A fine start to your weekend

Here are a few thousand words of words to get you through the morning until the big intrasquad scrimmage brings to a close a wacky week in Ottawa.

We’ll have something up here maybe during (depending on what filing’s like) and definitely quickly after the game.

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Q: Hey Doug, as the real season approaches, which of the many off-season stories are you most curious to see pan out? Which one will ultimately prove to be a bust? Nashless D'Antoni? Cuban-Carlisle Regime? Baron LAvis? Del Negro? Or even our own JO? I guess there's quite a bit to look forward after all, besides whether or not Kapono starts. Hope your curtained enclave is plush as always!

Joey H, Toronto

A: Because I like a good car crash, I’m really, really anxious to see what happens with the Knicks. I like Mike D’Antoni and think he’s an excellent coach but, man, that team! That’s going to be cool.

Oh, and you have to put Houston and its unique mix of weird personalities, and Denver and its potentially combustible roster, on that list, too.

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Q: Hey Doug, here's a cap-related question for you. Does the maximum potential value of a player contract count against the cap? Or is this figure only determined after the playing season is over i.e. when various performance incentives, bonuses, milestones (the non-guaranteed portion of a contract), have been calculated?
What I'm curious about is if a team could possibly "manage" its cap by giving players lower-than-average base salaries, but adding (easily achievable) bonuses, effectively increasing that players' guaranteed money.

Terence G, Mississauga

A: All monies, whether they’re bonuses or salary, are counted. So teams can’t circumvent in the manner you suggest. Because if they could, they all would.

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Q: I've got a strange question. When getting quotes from players, do you always go verbatim with the quotes, or is there often paraphrasing that goes on. I find that there are certain players, such as Zach Randolph, Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, etc that when quoted, always seem to be quoted verbatim with their shoddy grammar and slang. I.E "I ain't got no problems with..." or "Ain't nobody gonna tell me..." The reason I ask this is because as a writer, I surmise that bad grammar and spelling might irk you a bit. (It irks me!) If a player has really horrible grammar on a quote, will you fix it for him for the print? Does it depend on the player? In the NBA, which player or players do you find to be the most eloquent and grammatically correct with their speech - and which player or players are the worst? Keep up the good work, Doug.

Tom S, Toronto

A: My general rule is if you’re going to put quotation marks around something, it’s got to be verbatim. There are ways around grammatical quirks, like parsing quotes or using elipses but if it’s in quotes, it’s a direct quote.

And, besides, if something’s horribly grammatically incorrect, it’d probably be silly to use it ‘cause no one would understand it.

As for players, of the ones I’ve dealt with even on a semi-regular basis, I’d have Steve Nash, Shane Battier, Antawn Jamison and Derek Fisher on that list.

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Q: Doug, love the blog, and love your appearances on PTS, you show that old grump McCown who’s boss.
We all saw CB4’s appearance with Cousin Bubba in his All Star Campaign video last season. It’s been recent reported that there has been a challenge between he and Baron Davis (after The Baron and Steve Nash put on their own little ‘Step Brothers’ spoof) to see who can come up with the best skits. Do you feel that this sort of off the court fun in any ways takes away from CB4’s total commitment to basketball? I don’t some friends fear it might.
And also do you think this challenge is just the sort of thing to finally get Bosh recognized in the US as the bona fide household superstar he is in Canada (if the Olympics didn’t already)?

Marc S, Scarborough

A: I think Bosh is smart enough to realize what’s important and right now it’s basketball. But he’s also smart enough to be able to multi-task every now and then. And everyone needs a diversion from their regular job so the comedy and video stuff is probably a much-needed break from the regular grind.

I think he’s doing this challenge ‘cause it’s fun, not for fame but if that’s a byproduct, I’m pretty sure he’ll be okay with it.

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Q: Hey Doug, do you think that Sam Mitchell will change one of his major coaching philosophies this year? The ‘Sacrifice’ one. As we all know, in the past whoever was playing well would play and if you were having a bad night you would sit out, regardless of the depth chart and player contracts. I like this about Sam and quite frankly, I think too many NBA coaches are too cowardice to take such an approach with their players. Do you think Sam can keep this up if say, Andrea Bargnani comes into games looking like Pau Gasol! alongside Bosh... would Sam bench O’Neal the same way he used to bench starters the past couple of years given his contract and stature? A better question might be: Do you think Jermaine O’Neal is capable of sitting on the bench genuinely rooting for his teammates if things aren’t going well for him? Maybe I'm being too pessimistic here...

