Good to be back in Toronto. Word of advice to vacation goers: Sandals is overrated, avoid it like the swine flu. There’s not much going on in RapsWorld other than speculation over who we might draft or whether Giorgos Printezis is finally ready to see the light of day in the NBA. The void left by the Raptors has been nicely filled by the NBA playoffs which have, I’m sure, made Colangelo feel even better about the Raptors. For example, isn’t it great that the Raptors handily beat the Bulls in Chicago twice? The same Bulls that stretched the defending world champs to seven games. Leaving aside the Garnett factor I’m looking at things a little differently. We couldn’t beat the Celtics in four tries and here you have the Bulls pulling the feat in three out of seven games. I’m not sure if that’s an indication of the gulf between the Raptors and the Bulls or how important Garnett is to that team.
DraftExpress.com sourced a ’source’ and ‘reported’ that Triano was a ‘lock’ to get rehired. The claim made is pretty obvious that it hardly deserves its own line in the Latest Web Articles but hey, it’s the summer. The Triano move is the safest and most pressure-free move Colangelo can make. If the team struggles Triano will serve as a ready-made scapegoat, just like Mitchell did last year. I’m just wondering out loud if the team hadn’t had success in the waning month of the season whether he’d return and whether his rehiring will be based mostly on meaningless games. I think the players’ fondness of Triano and his general likability will have had as much to do with it as his X’s and O’s, which were mediocre at best.
Technically Canadian Sam Dalembert and his 24M over 2 years apparently want out of Philly. A year ago he would’ve looked to be a cheaper and viable option as a defensive minded big but with Bargnani’s resurgence we’re forced to sacrifice some interior defense in order to keep the Italian on the floor. It’s a sacrifice that I’m gladly willing to make provided Bargnani puts up the offensive numbers. Not to mention how stupid it would be to repeat the mistake of acquiring another center. The only reason to make a move for him is to watch Leo writhe away in pain as he’s forced to glorify a player he so hates on a nightly basis.
There’s a post here which speculates on the Orlando Magic trying to make a play for Bosh. It works great if you’re building a fantasy team on Yahoo Sports but as the O’Neal experiment has taught us, having more than one big man that demands the ball doesn’t always work out. Since it’s the summer let’s go with it for a second, who would you pick from the Magic in a trade? Let’s start with Lee, Pietrus, a couple draft picks and work our way up to Gortat.
Many here like Trevor Ariza as our starting SF next year and with the Lakers currently having $74M committed towards next year’s cap (Bynum’s contract kicks in) without Odom and Ariza accounted for, they’ll have some decisions to make. I don’t like Ariza, not as a starting SF. He reminds me of a poor man’s James Posey. People say how important Posey was to the Celtics run and that may as well be true, but such players can only function when they’re a properly fitted cog in a far more intricate machine. Look at the impact Posey had with the Hornets – minimal. If we end up getting Ariza as our starting SF we’ll have done nothing more than added another player that can’t create his own shot. If he’s brought in to replace Marion in our up-tempo offense you have to ask which player has proven to play the style better. I’m no Ariza-hater, I’m just saying he’s playing with Kobe, Odom, Bynum and Gasol.
One of our prime need is a wing shot-creator and I’d much rather target someone like Leandro Barbosa or Kevin Martin. If we’re looking into the future and anticipating Memphis’ ability (or lack thereof) to re-sign Rudy Gay, he becomes a possibility. Throwing garbage bags of money at Joe Johnson is also an option. The defense could be helped by the return of Carlos Delfino and if we want to do better, there’s Mickael Pietrus. He isn’t as important to the Magic as he once was what with Courtney Lee turning out to be a player and all.
This is from a day or so ago but did anybody catch George Karl call Bargnani a “poor man’s Nowitzki” when discussing Kleiza? I’m looking at that quote as a compliment more than an insult and a sign that Bargnani’s actually on the radar of NBA coaches as a poor man’s something.
