The AltRaps Blog

Talking to Bryan last week, he says they’re planning another of those free-agent, pre-draft camps here that yielded them Moon a year ago.

Of course, that was a bit of a find, can’t imagine there’s another one around but it will give them a chance to see a bunch of guys at one time instead of wading through a handful of scouting reports or individual workouts

- Toronto Star

That essentially means that barring trades, Primoz Brezec is pretty much the only player who will be off next season’s team, with the possible exception of Rasho Nesterovic.  Nesterovic is interesting, since he holds a player option, and was really one of the Raptors best players the second half of the season while they were tanking, especially when Bosh was injured.  Now his success, along with the fact he was benched for much of the playoffs, might make it rather enticing to test the free agent market.

I suspect Sam Mitchell will be on the hot seat entering next season, as the team really struggled in the second half of the season and post-season.  But no matter what the roster looks like next season, if the Raptors get off to a slow start then Mitchell could be the first to go.

- Raptors Den

Am I the only one that wasn’t all that surprised by Jose Calderon’s blog?

I found it funny how many folks - including the FAN - got so ‘excited’ about Calderon’s statement in his blog that he “wanted to be a starter”.

Is that not what you’d WANT to hear from him?

Anybody that truly ‘believed’ Jose during locker clean-out day - when he said he didn’t care if he started or came off the bench - was fooling themselves.

But I’m not sure why Calderon would write what he did in his May 1st blog.  Why now?

Unless Calderon or his agent felt that his unselfish approach wasn’t helping his stock - or wouldn’t help in future negotiations - I don’t see why he had to do or say what he did.  If anything … perhaps Calderon ‘hurt’ the Raptors in some senses by doing this.  Teams now KNOW that Toronto has to do SOMETHING with their point guard situation.

But other GM’s will now try to low-ball Colangelo with their trade offers.  I know I would if I were running another team in the NBA.  I mean, why would I give up an “A” package in a deal for Ford (or Calderon) if I know that you’re desperately trying to make a trade to rid yourself of the ‘controversy’ you’d have on your hands if you started next season with two guards that both want to start?

In the end, Calderon’s quote may mean nothing.  It might not haunt the Raptors or Colangelo’s trade attempts.  But it might have been better for all of those involved if Jose had just bit his lip and not wrote what he did in his blog.

- Fan590

That was one of the things Colangelo was smart in doing by looking strongly at Europe as opposed to south of the boarder. Canada and the idea of living here is much more acceptable to Europeans than some Americans. At the end of the day, Ron Artest has as much right to choose where he makes his living as much as Chuck Swirsky did. If someone walked into your job and said you must go to work in Goodwater, Alabama you have the right to say you don’t want to do that. When athlete’s are free agents they have that same right. Ultimate unless you ask a person directly on the subject you can not say for sure. Even if you do,athletes may say they would consider a city but are doing it just to drive up their value. So trying to figure that stuff out is next to impossible. The only thing you can do is look at guys that from a basketball sense does he address the needs of the team. The personal side of these choices are X-Factors that people can not know unless they are in that person individual circle of friends and family.

- Dino Nation Blog

Without Calderon’s compromise, things could have gotten ugly.  Now with the season over, Jose feels free to air his feelings.  What he is saying essentially is that he could do a better job for Toronto not only as a starter, but as Toronto’s primary ballhandler.

As of this post, it seems as if Calderon will be beginning games in Toronto for the 2008-09 NBA season.  Not only are there rumors that the Raptors are trying to trade Ford, TJ’s overall performance in the 2008 NBA Playoffs was miserable.

- Bleacher Report

What we (and by we I mean myself) do expect is that your pride wont get into the way of you pulling the trigger on a deal that would make this a better team. You don’t have to look further then the rumours of Jefferson for Bargnani and pieces. You said it yourself that you have to give talent to get it back. This would seem a prime example.

I admit, it would be tough shipping out Bargnani at this point, only to watch him turn into what was expected…but if we got something valuable in return for him, aka Jefferson, I wouldn’t care. It’s not like we haven’t seen others leave the Raps only to shine (McGrady and Billups).

- RaptorsTalk

New York trades Jamal Crawford to the Raptors for T.J Ford.
Ford, who is overrated and injury prone, gives the Knicks a true point guard who can run the floor. His contract is similar to Crawfords so we don’t have to add any salary in this move.
The Raptors have Calderon who clearly is much better than Ford. Calderon wants more playing time and is a restricted free agent, moving Ford gives him more PT and Crawford gives the Raptors another offensive weapon.

- 3rd String Safety

Either way, we’re just wondering: Since Mike D’Antoni, just hired to coach New York, has long run a system predicated on point guard play … and since his candidates on the Knicks are shoot-first problems like Stephon Marbury and Nate Robinson … and since the Raptors clearly have to deal one of their two point guards … could the Knicks and Raptors make a deal?

How about a deal centred on Ford for shooting guard Jamal Crawford, who can and probably will seek a contract extension this summer, and is the kind of 20-point perimeter scorer the Raptors lack?

New Knicks czar Donnie Walsh wants to get under the cap by 2010 - call it the summer of LeBron, but Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh might also be free agents - and faces contract extension questions from youngsters like David Lee and Robinson, plus Crawford. Maybe there’s a fit there.

- National Post

May 11, 2001 Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors connected on eight three-point field goals in one half of his team’s 102-78 win over Philadelphia in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It broke a record shared by five players of six three-pointers made in one half of a playoff game.

- NuggDoctor