I would really like to sign Joel, but I don't know if we will. Jawai also was signed. Deji Akindele is a guy I like, and would be pleased if the Raps signed him for cheap. I really wanted Rod Benson, but with his injury, he won't get signed.
Well Rod in the D-league averaged 13 ppg on 52%, and 12 rpg, not too shabby. I dont know his size though. It seems the Raps biggest hole right now is PG, just having Calderon. Power Forward they have the most depth with Bosh, Bargnani, and Humphries being best suited there. At Center they have JON and Jawaii. Small Forward is pretty good shape in terms of depth, Moon, Kapono, Graham, are natural 3s. Although Graham is more of a personal trainer than a NBA player. SG Parker and Adams, unless Adams can take on some of a pointguard role. PG: Calderon, no one. John Lucas for minimum seems like it would be a good addition. The Raps should ideally add two more pointguards, and Lucas having 3 point range is a nice asset.
Yea, his D-League numbers are good, but I'm don't know what BC thinks. I would be happy to sign him, because he'll be cheap, but I'm not to sure about the extent of his injury. Here is his D-League profile: Rod Benson The guy can grab rebounds like crazy. He's listed at 220 pounds and 6'10. He would be awesome to have at C/PF.
I didn't catch this game (seriously, is it televised anywhere?), but Lucas wasn't particularly impressive in the first game. He shot 3-13 from the field and made some terrible passes/turnovers towards the end of the game. He could get a look, but I've never been terribly impressed by him over his NBA career. The roster as it stands now is: Jermaine O'Neal / Kris Humphries / Nate Jawai Chris Bosh / Andrea Bargnani Jason Kapono / Jamario Moon / Joey Graham Anthony Parker / Hassan Adams Jose Calderon / Roko Ukic A lot of our subs are versatile and can step in at a few positions, so its not nearly as pathetic as it looks. But as it stands, our bench is still a big unknown and a potential weak spot. We're relying on Bargnani to bring a lot of scoring off the bench (assuming Kapono starts) and we're putting a lot of faith in unproven commodities to backup the guard spots. I think Colangelo will be mindful of the dropoff this team will face from playing with a TJ/Jose combination to a Jose + scrubs one, and will sign a veteran point guard. As a result, I can't really see any of the player on our summer league roster making the team except for the ones that are already signed.
I didn't know Ukic was signed. And I totally forgot that the Raps are right at the edge of the luxury tax because of the Calderon signing, and probably want to avoid it. So maybe Colangelo will go with a 12 man roster, and not sign another pointguard or shooting guard.
My mistake, I don't think the Ukic signing is official. But the way people from both sides have talked, it seems like only a matter of time. Its basically been an assumption around the Toronto area. I'm worried about our depth, but on the other hand, this shortening of the bench is deliberate IMO. We had arguably the deepest bench in the league the past two seasons and Smitch always had trouble settling on a rotation, managing minutes, and giving out clearly defined roles. This season comes off as BC saying "here's what you've wanted, show me what you can do with it" to the coaching staff, and I think it'll be a fairly quick exit if Mitchell can't produce with it.
I agree with your rotation Chutney, but I think BC might sign one or two guys from our summer league roster. We are lacking at the guard position and I think we both know, Hassan is not a great shooter. However, I wouldn't mind him playing 20-25 minutes per game because him and Moon are a great athletic duo. Ukic from what I've heard about him, is a pretty good passer and as we've seen from many Euro PG's, very unselfish. Lucas doesn't impress me at all. I don't like his game and I rather sign Carroll or Collins. Now, most of our roster is forwards, but that isn't a bad thing. Now, C.J. Giles is 6'10 playing SG and he's not to bad. I rather have a big line-up of athletic guys who can play versatile roles, then guys who just play one role, and don't do that very well. My ideal rotation: Jermaine O'Neal / Kris Humphries / Nate Jawai Chris Bosh / Andrea Bargnani / Deji Akindele Jason Kapono / Jamario Moon / Joey Graham Anthony Parker / Hassan Adams / C.J. Giles Jose Calderon / Roko Ukic I think Deji and C.J. would be nice additions and would bring some very good energy off the bench.
