These are my links for August 21st through August 26th:

• Chrisholm Aritcle — Triano Interview « nbaroundtable – Once again, for those keeping count at home:* Chris Bosh — 36-38 minutes a night
  * Andrea Bargnani — 36 minutes a night
  * Backup Big Men — 20-24 minutes a night to be split between three players. Most likely with two of those players getting the majority of those minutes and just breaking the double digit mark per game.

  Even if Amir Johnson does surpass the other two veteran big men — and he should because he’s a lot more talented than either player and can contribute a lot more to the Raptors than either player as a result — he’ll still likely be playing only 10-12 minutes a night in a backup role. Except for maybe 10-15 games in the season where Bargnani or Bosh are out injured.

• Sports Alchemist » NBA 2009-2010 Preview… Atlantic Division – Toronto Raptors (33-49)
  New Accusations: Marco Belinelli, Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, Reggie Evans, Hedo Turkoglo, Jarret Jack and Antoine Wright
  Rookie/Rookies: Demar Derozan 1st round (9th pick)

  The busiest team this summer getting a handful of new players filling up half of the team but the most notable player would have to be Hedo who delivered Orlando its second visit to the NBA finals. I can say they got the steal of the draft on Demar Derozan a freak athlete who can provide the intensity and needed offense at 6-foot-7 he could have benefited another year in college but opt to go to the NBA to take care of his mother’s illness that’s why he slid down to the ninth pick. Gelling will be the Raptors main problem with 8 new faces in their roster but with still two months to go that won’t be a problem.

• Watch out for Raptors in Atlantic Division – Toronto Raptors – NESN.com – Here’s a sentence I haven’t had to write in a long time (perhaps ever): The Toronto Raptors will be scary this season.Yes, yes, I know. They were the laughingstock of the Atlantic Division in 2008-09 (along with the Knicks), finishing 33-49 and haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2001 — and they have never been past the second.

  And the Raptors were just as bad as that sounds last season, ranking 16th in offense and 20th in defense. They managed just 40 rebounds a game and hit six 3-pointers per game, the seventh-worst mark in the league.

  So what gives? Much.

• Sources: NBA, referees far apart on new deal – ESPN – As of “right now,” according to the source, existing NBA referees “will not be working preseason [or the] regular season.”Another source with knowledge of the talks, however, countered by questioning the referees’ willingness to hold out in a depressed economy if it reaches the point that the league threatens to impose a lockout.

  The source added that one motivation for the NBA digging in could be demonstrating the hard-line approach that some owners favor in collective-bargaining talks with NBA players that began earlier this month. The NBA’s labor pact with its players expires after the 2010-11 season, but the sides have opened negotiations much earlier than normal in a bow to an economic climate that has prompted numerous teams to curtail spending.

