After signing Monday with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Parker believes he has a legitimate shot at winning his first NBA title.
"For me it’s always about who really saw me fitting in with what they’re trying to do," Parker said. "Cleveland has been that team from the beginning. They showed the most interest and pursued me the hardest. It just so happens they’re also a team that’s contending, which is even better. It was a fit all the way through."
But Howard, who was the league’s top defensive player last season after winning an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. men’s team, also saved praise for the Raptors and Turkoglu. He admitted that losing the 30-year-old Turk would hurt his team, and said the versatile 6-foot-10 forward would help his close friend Chris Bosh, Toronto’s franchise player.
“I think they’re going to be a contender this year,” the 23-year-old said of the Raptors, who missed the playoffs last season. “[Turkoglu] has helped my game in the past couple of years to get where it is today. … Hedo is a great piece to fit in their team, with his style and his ability to get to the basket and create for others.”
Still, at the very least, the offer to Jack should not hold the Raptors’ other business up too much.
They still have the bi-annual exception, worth about US$2-million per season, which remains unchanged regardless of what will happen with Jack. The Raptors will likely use that on some frontcourt depth, possibly Rasho Nesterovic, who has stated his desire to come back to Toronto.
The Raptors are also looking to bring back their own restricted free agent, Carlos Delfino, whom they can re-sign with no regard to the salary cap. However, they will likely wait until the Jack deal clears – or not – so they know how much money they have left beneath the luxury tax to spend on Delfino.
Raptors vs Trail Blazers Hilights
DeRozan’s hasn’t done any serious spending yet.
"I’ve bought my parents a few things, furniture and stuff like that, but I haven’t really splurged on anything yet," he said, smiling.
The "toys" he spends most of his time with these days are his Twitter account and his Nintendo Wii console.
DeRozan (DeMar-DeRozan is his real account) keeps his followers updated on his workout – "I’m in the gym, lifting" – and eating – "At Benihana" or "Just got a French vanilla cappuccino" – and encourages responses by starting a campaign for Raptors fans who follow his account to coin a nickname for him.
He hasn’t decided upon one yet "but I’ve got some good suggestions, like `DeMoralize,"’ he said, smiling.
Ah, to be young and just be embarking on life as a pro hoopster …
In the piece today with Jack, Watters had the balls to ask Jack how much of raise he was getting as a result of the Raptors offer sheet, Jack, actually answered the question!(about three times what he made last year!). I can almost guarantee you that very few reporters have ever asked a player that type of direct question on the air. Fewer have ever answered it. Jack talked candidly about his relationship with Bosh, that he joked with Bosh that Bosh better be here for all 4 years of Jack’s offer if it holds. He talked about Bosh adding bunk beds to recreate their dorm room form Georgia Tech.
Jarrett Jack Interview (audio)
Although former Wolves forward Sam Mitchell has been frequently linked with the position, ranking as a longtime favorite of team owner Glen Taylor, sources said Mitchell has not been summoned to interview for the post, with Minnesota believed to be intent on hiring an up-and-coming coach from a lower salary bracket than Mitchell’s after a stint with the Toronto Raptors that included NBA Coach of the Year honors for Mitchell in 2007
Accompanied by his coach (Joan Ramon Tarragó), Jose Manuel Calderon has initiated today in his first trip to China to promote its new sportswear brand, LI-NING. José Manuel spend almost a week touring several cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, and doing promotional events for LI NING.
there’s a lot of people out there saying, if we get J. Jack, Rasho and Delfino back… all of a sudden, the Raps are title contenders. The Raptors still need to get a really good guard, unless DeRozan turns out to be a superstar which we’re all hoping for in two-three years…
But right now, no way the Raps can win a title without having a superstar, other than Bosh… "superstar"… only team to win without superstars were the Pistons, but those guys are incredible together."
DeRozan finished with 15 points and six rebounds, but connected on just three of his six free throw attempts. It was a good game for him as he continued to look more and more comfortable asking for the ball. A nice surprise is his ballhandling. The guy has a nice handle and when he’s in the open court he is dangerous.
