Raptors Republic – ESPN TrueHoop's Raptors Blog

Linkage for Jun 21 11am through Jun 23 7pm:

• RAPTORS: Colangelo Identifies Five Potential Picks For Raptors
• Colangelo On The Draft Pt. 1 – June 23, 2009 – NBA Videos and Highlights
• Team’s Summer Plans – Atlantic Division « nbaroundtable
• In the NBA, Merits of ‘One-and-Done’ Rule Are Subject to Debate – washingtonpost.com
• Chaun’s Raptors and NBA blog: This is Way Overdue
• Can Colangelo Make It Work In The Nine-Hole, Again? | Jurassic Hoops
• Doug Smith – Raptors have been VERY VERY busy lately
• FAN590 – Bryan Colangelo singles out (in no order) DeRozan, Henderson, Flynn, Holiday, and Johnson in his presser. 1 of those 5 will be a Raptor
• Off the Dribble – One Take on the N.B.A. Draft – NYTimes.com
• Off the Dribble – One Take on the N.B.A. Draft – NYTimes.com
• NBA.com: Teams looking for help on the wing eye Harden, DeRozan
• Dino Nation Blog: NBA Draft Idol
• Understanding the NBA Salary Cap – NetScouts
• Foot on the Line: I am anxious
• khandor’s sports blog » With the 9th pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors …
• Five Significant Toronto Raptors Drafts: Jurassic Park Style! : T.O. Sports
• Doug Smith’s Toronto Raptors blog – Draft is a failure if we get a backup PG
• 2009 NBA Draft: The Point Guards | The Hoop Doctors
• Raptors Draft Needs. | Raptors Rapture The Raptors draft needs greatly depends on what Bryan Colangelo does in the next few days leading up to the draft. Colangelo could attempt to trade Chris Bosh or sign on of the 2009 free agents but until that happens I will discuss the Raptors draft needs as if the roster will be the same as it is now.
• Fifteen Questions with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com – RaptorsHQ.com
• NBA Mock Draft, first edition « To The Tin 9. Toronto Raptors – DeMar DeRozan, G/F USC

  DeRozan has been impressive during workouts and has as much potential as any other player in the draft field.

  Grade: A+ This pick fills a need and gives the Raptors the best player available – the perfect combination for draft success.

• Scouting for NBA draft includes character checks : Sports : The Buffalo News Some teams conduct their own background checks, some use agencies while others use private detectives or someone with a law enforcement or security background. Colangelo declined to say which method he utilizes.

  “I don’t want [the players] to know what I’m asking,” he said. “Every team does it a little bit different.”

  One-on-one interviews can say a lot about a player. One scout, who requested anonymity, said he usually follows a question like, “What’s your girlfriend’s name,” with “When was the last time you smoked marijuana” to try and throw the player off. Flynn has been very impressive during the interview process, which included a meeting with Colangelo during last month’s NBA Combine.

  “It was a great chance for us to speak with him directly and get a good read on him and who he is as a person,” Colangelo said. “You start to formulate an opinion of who he is outside of the basketball realm and that’s all part of it.”

• Rumors and Rants » TheBaker’s 2009 NBA Mock Draft 9. Toronto Raptors – Jordan Hill, PF (Arizona)
  The Raptors can’t believe Hill is still on the board. The third-best big man in the draft, Hill is the much needed insurance policy for when Chris Bosh bolts Canada after this season.
• The Knicks Blog » Mills Mock Draft v4 9 – Toronto Raptors – Gerald Henderson

  Tommy’s been on the Henderson bandwagon for a minute now, and I’m going to hop on now. He can defend and has an awesome midrange game. He’s ready for the NBA right now. Charlotte would love for Henderson to drop to them, but I think he’s moved ahead of Demar Derozan in Raptor land.

• Jawai headlines Boomers squad – All Sport Live
• TheStar.com | Raptors rolling the dice at draft That's not to suggest there's a gem to be found at No. 9 this year. According to a variety of experts and NBA talent evaluators, the draft is thin on all-stars but deep on parity, making it more troublesome for general managers with picks outside the top two or three.

  No one knows – even moreso this year than in others – whether a guy slated to go fourth will be better than someone the so-called "experts" think is worthy of the 12th or even 16th selection.

  And it's not just in Toronto.

• Raptors’ intentions far from clear – The Globe and Mail
• Draft Shindig Part 2 – ” I can dunk like old-school Vince Carter” « Raptors Report
• NBA.com: 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports announced
• NBA.com: Draft preview: Closer look at the small forwards
• RCJ Sports Blog » Mock NBA Draft (2nd edition)
• The Canadian Press: Raptors can prepare all they like, anything can happen on NBA draft night
• The AltRaps Blog » THE EVENING POST – JUN 22
• What to do with Chris Bosh? | Raptors Rapture
• What if the NBA Draft still had Territorial Claims? – Blazer’s Edge
• Hoops Addict » Las Vegas Summer League Schedule Announced
• BDL 2009 NBA Mock Draft: Pick No. 9, Raptors – Ball Don’t Lie – NBA – Yahoo! Sports
• Dino Nation Blog: 3 More Sleeps To Draft Night.
• FAN590 – Drafts and Plugs
• 2009-10 power poll: Maybe next year will be Kobe vs. LeBron | Sporting News
• Armstrong: What will the Raptors do at Thursday’s Draft?
• Doug Smith’s Toronto Raptors blog
• The DeRozan Dilemma – RaptorsHQ.com
• Courtside – Congrats to Canada’s Under-16 squad, bronze medal and a berth in the under-17’s; No more workouts for Raptors
• Toronto Raptors Roster Report 2009-06-21 News Toronto raptors
• The Warriors Rundown – Golden State Warriors blog and fan web site.: NBA Mock Draft: Picks 1-10
• NBA Mock Lottery 1.0 « The Box
• Courtside – Draft roundup: Thabeet’s hurt, skips Memphis workout, Evans breaks down Curry in Sacramento, DeRozan says he can jump higher than Vince Carter Plus I’ll be live blogging the draft
• NBA Draft Shindig part one – Why I don’t want Brandon Jennings « Raptors Report
• Dino Nation Blog: Change Is Not Easy
• Carl English invited to Raps summer league, but probably going to Spain for $4mil.
• Foot on the Line: What’ya gonna do?