“This is a nice group and I’ve been with some good teams and some good players,” O’Neal said. “We know what (the media) and the city expects of the Raptors. We have to develop that swagger, to believe we are the better team. I know this is a hockey town, but we’d like to make it a Maple Leafs and Raptors town.”
This is a bit of a perfect storm for Jermaine,” Colangelo said. “He’s coming off the injury and he has two years left on his deal with a (player) option after this year. I can’t imagine a better set of circumstances.”
The Raptors have signed free-agent forward Jamal Sampson, a cousin of Ralph Sampson who is expected to give Toronto frontcourt depth after the loss of Nathan Jawai
For the better part of a full week this summer in Las Vegas, Jermaine O’Neal, a 6-foot-11, bruising mass of muscle, beat on Andrea Bargnani as hard as he could.
The Raptors’ third-year forward didn’t back down once.
That, in a nutshell, is all you need to know about the new and improved Andrea Bargnani.
“You know me, I just come down here and try to work 100 per cent, think about my team like always,” Calderon said after the team’s first practice of training camp Tuesday. “Right now we are 13 guys just trying to get our work done, I don’t think about ‘this is my team,’ I think it’s everybody’s team. I don’t feel a big difference about it.”
But to his teammates, having Calderon in charge of running the offence is a significant difference. The Raptors had two guards good enough to be NBA starters last season in Calderon and T.J. Ford, but what the Raptors initially saw as leg up on the opposition turned into nothing but trouble, both in the locker-room and on the court.
“Getting our usual one point guard is always a plus,” said Bosh. “Last year, both guys were really good point guards, but when one came in and the other went out you had to get readjusted because they were both so different.”
“Of course, you’re talking about your heart, it’s one of the main parts of your body so that’s tough,” Jawai said Tuesday, after the team’s first practice at Carleton University. “I think I took it OK, but I was a bit worried because I haven’t had any problems with it before. (The doctor) told me, it’s serious but it’s not serious right now, I just want to find out some more information.”
The team won’t elaborate on the specifics of Jawai’s test results, but Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo said the Raptors were taking every precaution with the six-foot-10, 280-pound rookie.
“We’re going to get him in front of another specialist here this week and hopefully we’ll have some better news by the end of the week,” Colangelo said. “For now, you take the precautionary route and I think the prudence is to hold him out of practice until we’re 100 per cent certain what we’re dealing with.”
“I felt so bad about it, I needed to think about it for a long time,” Calderon said. “I didn’t want to answer every time they were saying something, I just waited for the best moment.”
And the right way to say he was sorry. Emphatically.
“It was a mistake, a bad mistake,” the Raptor guard said of the picture, which showed members of the Spanish national team pulling back the corners of their eyes. “We weren’t meaning to do anything hurtful, I take that like a lesson. … I wanted to tell the people what I am, I’ve never had that problem before in my life and it will never happen again.”
Calderon sent emails in the last week or so to more than 100 fans who wrote him to say they were hurt by the picture.
“I wrote to the people who really cared about it, the people who emailed me and people who really thought I was saying something bad,” he said. “It was a bad mistake, I wanted to tell them.”
Jason Kapono arrived at Raptors training camp with his dark hair shorn as tight as an Augusta putting green, and somebody said, “What’s with the haircut?”
“A haircut,” said Kapono, correcting the questioner, “involves some skill and style. I would call this a hair reduction. It’s been a tough summer. Stock market’s down. Wall Street’s struggling. It’s time to cut costs here . … The stylist, the barber shop, all the products, the pomades, the gels – had to cut those out of the budget. Gotta save some money, dude.”
Kapono has repeatedly pointed to the coach’s chair when asked about the stark contrast, blaming playing time. Months removed, and now that his chief direct competition, Carlos Delfino, has left town, Kapono is seeing last season through a slightly different lens.
“Partly the blame’s on me,” he said yesterday. “I’ve got to perform in the short time that I do get, and then extend my minutes. Hopefully now I have earned somewhat of a chance to kind of work through an oh-for-2 or oh-for-3 start (from the field).”