• Chisholm: Sitting down with Raptors’ head coach Jay Triano – This has been a madcap summer for the Toronto Raptors, with a bushel of new players acquired by Bryan Colangelo in an attempt to return the club to the post-season and convince All-Star Chris Bosh to re-sign with the club next summer.However, the man who is actually charged with making sense of the madness is head coach Jay Triano. On Monday I sat down with Triano for a lengthy discussion about last season, his overhauled roster and the myth of the Raptors as a running team.
• Photos from NBA Caricatures | Facebook -
• Overseas Basketball News, Notes, & Signings – Pape Sow signs in Poland. – Another former Raptor, Pape Sow (Cal St. Fullerton) signed with Prokom in Poland. The 6′10 250 Center has been with Prokom before and was last with Armani Jeans (Olimpia) Milano in Italy.
• T.Jose Caldesports: Toronto’s (Somewhat) Dramatic Off-Season Makeover – Let’s deal with the latter question first. Yes, from one opening day to the next, Bryan Colangelo will have just three of the same faces in a Raptor uniform. Undeniably, that is a small number. But let’s put it in context: the three players who return are key cogs of this franchise. While they account for just 20% of the roster, they chew up roughly 45% of the available court time, and will likely score about half of the 8,000 or so points the team will rack up next season. So, should the rapid rebuild be a storyline for this upcoming campaign, of course. But take all of it with a grain of salt.
• Dino Nation Blog: The Raptors Great Expectations – It is clear the expectation level has risen for this Raptor team. Along with that will be a rise in speculation on the future of Chris Bosh. This is going to be a season that will ultimately tell you a lot about Chris Bosh as a basketball player and as a person as well. How will he handle being in a contract year, with heavy expectations for his basketball team and the constant speculation by the U.S media about his future. How tough is Chris Bosh mentally? This season is going to provide a real answer to that question. Can he lock in on the task at hand and put aside all of the pressure and speculation and perform at a high level? I think he can do it.
• Pete Marasmitch – A statistical look at the new Raptors lineup – Bryan Colangelo may not be done wheeling and dealing yet, but I dare say the 2009-2010 Toronto Raptors roster is basically complete (a possible 15th man-for-12th man trade won’t make a huge impact). So, with little news expected on the horizon, let’s take a look at the new Raps from a stats-and-ratings angle:First, the ever-popular Player Efficiency Ratings.
• The top 10 lottery busts of the last decade – Yahoo! Sports – 6. Rafael Araujo(notes), Toronto Raptors, taken eighth overall in 2004Your humble narrator received all sorts of stick from Toronto backers for calling Hoffa a bust after his rookie year, as if he was ready for a bust-out season at age 25 after turning the ball over on nearly 21 percent of the possessions he used up in 2004-05. Raps fans, as they sometimes do, warmed to a dose of reality a year later when Araujo continued to stink, and Jazz fans got a taste in his third season before he was mercifully left to play overseas. And Rob Babcock? Don’t draft players who are two months away from their 24th birthday, unless they’re averaging 30 and 20 in the NCAAs. It’s not Hoffa’s fault, he worked his butt off, he was just a huge reach at eighth overall.
• Debate In The Paint: Raptors Just Can’t Escape Mediocrity — NBA FanHouse – American-born players love to visit Toronto. They just don’t like to stay too long, which is a fight the franchise has waged since its inception in 1995. When Bosh becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, the lure of Miami, New York or even Cleveland will take him away.The Raptors signed unrestricted free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu of Orlando to a five-year, $53 million deal. They signed restricted free agent Jarrett Jack of Indiana to a $20 million contract. Both were nice additions, but guess what? Their current teams didn’t try to hard to keep them. That should tell you something.
• Initial thoughts on the Raptors talent base compared with the previous 3 seasons -
• Debate in the Paint: Fear the Raptors — NBA FanHouse – The other major issue for the Raptors last season, one which I touched on briefly above, is the lack of offensive options. Jose Calderon is the primary creator here, and should remain so. But Hedo provides another avenue into the offense. When a forward can initiate the offense from behind the arc, the floor will spread and Bosh will find his cushion extended. Things were not easy for Bosh last season … and Hedo, while perhaps wasting a few too many possessions on iffy shots and turnovers, will be a boon. Bosh needed another creator to be most effective, and Colangelo got him one. Bargnani has a deadly trigger, but he needs to be fed to thrive. Hedo will feed him.
• Rumors and Rants » The Best Players Currently Wearing Each Number From 0 to 99 – 4 – Chris Bosh, PF, Toronto Raptors
  Four All-Star appearances and a Gold Medal in 2008 get CB4 this spot. His career averages of 19.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game don’t hurt either. Finished 2008-09 with a career-best 22.7 ppg.
  Honorable Mention: Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis Cardinals; Vincent Lecavalier, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Grading Current NBA Logos | Empty the Bench – Remember the kids problem I had with the Magic’s logo? Well this is even worse. The franchise was named after the popular creatures in Jurassic Park, which was released three months before the NBA awarded Toronto their team. That’s a good way to date the name of your team (e.g. Mighty Ducks). And their logo includes a raptor in basketball shorts, a jersey, and sneakers. If this doesn’t scream “marketed toward children,” I’m not sure what will. It’s a clean looking image, which is good, but the name Toronto is too small.
• My Team Is Better Than Yours: Toronto Raptors Edition – Pounding The Rock – They were almost as bad at offensive rebounding as us (28th to our 30th). That felt great to write that. As bad as we are at offensive rebounding, we are tops in limiting opposing teams from getting offensive rebounds. I bring this up because we finished the season giving up only 34 more shots than we took. Toronto gave up a little over 150. That is just under a 2 shots a game.I just scrolled through all the stats looking for some gem of a comparison. There is a general trend that the Raptors follow a lot of the patterns the Spurs follow. The major exception is defense though. The Raptors give up a better shooting percentage than they make themselves. They have more assists than us but are still in a negative margin to their opponents. One thing I really like about the stats is that the Raptors got to the line fairly well and were the top free throw shooting team in the league. That is very un-Spurs-like.
• Depth is good, only if you know how to use it…part 2 « New Leisure Blog – In part 1, I look at how many minutes each player should be getting if I’m Jay Triano. Here I will look at the possible lineup combination that we can use in 09-10 season. I hope Jay Triano is going to be creative here and figure a way to maximize our strength against different lineups.Before I get into it, I want to mention that since only 12 players can be dressed for each game, therefore there will always be 3 guys on the inactive list. My three right now: Patrick O’Brien, Sonny Weems, Marcus Banks (until he is officially traded)
• Bosh to release CD, DVD and iPhone application – Posted Sports – The CD will feature music by some of Bosh’s favourite artists, as well as recordings from new artists. Bosh is soliciting songs from unsigned artists, giving them a chance to submit songs for consideration for the album.Bosh’s iPhone application will allow fans to keep track of the NBA superstar with automatic updates from his Twitter feed, when he posts a video on YouTube and to keep track of his game statistics during the NBA season. Bosh is the first athlete to have his own iPhone application.
• Toronto Sports Media Blog » Is Chris Bosh About To Fall Flat? – I don’t believe he has spent every waking second in the gym or watching film this off season. Instead he has been working on Chris Bosh the brand. That is all his prerogative. It’s his life and he can do what ever he wants. It says here that the best players live their lives in their sport. Wayne Gretzky played hockey. Kareem, Magic and Bird played basketball- only Chacin had a cologne- and look where that got him. In my book you do the shit that Bosh is doing AFTER you win the league championship and MVP. Winners dedicate their careers to those goals. After they have completed those they can work on their brand. What would you prefer to be know as Chris, the first athlete with a Iphone app or a championship winner and league mvp????? Your actions this summer are speaking volumes of your goals, your work ethic and most of all your priorities.
• Toronto Raptors: Underachievement No Longer An Option. | Bleacher Report – Entering the 2009 offseason, Colangelo had a plan. First to bring back Marion and Anthony Parker and build around the nucleus of Marion, Parker, and Bosh with young solid talent.He drafted DeMar Rozan, the insanely athletic guard from USC. He reminds many of a young Vince Carter.

