According to YahooSports. The Raptors have acquired Guard Marco Belinelli from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Forward Devean George. Details still pending. (Source)
Doug Smith of The Toronto Star says the “deal is done”. There will be more on it in the morning!
We are hitting the halfway point of offseason, and so far, I’ve lived and haven’t done anything crazy to make it go by faster.
Remember this time last season? How many of us were looking forward to the 08-09 season? How many of us were excited? DO you even remember that far back?
Let’s REFRESH:
June 18th
- Finally released Jorge Garbojosa.
June 25th
- Draft Day. We were Drafting for Indiana when we selected Roy Hibbert 17th overall. It is OFFICIAL. TJ Ford and Jermaine O’Neal will be switching cities in July.
July 1st
– We resigned Jose Calderon to a long-term contract. By doing this we uninvited ourselves from the free agency party that would happen after July 9th.
July 3rd
- UNOFFICIALLY Matt Devlin becomes the new Play-by-play guy
July 8th
- We signed Hassan ‘What?’ Adams. This lead to people spending the next few days Youtubing and Google searching him. Most interesting thing we found out, he’s ambidextrous
July 9th
- OFFICIALLY Jermaine O’Neal and Nathan Jawai are finally Raptors. O’Neal and Jose have their Pressers. Everyone is excited. So long TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic (for now), Maceo Baston and Roy Hibbert
July 16th
- Roko Ukic to be signed for 3 years starting at 1.25 million/yr.
July 21st
- Carlos Delfino is going to Russia.
July 28th
- UNOFFICIALLY The Raptors dug deep and pulled out Will Solomon from the box of the Unknown. He was to be the next Anthony Parker.
Our Roster as of July 28th 2008:
C: Jermaine O’Neal, Andrea Bargnani, Nathan Jawai
PF: Chris Bosh, Kris Humphries
SF: Jamario Moon, Joey Graham, Hassan Adams
SG: Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono
PG: Jose Calderon, Roko Ukic and Will Solomon
Looked good on paper, didn’t it? Out of those 13 guys, only 4 of them are coming back next season. Every time I look back on last years roster, my head spins, thinking of the better teams we went up against. O’Neal, Solomon, and Adams were all gone before Trade deadline. Shawn Marion and his expansive Shadow, Marcus Banks, came in. We picked up Quincy Douby, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Patrick O’Bryant. We actually made a little run to end the season, winning 9 out of 13 games. That doesn’t erase the 20-45 we had to watch prior to the winning streak
It was great how we ended the season but we had to remember that we still finished 33-49 and our Roster had gapping holes in it. Bryan Colangelo must have also seen this because he has given this team a face lift so far this offseason. From trading for Reggie Evans to bringing back Rasho Nesterovic, BC has shown interest in bringing his team to the next level. (Let’s not bring up Chris W Bosh, it’s all about nest season)
Our Current Roster(July 28 2009):
C: Andrea Bargnani, Rasho Nesterovic, Patrick O’Bryant
PF: Chris Bosh, Reggie Evans
SF: Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright, Devean George
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Jarrett Jack, Quincy Douby
PG: Jose Calderon, Roko Ukic, Marcus Banks
Do you feel better about this Roster then you did last season? I know I do.
Last Season some of the issues we faced were:
So far this offseason, BC has tackled these issues. We have quality depth at each position (How well everyone will perform, is something we’ll have to wait and see). He Brought in Reggie Evans for toughness. He drafted DeRozan because of his Athleticism. He brought in Hedo Turkoglu for his closing and ball-handling abilities. Jack was brought in for depth and durability. Rasho was brought in for his leadership presence and the minor, yet major, things he brings to the court. Colangelo hopes this year we can be identified as an up tempo team and be consistent all season.
This isn’t the team to beat in the East. We still got some ways to go. It IS, however, a step in the right direction, that we have a right to be OPTIMISTIC about.
For now we play the waiting game.
I know this is kind of late. If you follow me on Twitter, you know my reasons.
I wanted put this up while I was still under the influence (@DeeNLen suggested this).
As expected, (According to my sources) The Rasho Nesterovic deal done:
The veteran centre, who spent two seasons with the Raptors before being traded to Indiana a year ago, has agreed in principle to a one-year deal worth about $1.9 million (all figures US), the so-called biannual exception to the NBA’s salary cap.
