Dino Blogger Thoughts For A Tuesday In September

Score one for the little guy. No I am not talking about my Dallas Cowboys win last night. America’s Team is far from the little guy. The Dino Nation Blog was right about the Pre-Season coverage of the Raptors based on the Matt Devlin Interview. Doug Smith had this to say in Today’s Blog From Toronto Star Website:

Oops, I have to correct a mistake here the other day.

Seems RaptorsTV will be showing the four home pre-season games and the big tilt in Edmonton against Denver. And, if the past is prelude, somewhere on a satellite the games in Los Angeles will get on the tube, making it seven of the eight available for viewers.

So, yes, you can see delightful NBA pre-season action if you subscribe to the network.

And anything on there is better than another Miami-New York playoff game.

My humblest apologies.- Doug Smith Toronto Star Sept.16th

So here is the Official Info from the Raptor’s Website:

Preseason Broadcast Schedule

The Dino Nation blog is happy to accept Doug’s apology. However to be serious about all of this I want to say that I enjoy Doug Smith’s work. I had a chance to say hello to him this past summer when he was in Hamilton covering team Canada. The reason I have brought up this topic was not to bring down Doug in any way. It was to support what I do and that the work I had done was correct. I also felt it was important in the sense that Matt Devlin being the new guy in town and all could be seen in a bad light. So that is why this has lead off the blog for a second day. If you have learned anything from reading this blog I take what I am doing very seriously.

Speaking of Doug he was co-hosting Prime Time Sports last night with Bob McCown. It was interesting to hear his thoughts on the Raptors. He seems very interested in what could happen this season as I think we all share that same feeling. But Doug in general based on his many years covering the team can sometimes not share the interest and excitiment of the fan base.

Team Dino Nation Blog is # 61 in the CB4 Fantasy League. If I win anything I think I may for go my prize and ask for a CB4 interview. Maybe we can give the prize away to a lucky Dino Nation Blog reader. Now you are cheering for me to win right?  I am having a lot of fun playing Fantasy Football in a league with CB4 and a bunch of Raptor Fans. That is why I look forward to the Dino Nation Blogs Fantasy Leagues this year for Basketball. Sorry I don’t have any prizes to offer. Just the pride of victory at this point. But still it should be a lot of fun.

Why I Believe in Nathan Jawai

Many have said that Nathan Jawai will not be much of a factor for the Raptors this year. I have firmly stood behind my thought that he will play a bit more of a role than most people are willing to say. Here is a bit of an explanation as to why I think this will happen. Kris Humphries has been a basic hustle guy for the Raptors in his time here. But on occassion he will force his game and try to do things that he is not expected or wanted to do on the offensive end. Nathan Jawai has only played basketball for about 5 or 6 years. However the two skills he seems to have mastered in that time are rebounding and setting good solid picks. That is the 2 skills he will need to be on the floor for Sam Mitchell. In a recent interview on the Fan 590 Sam Mitchell said his major need for his team is for rebounding and wants to see the team improve in that respect. Jawai is going to be able to help in that way. I think he can work his way into a role on this team. If you have you doubts in this I can not blame you. However how many folks were saying Jamario Moon would have a role for this Raptor team last season at this time? I think the answer was pretty much zero. In fact some wondered if he would even make the team at all. Luke Jackson would lose his spot on the roster in pre-season to Jamario Moon. Jawai is not having to earn a spot on the roster as Moon did. But make no mistake that this guy is motivated to succeed for himself and a whole lot of folks in Australia that believe in him. Well I believe too and maybe I am one of the first to jump on the Jawai bandwagon but I am confident that I will have lots of company before all is said and done. He is the type of player the Raptors have needed for a long time.

Raptors Or Sixers

It seems that many of the Raptors fans have locked in on this idea of who is better the Raptors or the Sixers. I have my money on the home team in the Raptors. I think they have more proven quality outside shooters and will be able to take advantage of that. I also am gambling that Bosh and O’Neal will be more healthy than Brand and Dalembert. Even though I do feel that the Raptors are the better team, I also think the margin of error for Toronto is much smaller than it is for the Sixers. The Sixers have a lot of young and talented players. It is not to say that the Raptors are old. But they have guys that have moved further along in the process of building their careers. I see more players on the Sixers that have a higher room to grow their games. But I am more confident in betting on the more established talent than what could be or might be.

Oden Finally Going To Debut

I am beyond the Raptors excited about other NBA things. Maybe at the top of that list is to see if Greg Oden was indeed worth all of the hype. I was one of a small few folks that thought I would take Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma Thunder over Oden. Just for anyone doubting how excited they are in Oklahoma City about NBA coming to town they sold out their tickets in 5 days. But back to Oden and Durant. Many folks will say I am nuts to think Durant is the better pick. But the fact we have waited over a year to watch Oden debut is part of the reason I would have went with Durant. Talent is great but if it is not on the floor it really doesn’t matter much. I am not sold that Oden can be healthy and productive over the long run. But the young giant is ready to prove me wrong. Here is an Article I found in my morning reading that you might want to check out if you are a Greg Oden fan or not.

Oden Prepares For NBA Season

Not Exactly FLASH Gordon in Chicago

Ben Gordon remains in limbo in Chicago. The Bulls restricted free agent still remains unsigned and has even been thought to be considering options beyond the NBA according to some. It will be interesting to see what happens to a guy that was once thought to be a big part of the puzzle in Chicago. Now he seems to be a round peg in a square hole. Last season all the rumours of a trade for Kobe Bryant to Chicago seemed to just send the Bulls into a tailspin and Gordon was part of that as he was rumoured to be one of the players that would be part of that deal that never happened. It will be on of the interesting things to follow as all NBA teams are about to begin training camps very soon. For more one what may happen with the former U-Conn Huskie from someone Raptor fans know well:

Chuck Swirsky on Ben Gordon

Lakers Are Doing This?…No Way

Ex-Laker and Raptor Jelani McCoy could be going back to the Lakers? This is proof that as long as you are a big body you will get lots of chances to fail in this NBA. I mean you only need to look at the Miami Heat adding Toronto Native Jamal Maglorie as proof of this fact. It also is proof of the fact that the #4 has got a huge upgrade in Toronto. By the way a little Dino Nation Blogger info is that is my favourite number 4. As for McCoy and his possible return to the Lakers here is a link to the source of this info:

McCoy Working Out For Lakers

That is a Rap for this edition of the Dino Nation Blog. See you tomorrow. Oh wait one last thing. The Dino Nation blog is now on Twitter. So that is another way you can keep in touch with the blog. The link is listed among the Dino Nation Blog Sites. But seeing as it is new I will post it in this Blog.

Dino Nation Blog Home on Twitter

It is just one of the many ways I look to interact with you the readers of the Dino Nation Blog. We also have our facebook group as well. If you haven’t checked out these things you are welcome to and be a part of our little family.

