According to league sources at least five NBA teams inquired about Parker in the lead-up to Thursday night’s draft, where Toronto took DeRozan ninth overall out of the University of Southern California.
The five teams to ask about Parker, a free agent on July 1st, include San Antonio, Boston, Phoenix, Cleveland and Oklahoma City. While their intensity of interest might vary, it’s clear Parker will be able to find work and perhaps a multiyear deal in the NBA should he choose after his three-year, $12-million (U.S.) contract expires on Tuesday.
Given the Raptors have made a qualifying offer to Carlos Delfino and have pledged heavy minutes to DeRozan, it’s not clear how much they would want to spend on Parker in a back-up role.
As important as all the athletic talent and confidence that DeRozan brings and all the lessons he learned from the who’s who of the NBA, the fact that he targeted Toronto as a preferred destination may prove to be just as pivotal as he attempts to make the jump from college freshman to the pros.
Toronto is not DeRozan’s consolation prize. It was his first choice.
He views Toronto as a perfect fit for his talents and not even the cold winters that he has heard so much about, have discouraged him from opening his arms to his newly adopted city.
"I feel like I am in the best situation I could be," DeRozan said. "At this point, I feel there was no better city to go to. Toronto is a unique city. A lot of people underestimate it. They don’t know how beautiful it is and the type of atmosphere it has. That’s why I’m glad to be a part of this."
Marion can shock everyone by signing for the veteran’s minimum, in his case approximately $1.3 million, for a chance to win an NBA title.
As good as he would look in Toronto, imagine Marion lining up in Orlando alongside starters Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard.
There are so many possibilities, but few answers.
How long the Raptors will have to wait on the Marion decision largely depends on the pace of next week’s free-agent frenzy.
Perhaps Marion’s camp will realize that all that exists is the $5.5 million mid-level exception, a number the Raptors easily can exceed.
The Raptors need a small forward and Marion fits the bill — but at what price?
If Marion has no intention to return, but would like to maximize his earnings, does it make sense for the Raptors to agree to a sign-and-trade?
The Raptors will find out soon.
The answer will tell a lot about exactly what kind of team they will be.
DeRozan’s parents were with him in New York for Thursday’s draft, offering the support they’ve always given.
"I love to see the enjoyment my family got from seeing me do this," he said. "That’s one of the major parts that made me enjoy that moment (Thursday) night even more, they were there to see all my hard work pay off and I did it for them."
The Raptors hope the hard work pays off not only for his family but for them, too. DeRozan’s biggest strength right now is his athleticism, a trait sorely lacking on Toronto’s roster last year and adding him eases one part of the job that president and general manager Bryan Colangelo has to finish this summer.
"(With) the plans we’ve been talking about … it’s one more piece of the puzzle," said Colangelo.
From what I can gather the Raptors were working hard to try and make a deal lower in the draft when they saw that both Johnson (16th to the Bulls) and Jrue Holiday (17th Philadelphia) were sliding somewhat, but the cost was too steep. There was also an effort to get into the second round to pick up Derrick Brown (40th, Charlotte), with the asking price in the millions. Better to keep that powder dry for free agency was the thinking in the end.
********
First impressions of DeRozan, based on his just completed media availability at the ACC: Mature, poised, smart, nice, friendly. Now, those are obviously very preliminary impressions, but first impressions do count, and DeRozan passed with flying colours.
But I have to think that Bryan Colangelo really did come away from the NBA draft with mixed feelings because as much as DeMar DeRozan’s athleticism and upside is intriguing (check YouTube) and he’ll be fun to watch, he doesn’t likely make the Toronto Raptors better this season. My guess is until his game is polished there will be immense traffic accident potential every time he has the ball. At any rate, I’ve said all along that the Raptors need a more commanding presence at point guard than Jose Calderon (certainly more of a risk-taker) and I know there are people in the organization who feel that way, so for that reason I have to think Jonny Flynn was their guy, despite all the pre-draft quibble. We’re going to spend all year doing the ‘Whither Chris Bosh?’ thing but make no mistake: the point is going to be a position of much conjecture, too. The draft solved nothing in that area.
"DeMar DeRozan is going to establish himself as a player who’s different than Vince," Colangelo said at a news conference introducing Toronto’s first-round pick, selected ninth overall out of the University of Southern California.
"Those comparisons are fun to make, they’re easy to make because of the athletic attributes, but let’s see what DeMar DeRozan can become, in terms of the best basketball player possible.
"He’s got the right attitude, the right mentality, we’re going to have the right coaches around him … He’s got a chance to be special, but let’s let him do it on his own time."
