One last move to be made?

Man, these are slow times.

Guess we’ll have to invent some lists, or look back at previous pre-seasons, or the summer, or whatever, because coming up with three or four items every morning is going to be difficult until camps get going.

I guess the only domino left to fall in the Atlantic is the proposed Memphis-New York deal that sends Darko Milicic to the Knicks and Zach Randolph to the Grizzlies.

A quick thought about it would suggest it’s very much an ‘addition by subtraction’ thing for the Knicks, who probably vault past New Jersey in the Atlantic rankings if the deal gets done.

Last report I saw this morning was that it’s either going to be a go or no-go in the next couple of days and the sense I’m getting from reading is that it’s more likely to get done rather than not.

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I presume this is too late for this writer, but maybe some of you others are facing the same situation:

Q: Love the blog and your commitment to answering the (sometimes) ridiculous questions of the Raptor Nation.
Here's an easy one:
My buddies and I share season tickets and we are having our annual draft this weekend.
Any suggestions as to which games are must sees? Top 5? Any dark horse/sleeper teams I should definitely check out this year? Which teams are dogs to be avoided?
Thanks and keep up the great work
Lorne B, Toronto

A: It’s funny, I’ve been going over the schedule to work out early-season travel (shockingly, there’s lots of it) so this is pretty timely.

If there were five I’d suggest as ‘should-sees’ they’d be Philly on Nov. 12, New Orleans on Dec. 5, Portland on Dec. 7, Indy on Dec. 10 and probably the Lakers on Feb. 4.

I know that’s three of them jammed into one week, but what you gonna do?

To avoid? I know Detroit’s talented and all that, but there games are never, ever really exciting; same with Utah. I think the Clippers and Warriors are going to blow so I wouldn’t spend too much money seeing them.

Dark horses? I have no idea what to make of the Knicks, or the Heat so that might be two to check out.

Hope you’re draft went all right.

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Here’s one for you?

You see that game against Indy on Dec. 10 listed above, what do you think the reaction to TJ is going to be?
Raucous cheers? Boos? Ambivalence?

If I had to guess, knowing you like I do, I’d say it’d be a mixed reaction with more cheers than boos.

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I’ve heard nothing but good about the LeBron James movie that debuted at the Film Festival on the weekend, guess I should take this advice and go see it.

Hi Doug. You mentioned that you wouldn't be asked to cover anything at TIFF. However, have you seen More Than a Game? It's a documentary about a high school basketball team in Akron, Ohio. Turns out, one of the players is LeBron James. I was at the premier on Saturday and the whole team, including LeBron, was there, along with their families. It is a truly inspiring story. It's playing twice more at TIFF. Try to check it out!

Mary Ann H, Toronto

Thanks for the tip.

It’s funny, but basketball does lend itself to those kinds of documentaries, doesn’t it? I’d put Hoop Dreams up there on a list of the tops in that genre any time; I can only hope this one matches it.

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A very nice tongue-in-cheek note here:

Q: Hi Doug - I'm surprised that you haven't paid more attention to the long-awaited story that Vancouver basketball fans have been dreaming of.
The NBA is returning to Vancouver. Sort of. The next best thing to the NBA is returning to Vancouver. After the NBA developmental league. And University basketball. And some of those well-funded high school programs.
Yes, the establishment of the Vancouver Titans as the latest team to be added to the International Basketball League is official, and I'm emailing you to find out exactly what that means.  Are we talking NBA developmental league level?  Is this Will Farrell in Semi-Pro, with no timeouts and lots of marketing?
A local newswriter explained today that this could also mark the beginning of bringing the NBA back to Vancouver.
Ya, we wish.

Graham V, Vancouver

A: The IBL? Vancouver Titans? Minor League?

Hmm, pardon my skepticism but it comes with having seen, or heard, or been told about, all these crazy minor leagues that are going to have teams hither and yon and bring pro basketball (and I use the term loosely) to long-suffering fans.

And then they never play. Or practice. Or do anything. And disappear into the night.

Sure, there are exceptions but they generally only prove the rule that these things never really take off.

I have no knowledge whatsoever of the IBL and hope to never get any. If I were you, I wouldn’t be handing over any money to anyone for tickets.

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Well, while we’re on minor league basketball, here’s one that’s really legit.

You remember when the Raptors changed their D League affiliation to the Idaho Stampede (or The Team Luke Jackson Made, as I like to call it) from the Colorado 14ers, right?

