A visitor is coming to town

I know, it’s late but any night that ends with the DJ playing Danny Boy, Maggie May and My Way back-to-back-to-back with the gang in full throat has a way of wreaking havoc with the sleep patterns.

AP FILE PHOTO

There's no need to shout. He's just here as an observer.

Anyway …

-

This ought to get the cobwebs out of the early morning heads.

Marc Iavaroni’s coming.

Seriously, he is. To Toronto. Like, tomorrow. And he was with the Raptors last week in Philly but went unnoticed.

The deal is he’s on some “coach and idea sharing” mission or some such; unemployed coaches come and hang around teams for a few days, offer their insight.

This, of course, is the first time the Raptors have ever done anything like this and of all the unemployed coaches to pick in all the world, they had to get Iavaroni, former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, former long-time assistant in Phoenix – where that Colangelo guy held sway – and the apple of the eye of a lot of Raptors fans.

Now, before any of you get too worked up, he’s here to be an observer, won’t be on the bench or anything this year and is not – I repeat IS NOT – going to be the next head coach of the Raptors.

But when he and Jay Triano break bread some day, and they surely will, I can imagine it’s going to be like some quasi job interview.

Can you envision Jay with Iavaroni as his lead assistant? I can. And I’m pretty sure there are people in the organization who can.

-

What was that on Sunday? A win? An easy win? A win over a team with a better record, such that it is.

Weird, eh?

Hands up everyone who thought, at some time during the game, “what if?” What if Jose doesn’t get hurt, what if Andrea’s the starting five all year. What if, indeed.

But here’s a warning: You are what your record says you are and the Raptors are 24-44. If they finish strong, and there’s every possibility they can, no one can forget the flaws that have been displayed this year.

Seven wins, or six wins, or nine wins the rest of the year are as much fool’s gold as anything.

-

Action: Pops

Reaction: The legend grows

I’m talking to a guy who has some power in the organization – before the game, mind you – and we agree the best thing the Raptors can do right now is shut Pops Mensa-Bonsu down.

Really, three more losses and he develops a backache, or a headache, or “flu-like symptoms.”

Of course, that’s after he gets a wink and a nod on a two-year deal starting next year.

All the guy’s doing know is costing Toronto money and driving up his value on the open market.

You think other teams aren’t noticing 8 1/2 rebounds a game? You think scouts aren’t talking among themselves? You think there’s going to be some competition for his services on the market?

-

Q: In your in-game blog you mentioned a salary quote from Hoopshype was wrong. I was wondering where you get your salary info from and how reliable it is? Thanks as always

Jim T, Toronto

A: My salary information is 100 per cent absolutely correct. It comes from absolutely unimpeachable sources that I won’t divulge. Believe me or not, when I give you a salary, it’s bang on.

-

Here’s a very interesting thing about Pops and how Will Solomon and Patrick O’Bryant screwed everything up.

On trade deadline day, about noon, the plan was to get nothing done, waive Will Solomon that afternoon and fill in his roster spot with a big man they’d had in working out the night before.

And since those guys were Pops Mensa-Bonsu and Antoine Walker, surely to the basketball gods they would have done Pops over the old, no-defending, three-point-shooting piece o’ junk Walker, right? But, no, they get involved in that three-way deal to dump Solomon and get O’Bryant and they end up not getting Pops for about two weeks.

Imagine if they hadn’t done that financial deal with the Kings and Celtics.

How much would The Legend have grown already?

-

In Indy, they seemed quite dismayed at Sunday’s turn of events.

-

Okay, let’s say they are bound and determined to hire Jay back – and I seriously think with a few more wins they will – and they don’t want the perception that Iavaroni would be the “head coach in waiting” and the fan favourite after every four-game losing streak, what do they do?

Well, a wise man or two suggested that maybe they make a call to P.J. Carlisemo.

Great assistant, history of winning, probably done as a head coaching prospect after three shots at it, familiar with Jay from the summer Olympic team gigs, familiar with Bryan from the same thing.

Make sense?