2 Weeks And Counting

Want to start today and address something I read in Doug Smith’s Blog that went against what I found out in my interview with Matt Devlin. The question was asked of Doug about the coverage of Raptor Pre-Season Games. Here was his answer:

As far as I know right now, none of the games are to be televised but I would expect the two out in L.A. as part of that four-team  pre-season tournament might turn up on one of the American networks because in the past, they have.

Will let you know more when I find out.-Doug Smith Toronto Star

What Dino Nation Blog said:

The first thing I wanted to ask Matt was something I have been hearing Raptor Fans asking about. That is about the pre-season and coverage of games. Matt said that the details are not all set but you can expect to see Raptor Pre-Season Games on television(Raps T.V likely). You may even to get to see games live as opposed to the game in an hour format. He suggested that all the exact details should be made public at a later point so make sure to keep an eye out for that info.-Dino Nation Blog…Sept 12th

Did the Dino Nation Blog get a scoop? I guess we will have to wait and see but based on the conversation I had with Matt Devlin I would say we did. Also it is the Dino Nation Blog Policy to send a copy of all interviews to the person I talk with to confirm all info is correct. This was done in this case and I got an e-mail from Matt confirming he looked over the interview. Whatever the case will see what happens and Matt did say to wait for the details so that is what we will do. But since the start of Raptors TV, I can not recall a season in which they did not have some form of preseason coverage even if it was in the “Game in an Hour” format.

In the same blog by Doug Smith he mentioned that several Raptors are in Toronto already getting set for the season. Anthony Parker, Hassan Adams and Aussie Nathan Jawai were among the names he menntioned. Andera Bargnani is also expected to be in town very soon. These are all signs that it will not be long until this new version of the Toronto Raptors is hard at work preparing for the season. It has been a long summer and it is nice to see the signs of the season coming to start appearing.

How You Can Help Dino Nation Blog

This will be the second season of the Dino Nation Blog and the first training camp and pre-season. I am excitied about it and look forward to providing info and opinion for another season of Raptors basketball. I wanted to reach out to folks in the Ottawa and Edmonton areas that will be going to events in those cities. Dino Nation Blog is interested in any photos or news reguarding the Raptors that you may be able to get or have knowledge of in your local market. That way the Dino Nation Blog can share it with everyone. This also is a good time to mention that we have a new contact e-mail. So for this and any other reason you may have to get in contact with the Dino Nation Blog you can use this address going forward:

dinonationblog@sourcecable.net

The reason for the change is that I have changed to a high speed internet connection. It has been a eye opening experience to have the full power of the internet and not to have to wait for long peroids of time to watch videos and what not. It may mean in future I will add more video based content as it is far less trouble for me personally to access it. But whatever it means it will make it easier for me to access more infomation so I can do a better job for you the readers of the Dino Nation Blog.

Coming Soon….Dino Nation Blog Chat

Speaking of which I am thinking of holding one of our Chat Events soon. It seems like a good time to have one with Fantasy Basketball Drafts almost ready to start and training camps about to begin. If you have a suggestion for a good time for this to happen your free to leave a comment. I will do my best to pick a time that allows folks to have a chance to be a part of it. I enjoy the chance to interact with the readers of this blog and I feel that some of the loyal longtime readers have become friends to me. I love the passion that you all share for the Toronto Raptors and for this blog. It is great to have the support of such great fans of the Toronto Raptors.

Team Dino Nation Blog -CB4 Fantasy Football

On The weekend I had a good run in the CB4 fantasy football league on Rotohog. So go team Dino Nation Blog. I have three Dallas Cowboys still to play and hopefully they come through for me. If you are signed up for the league as well would love to know you team name. If you want to still sign up read the blog ” Can You Beat CB4 ” or go to Chris Bosh’s website listed as part of the website list on the blog.

The Week Ahead

I am always hard at work looking for people to talk to about the Raptors and other basketball related things. I have one interview I will be working on. The focus of that is going to be about sports collectables. I am not big into this sort of thing personally but I do own a Vince Carter and Damon Stoudamire rookie cards. Will they ever be worth anything? I guess we will find out among other things. If you ever have a suggestion for things you want to read about in the blog you can always send an e-mail or join the blog’s group on Facebook if you like like. There is a link to on the main page of the blog among our listed sites. You the readers of the Dino Nation Blog can always have a voice in what you would like to read about. I can’t promise you that I will always be able to make it happen but I think it has been established that I work hard to provide as much info as possible and if I can make something happen I will.

So thanks for reading and being a part of the Dino Nation Blog. The response to the most recent interviews with Matt Devlin, Paul Jones and Eric Smith have been outstanding. Seems each time I do an interview the more people find out about the Dino Nation Blog. That is part of why I do them but the main reason is to get you folks more info. So if you have recently discovered the Dino Nation Blog I want to welcome you and encourage you to share this blog with your friends and family that have a love for Raptors and basketball. It says in the Dino Nation Blog History page that I value the readers of this blog and I do.

CB4 and Superman

Thought I’d close today with some wacky fun from Youtube as Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard were very excited about being guests on Oprah. Check It out:

Olympic Semis Set Up Spain vs U.S.A Rematch?

Standing in the way of a Spain vs U.S.A Re-Match for Gold were Lithuania and Argentina. If Spain was going to get to the gold medal game it would be without Jose Calderon who suffered a strained groin late it the Quarter-Final win over Croatia. Good News for Raptor fans and big chance for Spain’s young star Ricky Rubio. Not good news that Calderon was injured but that he was not trying to play through the injury. Also Rubio would struggle going 0 for 6 from the feild but did have 6 rebounds, 4 points, 4 assists and a steal. Could Spain win anyway? 

Meanwhile Argentina would end up being without Manu Ginobili. He would exit the game vs the United States with an ankle issue. But Argentina would fight on without him. So how did they do? 

 Olympic Semi Final Results

Spain 91 Lithuania 86

Boxscore Recap Play by Play

U.S.A 101 Argentina 81

Chris Bosh: 11 Pts, 10 Rebs, 1 Blk (vs ARG)

Boxscore Recap Play by Play

 Bronze Medal Game

Lithuania vs Argentina

The status of Manu Ginobili will be the big story in this one. Argentina will have a much tougher time getting a medal without him. After all with him this Lithuania team still was able to get a win in the opening game of this Olympic Tournament. Ex-Raptor Carlos Delfino will have a larger role for Argentina without Manu. I think in the end Lithuania will be much more motivated to get a medal than Argnetina and I am thinking they will upest Argentina again to pick up a bronze.

 Gold Medal Game

Spain vs United States

How hard did Spain play in that blow out loss to the United States? Only they know that answer. Playing perhaps without Jose Calderon who was honestly not good in the first match up with the United States. In fact not many wearing a Spain jersery were. It really would be an unexpected win if Spain was able to pull it off. But this American team is motivated and has yet to take anyone or anything for granted. They have been playing at a high level and have yet to face a serious challenge in this tournament. The Redemption of the United States Basketball Program has been a sight to behold. I can not imagine or see anything that can stop this team from getting to it’s ultimate goal of a gold medal. The Raptors will have a Gold Medal winner in Chris Bosh and a Silver Medal winner in Jose Calderon when all is said and done.

