Nba Draft Free Agency and The Raptors

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Toronto Raptors Free Agency and the Draft:

So the Raptors failed to make the playoffs this year and have a number of issues to address with or without Chris Bosh coming back.

1. Perimeter Defence:

This starts with the point guard. Calderon cannot defend. His constant running under picks gives shooters the space they need and he has a hard time containing aggressive guards who want to get into the lane.

2. Interior Rebounding and Toughness

Reggie Evans healthy may help in this area but the Raptors need more energy guys who do the dirty work.

3. Low Post Presence/High Percentage Scorer

With or without Chris Bosh the Raptors don’t do enough scoring from high percentage areas on the court which results in there offense being erratic.

Some of this can be dealt with through free agency. The Draft though is an issue. I would like the 13th pick spent on a point guard. There aren’t that may available and John Wall will almost certainly be gone well before the Raptors pick 13th. Eric Bledsoe may or may not be available. I feel Davis 6’9 out of is the best Choice a power forward.

Scouting Report:

Long, athletic, lefty post player who shows a great deal of potential due to his length, athleticism and skill level an underrated athlete who has very “live” legs and a high motor Runs the floor well with both speed in the open floor and good lateral quickness … He’s a top notch shot blocker for a forward due to excellent timing, explosiveness and length Strong rebounder. Hits the glass hard and shows a willingness to battle inside

Problem is depending on which mock draft you read Ed Davis could go as high as 6th overall. This kid could solve the Interior Rebounding and toughness aspect. Also he helps with the high percentage scorer and low post presence.

This still leaves the perimeter guard/defender to resolve. If Bosh Does not come back Davis is a good replacement and Bosh’s absence is 16 million off the books plus its been suggested Colangelo may package Turkoglu with Bosh in a sign and trade. Turkoglu wants to go to Sacramento. The Kings really don’t have anything covetable other than Tyreke Evans. So I don’t see Sacramento as a trading partner. My personal opinion is the following:

If the Raptors get Ed Davis in the draft they could pursue Marcus Camby as a veteran rebounding centre who’s still athletic and can block shots.

If the Raptors select a guard in the draft Carlos Boozer will be available as the Jazz already have Paul Milsaap and don’t wan to pay two power forwards big money. He would replace Bosh and you could probably still afford Camby too. Also available would be Drew Gooden although Boozer I think is the better player scoring and defending and rebounding are his strengths. Another interesting option and only because there are not many options for guards in the draft or during free agency is one of Memphis’ two free agent point guards Marcus Williams formerly of New Jersey or Jamaal Tinsley. Marcus Williams has a bit of a reputation as a slacker but showed promise behind Kidd in New Jersey. Otherwise, Tinsley who has been much maligned and injury prone is a guy that can run an offense and produce. Both are risks but then again Turkoglu was supposed to be a sure thing last summer!!!!

I mention these names since Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Joe Johnson are mostly likely not available to the Raptors. The only other thing I can suggest is if a sign and trade is worked for Bosh Colangelo may want to expand that deal to include Turkoglu in an attempt to get a point guard or at least a ball handling guard with defensive abilities in return out of whatever package of players comes back to Toronto. Its amazing how last year’s draft had 11 point guards selected in the first round and this year there may only be 2 or three available. Free agency is devoid of any real options there as well. Players like Raymond Felton will most likely resign with their current squad. Also Devon Brown is available and is defensively responsible but not sure about his ability to run the offense full time. He would come at a reasonable price.

A final option to deal with the guard situation maybe to package Turkoglu and Calderon let Chris Bosh walk and address the forward situation through the draft with Ed Davis and strengthen that position by pursing Camby or Boozer. This is going to be one difficult off season cause again the salary cap maybe clawed back and that can affect what teams actually do. But, Colangelo has stated the team will spend over the luxury tax but I wonder if that’s only to keep Chris Bosh?

Tim McCaliff Theory:

Tim McCaliff of the score reported on the reason the big three NBA free agents have been meeting when they have contract negotiations coming up as this was the second time the’ve done so. I am of course referring to Bosh, James and Wade. According to McCaliff their agent’s business was bought out by Creative Artists Agency run by a “World Wide Wes” one William Sydney “Wes” Wesley. The theory is that Tom Thibodeau who has accepted the head coaching job in Chicago, 3 year deal, is also a client of Wesley’s CAA. Therefore there maybe some sort of plan to get several of the high profile free agents to sign in Chicago. Itès also being suggested that the key to getting Lebron is Wesley. Further Thibodeau is a life long assistant and last year had no offers when teams were looking for head coaches. So why now? The Bulls do have talent with Derek Rose, J. Noah, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Brad Miller who total about 31 million in salary. Bosh, Wade and Lebron at max money would probably add at least another 60 million bring the total to over 90 million for a eight man rotation. The question here is could this collection of talent win?