Andrew R, Halifax

A: I think Sam will always ride a hot hand in a particular game. Whether it’s Bargnani over either of the other bigs, Kapono over Parker or vice versa, if that’s what he thinks gives ‘em the best chance to win, that’s what he’ll do.

And I think everyone on the team’s mature enough to handle it. I’m not certain of that but, for now, I guess we have to take ‘em at their word.

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Q: I fully agree that Kapono needs to get more minutes but I don't understand why Sam wants to cut into AP's minutes and keep Jamario in the starting 5. AP is definitely a better defender, better ball handler and almost as strong a 3 point shooter as Kapono (JK was 1st in league 3-point%, AP was something like 4th or 6th). Is there some other reason that they want to cut AP's minutes that I'm missing? Also do you think we got the wrong twin? Would you do a simple Joey G. for Stephen G. trade?  Or maybe they could switch like the film Freaky Friday and nobody would notice.
Jon H, Whitby

A: It’s not offence that’s behind any rotation move, it’s defence. They like Jamario defending the athletic threes around the league more than they like anyone else guarding them and that makes entire sense.

And I don’t think there’s going to be a drastic reduction in AP’s minutes but I do think the staff thinks he’d be more effective at perhaps 26 or 27 minutes a night than he was at 32 minutes a night last season. Fresher, more able to go full out at both ends in shorter spurts and, as they’ve mentioned, slicing them a bit will get Kapono more time.

Joey-Stephen? Does it really make a difference? It’s 12^th man for 12^th man in my opinion.

Q: Of the comments people write in - what frustrates you the most out of the following:
(please keep in mind that I don't share these views at all, I just notice that you seem a bit touchy with some of your responses to these types of questions)
1. Bargnani is a bust, get rid of him! (I think people forget that he's only just 22 and a lot of players coming out of college, that don't come out after their first year - are 22 or 23 when they REACH the league)
2. Roko Ukic will be the MVP if only the Raps would bring him over (okay, this SHOULD be dead now!)
3. The Raps should trade Joey Graham and Hassan Adams for Kobe or LeBron. (Just an example of the insane trade ideas I'm sure you get)
4. People that don't understand the difference between the salary cap and the luxury tax.
5. You didn't answer my question Doug. I hate you and will never read or write your articles ever again!
6. The Raps should sign <insert Canadian player here>, just because they're Canadian!!
7. What do you think the Raptors are going to do in 2063? Will they be interested in signing LeBron James Great Grandson? (or some other question relating to something YEARS from even being needed to waste a thought on)
8. I read something another writer wrote - so I think we should trade Chris Bosh now, because he's going to leave in 3 years!
9. Who's our starting 2/3 going to be?
10. Nathan Jawai's career is over!
11. The Raptors need to sign Player X to a contract (meanwhile, Player X is locked up with another team for the next 5 years)
12. The Raps should have drafted THIS player - what were they thinking?!?!?

Tom S, Toronto

A: Seven. In a landslide. Not even close.

The rest are frustrating at some level, the question of what they’ll do in years is ‘gouge-your-eyes-out-with-a-blunt-instrument, run-screaming-from-the-computer frustrating.

Why? Because circumstances change, players change, teams change. And no one knows even the slightest what might actually happen.

If people want to play that game, I say, go for it. I’m just not interested.

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Q: Got a Q about team salary structure. You said that Nate's contract won't hurt the Raps financially because salaries don't start counting until the start of the regular season. Is that because as a second-round pick his contract is non-guaranteed, or is that true for guys like Calderon as well?
If a roster player gets hurt before the season starts, we still have to pay his salary, but do you mean this doesn't count against the cap?
Real world example: The Wiz owners are hurt financially by Arenas in having to pay his salary, but will it affect the team’s salary structure/ability to make acquisitions?

Duane C, Toronto

A: It’s not Nate’s salary, it was Jamal Sampson’s salary. Nate’s got a guaranteed deal so it will count against the cap regardless of whether he plays or not.

And because paydays for players are generally November to April, the calculating the cap doesn’t begin until the season does.

