“Internationalized-est” isn’t a word, you say. You are right—at least for the time being; but Give Bryan Colaneglo a month or two and I bet he could spin a deal with Merriam-Webster’s and even get them to toss in a future draft pick or cash considerations.
Yep. The Toronto Raptors General Manager is just that crafty, and after winning the NBA’s Executive of the Year Honors in both 2005 with the Suns and 2005 with the Raptors, Colangelo laughs at those who say Yao’s absence will diminish the NBA’s international appeal. Now that he’s gone out and signed Rasho Nesterovic and traded for Marco Belinelli in the last few days, the Air Canada Centre may want to hand out atlases instead of programs. Hmmm…that could work.
Ok BC is a smart GM, he signed Jarrett Jack (who’s Bosh’s friend from college). BC went and got Belinelli who is great friends with Bargs. Since Bargs just signed an extention BC wants to keep his core players. Yes, they may have overpaid for Jarrett Jack but if that keeps Bosh happy, then he has a better chance to resign him in the summer. Belinelli is still young and cheaper than Delfino. This is a solid team and has a better bench than the Kings starting 5
Belinelli posted a career-high 27 points in a loss to Atlanta by taking 21 shots, including 10 heaves from beyond the three-point arc.
His defence is suspect and his shot selection, at times, is questionable.
The kid is 23 years old and when one watches Belinelli shoot the basketball, his form is clinical. But people in this market should be more realistic and objective when it comes to his impact as a Raptor.
He has the potential to spread defences because he has the potential to make perimeter shots. The wise move for the Raptors would have been to address defence, rebounding and toughness, the tenets of basketball that produce long runs in the post-season.
Belinelli addresses neither.
The fact the Raptors acquired Belinelli from the Warriors for basically cash is commendable.
Almost by default, Belinelli becomes a rotation player because there isn’t much shooting coming off the bench.
Belinelli is not only less talented than the rest of the other Warrior players at his position, but less talented than about 95% of the guards in the league. He got beat out for playing time fair and square on a 29 win team. What does that tell you? He’s not a very good NBA player.
Still awful soft with leaders like Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, but should be much more exciting to watch with their brand of European basketball. Will likely be better at end of year than start.
Belinelli is the lucky one. He’s moving from a team that had great talent but that clearly won’t win to a team that needs him literally. Golden State had just drafted a PG, Stephen Curry, whom everybody thinks will play shooting guard, a team that has enormous relationship issues, that had like 13 scores but no one to distribute the ball to maintain all of them happy and that has a coach who can blow up any minute and decides he had enough what means that the blame will be eventually on the players. In Canada, Belinelli is necessary right away. The Raptors upgraded their team with Hedo Turkoglu but lost both shooters, Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono, which mean they have minutes available for him, besides he’ll have the opportunity to play with a compatriot, Andreas Bargliani, what is also good when you are in a foreign country. They way they improved and the way that other teams did not, playing in the East, Toronto has a real chance to make the playoffs.
Rasho Nesterovic – Raptors New (and former) Centre joins the Morning Show from Slovenia to talk about his return to Toronto, what to expect from him this season, and his thoughts on the roster.
It certainly seems that the Raptors were the beneficiaries of a questionable roster move by Golden State. It makes me wonder why the Warriors backed out at the last minute on a trade deadline deal last February which had Joey Graham and his expiring contract heading to the Bay Area for Belinelli – yet now accepted a scrub in Devean George for Belinelli a mere five months later?
That was a strange situation back in February. Apparently Belinelli was so convinced that he would be a Raptor in a deadline deal that he was cleaning out his Bay Area apartment and telling all his friends he was heading north to Canada. Then suddenly, the deal was off.
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26 Raps
Andreas Bargliani? Uh, ok
Man that guy really gave a bashing to Marco (from Golden State of Mind). Im always welcome to consider someone elses point of view (whether I agree with it or not) but damn does he ever have a chip on his shoulder.