Kudos For Calderon

Jose Calderon did the right thing today by not playing for Spain in the Semi-Finals. If he is not 100% as hard and as painful as it will be he needs to do the same for the Gold Medal game against the United States. Calderon has seen how things can go wrong based on what happened with his friend Jorge Garbajosa and I think he understands that there are a lot of people that count on him in Toronto as well as in Spain. So here is hoping Jose continues what is right for his career and the Raptors. It goes without saying how key he will be for the Raptors this season. Like I stated yesterday by playing in what will be a United States win with Jose or without him serves no purpose and is a risk not worth taking for him given his new role with the Raptors. That was the best DNP in Raptor History today. Yogi Stewart the king of Raptor DNP’s would be proud.

Calderon really might not have had to hard a choice to make based on the injury update from Doug Smith over in Beijing covering the Olympics:

Doug Smith Article on Calderon Injury

It would seem highly unlikely that Jose will play in the Gold Medal final based on this information but should be 100% for the Raptors season that is just about 2 months away.

Update 7:10 PM Aug 22nd

It seems Calderon is going to be a spectator for Spain vs U.S Gold Medal Game. Here are the comments from his website:

Jose Calderon ( From Website Blog)-”As you all know, I did not play and I am not very optimistic about playing in the Final. It is a small injury that if I force any further, I run the risk to injure myself more seriously. Yesterday was a difficult day for me, I knew that I could not play today and I felt terrible. I imagine that you all can imagine the deception: nearly two months of practice, even more time thinking and preparing for this moment, and precisely when the big game comes, you cannot play. Today I am feeling much better and above all happy and proud for the achieved objective. In any case, I am sure as I told you the other day, we will play a good final game, and we will fight for the gold.”

Raptors Have 13?

Raptors To Sign Will Solomon.

According to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, the Toronto Raptors are on the verge of signing Will Solomon. This would likely mean that John Lucas is not going to be part of the Raptor Roster. Solomon comes to the Raptors from the Euro League and Turkish Basketball League. He is a 6 foot 2 combo guard and should now fill out the Toronto Raptors roster for the 08-09 season. The Raptors are pushed up against the Luxary Tax Cap and have always been said to be looking at having a 13 man roster for the upcoming season. That is the league Mininum even though the Raptors could carry up to 15 players which is the Max.

Doug Smith Says Raps Have 13

Raptors Website also is reporting this so it looks like it is as good as a done deal.

Raptor Release News

I also looked up Solomon on Wikipedia. So it has some info on him for those interested in learning more on the newest Raptor:

Wikipedia On John Solomons

 

Doug Smith said there is still paperwork to be completed and Solomon in info I found is suppose to have a contract with his team in Europe through the 2008-2009 season.

Contract Info On Solomon

Perhaps there is a buyout or clause that allows him to get out of the deal to head to the NBA. I really have no idea on that. But Smith says that this deal could be done as early as today. So Raptor roster appears to be set for the upcoming season unless something else happens in form of a trade.

Here is a look at some Hi-lights via YouTube which I first saw posted on Raptors Forum Website.

Sam Dalembert MIA For Amazing Comeback Win

No Sam? But Canada Finds Way To Win Without Him

Team Canada started this game looking like how I feel being that it is 6am. You may have guessed that is not good. Korea who is just a team that likes to shoot the 3 point shot did just that. despite the sleepy uninspired start Canada was tied 20-20 after one.

Sam Dalembert was not in the line-up for Canada(update below) but he would not have helped with the problem. The broadcast suggested that he was not hurt. Korea was doing what they do and Canada was not defending the the 3 point line as a result Korea built up a double digit lead. Canada finally started to show signs of life cutting the lead down to 6. But Canada much like yesterday it was turnovers and bad defence were killing Canada. Korea had a huge 16 point lead at halftime. Leo Rautins had many questions to answer. Like what the story was about Sam Dalembert who on the broadcast they suggested he walked away from the team? As for the players he did have they were playing with little of the style and performance that I saw personally here in Hamilton.

3rd quarter starts with a Korea layup and extending their largest lead to 18 points. Rowan Barrett would score the first points of the second half with a 3 point shot. Joel Anthony would then split a pair at the line. a steal and another Canada basket. Signs of a small rally but the still trailed by 13.  A dunk by Olu Famutimi would force a Korean time out. Canada got it back to single digits on a Levon Kedall score. But Korea responds with a 3-ball pushing the lead back to 12 with the score 54-42. Rowan Barrett in his mid thirties was Canada’s best player. His 3-ball cut the lead to 9 again followed by an Anthony dunk cutting it down to 7. But Korea fought back to a 11 point advantage. Canada finally had some energy but would it be a case of to little to late. Did the whole sitiuation with Dalembert cause the flat start? That is a question for after the game. But as of now Canada was showing signs of life and some how had chopped the once 18 point lead down to just 4 points on bucket and one from Carl English making the score 63-59. Canada would end up trailing by 5 heading into the final quater. Canada seemed dead but from out of almost no where had life.

Canada would start the fourth with a defensive stop and a series of offensive rebounds which eventually lead to 2 foul shots for Levon Kendall who was having a great game.  He would split a pair and the lead was 4. Korea coming out of a time out would hit a big 3 point shot to extend the lead back to 7. If Canada had the same effort in the first half this could have been a much different basketball game. But another 3 point shot and the Korean lead was back to 10 points. The clock was just over 5 minutes and Canada was facing a uphill battle to stay alive and not be heading home much earlier then expected. Rowan Barrett as if he sensed that hit a 3 point shot but it would be answered at the other end by Korea. A basket plus one for the foul for Korea looks to be the end for team Canada as they trailed by 12 with only about 3 minutes on the clock. Canada would cut the lead to 77-69 and force a 5 second violation and they would then score plus a foul from Carl English and suddenly Canada had cut the lead to 5 with 1:41 to go. Canada would foul right away and Korea went 0-2 from the line. Canada was still alive. Rowan Barett nailed a 3 point shot to cut the lead to 2. Carl English then stole the ball and thought he was heading to the line to try to tie the game. But it was called a charge on English and Korea would get the ball with just over a minute to play. Defence stepped up and got a shot clock viloation and Canada came down the floor and hit a 3 point shot to take the lead 78-77.  Korea missed another shot and Canada would get the rebound this was amazing. Anderson was heading to the line. Anderson only could split a pair and Canada had a 2 point lead with just 11 seconds to play. Korea would miss on thier final attempt. Canada gets truly on of the most amazing comeback wins I personally have ever seen winning 79-77.

Canada took control of the glass and player outstanding defense in the second half and some how find a way to make it to the quater-finals to face the winner of Croatia vs Peurto Rico. Rowan Barrett really kept tt together for Canada and was the one guy that played well from start to finish. He had 22 points and Jermaine Anderson is not Steve Nash but he is good in his own right as he had 17 points and was a big part of the comeback at the point guard spot.