*CLAP CLAP*
I know Rasho isn’t Dwight Howard, but he is a serviceable back up! He is familiar with the team and management, and he brings ‘offence’ and defence to the court. He, IMO, is a much better choice than Patrick O’Bryant. He rebounds more and doesn’t stick outside. He knows where he belongs on this team.
Another good thing is, this is a ONE year deal. In case his age is more then just a number, we won’t be committed to him next season.
Welcome Home, Rasho! (I almost said Roscoe Jenkins!!)
Welcome to the “New” Blog!
So, What exactly is NBA Withdrawal? It’s simple! It’s how you respond to this long Offseason.
For me personally, my off season includes: Reading (Harry Potter, FictionPress, my Chick Porn [aka crappy romance novels]), Writing (for my blog, my story) , Partying (I’m young what do you expect) , job-hunting, sleeping and most importantly, Twittering! If My parents (YES, I said parents) hadn’t got rid of Raps TV for my ‘health’ I would be watching that all offseason.
So I took the question to the Streets (Read: Twitter) and dug through some tweets to find these gems:
@FollowMeLoL: My #NBAWithdrawal is perfectly fine. Football season is right around the corner =)
@RapsFan: re-runs and classic games on Raptors TV ... that and twitter
@Raps_fan: ummm...twitter, RapsTV..and sadly - baseball lol
@GaganGandhi: No Leafs and no Raptors makes Gagan sad.
@Docfunk: I left my house for the first time since October. I am busy gathering nuts for next season.
@HPBasketball: Anybody know when the NBA schedule gets annnounced? You know, so I have a reason to live?
@the_tigercub: OK, gonna read Harry Potter again.
@DeeNLen: I've started a Meth Lab in my car to pass the time! LOL
@jeskeets @Tasmelas LOL
Stay Strong NBA Fan 3 more months. There is so much to catch up on in life and this is your time! Use it!
Drum Roll Please!!
The Results:
Thank you those who helped in the renaming of my blog. Believe it or not it meant a lot to me! It was hard picking 5 possible names out of 33 (More then I thought possible), but it was done! I’m thankful that the final decision wasn’t up to me but up to you! So don’t blame me, blame the Tweeps! Name Change and new URL will be in affect by Tomorrow. All the artisty and design stuff will have to wait because I don’t how to do that.
Thanks Again, I <3 you!
Ok, I must admit I got lots of cool, creative and eye-catching names. It was very hard to narrow it down to just 12. I was supposed narrow it down to 5.However I got 33 entries and crossing out the other 21 names were hard. So here’s the list so far:
If you think you got something better than these, let me know. By Thursday/Friday I should have a new title! =]
Thanks to those who co-operated!
Actually I wouldn’t even call the current name, a name. It’s blah and and it’s not eye catching. You know it’s bad when it’s pointed out on Twitter.
When I created this blog, the last thing I was thinking about was appeal. I just wanted to keep my writing going during my 4 months of break from school.
But no, I had to join Twitter and put my blog out there. So now I’m stuck with having to fix it up and make it appealing to the human eye. I’ve already changed to main picture up top, but the title still sucks.
There are cool titles out there like Third Quarter Collapse, Poasting and Toasting (SB nation blogs). Foot on the Line is another good one that is catchy. There are so many blogs out there, and 1% of them are named after the Author (Calculated roughly by Chaun).
SO, with the help of @RaptorsForum (aka he brought this up) We’ve (he) come with the idea of getting my ‘readers’ to help me decide a name for the ‘blog’. It’s got to be creative and interesting and it can’t be RaptorsBlog because I think there are 5 of them out there. So help a sister out! Hit me up on Twitter or comment here!!
Remember Chaun loves you!!
Pop the Champagne folks, we are two roster spots away from making some sort of noise in the east next season.
It’s official, the Pacers have decided not to match the offer the Raptors have made for Jarrett Jack. Jack, who is 25 years young, was a former teammate of our own Chris Bosh and is happy to rejoin him again:
"It took a minute, but I was able to secure a contract for four years," Jack said. "I'm looking forward to playing with Chris (Bosh) again. It will be like our freshman year (at Georgia Tech) all over again." (Indystar)
We finally got a back up PG that doesn't mind backing up and can actually start for some teams in the league. IF Jose, for some reason, misses a game or two, the team will not have to fret like they did all last season.
The Press Conference will be held tomorrow afternoon.