A bit, you have to admit.

-

They’ll be wearing O’ The Green again tonight here in Charlotte and if they win again, I bet they try to petition the league to wear them until they lose.

-

Speaking of Charlotte, when you wade through a billion words of NCAA basketball stuff, you eventually get to this.

-

Go back to the end of the 2005-06 season, the one with 27 wins.

There was no concern about whether you could “build a team” around Chris Bosh but that’s exactly what they did.

They got two wings in Parker and Garbo, a point guard in T.J. and some depth.

There was no question that Bosh, who signed a contract extension that summer, was “the guy.” He was the team’s leading scorer, its best player, top rebounder, main front court presence.

By adding talent they “built” around him and, presto, won 47 games and the division title.

I think it’s fair to say the pieces on this team (Bosh, an emerging Bargnani, a healthy Calderon) are far better than they were on that team and it worked out pretty well.

-

And, finally:

Q: Thanks for posting my comments re Patrick O'Bryant during the Indy game. I'm sorry to use incorrect info on his salary (whether it’s $1.62MM or less) however there's still something noteworthy here about BC's lack of due diligence. You would think there would be better evaluation prior to bringing in a player who got released by GSW after only 2 years (and after being drafted #9 overall), someone who had no chance to get off Boston's bench even though Boston is crying for "big" support, and someone whose twin brother and personality is Loren Woods. I know, I know, you're to take your chances sometimes on bigs (like Pops) but you're understated the financial impact of this move by your 300K savings comment. How about stating the amount to be expended off the salary cap?

Michael C, Toronto

A: Okay, this is probably the last time we should discuss that guy at the end of the roster who never plays. It’s not like he’s important or anything.

Look, they took a chance on a young big, no huge deal.

It’ll end up costing them $500,000 next year – that’s the guarantee on his deal and all that’ll count towards the cap or tax – and, honestly, that’s chump change. The financial impact is negligible. Honestly, $500,000 is nothing.

They did due diligence, they thought maybe the guy could play and, frankly, they needed a warm body on the roster to get to the league-mandated minimum of 13. He couldn’t play, they at least got a guy without a huge number to carry forward next year.

Comments

[GM]

Doug writes: "...he’s here to be an observer, won’t be on the bench or anything this year and is not – I repeat IS NOT – going to be the next head coach of the Raptors."

Opinion or fact? Do you know for a fact he is NOT going to be the head coach next season, or is that just a hunch?

I don't like the idea of them shutting Pops down for the season just because I'd like to see if he can sustain this type of play or if it's just the energy of a guy being set free and will taper off.

But shutting down Banks? I'm okay with that.

[O.J.]

Doug,

Why is there all this arguing over the future coach? If anything, this season has proven how overrated coaching is in basketball. If you don't have the personnel, such as a leader on the floor to create chemistry, you will lose.

Our main concerns should be: 1. Roko's jumpshot, 2. making sure Jose/Bosh don't play on the national team this summer, 3. Kapano's contract 4. AP, making him the 3rd PG, 5. cheap efficient low post scorer for our bench (Rasho) 6. getting/drafting a 2-guard that can create his own shot. 7. complimentary players that can create their own shots. Your thoughts?

[Jojo]

Does the possibility of bringing Jay back have anything to do with the possibility that the Suns let Nash go and maybe Nash wants to play with Jay if he doesn't go to NY? I have no idea how that might work, but apart for that possibly remote possibility, and perhaps the fact that MLSE might not want to pay for a new guy, I can't say I understand the rationale in bringing Jay back.

It's definitely nice that he's given guys a longer leash and Bargs has flourished, but their record is still dismal.

[James C.]

Yes Jay's a nice guy and a good Canadian boy but really he has done nothing to justify a longer term tenure as head coach. The only way for him to continue is if Bosh approves and if our esteemed(??) GM can pull off a Calderon for Nash trade. What, can't we dream sometime?

[Jiri Crha]

March Break in full effect on your blog Doug. I'll be back next week, have fun with the kids.