It wasn’t always a cold shooting hand that kept Kapono off the floor last season, after the club signed him to a four-year deal worth about $24 million. He’s no defensive wizard – although folks in the know point out that, while his footspeed doesn’t make him a stopper, he’s got an above-average grasp on the fundamentals of team-first positioning – and so the thinking among some in the franchise is O’Neal’s arrival will forgive some of the sins of the offensive-minded. Kapono, posited with that theory, chuckled: “Every team scores 100 points for a reason.”
One of the first things Jawai did when he got the news was check with his family back in Australia to make sure there were no hereditary heart issues that he wasn’t aware of.
“As soon as I found out, I called back to find out that information and none of my family has had heart problems, so that’s one of the positive things I found out,” he said. “It’s been frustrating. I was very shocked about it. I’m just waiting to get cleared and I’m very positive it will be okay.”
To replace Jawai on their training camp roster, the Raptors have signed journeyman centre Jamal Sampson to a non-guaranteed contract. If Jawai is cleared to resume practising, Sampson will be released and the Raptors will be back to a 13-man roster.
Sucks about Jawai, no?
No one saw it coming (we got word of it about Kingston on the train ride up) and no one really knows what’s going on except he won’t practice this week as he undergoes more cardiac tests.
The trouble with things like this is very little information will be made available because of privacy laws and that’s going to leave a few of us in the dark. We’ll try to get more information, maybe he’ll let us know what’s going on after practice today, but for now, all we know is something showed up in the tests that gave cause for concern to the doctors.
Now, I’m no doctor, and I don’t even play one on TV, but it strikes me that any time anything’s remotely wrong in the cardiac area, you take extreme caution.
But isn’t it funny, or coincidental, that not only are the Raptors holding Jawai out for more tests, they wouldn’t let Nicolas Batum work out in the weeks leading up the draft?
Cautious, indeed.
I’ve got Solomon as the big surprise of camp. Listening to players and coaches talk, I’m getting the sense he goes into camp as the favourite to cop that No. 2 point guard spot and it’ll take a big effort from Roko Ukic to beat him out. It’s not cast in stone, that’s for sure, but there’s a healthy competition going on there.
Speaking of Solomon, a couple of websites – including the team’s own – have him as Willie Solomon. Asked him about that and he prefers Will. So Will it shall be, here at least.
Hope you all saw Bryan’s contention that this is the best Raptor team “on paper” since he got here. I don’t think you can really dispute that, even the team that won the Atlantic Division was a surprise and probably not as overall talented as this one.
That team over-achieved, no question about it; it was a nice ride but there were no expectations. There are expectations this year and it’s going to be very interesting to see how this group holds together.
But best team in history? Even on paper? I don’t think that’s the case. The 2001 team, the one that actually won a playoff series, was probably more talented 1-12 than this one and had just as good chemistry.
And there’s no doubt that Will Solomon, a little-known point guard who could have a major impact on the Toronto Raptors’ fortunes this season, gave up a king’s ransom to leave Europe and return to the NBA this season.
“I left close to $2-million on the table,” he said at the Raptors’ training camp in Ottawa, as he wrapped his knees in ice following his first practice with the team. “But this is about me giving the NBA a shot again and focus on my career and see what I can do in the NBA.”
That’s fine for Solomon, who is slated to earn the NBA veteran minimum of $711,517 (all currency U.S.) this season, taking home a fifth of what he might have made in Europe. But for the Raptors, it’s about finding some insurance at the point guard position if Jose Calderon should somehow falter in his first year as a full-time starter.
A quick note about the salary cap implications of adding Jamal Sampson for training camp. My understanding is that the Raptors are $1,100 (all currency U.S.) under the luxury tax threshold, so if Jawai can’t play this year and Sampson or any other player sticks on the roster, it will put them over the tax mark, but that doesn’t mean the Raptors will have to pay tax. The final team salary numbers aren’t calculated until the last day of the season, so Colangelo will have until the trade deadline to juggle dollars, realistically. Why is it so important to be under the tax threshold? Well, not only are teams fined a dollar for every dollar they over over, teams that are over don’t get their share of the disbursement that the teams that are over the tax have to share with the rest of the league. Apparently those disbursements are expected to be about $4-million So if you’re $1-million over the luxury tax threshold at the end of the season it means you have to pay $1-million in tax and miss out on $4-million in other revenue. It’s a $6-million decision.