Fair enough. It is a lot to ask of a 19-year-old to move from Compton, Calif., to Toronto and fix all that ails the Toronto Raptors. So let’s get this out of the way now: He’s not Vince. He won’t be Vince. And really, that’s probably for the best.
Video: Draft Review
#9 Toronto Raptors DeMar DeRozan Grade: A-
This is possibly the best pick the Raptors could have hoped for. DeRozen is freakishly athletic. Will be a key piece in forcing Chris Bosh to consider staying, If Bosh leaves, Toronto has a solid component to build around for the future. NEXT YEAR: if they keep Chris Bosh, this should be a playoff team in 2010.
I just mentioned that few players in this draft have more upside than Jordan Hill; and DeRozan might be one of the few. He is an electrifying athlete that can virtually jump out of a gym, possessing a verical leap of over 40 inches. He got off to a slow start at USC, but finished like a freight train garnering all kinds of attention in the process. He averaged 13.9 point and 5.7 rebounds at SC. DeRozan still has a lot of developing to do physically and needs to improve his outside shooting (16.7% 3PT-Shooting). He is an extremely long athlete capable of posting-up other shooting guards or flying by small forwards. Overall, DeRozan gives Toronto a much-needed scorer with explosive potential.
ShareAs I’ve discussed many a time in the past few days, the DeRozan pick is going to take some time to grow on me. It sounds like the kid is going to work his heart out and is extremely excited to be heading to TO, two huge first steps, however I’m not sold. I worry about the time it will take for him to have an impact, if he has one at all, and still feel like there were other options for Bryan Colangelo that would
have had a more immediate and definite impact.
However I hope I’m wrong.
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58 Raps
Please god, do not allow the raptors to field a starting lineup featuring Calderon, Bargnani and Turkoglu. Bosh would need to average at least 20 boards per game.
Well if he doesn’t, then he’s obviously a talentless loser who prefers music to basketball and is a giant soft-cock
LOL, I am also hoping that it’s not Calderon/AB/Turk in the starting 5 (along wit Delfino–yikes). Hopefully (if Marion doesn’t sign) we’re getting someone like Ron Artest… For colangelo’s euro fix, I say he work harder at bringing over Printezis lol
If DeRozen blossoms, and the Raptors sort our a way to get him involved, his upside alone should be entertaining to build a future around. If they sign Turkoglu, i think it would be a grave mistake.
The last thing the Raptors need is a streaky player. They need some who can be strong and consistent in the paint.
Calderon needs to up his conditioning, as he clearly dropped out of site for significant stints playing big minutes.
Wow….dead on. Agree with every point, 100%
Why are people so hard on Hedo? yes he is a streaky shooter but he has so many other amazing abilities. Passing, ball handling, court vision, basketball IQ, rebounding, defense. He is a triple double waiting to happen each game. He has veteran experience (especially in the playoffs), has proven himself to be a clutch player (even before this year). He is also one of the toughest players in the NBA to match up against (6′10 but could easily play pg). Ignoring an opportunity to sign Hedo at the right price would be the biggest mistake.
defense?
because watching an entire career would be ridiculous… just watch Orlando’s playoff games this year….. yeah defense.
Um no. As was said, he’s a very streaky shooter. He had a pretty subpar year overall, and his lack of rebounding on this team would be devastating. A team featuring Turk and Bargnani in the starting front court, neither of whom can crack 10% in total rebound rate, would get butchered on the boards nightly. Calderon obviously can’t make up the difference, so we’d need a rebounding monster at the 2 just to break even.
Marion is a MUCH better fit at the 3 spot with Bosh and Bargnani, despite him not even being a natural 3.
does anyone really think they’ll sign hedo? i don’t. i think demar and delfino starting on the wing is more likely.
if derozan starts it will likely be at the 2 and there’s still a chance delfino doesn’t come over and we go for someone else with that salary. we’ll just have to wait and see what goes down.
But it won’t be Bargs/Bosh/Hedo/Parker/Calderon. I can’t see that after all that BC has said about toughness and perimeter defence.
maybe he takes the gamble with starting hedo and derozan at the wings? we can sign a combo guard like ronnie price along with delfino off the bench, and re-sign joey graham – that would make our wings pretty tough and athletic.
ideally i’d rather stay away from hedo and try to sign artest. maybe do a sign and trade with marion?
Resign Parker to play backup PG and some minutes on the wing. Resign Marion to start, and use the MLE to go after Linas Kleiza and Rasho.