It seems though the Raps want to avoid lux tax. (Colangelo pointed out Jose's contract had to be slightly restructured to avoid it) I guess an idea would be to dump off Joey Graham to a team with Cap Space and give two of those guys contracts on their summer league team small contracts. Joey Graham to Charlotte for a 2nd rounder? Joey Graham to Charlotte for nothing?
I'm not against dumping Graham. The guy over achieves like this all the time, then when it comes to an NBA game, you don't know what to expect. I just can't take it anymore. I know the guy can play and he can do a lot of things, but he's so inconsistent, that to let him go, wouldn't bother me. If BC gives small contracts to Deji Akindele and C.J. Giles, I would be content. The expectations are low, but the reward will be very high.
Nuggets vs. Raptors I've watched the entire first half of this contest and have yet to be moved to write anything. Joey Graham continues to play as if he has a point to prove and leads all scorers with 11 points. Dahntay Jones is high man for the Nuggets, who lead 39-34, with eight. Although he hasn't scored a point, I'm happy that Nuggets guard Chris Lofton is on the floor. The former University of Tennessee standout, who made more triples that anyone is SEC history, had a cancerous tumor removed from one of his testicles in March of 2007. He didn't get drafted, but is now trying to catch on with Denver. I don't think they should dump him just yet.
Ah, maybe. I don't think he do any better under Mitchell and him sitting on the bench is bad for him. I rather trade him to a team where he can play and get the minutes he needs to prove what he can do.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Princess Shake @ Jul 15 2008, 12:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Ah, maybe. I don't think he do any better under Mitchell and him sitting on the bench is bad for him. I rather trade him to a team where he can play and get the minutes he needs to prove what he can do.</div> How would dumping him help the Raptors though?
Well, he doesn't play much at all. Moon is like Graham with more athleticism, but less of a jumper. Graham just can't seem to find anything to go right for him with the Raptors. So, they dump him to make some cap space and use it to sign two summer league players to small contracts.
Dumping Graham doesn't make sense. He's been shit so far, but he's still significantly more talented than the summer league talented you're comparing him too. I mean, the fact that he's shown barely any growth the past few years, and still continues to play well in the summer league makes that pretty obvious. The Raptors are just stuck hoping that Graham can put it all together. And honestly, that's the best way to sum up their bench. They're hoping for the same from Bargnani, Moon, Humphries, etc.
I'll give Graham another chance, and I wanna see how he plays. I think it's best for Mitchell to play him as much as he can and not keep him on the bench. He should try and put Moon at SG and Graham at SF to play with Bosh, JO and Calderon as one line-up. That makes us huge and athletic and it could work to our advantage sometimes.
Seems like the two off-season options as of right now would be: OPTION A Bargnani Bosh, Humphries Marion ($30 mill/3 years), Kapono Delfino Calderon, Banks, Ukic + Harden, Thabeet, or Monroe, Mullens + Childress or Parker + Rasho or Wilcox or Ariza + maybe Graham or Bogans Option B Bargnani Bosh Graham, Kapono Delfino Calderon, Banks, Ukic + Marvin Williams ($7-9 mill) or Childress ($5 mill) or trade pick for semi-star + Harden or Clark
Hey HomieOmey! Welcome to s2! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or any other mod. I prefer option A, personally. I really like Shawn Marion and he fills a huge void we have at SF.
Thanks man. And yeah, I think I prefer option A too. I thought I wanted to just rebuild, but we would be risking a lot letting go of Parker and Marion just to fight w/ the Hawks for Marvin or to hope that a trade could bail us out. We're not going to get a Joe Johnson either, so not sure I would want to settle for a Redd or Jamison. Rather have Marion and just add as many assets as possible.
It's tough to predict, IMO. I'm leaning towards wanting Marion back. But for this team to be more than what it has been the past couple seasons, we need a better one-on-one scorer at the 2-spot. Bringing back AP would be fine, as long as he's our 6th man (I think he'd be very effective in that role). You'd need Parker's and Marion's contracts to be substantially lower than they currently are, to then be able to fill out the frontcourt with solid role players.