“I mean honestly, I’m not even worried about the physical part,” Bosh said, glancing over at Bargnani’s new biceps-and-shoulders look. “I know he’s been lifting hard in the weight room and everything, and I know his shot’s always going to be there. But I just want to see how he does in the game. He’s had great practices in the past, and I just want everything to translate over into the game for him.”
Bargnani’s entire second season seemed lost, and not just in translation. After a promising rookie season, his sophomore campaign descended into basketball hell. He couldn’t make a jump shot. He couldn’t play.
“He wasn’t shooting it last year; he was putting it, almost like a shot put,” said assistant coach Jay Triano, an expert on the subject. “Now, he’s shooting the ball.”
“I wasn’t even looking to the NBA. I had a contract on the table. I was looking to go back to Europe,” Solomon said of his off-season mind set as his new team, the Toronto Raptors, worked out for the first time yesterday at Carleton University.
“My agent called me with the [Toronto] situation. I looked into it. We both talked about it for about a week. I came here and visited Toronto. I met with [head coach Sam Mitchell]. He’s from the same area I’m from. We met with him, had lunch. We talked. I liked his strategy. I liked his charisma. I liked him as a person and also I respected him as a player.”
“It was my decision, going to Europe,” Solomon said. “I had an offer on the table from Memphis and [one from] Washington at the time, but my agent and myself, we decided it was good money in Europe. Really, I was a young guy at the time and I wanted to play. Looking at the situation I was going into, I was the third point guard in Memphis behind Jason Williams and Brevin Knight.”
Joey Graham suffered a strained right hamstring at practice tonight.
He will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
I spoke with Graham though and he doesn’t think this injury is a big deal, and he’s not expecting to miss any time.
One of the big beneficiaries of O’Neal’s arrival should be former Number 1 draft pick Andrea Bargnani. After a strong rookie campaign he slipped backwards last year but with O’Neal he should slip across to the small forward position, a more natural “fit” for him.
One area of weakness for the Raptors is in their shooting guards. No one is a natural star, Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono et al are all solid and for the Canadian team to join the elite teams of the NBA they really need an athletic 2 guard.
They were better last year than anyone gave them credit for, but a long stretch of missed games by Chris Bosh, and point guard turmoil with T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon derailed them heading into the home stretch. The addition of Jermaine O’Neal should immediately improve their defense, and they should continue to be one of the league’s most efficient offensive teams. Their success will depend on the health of O’Neal and Bosh, but the ceiling for this team is really high
Sam was his usual self on Day 1 … already tired of people asking about camp after only 1 two-hour practice. He didn’t really want to talk about how the team looked or what his expectations for the club may be because he says you can’t really figure that out after two hours of drills and no real scrimmage (which will come during the second session tonight).
Sam was also frustrated with folks asking about Chris Bosh’s Olympic experience as well. He says Bosh’s performance in Beijing shouldn’t have been a big surprise because he’s always been this good. He’s tired of people acting like Bosh has suddenly just appeared out of nowhere – ignoring that the guy is a 3-time All Star.
He also chatted about having just 13 guys at camp and how that’s good for keeping the focus and attention … but … it also changes certain dynamics/drills that you can now do, or not do. He joked that there could be scrimmages where Team A or Team B doesn’t even have a sub!
Jermaine O’Neal is impressed with what he’s seen so far – after the first day (well, first practice) of camp. He said he’s already doing stuff in this camp that he hasn’t done in Indy for years and he sees that the focus is there for this team to be a strong defensive club.
While the Raptors haven’t been slouches on “D” in recent years, they haven’t exactly been known for their defense either. So a focus on that end of the floor could be a huge plus for the Raps.
O’Neal also stressed the importance of rebounding for this team – but not just from the bigs. He said the guards have to chip-in as well and the opportunity is there for that to happen in Toronto with some of the bigger boys the Raptors have like Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Jose Calderon, and so on.
Cause unless these eyes have suddenly lost their ability to see with any degree of acuity … this statement is very, very far away from being accurate.
