Opinion | Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook and, of course, Raptors playing time in Ye Olde Mailbag

Another solid week at Ye Olde Mailbag, you’re all doing an excellent job.

Enjoy.

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Q: Hi Doug

Thank you for that insightful piece on Kyle Lowry. It made me very sad; he’s still my favourite Raptor, and my only consolation* for his going was assuming that he would be happy in his chosen landing-spot, a great team and coach, his friendship with Jimmy Butler, and sure, the golf.

Even before his family troubles (which I hope resolve soon, for everybody’s sake) and the injuries, I’d sometimes wondered if he were homesick.

I saw the poll on bringing him back. What do you think about it, and how do you think it might work out? He’s not vision 6’9″, that’s for sure, but he is All Things Lowry! It would be fantastic to see him playing with Scottie, and the younger new players learning from him.

In terms of the leadership growth Masai wanted for Van Vleet and Pascal, have they blossomed enough/developed enough confidence to hold their own with the Kyle powerhouse? Would they find a new and productive, happy dynamic to reflect a new situation/degree of skills and maturity?

The fans would surely adore it. Still feels odd to me seeing Lowry in an “alien” jersey.

Have a great weekend, and all curses upon the head of the evil Pearson International!

Resident of the North

*(Non-transactional: the acquisition of Achiuwa was obviously exciting.)

A: Having seen up close what Lowry did – with others – to elevate the franchise, I can appreciate his impact. But I see no logical reason to bring him back, even in some ceremonial move. The sentiment is wonderful, the reality is it’s time to move on.

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Q: Hello Doug

I’m responding to your mail call reminder in Friday’s paper. The other day I was watching some women’s rugby on TV. Off the top, let me admit to knowing virtually nothing about the sport. It struck me however that with all the scrums, tackling and so on that was involved, the types of potential injuries had to be similar to what men experience in football e.g. concussions. 

And that raised for me the issue of differences in equipment for men vs. women. Only a very few of the rugby players wore helmets – actually they looked like cloth caps- while footballers are dressed like transformers. The women don’t seem to wear much protective gear either but of course it’s difficult to tell. Footballers are decked out in considerable and obvious protective gear. I assume the same applies to men rugby players as well. How to account for differences between these two sports when so much of the tactics seem so similar? What gives?

Thanks for your response.

MaryLouise Work

A: I think the protective equipment difference is mostly between football and rugby rather than men and women.

And while it may seen counter-intuitive, the belief is that serious injuries are fewer in rugby than football because the armour provides a false sense of security and some football players are reckless because they feel they are protected. I don’t believe that to be true, I believe it to be quite opposite.

I guess the big difference is that football is a game basically of brute power, there is more speed and athleticism overall in rugby.

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Q: I know it is not hockey, but can anyone on the FAN or TSN radio give 10 minutes airtime to the Women’s World Cup rugby team that went 3-0 in group stage and is about the play the US for the quarterfinals.

It was carried on TSN3 and they still never mention on CP24 which owned by Bell 

Is this an intentional snub

Yours truly

Adam Berel Wetstein

A: There are people in charge of determining what is aired on every highlight/news show and chat show on every station so, yes, someone is intentionally ignoring the women’s World Cup of rugby.

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Q: Hi Doug. Good to see the Gunners at the top of the table (before City won today) but I am not holding my breath that it will be the case at the end of the season. They have done this with young players so the future looks great.

It’s been a bit since I sent a question/comment but I just want to say that I miss the (semi) daily blog with the 3-pointers and comments on all things interesting or of concern. Are the tall-foreheads trying to drive more traffic to the main site? If they are then why not put it there? If the blog isn’t regular then traffic will slow down for obvious reasons. Cheers

Mike K, London.

A: They’re trying to find a way for me to work better and not harder. I miss the semi-regular morning fare, too, but two things: The overall numbers weren’t, I’m told, good enough to justify the time and I actually don’t mind not having to get up at 7 or 7:30 a.m. the morning after games to immediately start typing. Maybe as the season goes on we find a middle ground but I don’t know that we will.

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Q: Well, that was a painful game to watch with Philadelphia on Friday night but I know we will bounce back.
The news about Josh Primo was shocking. The Spurs had just picked up his options, what happens now? Does he get paid out?
He is such a promising player I hope he gets all the support he needs.

Thanks
Mary

A: He’ll get the full value of the guaranteed portion of his contract, which is through the 2023-24 season. I believe that works out to just over $8 million for this season and next.

And there will be support programs for whatever the issue is, it’ll be up to him to take advantage of them.

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Q: Miami’s had good teams for a long time and stability off the court but there seems to be a lack of buzz at their home games. At times there are a lot of empty seats. Any comment?