  However, that plan was quickly set ablaze less than 24 hours after signing break-out star Hedo Turkoglu. Parker had reached a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

  Colangelo had to make a move, quickly, or else risk the happiness of his star and lose all hope of resigning him in 2010.

  Jarrett Jack signed not long after Turkoglu, reuniting Bosh with his college teammate. He also signed big man, Rasho Nesterovic to a two-year deal.

• Sunny Skies Ahead for Raptor’s Back Court « The Zan Tabak Herald – When Chris Bosh left Georgia Tech after his freshman season, Jack came back the next year to lead his Yellow Jackets to a Cinderella story NCAA finals run. Eventually losing to a talented UConn Husky team. A team stacked with Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, and a sharp shooting big man Charlie Villanueva.The Raptor connection doesn’t end there, even before college. While it’s true Jack went to high school with Amare Stoudemire, he also broke the single game scoring mark at Mount Zion Academy with 56 points. A record held by Tracy McGrady.
• Raptors Opening Night Brings Optimism, Old Friends, and the King | Bleacher Report – The Bosh/Varejao matchup is completely one-sided, but Varejao should put up a fight defensively.This game should come down to the production of the bench, something that Raptors fans have questioned in recent years. That is where Colangelo’s offseason acquisitions really come into play, as the bench is composed of entirely new players.

