Raptors Posts Arsenal PostsPosted by Arsenalist on June 30, 2008
I’m in Vancouver for work. So here’s a cop-out post containing highlights of the future Raptors Hall of Famer:
Better post later (maybe?):
Highlights:
Highlights:
Interview:
Warriors Pre-draft Interview:
Jazz Pre-draft Interview:
NBA Draft Aussie Prospects:
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: highlights, video, Nathan Jawai | 17 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 27, 2008
First off, thanks to everybody who participated in the live draft blog, those who stayed through the whole 5 hours and the ones who swung by for 20 minutes. It was fun.
After a night of wheeling and dealing in New York where the Raptors were hardly involved in anything, there is a new light being shone on the TJ Ford for Jermaine O’Neal trade and it’s this: We were most definitely overvaluing the 17th pick to a degree almost dangerous. The fact is that Donte Greene (#28) and CDR’s (#40) stock fell so low that picking them with the 17th pick would’ve been ludicrous. Brandon Rush’s stock rose so high that he became a lottery pick at #13, well beyond our reach. Even Robin Lopez was out of our reach as he went #15.
When our pick finally came Roy Hibbert was still available and I suppose you could make a case that it would’ve been wise for us to draft him (assuming the O’Neal trade hadn’t been made) and address our rebounding need. However, I’d much rather have Jermaine O’Neal than Hibbert simply because he’s a legit former All-Star, lends credibility to the franchise, increases our PINP numbers and provides Bosh help. The way O’Neal’s been talking it looks like he’s over his injuries and that the rest and rehab have done the work. I’m willing to roll the dice with him knowing that there’s no way we could’ve landed the prized Brandon Rush in the draft. Anyway, here’s O’Neal’s quote:
“They have a ton of talent…When I sat out all those games last year, it was a career move, I knew what the situation was. I knew what the significance of me staying away from the game, rehabbing the leg and getting the knee back to its normal usage was. “I think playing alongside Chris Bosh gives us a different dynamic. You look at teams in the NBA, you look at their low-post players, and they always have one good player, and when that good player goes out, you can change your defence a little bit and load up on other areas. Even with us starting out the games together, one of us will always be on the floor. You won’t get a chance to adjust your defence.”
From the same article a mysterious source reported that we could’ve done a Gerald Wallace for TJ Ford deal and retained our 17th pick - more on that here.
The heartbreak of the night had to be CDR being taken with the 40th pick just before Indiana’s selection on our behalf. Those c*nty Nets traded Richard Jefferson and replaced him with CDR and Yi, shrewd indeed. I don’t think the Raptors were targeting someone in particular and were content on just about anybody falling to them, that’s the only thing that can explain us taking Nathan Jawai - the Aussie Shaq - despite having a plethora of big men. We also passed on Bill Walker in the second round who eventually wound up being taken by Washington and traded to the Celtics. The second round was marred by our inability to get more athletic despite some good, serviceable players available.
This is probably a good segue to the Dave Feshuk piece today which hints that Bryan Colangelo isn’t all that he’s cranked up to be and that the O’Neal trade is almost an act of desperation.
Indiana had a great draft, adding Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert to a team with TJ Ford, Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy means they’ve got a nucleus they can build around and maybe rise to semi-contention within a year or two. What’s funny about Brandon Rush is that his and CDR’s games were constantly compared during the pre-draft camps, workouts and just about everywhere else. But once it was all said and done, 27 picks separated the two - a true testament to how good he can be and how clueless us fans really are.
There were many athletic players available in the late first round and early second round but the Raptors chose to remain dormant. They might regret this inactivity because Bill Walker and CDR could’ve easily been had, the latter with minimal amount of maneuvering. As it is, the Raptors select Nathan Jawai, another center who is expected to play for us next year. Bringing him over means he’ll be the fourth string big man behind O’Neal, Bargnani and Humphries. Adding another big man to the roster while not addressing the SF position means that its more and more likely that if Bargnani wants consistent playing time it’s going to happen at the 3 (topic for another day). Didn’t quite understand this pick but it is what it is, a second round pick and if you look at the history of Raptors drafting they’ve never actually come out with anything remotely good in the second round.