Well, how’d you like to be a Stampede? Or a Stampeder, or whatever they’re called.

You can. If you’re good enough.

The team’s holding an open tryout here in Toronto in early October, all the details are right here.

Comments

[Joe T.]

Doug, let me second that "More Than A Game" recommendation. I know it'll come out (probably sooner rather than later) but if you can go see it at TIFF, you won't regret it. It's been a few years since I saw "Hoop Dreams" but my feeling walking out of this one was that it ranks right up there. It's a great story, really well put-together and full of emotion. The director got some great footage on his own, access to home movies of the guys when they were younger and great recent interviews with all of them. It's about WAY more than just Lebron James and the story at its core -- a bunch of kids who played basketball together from an early age and the coach/dad who helped them become men -- is incredibly inspiring beyond the game itself (as the title says). It got a standing "O" on Saturday and I think that would have happened even if Lebron James was not in the house. I remember awhile back you were asked to name your favourite basketball movies. I predict you'll want to revisit that list if you see this film. And that goes for anyone else reading these comments, too...

[graeme flint]

"You see that game against Indy on Dec. 10 listed above, what do you think the reaction to TJ is going to be?
Raucous cheers? Boos? Ambivalence?

If I had to guess, knowing you like I do, I’d say it’d be a mixed reaction with more cheers than boos."

Oh I'm quite certain it will be more boos than cheers thanks to writers such as Feschuck, Grange, and yourself who slandered the man with constant talk about his non-existent attitude.

A lot to answer for.

[RD]

Your remarks re: TJ on December 10 made me think a little bit; I'm not sure what I would do.

I wasn't a big fan of TJ while he was here but I think I would feel bad boo-ing.

I hope he plays well, enjoys Indiana; I'm just glad he's not playing for Toronto anymore.

[sherry]

Pardon my ignorance.....I don't understand the "Toronto Huskies" references in Friday & Sunday's blog.
Can you please explain it to me? thx!!!

Blogger's note: No problem at all. The Huskies was the name of the original Toronto team that played in the Basketball Association of America in 1946-47, a league that was a forerunner of the current NBA. I've always thought it'd be cool for the present team to trot out replica throwback jerseys to that time.

[GM]

Not a bad blog considering these are slow times. Lots of good stuff. This is the first I've heard of a Darko-Zach trade (I've been out of the loop). What a horrible deal (which I love since I don't like either team). I can't imagine what a disruption Randolph will be on a lousy team in the middle of nowhere. And does the plodding Milicic help D'Antoni at all? At least he's a Euro. Maybe that's what D'Antoni was thinking.

Clippers are going to blow? How do you know, since they've completely revamped. Plus, they have the always exciting Baron Davis. I'd check that game out. A game to skip would be the mighty Thunder, unless you really have a hankering to see new uniforms. Because that's about all they'll have to offer.

Judging from the reaction from fans when Ford was not trying too hard to be a backup point guard, my guess is that there'd be a few more boos than cheers. But a mixture for sure.

IBL in Vancouver? Again, first I've heard of it. This time around, anyway. We've had those promises before. If it happens, I'd give them some money if it wasn't too outrageous. Because even bad basketball is better than no basketball.

[Sivart]

For all that is right in the world, please Chris Wallace do not go and trade for Z-bo. He is a terrible fit on a rebuilding team, his ball-hogging and no defense style could corrupt what has the makings of a solid young core, not to mention he will take away from the development of other players. Why would you possibly risk ruining your team for the next decade (century maybe) with the enigma that is z-bo?

[AJ]

ok, seriously now, obviously TJ FORD will get more boos than cheers, common.....

[Jason Ohashi]

you can find the IBL website by just googling it. There's going to be a japanese team in the league and having seen japanese basketball because i'm living there right now, if they play at that level, it's not worth watching. they made the game look so hard when i watched japanese basketball.

[Brian]

The Vancouver Titans will not be the only Canadian Team in the IBL. The Edmonton Chill started play last season and did very well in their first year making the playoffs and making it past the first round, but eventually losing to the League Champs The Bellingham Slam of Washington. I for one went to all the Edmonton Chill home games and the IBL is exciting basketball and Vancouver has a reason to be excited for this league.
Link to the Edmonton Chill on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jthN1u9aYBY&feature=related