It will be interesting to know the story behind what happened with Sam Dalembert but the fact this team won without him was a credit to them. I have to say it one last time this was one of the best comeback I have ever seen. It was like a crazy March Maddness finish in middle of July. When Info on Dalembert is known I will add it to the next blog. But for now CANADA WINS CANADA WINS!!!

UPDATE 10am: Still no word on Dalembert and what happened. But Canada will be facing Croatia as they were 95-81 winners. Seeing as this is a Raptor Blog, Soon to be Raptor Roko Ukic is playing for Croatia and had 12 points in this game in the win. Canada vs Roko should be interesting for both fans of Canada and the Raptors. Which most reading this are likely both. Doug Smith is working on the Sam Dalembert thing so check his blog for news if you don’t see an upadte here.

Update 11:20

Eric Smith in his blog(The Rap) was saying that Dalembert is said to have had a run in with a coach or player and is disciplined for it. He (Eric) said this is not confirmed and is just rumour at this stage. What this means going forward is anyone’s guess for Canada’s Match-Up with Croatia

Update 12:20

Fan 590 and Doug Smith (Toronto Star) have more details but it would appear that Sam Dalembert is OFF the National Team. There is some reference that Sam was not being much of a “Team Guy” and this is said to be behind the events of today.

Fan 590 Coverage On Sam Dalembert Off Team Canada

UPDATE 3:20 PM:

Based on all that has gone on today I wanted to express my thoughts on it. So I wrote a blog on the events of Today and I invite you to read it and add your own thoughts after you do. I hope the blog will at least get people thinking. It is titled What Is Up With Team Canada? I think many of us are asking that based on the events of today.

The Nation Speaks….Dino Blogger Answers

Ok back hopefully for good is a day for your comments and questions. I never did get any suggestions on what to call this so I came up with the Nation Speaks. I like it personally and I likely will go with that. There was some response to my pleas for mail. Doug Smith always talks about how much he gets and rightfully so. After all he has been covering the team since day 1 in 1995. I had chance to meet him at the recent Canada Basketball games here in Hamilton he is a nice guy.

There was not a HUGE response of emails but there was some. Hopefully by starting this it will inspire more of you to send in some stuff for next time. I am basically a friendly person so there is no need to be afraid to send me your thoughts. I want to mention something that was in the comments be for we get started. Ian from Hamburg, Germany wrote a comment about the Canada win over Germany. He was at the game and is living in Germany and reading the Dino Nation Blog. How cool is that. Prior to moving to wordpress I could track the countries people came from and was amazed where some of you were reading from. Global reach of the internet is truly amazing.  But this blog is suppose to be about you folks so let’s get to it:

A Random Read( They Didn’t Sign It ):

How come the New York Knicks can go miles over the cap but we don’t. MLSE has lots of money still last I looked. Why don’t they spend it?

True thanks to Thomas the Knicks are far beyond the luxury tax limit. They pay a dollar for Dollar tax on that amount that they are over the limit. So it is not like they are just allowed to without penalty. The Raptors have always as a rule looked to remain out of the tax. Bryan Colangelo even pointed out how Jose Calderon in his new contract agreed to re-work it to keep the Raptors under it. Doug Smith has said that the Raps will never go over the Luxury tax number and to forget about it. I tend to agree that in the off-season they will not. Trade deadline could be a different story but that is long way away.

Hey, what’s up my name is Shant Bakmazian …1 of my addictions is watching the raptor games, I always end up watching them instead of studying for my finals and I read your blogs everyday while I’m in the office, to help pass by time, and keep me in the right state of mind, and I can honestly say I am a big fan of the dino nation blog so GREAT job and keep them coming.

 Just a couple of questions, I know this one is from last year but it was asked to me by a friend and I don’t know the answer to it so maybe you can help… remember the game where Shaq got fouled out and they were going to play it again… he was on Miami when that occurred, and so what happens with that now that he is in phoenix now?

Also, when do you think Joel Bosh will be with the raps? And is that a for sure thing? Do you think he can tear up the court like Chris does?

O.K, first off School is important study hard. Well come to think of it I didn’t much. Study hard enough to pass. That sounds more like me. On to the basketball stuff. The game you are talking about was re-played without Shaq. The NBA had addressed this issue. A couple days after the trade to the Suns. Ironic in the sense that the player who caused the historic re-do did not even play in it. Also for the Record the outcome did not change the hawks won the game.

Joel Bosh is not likely to be a Raptor anytime soon(if ever). The closest to being a Raptor might be catching on with the Raptors D-League team which is NOT the Colorado 14ers as the Raps annouced they have changed to the Idaho Stampedee which is shared with Portland Trailblazers. The Raps are giving Joel a shot so he can have a chance to get a job somewhere but it is not likely it is with them in Toronto. I think we all know the Bosh Family will be happy with the gesture on behalf of the Raptors.

This is not to say the brother of CB4 sucks. But he did go to a small school in Alabama State. Big Borther Chris, went to Georgia Tech and was ACC Freshman of the Year. It is a big difference. Joel played through senior at Alabama State. Bosh was in year 3 with the Raptors when he was suppose to be a senior in college. Basically what everyone should want for Joel “Bubba” Bosh is to get a job be it in the NBDL or Europe. Why Bubba? He is Bubba from the famous YouTube Video. I’m 98% sure on that.

Random Nation Memeber ( No Name)

Hey James, I just wanted to know how far you think the Raptors are gonna go this season. Can they finally get past the first round in this ever improving Eastern Conference?

By the way, I love the blog; I just started reading recently and I’m gonna stick around for a while. Keep up the good work!

Thanks ( Insert Name Here) …. Anyway name or not I am glad you enjoy the blog. Happy to hear you plan on sticking around as well. I am sure we all hope to be doing that. As for your question. I as people who have been reading know have not been blown away impressed with this trade. That being said the press conference by Jermaine O’Neal did help me start to change my mind on him to some degree. I think it is to early to say for the record. But if defense is important to advancing in the playoffs. Most seem to think it is. That would and should mean the Raptors took a major step forward in that regard. In the end match-ups in series mean a lot. Replay the Orlando Series from last year with this crew. I think they would win.

 

Hey James,

Just wondering why when the Raptors team for next year is mentioned by any website or anybody in general, Andrea Bargnani isn’t even mentioned. I believe that this guy is what will make our team good or bad and he is what can push us over the top. If the media thinks he’s a bust, they should at least talk about him being a bust. This guy isn’t even being mentioned and I just want to hear what you think is the reason why you think this is happening. I mean, nobody is even talking about what he’s doing in the offseason or how his training is going. Why is this?

Thanks

Jamie

First some useless trivia about the Dino Blogger. Jamie is what I was called as a kid and still am to this day by my mom. As for the Jamie asking the question he has been a long time reader of this blog. I don’t know everyone that reads personally but Jamie I have talked with several times.

