The Story of Marcius Bankakus

Once upon a time, there was a caterpillar named Arthur Lemarcus Banks III. He always dreamed of becoming a beautiful Butterfly so he could fly away freely.

Being the impatient little Caterpillar that he was, he glued some fake wings on his back, and flew around with real butterflies.

All the butterflies were fooled, and welcomed him into their pack.

He even changed his name to Marcius Bankakus just to feel cooler. Butterflies with names like Arthur, were picked on.

Marcius was living a good life. He had everything he wanted and he didn’t have to wait as long as other caterpillars did. He even became popular! He was one of the best Butterflies out there, and he wasn’t even a real one!

One day A giant man was walking through the forest of Joueurs. He was looking for the best Butterfly to join him. When he saw Marcius, he was struck by his beauty and grace. It was attraction on first sight.

The Man glided over (walking wrinkles his suit) to the Butterfly as if he were magnetically pulled towards him.  He introduced himself:

“My name *beeep* but I am known as The Man. What are you called?”

The butterfly in all his glistening glory, gave him a sloppy smile and said confidently:

“I am called the Great Marcius Bankakus, The Greatest Butterfly of All Time” His Sloppy grin widened as he did a quick Twirl.

The Man was impressed. He had to have him. He didn’t care how many gold plates he would have to offer him.  He pulled out his leather sack and offered up the entire bag upfront.

“I will give you all my gold plates if you follow me for a couple years” There were many gasps heard through-out the forest as many saw how large the bag was.

Marcius thought about his options for a milli-second before greedily grabbing the bag.

“I will do it!” he shouted. He could not believe had tricked so many people into believe he was a Butterfly!

The Man believed  he had made a great bargain.  But soon he would realize just how “un-great” it really was.

A month had passed, and everything still seemed bright. The Man was taking his Butterflies out for a “Stroll”. He was allowing them to fly really high up, today. The anticipation was buzzing in the air.

“Ok, I will let you fly to the Sun but you must bring me back an Orange Orb as proof” Before the man even finished the butterflies took off. He smiled knowing he would get more than 1 from Marcius, he had exceeded everyone in everything else.

It was just before Dusk when the Butterflies finally returned each carrying an Orange Orb. There was something wrong. The Man could only count 11 Orbs. He was expecting at least 15!

-Earlier-

Marcius took off with the rest of his comrades, but something was off. He wasn’t flying straight anymore. He landed on the nearest branch to make sure everything was alright.

That’s when he noticed the Glue was wearing off on his wings. Oh no, he thought. What should he do?  Afraid to use his wings, he crawled down the branch looking for anything that could help him. Half down the branch he got stuck in something. It was wax-like but sticky, and a weird blue color.

Being behind in time, he quickly re-attached his wings and took off quickly without waiting for the adhesive to dry.

When Marcius approached the sun, the heat from the Big Star melted the “blue stuff” and Marius’ wings fell off.

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo” was heard for miles as Marcius fell back down to the earth.

-Present-

All the Butterflies except Marcius had arrived and The Man had become a little nervous. His biggest investment was missing. What was he to do?

A day later, a blue streaked Caterpillar, crawled into the lands of Tornoto. The home of The Man and his Butterflies when they are not traveling.

No one recognized it, and it was the first time some of the Tornotonians had even seen a Caterpillar. Marcius Crawled to the Centre of the land to see The Man.

The Man, who had been mourning the lost of his special Butterfly, was shocked when an ugly caterpillar crawled up his desk.

“Who are you and what do you want?” The Man boomed, making Marcius cower.

“My name is Arthur Lemarcus Banks III, but many know me as Marcius Bankakus” The Caterpillar bowed his head in shame, as the look of horror appeared on The Man’s face.

“You Lie!!” He stood up and examined the Caterpillar. The more he saw, the more disgusted he became.