  Rasho Nesterovic, Jarrett Jack, Reggie Evans, Demar DeRozan, and Marco Belinelli will be the main players off the bench for the Raps, and provide much of the defence the starters’ lack.

  DeRozan will be expected to come off the bench at first, and ease his way into the starting line-up.

  Belinelli is a great three-point shooter who will provide instant offense, as well as the occasional careless mistake.

• I Guarantee the Raptors Will Make The Playoffs | Dime Magazine – The additions of Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozanand Marco Belinelli definitely strengthens the Raps’ depth chart. With CB4 in a contract year and Andrea Bargnani getting better and better each year, Toronto is making a case for a playoff berth. Although there is no doubt in my mind T-dot will improve from that dismal 33 win season, is it enough to warrent postseason spot?
• Dino Nation Blog: The Summer Of B.C – In a summer that started with rumours of if Chris Bosh would be traded it has drastically changed for the better. I entered into this off-season feeling unsure about the Raptors future. Now that we are approaching the end of it, I find myself the most optimistic I have been in a long time. Sure there still is a lot of questions to be answered. The biggest of which is if Chris Bosh will remain with the Raptors beyond this season. However the team Colangelo has built gives me hope that it is possible to see a path that may lead Bosh to stay in Toronto. At the start of this off-season that was a lonely dark road that few people dared go down.
• PBN | Top of the class: Small Forwards (Hedo #8) – 8. Hedo Turkoglu, Toronto – After excelling at playing the pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard and emerging as a fearless shot-maker late in games, it will be interesting to see how Turkey’s M.J. fits in with the Raptors, where Jose Calderon and Chris Bosh are already installed. Turkoglu shot just 41 percent in a contract year and got paid anyway, but must get back to his 2007-08 form to prove worth the investment. His skills fit in well with the up-tempo offense Toronto is planning, so the chances to put up big numbers will be there.
• NBA.com: Busy offseason in Toronto puts Raptors again on the cusp – Still, after eight moves involving 17 different players, Colangelo believes he has addressed most of his team’s needs, both tangible and intangible (and the Raptors remain almost $2 million under the luxury tax). Reggie Evans brings toughness, DeMar DeRozan is as athletic as they come, Turkoglu gives them a second playmaker, Jack is an upgrade behind Jose Calderon and Antoine Wright, Rasho Nesterovic, Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson provide depth.
• The Pitfalls of Statistical Analysis: Basketball vs. Baseball – Raptors HQ – It’s also why analysts in basketball often talk about the “intangibles” that players bring to the game. Jorge Garbajosa is a recent Raptors example. Despite having fairly average numbers across the board, Garbajosa brought things that we still talk about to this day and was a big factor in ensuring the Raptors won the Atlantic Division in 2007. His ability to play more athletic players, his will to go after loose balls, and his overall smarts for what to do in various defensive situations all led up to statistics that are not regularly calculated or released to the general public by the NBA. Players such as Garbajosa and Shane Battier are often applauded for their “intangible” work, but at the end of the day, isn’t that just a way of glossing over the fact that the NBA statistic records are incomplete?
• Off Season Disappointment « NBA MVP – Toronto Raptors: Hard to tell if signing Hedo Turkoglu was a good decision. I guess we will find out if Chris Bosh decides to leave in 2010. This addition one works if Chris Bosh stays in Toronto. Otherwise, Hedo Turkoglu is the only guy they have left to lead the Raptors.
• The Draft Pick Debt – HOOPSWORLD – Draft picks are the grease when it comes to trades. They carry no actual value as to whether or not a trade works under CBA rules, but they are the sweet bits of chocolate that can coerce another team into saying yes. Some teams horde their picks, picking them up from other teams as much as possible. Other teams view draft picks as simply a means to an end, preferring to trade them for proven talents.Here is a list of all future draft picks that have been traded. This broken down by year and round, with the team receiving the pick named followed by where the pick comes from detailed.
• Hedo Turkoglu: Changing the Point | Bleacher Report – Of course, if I didn’t have to choose between a pass-first and a shoot-first point guard, I would want a player who can do both really well. Enter Jose Calderon, also known as “a coach’s dream.”Calderon can both pass and shoot extremely well, so I believe that he’s an even better fit with Turkoglu than strictly shoot-first point guards would be.