Anyway, Andrea and media. I don’t think they are ignoring him. He is working with John Lucas and is back and forth between Italy and United States. If Raps had put him on summer league roster I am sure we would be hearing on how he was doing. But the Raptors feel it is best to just keep him working as they had planned for him. Italy is not in the Olympics so this gave Raps a chance to have Andrea work together with them on his off-season program.

As for the whole BUST idea and his roll. Jermaine O’Neal said in his press conference that he sees Andrea having a key roll on this team. If he says that the Raptors must think that as well. Media have all for most part said this season will be the make or break year for Andrea. To borrow a line from Jack Armstrong( Who is Visiting us Again SOON) he said football coach Bill Parcells use to say that in Year one a player thinks they know. In year 2 they realize they didn’t know and Year 3 THEY BETTER KNOW. I think that is where we are at with Andrea.

Tim says:

im wondering outside the beasly, rose, mayo, dani and guys
who do you think will have a huge nba career specifically those in the second round?

Chuck Swirsky HOMER ALERT!!!! I know this is going to sound like pumping up the Raptors. But honestly if he had been drafted by anyone I would be saying this. Nathan Jawai has the most chance to grow as a player and develop. It is my undersatanding he never even picked up a basketball till he was a teenager. He has a lot to learn but he has amazing upside and the scouts LOVED AUSSIE SHAQ. I am doing research on Jawai and hoping it will turn into a nice feature for the blog. But I will say that Huge Star and 2nd round are rare things. Solid and productive is what I would say. Raps gave this guy 2 year deal that says a lot as very rare do guys get a multi year offer in the second round. The other one that I personally do not agree with but I think many out there believe is Chris Douglas-Roberts. A guy once pegged for Raptors that free falled all the way to round 2. He was a hot pick to a lot of Raptor Fans. CDR is at the least going to be motivated to prove something.

That is it for the E-Mail. But I thought of something else I can add to this and if the mail is light in a given week we can use more of this. I go on several chat boards and read. From Real GM Forum to several groups on facebook. I try to get to as many as I can to understand what rap fans are talking about. One of the E-mails I got was from someone that acts as a moderator on one of those forums. He said he enjoyed the blog and wanted to know if it was ok to post a link to it. To which I replied THANK YOU AND HELL YEA. So I thought why not give these forums some kind of note. Like I said personally can read them all. So if you find something on a Forum and you want me to see it and comment. Add that to my mail bag as well. dinonationblogger@hotmail.com

Raptor Fan Web Buzz

T.J Ford:

Still hated by some loved by others( Like Me) and debated into the ground. Just think what it is going to be like when Pacers go against Raptors in first meeting. Can you say off the hook Insanity.

Vegas Baby:

What did we ever do without a Vegas Summer League team last year. I mean the amount of hype around this is insane to me. People going off the wall excited for games that mean less than exhibition games. I blame the summer heat and lack of basketball. But I admit lots of reasons to be interested in this summer league team for a variety of reasons.

Pay Taxes Get Us Players!!!

MLSE can never win. They can make lots of money though. Raptor Fans want them to spend more of it. Pay the Luxury Tax the Knicks do(Like an Emailer Said above). Here is my take on it. If you believe that this team will advance beyond round 1 go spend that exception to the max. You will recover it in extra playoff revenue. But I am not going to throw MLSE under the your a cheapskate bus until the trade deadline. After all I think you could find a better player at that time.

So hope you liked this new blog based on you folks. If you didn’t maybe you can make it better with some comments of your own for next time. Raps play Kings today in Summer League and I will post the results of that and the Team Canada game from yesterday that they lost to Germans later tonight.

Chuck Swirsky’s Replacement Has Been Found

<<<Matt Devlin…No stranger to television, He most recently was T.V play by play for Charlotte Bobcats. Devlin has also worked with the NBA and its national television partners, serving as a play-by-play announcer and sideline reporter for TNT’s coverage for two seasons. He also worked for NBATV when the league launched its network in October 1999 and served as the regular play-by-play voice for the network on its game broadcasts of the regular season, playoffs, summer leagues and the WNBA. Devlin has covered many events for the NBA, including the 2003 All-Star Weekend when he co-hosted several shows live from Atlanta.

The summer of 04 he worked for NBC broadcasting the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Devlin did play-by-play duties for track and field and diving for the network’s high definition telecasts.

Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Devlin handled the play-by-play duties for the New York Liberty of the WNBA for the MSG Network, and also was the pre-game and post-game host for the network’s broadcasts of the New York Knicks and New York Yankees. For three-straight seasons Devlin was the host for the WNBA Draft on the event’s live broadcast on ESPN2.

In addition to his NBA and WNBA experience, Devlin also called college basketball games on ESPN, the Atlantic 10 basketball network and the MSG Network. Moreover, Devlin has announced games for the St. Louis Cardinals, the University of Connecticut Huskies, ESPN Regional, ESPN International and four minor league baseball teams.

Devlin is a 1990 graduate of Boston College and attended high school in Nashville, Tennessee. He and his wife, Erin, they have three sons.

He was let go by the Bobcats as they did not renew his contract. In doing a little research I found an article back from 2006 that really took him to task. He was given a grade of D+ in the article that I will post. In the same article Swirsky got a B. There is a funny story about Chuck and Leo in the Review. I will post that as well.

Devlin Review (Bobcats 2006)

Chuck And Leo From Same 2006 Article

We will all judge him ourselves come next season. But after reading this I have to say it was not encouraging. It was 2 years ago and people can improve. But you have to keep in mind he was also in a sense fired(contract not renewed) from the bobcats. Replacing Chuck Swirsky is going to be a very hard task. If Raps keep both Leo and Jack perhaps they can help this guy not get run out of town. Anyway we will wait and see. I don’t envy him in any way shape or form. In my interview with Paul Jones awhile ago he talked about replacing Chuck on Radio. But before Jones had the job the raps had Ex-TSN play by play man Paul Rominuck who only lasted a season. So good luck to Matt I think he may need it.

Doug Smith says the Raptors should be making this announcement very soon that they have hired Delvin.  By reading his resume above I have to say it sounds impressive but to be honest I would not have known this guy if I ran into him at the mall. But we will see how he does it is obvious he has a great deal of experience.

MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!

The Washington Wizards have lost it. Seriously how else can you explain the contract they have agreed to with Gilbert Arenas. 111 Million Dollars? To use an old Swirsky Line…ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  6 years??? For a guy that struggled all last season with a bad knee? Good luck with that one Washington. Signing Jamison was right move being  held hostage by Agent 0 not so much. Baron Davis was out their for less money. Why not make a run at him and tell Agent 0 that it has been fun and have a nice life. This is not just a cheap attempt by me to get in his blog. I think Arenas is just not worth that amount of cash and sure would never agree to a term that long on any player with a bad wheel. Arenas claims the team wanted to offer him the max of 128 million and he left 17 million on the table. Whatever the truth is Wizards are nuts cause Gilbert is not worth it.