Mike Miller who a lot of Raptors fans had an eye on is on the move to Minnesota for a package involving O.J Mayo. The Knick fans soundly booed the selection of Danilo Gallinari, the fear of him being the next Andrea Bargnani is just too much to bear. The Houston Rockets drafted Frenchman Nicolas Batum and promptly shipped him over for Joey Dorsey who in this observer’s opinion will be a rebounding stalwart for years to come.
There’s no doubt that this was a draft with some great athletes, some surefire good players and some sleepers. What makes me feel better about giving up our pick is that the player I valued most was gone four spots earlier. That’s my saving grace. We’ve rolled the dice on Jermaine O’Neal, our hopes of contending next season rely solely upon his health, how well he plays with Bosh and whether our shooters can get cleaner looks. This draft was an opportunity to get more athletic and better our perimeter defense which we failed to do. Bryan Colangelo’s perception of the draft couldn’t have been that great, at least not as good as Portland’s or Houston’s, two contending teams who felt that this was an opportunity to better themselves and made moves which improved them. The Raptors were content with Jermaine O’Neal. Hopefully they’ve just deferred the improvement of this team to summer signings and trades because this can’t be it.
As of right now our roster simply cannot run the break and get easy points nor can we defend the perimeter. It’s not like with TJ Ford we were Phoenix East, but replacing him with O’Neal who is strictly a half-court player and putting the ultra-cautious Calderon at the helm slows our offense down to an absolute crawl. Roko Ukic, if brought in, might be able to change that to some degree but I hope Colangelo realizes that this team will need to be better in the half-court sets and for that you need a creative X’s and O’s coach, which we all know Mitchell isn’t.
I can live with us being a half-court team that runs everything through Calderon => Bosh or Calderon => O’Neal, but at some point we’ll have to address our perimeter defense and athleticism and it better happen this summer, otherwise this mega-trade is all for naught.
Once again, thanks for swinging by last night.
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: toronto raptors, NBA Draft 2008 | 26 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 26, 2008
It actually appears to have happened. TJ Ford along with our prized 17th pick and the expiring contract of Rasho Nesterovic for Jermaine O’Neal. Rasho’s obviously thrown in for salary reasons and is easily the third best piece that the Raptors are giving up in the trade. Whether the best piece is TJ Ford or the 17th pick is up for debate.
The trade is designed to increase our post-scoring, make us stronger on the glass (3rd worst in the league) and is an attempt to build a formidable frontline which will attract more double teams thus allowing our shooters more open looks. If all parties in this trade were 100% healthy, the preliminary “winner” of the trade would easily by Toronto. However, given Ford and O’Neal’s injury histories, only time will tell who won this trade. My money’s on Indiana. Ford happens to be 4 years younger than O’Neal who is 29 and although Ford’s injuries have been serious, they’ve been of the “freaky” type having to do with stingers and aggravations. He basically had one injury and fully recovered from it. O’Neal’s injuries appear to be much more chronic in nature and have a higher chance of resurfacing once again - groin, back and knee. The Raptors are definitely taking on more risk here by putting their eggs in O’Neal’s basket.
Then there’s the matter of giving up the 17th pick in a deep draft. You could argue that the draft combined with TJ Ford provided us an opportunity to fulfill two needs: wing scoring and rebounding. However, we’ve packaged both of our best summer assets and a serviceable center for one player and passed up the opportunity to have a shot at some solid players that are slated to go in the teens in the draft. Granted, it’s early and we could trade our way back into the first round but I don’t see many teams willing to give up their first round picks this year. The pick to me is the hardest thing to give up here because there’s just so much bloody potential out there.
Then there’s the question of salary. O’Neal just became the highest paid Raptor and if God forbid he injures himself and ends up playing 40 games this year, his trade value come summertime will be zilch. That’s 20 million tied up in salary for the 2009-10 season! There’s no doubt that this deal has to a degree handcuffed the Raptors in terms of future trades and signings.