  Both Calderon and Turkoglu can play the role of primary playmaker or sharp-shooter. So, when they’re both on the floor together, the opposition should expect the unexpected.

• RaptorTalk: Looking Forward To An Exciting Raptors Season With The Top Ten Questions – To be honest, I have not been this pumped about a Raptors season since before the Hakeem Olajuwon era was supposed to begin. Of course, that season was a major letdown that became the first step in dismantling the Carter-led Raptors, instead of the start of a projected Raptor dynasty.Visiting other NBA cities has only made me more excited about what promises to be a fun season for fans of the Toronto Raptors.
• Depth is good, only if you know how to use it…part 1 « New Leisure Blog – Taking a look at the roster, I only see one open spot in the starting line up, so the crucial part is to get the playing time dole out properly and what type of rotation I am going to have?Today I am going to take a look at the minutes I would give for my rotation. I realize that this is pure fantasy and may not be realistic due to certain situation. For example, I have Bosh playing all his minutes at PF, that’s because in an ideal situation, he should only play as a PF, not at C. However, I can see in certain situations where he needs to play center (small ball situation).
• It’s contagious! | Detroit Bad Boys – I’m still not thrilled that Johnson won’t be wearing red, white and blue this year, but at least he’s landed in a city with fans equally delirious/delusional about his long-term potential.(On a side note, it seems the Bryan Colangelo Man-Crush epidemic has not yet been detected in NBA fans south of the border. Wear a facemask, Garrett!)
• A Letter to Pops Mensah Bonsu « The Zan Tabak Herald – Raptor fans know, and hope, you will find great success in Houston and come back to haunt us like so many other former Raptors have. I only wish the current situation would have allowed you to return to the team and provide energy and intensity off the bench. Hopefully Houston will appreciate the player they’ve acquired and playing time will be plentiful for you.One cannot help but feel that the Raptors might be missing out on something special here. A player who has yet to achieve his potential and has a high ceiling in my opinion. We haven’t had a player like you in a Raptor’s uniform since the days of Jerome Williams. You were fun to watch and one can only hope that your energy and effort will rub off on what little team members remain for last year.
• Roster turnover in Toronto continues | Cuzoogle – Amir Johnson was one of the sleepers that Fantasy NBA fans were keen to jump on the bandwagon with last season, but he never got the playing time that seemed likely and was eventually traded to the Bucks in the deal that sent Richard Jefferson to San Antonio.However, he should fit in perfectly with the Raptors where he has less competition for time among their big men, and he should really be the first man off the bench when Chris Bosh or Andrea Bargnani needs a rest.

  But he is another player who seems to have struggled with the curse of being drafted straight out of high school with massive expectations – much the same as someone like Kwame Brown but on a lower level.

• Care About the D-League.  Kthxbai! – Ridiculous Upside – Toronto Raptors: Last season, Pops Mensah-bonsu, Quincy Douby, Joey Graham, Nate Jawai, Jamario Moon and Patrick O’Bryant all played for the Raptors. They also all had prior D-League experience. That said, who knows who will end up on the Raptors this season from the D-League? And better yet, maybe Roko Ukic could get some PT in the D this season?
• Mavericks still Nate’s target – Cairns Sports News – “It’s hard to have a guy on your roster that you haven’t seen play before and know a lot about,” Jawai said of the Mavericks, who had representatives in South America watching the former Cairns Taipan when he played for the Boomers against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay last month.”I’m talking with my agent but I’m a Maverick right now. So whatever happens,
  happens.

  “I still haven’t heard anything from them so all I can do right now is have a good (northern) summer and perform well for the Boomers in the next couple of games and see where it’s at after that.”