Now, on to non-roster players who get hurt during training camp.

If a guy like Sampson, who is only being paid for the time he’s in camp and has no guarantees for the start of the season, suffers an injury during training camp and he’s not deemed healthy when the season starts, teams are obligated to sign them to minimum-value contracts that are in effect until they’re healthy enough to be released. So if a non-roster guy blows out a knee or ruins his back during camp, the team could be on the hook for a full year of salary, which is a big part of why Toronto only wanted 13 guys in camp.

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Q: I love Sam the media personality. We all know he can be cantankerous with you and your fellow grunts. When asked a question, what would you say is Sam's slammage:genuine answer ratio?

Keep up the great work ... and pardon my terminology.

Nicholas C, Toronto

A: I don’t know about a percentage but it feels like he slams every question when it’s first posed. But, and here’s the thing about Sam, he’ll slam and chastise and belittle but, eventually, he’ll answer. If you go back at him, he relishes the chance to, um, debate. But if you have patience, or have been around him long enough, you know how to wait him out until you get the question answered.

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Q: Hey Doug. I really like the Jermaine O'Neal trade. I think that this is a guy that is motivated by a new situation and could be a huge emotional boost to this team. We all know about his defensive, shot blocking and rebounding abilities but one part of his game that I think has been overlooked is his ability to use either hand. I remember thinking that he was left handed because you always saw him using his left hand around the net. A lot of the time he shoots, dunks and grabs rebounds with his left, even though he is a right handed shooter. Am I wrong?

Perry K, Ottawa

A: Like all good bigs, O’Neal is basically ambidextrous around the rim.

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Q: I just wanted to know if you’re worried about the Raptors and their free throw attempts per game this year, I’m sure this is the last thing your worried about though. It just seems everyone is making such a big deal about not having a slashing 2 guard on this team. If I remember correctly and I’m sure I don’t and might get slammed for it, the Raptors last year took, what, maybe 20 FTA per game, Bosh averaged 8 attempts of that possibly on and some nights he was going to the line all by himself for like 14 attempts. Okay so on to my rant last year 10/12 players on the Raps combined for 20 FT per game, and now we have 2 players Bosh and O’Neal who could possibly combine for 16 attempts per game which should bring us over last year’s percentage, so what’s everyone so worried about?
Nick dO, Toronto

A: I don’t know that people are as overly worried as you make them out to be. I know I’m not ‘cause I’ve got other things to worry about. But, seriously, if they had that slashing 2 or 3 everyone wants (hello Corey Maggette!) think how many more foul shots they’d get!

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Q: What's your take on the backup point-guard situation? I have some concerns with Calderon's durability and worry that should Ukic or Solomon have to carry a greater load the office could go flat in a hurry.
Hope you enjoy your time in the nation’s capital.
Steve S, Ottawa

A: There is certainly a greater talent disparity between the starting point guard and his backup now than there’s been in the last two years so I’d suggest keeping Calderon healthy is the most important thing to do this season. But I do think both Ukic and Solomon, as they get used to the NBA game, are going to be quite capable.

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Q: I am not sure if you have answered this already, so I thought I would ask. Where to the players get their medical tests completed? Do they have OHIP?

Ro A, Ottawa

A: No, they don't have OHIP, they have a private medical insurance plan that the league puts in place for all its teams. And they have an afiliation with a local hospital through their medical staff.

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Q: I'm just getting into the basketball mood after a summer of Blue Jay baseball and some CFL/NFL football of late. I saw in your blog where you remarked that you couldn't get in to watch the Raptors practice. Why is it that the case when some NBA teams allow their practices to be shown on Raptors TV? Last year I saw the practices of Washington and New Jersey and Toronto, among others, on TV and this afternoon they're televising the New Orleans practice. Is the restriction of you "beat grunts" solely the result of some officious type in the Raptor organization or is it the result of some league policy?

Bill H, Ailsa Craig

A: Those training camp sessions you see are one-off deals the league sets up for its station. It is not the norm at all and isn’t something you’ll see once the regular season begins.

As for the regular season routine where teams don’t open practices until the final 30 minutes or so, that’s a league policy and is followed in every city.

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Q: Who would your all-time pain-in-the-ass team be. Marbury and Sprewell would be on it for sure. Sprewell may be its first inductee into its Hall of Fame. Just curious as I have a few bad apples I was thinking of. Just curious as to your selections.