09-10 Raptors
PG: Calderon/Parker/Roko/Banks
SG: DeRozan/Delfino/Douby
SF: Marion/Kleiza
PF: Bosh/Evans/Humphries
C: Bargnani/Rasho/O’Bryant/Jawai
Rotation of Calderon, Parker, DeRozan, Delfino, Marion, Kleiza, Bosh, Evans, Bargnani, and Rasho seems like it could be competitive and has the ability to create a bunch of match up problems.
16 players? In this economy? I’d rather invest in fewer but better two-way players. If Parker was able to play the back-up point, we would have won more games last year.
Apparently I can’t add, Jawai clearly needs a year in the D-League or at least a training camp. I don’t think Douby’s contract is guaranteed either so he’d be a candidate to go.
Parker was never really a backup PG last year, he had to play some games as a starter but unless I’m wrong I don’t remember him backing up the PG spot. I liken his skill set right now to that of a Derek Fisher.
Fisher… without the leadership and toughness. Which is just about all he has left.
Those who think DeDe can and will start for the Ratpors should expect him to get subbed out after 5 minutes or less of play in the first quarter … and not see the floor again until well into the second quarter if at all.
Why nutbars think a raw college freshman rookie can step into the Ratpor starting lineup and play NBA bball is equally amazing …!!!!
holy shit, this ain’t the ‘86 celtics here. he’ll have plenty of opportunity to see significant PT…whether that’s a good thing remains to be seen.
lets just see what happens
gotta agree with Yertu on this. what have they got to lose by giving him playing time? Is there someone else that is significantly better on the roster?
Can everybody here assure me that DeDe will be any better than say Joey Graham or Parker?! Everybody seems to have such great hopes for DeDe all without him having played one minute in the NBA.
Btw .. notice how the top teams are planning to trade top players … while the Ratpors are mired with their uninspiring roster of proven losers? Maybe BC should start the rebuilding this season by trading the only player the Ratpors have who is of interest to other teams .. Bosh. Pull the trigger and then pull the plug .. the Ratpors need an enema fast.
sorry, which ‘top teams’ are trading (or planning to trade) their ‘top players?’
look, i don’t think anyone believes DD is gonna come in & make this team substantially better on his own. whether he’s ‘better’ right now than graham or parker is irrelevent.
I expect him to have a rookie campaign similar to Dwayne Wades. He thrives in the open court– let’s just wait and see how they develop the offense around him. I’m sure Alex English will play a crucial role in his development.
i agree. play the kid as much as you can to develop him the excitement of him alone will keep everyone happy..
mooj, i love that lineup with klieza and rasho backing up bargs and marion. that feels like solid depth to me..
feels like ‘top-10 pick in 2010 lottery’ to me…
I think if DeMar DeRozan will avg 28-30 min a game, he’ll be fine. I also think he’ll get his points because if we do run, he will have enough opportunities to score in transition. As for half-court game, I think he’ll have more plays for him as season progresses. So this brings me to defence. He’ll need to work very hard on defensive side. He was solid defender but I think he has to improve his defensive awareness and fundementals. He showed a lot of potential when he faced James Harden twice. Game 1 DeMar scored 22 pts, while James scored only 4 pts. Game 2 DeMar scored 25 pts, while James score 10 pts. This shows that DeMar is up to challange of guarding players who are equal or better than him. There is no doubt that his upside is limitless, but it will take some time for him to develop. So hyping him is fun, but you’re setting yourself for disappoint.
As far as Hedo concern, I don’t think Colangelo should sign Hedo. Yes Hedo has great basketball IQ, ball-handaling, and is streaky shooter, but so is Anthony Parker and arguably Carlos Delfino. Hedo will be liabilty on defence, while Marion is player who can guard his position and rebound. Marion can teach a thing or two about defence to DeMar.
althought i like hedo, he was in a perfect situation in orlando to thrive. in our system he won’t have the same effectiveness. we neither have the glass cleaner nor a last line of defence of any kind.
bc has to resign marion because he is the rebounding small forward we need for our offensive minded front court. marion, dero, bosh, barg can run, caldy is like the slowest one. they are banking that calderon gets healthy and takes more risk in transition and then go to his normal ways when in the halfcourt.
then to create balance you toss in delfino and see what his potential is when playing steady minutes. i remember in that season he was here, when he had lines of 10-5-5, we usually won the ball game. i had him on the fanstasy at one point.
we are better than last year if we resign marion, delfino, and already have evans and dero on the roster, but still very far from the top three. we will only have a chance against those teams in the regular season if we outscore them.