The Man didn’t know what to do, he had promised the Butter… Caterpillar 2 years and had given him all that MONEY. The disgust towards the Marcius had turned into anger towards himself for being so stupid!!

The Man was now stuck with a Useless Caterpillar and did not have any gold plates to buy another Butterfly.

He tried trading the Caterpillar telling buyers that Marcius had potential for he hadn’t turned into a full Butterfly yet.

But no one was stupid enough to take him. The Man was stuck and had to deal with Angry Butterfly constantly giving him Dirty looks. This is going to be a long 2 years…

Oh No….

The End!

Regular Season begins tonight! Here’s hoping we “witness” some Great games this week to make up for that long wait.

Cheers!

FOLLOW FOREVER

Something I did LONG time ago, but I didn’t finish putting the links in, so it laid buried under the rest of possible blog post that I never put out. (This is from August, I’ll make the necessary changes later)

FF @altraps He always drags us back to the harsh reality. But we love him because he dances to his own tune. Does the links for RR

FF @courtside She lives in West coast and goes to bed when I get up! But that doesn’t mean I miss wicked shit she puts out there

FF @EC_rapsfan One of the many Raptors Fans on this shit!

FF @DeeNLen This guy is great! I mean he’s an oldy but he’s funny and caring.

FF @DinoNationBlog If you do not read his blog, you do not know what you’re missing. Lots of exclusive stuff!

FF @DocFunk HAALarious MOFO! Love him more ‘cause he used ‘Palyfofs’ in a sentence

FF @Eduteesionwear One of my original followers. He also happens to create awesome tees for all

FF @FollowMeLoL Despite the name I’ve never seen him beg for followers. He doesn’t know where Toronto is =) But I still <3 him

FF @GaganGandhi Don’t spell his name wrong, he might just send you a Rick Roll’d link. A fellow member of the PACKED York community

FF @HPbasketball Who doesn’t love Hardwood Paroxysm? I’m pretty sure it’s Matt who does the tweeting

FF @InsideHoops Does enough Self Promo-ing of their own. And you’re all probably following them

FF @JenniferKeene Just started following her, wish I did so Long time ago

FF @jeskeets Everything he tweets is followed by YOU clicking the link and RTing it with LOL. One half of The Basketball Jones

FF @jose3030 He should be getting paid for service he brings us! Gifs, Pics, and clips

FF @KevHooker He has better Writing talent then I, and he’s younger than me! Not that talent comes age

FF @Liston He’s an intelligent mind with all the facts! But is a undercover Groupie, I see those pics!

FF @Miss_Tee_Tee One of many Writing idols on here.

FF @Nat77 What’s not to like about her? She knows her ball, she’s great at web designing, and she’s been on the Radio!!

FF @Pete_Rapsfan Another Raptors Groupie! Who happened to change his name on me, and confuse me bunches

FF @Raps_Fan Hmm... When she hasn’t tweeted for hours, I notice. Then I put out a “Where’s JESS!!??” on her ass. She’s Like my TwitSista

FF @RapsGurl She needs to Tweet More, But she’s always there when RaptorsNation try to takeover Twitter

FF @RapsFan He Writes for RaptorsRepublic, and is Awesome!

FF @raptorsfanfoeva Another Raptors Groupie! Trust me there are lots of us out there.

FF @RaptorsForum He posts some great links, and helped me with the idea of changing my Blog’s name. Just be precautious when you click those links

FF @Raptors_Central Famous for her Purple Room. One greatest Female Raptors Vlogger out there.

FF @russbengtson You’re all following him. If not, then you must have no sense of humour. EVERYONE RTs him, you can’t’ve missed it

FF @stackmack she’s my idol! No, seriously. I want to be just like her

FF @TasMelas Hedo’s Brother from another Mother! And the Other Half to The Basketball Jones. Funny Shit right there

FF @thatguysweets One of my first followers! We go waaay back, mon!