[Pharaoh]

Doug, wouldn't shutting Pops down be an admission (finally!) that the season is utterly and hopelessly lost? We all know it is, but I wonder how fans would react to seeing that actually play out on the court before it becomes a mathematical certainty. Personally, I'd rather watch Pops hustle for offensive rebounds and try to bring down the rim with dunks than watch AP launch fadeaway jumpers from the corner. After such a disappointing season, along with the TSN2/Rogers debacle, don't you think putting a high-energy guy like Pops under wraps for the rest of the year just to save a few bucks is horrible PR? I know, I know, we don't want other teams to get too interested in the guy, but you don't want to alienate the fans anymore either.

[Dan W]

The Raptors record right now is more a reflection of the players than it is coaching. Bosh and Calderon two of the main players on this team are more half court players. I'm sure if Jay is brought back it's under the assumption that a full training camp will help all the players adjust to his system. Plus Bryan will try to bring in players who fit that as well.

[TMF]

I've enjoyed the breakout of Pops Mensah-Bonsu as much as anyone, but before we anoint him the savior, it's worth noting that Miami is still all ga-ga over one Jamario Moon, too. I give that one another week.

[JJ]

Hi Doug

Perhaps, there was a hint of sarcasm that I missed but how does a few more wins "bind and determine" the Raptors to hire Triano back? (Or was that just a little line to get the fans all riled up?)

The team is 16-34 under Triano's guidance. And 3-9 since the Marion/Banks/O'Neal trade. Not exactly an awesome record.

To be fair, it is never easy to come in as an interim coach without the benefit of a training camp. But interim coaches can succeed even with a flawed roster (see Tony DiLeo's 24-17 mark in Philadelphia).

And one could argue that Triano deserves a fairer shot, but doesn't it make sense to wait until April/May and see what is available in terms of coaches? You know the same strategy (waiting until April/May to see which jobs are open) that you have argued many currently unemployed coaches are using/should be using?

It's a football quote but there is some truth to the Bill Parcells idea "You are what your Record says you are." And Triano's isn't good. So why the hunch that he's close to coming back for 2009-10? Or was it just a line to stir up comments?

Blogger's note: A feeling that I get from talking to various decision-makers around the organization. There are those who think he should come back.

[Tim W.]

It's funny that a couple of readers can't seem to understand sarcasm when the read it (re: Doug's comments about Pops). Of course, I'd probably shut him down so as not to get the Raptor fans expectations too high. Oh, wait. That's probably already happened.

I agree that in terms of salary, $500,000 matters very little because of the size of the other salaries, but reading that felt wrong. In Paul Shirley's book, Can I Keep My Jersey, which I would highly, highly recommend, he comments on this very issue a couple of times. When $500 thousand is a throwaway, something is wrong.

Takashi, you don't seem to understand the humour in blasting Doug because he feels that Jay has a headstart on the coaching position next season, but then claim that Messina is a lock. Irony is apparently lost on you, isn't it? Messina has done absolutely nothing in the NBA, yet people like you feel he's ready to jump in as head coach. That's astounding, to me, especially considering how few college coaches make the jump successfully. And they don't have the culture and language differences, and are a part of the American basketball culture.

I have to say I don't understand people's fascination with Iavaroni. Was his record any better than the Raptors with Jay coaching? What are people expecting? I think Jay has shown to be a better x's and o's guy than Mitchell, and Bargnani and Graham have played so much better under him. When people blast Jay, they always seem to forget that. No, Jay doesn't have a lot of wins, but I really don't think Greg Popovich would get that many more wins after being dropped in as head coach without a training camp. Are the same fans that blast Jay some of the same ones who criticize Colangelo for putting together a weak roster? You can't say the talent level is low and then say Jay is doing a bad job because he isn't getting more wins out of them. Barring an A-List coach agreeing to come on board, I don't see why the Raptors shouldn't re-hire Jay for next season.

[chaz]

another reason to like pops doug, his parents are from ghana and his name is from ghana and we all know you have a soft spot for that country right?

