Linkage - June 4
Posted by Scott in Giorgos Printezis, andrea bargnani, anthony parker, basketball, bryan colangelo, carlos delfino, chris bosh, courtney lee, danny green, deandre jordan, jamario moon, jamont gordon, jay triano, jim kelly, joey graham, jorge garbajosa, jose calderon, kosta koufos, linkage, maceo baston, masai ujiri, maurizio gherardini, nba, raptors, rasho nesterovic, sam mitchell, shan foster, tj ford, toronto, toronto raptors, www.altraps.com
The market for T.J. Ford is heating up.
Though neither Toronto president/general manager Bryan Colangelo or anybody else would go into details about the subject yesterday after six prospects were put through the paces ahead of the upcoming NBA draft, it was clear that the club has received genuine interest from a handful of teams about the diminutive point guard.
Colangelo rubbed shoulders with other general manger’s at last week’s draft camp in Orlando and it’s likely the names of both Ford and restricted free agent Jose Calderon came up.
Colangelo did reiterate that Calderon would be hard to pry loose as it seems there is significant interest around the league in both players.
Colangelo, head coach Sam Mitchell and a bevy of team brass began their pre-draft workouts by putting six guards through a rigorous workout, of which the media got to see far more than usual, thanks to the participants’ late night arrivals, which pushed the start time back.
Though all but Lee currently are projected as second-round selections and Toronto does not hold a second-round pick, director of player personnel Jim Kelly said the team has "got to be prepared for anything," and as "a fairly active team on the trade market," could well make a move to acquire a second round pick.
A team like Seattle, which owns four 2008 seconds, probably would ship one out for cash, or a Ford deal might include one.
Last season, the Raptors traded away this year’s pick for Giorgos Printezis, a young big man who now is playing extremely well for Olympiakos in the Greek League finals, and went on to trade two more future seconds for guard Carlos Delfino.
In his search for a draft choice, Bryan Colangelo has found something that might have an impact on who – and where – he chooses: a market for point guard T.J. Ford.
Whether that interest has a direct impact on Toronto’s No.17 slot in the draft can’t be ascertained right now. The possibility exists that Colangelo might want to package Ford with the pick or he might be able to address one of his team’s needs in a trade rather than with the first-round selection.
However it shakes out eventually, the Raptors are covering all bases in their pre-draft workouts.
Colangelo has said he is going to sign restricted free agent Jose Calderon if any other team makes the Spaniard an offer and it’s far-fetched to think things will work smoothly if both Ford and Calderon are back on the team next season.
While Colangelo has always asserted he’s willing to start the season with both point guards in Toronto rather than be forced into making a bad trade, finding five or six teams with legitimate interest in Ford gives the GM many more options to explore.
The parallel course is finding a draft choice they like best while also being prepared for any trade contingencies.
"Unfortunately, the draft comes before you can talk about what you’re going to do trade-wise or free agent-wise," Kelly said, "so you have to be prepared for everything."
The Raptors could swing a deal before the draft, but likely they will either have something in place to do draft night or the day after or they will want to see how the rest of the top of the first round unfolds.
They cannot begin negotiating with free agents until July 1 and can’t sign any until July 8.
After about 90 minutes of pretty intense work they went through what the Raptors call The X-drill and it’s a killer for a tired kid.
Start at the hashmark, sprint to the left elbow and shoot, run to the right elbow and shoot; run back to the left corner, just inside the three-point line and shoot, back to the right corner and shoot, back to the free throw line and shoot.
Repeat, as many times as necessary, starting back at the hashmark until you’ve made a total of 15 shots.
Take a wee break and then do it all again, only this time with the shots coming from beyond the arc.
Lots of worn out kiddies at the end of that one.
I’m not sure if anyone should be really surprised that there are teams doing more than kicking the tires of T.J. Ford and word that five or six clubs made at least minor overtures to Bryan Colangelo in Orlando last week may not be the biggest news.
Ford is far from a bum, he’s a starting point guard in the NBA (just not here with the presence of Jose Calderon), his contract is far from arduous and it’s fully insured, giving any team that acquires him some financial peace of mind.
He can help a squad that needs a point guard who can step in and play right away.
No one in the Raptor hierarchy is ready to suggest which teams are more serious than others in their discussions but the feeling is palpable that they can move Ford and get something good in return.
We’ll leave that speculation for another time (like closer to the draft or when we can conjure up some specifics) but the feeling I’m getting is that it’s 75-25 there’s a deal done right around draft time or just after the free-agent signing date of July 8.
For all the workouts the Raptors are conducting in Toronto, there’s a handful of others in other spots they’ll be at as well.
DeAndre Jordan isn’t too interested in traipsing around the continent doing workouts for teams so his agent is holding one in Philly this weekend for a handful of teams and Toronto will be there.
They Raptors are also spreading out around the globe, too.
Jay Triano’s in Turkey now doing Basketball Without Borders and then he’s off to Italy for a camp, where he’ll be joined by Maurizio Gherardini and Masai Ujiri.
