Hard work and some interesting trade news

They were a little delayed in starting the workouts with those kids yesterday morning so we got to see about the last hour of drills and, yes, they do make them work.

After a series of fitness tests that went on before we got there, we saw some one-on-one post work (I can dutifully report there were no Hakeem Olajuwon clones in that group) and then some shooting drills.

And then the killer.

After about 90 minutes of pretty intense work they went through what the Raptors call The X-drill and it’s a killer for a tired kid.

Start at the hashmark, sprint to the left elbow and shoot, run to the right elbow and shoot; run back to the left corner, just inside the three-point line and shoot, back to the right corner and shoot, back to the free throw line and shoot.

Repeat, as many times as necessary, starting back at the hashmark until you’ve made a total of 15 shots.

Take a wee break and then do it all again, only this time with the shots coming from beyond the arc.

Lots of worn out kiddies at the end of that one.

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I’m not sure if anyone should be really surprised that there are teams doing more than kicking the tires of T.J. Ford and word that five or six clubs made at least minor overtures to Bryan Colangelo in Orlando last week may not be the biggest news.

Ford is far from a bum, he’s a starting point guard in the NBA (just not here with the presence of Jose Calderon), his contract is far from arduous and it’s fully insured, giving any team that acquires him some financial peace of mind.

He can help a squad that needs a point guard who can step in and play right away.

No one in the Raptor hierarchy is ready to suggest which teams are more serious than others in their discussions but the feeling is palpable that they can move Ford and get something good in return.

We’ll leave that speculation for another time (like closer to the draft or when we can conjure up some specifics) but the feeling I’m getting is that it’s 75-25 there’s a deal done right around draft time or just after the free-agent signing date of July 8.

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When you go to the workouts for these draft prospects – none of whom you’ve ever seen play in person – the crack PR staff of the Raptors gives you all kinds of clips on them. Stats, background, draft projection. It makes for some interesting reading.

We read this about Courtney Lee, courtesy of ESPN:

“He doesn’t contribute a lot in rebounds, assists or at the defensive end.”

We’re thinking: Perfect Raptor.

How about this on Shan Foster:

"Foster is pretty one-dimensional. He is not very athletic. Needs to add strength. Poor ball handler. He rarely gets to the line.”

Promising career ahead.

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Oh, and when you read these stories about this draft pick “being up for grabs” or that draft pick “being shopped around” consider this:
Every draft pick, except for possibly No. 1 and that’s not even for certain is up for grabs or being shopped around.

That’s what GMs do these days.

Don’t read too much into any of those yarns.

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Quick visit to the mail:

Q: So I saw your comment about disinformation season being here with the Draft coming up.  How does a veteran......er......seasoned, beat grunt like yourself sort through which comments you hear from the teams are legit, and which are, in the words of the unique Mel Lastman, "el toro poo poo."?
Sohail G, Collingwood

A: Hard grunt work. Multiple sources on different teams. A level of trust with sources within in the organization you cover. The use of common sense. You know, all the stuff that makes a beat grunt a good one.

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You’ve got to check this out.

I think Ron-Ron may have a new career path since the rap thing didn’t seem to work out all that well.

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For all the workouts the Raptors are conducting in Toronto, there’s a handful of others in other spots they’ll be at as well.

DeAndre Jordan isn’t too interested in traipsing around the continent doing workouts for teams so his agent is holding one in Philly this weekend for a handful of teams and Toronto will be there.

They Raptors are also spreading out around the globe, too.

Jay Triano’s in Turkey now doing Basketball Without Borders and then he’s off to Italy for a camp, where he’ll be joined by Maurizio Gherardini and Masai Ujiri.

No idea if any of this will yield a player for this year but what it does is give the Raptors another look at young kids who might be in the draft in the future or who might fall through and become free agents.

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Not so much a question from the mail as a statement but …

Q: My crystal ball predictions for a Raptors Divisional Banner for the 2008-09 season.
1) Draft one of the swings i.e, Walker, Rush, Batum or Greene to increase athleticism on perimeter and hopefully find a decent wing defender.
2) Trade one of our current wings (AP) for another athletic wing i.e Julien Wright of the Hornets or Outlaw from Portland (If they are available).
3) Trade Calderon for a decent big man that can help Bosh. Calderon is most tradeable asset but not as precious as most in Toronto thinks he is (doesn't defend or get to the rim like top tier point guards) and most championship teams do not need an all-star point as evidenced by Lakers and Celtics this year.

This is a recipe that will have winning division next year and baking Championship cakes in 3 years.

Kelsie M, Toronto

A: Interesting, all of it.

I can see them taking a wing as you suggest, I don’t imagine they can pry Wright away from New Orleans but I’d look seriously at seeing if there was a deal with Portland (I know the organization is looking at who the Blazers might want to divest themselves of) and if I had to bet today, the bet is that Ford is dealt. And I think you underestimate Calderon’s ability to get to the rim after turning the corner on the high screen-and-roll. Certainly, he can improve defensively but in the right team concept his flaws can be minimized.