[yertu damkule]

is pops at the 3 that much of a drop-off from, say, marion? what does marion do that pops can't? sure, he's a got a more refined low-post game (not that we've seen it much), but with bosh & bargs supplying the offense, and jose running the show, couldn't you plug pops into the 3 spot to be a versatile defender, rebounder & energy guy, with the primary caveat being that they absolutely would have to sign (or trade for) a legit scoring 2-guard.

to me, a primary lineup featuring jose (healthy), as-yet acquired 2, pops, bosh & bargs sounds pretty good. theoretically, there should be more than enough offense from jose, the new 2, bosh & bargs, both inside & out; pops being there as a multi-position defender, rebounder, hustle guy to clean up garbage sounds ideal.

the bench, of course, remains a sticking point, but if they renounce AP & marion, they should be able to re-sign delfino & joey to low-level deals (& in this climate, both should be happy to get them). bye-bye to jake & PO'B, welcome back hump & jaws. still stuck with banks & kapono. it's not overwhelmingly better than the current group, but it'll depend on who they're able to acquire to fill the 2-spot (ariza?), and/or who they end up drafting (derozan?).

ah...to dream.

[Doug]

some of the comments on this blog are the reason why i quit listening to sports talk radio a few years ago...as one's opinion is just that opinion, so it is what it is....if Jay is coach of the Raps next year, or messina or whoever else is all conjecture and open to speculation, but to get your shorts in a knot over Doug for expressing his thoughts and disagreeing with yours is just asinine...Jay's did nothing to weaken his case for coming back, due to injury and players being unable to practice as the case has been with Calderon he has did the best he could under the circumstances, plus he has changed the offence whereas with Sam it all ran through Bosh, he has tried to involve more individuals as Barg's stats attest to..plus people make to big a deal out of "set" plays, they work at times other times they don't, as you are playing against a defense that is also adapting and changing and switching off etc...the best play is talented athletic players that can create and ad-lib on there own...and Barg's is quite proficient at it...

and any true raps fan should hope that UConn tanks in the NCAA or Thabett has a bad few games so he stays lower in the draft, as he's rising with a bullet...Harden was disappointing against the Trojans, 4 clear-outs in the last 2 minutes, set plays for him, 2 turnovers and never created a shot at all or even fouled, if he can't do that in the NCAA would raise flags for me in regards to NBA potential as a high-first rounder...

Pops is what he is and what any true contending team needs, solid role players that fits a need on any given team, Rockets, Jazz have rosters filled with them, and the Celtics weakness is there lack of such guys this year as compared to last year as Marbury is proving to be a bust big time, look at his stat line for yesterday...so of course Pops is not the coming of the messiah but what he is a solid, contributor, or can be, Spurs never wanted him as they are going for a title an Gooden fills that role much more effectively especially with the dubious status of Ginobli's ankle..they needed the offence Gooden can bring, they have the defensive end covered...

[Mo]

I have a question about scheduling in the NBA: Is it completely random? do teams have any input, or is it just TV and arena availability?

Just curious because 14 of our last 15 games are against crap teams (Orlando being the other). Do you think if those games came earlier in the year, the Raptors would have any chance at the playoffs right now?

I guess my question is how much do you think the game is dependant on momentum and player confidence? Would a few more wins this time of the year, and being in, say the 8th seed, make us a much better team than we are right now?

My hunch is no because the mental toughness and focus of this team all year has been dismal, but i'm curious to hear what you think.

[dsl]

I think perhaps that Atlantic division title may have been a bit misleading, considering the state of the division back then. Weren't people calling it the 'titanic' division? If we look at it that way, then suddenly we realize that a Chris Bosh-led team was able to win what may have been the worst division in professional sports. It's some revisionist history, I suppose, but that has to count for something. Also, don't forget that they lost in the playoffs that year to the second 'best' team in the worst division in professional sports.

