These are my links for February 16th through February 17th:

• How Triano uses newcomers will determine his future – How much progress these retooled Raptors make will depend on Triano.

  Ever since he took over from Sam Mitchell in early December, Triano has been coaching on the fly, trying to develop winning habits amid a losing culture and a style of play at both ends of the floor with pieces that weren't compatible.

  His record notwithstanding, Triano has shown that he can coach.

  He now must show whether he deserves to have the interim label removed for next season.

  With the league trade deadline two days away, there always is the potential for general manager Bryan Colangelo to move additional pieces to address an obvious need for a big.

  Word is the Oklahoma City Thunder is more than willing to part with Chris Wilcox or Joe Smith, frontcourt players who would be welcome in Toronto, among other destinations.

  Whether Colangelo has the assets to acquire such a player is open to debate.

• Bosh, NBA all a-Twitter over latest blogging fad – Bosh, instead, used his BlackBerry smartphone to solicit recommendations on Twitter, the social networking site that, judging from the number of times it was referenced by hoop types this past weekend, is becoming ever more popular. Bosh's short message – known as a "tweet," in the parlance – reached the fellow Twitterers who have signed up to "follow" Bosh on the service.

  "I got about 10 replies," said Bosh, somewhat incredulous.

• Chad Ford: Five deals that <i>should</i> happen at the NBA trade deadline – Raptors send Chris Bosh to the Warriors for Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, Marco Belinelli and a future No. 1 pick

  Biedrins
  Biedrins
  Bosh
  Bosh

  • View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine

  Why should the Raptors do it?
  Because the writing is on the wall in Toronto. I'm not sure how the Raptors are going to keep Bosh in 2010, and, no, I don't think adding Shawn Marion really helps in the long term. This deal would give them a ton of young talent to rebuild. And the fact that much of it has an international flavor only makes it sweeter for Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo.

• Riley Takes Colangelo to the House – Pat Riley masterminded a brilliant trade as the Miami Heat traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Toronto Raptors for Jermaine O’Neal, Jamario Moon, and a lottery-protected first round draft pick. Basically he dominated former NBA Executive of the Year, Bryan Colangelo, and now has a team that can make some waves in the East this postseason. This trade is so much better for the Heat on so many levels.
• It’s about the summer – But ultimately this deal gives Bryan Colangelo the cap flexibility he desperately craved, about $10 million or $11 million this summer depending on how things shake down.

  Enough perhaps for a sharpshooter like the Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu, or if Colangelo chooses, Marion if he’s reborn like Mickey Rourke down the stretch.

  Of course, Anthony Parker, Joey Graham and even Carlos Delfino will all be on the president and GM’s radar.

• Midseason Grades – Toronto Raptors: F

  The Jermaine O’Neal experiment wasn’t a success, while Andrea Bargnani continues to be a failure. Is there a worse defensive player in the league? And wasn’t he supposed to be athletic with the ball? Jose Calderon has thrived as a starter, but with T.J. Ford gone, there’s been no backup? Where’s the toughness? Where are the defenders? Is Anthony Parker the only clever player on the team? And if Bosh is an elite player, why is always torched on defense, and afraid to assert himself on the low block? It’s been a dismal failure north of the border.

• Where Are They Now?: P.J. Tucker – Today's installment of Where Are They Now? features former University of Texas star P.J. Tucker. P.J. played three years at Texas before entering the 2006 NBA Draft. He was drafted in the 2nd round, 35th overall, by the Toronto Raptors. He spent the 2006-2007 between the Raptors and their NBDL affiliate the Colorado 14ers. He appeared in 17 games with Toronto Raptors averaging 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. He appeared in 19 games with the Colorado 14ers averaging 10.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
• Bosh rumor gains steam – Stoudemire earns $15 million this season and is owed $16.4 million next season, with a player option worth $17.7 million in 2010-11. His agent has said they will want a maximum contract extension of more than $100 million over five or six seasons from the team that trades for him or once he is a free agent.

  The 6-10, 230-pound Bosh, also a four-time All-Star, turns 24 next month. He makes $14 million this season and $15.8 million next season, with a player option of $17.1 million in 2010-11.

• New trade rumor has Bosh coming to Bulls – The Amare Stoudemire trade talk still has the Bulls among the teams most involved, but a new scenario making the rounds has the Bulls taking part in a three-team deal that would bring Toronto Raptors star Chris Bosh to Chicago.

  The rumored swap would send Stoudemire to Toronto and land the Phoenix Suns a package of players and draft picks from the Bulls, likely to include Drew Gooden and his expiring $7.2 million contract, Tyrus Thomas and a first-round pick.

  Gar Forman, the Bulls' director of player personnel who's expected to become general manager once John Paxson gives up day-to-day duties, reportedly has taken the lead in the talks with the Suns.

• Bryan Colangelo is a Victim of Bad Luck More than Bad Judgement – Every GM makes mistakes, even the good ones. Joe Dumars drafted Darko. Danny Ainge tanked so he could draft Oden or Durant and got neither. Mitch Kupchak traded Caron Butler for Kwame Brown. No executive is right 100% of the time.

  To be honest, both good luck and bad luck play a role, too. Unfortunately, Colangelo's luck has been on a downhill slide starting with the terrible injury to Jorge Garbajosa.

• Raptors have catching up to do – "It's okay. It's one of those things it's hard to tell," Bosh said of his knee last Sunday. "You have your bad days; you have your good days. Walking around, it's hard to tell. You never can tell until you start running and stuff like that. Hopefully, we can get after it and see how it feels."

  Bosh has missed considerable time in his career with knee problems, though the precise nature of them has always been held close the vest. This time, the club called Bosh's injury a sprain, indicating a sudden event, but Bosh said that wasn't the case.

• Fallout From All Star Weekend: Trades, Firings, and Rumors – The "two big men" plan in Toronto simply did not work. Getting Marion may help the Raptors significantly. They now have a solid point guard in Jose Calderon, a solid big man in Chris Bosh, and now a good scorer in Shawn Marion.

  The trade is a decent deal for both sides, and hopefully both will reap the benefits. But, lastly, throughout the weekend there have been numerous rumors about other players getting traded. Because there are so many, here is a quick overview of just some.

Related posts:

1. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 17th through February 23rd
2. Toronto Raptors Linkage for May 16th through May 17th
3. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 17th from 09:11 to 10:47
4. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 17th from 11:29 to 20:58
5. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 16th from 09:48 to 13:43