In every sports trade, trade is an element of risk involved and whether the risk needs to be mitigated eventually defines whether the trade is successful or not. If O’Neal puts up 20 and 10 like he did for almost 5 seasons in a row and we win 52 games next year, everybody will applaud this move. If he fails to deliver and doesn’t mix-in well with Bosh and the Raptors continue with their mediocrity, whats the point? When you give up on young talent as the Raptors have in this trade, be prepared to be scrutinized for years to come whenever the player in question is doing well. Before it was Charlie Villanueva, now it’s TJ Ford.
The impact on Bargnani won’t be as severe as you would think - we did give up Rasho in the trade and his minutes should be distributed according to player form. Rasho’s career average in MPG is 23 while O’Neal’s is 28. That’s a five minute difference which isn’t hard to live with for Bargnani and should motivate him to play harder now that there’s more competition. If the talk of Rasho returning after being waived is true, then Bargnani is in serious trouble.
The Raptors acquiring a legitimate starting center in a trade speaks volumes as to what the franchise thinks of Andrea Bargnani. Either they’re prepared to give up on him and traded for an insurance policy (ironic given JO’s health) or they see Bargnani playing the SF position thus giving the Raptors a very big frontline and an advantage on paper (although the Orlando series exposed him like never before). The trade should serve as an ultimatum to Bargnani that he should be prepared to battle in training camp and practice if he wants to see any minutes past garbage time. The other way to look at it is that Colangelo feels that Bargnani is still two more years away from realizing his potential and needs to play second fiddle to O’Neal during this time while learning in the process. Is this trade Colangelo acknowledging his mistake of drafting Bargnani? Not yet, this is simply a change of strategy.
The most glaring aspect of this trade is that we’ve handed our PG responsibilities to Jose Calderon without a certified backup on the roster. Calderon has as many defensive issues (if not more) than Ford and is as liable as going into a scoring drought as Ford. He does happen to be a better fit for the Raptors given his holding style of play which suits our “offense” much better. This isn’t a knock on TJ, he happens to need more athletic, alert, fast-break type players to be successful. Calderon doesn’t, he’s willing to patrol the three point line and be patient with Bosh on posts and re-posts while there’s inconsequential movement on the weak side. To put it in simpler terms, TJ Ford’s a Don Nelson/Mike D’Antoni player. Nothing wrong with it, except we’re not nearly as up-tempo, exciting, fast-breaking or athletic as players in those systems need to be.
The final word on the trade: We gave up too much and took on the greater risk. We gave up the younger player with less chronic injuries, a valuable teen pick in a deep draft and the expiring contract of a good center for a player who was great 4 years ago. I’d feel far more comfortable if we hadn’t given up the pick but at some point you have to prove to Chris Bosh that you’re trying to win.
Here’s hoping the Raptors do some maneuvering and somehow come out with Brandon Rush tonight. On the other hand, if Rush or CDR are gone by the time our Indiana’s pick rolls around, Colangelo needs to be given some credit for predicting that and using the pick’s value in a trade.
Check AltRaps.com for links relating to the story, here’s one however and its Colangelo talking about the trade and how letting Ford go was a foregone conclusion reached by both parties.
“There was discussion with T.J. at the end of the season and also with his agents or representatives since the end of the season where we amicably discussed the scenario that might play out where he might be part of a trade and he’s comfortable with that”.
Note: Live Blogging tonight for the draft starting at 6:30PM on RaptorsNation.org. I’ve never tried to do this before so we’ll see how it goes. Try to swing by so I don’t look like a fool. Thanks!
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: toronto raptors, tj ford, Raptors, NBA Draft 2008, Jermaine O'Neal, Trades, Rumours | 44 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 25, 2008
Let’s start off the day with Chad Ford’s mock draft which insists on us taking Robin Lopez at #17. I don’t see it happening unless Brandon Rush, CDR or even Donte Greene are already taken. There’s no doubt that drafting a hustle-type big man is the easier thing to do, there’s far less expectations from a banger than from a scoring talent and also a greater sense of assurance about what you’re getting. Rebounding is Need #1 but wing scoring and defense is #1a. As evidenced by the rumours, we’re looking for a big man via trade so it makes sense that the draft is there for a young winger. Anyway, we’ll find out tomorrow.
Doug Smith points out 7 players we’re closely looking at of which 5 are big men. Rush and CDR and nowhere to be found. I highly doubt the Raptors will tell Smith or anyone for that matter who they’re looking at. Take the list with a bucket load of salt. He’s also saying the deal to Phoenix remains “very much alive”.