I’m sorry to see AP goes if that is what happens. I feel like he still deserves a spot on the roster, I don’t really understand why so many people think he is on a serious decline.
Turkoglu isn’t a good enough rebounder to start beside Parker at SF. If we keep Marion then Turkoglu’s rebounding wouldn’t be as big of an issue, but the only way we would be able to get him would be with the MLE, and that isn’t very likely.I would really like to resign Parker for 2 years at 2.8 mil a year as a backup PG, how does this offseason plan sound?
Resign using bird rights: Pops, Delfino, Parker, Marion
Trade Humphries to Milwaukee for Bogans
Sign Rasho with the LLE
Release Jawai and Douby
Bargnani, Rasho, OBryant
Bosh, Evans, Pops
Marion, Bogans
Delfino, Derozen
Calderon, Parker, Ukic, Banks
Dress everybody except for Banks and Obryant. There is still one roster spot open and the Raptors still have the full MLE. I would look for a SF to spend it on, but it doesn’t look like there are really any unrestricted free agent SF’s worth signing. It would be smarter to look next off season.
I’d rather have demar starting instead of delfino…I really like having Marion cuz hes a really good rebounding SF which is great to have beside a below-average rebounder in Bargs. He can also cover the best wing on the other team the pierces and the wades of the east. Demar i think will average around 15 ppg wit like 30 mins of playing time. I think this is how the linedup should be next year:
PG: Jose Calderon, Roko (he should be better this year)
SG: Demar Dorozen, Parker (can play point if im wrong about roko)
SF: Marion, Delfino
PF: Bosh, Evans, Hump
C: Bargs, Nesterovic
Release Douby, O`Bryant, Pops(evans can do everything pops can do minus the occational ill-adivised jumpshot), Try to trade Banks and keep jawai in the D-league
I dont see how that lineup is in any way better than mine.
Or mine, I really think whoever we bring in with the MLE could be the most important piece to next year’s team.
Linas Kleiza for me, Restricted FA.
That’s a lot of outgoing salary there, I doubt you’d be able to use much of the MLE without getting into tax issues. Jawai’s contract is guaranteed anyways, he still counts against the cap if you release him. He’s staying, which is probably the end for Pops. The guy really only had 2 good games.
Sorry, out of order. My replies haven’t been working lately.
If BC gets Turkugly, he will have to get rid of Calderon, because the two could never play together … and it would be a coaching nightmare …!!!
dero is a highschool phenom, would have been drafted str8 outta compton if it wasn’t for the 19 age limit rule. joey graham played four years (i think) and used more of a power game in college. that’s why i think dero is thought of as different. He is a different player, but needs to get smarter, something joey still hasn’t been able to do. lets see what happens…
If we signed Hedo, I don’t think we’d have the money for Marion, Ap or Delfino. Like, literally, it’s Hedo, or those three guys (provided Marion resigns for a reasonable amount, otherwise sub him for Marion’s sign and trade equivalent). Turk is pricey, and I agree that without D12 in the middle covering him, his defense and poor lateral movement would be exposed somewhat.
I think the biggest xfactor going into this season is probably Roko, strangely enough. If he magically has become a legit backup pg, we are a vastly improved team.
To the stupid SCHMUKS stating HEDO is not a good rebounder..
are you guys serious? lmao,
#1. Howard gets himself 13 PLUS boards per games..sum nights 20 boards
#2. Rashard Lewis (6′10) gets himself 6 PLUS BOARDS
#3. Back Up big’s get BOARDS,
#4. There Gaurds and forwards get BOARDS
so HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT HEDO to get boards…
I mean like, if you think about it.. your guys same judgement should be placed on Lewis.. “He should be able to get 9 Boards per game”
GET THE F#*K OUTTA HERE.. lol
If HEDO comes here, HE WILL INFACT HAVE MORE BOARDS. because our team is crap at rebounding..and he would BE AN ADDITION to the rebounding issue.. Atleast on the DEFENSIVE end.. hes not a good offensive rebounder…
and I’ve been watchin Hedo back in KINGS and SPURS..and a bit last 2 years.. DUDE IS clutch and not very Streaky at all.. i mean, BEN GORDON is STREAKY..VC nowadays is Streaky.. Hedo gives you a solid 15 PLUS EVERY NIGHT.
and NO, i am not the on the bandwagon for bringing him in to the Raptors’ like sure i dont mind it..BUT he is not young ENough, hes 31 i believe..
this is exactly the case with Hedo (although I can’t say I agree with him NOT being streaky). He is a player who is overlooked year after year and yet he is always a part of his team making the playoffs.