No idea if any of this will yield a player for this year but what it does is give the Raptors another look at young kids who might be in the draft in the future or who might fall through and become free agents.
The Raptors have had some conversations with Ford’s agent, Arn Tellum, and he’s being kept in the loop as both parties seek an amicable separation. There is also interest in Jose Calderon, but the Raptors seem more certain than ever that barring some absolute jaw-dropping offer, Calderon will stay with the club with Ford on the way out, though hopefully not for pennies on the dollar.
Courtney Lee can fly; Shan Foster has a very funky shooting stroke, but is a pretty good shooter; Danny Green looked like he’s got a pretty sore ankle and Jamont Gordon looks like he’s got a ways to go before he’s running the point for an NBA team, based on him getting his dribble picked a couple of times; he can score the ball though.
But really, it means little, another drop in the bucket of that NBA talent evaluators will use to measure their potential to make the league at one of the two guard spots, perhaps the toughest job to win in pro sports.
Ford, however, is not the only player that could be on the move.
The Raptors have several players with contracts that expire at the end of next season, and could likely offer an attractive package in an attempt to upgrade at the swingman position.
The contracts of Rasho Nesterovic (US$8.4-million), Anthony Parker (US$4.55-million), Jorge Garbajosa (US$4.35-million), Joey Graham (a shade less than US$2.5-million) and Maceo Baston (US$1.97-million) all come off the books next year. Toronto could very well look to trade some of those deals to acquire a more productive player with a lengthier contract.
Today’s workouts showcase some varied positions for the Raptors but mostly examine the really big and the really small without much in between.
Let’s get right into them…
No disrespect to those 6 young men … but I don’t see any of them wearing a Raptors uniform anytime soon. Not with the 17th pick at least. I walked away from the workouts without being overly impressed by any of these guys.
Lee may have been the best of the bunch, showing off his athleticism a number of times. Hairston wasn’t shy to shoot and showed some pretty good range as well, but he’s got a funky delivery. And, unfortunately, Green wasn’t in top form … hobbling around the floor on a bad left ankle or foot. He toughed it out though!
With the july 1st free agent period, the draft, trades, speculations and rumours, I asked a few bloggers and fans to pretend that they were Colangelo for a day, and make roster changes as they saw fit Here is what the online world (our little part of it anyways) has come up with:
I personally value his views and consider him a supporter to the work I do. He does a great job in all his various roles be it on Radio as part of play by play team with Paul Jones, Hosting the “Hoops” show on Fan 590 and Raptors T.V and Double Dribble Show on the Raptors T.V as well.
Q&A with Eric Smith
Between meticulous ball handling and deadly sharp shooting, the Raptors excelled in the backcourt this season, the league’s best three-point shooting team and ranking in the top five in assists. The Raptors also suffered the least amount of steals in the NBA.
The Raptors inside game was another story. The third-worst rebounding team in the league lacked a dominating man in the middle. Rasho Nesterovic, who picked up his player option, was the Raptors’ only true center. Despite his 7-foot, 255 pound frame, he was outrebounded by smaller teammates Jamario Moon and Carlos Delfino. This forced Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani to play out of position and bear the burden at the five spot. After being bounced around by Dwight Howard in the first round of the playoffs, it’s time for the Raptors to find a board crashing big man with their only pick in the draft.
Calderón evaluated the sensations he had during the three unforgettable days of basketball near his hometown for feb.es. “I think that this has been a very important event for Cáceres because in Extremadura people really enjoy basketball, and specifically in this city, Cáceres, there has always been high-level basketball.¨ This basketball was seen throughout the weekend that had little or nothing to do with the basketball he enjoys in the NBA. ¨Players feel the same basketball in the NBA and in the LEB Bronze League. The ambitions and the emotions are the same because for those players who played in the final games in Cáceres it was just as important to move up to the higher league as it is for NBA players to win a championship ring.¨
- Federation Espanola de Baloncesto
Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors will be dispatched by NBC’s "The Tonight Show" as a special NBA Finals correspondent.
17. Toronto Raptors- Kosta Koufos 7’0” C, Ohio State
Another thing I’ve noticed, is that the fans and people involved with both sides have so much pride and you always hear them representing their sides to the fullest. That made me want to stand up for my city (Dallas, Texas) and let people know where I’m from and that it’s a lot of other guys from Dallas in the NBA right now: Kenyon Martin, Ike Diogu, Kurt Thomas, Deron Williams, Acie Law IV, Lamarcus Aldridge and me! And we have two guys in the Draft this year. Shout out to Anthony Randolph and Darrell "Slim Shady" Arthur.
Most of the time people don’t know where players are from, but I want people to know where I’m from because I’m proud to be from the south. You always hear about great ball players from Chicago, New York, D.C., Atlanta and L.A. so now you know about our city. Watch out for us. By the time you know it, we’ll be in control of the league!
Dallas, Stand Up!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. Congrats to Barack Obama!!!!!
P.P.S.S - Thursday June 5′th I will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno working as a correspondent covering media day and reporting live from game 1 of the NBA Finals!
