire such talent. And I'm indifferent to the loss of a solid team guy who wasn't coming back, and a still developing young big who can be solid but never a star.

The playoffs are still a stretch. At least we can now compete and not give OKC a higher lottery pick.

Rudy Gay couldn't wait for Sunday to make his Raptor debut ... He is playing tonight

 

[wonkyknee]

Rudy Gay couldn't wait for Sunday to make his Raptor debut ... He is playing tonight

not a bad day at the new office for Rudy Gay: 8 for 16 and 3 for 6 from 3 point land...all in for 20 points in 32 minutes....AMir Johnson has a monster game too though with 19 points and 16 boards(a beast)

 

[basketcase]

Not sure if I like the trade but first game seemed good. Also nice to see Jonas back on the court (though he's got a fight on his hands for pt). Hopefully they can do something with Andrea.

 

[catherinetog]

Wow! Won over clippers... Very impressive! Loose the spirit up. give it a shot. We won again, lovely!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

 

[thewalker]

Wow! Won over clippers... Very impressive! Loose the spirit up. give it a shot. We won again, lovely!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Love the enthusiasm, but you're such a front-runner, Catherine. You only post if they are on a win streak or after a good win, lol.

Was that exciting or what? It's nice to have a horse you can trust to throw the ball to. Haven't had one since Bosh left. It opens up the game for others as well.

The Heat game on Sunday could be game of the year! Payback for the OT loss in Miami and Rudy Gay torching Bosh and showing him who the new dog in town is.

 

[ZeroSumPlus]

...first game seemed good.

Raptor Nation swings to Manic.

Why was the offensive flow so dynamic against the Clippers? Was it a Gay thing?

No, it's because that 22 second rock pounder Jose is finally gone...
And that frees up a young, athletic team to flow, baby, flow.

Bargnani has to go for the same reason. Just eat his contract and release him.

 

[ahlungjai]

The Gay Era hahah love it.

 

[dcpine]

i want andrea to stay , we need one more big man sub for ed davis . maybe jonas need more 3 years to be good .

 

[Dawgger]

Wow! Won over clippers... Very impressive! Loose the spirit up. give it a shot. We won again, lovely!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Catherine I love your posts. Nothing like positive enthusiasm!

i want andrea to stay , we need one more big man sub for ed davis . maybe jonas need more 3 years to be good .

Bargnani has to get invoved in the defense if he is going to be of any use to this team. Scoring 20 while allowing 30 does not help. Gay appears to be the outsde shooter this team has lacked, if Bargnani will hang around the paint at both ends and rebound and block he can help. If he picks his nose while loitering at the 3 point line, get rid of him.

 

[thewalker]

Catherine I love your posts. Nothing like positive enthusiasm!



Bargnani has to get invoved in the defense if he is going to be of any use to this team. Scoring 20 while allowing 30 does not help. Gay appears to be the outsde shooter this team has lacked, if Bargnani will hang around the paint at both ends and rebound and block he can help. If he picks his nose while loitering at the 3 point line, get rid of him.

I do like the fact that Bargnani doesn't have to be "the guy" anymore, a role for which it was obvious he was never suited for. I think the Raps should tinker with the idea of Jonas at center, Rudy at the power forward, Landry at the small forward, DeRozan and Lowry at the guards and have Amir, Bargs, Ross, Alan Anderson and Lucas off the bench. That's two pretty solid five-man units if you ask me. Bargs can be the backup center, he could wreak havoc going against other team's backup center, esp from the 3-point line.

But I think it's inevitable he's traded. Colangelo has been doing so much hinting on interviews with NBA TV and on the radio about how it may be time to move on and Andrea would understand, etc, etc. I would trade him for a solid backup PG and a late 1st round pick (obviously there's no way they're getting any pick before 20) if they can get that. I like Lowry, but I just don't trust him to stay healthy, he seems too heavy for his height which makes him injury-prone.

 

[basketcase]

... if Bargnani will hang around the paint at both ends and rebound and block he can help. If he picks his nose while loitering at the 3 point line, get rid of him.

Haven't we been saying that since day 1?

 

[basketcase]

..., he seems too heavy for his height which makes him injury-prone.

I prefer to think too short for my weight.

 

[angiec27@ymail.com]

I would hold onto bargs. He has an incredible skill set and ability to create mismatches in short spurts. If he shows consistency for the rest of the season and next season we may be able to get a quality player back. Right now an expiring contract is all we'll get back if there's anyone out there interested in him because of his contract.

 

[Casa_Nova]

Watching the Raps vs. Heat right now - first time watching Rudy Gay play as a Raptor. I know it's only his second game, but I might have to retract my comments on the trade.

He is athletic. Probably even more so than DeMar. Difference so far is that he drives and creates and DeMar is still a bit too in love with the jump shot. Gay is probably the only one on the team that can create his own shot. Also noticed that he seems to be influencing DeMar - in a good way. Almost as if there is some healthy competition going - pushes DeMar to be better. There were concerns about his defense but so far he is doing a good job in the game today defending LeBron. Even got a block on him!

If this continues, Gay and DeRozan can be a decent 1-2 punch. Throw in Lowry and if Jonas continues to develop, that's a pretty good core to build around. Maybe, just maybe Colangelo's gamble actually pays off this time. Time will tell.

 

[kumamake]

lowry needs to adjust quickly for raptors to be competitive, cant have more turn overs than assists.

 

[Dawgger]

Watching the Raps vs. Heat right now - first time watching Rudy Gay play as a Raptor. I know it's only his second game, but I might have to retract my comments on the trade.

He is athletic. Probably even more so than DeMar. Difference so far is that he drives and creates and DeMar is still a bit too in love with the jump shot. Gay is probably the only one on the team that can create his own shot. Also noticed that he seems to be influencing DeMar - in a good way. Almost as if there is some healthy competition going - pushes DeMar to be better. There were concerns about his defense but so far he is doing a good job in the game today defending LeBron. Even got a block on him!

If this continues, Gay and DeRozan can be a decent 1-2 punch. Throw in Lowry and if Jonas continues to develop, that's a pretty good core to build around. Maybe, just maybe Colangelo's gamble actually pays off this time. Time will tell.

Me too! Rally impressed,but two games does not a season make!

IF that dumb ass Bargnani buys into this and plays the way he did at the start of last year, look out. Mighty big if!

 

[wonkyknee]

Turns out the trade looks worth it too. As far as Gay being more athletic than Derozan...it looks like he's longer and seems to be able to get his shots off more because of his longer arms etc....its seems to me.

 

[thewalker]

Turns out the trade looks worth it too. As far as Gay being more athletic than Derozan...it looks like he's longer and seems to be able to get his shots off more because of his longer arms etc....its seems to me.

You're right, Gay has some long-ass arms. It's really got to be an advantage trying to shoot over someone in traffic.

 

[JamesDouglas]

This is Gay's team now, Gay is the biggest player the Raptors have ever signed in their prime. Yes they've gotten big names before like Olajuwon, Jermaine O'Neal, Shawn Marion, Hedo Turkoglu (LOL), etc., but all of those players were past their prime and made absolutely no significant contributions to the Raps. Gay is only 26 and right in his prime, I know he's owed a lot of money, but with Gay as the number one option, we can make a push towards the eigth seed, this city is Gay now.