"I'm not a Small Forward"

[blackice]

We have sources in the Toronto Raptors organization that have told us that shortly after trading for superstar "Isaiah Austin", turmoil followed. Austin was pleased with the supporting cast on Canada's only franchise but had words with HC "Mike D'Antoni" who wishes to play the 7'1 behemoth on the wing. D'Antoni is known for his forward thinking strategy and willingness to experiment with players.

Listen, my success in PHX was predicated on playing at the PF/C positions. My ability to take big men off the dribble at that position allows me to dominant on both ends and although I need to work on my rebounding (7 RPG last season), I don't see the sense in mitigating my effectiveness chasing around small forwards. On the other end the closer to the basket I am the better. We will have internal talks but I am not happy right now.

Sources say GM BI will have talks with the HC and is looking to make a move for a starting SF, whether through trade or FA.

We'll have to see if "Joe Harris" can handle the backup SF position.

The organization has also targeted a low USG% SF who is capable of starting (in FA) but time will tell on that front. Bradley Beal is a starting quality wing but his skillset works better off the bench. Beal might see some backup minutes at the 3 spot, but D'Antoni is worried that having four high USG% and high volume starters will take away shots from Joseph.

[rh0xxy]

Worth a gamble I guess, you can always revert him back to his preferred position if it doesn't work as planned. It's a good problem to have lol

[GreenBear]

Very interesting article. Austin should be just fine offensively. He may need some instructions because I had him living mostly in the post, and I don't know if you want your SF doing that. But he's more than capable of thriving there offensively imo due to his handles and range.

Honestly I mostly played him at PF/C for 2 reasons:
1) I always seem to have a glutton of wings. I just do. I love collecting them haha. So it made sense for me to use him at a spot where it's harder to find offensive talent.
2) In DDS3, I had concerns that he could struggle stopping drives on defense against smaller, quicker wings. I think that's less of a concern with the switch to DDS19 since you can choose his specific defensive matchup or have him strictly guard post players of you want.

So I think it can certainly work, you'll just need to give him some instructions so he uses his range more. The number of facilitators on your team is going to be very interesting to watch.

[TheTwoWallaces]

I could see him working on the wing. It’s what Ojeleye does right now — play on the wing but get your points inside

[hardenwithnod]

I think he’s versatile enough to play SF, but I definitely think he excels the best in the post.

[Marcos_Beck]

You have enough pieces to find a starting SF and keep Austin where he’s always outperformed his ratings and most players in CSL (playing as a big).

I see Toronto making a follow up move to fix the vacuum at SF rather than forcing Austin there