[tazzzman]

People involve in the Raps organization GM, Coach, and Key players i think are not insync. You have BC who wants the team to play a running game like the old Suns, they got Sam before as coach who i think want a a half court offence. Bosh and Calderon are definetly half court guy. Thats why they are struggling right now because the new Coach Jay via orders (i stongly believe) from BC to let the team do a running game. It didnt work 2 years ago.. remember?? They started the 47 win season with a running style but got rid of it 5 or 6 games into the season when things were not working. Result? 47 win season.

BC should get players who wants/knows how to play a running game. Bosh cant/wont do that. Calderon wont/cant do that. His alternatives are trading 1 or both of them that knows how to, which will not be a very popular move to the public or LEAVE THE COACH ALONE!

I always read or hear critics about the MLSE higher ups (management) meddling around the Hockey operations in this town in talk shows and news outlet, why dont i hear it in Basketball? Are they afraid of BC?

[fg]

I like TRIANO, but Please get rid of him ASAP. in serious he has to be replaced with a proven coach in the summer. If it was evans or another guy with the same record we wouldnt even think of keeping him, but becuase hes canadian we give him a free pass. He is a good coach. But lets be honest Douggy if you had to pick between avery johnson, vangundy, etc. or triano. We all would pick the better coach. just like buying a TV, buy the top of the line proven or something less value (to say trianos value is not less then other coachs is just being pathetic). we all would pick the better coach regardless of were it is made. just like with our cars.. haha.

SECOND grange blogs have to be the worst in the world, how does someone like that get that job and not be fired. you at least have bball IQ and played bball. grange has no IQ he rips on all players he flately disgraced bargs, calderon, BC and bosh with his articles. that type of attitude can be found from coach seat gm's and in front of the beer store, not from professional writers. IF everyone would please write to the sun like I have on what a disgrace of an attitude he is to Toronto sport culture.

Thanks for the good work Doug, I dont agree on all your things, but you have some bball IQ unlike many other raptor writers. And I know your giving Takashi ahard time.. its funny.. but I want to point out how you have dropped the ball many many times. I.E you wrote sam would not be fired, forsure not on the road and he was. you have blown other dealings, so I do not think you have a clue about torontos next caochs either, or trianos future. (hopefully as an assistant on raptors)

[Serge P]

The Raptors will bring back Jay Triano as the head coach next season because it's the safest thing to do and it gives them the most flexibility.

Ettore Messina has never coached in the NBA on any level and you'd have to make him a very nice (i.e. years and $$$) offer to get him over here. He's not coming to the NBA on some 2 year 1 million dollar deal. Also, there really isn't a precedent of a head coach coming over from Europe and having a huge impact as an NBA lead guy. And before someone jumps in with "Mike Dantoni! Mike Dantoni! You forgot Mike Dantoni!", let me remind you that he was an NBA assistant before becoming a head coach, something that apparently is not an option with The Great Messina. The only comparable precedent you'd have are college coaches coming to the NBA, something that we see less and less of because in the past they've mostly crashed and burned.

On the other hand, if Jay Triano is not head coach of the Raptors next season he won't be the head coach of any NBA team. So you're not going to get into a bidding war for his services and he would be much more likely to accept a short, low money contract in order to get a chance to prove himself. This gives BC much more options. If Triano does not work out BC can quickly look to replace him as opposed to feeling tied to him because of having signed him to a big money, long term deal.

Finally, many people ignore the fact that Mike Dantoni was an assistant coach in Pheonix who was made interim coach and, much like Jay, fared rather poorly. However, once he got a full training camp to implement his system and was given some better players for that system, he became The Greatest Coach Alive (TGCA), at least to many Toronto Raptors fans. So give the guy a chance, it's a low risk / high reward situation.

[Dan]

I don't know how good Pops really is, having only watched him play just the last couple games, but man.. is it ever refreshing to see a raptor fight for a rebound with 3 opposing players around him and actually get the ball. The guy is a hard-worker and I wish the rest of the team had some of his drive (we just look so complacent on the court - like we don't mind losing).