I’m not saying bring Hedo just for the sake of bringing Hedo… but if he can be had at the right price… it would be a mistake to turn it down.
He’s not called the Michael Jordan of Turkey for nothing..
Turk wants 10 mil; a year for 5 years…do the math
Hedo’s TRB% has always been around the same, whether he has been in Sacremento, San Antonio, or Orlando it hasn’t changed much. So before you go around calling people stupid shmucks, maybe you should know what you are talking about. Maybe if you did a little bit of research you wouldn’t be so unknowledgeable..
In fact, taking into consideration the huge spike in his USG since coming to Orlando, he is actually rebounding better than he ever has in his entire career right now.
Hedo has never cracked 10% Total Rebound Rate in his ENTIRE career. There you go. Likewise, Rashard Lewis has barely cracked that 10% mark.
These two players just aren’t prolific rebounders, which makes playing them next to Dwight Howard a good fit.
I am starting to believe more in Derozan. I don’t think he’s just a slasher who can dunk. Joey Graham, Gerald Green are far inferior players.
1. Graham was supposed to be our defensive enforcer but he sucked at it. I see Derozan as a better defender, although most rookies have a hard time on defense (calls + learning angles).
2. Derozan is a Trevor Ariza who has a mid-range game that reminds me of Josh Howard, potentially (NEVER VC caliber). If we run, he’ll get opportunities in transition to not only slash and dunk, but to especially pull up for the jumper.
3. I see a killer instinct in him that I don’t see in “nice guy/jokesters” ala Graham, Moon and every NBA guard at the end of the bench.
He can be a steady contributor for us. If we win enough with the talent around him, he can enjoy personal accolades. But if we don’t win, there is no way he’s good enough to build around in case we trade bosh. So, let’s stop the VC 2.0 hype right now, please.
I agree, DeRozan seems to be smarter than JG and has a much better feel for the game. The comparisons to Gerald Green are stupid as DeRozan actually has a desire to become a really good player in the league.
If you feel so strongly that the big Turk will be the center pole holding up the tent once Bosh leaves ,I’m, sending out an sos.
If you are refering that I called individuals stupid scmucks,you are wrong,all I said was do the math ,obviously you havent.
I didn’t even reply to your comment, what are you talking about? Im saying he isn’t a good rebounder, learn 2 English.
Fantacizing … delusions … hope … desperation … imagination … dreaming … all about DeDe … good luck
WTF are talking about nobody said DeRozan will be VC right away but that he would thrive better in this situation.
Just wondering is there any free-agent PGs who we can sign to the MLE (and be worth it)
*WTF are you talking about
Veteran guards can’t ‘thrive’ in Toronto … and nobody seems to play up to their potential. Poor coaching perhaps ???!!!!
So DeMarr is “Veteran guard”. He would Thrive because he would be given a long leash by Triano and have ample playing time. Also if this team plays more up-tempo that would benefit him.
On a Croatian website. It said Ukic had recieved an offer to play in Europe (Greece) next year for around 3 million a season…
Why not sit back and relax to see how this works. B.C. can flex his managing muscles any time he wishes. I would like to see this new 09-10 Raptor squad together.
frankly, I can’t believe I’m reading an Hedo bashing show now…
the guy just take orlando to the finals…can score,pass brilliantly, he’s a walking missmatch (like bargs)
IF we can get him, that would be great! then we’ll figure out how to best use him.
I love hustle players…but BB is not just hustling…otherwise will be called “wrestling”
Hedo would be a great addiction. better than marion? I don’t know, less defense, more offense, but another go-to guy…a good thing if we don’t re-sign (ru-paul) bosh
I BRING YOU THE CORE OF THE 2009-10 TORONTO TOILETS (per Hoopshype):
Chris Bosh — $15,779,912
Jose Calderon — $8,219,009
Andrea Bargnani — $6,527,490
Reggie Evans — $4,960,000
Marcus Banks — $4,464,000
Kris Humphries — $3,200,000
Patrick O’Bryant — $1,620,000
Roko Leni Ukic — $1,450,000
Pops Mensah-Bonsu — $1,000,497
Quincy Douby — $855,189
Nathan Jawai — $736,420
TOTALS: $46,092,020
——————————
Now with the addition of a few filler players, this team should provide Moronto tribal honking fans with delictable delights with their hoop talent. KABLOOOEY!!!!
p.s. DeDe is not shown on the roster because he hasn’t yet signed his rookie contract … and perhaps hoping to be traded away from this obvious mess.
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