Then again I would to if I followed the Bench Warriors (forget who coined that name the other day) and had Nellie as a coach.
“that guy” from GSoM strikes again. He’s the kind of writer that is wrong even when he’s right. I don’t understand why he spent so much time “writing” about Marco. I’ve read far better (professional and constructive) critiques and analysis in the comments here.
I dont think he ever established himself as a rotation player in Golden State bucause they have about 10 players who all need the ball and shots and play his position, Maggette, Jackson, Monta, azubuike, A- Morrow and im sure im missing a few others. But i guess only time will tell. he seems like a very intense competitor, I really think he will turn into a poor mans Manu Ginobili off the bench for the Raps. Which would be terrific.
Some of these writers really need to proofread their articles. I found so many grammar mistakes and missing words in their article…
From: It’s More Than Just a Game:
“The Raptors upgraded their team with Hedo Turkoglu but lost both shooters, Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono, which mean they have minutes available for him(Belinelli), besides he’ll have the opportunity to play with a compatriot, Andreas Bargliani, what is also good when you are in a foreign country.”
………………….
See …. Canada is a “foreign country” …. and that’s how USian bballers think about Canada too … it’s “foreign” and that’s why Bosh will end up Stateside next year … count on it..!!!
shut-up fool.
Bosh doesnt even know where he will be next year .
mr know it all.
Some of your stuff I grudgingly agree with but … ur kind of a one-trick pony when it comes to this ‘everybody hates Canada’ thing. With all due respect, you need to get out more.
I doesn’t say Canada is a “foreign” country to Americans (which by definition it is), its saying that Il Mago and Marco are playing in a “foreign” country… which Canada is to Italians (just like America, Australia, Japan, Norway etc are.)
Hardcore Raps is right.I meant that Canada is foreign country to Belinelli and Bargliani just like the US would be.
I see where you’re going with this, but Bosh isn’t counting the days down til he leaves Toronto… IF he leaves, it won’t be because of the ‘foreign’ factor… most players love it over here!
This “foreign country” business is mostly built up by the American media market, where their readers/watchers don’t really care about how a Canadian team is doing. Most NBA execs, agents and players know what’s going on in Toronto and respect it in varying degrees.
yea FAQ what they meant was that Canada is a foreign country to Marco…
Glad to be back after a week of not being in touch with any basketball realted subjects. The news of the Bellinelli trade are espectacular. Don’t look at his NBA expierience to judge his talent. Look at his play at the international level. The fact that he actually has experience playing internationally makes him a great fit for this team. He’s a natural scorer, he shots the ball extreamly well and as almost every other international player he’s a graet passer. His basketball IQ is a question due to his shot selection. But in Golden State and under coach Nelson, every player took bad shots. He will find himself in a very similar situation than in Europe, with players that share the ball and a good coach with international experience.
As for Delfino, i think we don’t need him anymore. Yes, we need a back up SF and he can play there. Plus he brings more thing to the table than Belinelli, he’e a better rebounder and MAYBE a better defender. But they are too similar to play together.
What we need now is a defensive minded and rebounder back up SF. Nocioni is the best fit of course, if we trade him for banks POB and Wirght, the Kings will save almost $11 millions in the next year, wich is always a good thing for a rebuilding team. Plus, Nocioni doesn’t fit in the Kings plans. The only concern about him is his salary.
If not, we should go after Ime Udoka, is a defensive specialist at the SF, is much cheaper than Nocioni (actualy he’ll sign for the vet minimun), and can hit the 3 point shot as well. Of course, he’s not nocioni but it’s good as a Plan B.
