These are my Toronto Raptors Linkage links for June 11th from 05:42 to 16:54:
- What I did on My summer vacation: By Jason Kapono – Toronto Sports Exchange – Was this a good move? Does it even matter?
TSE is going to have to go more with: good move that doesn't really matter. This move was a 1 million a year salary dump. It was an admission of guilt by Brian Collangelo. Kapono was one of his first free agent moves with the Raptors, but one that ultimately never panned out. The writers at TSE feel that Kapono would make an excellent HORSE player, but never really hit the big three point daggers when the game was on the line, alla Mo Peterson.
So the occasional three is out and some hard nosed rebounding is in. But more importantly one million a year is back in, no the question is who will the Raptors spend it on?
- 2009 NBA Mock Draft #2 | LestersLegends.com – 9. Toronto Raptors – DeMar DeRozan
Still a great fit for the Raptors. A Wing with off the charts athleticism. - Wizards work out DeRozan – DC Pro Sports Report – The Washington Wizards are working out DeMar DeRozan today. The 6'6" shooting guard from USC is an amazing athlete who can jump out of the gym, but he has limited range on his shot and the next time I see him go to his left will be the first time. DeRozan has incredible potential, but when I've seen him he's usually loafing on defense. Of course, a cynical bastard might suggest that means he'll fit in nicely on the Wiz, but the team has got to cut that cord sooner or later. Let's just get on with it.
- Holly MacKenzie – Notes from Pre-Draft Workout #3 – -Kelly made it clear that the Raptors are going to continue to look for ways to improve the team. With so many teams looking to move up in the draft this year, so many point guards to choose from and a sense that anything could happen after Blake Griffin finds himself in Clipperland, it's going to be a wild two weeks leading up to the main event.
- Rebuilding the Raptors: Chris Bosh Trade Scenarios | Bleacher Report – So you'll have to excuse me when I get a little cynical at the chances of Colangelo locking up Bosh in the summer of 2010. That's not a poor endorsement of BC's general manager skills, nor is it an indictment of Bosh's character. I just can't shake the image of another Raptors star skipping town without receiving something significant in return.
So without further ado, I present some trade scenario's that involve the Raptors and three teams that could use a player of Bosh's calibre around the association.
- Foot on the Line: About draft and the Finals – I don't know how much truth is in the fact that Demar Derozan didn't want to come to train with the Raptors, but it doesn't make him a desirable player. How can a young boy who didn't smell NBA yet already grade teams he wants to play or not? Kid, Tim Duncan you're not. You might end up being Hoffa / having a 15 win team.
- Dino Nation Blog: Raptors Could Learn Something From The Sixers – The Raptors have one of the larger online fan bases you will find. There are a ton of great blogs on the Raptors hopefully including this one. Not to mention the fan posting boards like on Real G.M and Raptors forum. Why don't the Raptors try these type of things to embrace that Internet.
- khandor’s sports blog » Could a Bargnani trade benefit the Raptors? – Here is but one example of a straight-forward transaction which involves Andrea Bargnani, as a commodity worth trading for the Toronto Raptors:
- FAN590 – Action – Reaction – ACTION: The Raptors have already got a “short list” of players for their 9th pick in the June 25th Draft.
REACTION (A): Nobody (other than those in the Raptors brain trust) knows who is on that list.
REACTION (B): Don’t believe any stories out there about the Raptors making Draft-day “promises” to anyone yet. - Getting to know better Jason Kapono « Sixers 4 guidos – The biggest thing missing from the Raptors this past season was “toughness” The team knew it, Bryan Colangelo knew it, the fans knew it and it was an area that needed improvement for the offseason.
We had a little bit of it with J.O. but lost it when he was traded to Miami. So when I heard about Reggie Evans, I know it was Colangelo’s attempt to cover that void. From what I’ve ever seen from him, he’s a great rebounder and can bang around down low. He has all the skills that Andrea Bargnani lacks. I can see Evans as one of those guys can grab 20 boards but won’t do much offensively.