I find it funny, Jack and Ford have somewhat switched places. Luckily Jack is not like Ford and there shouldn't be problems with his role on the team, he understands this is Calderon's team to run. Good job again BC.
Next funny thing. So the Cavs stole AP, and now they have signed Jamario Moon to an offer sheet! Seriously! Remember when both AP and Moon were both starters for our team? Now Cleveland interested in both of them, but not as starters. Would this really keep Lebron in Cleveland? hmmm, I think that's the important thing here. We will wait and see.
All I got to say is *tear. Here’s are the pictures I have and videos I liked on YouTube. AP was a classy guy. He will be missed by the ladies. Locker Room presence and Leadership will never be replaced. WE (me) here, wish AP all the best with his new Team. Goodluck, and put Lebron (a 6 letter word for baby [via Skeets and Tas Melas] ) in his place.
First Time we met:
It’s been awhile, so Let’s catch up Shall we?
Last Friday was our first Summer League game. Our Rookie DeMar DeRozan made his debut. His numbers may not have been Stellar, but that wasn’t what was important. It was how in looked. I believe he looked great in his first game. He was just feeling his way through the game absorbing information like rookies should. In the second game, he upped it and showed that he a little better. The confidence was shining brighter. I see the potential in him and it makes me excited.
The only player on our team that caught my interest was Brent Petaway, he’s like a nickel in the sand…
Last night was another Summer League Game. Raptors were up against Trade rivals the Portland Trailblazers. Could you smell the beef? Surprisingly we won, even though Jerryd Bayless was showing us what a real NBA sophomore can do.
It was obvious The Man wasn’t done last week. He started Phase Two of pleasing the Angry Butterfly (Don’t know what I’m talking about, Read last post). During Game 2 of The Raptors Summer league game, Bryan went on air to discuss recent signings and what to come. After he left the broadcasters said Jarrett Jack was on his Radar. Later that night it was announced that the Raptors had signed Jack to an Offer Sheet. The Pacers have until July 21 to match the offer. That was quick, right?
A lot of people in Indiana believe the Pacers will highly unlikely match the offer. Which makes sense. If the Pacers were to match the offer they would be in the Luxary Tax.
Last night During his Live Stream, Chris made some phone calls. He spoke to Dwight Howard and Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Who Tweeted about it). But most importantly he called Jarrett Jack. He dropped a lot of hints about moving to Toronto. He even put CB on blast. You can watch that Video here. At least Chris is excited about having a good friend on the team.
With that thought FOLLOW him on Twitter. When you do that you can FOLLOW Charlie V after.
Once upon a time, there was a man. He was very lonely so he created 16 Butterflies to follow him where ever he went.
After 2 years of travelling some of the Butterflies became weary and wouldn’t follow him anymore. The man, being a stubborn human, decided to ignore the warnings of the seas.
He continued another year with the weak and soft Butterflies before 13 of them died suddenly. One of the surviving Butterflies threatened the Man to 13 years of solitude if he didn’t replace his fallen comrades with ones even better.
The Man, being a secret a genius and completely afraid of being alone, thought of a good plan. He took the bodies of the 13 dead butterflies and glamoured them in looking radiant and alive.
The Man took the 13 bodies to different places to offer trades and bargains. He sold 2 bodies and received 13 gold plates. He used that to buy a Turkey from Jordan. He traded one for a Canadian Beaver. He traded another for a bald eagle with hard wings. Every time he brought back another creature the Angry Butterfly would slowly start to smile and chant ‘more, more!’. The Man said, One more time then but that is it.
He went to the secret island of Memporllas. Where he, and 3 other men agreed on sharing goods. He gave one man, Otisman, a bag of silver plates. He gave another, Marcini, 3 butterflies in return for 2 creatures: Antionius and Devandid. The rarest to be found. Not to feel to greedy he gave the other man, Christophius, one gold plate. The man had 5 Butterflies left, he let go 3 for goodluck and kept 2 just incase
The Man went back to the pleased butterflies, feeling very good about himself. The butterfly thanked him. But he had one last request.
“Get rid of the Butterfly named Marcius Bankakus” The Man hurriedly agreed and was blessed with a key to Palyfofs.
The End
To better understand this story. Substitute the following characters:
If you didn’t already know Andrea got a 5 year extension worth 50 mil. AP has a verbal commitment to the Cavs. We got our MLE back with over 5 mil to spend. This means we can still get guys like Delfino and Kleiza. Good Job Bryan Colangelo.
