Linkage - May 24
Toronto figures to move either Jose Calderon or, more likely, T.J. Ford this summer. It probably would take Kirk Hinrich or Ben Gordon to pry Calderon away from the Raptors and even then the salaries may not match without the Bulls taking an extra player.
The Bulls might be able to get Ford in exchange for Andres Nocioni, who would seem to fit well on Toronto’s roster. Gooden for Ford also could work, though that would mean the Bulls taking on roughly $18 million in salary commitments since Gooden is in the final year of his contract while Ford has three seasons left.
Delfino’s place on this list has nothing to do with his value to the Raptors and everything to do with it being difficult to peg his value. He could start, but he’s a solid bench player. He’s not a scorer, but he can score. He can defend well. What’s the price for that skill set? Three years and $12 million seems reasonable, but someone may offer him more.
On the other hand, the Heat could opt to draft Beasley and then trade Haslem, who has seen interest from the Magic recently and might also be able to get Jose Calderon or TJ Ford from the Raptors. They might also be able to grab one of the Grizzlies’ young point guards or Hinrich from Chicago if they were to go with Beasley.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to be one of the NBA affiliates for the BayHawks. Based on location, other possible NBA affiliate teams for the BayHawks are the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons.
Since the Toronto Raptors announced play-by-play man Chuck Swirsky was leaving for Chicago, the team has been absolutely swamped with applications. According to reports, two announcers appear to have the early lead: Torontonian Mike Inglis and Matt Devlin.
While these names have been thrown in the ring, it wouldn’t surprise if the Raptors followed the Swirsky path and nabbed a young college announcer to be the Raptors new television voice.
sign me up for a ford/nocioni swap…i’m on that bandwagon big time.
Raps Fans last blog post..Some Preliminary Thoughts on the Cap and Free Agency
Nocioni? I don’t know why people seem to like that guy. Adding him to our roster will just mean more ill-advised shots and that too while shooting 43%. Raps Fan, he only looks like he should be a good player, in reality he’s a guy who will take your team from 41 wins to maybe 42 or perhaps even 40.
you could be right, i admit i have only seen him play a few times, but liked what i saw.
Raps Fans last blog post..Some Preliminary Thoughts on the Cap and Free Agency
Once again, I AM A DESTINY! I pulled this out of my ass a couple of months ago, it’s funny to see others scrounge around and come up with the same thing.
As far as Nocioni’s worth — he’s without a doubt a severely undervalued player, and definitely on the wrong team. If you’re looking for 20ppg, then no, but if you’re looking for a Shane Battier that can bang with much taller and heavier players all the way down to Dwyane Wade, he’s your man. The problem is that the Bulls desperately need more scoring in their starting 5, which limits Nocioni’s minutes. It’s safe to say though that no one would ever worry about the Raptors being too soft again.
That’s not to say he’s awful on offense — look at his 3pt% as well as the number of attempts. He went from being a complete cipher beyond the arc to one of the best 3 point shooters in the game — and mind you, this came not when he was 18 or 19 but when he was well into his prime. That’s hundreds and thousands of jump shots in practice, and probably as many hours of watching video of his form. He used to shoot with his body perpendicular to the baseline (something common to a lot of gym rats, but anyone that’s tried to change their form can tell you it’s not easy. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to do it over the course of a single year, and while playing the game at its highest level.)
Of course, a deal for TJ Ford would once again have me biting through my cuffs looking for a vein. I will deliver a warm stream of urine to John Paxson, flush in the face, if that’s his big off-season move.
Granville Waiters Ghosts last blog post..Linkage - May 25