- Chaun’s Raptors and NBA blog: Why, DeMar? I thought you said you loved me! – There’s always a player, usually the ones that are projected to go top ten, whose agent comes out publicly to say his client doesn’t want to work for team A or be drafted by Team B (Read: Rubio). Isn’t getting drafted a privilege? What right as a player, actually no a ‘draft prospect’, do you have to tell teams not to choose you, or you don’t want to work out for them? If I got drafted, I wouldn’t care if it were by the Raptors or Kings or God forbid, the Clippers. So Every time I hear about a player doing this, I shake my head.
- Raptors Building Team Around Andrea Bargnani : T.O. Sports – While Bargnani is far from being a superstar, he clearly has shown that he has the potential to be one. He’s also shown a love for Toronto, and while no one can truly know where a player’s head will be after two or three years, all signs seem to suggest that he will be playing in Toronto for a long time, and be doing so with a smile on his face.
- From Earl Clark to Alvin Williams – RaptorsHQ Recaps the June 10 Workouts – RaptorsHQ.com – Earl Clark was probably the most heralded of the forwards coming into the workout and he did indeed stand out. He showed well when he went through the team drills, no doubt a byproduct of his preparation under Rick Pitino. Clark displayed his prowess as a help defender often aiding off the weak side leading to transition chances. He was rebounding well above the rim, and was either leading the break with an outlet pass or finishing the break with a strong move the hole. He also showed well in the individual defense drills stopping both the guards and forwards alike. His length was definitely an asset, and he knows how to use it well on the defensive end.
- Chaun’s Raptors and NBA blog: The Finals and Workouts, yet again! – Give the man a jersey!
Having him back on the team brings back so much memories. I’m young so I grew up watching him, JYD and Vince. Plus, he’s still young and that will help him connect with the players. Maybe he could teach Roko something…
- Foot on the Line: Jonny Flynn wants to play in Toronto – Anyways, if Jonny comes here, I'll be happy. I might like Tyreke Evans even more, but I seriously doubt he'll be available at #9. Any of them I believe can provide some heart to our team. We just traded for some balls (Reggie Evans) and maybe this transplants make the next season better and more fun to watch.
- Dino Nation Blog: Starting 5 with Ryan McNeill Of Hoops Addict – Today our guest on the starting 5 is Ryan McNeill of Hoops Addict. Ryan gets a chance to cover the workouts for the Raptors so I thought that was a good enough excuse to invite him to be a guest.
- The700Level.com – Reggie Evans Traded to Toronto for Jason Kapono – And the asking price? Well, we'll miss Reggie, no doubt–he provided energy and hustle that carried the Sixers through many a rough patch the last two seasons, and gave us countless priceless memories with his clowning, flopping and general rabble-rousing. But fact of the matter is, he was an overpaid offensive liability that was probably going to have to be dropped in the rotation in the future anyway to make room for the growth of Marreese Speights. That we didn't have to waste cap space or a draft pick to fill our need for a downtown bomber–it's about as good a deal as we could ask for.
- Former Sixer Evans resigned to moving on to next NBA stop | Philadelphia Daily News | 06/11/2009 – "Seven years in the [NBA], each time the season ended, I was always on a plane for home [Pensacola, Fla.] the next day," Evans said yesterday. "This time, I stayed in Philly a week-and-a-half. I never did that.
"I was getting real comfortable. We had put in 2 years together, but it was an unfortunate situation for me, because we were loaded at my position."
"We" used to be the 76ers. That changed Tuesday when the Sixers sent the power forward to the Toronto Raptors for shooting forward/big guard Jason Kapono.
"Honestly, looking at who [the Sixers] got, I really couldn't be mad," Evans said. "There's nothing to be mad about. It's business. I see the direction they're going in.