Doug B, Toronto

A: You know, I don’t see players from other teams nearly enough to come up with a definitive list. And some guys might be a pain in the ass to one guy but not to another.

For instance, one time at a shootaround Steve Smith, who is universally known as one of the all-time good guys in the game, blew me off when I tried to ask him a question.

And, frankly, every time I tried to talk to Sprewell, he was fine.

Unless you see a guy more than two or four times a year (the most we see a player from another team), it’s impossible to really say who’s a pain.

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Q: Hey Doug, ever get a question from Japan? I've posted comments and asked questions in the past but that was when I was in Toronto.
Just wanted to know if you've had a chance to see Adams, Solomon and Graham play. Want to know about Adams and Solomon because they may have to play roles and just wanted to know if Graham looks like he might start to become consistent. (Hopefully not consistently bad)

Jason O, Tokyo

A: I believe there has been a question or two from Japan but welcome, anyway.

No one’s seen Joey at all since he strained his hamstring Day 1 and hasn’t practiced since. We saw Adams and Solomon in 24 minutes of scrimmage on Thursday night. Solomon looked quick and good; Adams looks like he could probably be in better shape.

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Q: Hey Doug, seeing other's question about the feeling of Rasho being traded let me wonder how the contract and trade work. Can a player say no to a trade? I remember the Vince Carter trade and Alonzo Mourning refused to come and then we have to buy him out. Is it because he had those no trade clause in his contract? It really sucks that we have to pay someone to not play.

C Chan, Markham

A: Without rehashing the whole Mourning thing, no trade clauses are so rare (they can only be offered to players who have been in the league for at least eight years and have spent four of them with the team they are signing with); there is only one player currently in the league who has one: Kobe Bryant.

Comments

[John]

I'm not feeling good for AP's less minutes and backup role. However, considering the bench players(Ukic, Solomon, Bargnani, Adams, Hump,Graham, Jawai, Sampson), I think they need a veteran like AP. So I don't think JK as a starter and more minutes is not a bad idea.

[Chris S.]

Hey Doug, adding on another question from today about the pre-season I was wondering can an NBA team bring in a player to just practice with the team without an official signing (just to bring in a warm body when someone goes down without the worry of how that contract may affect the tax) or are there rules or liability/legal issues that prevent this?

Blogger's note: I'm not sure if it's technically illegal but finding someone to work for free might be hard and there would certainly be liability issues regarding such things as health insurance if the guy got hurt.
But there are always guys close by to come in on a minute's notice, they got Jamal Sampson here in an awful hurry and every team knows where guys like that are hanging out.

[Jay D]

Hey Doug,

I was just wondering with all this talk about needing a slashing 3, is this just a fancy way of saying we need a more talented SF? Does slashing mean beating your defender on an iso (i dont think so) or does it mean cutting to the basket without the ball? Cause I understand it to be the latter, and if it is, why can't you just teach it? Shouldn't any decent SF or even SG be able to slash to the bucket? I am i wrong or is it the case that we just need a more talented 3?

Blogger's note: I think it's the former, every team would like a three who can take his man off the dribble. And that's certainly not a long suit of the guys who play that position in Toronto.
And until you've got an all-star at every position, you're always lookng for more talented players, regardless of position.

[stuart L]

As i understand it, the need for a slashing 3 exists because we don't have anyone on our team who can consistently get their own shot, particularly at the end of a tight game. During the regular season, this is a relatively minor problem as we have a good point guard and an all-star big; but in the playoffs, isn't the problem magnified by the number of close games and the improvement in other teams' defence? We saw it at times last season where, if Jose can't break his man down off the dribble, or we can't get a clean shot off a pick-and-roll, we're kind-of bereft of ideas. Doug, how do you think Sam will look to solve this problem this year?

Blogger's note: By working on the skills of the other guys, like Moon and Kapono and Parker to see if they can provide what's needed.

[michael]

hey doug do u know any preseason games on tv live or replays???

Blogger's note: The four home games and the one against Denver in Edmonton are on Raptors TV

[Sidewood]

here's a particularly good break down of the Kapono, Moon and Parker minutes exchange.

http://www.caldeford.blogspot.com/