The AltRaps Blog

Hey, check out Kapono’s big gig on the weekend: Guest judge at the Dance Pak auditions. Tough life. Fitting choice. He’s a pretty good schmoozer. And maybe he knows a thing or two about dancing.
- Toronto Star
 
the fate of the 13th spot on the roster. Yes, Juan Dixon is very much in the mix for [...]

Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo announced six front-office promotions yesterday, including Maurizio Gherardini, who moves from VP and assistant GM to senior VP of basketball operations.
Marc Eversley (formerly director of basketball operations) has been promoted to assistant GM of player development.
Masai Ujiri (formerly director of global scouting) has been promoted to assistant GM of [...]

Bargnani - in an odd way, when I think of Bargnani, I think of that kid in phys ed that, when teams were being chosen, was picked third or fourth on physical appearance alone. You’ve seen him walking around the school, all awkward and friendless, but you think he has some size, so maybe he [...]

The 15 three’ by an opponent were a season-high by a Raptors opponent, but it’s not as if teams have suffered that badly against Toronto in this category. It’s just that usually the Raptors are either right with them or ahead negating the impact.
That wasn’t the case last night.

addthis_url [...]

the Raptors can blame just about everyone as they offered up 15 turnovers, a range of questionable shots (while getting Bosh just 15) and the odd defensive brain cramp.
Toronto also gave up a fair share of offensive rebounds — the Knicks’ David Lee had three of his game-high five in the third quarter as New [...]

It wasn’t a matter of one or two games that convinced Colangelo that Delfino could handle the role.
"We feel we’re a versatile team all around," Colangelo said, "and you’re talking about a player in Carlos Delfino who has played that position in his lifetime.
"We feel comfortable moving forward and Juan was being asked to do [...]

Juan Dixon traded for Primoz Brezec.
Expiring for expiring. Hope Primoz can bring some hustle in a contract year. Hasn’t done much this year for the Pistons, but neither did Delfino.
This pales in comparison, in true Canadian fashion, to the “other” big trade:
Cleveland gets: Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Joe Smith, future second rounder
Seattle gets: [...]

Multiple league sources said last night the Raptor president and general manager tried to pry 32-year-old Joe Smith from the Chicago Bulls before today’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.
It’s unclear what the Raptors offered for the 6-foot-10 Smith, who’s averaging 11 points and five rebounds a game. However, the fact the offer was made suggests Colangelo [...]

Right now, Toronto is building around the core of Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, Ford and Calderon. Once Calderon is signed, all will be under contract through 2010, when all this comes to pass. But with Bosh making the max, Calderon and Ford essentially combining to do the same, and Bargnani eventually commanding a significant deal [...]

Let’s take a quick look at this roster that has been put together for our quest to be mediocre by one of the best basketball minds in the business.
Andrea Bargnani - Nice to see his turnaround of-late. It will be interesting to see what he does after the break. Does he continue his attack-the-basket ways [...]