I don’t think there is anyone that has been more frustrated and annoyed by Joey Graham than me. I was thrilled when it was orginally reported that Graham could have been part of the T.J Ford/ Jermaine O’Neal swap. But it would be Maceo Baston and not Joey Graham to be put in the deal. I have not understood the amount of support Joey still has with some Raptor fans. Maybe it is his nice personality and his jaw dropping body that would not look out of place in a ring or UFC cage. Not saying Joey should throw away his basketball career and sign up in WWE or UFC. But from a look standpoint he would fit in.
The Raptors did not have a summer league team last summer as they had no need for one without a draft pick. This season they will have a team in the Vegas Summer league and we will likely get to get our first look at “Aussie Shaq” Nathan Jawai. But we will also see Joey Graham. It is rare to see a player that has that much NBA experience that is a roster player get sent to summer league. If this does not send a message to Joey Graham I am not sure what will. Good Joey or Bad Joey is no longer going to be good enough. It will soon be NO JOEY if he does not get it fast. Doug Smith in his blog reported that Graham is likely heading to Las Vegas. But Joey better not hit the strip at all. He better hit the court and show his coaches something.
Things of Note For Week to Come
Matt Devlin will finally be made official on Tuesday of this week and I will be interested to hear from him. I really have a long way to go in being convinced he will be a long term replacement for Chuck Swirsky. The last guy who replaced Chuck on the Radio only lasted one year. That was Paul Romanuck who was with TSN for many years and was at one point their number one play by play announcer for hockey. That fact was part of why he did not last as well beyond having to replace Chuck. Devlin has a great challenge ahead of him in building his own relationship with Raptor Fans. I am guessing we will also know the status of Jack Armstrong as well. Having some insight in that, things for Jack returning were going well the last time I had inquired about it. Leo Rautins also will be back I would think. Both Leo and Jack will be key to me in helping Devlin get over with the Raptor Fan base. Many love Jack and if he is supportive of this guy it will go a long way to helping him stand a chance of lasting. As I wrote when this news broke Devlin was the T.V broadcaster for the Bobcats since they entered the league. He was let go and did not have his contract picked up.
But the big day will be the following day. Jermaine O’Neal will speak to Toronto media for the first time. After the first question of how’s your knee? It should be interesting to hear what his thoughts are on playing for the Raptors and being here in Canada. We will also hear from Bryan Colangelo on a number of things this trade being at the top of that list. Other things will be the re-signing of Jose Calderon and the signing of Hassan Adams and what about Roko Ukic. All will be talked about.
Speaking of Jose a website is reporting he took even less money then first reported. 40 million is the number that was stated. If this is true Jose Claderon gave the Raptors quite the hometown discount for his return. The fact he will be the starter and a trade was made to clear the way for that had to help. But Calderon really and truly seems to love Toronto and the fans to this point have returned that love in boat loads. We may not hear from Jose this week as he is getting ready to play for Spain in the upcoming Olympics. But maybe he will post again on his website. Seems the media gets cut out of the mix by these athletes and their websites. I see nothing wrong with it though, if I was an agent for a player I would see it has a smart move for my client.
Still Looking for Your Mail
There is still lots of room in the Dino Nation Mailroom for your E-mails. As I mentioned on Sunday I am bringing back a Mailbag day for the blog so I can answer your questions and allow you the readers set the agenda for what we talk about for a day. So send those comments and questions to me at: dinonationblogger@hotmail.com
So a busy week lies ahead lots of stuff to talk about. I hope you all will check in on the Dino Nation Blog for all of it. Also Team Canada is over in Europe and I will have an eye on them as well.