22 Raps
Listening to the AM640 Jarrett Jack interview – is it just me or is Watters a bit of a douche?
Like this ‘Morning Coffee’ thing, btw.
He’s a hockey guy, so that explains a lot.
Sad thing is, he is probably a good example of the character and mindset of non-ball fans in Toronto.
..and thanks for the compliment.
2 good interviews with Jack and pacers blog dude.
You guys do an awesome job keeping us in the know.
Arsenalist may want to work on his intro/closing music a bit.
I still have this bad feeling that Bird is going to shed some salary and match Jack.
Millsap looks like his offer will be matched.
Gortat’s offer was matched.
I am scared but if we don’t get him who does that leave at the combo spot?
Flip Murray and then not much else except Iverson who BC does not want any part of and sounds like he is going to the Clipers anyway.
Not sure why that want to put Eric Gordon on the bench after a promising rookie season. But it is the CLIPERS so logic is usually not put in the same sentence with them.
If Jack isn’t signed, it may be worth the risk to go after Robinson for SG or Sessions (back-up PG). I don’t think Robinson wants to go to Europe and the Knicks may not want to re-sign him if the deal goes beyond one season.
You would think Milwaukee would re-sign Sessions, but you never know with that club anymore.
I’m sorry but I sincerely hate Nate Robinson, the last thing we need is a poodle on the court trying to pretend it’s a rottweiler. Nate Robinson is a poor excuse for a 6th man and the only reason he did well last year was because of D’Antoni’s system.
but d’antoni’s system is quite similar to what our raptors are envisioned to be. plus, nate was already an offensive spark plug even before d’antoni. he just got better, as he was given a definite role: that of a barbosa-type.
i think he will be good 6th man for our team. he could be a ben gordon. he is also a charismatic, tough, energy guy who could be a fan favourite here. and i think, he is the currently the face of the knicks.
but i’m still hoping that indy dont match our offer to jaret jack. jack would be the better fit.
I agree with JY, I like Robinson’s grit and toughness but you get the feeling he’s the type of player that’ll never win anything and will always be on bad teams. He’s a good spark off the bench but its one-on-one freestyling spark, almost selfish in nature. I’d prefer someone of Posey’s makeup who can spark a team defensively, knock down shots, run the break and still not hog the ball. Whenever Nate comes in the game everybody just stops and watches him do his thing, that’s not good for a team.
Agreed about Gordon. If Iverson signs with the Clips, you have to make the call to check into his availability.
er… Gordon’s availability. :)
Ditto on the appreciation on the morning coffee. DeRozan sounds like a good kid and Jack looks to be the catalyst of keeping Bosh….I’m finally a BC believer now.
I think if the Raps sign Jack & Delfino, that DeRozan could see time backing up Turk as the SF on the 2nd unit. I know he was drafted as a SG, but as a young, athletic, 6′7″ player with a long wing-span, I don’t think he’d have any trouble playing SF.
Once Jack & Delfino are signed, I expect Rasho to sign as well. After that, we need to find a way to get rid of at least one of Banks/George/O’Bryant, to free up a roster spot for Mensah-Bonsu (I expect O’Bryant to be cut, given how he’s played in summer league).
We’ll have a pretty good lineup heading into the season.
STARTERS:
C – Bargnani
PF – Bosh
SF – Turkoglu
SG – Wright
PG – Calderon
BENCH:
C – Nesterovic
PF – Evans
PF – Mensah-Bonsu
SF – DeRozan
SG – Delfino
PG – Jack
PG – Ukic
EXTRAS:
SF – George
SG – Douby
PG – Banks
I was also wondering if there’s any chance to do a sign&trade for Kleiza from Denver. I was thinking that BC could offer Wright & Ukic for him, once Jack’s signing has been confirmed. Wright would replace Dahantay Jones as Denver’s starting defensive wiz SG and Ukic would backup Billups at PG.