[chris]

Great insight on Pops. He looks like a great resource (at the right price, which might be artificially inflated a la Yogi Stewart after his brief stint as a big time hustle-player)

btw - if your salary information is so correct, how come our back-and-forth on future cap space a couple of months ago (regarding the marion trade) fell far more in my favour than yours??? Not nearly the 14.5mm (or whatever it was)you described....

[Pinky]

Two things. 1 - enough with all of the wailing about O'Bryant being a bad deal. Have you all forgotten that it rid the Raptors of the demoralizing bust named Will Solomon? He was never going to play another second, so why not trade that for a shot at someone who might?
2 - I've seen a tremendous change in the way the team plays since Jay has taken charge. If given a roster that fits with the strategy he wants to deploy for a full year I think we'd see very different results.

I'm with Doug in that he seems to be alluding to the general consensus/open secret that Bosh is not coming back, and that has likely had a huge impact on team morale - something very difficult to overcome when its coming from the guy who is supposed to be the leader. Maybe he has some personal issues, who knows. It seems obvious to me that Bosh does not want to be here and that he'd rather take his budding 'online entertainment' career to a bigger (read: American) market. I only hope the team can get a few valuable pieces to build around and that Stephen A. doesn't go all "I told you so" when it happens.

[Jeff]

Doug,
Here's a good list for you to do: The top "fan-favourite" Raptors, who got more love because of their personalities than their talent. I am thinking Pape Sow, Matt Bonner, JYD, Pops!

what do you think, any others?

[Tim W.]

James C.: "our esteemed(??) GM can pull off a Calderon for Nash trade. What, can't we dream sometime?"

Trading a 27 year old PG who is third in the NBA in apg, 1st in assists to turnovers per game, and can consistently hit the three and mid range shot, for a 36 year old at the end of his career and on the decline, who would be a band-aid at best? This is what you dream of? Wow.

[Kelsie]

It's too early to make coaching decisions for next year but I'm doing my darndest to understand why so many fans seem to think that Jay has done a good job with this team. In his defence he was given a tough assignment and a difficult situation to get your first NBA head coaching job, but what has he shwon to indicate BC should retain him? If BC thought Jay was the guy to coach this team all along he should have fired Mitchell before the year started to give Jay a fair chance. He didn't do that so you can only analyze him based on this years performance.

Comments that puzzle me: "Jay has shown to be a bettter x's and o's guy than Mitchell" How has he shown this? We have lost a ton of games and we are not running anything ground-breaking that swuld indicate he's a better x's and o's guy. His defensive scheme that was implemented to force opposition to the basline or to the help lasted what 5-6 games? Where are the x's and o's? How signifcant are x's and o's when you're losing far more than winning?

"He has developed Graham and Bargs" He's given them more time to play and not punish them for their mistakes so I'll give Jay his props with that however, although Bosh has been good this year he played like his arse was on fire in the first month of the year with Sam as coach. Since Sam's departure he has had difficulty reaching that level of play again. Jose hasn't played as well under Jay as he did under Sam either and I know about his "incredibly" bad hamstring and how it's "completely altered" his game, lol, but if Jay's responsible for Joey's development I don't see how the same cannot be said for Jose and Sam. Think back to his first two years. Jose was his whipping boy and remember the consistent yelling at him to turn the corner and go to the rim on pick and rolls.

"Jay's had to deal with injuries" So Sam didn't? How long was TJ out for last year and we still made the playoffs? Go back and look at what Sam did the previous two years with this team and we had injuries believe me, so that point is moot in my books.

I really like Jay and if BC wants to give him a fair chance with the job next year, thats his decision but when I keep on hearing how great an NBA coach Jay is and what he's done for this team I wonder if we're all following the same squad here?

2 times more losses than wins, no change in style of play, no new innovation offensively or more importantly defensively (everyone killed Sam for not making them better defenders, they've been worse under Jay) and although some of our young guys have been better our main players haven't been able to elevate their game. Where's the proof as to how good a coach he is in the NBA?

I've been saying it for the last month but if it's Evans or English coaching the team no one would be making the case that they should be back.

[agstox]

Buy Canadian I say. Who wants Van Gundy here anyway....boring.