Off-season wish list and Vince planning
You’re suddenly in charge of the Raptors front office. How would you want the organization to celebrate Vince Carter’s HOF induction and the Raptors’ 30th next season?
Ian
I do know they have had plans in the works for months to do something for Carter — even before his Hall of Fame selection — and, sadly, they haven’t shared the ideas with me (yet). But if I had to pick? I’d do something more public than simply hanging No. 15 from the rafters. Maybe a mural in the foyer? Name a street or entrance after him, something the public can see. But it can’t be too crazy; they need to save something for Kyle Lowry in a couple of years. The 30th? I’d probably intersperse events through the season. And Nov. 3, the anniversary of game No. 1, is a Sunday. There has to be some kind of celebration somewhere on the Saturday night and late afternoon on Nov. 3 that introduces the all-time Raptors team.
What are your thoughts for how the team will move forward, such as Bruce Brown, Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher along with the picks?
Hlud
I don’t know “how” they’ll go ahead, and I haven’t had the annual strategic session with Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster yet, but I suspect they’ll be calling any day. I don’t think there’s enough room on the roster for Gradey Dick, Trent and Brown. It’s tricky, though, and my perfect solution would be to pick up Brown’s option with a deal already in place to move him, and get Trent on a two-year, $42-million(ish) deal with no options. It’s a big ask, but I’ll leave Bobby and Masai to work out the details. Chris? I like him a lot and he should be in the game, but I know they tried to find a deal for him in February and there wasn’t one. (“They can’t trade everyone at once” a guy told me then.) But I suspect he’ll be dealt around the draft/free agency.
I enjoy watching Kyle Lowry on the real estate commercials. Any idea if TV is in his retirement plans?
Curtis S.
They sure dug deep into the archives to unearth that ad, didn’t they? The last time I talked to him about retirement — and that’s at least two years away — it was more about golfing and hanging with his sons than working for a living.
Do you think that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP-level play this season is a result of his participation in the World Cup?
Phil
Shai? I think the success he had at the World Cup against that level of competition and the responsibility he had for the team’s success hastened his rise, but it was coming eventually anyway.