The Raptors RealGM think tank is on the case in Tony Parker not untouchable; Right fit for Raptors?

It starts off kinda lamely with 62245 saying it’s not a trade thread. Apart from kidnapping him, I can’t see how the Raps would get him outside of a trade. But it was a smart move on 62245’s part because otherwise it would go in the wasteland thread known as Chris Bosh Sign and Trade Ideas and get lost forever in what is currently 64 pages and counting. (I understand the mods not wanting a 101 CB4 threads, but the ones that stand out should stand out in a thread of their own.)

According to ESPN, Spurs might be willing to trade Parker if they can “find a younger big man to pair with Tim Duncan”. A sign and trade to San Antonio would suit Bosh since a) it’s his home state, b) they are obviously aiming for a last championship or two before Duncan retires, c) he won’t have to worry about playing defence, and d) he’d get his money. Plus, with Duncan in his twilight years, Bosh could look at himself as the number one guy.

So, the question now becomes, would Parker fit in on the Raps. As 62245 points out off the bat, he’s fast (we need that), he scores (don’t really need it), he’d allow Hedo to take over more ball handling duties.

J_Dilla suggests we need more of a scoring SG/SF, but I think he’s missing the point. I mean, yeah, LeBron or Kobe would be great, but we can’t get ‘em. If Parker is offered, he might just be the BPA in a Bosh sign and trade. Along similar lines, bboyskinnlegs would like Collison, who put up great stats and is young. Great idea, but we won’t get him. And raptorballa suggests we go for Chris Paul. Perfect!

Quite a few posters refer to Parker’s “breaking down” or the fact that he’s old (at 27!), or the fact that he looks better next to Duncan than he would beside Bargnani, all of which which may be a consideration. However, you might also consider that he’s not breaking down, that 27 is young, and that he may actually make Bargnani better.

Dagger floats the interesting idea of a trade including the rights to Tiago Splitter. Is that guy ever coming over? He might. Toronto is in Canada, which is international and all. Then the Daggerman gets into the meat of it: if we add Parker, one or both of Calderon/Jack has to go. Jose’s contract could be a problem though. I like Jose, but I’d rather have Parker running the show. Parker/Jack would be awesome. Then again, if we keep Jose and Jack, how amazing would a backcourt of Calderon/Jack/Parker be late in the game? (I kid, although I’m sure Triano is drooling at the thought of that trio plus Hedo and Andrea. Five good ball handlers!)

hyped makes the point that we wouldn’t have to keep Parker. He could be traded to someone else for something more decent than we’d get for Bosh. (Although I’m not sure what he means by “you could literally flip Parker”. Literally?)

J-Roc with the “Parker has been looking slow. And he’s never figured out his jumpshot, so as his speed goes, so will he.” He could be right. Then again, as tecumseh18 points out, he’s nine years younger than Nash, who still has pretty good quicks. canguy20m makes a similar point about Jason Kidd. (Mind you, he is on early vacation despite having some great scorers to work with.) Franz Beckenbauer, the great German soccer player, once said, “I’m not the fastest from A to B, but then again, I never start at A.” It’s a gamble, to be sure, and I can just see the “I told you so” brigade coming out in full force if Parker doesn’t work (See Hedo, Jose, etc.), but considering what else is on the table, it’s a gamble I’d take.

I always have a lot of respect for Fairview4Life’s opinion. He seems to feel that Parker would be great alongside Bosh, but without Bosh, not so hot. Well, I disagree with the former concept. The best Raps play of the past four years always came when the ball was moving, and Bosh never figured out how to keep it moving. Furthermore, Bosh’s ability to make the opposition pay for the double teams is nonexistent. Take out Bosh, plug in Parker, and the ball movement would improve simply because Parker knows basketball.

Of course, there are the required mentions of Eva Longoria form the horny brigade, but that’s to be expected.

In other news, Maurizio Gherardini expects ‘Four or five new players for Raptors’. Should be a fun couple of months.