The Jermaine O’Neal trade talk when combined with speculation that we might go big in the draft leaves us with one question: What does this do with Andrea Bargnani? Has Colangelo given up on him and is already hunting for a C replacement? Is he planning on moving him to the three so rebounding is less of a responsibility? Michael Grange tries to answer questions like these and suggests that Colangelo might be closer to giving up on him than before. In my opinion, the first 20 games of the season will tell us exactly where Bargnani is and whether those intimate sessions with John Lucas worked or not. Until then, I’ll hold judgment but I’ll say this: If he doesn’t get it done in the first half of next season, I see no reason not to trade him and publicly admit the mistake.
From Indiana’s perspective only two players are untouchable: Granger and Dunleavy. The rest are available (even Tinsley) as long as you give them something they can use now. Larry Bird doesn’t appear to be too fond of rebuilding from the ground-up, he’s all about applying patches and hoping they stick. Since Indiana’s already picking at #11 its somewhat surprising that they’ll also be in the hunt for a pick 6 spots further down. They’re looking to swing trades and something tells me their interest in our pick is only because they want to package it with another trade.
The Knicks are up for trading practically anybody on their roster as long as it gets them a shot at O.J Mayo. Donnie Walsh is crazy enough to try to acquire Shawn Marion (who makes $1.3 billion) just to re-unite him with Mike D’Antoni. I see the Knicks are fully in pursuit of mediocrity. I think our new slogan should be: The Toronto Raptors: Hey, at least we’re not the Knicks.
The Pistons are reportedly trying to acquire Baron Davis which would leave a PG void in Golden State and we know how much Don Nelson loves T.J Ford. But as I said yesterday, there’s absolutely no one on the Warriors that is even worth looking at who is not labeled as untouchable or is a free agent.
In ex-Raptors news, Jorge Garbajosa has signed with his former club Unicaja for next season. This after he turned down offers from CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid. Not surprisingly, no NBA teams were in the mix.
Have a nice one.
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: toronto raptors, tj ford, Raptors, Brandon Rush, Jermaine O'Neal, Trade Rumours | 5 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 24, 2008
We all know TJ Ford is going to get traded but that doesn’t mean you have to print a picture like this of him in the Toronto Star. It’s like they went through every image of Ford they could find and picked the worse one possible. BTW, I love newspapers - always a day late in their reporting.
The Indiana deal is dead and the reason isn’t the 17th pick, its concerns over TJ Ford and Jermaine O’Neal’s health. Fair enough, both sides would’ve done this deal with an element of reluctance and fear of coming out on the wrong side of a gamble. On the surface TJ Ford’s injuries seem to be less chronic than Jermaine O’Neal’s although both are probably one play away from having their career’s killed, but then again who isn’t.
TJ Ford and Leandro Barbosa are also on the Knicks radar according to Donnie Walsh who wants to get himself a new PG on or before draft night. In the same story we’re told that Jorge Garbajosa might sign for CSKA Moscow - good luck to the lad. Also according to this article, Anthony Parker is said to be considering Olympiakos and has their offer “in his mind”. Now I’m not one to cite another blog as a “source” but here goes anyway: Delfino is also said to have interest from Europe. Don’t put it past his agent to cook stories up just to increase his worth on the market. Also, the Raptors are apparently anxious to “revamp the roster”. This paragraph should suffice for the BS portion of this post.
According to Michael Grange there was no “next Jamario Moon” to be found at this year’s free agent camp. Tamar Slay and Rod Benson picked up some cred but as far as being invited to training or summer camp, no luck there. Yet.
Dave Feschuk tells us that Matt Bonner’s getting married in Toronto but the story is inappropriately titled “Return of the Red Rocket” when it really should be “Return of the Red Rocket because he’s getting married here and then returning to wherever he’s playing now”.
Our man Brandon Rush leads off USA Today’s look at the best young guards in this year’s draft. The more I read about him, the more I want like him on this team. He seems to be a guy who appreciates the prestige of playing in the NBA and won’t get caught up in the “playing in Canada” bullshit. His knee injury has given him a very fresh perspective on basketball and has made him into a truly hardworking player, not just someone who relies on talent exclusively.