FF @the_tigercub A Wise Woman once said, a woman knows best. She’s cool, cusses as much (or more) as I do, and a Wicked Blogger.

FF @TheNoLookPass Karaoke Fiend! And he has this blog, that I secretly read, but shh.

FF @ticktock06 One of my fav. Non-Raptors Tweeters. She lives in the NO, a hornets fan, A gamer, and she tweets some very interesting stuff.

FF @vittoriodezen Another blogger with the cutest Avatar!

@ASternWarning @cuzoogle @EricKidd07 @ITSjonsantiago @JenniferKeene @RaptorsHQ @RidiculousScott @RUBasketball @sa2ny2004 @TheGoodPoint @Treenie5 @TrRaps

I see London, I see France, I see my Teachers UNDERPANTS!! HAHA

So I’m sitting class, bored, tired, and miserable. I’m trying to think of a way to lift my spirits. But nothing is coming to mind. Not even the assignment, that was due 5 minutes ago, looks interesting enough to start. I just can’t think of ANYHTING!! Hmmm….

Oh wait, I’m writing this in my blog…

“Isn’t this a Basketball blog?” My friend beside me points out.

“Basketball, that word sounds so familiar, but it’s just not clicking in my head….” I respond back.

I’m giving my friend a blank stare as my teacher talks about something (I don’t know what it is, I’m not paying attention, Remember?).

I receive a Text message with the words: “BULLS CELTICS MAGIC” in it. What is he talking about?….

Ah what the HELL?? Who am I kidding?

I know what they’re talking about!! PRESEASON!!

(BTW I responded to the text message with: “BOO CELTICS!!”)

I never thought this day would come…. again! Tonight, for the first time in 6 MONTHS, I’m trying to leave class early to catch a BASKETBALL GAME!! It feels like early Christmas! OMG, you know what that means:

Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia Sixers (Actually in London, ON) 

 

This is the “Chaun doesn’t do her research and is very lazy” Preview!

Who: Reggie “Bald Head” Evans vs. Jason “J-Killa” Kapono
Tip-off: 7:30pm (to be more Accurate, like 7: 40-something)
Where: Some Arena in London, Owned by the Sixers (I think, well its something like that)
TV/Radio: RaptorsTV (which I don’t have for some reason…) And Radio… I dunno
Standings: Us (0-0) Them (0-0)
Header of the Day: Haven’t looked for one
What the peeps are saying: That’s a good Question….
Notes: Bosh, Turk and Wright are skipping out on this one.... Weems is hurt or something…. Probably people from the Sixers as well, but I dunno.... The Sixers have gone back to their old Logo..... this game really means nothing, its just nice to watch NBA basketball again... Kris Humphries plays for Dallas? I totally forgot. He shot well but only had 3 rebounds…. I think

Starting Line-ups (This I will actually check!)
Philly:
G: Lou WIlliams
G: Andre Igoudala
F: Elton Brand
F: Thaddeus Young
C: Samual Dalembert
6th Man (According to Notes): Jason Kapono….

Toronto:
PG: Jose Calderon
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: TBA
PF: TBA
C: Andrea Bargnani

Hmmm, Never again. Next time I will do my research! Just needed to dust off the old blog! =)

LET’S GO RAPTORS!!

79 days and counting! Let’s set some goals

79 days may seem long, but compared to the first 117 we went through, this is nothing.

In next couple of months we will be finding out more about our teams. First comes Training Camp and then Preseason. Of course what happens during that time will not relate much to what happens throughout the regular season, but it will help give us an idea with what were working with.

I feel with the talent we have on this team we can only get better then we were last season. If next season is a disappointment we can only blame the players and coaching. You cannot deny Colangelo has made this team better. He has set the pieces for next season and it up to the players and coaching staff how they are going to use it.

Next season each player has a goal to reach, and think if they reach it, we can be a winning team.