You know how sometimes you want to cry because you feel embarrassed for a person even though you don’t particularly care for that person. Yeah, that’s me cringing at Mike Ulmer dancing. I also find the search for the best Raptors moment this season hilarious. For me it came in Game 1 when we defeated Philly, after that it was downhill.
NBA Playoffs
Watching the C**tics beat the Bulls was quite painful. I thought the Bulls blew the series when they dropped a very winnable Game 5, at that point the script was written for the final two games. I can’t explain it but I would feel great pleasure if somebody, say Dwight Howard, grabbed Rondo by the neck and threw him in the stands. The little runt is a pretty good player but he’s cocky to the point of being reckless. If Brad Miller doesn’t get stitches he probably hits those two FTs and suddenly we’re looking at a different series.
I got ESPN and ESPN Europe in my hotel room and I tell you what, we are missing out here in Canada by being stuck with The Score, Sportsnet and TSN. It’s a shame because ESPN’s coverage of the NBA playoffs is nothing short of awesome and I’m not saying that just because we’re affiliated with them. Best part? Hockey is saved for last. Anyway, I was watching it and suddenly a shocking and horrific scoreline passed on the ticker. Something about a 58 point home loss by the Hornets, I then thought to myself if guys by the names of Chris Paul, David West, James Posey and Tyson Chandler all played for them and it turned out they did. I sat there confused wondering how a professional unit can have their asses handed to them like that on their home floor. Surely they’d respond I thought, but I was wrong, they followed it up with 21 point defeat. Then for some reason I felt a little better about the 39 point hammering we got in Denver. That damn altitude sure does screw things up.
Another Game 7 on Sunday has the Heat playing the Hawks. Either Wade will have 45 points to lead his team to a road win or he’ll have 9 turnovers in a 25 point loss, that’s how he rolls. The Hawks are favored by five and I’m inclined to take them, I get a feeling JO will hoist 20 shots which can never be good. Another betting note: The Nuggets are paying 6/1 for the Western Conference championship. They lost the season series to the Lakers (paying 1/7) 3-1.
We’ll start talking some draft soon including a couple good interviews or so. AltRaps is vacationing this week, we wish him the best of luck at Bikini Boot Camp. We’ll try to keep the posts rolling on a daily basis here, do check the tweeter.
22 Raps
Um…how about we just start the God damn players we drafted for fu*cks sakes for once?!
Is it that inconceivable? That we play Bargnani, Bosh, Graham, (insert filler SG here – hopefully not Parker, but hopefully not Delfino either, actually let’s hope it’s Marion and Graham takes the SG.) and Calderon? It’s not an Olympics year, these poor f*cks were humbled this season and God help us, let’s hope they have something to prove…
This Raptors team is not that far off. Barring a total Vince-like fold from Bosh, I’d like to see a coherent Raptors line-up starting next season – something we’ve never had – and I’d also like to see this absolutley bandwagon-ish, pretentious Southern Ontario fanbase to stick through it. Jesus Christ people, we’re the Toronto Raptors, we’ve won ONE – count that ONE – playoff series in nearly 15 years of franchise history. I’m not saying that this is an excuse for this year’s abomination but seriously…let’s not pretend we’re the Lakers here. Get a team together and let them play. You trade Bosh, we’re DONE. Let’s build and team and see what happens. We can all agree, nothing could possibly be worse than what happened this season. Toronto is the 5th largest city in North America…eventually we’ll win something…uh…Right…?
Nothing would warm the cockles of my heart than having us draft a SG and start him for 82 games but I don’t think Colangelo has any intention of doing so. His recent presser hinted at putting out a contending team for next year and adding a rookie SG to the mix with the existing group of players isn’t a step up. Remember, even he admitted we need a shot-creator at the SG and what are the chances of that coming through the draft?
Kevin Martin is overrated but he’s a scorer and just like Salmons did well in Chicago, I think he can do the same if you surround him with better talent.