Chris Bosh is pumped up for the Beijing Games, great, just don’t get injured. That would seriously suck and put a damper on the season. Even if he tweaks his knee just a little, that means 10 games without him which means at best a 2-8 record.
Thanks for swinging by.
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: Raptors, tj ford, toronto raptors | 8 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 23, 2008
Update: Deal goes down!
The Indianapolis Star is reporting. This is also confirmed (copied?) by Doug Smith.
Obviously we’re taking a big gamble if this goes down but I’m all for the proactive nature of this deal, once again giving up the #17 pick hurts but I wouldn’t be terribly upset at this move. O’Neal’s game tally over the last four seasons is 44, 51, 69 and 42. Not exactly iron man numbers but sometimes you have to be willing to take a risk to make the team better. O’Neal (when healthy) does provide front-court scoring and rebounding which is welcome on the Raptors any day.
Trading away the #17 pick doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t get a shot at Roy Hibbert or Rush, another trade could always be engineered to grab a pick. However, given the limited number of resources at BC’s disposal, its going to be hard to get back in the first round after we lose Rasho and TJ Ford. Again, giving up Rasho is understandable since the salaries must match (O’Neal makes 20m + for two more years) but that #17 pick doesn’t sit right. As I’ve said before, there is some talent in the teens this year.
This trade will also make O’Neal the highest paid Raptor. Anyway, while the trade rumours are swirling there’s also talk of the Raptors going big in Thursday’s draft. Nicolas Batum is out of the picture and if the article is to be believed, so are CDR and Brandon Rush. To be honest, there’s absolutely nothing worth believing in any media outlet including newspapers, radio, blogs or TV. Nobody will tell you what they’ll be doing in the draft (makes total sense) and there’s no point in mulling and losing your hair over smokescreens.
Here’s a fact though: the Warriors have to make a trade by June 30th if they want to use the 10M exception they received in the Richardson deal. Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins are off-limits which leaves the Warriors with hardly any trade pieces. With Baron Davis firmly instilled as the franchise player and Pietrus and Barnes free agents, there’s nothing the Raptors would like from that roster and TJ Ford would be a hard sell there.
More workouts scheduled on Monday D.J. White, Vlad Kuljanin, J.J. Hickson, Josh Duncan, Ryan Bell and Jaycee Carroll.
Chris Bosh makes Team USA, this means Tyson Chandler got squeezed out. I’d much rather see him rest and be fresh for the season because as a football fan I’m all too aware of injuries suffered to players on international duty which prevented them from fulfilling club obligations. On the other hand when your country calls, you better answer.
Kosta Koufus is compared to Andrea Bargnani.
Later.
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: Jermaine O'Neal, tj ford, toronto raptors, Trade | 16 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 22, 2008
The free agent camp continued yesterday but so far no reporter has covered the proceedings. Check Smith’s or Grange’s blog, maybe they got something. Eric Smith tells us of some of the things he saw. There’s also this scrum interview with Marerresse Speights. I know I’m reaching to get the Raptor fill for this post.
How would you feel if the Raptors drafted Kosta Koufos or a player of that caliber? If we don’t have a shot at drafting a decent college player (CDR, Rush, Lopez, Greene, Batum etc.) and are forced to look at he second tier of players, I’m all for re-igniting the TJ Ford + #17 pick for Boris Diaw. The only argument against that trade is giving up the pick but if we’re going to be throwing it away anyway, why not just use it.
There’s a piece on Canada.com which talks about players not showing up for workouts. Donte Greene drops a nice little quote:
“Not to name any names, but I’ve known a couple of guys who have had guarantees and were sitting in Madison Square Garden [on the evening of the draft] looking [stupid] because they didn’t get picked. Guarantees, I’m not too big on guarantees. It’s nice to have one. But I wouldn’t sit on it, that’s for sure.”
The article also brings up an excellent point about Greene’s one-on-one defensive limitations because of Syracuse playing zone defense almost exclusively. It’s a valid point but that’s not a reason to not draft him, if a player is a good athlete, has quick feet and willing to play defense, he’ll end up being a good defender in the NBA. College experience can only help, never hurt.