One last thing about Belinelli, i think he won’t start at the SG spot but he will finish games. Derozan starting is the logical choice, He would play the role of ariza in LA, defending the oponent best wing player. Playing with bosh turk and jose will making him better. But at the end of the game, you need your best 5, and belinelli right now is much better than derozan
Belinelli will not finish games at SG over J.Jack or DeMar. That’s just not going to happen. He could not get minutes on a 29 win team. What makes you think he will be our go-to guy at the SG when we have a proven 6th man in Jack? Much better than Derozan? Are you Belinelli’s cousin or something? Belinelli will be option 8-10 in this team this year. Please temper your enthusiasm.
I like the Marco trade just as much as everyone else… but we do need, as EarthJuice said, to temper our enthusiasm. We have yet to see where Marco will fit in, what minutes he will get, etc. Its not like we don’t suddenly have a gluttony at the SG position.
I also wanted to mention:
“Don’t look at his NBA expierience to judge his talent. Look at his play at the international level.” – I don’t want to knock international ball, but it is definetely different than NBA ball. I would say you need to look at his NBA experience and potential rather than his international play. In all reality a good international player does not translate into a good NBAer, just like a good NBAer doesn’t translate into a good international player.
IMO Wright should be the starting 2 rather than Derozan because he is much better rebounder and defendar at the off guard spot. Benlinelli won’t be either starting nor finshing games for us he will be a more 2nd quater reserve or a guy who finishes a quarter. I dont expect to see Belinelli to be getting more than 20 min a game and I not expecting the world of him.
I personaly dont like the Nocion (like him but not his contract). I could see wright getting more burn at the back-up three spot and in limited minutes Derozan to. BryCo should try to add a another big. With the trade for Benlinelli I see no point of adding another wing (unless delfino takes a 1 year deal).
I am a big fan of the Ime Udoka move, if we can make it happen. Tough guy, good defender, hard worker and I think experience with a team like the Spurs is to be valued.
I think he will sign somewhere for the minimum, but I’m not sure how compelling TO might be for him, or whether he is even on the Raps’ radar.
lol im moving to united states. fcuk this.. i cant stand more euro white guys..even tho i am..but i love my basketball..and whats right for the team is HARD U.S basketball with EURO/South American talent. Dirk is the MAIN guy in Dallas..but how many other euro/south american Big ROLE players does he have? lol J.J Barea? .. Yao in houston..who does he got? Scoula and…….
TORONTO WILL NOT BE VICTORIOUS.
KINGS HAD SUM EURO/WHITE TALENT way back..but they had leaders in C.WEBB, BIBBY, CHRISTIE, FUNDERBURKE, B JACKSON, JIM JACKSON etc etc..
So Please, im not being RACIST or hating because i am from Italy.. I am White.. call me white boy..but this Decision from BC is uterly stupid.
About the Kings: I think Divac and Stojackovic were more leaders than Christie, funderburke, and the jacksons. Don’t forget turk was there too.
About an Euro as the main guy. I don’t care, it’s not the raptors case. Actually i think international players are much better supporting cast than americans. Look at Turk in orlando, Pau in LA, Parker and Manu in SA, Kirilenko and Okur in utah, Varejao and Ilgauskas in Cleveland, Scola in Houston, all of them are succesful playoffs teams. So calderon, Bargniani, Turk, Bellinelli and Rasho will be great together without the pressure of being what amircans call the Superstar or the Franchise player. And the main reason why they are better in that aspect is because in europe there isn’t one franchise player and 14 role players around him. They’re all equally important to the success of the team, everyone in his role. The most important players to a basketball team are the ones that can make everyone around him better, and we have two (Turk and Jose) and possibly four (Bosh and Bargs) of them in the team.
What i like the most about this roster and the quality of the players BC is bringing is that the entire group will be much better than his parts. That’s what basketball really is and that’s what i love about the game.
One thing is sure to me, the ball movement of this team will be the best in the league and i can think only four teams that are good at that: Orl SA LA and Boston. That’s more than 5 championships in only three teams
I can’t completely endorse your statement here but I agree fully with the fact the Raptors need some more HARD players. That’s why they should bring back Pops, although he’s not American either… but he brings that hardnose, ferocious, energetic type of basketball. We need to balance out all this skill and finesse with an element of rawness. He doesn’t need to drop 12 a night, but he’s more offensively capable than Evans.
