A busy day lies ahead so let’s get you set for it. First thing you need to know is the reason we waited till July 9th. The NBA has announced the cap numbers for the 08/09 Season. Check it out Below:
Now I went into media studies to avoid math so bare with me. But I will attempt to explain to you some CBA stuff. I have been reading up on the CBA. I want to thank Paul Jones for hooking me up with the info for me to study and consult. I think people are at least aware of the term Mid-Level Exception. For this season it has been set at roughly 5.5 million dollars. But even though teams are entitled to use that full exception it is not protected from Luxury Tax. Why this is important is that the Raptors salaries are somewhere around 70 million for the upcoming season. The Luxury Tax kicks in at 71.1 million. This would mean if the Raptors went to their full exception they roughly would be 4.4 million beyond the Luxary Tax. Meaning they would be forced to pay another 4.4 million to the League and that is not something Raptors have done in past or plan to now based on all accounts.
This is why Maggette,Pietrus and others were not and will not be on the Raptors radar. It is unlikely the Raptors will sign a major free agent basically because if they do as explained above they will be over the Luxury Tax. Even if that one site that was reporting Jose Calderon to have signed a deal at only 40 million as opposed to 45 million. It would have little impact on the Raptors cap in the short term. If the Raptors are going to add another major player it likely will come during the season via trade.
What the Raptors did do was sign Hassan Adams for 2 years. Adams was one of the guys that was part of the Raptors free agent camp that last year produced Jamario Moon. If Adams is able to have half the success of Moon the Raptors would likely be thrilled. Adams was a late second round pick of the New Jersey Nets out of Arizona.
Now on to today. What will Bryan Colangelo say about his big trade. What will Jermaine O’Neal have to say to the Toronto media. How bout Jose Calderon how does he feel after getting everything he asked for. We should find out all of these things today. The Raptors as I mentioned in the update yesterday will be having two press conferences today scheduled for 1:30pm and 3:30pm. At these events it is expected they will officially announce the re-signing of Jose Calderon and the trade for Jermaine O’Neal. It is almost like having a press event to talk about the Christmas gifts you got in Mid-January. NBA FIX THIS NOW. Sorry had to say that one more time. I think we all agree this system sucks. Let them talk David Stern.
So if you have Raps TV you can likely catch these press events live. If you don’t you might be out of luck. The Score would be your best bet on regular T.V. Sad that when the Leafs hold a presser on anything all three major sports networks carry it. Raptors seldom get the same attention. But regardless of if you can or can’t see it I will be doing updates through the day to keep you informed. I will also give my first impressions on what is said.
Also just a couple more days to get you mail in to me for Mail Bag Day. Maybe after today people will have some new questions. So send your comments and questions to me at dinonationblogger@hotmail.com
Check back later today for updates from Raptors press conferences. From..So J.O how is you knee… To… Jose what are you going to do with your new money.
UPDATE #1 11:30AM
I have known about this for awhile but have kept it to myself but now that it is about to be announced and Doug Smith already has it in his blog already. Jack Armstrong is not only back but you can expect to see more Jack on T.V. Jack Armstrong has been a great friend to this blog and I sent him an e-mail with my personal congrats as well as from all of you folks. SO HELLO!!!!! is not going the way of Salami and Cheese and that is a good thing. More News to come as Raptors Press Conferences are later today. SO WELCOME BACK JACK!!!
Once Jack has the time I am sure he will stop by and talk with us about his return and the new look Raptors. I always enjoy having Jack be a part of this blog and are very lucky to have him anytime he can make time for us. Jack has a history with Matt Devlin and I will explore that next time we have a chance to talk.
(Update # 2- O’Neal Press Conference 1:30)
First up will be Jermaine O’Neal presser. Info to come as it happens. Raps TV is only network covering it at this point. Here we go and The Score is picking this up as well.
Bryan Colangelo: Welcomes O’Neal and Wife. He mentioned O’Neal history. He calls the deal the number 1 rated deal the Raptors had for T.J ford.
Sam Mitchell: Says he is excited to coach Jermaine. He said he has been watching old tapes of Robinson and Ducan with the Spurs. The East is getting tougher and he feels this trade will help the Raps be better.
Jermaine O’Neal: Thanks Management. Says he has been welcomed by Raptor Fans. He looks forward to the chance at a fresh start and want to work hard and compete for a Championship.
Exicited about the chance to play with Chris Bosh and forming a tandum like Ducan and Robinson.
O’Neal said his knee got worse by playing through pain. He decided to have surgery on the knee and feels he came back to soon after it was done. He say he feels good and that his knee is healthy and has had no set backs since this off-season.
Colangelo: Raptors Doctors cleared him and they have no concerns about Jermaine going forward.
O’Neal: O’Neal talks about his leadership role as part of the Pacers. He says that he can only do so much and players as indivduals have to take responsiblity once they leave the gym.
They have to work together as team(Raptors) and acknowledge when various players are having good nights. He feels that Bargnani will be a key for the team. He thinks that he can get tougher and grow.
You have to think about your team mates and he thinks defense will be key to the success of the team and he thinks his addition can improve the defense.
Building to a Championship starts from day 1 towards a championship. He talked about when his Pacers were in the Conference Finals and what that took.