Very nice read in SF Gate this morning about teams’ “trickery and deceit” leading up to the draft and how everything anyone like Jim Kelly or raptors.com or anyone else associated with the organization says is pretty much all bullshit and smoke screens.
Here’s a sign that newspapers are a dying medium, they’ve having hot or not contests.
That’s all I got.
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: Jim Kelly, Kosta Koufus, Raptors, Sunday Shakedown, toronto raptors | 7 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 21, 2008
Good Saturday Morning!
The Raptors extended qualifying offers to Jose Calderon (no agent, fired him) and Carlos Delfino which means they have an intent to resign them and want to have a shot at matching any offers made to either player. This makes perfect sense for Jose Calderon but it’s a little surprising to see Carlos Delfino get the same treatment. The Raptors probably have a salary in mind for Delfino and unless he signs an offer-sheet at or below that number, they’ll let him walk. He is a serviceable backup at the 3-spot and with Joey Graham more and more out of the picture, Delfino and Moon look to be the second line at the SF position. This of course assuming we get a starting 3 somewhere through draft/FA/trade.
The Boris Diaw for TJ Ford + #17 better be horseshit because if we are actually considering making that trade it tells me that either Colangelo has a soft spot for the Suns or that TJ’s value is so low that any package not involving our pick will get us nothing. With Garbajosa gone, we do need a versatile forward that can rebound and score but giving up the 17th pick in a deep draft might be paying too much. A straight up swap for Diaw is far more acceptable and probably something even Colangelo feels is fair, hence the smoke in the first place. Porter’s fondness of TJ Ford stems from his stint in Milwaukee and he’s seen what we’ve seen - potential. He feels he can get it out of him whereas we’ve given up.
Now if you throw in Leandro Barbosa as part of trade talks, that changes everything. The Portland Trailblazers are looking at him and might be willing to give up Martell Webster and the 13th pick. The Suns (much like the Raptors) are also trying to upgrade their SF spot and are looking to be in the hunt for Richard Jefferson, Josh Howard or Gerald Wallace. The pick of that group remains the slasher Jefferson that could use a change of scenery and some distance from the plague that is Vince Carter to fully recognize his potential. I believe he’s a perfect fit for the Raptors. There’s also Ron Artest but if he’s going anywhere it’s going to be the Lakers.
Speaking of Boris Diaw, every time his name comes up I think back to Bill Walton’s insane commentary in the Suns/Lakers game - check it out. It has something to do with Beethoven and the Age of Romanticism.
The guys from NBA TV break down the Raptors draft and say that the time is now for the Raptors and that the rebuilding process better start showing some results. They also take Jose Calderon over TJ Ford and like Jamario Moon as a bench player. Finally they point to Bargnani as being the key to the Raptors and how he needs to pay back some dividends - Rick Kamla is still a believer in him and if he’s a believer, so am I. The general consensus seems to be to take the best player available at #17 and not draft by position, something I totally agree with.
There’s a piece in the G & M about how the Raptors are helping out Basketball Canada in many different ways. One of the reasons cited for this cooperation is Bryan Colangelo’s “deep respect and passion for the international game”.
Nicolas Batum failed a stress test which is the reason why he didn’t participate in our workout.
Later!
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: bill walton, boris diaw, bryan colangelo, Raptors, ron artest, The Saturday Morning Post, tj ford, toronto raptors | 4 Comments »
Posted by Arsenalist on June 20, 2008
More workouts yesterday as Roy Hibbert and Donte Greene showed of their game. Nicolas Batum called in sick even though he had taken a physical on Wednesday, the Raptors hope to reschedule something with him before next Thursday but its going to be tough. Eric Smith did a blog about the workouts although he’s not saying much. The man with the mic happens to be Jim Kelly and he talks about everyone there including how teams make promises. You can also choose to read Doug Smith’s article which is basically a transcript of Kelly. Interviews with Roy Hibbert and Donte Green here.