  But Jawai is determined not to let the issue cloud his mind when he steps on court for the Boomers.

  “I do care about my future but it is what it is. It’s a business, I can’t worry about it,” he said.

• Hoop Heads North: One on One with Jay Triano in Halifax – I decided to seize the opportunity and told him a bit about our blog and asked if I could do a quick interview with him the next day. And of course he agreed….a chance to speak to the world famous blog, Hoop Heads North, reppin’ the Raps in the Maritimes..Jay had been a die hard reader from the start (actually…he was more like “you write for Hoop Heads what?”)
• Addressing the Toronto Raptors Needs in 2008 Fan Of The Year Winner Blogs in Fan Voice – So BC rectifies the Shawn Marion issue by trading him along with Nathan Jawai and Kris Humphries. In return for the favor of helping out a desperate Mavericks to grab all the chips they can with the sign-and-trade, they received Maverick duo Devean George and Antoine Wright. A couple bodyguards to protect a clutch shooter from sniping long range buzzer beaters doesn’t sound like a bad move to me; especially when it helps solidify your bench.So now it’s time to think about the moves the Raptors are most likely to make and address the Toronto Raptors’ needs. Big daddy BC has quieted some of the haters at least according to some mediocre guys.
• OpEdNews – Turkish Airlines Wants Hidayet Turkoglu – Turkish Airlines (THY) starts direct flying to Toronto, in Canada and plans Turkish basketball player Hidayet Türkoğlu from whom Turkish Airlines to act a part at advertising campaign of Toronto flying. Türkoğlu had been transferred the Toronto Raptors team this year.Basketball is popular game about for 20 years in Turkey. The players show up in advertisements since then. But our player’s international adventures are, at specially NBA, new. Türkoğlu is one of our hero’s in NBA. But I think he thought that his real hero’s are some advertisers and broadcasters, too.
• Toss Up: Dirk Nowitzki or Chris Bosh? | Bleacher Report – Both players can pick apart double teams, but Nowitzki has developed an unstoppable shot, something Bosh has yet to do. Nowitzki will post up his man, usually around the free throw line, bump him a few times, then fade back with one knee in the air.If he”s on, there is no stopping him. You have to double team him, or aggressively deny him the ball. Chris Bosh is not to that point yet.

  Defensively, Bosh is the better defender, both man to man and help. But as neither is very good, is doesn’t really make a difference. Nowitzki’s game doesn’t lag too far behind here, and it’s not enough to make up for the difference in offensive production.

  Bosh does get more steals and blocked shots per game, but the difference between the two is minimal. When playing on a team with names such as Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, and now Shawn Marion, it’s all the more impressive.

• Reflection with Doug Christie 8/22/2009 – The NBA Breakdown on Blog Talk Radio – The NBA Breakdown checks in with former Sacramento King and Toronto Raptor, Doug Christie. Doug talks about his days with Sacramento, his personal journey to the NBA and the good ol’ days as a Toronto Raptor.
• Piston Fans waited for Amir to breakout – Full-Court Press – Piston fans have always supported Amir Johnson, waiting for that breakout string of games that would elevate the young big man into the player that the Piston management had tantalized fans with for four seasons. It will be tough for Johnson to earn any kind of real minutes in Toronto, he will have to fight for playing time with players who are already established themselves in the league.
• SCIC NBA Power Rankings: Can Toronto Make It The Big 4 In The East? | Sir Charles In Charge – 4) Toronto Raptors (8) – Other than San Antonio, Toronto had the best summer of any team in the league. RuPaul should be very happy about his new supporting cast. 50+ wins this season is not out of the question.
• Who’s The Beast in the NBA’s East | Bleacher Report – With that in mind, here’s how the Eastern Conference may look this season:Atlantic Division

  1. Boston Celtics 61-21
  2. Toronto Raptors 40-42
  3. New Jersey Nets 32-50
  4. Philadelphia 76ers 31-51
  5. New York Knicks 26-56

  The East is much better, but other than the Celtics, the Atlantic Division is weak. The Raptors have quietly added some nice pieces to the mix, including Hedo Turkoglu. Keep a careful watch on newly acquired Marco Bellineli, as this could be the opportunity he’s been waiting for. Andrea Bargnani should get better also.