Chris Paul may be worth that kind of money that Arenas got. But he did  still get a massive amount of cash to remain with Hornets. Somewhere in the 68 million dollar range. Well deserved and well earned. CP3 is rapidly making the argument he is the best point guard in the game today. Chris Paul is worth all of that 68 million and a lot more. His deal is said to be for just 3 years, going the same route as NBA stars like Lebron James,Chris Bosh and others did when they resigned couple years ago.

Canada Invades Toronto

Just a reminder that Canada Basketball is taking over the Ricoh for the next few days. At 4pm as a bonus you can watch the Junior Men’s Team in Action. Followed by the Big Boys at 7pm. This goes for today and tomorrow. Don’t expect to see much of Sam Dalembert in these games as it looks like he will be resting for the qualifier in Greece. But if you have not seen Joel Anthony play he is worth the price of admission all on his own. I recently added the basketball Canada website to my links, So if you want to learn more about your team you can check it out.

Canada Wins In Hamilton

Before I get to the game I wanted to share with you all a few things. First off some of you may recall that I wanted to cover this event for the blog and attempted to do so through the proper way one would go about doing that. It was not successful and to be honest about things I did not even get an email to confirm that I was not going to get access. I won’t lie I found it very annoying as it is the least that they ( Canada Basketball) could have done. The last contact I had was only that they would consider it over a month ago and had zero contact since.

I had no plans to go to this game tonight or the one tomorrow afternoon at 4pm @ McMaster. Thanks to the encouragement of my mother I decided to change my mind and go. I am glad that I did. After all I have in this blog said that Steve Nash needs to look past any issues he may have with Canada Basketball and come play for Canada. So, if I paid this event no or little attention based on their lack of respect for this blog would I be doing basically the same thing? That is what I think I would have been doing. So I rushed off to McMaster and made it just in time for the tip of the basketball game.

I had a great time and enjoyed the game. I was also able to chat with a good friend to this blog in Eric Smith. He was there as was Doug Smith from the Toronto Star. I was happy to have the chance to thank Eric for all his help and support of the Dino Nation Blog. It was great to see him covering this event for the FAN 590. Eric and Doug both have used their blogs to make people aware of these games and they made trip down the highway to my hometown of Hamilton to cover it.  I had never met Doug Smith prior to this evening so the conversation was more it is nice to met you and enjoy your work but still it was nice to do that as well.

Now getting to the game after all of that on how I came to be there. Just one last thing. I paid to go no freebie for me to go. I put my own 12 dollars down and will put another 12 tomorrow. That is a pretty good value to sit one row behind the media. Eric Smith had said to me no reason you can’t cover the game also as I was one row behind him. Which was true. I will admit that it was last minute thing so I didn’t have a note book, laptop or any of that. So basically I was just a fan for most part on this night. It was the first time I had got to see both Sam Dalembert and Joel Anthony up close.( Sixers and Heat players in NBA). Sam looked a little bit rusty as this was first game for him since the Sixers were put out of playoffs at hands of the Pistons. Still he had a double double of 10 and 11 rebounds. Not a bad performance he will have a stiffer test tomorrow against New Zealand. Tonight Lebanon was the match-up to face. Canada at times looked very dominant and Joel Anthony is a guy that has some serious talent on a team in the Heat that had very little of that. I made sure with Eric Smith and sorry Raptor fans he is still under contract to the Heat but I would suggest that he has a chance to be someone that Raptors may want to look at in future. Beyond the obvious attraction of the fact he is from Canada he is also very good. I was impressed.

The supporting cast beyond the NBA talent was also impressive. Juan Mendez the Niagara product in the NCAA that was the program once coached by Jack Armstrong Raptor broacaster.  Andy Rautins of the Syracuse Orange currently coming off a medical redshirt year based on his injury verus Brazil last summer playing for team Canada. Good news for fans of the Orange and Canada is that the son of Coach Leo Rautins looked good in this game and was playing with a knee brace but seemed to move well and made his open looks when they came his way. Carl English sporting a blonde mohawk of sorts was playing much better than his new hairstyle choice. In short many of the players from last year’s team in Las Vegas are back. With one that is not and one key addition. The Addition is Barrett who is a veteran of the national program and despite being in his late thirties did not seem out of place. The player not in the mix is former UCONN star Denham Brown. I mentioned his no show after reading about it in Eric Smith’s blog. Eric in his blog today mentioned that since the no show their has yet to be an explanation of any knid on behalf of Brown to Canada Basketball Head Coach Leo Rautins. It is too bad cause I liked Brown a lot in his time at UCONN and thought he might have had chance to make NBA. But he was unable to catch on with the Seattle Sonics when they drafted him in the second round. He was also a key contributor to the team that was able to get Canada into this last chance tournament to get to China.

Like I said this was a last minute choice of mine to go. So I didn’t take any notes or anything. But in general Canada showed that they were the better team in this one and any time Lebanon would make a push, Canada would push back stronger. They would control this game from the opening tip and did a solid job getting everyone on their roster a chance to get some time on the floor and most took advantage of it. The one thing that was disappointing to me was in the stands. It has I would say about 3/4 full and of that there was a large group of folks cheering for Lebanon and not Canada. I am not against those folks at all. What was unfortunate was the fact that they were louder and more vocal. This gym should have been full and loud of people cheering for Canada and making some noise. Everyone needs to come out and support our country for more then just Hockey. Had this been any kind of hockey event there is no way that any country would have supporters that were louder than a group of Canada supporters.

That is why I am putting in extra work and burning the midnight oil to make you all aware of this. I take it as something I have a lot of pride in. Basketball is a sport that was created by a person that was a native of this country and I think in part it is why I am such a supporter of the sport. Despite what I said in the begining of this blog. I am still a supporter of Canada Basketball and will always be regardless of any dealings I have with the program good or bad. I respect a guy like Sam Dalembert that became a member of this country just about a year ago. He came back to the place where that happened playing for his new country. He wasn’t off playing in a charity soccer event. He was hear working up a sweat and wearing a team Canada Jersey. I will not change my mind on the fact Steve Nash should have been there too. If he had been that gym would have been full and loud. I have heard all the excuses as to why he is not and I am sorry but to me that is not good enough. If he can play in a charity soccer game he can play for his country. He could have just as easily tweaked an ankle or been at risk playing soccer as he would on a court for Canada. Nash will go down as the greatest basketball player this country has ever produced. But I think that is why he needed to be part of this. Canada Basketball owes him a lot and may not want to rub him the wrong way. But myself I do not have those concerns. I am hurt by the fact that Nash has chosen the Suns over Canada. Yes it is the right thing to do for the Suns. But is Chris Bosh saying no thanks to team U.S.A for the Raptors? When he was injured he did. But at 100% healthy he did not. Which is fine with me. I understand what a thrill it is for him as it is for Jose Calderon to do the same for Spain and many other players of many countries.  Yao Ming will play in China and nothing on the planet earth will stop him. I respect that and look at what Steve Nash is doing and just feel frustrated.