IF this is too Dumbed-down for you, can find more complicated and detailed version here!
Before I recap what has happened over the weekend, I would like to discuss the Hedo Turkoglu deal that will be finalized July 8th. I’ve seen many posts over the weekend about this deal and how it will impact the team.
A lot of people do not like it. So I ask why? Most people begin with how expensive he is,
Well, not only will they not be contending for a very long time unless one of DeRozan or Bargnani accelerate their learning curve dramatically and become All-Stars, but they’ll be paying $53 million over the next five years to one of the most over-rated players in recent memory. (T.O. Sports)
then they bring up the depth issue,
The option of adding Delfino and Marion gave the Raptors both depth and defence. Adding Turkoglu robs them of flexibility, depth, defence and rebounding, and does so for a player who doesn’t necessarily fit in with the team’s top-three players. (T.O. Sports)
then move on to him being 30 before they bring out his non-defensive skills.
Forget that Turkoglu will be a year older, because his game isn’t overly dependent on his physical abilities, but you’d have to assume this will be one of the worst defensive teams in the league next season if it remains as is. (T.O. Sports)
To this I say: “So what?” Unfortunately in this league you can hardly get good players for cheap, and a lot of GMs are willing to spend money to make their team better. At least his contract isn’t as big as Rashard Lewis’.
So we lost our MLE and we wont be able to get a deep bench, yes it is a problem, but what are you going to do about it? nothing, of course. So let’s move along. Let’s see there’s Shawn Marion or Hedo Turkoglu, and if you want we could throw in Delfino. Who would you want on your team at the starting 3 game in and out? Think about how Marion wants 10mil/yr and he’s old. Think about how Delfino was inconsistent, but cheaper. And then think about Turkoglu who is a good shooter, hard to guard at his position and old and defenceless. The point I’m trying to make is every player has their flaw and if Colangelo brought back Marion and/or Delfino, people still wouldn’t be happy.
To this I say: “Be %$#@$%&!*$ happy!!” A player, a great European player to be exact, wants to play here. He turned down another team because Toronto was the better city for him and his family. The whole point of this off season is bring in players that will make Chris Bosh stay. Chris likes Hedo (via Twitter) and so does Rookie DeMar DeRozan.And Guess what? I do too. I’ve been a Hedo fan for a long time, and to finally have him on our team, makes me so excited.
Please keep in mind, BC isn’t done yet. There is still a little hope. So people get rid of all your negativity. It isn’t healthy!
In other news (Remember these bits of info have not been inked yet):
The deal has now been confirmed by Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail.
More to come!
Highlight of my day? Reading this:
Hedo Turkoglu rejects Blazers, ends negotiations
Posted by Jason Quick, The Oregonian July 03, 2009 17:57PM
Categories: Breaking News
The Oregonian has learned that free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu has rejected an offer to sign with the Trail Blazers and has ended negotiations with the team.
He will leave town tomorrow morning.
More to come.
Now I know a lot of people do not want Hedo on the Raptors because the money he is owed is hefty and we would not be able to add depth to our team. We would also have to let go Delfino, Marion and… Anthony Parker. This would leave us with only a little bit of spending cash, which would mean more Solomons and Adams to fill out our bench.
Now the Blazers will secretly go after Shawn Marion, like I mentioned yesterday.
One Day later and:
What have the raptors done? Invite you to Try out for the DancePak.Add to their Coaching Staff. And announce their Summer League Roster. Yup, Playoffs here we come.
The guys that are rumoured to be of interest are Hedo, Linas Kleiza and David Lee. Of course there was Trevor Ariza until he turned us down for the lowly Rockets. For RESPECT apparently. You know its bad when a player turns down money for ‘respect’.
Also my ‘league sources’ believe that the Blazers are interested in Shawn Marion, if they cannot get Hedo (highly Unlikely). They are willing to give Shawn 8 mil\yr for 3 years. Other teams interested in The Matrix are the Rockets, Bulls, Cavs and Memphis. Shawn’s Agent says they waiting to see what decision the Raptors make. *
That’s all for today! Hopefully there will be more news tomorrow.
*Chaun’s League source is actually her gut feeling, believe it if you want but please pass it on. We (My Gut feeling and I) want Shawn to feel loved =]