Last week I linked to an article which said that Brandon Rush was Phoenix’s top target, today there’s news out of Houston that the Rockets holding pick #25 are trying to move up to snatch Rush. Where there’s so much smoke, there’s fire. Rush has had tremendous workouts and has garnered praise from across the board, even more so than CDR. The only reason to pass him over is because of his previous injuries but he seems to be completely over them. Get ‘er done, BC.
Back to the workouts, Roy Hibbert felt he had a good workout and thinks that the management couldn’t have asked for a better workout in terms of getting good perspectives of players. He says no NBA office or even players check draft boards like Draft Express or NBA Draft because they’re “comical”. He’s also very proud to have graduated college.
Derrick Rose wants to play in Chicago which would mean the Heat have to look for a PG elsewhere. Blah blah….can the draft happen already so we can stop with these stupid articles. Juan Carlos Navarro is returning to Spain instead of becoming a free agent, the Grizz will still make a qualifying offer just so they have first shot at him if he does ever return. He got more money in Spain than he did here, can the same be true for Calderon?
—
Did you know that I get mail too? Tons and tons of it, most of it are tempting Viagra deals but if you set your filters just right, a Raptors email might sneak through. I’ve collected some of them over the past few weeks and have finally decided to answer your call:
Q: Arse, your blog sucks, you don’t know dick-all about basketball, you have no access to any NBA or Raptors insiders and have absolutely no authority to speak about basketball. And what kind of a stupid name is Arsenalist you dumb turd. Get a life and shut this nonsense down before you make even more of a fool of yourself. - Butcher Manson, Toronto, ON
A: Thanks for the email Butch, I appreciate it. I can’t really argue with you about any of the points you make. All I can do is present a weak rebuttal: I’ve watched every Raptors game over the last decade and have the ulcers to prove it. I highly doubt I understand the game anymore than you, all I hope to provide is a fan’s perspective and a forum for other fan’s to talk some ball. Sure, you’re not going to find breaking news stories here but at least you’ll get an honest perspective of the Raptors without it being defiled by employer obligations, loyalties to players, coaches or management or all the other cursory censorship that goes on when talking about athletes in the spotlight. Also, I hope you get AIDS.
Q: It’s June 17 and the draft is coming up and many teams are holding tryouts. What about the Lakers and Celtics? Are they holding tryouts or must they wait at the end of the final. If they must wait, isn’t it unfair to them since they don’t get as much time to prepare? - Chad J, Mississauga
A: How the f*ck should I know? Have you tried using Google to navigate your way all the way to Lakers.com or Celtics.com to figure this out? Don’t ever email me again and stop coming to my site you dumb c*nt.
Q: I rite from Italy (Forza Bargnani!). I not you like how hate Bargnani hes grait playr in Italy and vill be grait in NBa, beter than KoBe and more good than Lebran. Raptorz shud traid Bosh (he ovary-rated) and give minutes to Bargnani to be good. Antonio Cassalini, Milano, ITALY!
Thanks for your email Tony. Just to let you know you have a better chance of conveying your thoughts if you just write them in Italian and use Google Translate to do the trick. It has to be better than whatever you’re spewing here. I’ll humor you though, Bargnani has more to prove in the NBA than any other player. Yes, let that last sentence sink in your skull. He has to earn his minutes on the team through hard work, dedication and commitment, nothing will be handed to him and if he doesn’t step up this year, he’s a gonner come summertime.
Q: There is a distinct way that I watch the NBA playoffs once the Raptors are eliminated. Essentially, I try to see what each team does differently than the Raptors that has allowed them to advance deep into the playoffs. So my question is this, what is the most distinctive characteristic shared by the Lakers and Celtics that the Raptors currently (and glaringly) lack? My answer? Above-average perimeter defence. - Chris B, Toronto
A: Chris, I’m shocked that after watching four full rounds of the playoffs you came to the conclusion that the difference between the Raptors and Lakers/Celtics is above-average perimeter defence. I’ll point you to their roster and you’ll notice the Lakers have Kobe and the Celtics happen to have Pierce, Garnett and Allen. Don’t waste your time analyzing basketball, I believe there’s a lawn that needs mowing.
See ya!
Posted in Raptors, Sports | Tagged: toronto raptors, Doug Smith, Roy Hibbert, Mailbag, Donte Greene | 12 Comments »