According to the judgment of this corner … there are, at least, 5 other teams on that list which, on paper, are superior to the current version of the Rapshow … i.e. ‘99-00, ‘00-01, ‘01-02, ‘06-07 and ’07-08.
Apparently Bargnani didn’t back down once from Jermaine O’Neal over the summer while the latter was going “as hard as he could” at him. This is good news and might be a sign of his new found mental and physical toughness. According to the Sun, he’s gone through a “metamorphosis” and has turned into a female polar bear. Actually he’s gained 12-15 pounds, is stronger, more agile, got rid of his adenoids and fixed his deviated septum (God, I hate those). I’ll reserve judgment until I see him play but gaining physical strength is only the start of the rehab process of Bargnani. His technical issues last year were about as concerning as his physical “can’t box out” issues. We’ll see soon. Soon.
“Growing as a player on the court helped me unleash my personality,” Bosh said yesterday. “In my private life I’m always talking, I’m always loud and I like being funny.”
That was clear (and loud) after yesterday’s practice. As reporters waited as he stretched his muscles and iced his knees, he stood up and yelled, “Okay, let’s go” so loud it echoed through the gym and perhaps all the way up to Parliament Hill.
Then the media horde followed him to the edge of the court, shoved their mikes in his face and asked him probing questions such as, “What do you know about Ottawa?” (Nothing, except that the Senators play here. Really?)
Oh, there were some serious questions, too, like how will Jose Calderon respond to being the No. 1 point guard after signing a new five-year, $45-million contract? (Jose’s going to be the same dude, no matter what happens. Really?)
He continued to answer questions as team officials tried to rally the troops out the emergency exit and onto the bus.
When he didn’t feel like answering any more, he turned and yelled, “Okay, let’s go,” so loud it echoed through the gym and perhaps, this time, all the way to Gatineau.
Everyone then knew it was time to go. There was no hiding that.
The trade for O’Neal offers another potential bright spot. While Calderon can take over most of the minutes that Ford played a year ago, O’Neal fills in a large defensive void and, if healthy, should greatly improve Toronto at this end. That’s the rub, of course — I projected him to average 27 minutes a game, including injury time-outs, and even that may have been optimistic.
Additionally, the bench seems nowhere near as strong as the unit from a year ago. Toronto finds itself counting on players like Ukic, Kapono and Bargnani, and based on their numbers from a season ago that’s a scary proposition indeed. It’s possible Bargnani surprises us with a breakout year, but the odds of the other two doing so are remote.
Add it all up and you have a sleeper in the East, but one whose lack of depth and injury-prone frontcourt make it unlikely to pile up a huge regular-season victory total. They may very well win a round in the playoffs, but they’re not quite ready to move into the conference’s upper crust yet.
Prediction: 47-35, 3rd in Atlantic Division, T-5th in Eastern Conference
I know it’s been a little while, but I’m back on the written blogs! So much has happened since being back from the Olympics and time has really flown by. I’m back in Toronto now, getting back in shape and I’m glad to be here. I’m getting everything settled at my house and at the Air Canada Centre so I’ve been kind of busy.
I’m still riding the gold medal wave right now and people tell me congratulations all the time. For some reason, everywhere I go (and I mean everywhere) people ask me to see it. I don’t know if they’re serious, but I always tell them I keep it safe at home, which I really do. I guess some athletes keep it with them at all times and that’s understandable. I just want to keep mine where I always know it will be.
Another question I get a lot of since I’ve been back is if I’m excited about this upcoming season. If you’re reading this and wondering that same question, the answer is… Of course I’m excited! I think we have the right pieces to get the job done and yes it is true, the Eastern Conference has gotten tougher. I accept that and I love it. I love competing against good competition and I think that will make this season a lot of fun.
Other than all of that, I’m working on some new upcoming videos. I’ve got a little video competition with Baron Davis to see who can make the funniest sketch. Check it out if you haven’t seen the video we made challenging each other. I’m going to win, but I know he’s going to have a great video. I already have an idea, I just have to bring it to life.
Anyway, practice starts in a couple of days so I have to get some rest. I’m writing more often now so make sure you guys keep reading!