UPDATE ( 2pm July 7th)
The Toronto Raptors have released their summer league roster and Joey Graham is indeed on it and here is a suprise for folks. Joel Bosh and yes he is related to CB4. He is his brother. You will only see 11 names, I expect the 12th will be Nathan Jawai. Here is the list courtesy of E.Smith of Fan 590:
(Joel Bosh)
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birth Date School/Country
Hassan Adams F 6-4 220 06/20/84 Arizona
Deji Akindele C 6-10 240 04/03/83 Chicago State
Sean Banks F 6-8 210 01/20/85 Memphis
Rod Benson C 6-10 235 10/10/84 California
Joel Bosh F 6-7 185 03/11/86 Alabama State
Coleman Collins F 6-9 236 06/22/86 Virginia Tech
Daniel Ewing G 6-3 185 03/26/83 Duke
Thomas Gardner F 6-5 213 02/08/85 Missouri
C.J. Giles C 6-11 240 09/25/85 Oregon State
Joey Graham F 6-7 225 06/11/82 Oklahoma State
John Lucas G 5-11 165 11/21/82 Oklahoma State
Raps Summer League Schedule:
July 12 vs Kings
July 14 vs Nuggets
July 17 vs Sixers
July 18 vs L.A Lakers
July 19 vs Warriors
Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Chuck Swirsky, Hassan Adams, Jack Armstrong, Jermaine O'Neal, Joel Bosh, Joey Graham, Leo Rautins, Matt Devlin, Nathan Jawai, Raptors Vegas Summer League, Roko Ukic
July 7, 2008 at 1:42 pm |
hey james, can u give us thelink of where u found the Calderon estimates salary thing, and whens the next time ur doing hte 24 question thing?
July 7, 2008 at 1:49 pm |
I unfortunately did not save the link. It was not a mainstream site. I think it was based in Europe. As for 24 question thing with Mark? I always leave that up to him and when he wants to do it I am always game. So leave him a note over at Raptors Core and see what he says.
Keep in mind as I said in the blog it is only one report but if it is close to the truth 40 million is way under what many feel he could have got in fact the 45 million that was first reported is still likely a bargin price for Jose. 2 days from now we all will know the REAL numbers
July 7, 2008 at 2:29 pm |
nice entry on Graham. I agree with your points. If he can ever put together his athleticism with some better BBall IQ, then he could be an impact player or at least a good backup. Who would have thought 2 years ago, that Stephen has a better chance of sticking in the league than Joey ? My main problem is that every year he talks about it being “his year” where he’s going to prove the doubters wrong… it’s been 3 years, and he’s just about out of options.
July 7, 2008 at 2:44 pm |
Good Joey or Bad Joey, Time is coming for NO JOEY if he does not wake up. Added update with Raps Roster for Vegas Summer League and Schedule/
July 7, 2008 at 11:26 pm |
hey lets just hope that joey is on the summer team to showcase him to have him shipped out
July 9, 2008 at 1:30 am |
Well all i got to say is we got ripped off in the deal with T.J Ford and Rasho I wish we kept Maceo Baston A.K.A (The Eraser in College) i liked him back in the day when he was with the Raps kinda reminded me of Keon Clark but thats beside the point what the Raps gave up for J. Oneil wasn’t worth it they should have given up some one else to sweeten the deal like i dunno….Marquis Daniels or Joey’s Bro it just didn’t sit right with me from the get go just looking at what you get from T.J Ford at point and RASHO!!! YOU GIVE UP RASHO!!!! After the great season he had??? Sigh…..>_< All i am saying i hope this ain’t Another the DREAM deal and you Know who i am talking about (hint he played for the ROCKETS)
July 9, 2008 at 1:39 am |
For those who didn’t get the Reference Dv8 is talking about the ill fated Vince Carter endorsed/demanded signing of Hakeem The Dream. As to the rest of what you had to say. Part of the reason is to match the salaries. If the Raptors were going to acquire any major contract (45 Million is Major) Rasho had to be part of the deal. The fact that Raps will have Cap Space in 2010 will be very important long term as I mentioned when this trade first took place. I agree with you in the sense O’Neal may not have been worth it in the Short term. Maceo was a bust and never worked out. Keep in mind I am a Michigan fan and that pains me to say. Lastly I have not seen comment from you before so I am guessing you might be a new reader so welcome to the Dino Nation Blog.