And now, we return to our regular stuff

Yes, I know, it’s later than usual for this, right? Well, if someone can please get the world to agree to operate on one time zone – the one I live in – it’d be greatly appreciated.

But, there’s already been news so I presume that sated everyone’s appetite for a bit.

Until this, of course.

So, we’ve got some Raptors, some finals and some stuff.

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Staffing issues

Absolutely no surprise to the Iavaroni-English hiring today, right? And they’re still working with Alvin and I’m hearing that’s still got a good chance at happening.

So, what’s it mean?

Well, I keep hearing that they’re going to have Iavaroni handle the defence – it’s what he did in Phoenix and whatever you think about the Suns, they had good defensive systems, just not good defensive players – and that’s got to be good news. Under Sam, they didn’t really have one “defensive coach” (which isn’t a big problem, lots of teams share responsibility, including the two in the final that’s going on) but I think having one guy teach one system isn’t a bad idea.

And English? Well, he did a good job working with Bargnani last year, he’s a good sounding board for the players and the respect he garners in the locker room and around the league is substantial.

But, and this goes back to something Jay said when we were talking coaching philosophy a few weeks ago, it’s his demeanour that’s important as well. Where Iavaroni is animated, English is not. Where Iavaroni will yell, English will speak more quietly. Both personalities fit well with Jay and having a staff that’s got diverse personalities is huge.

You can’t have four dominating personalities, just like you can’t have four guys who operate quietly.

This staff seems to have a good mix and, most important, I think it will allow Jay to develop his own “voice” as he learns his craft a bit more; these are his people and he’ll feel comfortable directing them.

DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR

Doug's response to Chris Bosh playing out his contract: Chill.

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Someone riddle me this:

Why in the world is anyone getting all worked up by the suggestion that Chris Bosh won’t sign a contract extension this summer and will play out the final year of his contract?

Seriously. As news goes, that ranks right up there with Smith Likes A Cold One Every Now And Then.

And, no, it doesn’t mean that Bryan Colangelo needs to get on the phone today trying to swing some deal for his all-star power forward. What it means is just what it meant in April and in May and in October: The GM needs to improve the team, turn it into a consistent winner and let Bosh see that the future is bright and I am absolutely certain he’ll be back.

He loves the city, likes the organization and, I honestly believe, loves his place in the pecking order on the roster. What he wants to do is win and why anyone would think he’d commit long-term this summer with the team where it is absolutely baffles me.

Nothing has changed. Please remain calm.

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The things you learn schmoozing with people around something like an NBA final.

From the Water Under A Bridge department, found out last night the Raptors had a deal done with Golden State last season that would have seen them ship Joey Graham to California for guard Marco Bellinelli.

It was so done that Bellinelli was almost on his way to the airport to come to Toronto and told friends he was being traded.

And then the Warriors backed off and killed the deal.

Not huge news, and it’s old, but thought you might like to know.

-

Try this on for size: Isn’t what Kobe did to the Magic last night pretty much exactly the same thing LeBron did to them?

Go nuts, dominate the game, scoring bunches.

And how’d that work out for the Cavs.

The feeling I get is that the Magic might be okay with Kobe getting 40 as long as they don’t let Gasol get 20 or Odom get 20 or Ariza get 20.

And doesn’t that make entire sense?

Trouble is, the other Lakers are far better than the other Cavaliers and that’s a dangerous game for the Magic to play against Los Angeles. But it might represent Orlando’s best chance at winning so they better do it.

-

Oh.

My

God

A TV spot on one of those wacky morning shows down here just announced that it’s

National

Donut

Day

How good is that?!?!?!?

-

Digression done, let’s get back to the final.

Here’s the one thing that kind of got lost in the Bryant hoopla last night.

There is no way the Magic can win if they can’t shoot and 29.9 per cent from the field is shockingly bad.

Dwight Howard as many field goals as Tony Battie?

And a team that lives by the three died by it, too.

Horrific.