Championship cakes in three years? That might be a bit of a stretch.

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Tough day to be a coach.

Flip Saunders gets the Pistons to three consecutive conference finals and gets whack, Pepu Hernandez takes Spain to the world championship and gets fired two months before the Olympics.

Tough job, isn’t it?

And, as a pre-emptive strike to the mailers, no, neither of them are on Bryan’s radar.

Comments

[G Chan]

It is sad to see TJ go because not many Raptors can penetrate the paint. But reality is if TJ and Jose can't coexist then you have to make a choice.

[Steve G]

If DeAndre Jordan is still available when the raps pick at 17 (if they still have 17) do you see them taking him? Isn't he being categorized as more of a project? Someone who can one day be a D.Howard-type player? Can you pass that up? Even if you want someone to contribute relatively soon?

[Rob]

Championship cakes in three years? That might be a bit of a stretch.

Why a stretch? Love Em or hate em Danny Ainge broke the GM's mold of rebuilding last off season. He turned one of the worst teams in the league into a championship contender. All we hear is "up and coming" or "the future". Boston was not an "up and coming" team last off season. They were a bottom of the barrel franchise... The future is now!!!

How many pieces would you suggest the Raptors need to compete for the Eastern Conference?. We may be closer than we realize.

Rob

[Brad]

I've read about TJ's contract being insured a couple times now. It absolutely won't, but if something were to happen and TJ had to retire due to injury would the contract count against the cap? Would it be a similar situation to Darius Miles in Portland?

Read through the draft combine results from the past from Draft Express, interesting that TJ had almost a 40 inch vertical. Knew he was fast but didn't know he could jump so high.

Blogger's note: Depending on when a career-ending injury occurred, there could be some cap relief.

[Joe T.]

Speaking of Bryan's radar, I just read this about the Pistons on Hoopsworld:

"Some of the blame is also being passed on to forward Tayshaun Prince who shot a low percentage and scored just single digits against the Celtics (32.4% shooting). Word is he may be shopped for a more explosive scoring three. Prince is one of the league's better perimeter defenders; any deal sending him out would take a serious amount of consideration from Dumars."

Doug, do you think the Raptors could pry Prince away from Detroit? And could Walter come too?...

Oh, and Lakers in 5...

Blogger's note: The quote you provide pretty much gives you an answer, doesn't it? "May be shopped for a more explosive scoring three." Think the Raptors have that guy? No neither do I.
Walter's a free agent, he can anywhere he likes.

[voislav]

Not very suprised about Hernandez, coaching Spain is always more about being a media whore and having good relationship with the journalists than about X's and O's.
Just looking at a couple of mock drafts, I think that there is going to be a few promising European players that will slip through the cracks and will be available as free agents and since Raptors don't have a second-rounder, they can take a chance on a free agent. I suspect that if Ford is traded, the new backup PG will be European (but not Ukic). I'll recomend Milenko Tepic, he's a 21-yr old 6-7 PG/SG (although from what I've seen PG is his better position), he's currently projected to go undrafted. In many ways similar to Calderon when he came over, average skillset, but reads the game really well and has a knack for making plays. He has been a starter on U-16, U-18 and U-20 European Championship teams and played at last year's European Championship, played in the Euroleague for the past 3 seasons (I think), so plenty of experience there. I've seen him play for a few years now, only a few games a year (when I'm in the old country) and he always looked like someone who would excell in the NBA more so than in Europe.

[Shawn Buckle]

Doug, what does your prescience say regarding draft sleepers; those kids who get overlooked during draft night but come back to haunt everyone who passed? I want to go on the record saying DJ White is going to be the Maxiell-type player every team needs.

Blogger's note: You are on the record, I'm not that well versed in the bottom of the draft yet to make any suggestions.

[DougG]

I was surprised to see Flip Saunders fired after the success of the team compared to most of the league. However, I guess that is the difference between winning and losing franchises. Winning franchises do not tolerate losing.

[Damian]

Hey Doug,

I'd be pretty disappointed if they end up trading TJ. I remember back in the days when Toronto was seriously considering drafting either him or Bosh. I was pretty thrilled when they acquired TJ and thought Bosh and him would make a potent duo. I still don't think things have played out long enough to definitively say Jose's a better starter than TJ or vice versa.

I heard an analyst on the radio, mildly criticizing Jose for saying one thing to the English press ("I just wanna' do what's best for the team, even if it means from the bench") and saying something completely different to the Spanish press ("I want to start. No question about it"). The analyst gave credit to TJ for at least being upfront about how he wants to be THE pg on a team. Don't you think TJ has gotten a bum rap in terms of being painted as a selfish player and Jose's gotten sort of a free pass?

Blogger's note: No, I can see Jose saying what was best for the team during the season so as not to be disruptive. It's what good teammates do.