Marcus Banks’ goal is to be traded or unloaded before the season, no before preseason. Maybe Dallas wants him. They will soon realize Shawn Marion isn’t the same with Marcus Banks cheering him on from the bench.

 

Andrea Bargnani is going into his 4th year and has shown signs of his improvement through the second half of last season. It had even reached the point where people were begging for him to have the ball in his hands during crunch time. Or Maybe that was just me. But after that Boston game, [Watch from 4 30 mark] who can blame me. I feel like his goal for this season is to show how consistent he is. Dropping around 15 points and grabbing more than 5 boards a night wouldn’t be so bad. I really expect Bargnani to show everyone that he can score for this team and lead this team if Chris Bosh chooses not to resign.

 

Marco Belinelli, like Bargnani previously, has been a disappointed to him team. Which would explain why Golden State would just hand him over to us for Devean George. However, I feel he hasn’t been put in the best position to showcase his skills and now is his chance. Belinelli’s goal for next season is to show GS what they were missing and to also be a reliable scorer off the bench, if he doesn’t start.

 

Chris Bosh’s goal: Show us why you deserve Max money. That’s all really. Well that and improvement. It’s getting tiring watching CB get owned by Garnett, even when he’s on the bench

 

Jose Calderon needs to stay healthy next season and shoot more. It was frustrating watching as one of our best shooters past up a good shot and give the ball to someone who couldn’t shoot consistently (Kapono). Working on his defence wouldn’t be so bad either.

 

DeMar DeRozan has to stay cool and confident. I don’t want him to feel pressure and have to do things he’s not ready to do. It’s his first year and all he has to do is PLAY. His goal is to keep it simple and at least make the All Rookie first team if he doesn’t get ROY.

Quincy Douby’s goal is to get rid of that Uni-brow and then we can talk about what he brings to the court or where he is on our depth charts. (He did show some good signs in … Summer League)

 

Reggie Evans, who I keep forgetting is on our team, just needs to be himself. Don’t do too much and be the toughness we’ve been lacking.

 

Last year, Jarrett Jack, became an important piece to what the pacers where doing. When Danny Granger went down, he stepped in and help lead the team to a couple of “wins”. Unfortunately, Pacers decided (ok they were somewhat forced) to let the 4 year Guard go. This year Jack will most likely be coming off the bench, which I feel is a good idea. His goal for this season is commit less turnovers and become a reliable scorer/passer off the bench. Good thing he takes it too the basket.

Rasho Nesterovic’s goal is to continue where he left off before he was unfairly traded. Our big slow Centre who came through for us in his own way.

 

Patrick O’Bryant needs help! I mean he’s got some game or he wouldn’t be here, but if he’s still here October 28th I say he chills on the bench unless needed. If he does play, he needs to grab more rebounds and stop chilling out 17 ft from basketball. We don’t need anymore soft big men who can shoot jumpers.

Jay Triano’s goal is to utilize his coaching staff! It’s his first year without the Interim tag and the pressure is on. I have faith in him, because he’s been here long and this isn’t his first time coaching. Hopefully he has Sam Mitchell’s first year as head coach erased from his head.

Hedo Turkoglu has beat me too it and said he wants to make the all star team. That’s goal number 1. Number 2, is to not fall into the laziness that is the Raptors. Actually I think that goes for all new acquisitions. Too many times our players become lazy, even though they were pretty good on their previous team. Turk is 30, and I think he’s still got it for a few more years. His real goal is to sustain that ‘game’ he had through out the play offs and help us out. He can become a threat at the SF position, one we haven’t had in a while.

 

Roko Ukic, wow. I know he has potential but he has a bit to go before he reaches it. This year if he doesn’t improve, I say we D-league his derriere or get rid of him. His goal this season is too improve and not to hold the ball till the last 5 seconds in the clock.

 

Antoine Wright …  I don’t know much about him. However, from what I’ve read he’s a great perimeter defender, he’s tough and he’s an ok shooter. The kicker? He doesn’t use his athletic ability as much as he could. Yup, he relies on his jumper. His goal for next season: defend, rebound and take it to the rim. Shouldn’t be too hard.