That trade would allow DeRozan to slide into the starting SG position, with Kleiza backing up Turkoglu at SF. The Raps would still have Delfino/Douby/Banks as emergency ball handlers behind Calderon & Jack.
Why do we want to trade a defensive whiz for a redundant piece in Kleiza (assuming we sign Delfino)?
How is everyone so quick to immediately slot DeRozan into the starting 5? A little insurance there is more valuable than insurance elsewhere.
Skeptics vs. Optimists
It isn’t just about the trades. The players we have coming back from last year (Calderon, Bosh and Bargnani) need to play better than they did last year. The dividing line between the skeptics and the optimists is drawn on this basis, and this basis alone.
The Turk trade was nice. Let us say for argument’s sake, Marion and Turk are tied (we get Turk’s clutch, but lose Marion’s rebounding). We have some depth at the PG so Calderon doesn’t need to play for 40 minutes a game: nice.
But, can Bosh and Bargnani work out their defensive assignments? Can they learn how to defend the pick and roll? Can they front bigger men like Shaq in post, and deny him opportunities? Can Bosh continue his 10 rebounds per game like he did at the end of the season? If Bosh and Bargnani play better, this team IS in the top 4. If THEY do not improve (Bargnani AND Bosh), our team is not significantly better than the squad that won under 40 games.
The skeptics believe that Bosh cannot play alongside Bargnani. The optimists think that he can.
I actually think the dividing line between optimists/skeptics all comes down to which Mr. Bosh shows up.
When Bosh plays aggressively, taking it to the rack and rebounding on both ends, he and Bargnani compliment each other very well. However, when Bosh gets frustrated over lack of calls (respect from officials) and starts falling in love with his 18′ jumper, then he doesn’t compliment Bargnani at all.
Watching Bosh last season caused more stress than any other player on the team, because you never knew which Bosh would show up. It is this inconsistency in his approach that has so many Raps fans calling for him to be traded, in my opinion. If he stayed aggressive game in and game out, this team has a serious chance to compete for top-4 in the eastern standings… if he loves his jumper as much as last year, we’ll be fighting for the playoffs and jostling for position to avoid Cleveland & Boston in the first round!
Hopefully Bosh’s baby mama situation is mostly resolved now, so hopefully the dread-locked deer in the headlights look Chris had last year will vanish also. The Raptors (provided the “kinda” new coaching staff has the off season to set a tone and get Iavaroni’s defensive schemes set) will hopefully find some stability from the start much like the Jays had with Cito from the start this year. Either way it will not be hard to improve on the debacle that was last year.
If the Raps need a scorer at the 2, why not throw a bone to Marquis Daniels?
I think he’s a more athletic Delfino (i.e. SG/SF type that can handle the ball), so I wouldn’t mind it, but I think Daniels’ character issues (or perceived character issues, anyways) might render him the type that Colangelo avoids signing.
The key to next season isn’t the 2 guard , but Andrea. If he can stay out of foul trouble , rebounding at least around 7+ per game and some sort of iso game to put the other centres around the league in foul trouble. I thought last year Triano could had used Andrea in some sort of iso situations but maybe his offensive game wasn’t there yet. Hopefully this coming season his handle improves for his already decent dribble drive.
not to say that two wrongs make a right but does anyone think jack is being overpaid now that a backup center (center…can only play one position) behind Dwight Howard (the focal point of the team…lots of minutes) just got $7 million a year for five years. yeah, he had some fine moments in the playoffs but $34 million?!
Yeah, I think the Magic did it solely so that they could trade him, since there’s he’s fringe-starter material.
They didn’t want him walking away for free, and so I can see him being traded to at least return some value to the Magic
If this is the case, it’s silly, but I can’t really fault em too too much.
But if they actually plan on keeping him? Then they’re straight up just DUMB. They should have just matched the offer at the outset, and then sign and traded for Brandon Bass (who coincidentally, happens to be a Mavs FA).
I guess hindsight is 20/20 though.