[Poppa Vlazo]

Toronto is looking to deal TJ Ford and needs an athletic shooting guard or small forward. Portland is in need of a starting point guard and is looking to bring in more veteran help. While not really a veteran, TJ at least has been in the playoffs twice with the Raps. A deal with TJ and Travis Outlaw as the principals would seem to make a lot of sense for both teams. Assuming some sort of deal could be worked out under those crazy cap rules that is.

[gm (ireland)]

Hey doug, we get people asking or suggesting good fits for TJ trade partners all the time, but from the raps point of view (ie what is toronto's best deal). To flip that around, who would you think are the teams reportedly sniffing around TJ and what are they likely to offer?

For the record, I think TJ and change for Dunleavy and perhaps Travis Diener is a pretty good deal for both, assuming the Pacers don't fill the PG need through the draft.

Blogger's note: I presume it'd be teams with an obvious point guard need: Miami, Portland, maybe Indianapolis, perhaps Sacramento, Cleveland. Not sure what they'd be offering but give me a few more days to work some sources and perhaps find out.

[Tim Homme;]

"DeAndre Jordan isn’t too interested in traipsing around the continent doing workouts for teams so his agent is holding one in Philly this weekend for a handful of teams..."

If I was a coach/GM, I would view this as a little arrogant - "I don't go see you; you come see me." Is that perhaps a thought that teams might have?

Blogger's note: I would presume some would, yes.

[Mike]

Doug,

You are too funny. Suddenly TJ Ford isn't a stiff, and could actually start on other teams in this league? Shocking insight!

Then why during the year were you saying his role in this league is as a "change of pace point guard off the bench"?

Why the sudden change of heart? He didn't exactly play the best basketball of his career the last 2 months of the year to change your opinion on his potential and future productivity.

It's funny, Jose is ranked 5th in PER in the league for PG's, TJ is ranked 6th, but somehow that makes TJ best suited to be a change of pace guard. Or, automatically not as good as Jose for this team (dubious, but the writing is on the wall).

Once TJ gets dealt to another squad, I'm pretty confident he's going to put up similar performance to Jose next year, and I can guarantee you opposing PG's will have a lower shooting% against him than Jose.

So now the question is: What exactly are teams offering? Maybe a draft pick in the #5-10 range but with a grenade of a contract? A "Nocioni type" of semi poor value contract for a decent player? A "Maggette type" where we think he's a good player, but he hasn't been on a winning team so we're not sure ..... going to be an interesting summer.

Blogger's note: Yes, he could start on many teams; his ideal role is a change-of-pace guard off the bench.

[Alex]

"Ford is far from a bum, he’s a starting point guard in the NBA (just not here with the presence of Jose Calderon)"

Doug,

Nice to see you propagating your biased agenda again. Thank you for the award-winning, opinion-free, fact-based, reporting.

Next season, Jose really should go out of his way at half-time to bring some gatorade to the press box.

Blogger's note; You're entirely welcome. Oh, it's press row, not press box. I believe your pucks are showing.

[Darwin]

TJ for Outlaw does sound like it would be a good start, but Portland would need a shooter from the outside. AP or Kapono would fit the bill, but what would BC want back? Does draft pick count for much to make the cap numbers work?

Blogger's note: The draft pick has no cap value until a contract is signed.

[Alex H]

I doubt you're responsible for choosing the picture for the link to your blog, but is it really necessary to choose the least flattering picture of T.J. Ford ever taken? The expression on his face is worthy of a caption contest.

[Felix G.]

I rather think the Blazers will pass on Tj. They need a point guard, but there are a couple of young prospects in the draft. And they are not forced into playing the playoffs next season, as to need inmediate veteran leadership out there. Travis Outlaw is very capable of taking the next step in his game next season and average some 15 points and 7 rebounds. Next year's offseason they will have a bigger sense of urgency at the PG position and Outlaw or Webster's stock could be higher. Cap space is a priority for the Blazers too, as they intend to be big time players in the 2009 free agent market.

[Poppa Vlazo]

Felix G - the Blazers GM has publicly said that the team needs veteran help and that the goal is to make the playoffs next year. Their biggest need clearly is at point guard. And they a lot of young guys at the 2 and 3 spots. Roy is VERY good and will continue to get huge minutes at the 2, and Outlaw and Martell Webster play the bulk of the minutes at the 3. Both guys are good, but Outlaw is an athlete and Webster a shooter and clearly we need an athlete more than a shooter. And yes, while Outlaw is capable of taking the next step, finding a young starting point guard with significant talent (TJ has all-star talent but plays far too often like a Globetrotter) is a challenge in the NBA and that is why there is interest in a point guard with a history of injury problems. I take your point on cap room in 2009 - the Blazers will be smart about what they do this off-season and won't bring in veterans just for the sake of bringing in veterans. But TJ fills a need.

So I just managed to convince myself that this will work. of course, if you read the fan comments to this blog post, you will see that Blazers fans feel otherwise. It's just like the reactions from the Raps fans when we traded CV for TJ - LMAO.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2008/06/chad_ford_is_selling_the_blaze.html