Weekend bits: A.I., the Trade

Unlike Allen Iverson, the Monday morning links never make trade demands:

A.I. Watch: ESPN's Chris Sheridan has a list of suitors for Iverson and his contract. Two things he suggests: A long list that rapidly narrows to two or three serious contenders (Dallas, Boston, perhaps even New York?) and a quick resolution. Oh, and forget about getting fair value.

The Raptors, minus Chris Bosh, lose a tight one to the Portland Trailblazers, who were missing their best scorer and post-up contributor Zach Randolph. Okay, I'm kidding - the Raptors were destroyed by the Blazers. Line of the night came at halftime, from assistant coach Jim Todd on the Bosh-less offence, without a plan B without Bosh's pick-and-roll sets: "We'd like to go inside if we could find someone to go inside to." Are you listening, Mr Colangelo? It's not like Bosh's lengthening list of ailments is going to go away. This team already needs a shooter. As for their vaunted frontcourt "depth", it was shown on Sunday to be a mirage.

As for the Leafs, I'll take the cue from them and offer up - nothing.

Best read of the weekend, from the New York Times - Yes, you can surf in Cleveland, before the brown water freezes, which ain't exactly Gidget goes to Ohio:

To reach the lake, surfers drag their boards across snowdrifts and beaches littered with used condoms and syringes, Mr. Ditzenberger said. The most popular surf spot is Edgewater State Park. It is nicknamed Sewer Pipe because, after heavy rains, a nearby water treatment plant regularly discharges untreated waste into Lake Erie.

The L.A. Times does a takeout on WADA's anti-doping efforts, and finds that some athletes are getting (surprise) unfairly treated.

Chelsea comes back for a 1-1 draw against Arsenal, which puts them eight points back of leading Man United with a game in hand.

Another Woodbine thoroughbred season ends, Emma-Jayne Wilson and Sid Attard winning their divisions.

Comments

[Wade Tomlin]

If memory serves Bryan Colangelo said he wanted to change the culture of the Toronto Raptors organization. If that's the case, why is Sam Mitchell still coaching? Throughout this season Mitchell has been like a salesman trying to put his best spin on a loss so he himself doesn't have to take responsibility, he is not a leader, he is out for himself. Need proof? Look at his reaction to the Portland loss. Mitchell was clearly trying to distance himself from taking responsibility for his team's continuing lack of heart by taking a shot at the character of his team. Want some more proof? Look at the way he tried to pitch a blown opportunity in Cleveland last week into a good thing, as if losing a close game means something different than losing by a large margin. A loss is a loss and Mitchell is creating a lethargic, pass-the-buck mindset.

[coach]

what? nobody asked b.c. if the raptors are interested in iverson. i think he's an intriguing prospect for making the team exciting and improving it overall esp. after yesterday's game !

[ILLAN]

Iverson would be a very interesting addition to the team. Assume for a moment you could get Iverson for something like TJ Ford, Mo Pete, Joey Graham and a first rounder, you'd have to look at it, right? You're getting a proven 30ppg scorer who can operate as a 2 if you want to give calderon the pg duties. He takes pressure off of Bosh. His attitude is questionable, but for the duration of his contract, Toronto would be an East contender.

[cy]

I don't see the Raptors really getting involved here directly, but as a third party to facilitate a deal? Haven't heard anything here, but quite often when the contract and cap hit is as big as this, three-way action is a way of doing it and that's where the in could be. Regardless, I have to believe Colangelo is working the phones some.
btw, this just in:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2694335
David Stern hasn't scrambled this fast since he was in law school