[Smith] You can expect an announcement shortly — “maybe in the next couple of weeks,” one team official said this week — on a contract extension for Olynyk…Whether it’s a straight two-year deal or two years plus an option, the Raptors want to lock up Olynyk quickly as they can.
by EarthWarping
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Other notes from Doug Smith’s column:
On the strategy for the next bit of games:
>That’s why a couple of high-ranking team officials said, independent of each other, that they will go forward with the chase for at least the next little while. (essentially not resting players, no long looks at JFL/Jontay)
>Even the spectre of retaining the draft pick due to San Antonio — and whether they should or shouldn’t is a debate for much later — isn’t going to change any minds right now. The tank is parked. At least at the moment. As it should be.
More on Olynyk:
>The Raptors see Olynyk as a great fit for the style that Rajakovic wants to play — a good-passing, deep-shooting big man and someone whose work ethic and professionalism will resonate in a locker room full of young players.
On Winlsow/Gueye’s futures:
>It’s fully expected both will get second 10-day deals when these ones expire and then it’ll be decision time. After the second one, players have to be waived or signed for the rest of the season.
The early betting line is that each ends up in the latter category.
On Boucher’s minutes:
>Boucher was behind Jakob Poeltl, an effective Thad Young and an interesting prospect in Porter and now he’s behind Poeltl, Olynyk and a still-interesting Porter. No matter what he did Wednesday, his place in the pecking order is unchanged.
>Garbage time minutes? Asking a guy like Boucher who survives solely on his energy to be effective to play in a minute-long stretch where all anyone wants is for the game to end would, frankly, be doing him a disservice. Boucher is a lot of things — all admirable — but a garbage-time player he is not.
His cap hold is gonna be higher than his salary. If they have full intentions of bringing him back, this makes sense. No point in risking him walking, just lock him up.
as they should. The big man rotation, or lack of, has been a massive hole on this roster since serge and marc left. If you want guys like scottie to develop properly you can’t have them playing small ball C for large chunks and have them banging with guys down low. It wears them down and is not sustainable.
Cleans up his cap hold too
Olynk was re-signed the day this trade was made. It doesn’t happen otherwise.
The Canadian Luis Scola is back where he belongs.
Didn’t waste any time with that
All these mysterious moves make me wonder if the Raptors have some sort of plan we don’t know about this off-season
Olynky turns 33 in April and after 33, most players are on borrowed time in that they probably aren’t going to get better and they’re likely going to start their “decline” very soon
I’m really confused right now about the direction…I understand wanting a stretch big in Darkos system because it’s almost a necessity but why a 33-year-old stretch big on a “re-building” team? it makes me feel like perhaps they have plans to take a big swing this offseason and they’re attempting to add depth right now and solidify a solid bench unit going into next season
who knows with Masai and Bobby but man…this is a bit of a head-scratcher
Makes perfect sense, his cap hold would be larger in FA, so re-signing him now is a great move.
Don’t if he takes a 1+1, so maybe 3×30 with the final year being a TO.
Either way, good move to lockup a good player ahead of FA to help maintain flexibility, BB is still the main question mark, if they can move Boucher as an expring, I still think they jump at the chance.
“The tank is parked”. Is that an actually quote from a raptors team official? Have they watched the games?
Unfortunately for the raps the Grizz look like they have a good chance for that 6th seed. Especially being in a hard western Conference.
So very strong possibility of that ugly spot of missing the play in AND missing losing the pick.
You need veterans. He also plays a role that we don’t currently have on the roster which is a stretch big man who is actually a big and not “Scottie/Thad at Center”. Perfectly ok with him being here as part of the retool
whats the value yall think