So if you can make it to McMaster you can buy tickets at the door and see some great basketball. 4pm is the scheduled tip time and the New Zealand team should provide a bit better challenge for Canada. The Dino Nation Blogger will be their on his own dime again and I encourage all of you that are able to do the same. It is a great chance to see basketball at a reasonable price and a high level in a very small venue that allows you to be very close to the action.

A Recap Of Tonight’s Game an 89-67 win For Canada

Tomorrow I will be a bit more prepared to recap the game myself. It is unfortunate I will not be able to talk with players and be able to get more out of this for you folks but as stated in the start of this blog the effort was made. Hopefully the time will come that Dino Nation Blog can be able to get more access to events like this. I will never stop trying to represent you fine folks that make the Dino Nation Blog what it is. Thankfully people like Eric Smith take the Dino Nation Blogger seriously and it was great to get a chance to thank him for all of his help. He has done a lot for this blog and me over the years and I will always be greatful. I look forward to having a chance to see Eric again tomorrow as well as some more basketball.

NBA NOTE: While I am writing I should mention that Antwane Jamison re-signed with Washington Wizards for a 4 year deal. So he is off the market before it gets started tonight at midnight. Over the next 8 days you will hear about guys making deals in free agentcy but much like the Ford trade for O’Neal these will not be made legal till July 9th at the earliest. The reason is the NBA will not release the Salary Cap number for the upcoming season on July 8th.

What Happens If Ford Deal Never Happens?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well as I said yesterday within 24 hours the whole Jermaine O’Neal thing could be dead and it in fact didn’t even take 12 hours. These things happen when everyone is on high alert as they tend to be during draft week. I personally am happy this deal did not go down. T.J Ford lives for another day as a Raptor. Seems clear that those days are numbered though. At least that is what it seems like. The reason this deal did not go down is said to be concern on both teams part over injuries. Everyone is well aware of T.J Ford being somewhat fragile. They are also aware of his talent and skill at his position. In fact, Ford is given far more credit outside of Toronto than from within it. Bryan Colangelo must convince someone that the talent Ford has is worth the risk. But how exactly do you do that when he himself has decided that Jose Calderon is a better option for his team. The Raptors have allowed a pitcure to be painted that makes it impossible to imagine T.J Ford remaining with the Toronto Raptors. What happens if no one buys in on a Ford trade. Can you imagine what Raptor training camp would be like if both he and Jose return. I can’t see it as being a positive situation for the Toronto Raptors. Knowing Ford and his make-up this will only feed into his competitive nature that drives him in his belief that he is the best point guard in Toronto.

Jose Calderon on the other hand seems to have been made to feel confident that he will be back in Toronto and be the starter. He fired his U.S based agent and the thought was this was done based on the fact he is not interested in driving up his price tag on his services. Yet another reason to sing the praises of Jose Calderon and his team first attitude. Calderon is without question a very good person and I have never questioned his integrity nor his desire to see his team have success. My question about Jose have to do with his play and nothing more and that is it. Fact is he had a career season and will be entitled to a huge raise that will be well deserved. That being said, this team did no better with him as the starting point guard and in fact you can make the arguement that they were worse. He is far from a good defender at his position and is to me the start of what goes wrong for Raptors on defensive end of the floor. People see the stats and are very impressed but I see the teams W-L record and become less impressed. Doug Smith said he does not understand why people are so concerned about the fact the Raptors would have no back-up for Jose that is to level of Ford. Well it is pretty simple really to me. We need a back-up that can be effective. Part of the reason for that lack of success in the W-L record was there was no T.J Ford behind Jose for the most part. Ford when he started had Jose to fall back on should Ford not be up to par. Who does Jose fall back on? Ford is not even the answer for that. It was clear that T.J can not be effective in that role. You can debate as to why that is but the fact is he was not good in the role.

I have joked around about the whole concept of this situation being a Civil War. But it isn’t really a joke anymore it actually is starting to look like one. I am not much of a history buff but not to many Civil Wars have nice clean finishes. Still to this day you will see people in the south in the United States that fly the confederate flag. I am not saying I will fly a T.J Ford Jersey. Or maybe the Texas Flag in protest. But I do have concerns that this whole issue can have a real negative impact on this franchise both short and long term.

I have heard a name brought up that I had mentioned briefly about this topic. Mike James…Remember Him? He had a career year here in Toronto but the Raptors did not want to bust the bank to keep him and let him go on his way to Minnesota. He was going to go there and help Kevin Garnett win a title. Which he did. He made it so clear to Kevin Garenett that he could not win in Minnesota he packed his bags and headed to Boston. James meanwhile went back to his normal level of play which was good but not great and has since called a few more places NBA homes. So why are we suppose to think Jose Calderon will not comeback to earth to some degree. If Ford is gone who do Raps turn too? Roko Ukic? Or some cheap free agent they bring in like Pooh Jeter a D-League star? I am not sold on that. To just assume that Jose will continue to rise and is not going to fall back somewhat is a mistake. Hope for the best but expect the worst. That is how you need to approach things. No one could have perdicted the outcome in Atlanta last year and no one can be certain that Jose can match last year and also himself remain injury free. You need to be aware of the fact it might not go as you would like it too.

The Raptors and Media depending on your point of view have created a feeling that Ford can not and will not return. But what happens if the trade the Raptors are said to want never happens. You have one heck of a mess on your hands and no one will be happy. A divided team can not stand and this team showed that there is and likely would continue to be a problem here. T.J Ford is part of the blame for that problem and thus has been cast as the bad guy and totally to blame. I question that whole idea but understand it at the sametime. I am not a big fan of trying to change people. I think not just in basketball but in life. Every person is designed to be the way they are and that is just the way it is. Sure we are all capable of change to some extent but we all have core things that makes us who we are inside and out. The things you may not like about T.J Ford are some of the things that I think allow him to be the person that he is. This guy has fought back from 2 injuries that easily could have took a lesser person out of the game. But Ford has fought back. That same fight is why he can not accept or excel in a back-up role. I will tell you right now no matter where T.J Ford is playing basketball next season you will see him have a great year. He is coming off a year that was the exact opposite of the one Calderon had. He is more the player we saw in November than the one we saw in March and April.

In the end a divided DIno Nation can not stand. I am fairly certain that Ford will not be a Raptor by the time training camp comes around. But I am concerned that on the small chance that he is, the Raptors have painted their way into a corner. The concerns about Ford and his injuries will not go away likely for as long as he plays in the NBA. But the problem is that they are in the front of many minds based on the incident in Atlanta. It could be something that will cause teams to back away like we saw yesterday.

