Bryan Colangelo insisted all along last season that he liked his Raptors roster. So I went on vacation and he blew it up real good. Have to be impressed with the quick work done by the Raptors GM — which puts the team into playoff contention, but still nowhere near Orlando, Cleveland or Boston in the East
Bargnani is a kid who right now is an above-average player in which I will be a superstar soon. He’s an amazing player to watch with his stupendous abilities for his position. He can shoot and rebound, but it’s not like every NBA center. His shooting is just too good.
His best season was just last year as he had averages of 15 points and five rebounds per game. He’s been doing very well so far and in his short career, and has a very long way to go. Watch out for this kid, he’s looking good.
As for the Raptors article, I think many people believed I was a big Raptors-hater but I wasn’t deliberately trying to imply that. Although I did say nothing but negative about Toronto, I think I have changed my mind a bit. Although I still believe Toronto won’t make the playoffs next year, I did mention the year after that. I totally messed up on some parts by leaving out other Raptor stars like Andrea Bargnani. And now with Jarrett Jack, I do see them as a playoff-contender now. I really don’t know but I think they’ll be nothing better than about the seventh seed.
The Toronto Raptors have left Las Vegas after completing their NBA Summer League run. But their coach is sticking around for another week.
Jay Triano will oversee the USA Basketball minicamp at Valley High School beginning Thursday. Twenty-five players will participate with the hopes of being invited back to Las Vegas in 2010 as Team USA prepares for the FIBA World Basketball Championships in Turkey.
"I think we want them to get an understanding of what the national team represents, and we want them to understand the international game," Triano said of his primary goals for the three-day camp, which will culminate with the USA Basketball Showcase intrasquad game Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. "I want to keep it similar to what Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) does and keep it as simple as possible."
The decreasing cap means little personally to James, Wade and Bosh, especially if they re-sign with their teams. What it can do is crush any hopes they might have of playing somewhere together, because a cap in the low $50 million range would make it difficult to afford two maximum salary players and fill out a professional roster around them.
But if that’s going to convince them to stay put, would they decide to do it now?
The All-Star trio can receive three-year extensions, tacked on to the two years left on their current deals, for a total value of about $95.2 million through the 2013-14 season.
If they opt out of their deals next summer and re-sign with their current teams, they would be allowed to sign six-year contracts. That would earn them $125.7 million through 2015-16. Signing with another team limits deals to five years with smaller annual raises each season, giving them a top value of $96.2 million.
First of all, Jarrett Jack doesn’t have to start to give his team production in the NBA. He has only started a full season once for Portland and a few games last year due to injuries to a point guard controversy following injuries to TJ. During Ford’s absence, Jack flourished with the chance to get quality minutes averaging over 15 points per game. In my opinion, Jack will do a great job replacing Calderon if he gets injured or coming off the bench as a spark plug. I can pretty much assure you that the point guard controversy will not follow Jarrett to T-Dot.
He will be able to offer leadership to a team with young players such as Bargs or D squared (my new nickname for DeRozan).
Turkoglu was one of the NBA’s best last year, as he is an outstanding shooter who causes a lot of match-up issues. He is one of the two biggest difference makers in this deal. Geoge and Wright each bring strong shooting and defense to their new team.
DeMar DeRozan: DeRozan showed why he was the Raptors first round pick this year averaging 17.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, and 0.8 spg in 32.6 minutes a game. DeRozan struggled from beyond the arc but the Raptors knew that when they drafted him. On the other hand it seemed like he could get to the rim whenever he wanted and look every bit the high flying guard that we thought we were getting. DeRozan should be the 6th man for the Raptors for the majority of his first year in the league, developing on the bench while providing a scoring boost when he is put on the court.
Toronto doled out big dough (four years, $20 million) to Jarrett Jack, a reserve, but the Raptors hope it helps keep Chris Bosh in the fold. The Raptors are operating under the assumption that the Pacers will not match their offer sheet this week. Jack and Bosh were incoming freshmen at Georgia Tech in 2002 and played one season together. … Shawn Marion’s new deal in Dallas is for $39 million over five years, with bonuses that can get him over the $40 million mark. …