Well Derek rose average 16 shots a game Bosh is about the same, Lebron averaged about 21 shots per game and Dwayne Wade averaged 18 shots per game. That’s 71 shots between 4 players per game. Can you keep then all happy?

Further Chicago has a tendency to do strange things. Jerry Krause during the Bulls glory days in the 1990’s wanted to get rid of Phil Jackson and routinely wanted to break up the roster before its time. They also are the organization that traded power forward Elton Brand so Marcus Fizer could play the position. This deal netted the Bulls journeyman Brian Skinner and the rights to draft Tyson Chandler who also is not a superstar. Then there is the drafting of Eddie Curry who was and is irrelevant and the Bulls have had purchasing power before and failed to add significant free agents. Their handling of coach Vinny Del Negro this year was quite pathetic as well. In short the Bulls are a strange franchise.

While I don’t see this happening for the Bulls anything is possible when one Agency seems to have so much pull and influence in the NBA.

NBA Finals Game 7: The Celtics will be without Kendrik Perkins who tore his medial collateral ligament and partially tore his posterior cruciate ligament in the first quarter of game 6 going for a rebound. Rasheed Wallace will have to be used more frequently and he was a foul machine in game 6 picking up his third 3 minutes into the second quarter.

WORLD CUP OF SOCCER VUVEZELAS:

All the fuss about the South African horn is bizarre to me. The fans are always encouraged a any sporting event to make noise. Further why is the singing and chanting of Europe’s fans so much more acceptable? Here’s my opinion:

1. The World Cup is in South Africa. There’s the saying when in Rome do as the Romans do. This is how they celebrate in South Africa. Get used to it.

2. The overwhelming majority of fans are going to be South Africans.

3. Would a demand be made that the fans in an American Football game make less noise so the opposing QB can have his teammates hear his audibles? I don’t think so.

Crowd noise is always part of any sport. For those who don’t like the horns your options are simple: Don’t attend the games. Don’t watch the games. Watch the games with no volume. Buy earplugs if you attend the games. I’m sorry if the players cannot focus, or find ways to sign language with each other for communication why are they even participating at a national level with their entire countries’ hopes riding on their shoulders when they can’t handle some noise. I’m sorry but you cannot tell an entire nation how to celebrate their own party. They have invited the world to their land to join in the celebration enjoy it. I mean stuff like Spain trying to buy officials, the quality of the games and the motion of the new ball are more of a concern than some blaring horns.

In games:

Shock of the day is a 1-0 Switzerland victory over Spain. This is interesting because with the rumours of corruption swirling around the Spanish side was this a loss a way punish them for misdeeds but also another way of ensuring someone got rich. Spain was expected to score goals. Take a look at the over under on this and many world cup matches.

Controversy, Uruguay in a 3-0 win over host South Africa scored their second goal on a penalty kick resulting from goalkeeper Khune of South Africa tripping up Suarez in the penalty area. Problem is a Diego Forlan shot was deflected off a team mates knee so that when the deflection headed Suarez way, Suarez was in an offside position so the trip by Khune should not have even mattered.
Chile scored a 1-0 victory over Honduras in the first match of the day.

Waterloo Football Program Suspended Follow up:

It is now being announced that those players not implicated in the steroid scandal can seek transfers to other programs to continue their collegiate athletic career.

I just feel that legally pro athletes should be penalized harsher by the law and their sport leagues. But the leagues in particular are protecting their players because of the wealth these stars bring into the business. MLB widely credits the single season homerun derby between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire for helping them recover the lost fan base from the 1994 players strike that cost the World Series. They don’t want to punish these cash cows at the expense of destroying our youth who see the stars getting away with these reckless acts and then decide to duplicate them. Who ever said “Crime Does Not Pay?”

Baseball:

The Blue Jays have taken 2 of three games from the San Diego Padres with a 7-1 on Wednesday.