Whatever the result is I have stated that in the end I am a Raptor Fan. While many are counting the days til they can see T.J Ford gone, I am not. But I am willing to move forward and cheer for Jose Calderon and hope he can improve on the concerns I have about him. I never have disliked Jose and that is not easy given the way he is always placed in direct line of fire to my support of T.J. But I understand that Jose has some unique qualities that make him who he is. I think his team first attitude should be respected. I think he truly cares about the Toronto Raptors and wants to have them to be successful. I guess when you get right down to it if you took the best of T.J and the best of Calderon you have the ultimate point man. But that is not happening.

There was a time when I thought this could workout in some form. But now given all that has happened and the direction we have gone it does not seem to be logically to think it can. This is something that I have seen coming long before it was to the point it is at now. But it was something I did not want to happen. It is a unfair spot for everyone to be placed in. I don’t know if anyone can really be blamed for it despite the general opinion that this is T.J Ford who is to blame alone. Life is never that simple. When people break-up a relationship it is never a complete 100% right and 100% wrong but we all like to make it that way. It is much easier to move forward that way. But ultimately lots of things are to blame and some of them were beyond the control of anyone. The real question is now how do the Raptors come out on the other side of this as better for it. The worse case for everyone is if this does not get resolved. That being said you would be in for a heck of a battle in training camp unlike anything I can remember in Raptor History. T.J Ford for same reasons he is still standing would make it nothing less than that. It is why I respect him despite the fact many have rolled with the tide of against him. I will remain a fan and supporter of T.J Ford for the rest of his days in the NBA. I feel that is the least I can do for a guy that I respect for his great ability and determination to succeed. People may question the way he goes about it but that is fine. The fact remains that Ford will march on and compete til he has nothing left. The things many don’t like about T.J are ultimately the fuel of what has got him to where he is.

Jose Calderon will have a signifgant challenge in front of him and it is one that he has wanted and asked for. In the end it is more than likely he will get it. I hope that he is able to respond to it because if he is not the Raptors will have a serious problem that will be far more complex in nature. You may not think I am pulling for him to be successful in that, but I am because it is what will help the Raptors be successful. Is this the way I would have chosen? Obviously not. But that being said it is my job to comment on what I see and share that with you. Bryan Colangelo has his job because he is the man that is ultimately held accountable for the choices this franchise makes. What I feel is hopefully of value to people but in the end I like any fan only can say what I think and am left to cheer for the vision of someone else and hope they are right. That is what sports is all about. It is why people like Bryan Colangelo have a much harder job than me. He has thousands of people that will have an equal amount of opinions of his work and job performance that is pressure. I get only a small sample of that in being accountable to the loyal readers of this blog. It is a responsiblity that I take seriously and I have no doubt Colangelo takes his far larger responsibility just as seriously.

Nothing is a sure thing in life. To make a trade will take two parties. I have no doubt Bryan Colangelo is very skilled at selling his assets. But if you don’t have people willing to buy you can only do so much. If buyers are fearful of pulling the trigger on a Ford Deal it something that is out of his control. The Raptors have been put in a state where this almost has to happen at this point. If it doesn’t what then. I am sure Bryan Colangelo has an answer for that too. However as an observer from the outside looking in at it, I do not.

Say It Ain’t So…O’Neal A Raptor?

Seems it is going to be a busy week for the Raptors and in turn yours truly. I was going to leave this for tomorrow but this story is getting far to much play in the media to leave it alone. So in case you have been under a rock and missed the news. There is a major rumour that the Toronto Raptors are in talks to acquire Jermaine O’Neal. The deal would be for T.J Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the Raptors First Round Pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

I don’t think anyone is unaware that I am a supporter of T.J Ford. That being said I have grown to accept the fact that the chances of him being a Raptor are about as good as a snowman not melting on Miami Beach. That being said I am not a fan of this deal at all. Jermaine O’Neal is not a guy that I am a fan of at all. He is just as much of an injury risk of as Ford. There is no question that O’Neal is a big name but he to me is a guy on the down side of his career. O’Neal is also a guy with a very troublesome attitude to me as well. This is a huge risk to me and not one worth investing 45 million dollars in for the next 2 years. I am much more on board with the deal that would bring Boris Diaw here from the Suns. If there is any truth to that at all.

I am not sold on O’Neal in any way shape or form. Could a change of venue make O’Neal a different player and have a better outlook. It is possible and I am not willing to throw anyone under a bus without at least giving them a chance to prove me wrong. Still the injury factor is not something that will change. Unless you think that O’Neal was doing a bit of a Vince Carter type act based on his unhappy feelings in Indiana. But he clearly has some issues and does not have a body that matches the age on his Birth Certificate.

There was a point and time where Chris Bosh was compared on par with O’Neal and since that point Bosh has been on the rise and O’Neal has been on the decline. Chris Bosh was named to Team U.S.A today and there was a time that O’Neal would have been in that conversation. But not now and same can be said for NBA All Star Games. Bosh is a regular in the East Roster and O’Neal is no longer a guy considered.

I do seem to be in the minority on this topic. But I admit that O’Neal has never been a player that I was high on even when he was a high quality player. Many will feel that this is about T.J going to me. But it is not about that to me at all. From a value standpoint this is getting a heck of a lot for T.J Ford. If I thought O’Neal was worth that value of his contract this would be a slam dunk victory for the Raptors. All this being said this is something that has not happened and could just be something 24 hours from now that will be an after thought.

What is clear from this is that T.J Ford has more value than most would have expected. The other issue in all of this would be in a draft class that seems to have some good players out there that I think can help this team address some of it’s needs I am not that happy about a something that sees Raptors trading out of the draft. It does fit the Bryan Colangelo mold of risk taking though. He took a risk in getting Ford in the first place. I would see this as an even bigger risk in his departure.

Doug Smith’s Blog on This Topic

An Update (June 25th 7pm) Yahoo is saying Deal is done For JO/Ford

Parker Leaving For Europe?

The other story is one that quite frankly I do not understand. Anthony Parker has said to have signed with a team in Greece to play for them next season. Yet he still has a valid NBA contract for next year with the Toronto Raptors. Unless he has quietly been bought out by the Raptors which would make little sense. How this can go down if it is indeed true does not make sense to me. The NBA would not be to pleased to have players under contract to their league signing contracts elsewhere. It may all make sense when all the smoke clears but as for right now it is a complete mud puddle to me. Just the fact this is out there would suggest that Parker knows he was not part of the Raptors plans going forward. But for a guy that has seemed to be a very classy stand-up indivdual this seems odd to me. I see Parker as a guy that would believe in honouring his contract and in a sense his word. If this is true it would seem that my impression of Anthony Parker was not an accurate one. I mean the guy did commericals with Dora and Sponge Bob how much more squeeky clean could he be?

So I guess the best advice for this week is check the Dino Nation Blog often as it would seem there will be lots of news and rumours right up until the Draft Party we are having on Thursday. Which ironically if this trade for O’Neal is true the Raptors would have no picks in. Talk about being a buzz kill on the Draft Party. SO SAY IT AIN’T SO. At least give me a rumour that says Raps will get back in this draft if they trade out.