"They've been looking for a shooter since [president/general manager] Ed Stefanski got there. Kareem Rush didn't really have an opportunity, Donyell Marshall had played 14 years in the league, couldn't play a full season. Now, they've got somebody who can spread the offense."
- 76ers happy with Kapono | Toronto Sun – Raptors broadcaster Eric Smith looks at the hiring of Alvin Williams as part of the coaching staff and the Jason Kapono for Reggie Evans trade.
- Greed-driven MLSEL doesn’t deserve a single penny | Toronto Sun – The MLSEL mess doesn't stop with just hockey. Everything they touch makes an ash of itself. Show me a Raptors star and I'll show you a guy who left town in a huff — mostly because he got tired of being surrounded by garbage year in, year out.
They were lucky. They got to leave. The fans just got a ticket renewal with a price increase.
- Sixers-Raptors trade – Although the league’s salary-cap figure for next season won’t be established until July, Toronto expects to have the ability to clear nearly $9 million in cap space this offseason, with that figure potentially climbing to $10 million if the Raptors don’t retain low-cost free agents Quincy Douby and Patrick O’Bryant.
Bosh told ESPN.com in April and reiterated last week that he will pass on Toronto’s offer of a contract extension this summer, preferring to wait for the widely anticipated free-agent bonanza of 2010. But the Raptors still face an immediate decision on Shawn Marion — who is an unrestricted free agent this summer after being acquired by Toronto in February in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal — as they try to rebound from a disappointing 33-49 season that has raised questions about their ability to convince Bosh to stay.
- Uniformity – The best and worst of the NBA – Outside The Press Box – Toronto Raptors (home, road, alternate): The Raptors changed their sets in 2003, trying to join the power reds worn by Miami, Chicago and Portland. It just doesn’t work though. Then they added black in 2008. Plus, they have the purple and the whites. It doesn’t matter. The thing that kills them all is that black and white ribbing down the sides. Like so many teams that have come along in the last 15 years, the Raptors have no visual identity because they keep adding and changing. If they had stuck with the purple, they would have been better off.
- Hoops Addict » NBA Mock Draft – June 11, 2009 – 9. Toronto Raptors – Jonny Flynn PG – Video: In The Scrum With Jonny Flynn
20 years old; 6′0″; 172 lbs.
Syracuse, Sophomore - Williams back to share his wisdom – "I don't want to be the old retired player that sounds bitter," Williams, the former Toronto Raptor guard, said after the club worked out draft prospects yesterday. "But I came up with guys like Charles Oakley, Kevin Willis, Mark Jackson, Dee Brown, Muggsy Bogues, Dee Brown. All those guys were older vets that I looked up to when I was growing up. They showed me the work ethic that I already had.
"The younger guys, I'm not sure if they have those role models that I had coming to a team. But hopefully I can help with that from the sideline."
- TheStar.com | Williams likes look of Lawson – Whether or not Lawson's a legitimate possibility for Toronto's ninth pick in the June 25 draft is debatable; what isn't open for discussion is the fact Williams will work with whomever the Raptors decide constitutes their backcourt.
"When I was coming up, it was, `Pass the ball and get away' and let other guys create," said Williams. "These guys are so talented with the basketball and they get a lot of freedom to do a lot. The point guard play has changed. That's something I have to get used to.
"I know when I played, I passed the ball to Vince (Carter) and got out of the way. You see guys like Jose (Calderon), who's very good with the ball, creating for other teammates."
- Sixers GM says Kapono will help fix shooting woes – The Globe and Mail – A day after trading for Jason Kapono, whose .454 career three-point shooting percentage is tied for first in league history with Steve Kerr, Stefanski said the newest Sixer will immediately help his team.
“We’ve been sorely missing a player like this,” Stefanski said Wednesday. “He gives us a threat out there and you have to respect him.” The 76ers acquired Kapono from Toronto for power forward Reggie Evans on Tuesday. Both players must pass physicals for the trade to be completed.
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