• Would The Toronto Raptors Be A Good Fit For Allen Iverson Next Season? – Here’s why I think he’d be a good fit for the Raptors:
  The Raptors play that Run & Gun style offense that A.I. loves to play in.
  One of the Raptors biggest needs other than a true center is a Shooting Guard. A.I. fits that need.
  The Raptors have a true point guard in Jose Calderon. One of the reasons the trade to Pistons didn’t work out very well is because they didn’t have a true point guard. A.I. and Stuckey aren’t point guards. they can play the point, but not as good a natural point guard. If A.I. went to the Raptors, he wouldn’t have to worry about distributing the ball cause they already have calderon. All A.I. would have to do is what he does best and that’s scoring.
  He would provide veteran leadership to that young Raptors team.
  He would bring back that exciting Phoenix Suns Offense to Toronto that Bryan Colangelo so desperately wants.
  He would give the Raptors another scoring option alongside Bosh and Bargnani.
• NBA.com’s 2006 NBA Draft GM Survery « nbaroundtable – In conclusion, a fifth of the league picked Bargnani as the best player to come out of the draft with another fifth picking Tyrus Thomas. Only one tenth of the league choose Brandon Roy, who at this point is the consensus best player from that draft class.Anyway, I just thought it was very interesting to stroll back down memory lane and check out a survey of league GM’s and what their thoughts were about the draft at that time.
• Toronto Raptors lose Pops Mensah-Bonsu to Houston | Interbasket – The Toronto Raptors are hemorraging international players this offseason, while the Houston Rockets are stockpiling them to fill in for injured Chinese center Yao Ming.Today, the Houston Rockets reached a verbal agreement with the 6-10 Pops Mensah-Bonsu, the energetic British center that played for the Raptors last season.

  The deal is a one-year deal and the terms weren’t disclosed as of this writing.

• C-Webb’s Fab Five: Toronto – NBA Videos and Highlights -
• Trade from Bucks did not shock Johnson – Now he finds himself in Toronto, where he will fight with Reggie Evans and Rasho Nesterovic for minutes behind Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani in the frontcourt. He hopes his years serving as Rasheed Wallace’s apprentice will help him curry favour with the Raptors.”Playing alongside ‘Sheed, that makes you a lot more vocal,” Johnson said. “He was on me like every day. ‘You’ve got to talk. That’s the key to the defence.’ That’s one of the main things I do on the court, is talk on defence. I should be fine bringing that along to Toronto.”
• TheStar.com | Amir Johnson ready to run with Raptors – Enter the Raptors, who needed frontcourt depth behind Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, Rasho Nesterovic and Reggie Evans and someone to battle Patrick O’Bryant for whatever minutes remain.GM Bryan Colangelo turned one asset not interested in the role the Raptors had for him (Carlos Delfino) and a point guard destined for spot duty at best (Roko Ukic) into Johnson and guard Sonny Weems.

  “I heard they (the Raptors) are looking to get up and down the floor a little bit more,” said Johnson.

• Newest Rap an unknown quantity | Toronto Sun – When he was given a chance to start last season in Detroit, the Pistons were in the throes of an implosion that ultimately led to rookie head coach and one-time Raptors small forward Michael Curry getting canned.When Johnson was given touches and asked to impose his will on games, the results were negligible.

  In an off-season of change, Johnson now finds himself a Raptor on a team that has undergone profound change.

  The most appealing quality to Johnson is his age.

  At 22, there’s plenty of room to grow, and there’s an abundance of energy and athleticism.

  How he fits won’t be answered until this fall, when training camp opens and when pre-season basketball takes on a different meaning with the Raptors.