Paul M

A: Miami fans are notoriously late-arriving, that’s been a fact for years and years, especially in the best seats, the ones you can see on the TV broadcast. But it generally fills in and can get loud.

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Q: Hi Doug,

Thanks for another week of great articles. Hope all is well at Casa Del Doug.

Not even 10% through the season, so still beyond early, but still glad to see games that count again!

Some questions:

1) Looks like Koloko is this years’ Banton; not in terms of how they play, just in terms of draft-night expectations. Both were kind of expected to be lucky to appear in a regular season game initially, and progressed from assumed 905er to rotation guy (at least so far for Koloko). Your two cents.

2) Watched the end of the Nets-Mavs game the other night: 4th quarter, last minute, close game, who’s on the floor with Irving, Durant, and Simmons? YUTA!!! Good for him! Can you think of any other former bench guys you’d love to see succeed elsewhere? (Don’t really recall Yuta being in too many game-on-the-line scenarios here in Toronto.)

3) As a writer covering the team, I’m sure you’re aware of a lot of people working behind the scenes daily with the team that most fans have no idea about. Who are some of the unsung heroes for the Raps and what sort of jobs do they do?

Here’s hoping the season is filled with treats, and that fans only see tricks performed by our Raps on their opponents! (Don’t eat all your candy in one night!) 

Bernie M

A: I agree on Koloko and the career arc that will see him spend as much time at the end of the season in the G League as he does in the NBA. He’s got to play 30 minutes a game, not 12.

It was nice to see Yuta finish a close game, and I think it says more about this year’s Nets than last year’s Raptors. And, frankly, I hope all the guys who got brief shots with Toronto go on to have roles and get contracts with other teams. Bruno, Ish Wainright, Josh Jackson, Sam Dekker, guys like that.

I can’t get into too many back-of-house people who keep the franchise humming along, there are too many and to describe what they all do would keep me typing all evening. But my guys Kevin DiPietro and Paulie Elliott who do travel and equipment and any number of things would be at the top of my list.

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Q: Given the Russell Westbrook debacle currently taking place in Los Angeles right now, I’m interested in your opinions about the most likely scenarios about where he ends up this season and also next year. 

As an impending free agent I envision him being moved to a bottom feeder team looking for draft picks and offload spare parts prior to the trade deadline.

However, next year I would not be surprised if a Carmelo Anthony situation develops where he receives zero offers from NBA teams.  He’s obviously in decline, seemingly not willing to take a lesser team role and exudes drama/selfishness. His track record in leading his last 3 teams to new heights is far from great. If I’m an NBA GM, whether it’s a young, emerging or contending team, there’s no situation where I could see him adding any value.

As always appreciate your thoughts.

DL,

Richmond Hill 

A: Unless the Lakers are willing to attach some draft picks to a Westbrook trade, and to this point they are not, I don’t see a deal getting done. I’m not sure he can help any other team in any way other than the financial savings in the future and I cannot see a team giving up real assets to acquire him.

And I really believe this is his last season in the NBA.

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Q: Hi Doug

Love reading your work on Twitter!  I’m excited to see how this season will play out for the perennially underrated Raptors. In my opinion, they are probably one mid- to high-tier player from getting to the Finals.

Masai talks about wanting to always emphasize winning, but do you think they wait another year to make the trade(s) needed to get to the Finals, or can we expect some kind of blockbuster move this season?
Cheers,

Drew Smith

A: Very seldom are there in-season “blockbuster” trades so I wouldn’t be waiting on that to happen. It’s far more likely they do something of significance next summer.

Never say never, though.

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Q: Hey Doug.  What’s up with the lack of playing time for Thad Young?  This surely can’t be what he envisioned when he signed the deal over the summer.

He’s a classy guy and it’s a bit strange seeing him rot on the bench when he specifically said how that ate at him when the same thing happened in San Antonio.

Ken from Toronto

A: Thad Young’s just got to play better and have a significant impact when he gets in a game; it’s that simple. But, with the inevitable injuries coming, I’m certain he’ll get a chance to play and what he does with it will be very telling.

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Q: I love Nick but wonder if he has tunnel vision. It seems like one of the problems last year was that he ran his starters into the ground. After 5 games this year I see the same thing happening. The starters all play 35+, a couple of guys get 15 and the rest get 5 or 0 minutes. Am I becoming a grumpy old man for worrying about this or is Nick stuck in a routine that worked in 2019?

Why doesn’t he try and get the bench guys some confidence by playing them a bit more?  I love you too Doug

Jim

A: The Raptors have played 10 guys in every game that was decided late, which is the norm for the league. There’s nothing to get worked up about six games into the season.

And he plays guys who he thinks will help him win that night’s game; whether he’s right or wrong is probably moot but there shouldn’t be “participation” awards simply for being on the roster.

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