These are I just what I feel each individual needs to do. Of course they have their personal goals, but I feel these are important. Nobody wants another failure of a season.

I’m very excited for the 28th of October, when open up at home against Lebron and Shaq! Don’t forget AP and Moon are coming home too.

I’m not going to make any predictions team wise. I don’t want to be disappointed again, so I’ll just play it safe and say, we can’t predict how this team will click, we can just hope that it all works out. =]

Update Belinelli for George and CASH

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!

ONE Year Makes a Difference

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:

• Lack of depth
• No toughness
• No identity, No idea what kind of team we were
• Lack of athleticism
• Unable to close games

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.

Welcome Home, Rashcoe Jenkins

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!!)

#NBAWithdrawal

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!

And the Winner is….

Drum Roll Please!!

The Results:

The Chaundamentals of Basketball – 4

Chaunie’s Court – 3

Goto Girl - 1

She in the Key - 7

Kiss the Glass – 1

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!

We’re almost there!

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:

1. Explosive Drive
2. Smooth Release
3. Through the Legs
4. Opinionated Slam
5. The Chaundamentals of Basketball
6. Chaunie’s Court
7. With A Hand in the Face
8. Go to Girl
9. CB Floor
10. She in the Key
11. Kiss the Glass
12. 24 Second Chaut Clock

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!

Chaun NEEDS a new Blog name

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!!

Well Helloooo, Jarrett!

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.

Anthony Parker Released Too Soon

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:

Summer League and Summer Signings

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.

The Story of The Man. A Smart, Smart Man

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:

• The Man = Bryan Colangelo
• Angry Butterfly = Chris Bosh
• Other 2 surviving Butterflies = Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon
• Turkey from Jordan = Hedo Turkoglu
• Canadian Beaver = Jay Triano
• Bald Eagle with Hard Wings = Reggie Evans
• Otisman = Otis Smith
• Marcini = Mark Cuban
• Christophius = Chris Wallace
• Antionius and Devandid = Antoine Wright and Devean George
• And Marius Bankakus = Marcus Banks

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!

Free agency p4 – Why the negativity?

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):

• Rasheed Wallace will be joining the Celtics next year
• Jason Kidd has hit the Jackpot with Dallas
• Shannon Brown is staying with the Lakers. Good for him
• The Mavs stole the Polish Hammer
• And something about the Mavs and a Sign-and-Trade with Marion.With us getting Jerry Stackhouse

Free Agency p3 – Hedo: “9-6-7 Eleven Eleven!!” (UPDATE)

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.

Free Agency p2 – Marion wanted?

One Day later and:

• Charlie V and Ben Gordan are going to the Pistons
• Ron Artest to the Lakers
• Ariza to the Rockets
• Boston wants Rasheed Wallace (Why?)
• A couple of teams want Jason Kidd for some reason

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 =]

Free Agency

After easily impressing Raptors fans at the draft, the real pressure begins for Bryan Colangelo on July 1. Everything that BC does in the next couple of months will determine how much he wants his team to be a competitor next year, or how bad he wants to keep Chris Bosh.

Being a GM/President is one the hardest jobs in sports. Building that perfect team to win a championship is difficult, especially when you don’t have good pieces to offer to other teams. BC has come a long way this current Roster. Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon and Joey Graham are the only players still here from 05-06 season. Graham is an unrestricted free agent and could be gone next.