• Toronto Raptors: Scouting the New Guys | Bleacher Report – The Raptors have added 6 new faces to the roster since the end of last season, 9 new faces since the start of 2009. It’s time we had a proper introduction to the group.We can throw in Matt Carroll at the end, just in case Colangelo convinces Dallas that Marcus Banks fills their need for a third string point guard, the same way Matt Carroll could fill the Raptors’ need for a third string small forward.
• Courtside – Does improved economy mean future cap drop won’t be as dire as predicted; plus lots of Jordan stuff and Amir Johnson speaks – Finally, Amir Johnson addressed the media today and the one thing he talked about that most interested me was how much Rasheed Wallace had taught him about playing defence.
  The Raptors desperately need to be a tougher and smarter defensive unit, and if Johnson picked up even 20% of Sheed’s expertise on those ends, he’ll bring a lot to the team.

  Defence isn’t just moving your feet and being in the right spot, communication is a key and Johnson said Wallace taught him a lot about communicating with teammates.

• Johnson hoping to add experience, energy to Raptors – “I’m coming in my fifth year and I feel like I have a lot of experience,” said Johnson.”I feel like I can bring that to Toronto with me and just play alongside Chris (Bosh) and all those guys with the experience I have.”

  Johnson appeared in 62 games with the Pistons and led the team in field goal percentage at .595 before a trade moved him to Milwaukee in June.

  The six-foot-nine, 210-pound Johnson averaged 3.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.97 blocks per game.

  After working out in the off-season, Johnson hopes he can add a little more jump both to his game and the Raptors frontcourt.

  “I have to look into get up and down the court a little bit more, just running,” said Johnson.

• Why Do Raptors Fans Want To Get Rid Of Patrick O’ Bryant? | Bleacher Report – Taking a look at O’ Bryant’s rebounding totals and points. He averaged half of what Pops did in less than half the playing time. Johnson and POB are equally raw and will take time to get out of that stage. O’ bryant is less than a year older than Amir Johnson. So, why do fans want O’ Bryant shipped out of town?Although, Demar Derozan will be better than Weems, Johnson, and O’ Bryant possibly even combined. DD is still raw and you think he’ll be our saviour this year, Bellinelli is a bit raw you think he’ll be our saviour this year, Johnson is raw you think he’ll be our saviour this year.
• Amir Johnson – Fan590 – The newest Toronto Raptor joins The Game Plan to talk about coming to T.O., his reaction to the trade, what he learned playing with the veterans in Detroit and his familiarity with rookie DeMar DeRozan.
• RaptorBlog – Ranking The East: Shooting Guards – I expect some strong debate from Raptors Truthers about my selection and ranking for the Raptors’ starting two-guard, but that’s part of what makes posts like this fun, right? And away we go…
• Raptors have $22.75mil committed through 2014 – HOOPSWORLD – The Toronto Raptors have the most money committed to the 2013-14 season – $22,750,000.
• Metro – Amir Johnson hoping to add experience, energy to Toronto Raptors – The 22-year-old forward had just started house hunting when he was sent from the Bucks to the Raptors on Tuesday along with guard-forward Sonny Weems in exchange for guards Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic.”Luckily I didn’t lease one out because I would have been all hectic just trying to lease one and get it. But now I gotta go to Toronto and get a little apartment,” Johnson said in a conference call Friday.

  The Raptors are hoping Johnson can add a veteran presence to the bench after four seasons spent in Detroit.

  “I’m coming in my fifth year and I feel like I have a lot of experience,” said Johnson.

  “I feel like I can bring that to Toronto with me and just play alongside Chris (Bosh) and all those guys with the experience I have.”

• Pops Mensah-Bonsu Will Return To The ACC | Bleacher Report – Then, for the past week or less came people begging and trying to figure out ways that Bryan Colangelo could still sign Pops. One person would say “we could buy out this guy.” Another person would say ” we could do this trade and then buy out that guy”.But, to no avail as it is finally over. The frustration and the madness that is Pops Mensah-Bonsu is finally over. His presence was like this plague that you couldn’t get rid of, until now.

  I must say, even though I wasn’t on that Pops to Raptors bandwagon, it is a bit of a downer to see him leave. Oh well, Pops you will be remembered for years to come. We look forward to seeing you next season when the Rockets come to the ACC.

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