He acknowledged that this is Chris Bosh’s Team. He said he is not concerned with who’s team it is. He has been through a lot and is not concerned about that. But for the record it is Chris Bosh’s Team
He played on a bad knee for 2 and half years. He said he is not 100 years old. He is closing the books on his time in Indiana and is looking forward to a new day with Raptors.
He once again mentioned Andrea and Chris and it being a force.
Colangelo: Mentioned the leaving of Chuck Swirsky and the Hiring of Matt Devlin that was announced earlier in the day.
So that was a basic outline of what was said. I have to say O’Neal seemed very prepared for this. He has had a lot of time to get prepared for it after all. But still I was impressed with how he took the issues head on.
O’Neal One on One With Paul Jones: He talks about what he adds to the team that they did not have last year. He has talked a lot with Chris Bosh and Sam Mitchell about defence. He credits Isiah Thomas for helping him grow and developing mental toughness. He has got to play with many great players and he is excited about getting to work with Bosh.
So where was I? Like I said O’Neal seems very ready to turn the page and start a new chapter here in Toronto. He really seems to have a great deal of happiness to leave the Pacers and all of the issues he and they went through behind him. So the Raptors are trying to look to the past to advance the future. It seems very clear that Sam Mitchell has a vision for this trade and it may lead to some interesting changes in how they go at it on both ends of the floor.
Matt Devlin is debuting on Raps TV and chating with Sherm and Paul Johnson. He was impressed with how fans were able to get to game 4 last year despite the transit strike. He hope to be in Toronto a long time.
Sam with Paul Jones: Thinks that Jermaine is ready for great things. He is very excited at what this team could do. He feels that O’Neal can help with the leadership of this basketball team. He want O’Neal, Bosh and Calderon to be vocal and lead this team.
Think Sam said the word EXCITED as many times as Allen Iverson said Practice in that famous press conference. It is clear that Sam was in the loop on this trade and has been working hard on how to make this trade a success.
Colangelo With Paul Jones: 3 offers were on the table and few others that were in the works. He also mentioned they are excited about Nathan Jawai. He thinks this will address the defensive and rebounding concerns of this club. Helps other Raptors be able to do more and have less pressure. He thinks Jermaine can help in the development of Andrea. He thinks that O’Neal having had to sit and wait early in his career will make him someone that can help and relate to Andrea.
So that is it for the JO Press Conference. See you in an Hour For JOSE.
Update TRES (3)- 3:30pm Jose Calderon Press Conference
Well I am back for Jose Calderon signing press conference. Raps are running late as this was set to start at 3:30 pm. Ok here we go Jose sporting the suit. Score and Raps TV has it.
Bryan Colangelo: talked about Jose and his skill and his wanting to stay in Toronto. He reference the situation of him and Ford and commended both on how they handled it given the circumstances. He called him the Starting Point guard.
Sam Mitchell: Talked about his relationship with Jose on how he has grown in his time here. He is happy he has worked to the point where he is at as Starting point guard. Congratulated him
Jose Calderon: Talked about his effort to improve. He talked about how Toronto feels like home team him from when he first arrived and he looks forward to building towards championship
He says the fact Ford was traded was not a big thing to him.
Colangelo: Jose restructured his contract so the Raptors would not go into the Luxury Tax. Colangelo called that his first assist already.
Jose: He talked about differences between Europe and the NBA and how he has worked to improve. He want to improve in ever aspect of his game. He want to get has good as he can. He wants to continue to work
He did not ever consider other teams based on his comfort here in Toronto. He wanted to be here.
He thinks O’Neal is great and he is excited about the prospect of playing with Bosh and O’Neal
Dissappointed about Garbo being gone but he says that Garbo is happy and thus so is he
He never saw the team as his or T.J’s and he said nothing is personal about things. He has not talked with Ford since trade.
he was asked about how he can help Roko Ukic he basically said he will just work like he always does
Sam: He said Ukic will have the chance to get minutes if he can earn them. He commended Jose on his team first approach. He says he doesn’t have to yell at Jose anymore and he feels that they have a good undersatnding between each other. He also said the Raps would look for a combo guard to add to the mix as well.
Nothing really unexpecting out of this press conference. Lots of praise for the positive aspects of Jose. Even the point of restructuring his deal to allow Raps Cap flexibilty and not putting them into the Luxury Tax. It is clear to anyone that Jose is a team first guy and ultimately that is why he remains and Ford did not.
Gherardini with Paul Jones: Talked bout how Jose has grown and he went on to talk about Jose playing for Spain and winning a championship helped him get to a level where he understood just how good he was as a player.
Jose With Paul Jones: Talked about his new role as more of a leader for this team. He said playing for Spain they have 3 point guards and he is not worried about it. Jose talked about his comments in Spain. He said that he just wanted to take the next step and he said it was never a case of him demanding to be the starter it was a case that he wanted to be. But if T.J had remained that did not mean he would not have been back.
Raps T.V is said to be having a one on one sit down with Jermaine O’Neal and no time was announced. The interview will be done by Raps New Play by Play guy Matt Devlin. Devlin also has a blog up on Raps. Com
With that I am off to process all of the Events of Today. I may do a recap of everything tonight…. if not tomorrow.
Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Gherardini, Hassan Adams, Jack Armstrong, Jermaine O'Neal, Jose Calderon, Matt Devlin, NBA Salary Cap 08/09, Paul Jones, Raptors Offseason 08, Roko Ukic, Sam Mitchell