Honestly Arsenalist, are we going to replace Marion with Barbosa or Kevin Martin?…actually let’s hope the Raps could land Martin. I have a feeling that dude would explode in Toronto as one of the main scoring and slashing options. Kevin Martin would look great in a Toronto jersey, but of course Colangelo would have to get fleeced in order to land him. Who in God’s name could we trade – without giving up Bargnani or Bosh – to land Kevin Martin at starting SG?
Hmmmm…maybe we could give them Calderon…? These are the things I hope Colangelo ponders.
Pure scorer that has no other skills. Sort of a poor man’s Reggie Miller.
yeah, trade calderon for martin as main pieces…if we can get a PG in the draft. How about flynn or lawson?
They would never make that trade. You people are nuts.
Anyone else interested in finding out who is going to pay Ben Gordon? The finances here dont make sense outside of a sign-and-trade and Chicago has Salmons to replace him and already has 3 starting-quality guards (Rose, Hinrich, Salmons) so someone else is paying him his big bucks… the question is just who?
Also on the “who’s gonna pay them” list is Drew Gooden. Except he might be a possibility here (albeit slight) if he takes a mid-level amount or less and no one else offers him a starting job. He’d definately shore up our rebounding and would make a strong 3-man big rotation…
I wouldn’t mind the raps making a play at Gordon (if we keep marion and still have money). But not for more than 10 mil.
The money situation makes it all but impossible to land Gordon (outside of some zany sign-and-trade) but his situation is worth watching simply because of his odd style/skillset. His strengths and weaknesses are both very pronounced and it makes him a bit of a risk to invest in long-term (as chicago has shown reluctant to do). I’m wondering what team with step up.
I was saying if we did have money left over i Would def. look at Gordon.
Looke like the JO experiment has failed in Miami.
Wouldn’t it be funny if Marion signs with Miami this offseason and then Riley trades JO for a better package then the Raptors got for Marion?! chances are good that this would happen rather then Marion re-signing with the Raptors and Colangelo has a good draft.
Yes sir! Except JO is now a tradeable commodity, a lot like Iverson was last year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see JO end up in Memphis in a cost-cutting move by the Grizz.
Do the Grizz have 20 million on their payroll (excluding Gay, Mayo, Conley) hahah
Marion hated it in Miami he would not go back.. He would sign with Toronto before heading back there.
I couldn’t agree more on that Mike Ulmer dancing comment. I get that he’s trying to play it extra dorky for humour’s sake, but it’s still not enough to offset how naturally awkward he really is. It’s like using flowery spray to try and cover up the odor after dropping a dastardly deuce. It doesn’t really offset the stink, and actually makes it worse.
The goofy hat and rolled up pantleg does not change the fact that he moves like my two-year-old with a full diaper.
Welcome back, Arsenalist. Missed ya.
One wonders how much that concussion was bothering O’Neal for game 7. He looked absolutely terrible but if it’s that bad what was he doing out on the floor anyway? I figured he’d man up and get back in the game but nope. After that performance I for one am very very glad he’s gone.
The VOID of the raptors has been filled by the BLUE JAYS.. Go JAYS GO!
I agree the Jays are really proving to be a team like the Rays last year. I can’t wait to see them play against the yanks or Red Sox with all of the confidence and momentum they have built up. The yanks are a mess already, A-Rod is proving to be a distraction again this year and he isn’t even playing yet. Plus the Jays always play better when they face them. The Red Sox are looking like they may be the bigger challenge. While the Rays look like last year was a flash in the pan, but they could mount something still.
Here’s hoping that Burnett comes back to SkyDome and gets shelled, causing an early exit before the end of the 4th!
COMPLETELY AGREED!!!!@ GO JAYS GO!!!!
Hey guys, please dont delete this post as it has NOTHING at all to do with hoops
The Rays will still be better than the Jays. Tampa just took 3 of 4 from the Red Sox and thats with their lead off hitter BJ Upton hitting below .200.