In the past 3 years that Colangelo has been in charge, the Raptors have been ‘contenders’ (I use the term loosely) and in the playoffs 2 out of the 3 seasons. However, there has been a decline, and I feel like this is BC’s last chance to prove something. What he does now will determine whether Chris Bosh stays beyond next season. It should also determine his job status beyond 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year’s offseason acquisitions have been now graded as an ‘F’. Not only is everyone he acquired gone, they were gone before Trade deadline.  I hope BC got the hint with Hassan ‘who?’ Adams and…. I can’t even remember other one… OH! Will ‘What?’ Solomon. As soon as they were traded, they were waived from their teams. I actually felt a little bad for them. Then there was Jermaine O’Neal, he was there in the beginning but stop showing up after awhile. Just like teenagers when they’re in high school.

The point is there is a better free agency class this year. Here are some of the guys who are Unrestricted and I think we should pursue:

• Ron Artest
• Von Wafer
• Trevor Ariza
• Lamar Odom
• Hedo Turkoglu (at a reasonable price)

The Restricted (aka Low chance of getting them):

• Marvin Williams
• Shannon Brown (for cheap)
• Leon Powe

Our Free agents:

• Joey Graham (R) (Update: The Raptors will not extend a Qualifying offer because he would be guaranteed 3.5 mil which he would quickly accept. It’s not worth it [via Doug Smith])
• Carlos Delfino (R) (Extended Qualifying Offer)
• Pops Mensah-Bonsu (R) (Update: Extended Qualifying Offer)
• Shawn Marion (UR)
• Anthony Parker (UR)
• Jake Voskuhl (UR)

There have been some murmurs that the Raptors would offer Turkoglu $50mil/5yrs. He is interested in resigning Marion. BC has also expressed his interest in bringing Delfino back.

Welcome DeMar!!

Let’s recap this…

1. I heard about some DeRozan fellow. So I watched him play in the NCAA Tournament
2. Forgot about him, and went crazy with the Raps continuous slide.
3. Raps we’re officially out, started paying attention to the playoffs
4. Draft lottery. Didn’t want the Raps to win it, and  I didn’t want them fall lower
5. We got 9th so I started looking at propects.
6. Remembered the DeRozan fellow, put my blog on DeRozan watch
7. Watch his interviews and highlights, waiting for him to workout for us
8. Workout didn’t come. Apparently some ‘issue’. Sadly took blog off DeRozan watch and looked at other prospects
9. HE WORKED OUT FOR US!!!
10. Secretly put blog back on DeRozan watch
11. He said he liked it here!! YES!!
12. Made Mock Draft to feel good about self
13. Draft day. RIP Michael Jackson…
14. NERVOUS AS HELL
15. Griffin goes first! Check
16. Thabeet goes 2nd! Check
17. Harden goes 3rd! Check
18. Rubio goes 4th… wait what? Evans? the hell!!
19. OK, Rubio goes 5th! Check!
20. SHIT! Minny would soooo Take DD away from us!! NOOOOO
21. The Minnesota Timberwolves with 6th pick select…. JONNY FLYNN… ??? A PG???? Thank God! But seriously… What are they doing?
22. Then Golden State makes me Happy by Stealing Curry!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH! But makes me nervous. What if Jordan Hill is available at 9? What if the Knicks take DD at 8?
23. Knicks make me happy and take Jordan Hill to the dismay of the hecklers
24. With the 9th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors (He always says it weird) select…. De- YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS . I never thought I would be so happy to see a boy get drafted, wearing that stupid Raps hat.

That’s the end of my recap. I passed out of excitement right after… Ok I didn’t, I stayed up watch 3 more hours of boringness. Highlights after included:

• Brandon Jennings showing up late to shake hands with The Stern
• Minnesota shocking everyone, even the Love kid, by picking Ty Lawson, another PG, with the 18th pick.
• DeJuan (Spelt his name wrong yesterday, my bad) Blair dropping to the second round.
• So did Sam Young
• Darko Milicic got traded to NY for Q-Rich, Hecklers cheered
• More picks were traded, none that included our Raps

I’m very excited about DeRozan. For once BC picked a guy everyone likes. So, Welcome DeMar DeRozan!! These fans will eat you alive!!