I don’t understand why everyone are forgetting about Wright. He was a starter in Dallas. I would rather have a previous starter from a good team who is lock down defender to finish my games over a rookie and a bench player who rarely saw any minutes on a terrible team. No offense to DD, he is just not ready yet.
Wright was not the actual starter, you’re forgetting Jason Terry was the Sixth man of the year and that he played almost all the minutes at the SG position. Plus even Gerald Green and JJ Barea started at the SG last season in dallas. Wirght was the starter for just a part of the season, in his the first year at dallas after the jason kidd trade he was glued to the bench, he never played
Calling wright a starter is the same that calling Ginobili a bench player because he didn’t start games. Everyone knows manu is one of the top three players of his team and no one considers him a bench player.
The same with ariza as the SF having odom on the bench
Wright had about 25 min a game (more when terry was out) and he was very sold good defender and his hard worker, those are two things the raptors need the most. He is also tough and played much better in Dallas than I thought he would. If he improves his shot and slashes more he could very useful to this team (and theres basically 0 pressure on him unlike in Dallas and NJ). Wright is one of the underrated acquisitions for the raptors this off season.
Seeing as none of us are named Jay Triano (Jay are you on here under an alias?) there’s no point on taking too much time speculating who’s starting/finishing calibre and who will be getting the SG minutes. All I’m saying is I like the options and diversity the Raps have at that position… This is my order of preference for the moment… DeRozan, Jack, Wright, Belinelli, Douby, (Banks??)
Re the GSofM piece…Iam willing to at least entertain the possibility that MB like AB labored under the dominating eye of Nelson (as did AB under Mitchell). New scenery, new/different coach attitudinally at least in Triano may set the guy “free”. After all he wasnt an 18th pick because he had no tools. I would assume the scouting at GS is pretty good at the SG position considering the competition at that position. MB was considered one of the best shooters in his draft and his defensive deficiency maybe can be chalked up to the lack of D in the GS system (which is probably why there are conflicting reviews of some of his games) or the more team oriented d played by Euro teams. Hopefully Iavaroni can institute a system to elevate this area with the Raps.
This said I digress but have to mention that I am completely mystified with the Kapono (MB is a bit of a clone but much younger, cheaper and better defensively/athletically) signing at the time (at midnight no less). Wonder if that was a BC evaluation or someone else.
Some of these articles need better editing… Or at least revise and read over… Too many grammatical errors to count.
Anyway, I actually think that Belinelli is probably our best overall SG. I think that Antoine Wright will be starting because of his defense but Jarret Jack will be finishing games at the 2 spot, but Marco Belinelli, at the Shooting-Guard spot, is better than Antoine Wright, Jarret Jack and DeMar DeRozan. For that reason, I think he deserves 20 minutes a game… He is not our prospect like DeRozan is, he is not a good defender like Antoine Wright is, but he is our best SG. I think our lack of small-forwards would be a good place to dump DeRozan’s minutes, because we have too many SG’s to devide minutes to. Jarret Jack should play off the bench for PG/SG, and should finish games at SG. DeRozan should get 20-ish minutes, most of time at the SF as should Antoine Wright.
Here is what I think our Rotation Management should look like:
STARTERS:
PG: Jose Calderon, 34
SG: Antoine Wright, 20
SF: Hedo Turkoglu, 35
PF: Chris Bosh, 37
C: Andrea Bargnani, 33
BENCH:
Jarret Jack, 22
Marco Belinelli, 18
DeMar DeRozan, 18
Reggie Evans, 13
Rasho Nesterovic, 8
Roko Ukic, 2
BENCH WARMERS
Marcus Banks
Quincy Douby
Patrick O’Bryant
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