It’s time to start looking after the old house again, so off we go……
If there is a consensus pick for the Raptors at #9 this year, it has to be DeRozan. He started off with a few detractors when word came out that he didn’t want to play in Toronto, but he had a feel-good workout in town and people are back going gaga over the kid. Ever the kind of guy who loves to see anything negative come out against the popular vote, I thoroughly enjoyed the article over at RaptorsHQ that called the decision into question. Is it a good time to take a flyer on a kid if you are looking to re-sign an All-Star?
JE Skeets hops aboard the DeRozan bandwagon as well, stating that Colangelo never plays it safe (understatement) and will probably be forced to go after the unpolished young man.
Dino Nation also dips into the horrible thought of what would happen if DeRozan AND my boy Jonny Flynn were off the board at 9. Short of turning off the television and starting to read up on how to become a hockey fan, he provides us with some viable options.
Now, what if we did it like they did it back in the old days and teams picked players from their immediate areas? The intention would be to build the local fanbase and bring the people out to cheer for one of their own. Blazers Edge does a mock draft based on that theory and awards us with……Jonny Flynn.
I remember the first time I met Kevin O’Neill. It was at the Raptors draft party and a friend of mine who works with the Raptors introduced me. This was at about 6:30, well before our pick, and making small talk I asked who he liked for our pick. He blurted out “Bosh. Gonna be Bosh. He’s tall, lean, young, impressionable, hungry and he’s gonna be a motherfu*kin’ beast”. Coupled with the passion in his eyes as he was saying that, it made me want to excuse myself and make sure all my limbs were still attached. Doug Smith has a few more KO stories.
With respect to Bosh, the lauded Jack Armstrong says what everybody knows: this week and the next few months will tell us where Bosh will be post-2010. The team makes a splash and surrounds their all-star with talent, he’ll stay. Pull a flop and it’s bye-bye. Either way, Raptors Rapture want to see him gone and show the fans that they are in full rebuild mode. Is it too soon since the last rebuilding mode? I think so, but slowly I am losing ground (and faith?) amongst those that want to see Chris stay.
In one of the first power polls of the season (why do one before the draft?!) the Sporting News has us at #16, calling for a turnaround season. That shouldn’t be too hard, no?
Reading Eric Smith’s lists of Raptors duds, it made me wistfully recall a few people around the interwebs going on about Slokar and how he would be able to fulfill our needs. He was quite the steal, apparently. Invisible as well, I suppose.
Finally, for those really jonesing for some ball, the Las Vegas summer league announced their schedule and Hoops Addict has all the details. For Raptors fans, July 10 is a hot date with the Lakers, the 11th against Detroit, 13th against Portland, 15th against Phoenix, and the 16th against Milwaukee. Anybody up for a road trip to the desert in July?
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