Follow him on Twitter

Dooms…. Er, Draft Day

It’s been a long boring month, with an even longer summer to follow. But today has finally arrived! The 2009 NBA Draft, not the NHL or NFL or MLB, but MF NBA Draft!!! All the little boys become ‘men’. All the little groupies find new victims, etc. Normally I’m not this excited about the Draft, but this is the first time we’ve been in the Lottery since Andrea Bargnani. So the thought of getting a good player that can help out the team makes me smile.Unless we screw this up…

Seeing as the draft brings a lot of trades and transactions along with it, it’s kind of hard to be surprised when people like Shaq gets traded again for the 3rd time in almost 2 years. If you haven’t heard, The Cavaliers are closing in on a deal that would send Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a second round pick for this years draft and cash.This deal should have been done in February, maybe the Cavs would’ve had a better shot at the ring. Shaq vs D12 in ECF? That would have been interesting.

The Draft will air live on The Score. Coverage starts at 7 pm EST. If you’re too cool for Twitter, join the Live Chat at RR.

Ciao!

This is Way Overdue

All I've been doing in the past week is counting down the days to the draft. I just want Raptors news to give me hope for next season. Depending on what Colangelo does on Thursday, my summer will be affected. That's a lot of pressure BC I hope you can handle it.


In a Presser early today, Colangelo singles out DeRozan, Henderson, Flynn, Holiday, and Johnson as possible Draftees. Nothing wrong there. All of them have potential and can help our team in a way. I, however, have a bad feeling about DeRozan. What if he doesn't live up to the hype? What if he is not used properly or not guided into being the player he can be? Of course these questions apply to all players in the draft. These things we wont know for now, and that is what sucks.


To me, the draft is all about LUCK and being SMART. If some guy is projected to go first, and he doesn't fit your team, don't be afraid to trade him or pick another guy. It's about getting young prospects you believe will fit into your system or helps your team. For some GMs, it’s just picking the best player available at the spot. If your lucky a player might just fall lower than his stock and be the guy you need. In the end the draft is a headache if things go wrong.


I just hope BC doesn't disappoint.


Next, my trade ears are tingling. Apparently, Richard Jefferson of the Milwaukee Bucks has had his contract dumped off to San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs were kind enough to give the Bucks Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. This is only interesting to me because a player like RJ is being traded for 3 players...

Here are some things. James Johnson has been in for a second visit and they hope to have another with Jrue Holiday before Thursday evening. The chances of getting another pick are low. They are not trading up and first thing BC wants to do is bring back Shawn Marion. At a reasonable price of course.

Chaun’s 2009 NBA ‘Mock Draft 0.1’

I’ve already said I do not see the point of making a Mock Draft. I didn’t say it wasn’t fun though. So I Present my Mock Draft I made for FUN. If you want a serious thought-out one, just Google the word “NBA Mock Draft” and over 34 thousand results pop up. On with Show:

#1 Los Angeles Clippers

#2 Memphis Grizzles

#3 Oklahoma City Thunder

#4 Sacramento Kings

#5 Washington Wizards

#6 Minnesota Timberwolves

Tell me this doesn’t look like a ‘mugshot’.

#7 Golden State Warriors

#8 New York Knicks

#9 Toronto Raptors…. Drum Roll Please

Wait… what? They picked two players with the 9th pick? Is that even possible? It’s a new day in NBA HIstory!!!

#10 Milwaukee Bucks

#11 New Jersey Nets

#12 Charlotte Bobcats.. So Bobcats Point out, The Raptors can’t be selfish! So they took:

#13 Indiana Pacers

#14 Phoenix Suns

Depending on who is available at 9, I think The Raps should pick either Flynn, DeRozan or Henderson! BC can not mess this up, there are a lot of players in the draft that are very good and should be available at the 9th spot. Of course this is just my opinion. Thanks for taking 2 minutes of your time to read something I put together in 4 minutes. Most of the time used was for adding the pictures =]