The biggest problem was the Lakers’ “length,” a term you’re going to hear a lot of in the next couple of days, I assume. And what is length? Well, Sunday, watch how far back towards the lane the Laker perimeter defenders play, which takes away a lot of Orlando’s chances of dumping the ball into Howard to start their offence.

They can do that because they are tall and lanky – Ariza and Odom specifically – and that allows them to get back out to shooters more quickly than, say, anyone on Cleveland.

I’m pretty sure Stan and Brendan were up late last night trying to figure out how to space the floor more to get move the Lakers out of the lane and let Orlando get its offence back to normal.

Never mind the Kobe effort, if the Magic can’t get their offence going, they have no chance whatsoever.

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So, today’s workout kids in Toronto were (or are, depending on when you’re reading this) guards Jonny Flynn and Jrue Holiday and forwards Chase Budinger, Damion James, Alade Aminu and Gorat Suton.

The big two, of course, are the guards but what I’m hearing is they are as much fall-back positions as players who are right at the top of the Raptors list. Toronto’s still focused – and should be, without question – on getting a two or a three with that No. 9 pick.

But if all the good twos and threes that they like are gone, you have to think Holiday or Flynn would be pretty good alternatives.

Still, by no means is anyone’s mind made up in Toronto, they’ve got a lot of guys still on their radar and are no closer to making a decision on a specific pecking order today than they were two weeks ago.

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With Kobe being Grumpy and Dwight being subdued because his team got murdered, Stan was the hit of the post-game interviews last night. He did his usual self-flagellation thing (“I’ve got to do a better job,” he said) but then he got after the assembled horde a little bit.

Someone asked him, quite legitimately, whether the Magic might have been a little tight given it was their first game on such a grand stage.

His response, chiding us:

“Well, I mean, again, that's one of those stories that you write ahead of time and you have ready to go if a team doesn't play well. I mean, I say that all the time to you guys. It's the simple cliché psychology stuff that you write when a team doesn't play well.

“I have no idea on that. That's not in my thinking at all. My thought process is how are we going to defend them better, what are we going to do offensively to score. We need to play better. You guys can write all the psychological stuff. Nobody cares if you're right anyway.”

No one cares if we’re right? Ouch.

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Comments

[kimji sliice]

Did you know that after 81 games Chris Bosh needed 18 more rebounds to average an even 10 per game on the season. That last game against Chicago, CB4 racked up 19 rebounds, surprised? This isn't exactly Darius Miles shooting at his own rim to get a Triple Double but odd and somewhat shocking at what Chris can accomplish if he puts his mind to something.

Oh and Brian should get on the phone and trade this "cornerstone" away before he walks for nothing.

[Kevin Restivo]

Thanks for the Graham for Bellinelli deal that almost came to fruition tip. I'd take a seemingly capable guard for Graham anyday. Too bad the Warriors quashed the deal.

[SY]

Can't agree w/ this article more - http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2009/06/05/9683266-sun.html

If B.C. builds the team around Bosh and the team still underachieves, the team will be in a really difficult position (in terms of signing another good free agent - even though Bosh's 17 million comes off the books but if the other contracts are guaranteed, we may not be far enough under the cap to sign another good free agent) when Bosh leaves.

However, if B.C. does decide not to trade Bosh this summer, B.C. can mitigate the risk by getting a few more expiring contracts (and without a doubt the best expiring contract out there for the Raptors is Marcus Camby! - Not to mention he also brings the toughness that B.C. is preaching) so B.C. can immediately sign another free agent when Bosh leaves.

Either case, tremendous pressure on B.C.

-SY

[peter]

Doug, i am "chill" but riddle me this: why WOULDN'T BC trade Bosh now that he's confirmed he wants to test the FA waters at the end of next season?? Realistically speaking, what are the odds of him actually re-signing with us?

Honestly, it's been a slow process for me, but I am on the "trade Bosh" side of things now.

[Kyle]

@ kimji sliice,

Isn't it Ricky Davis?

[Jeremy]

I agree that Bosh not signing an extension is not big news. Perhaps you should make the same argument to your editors who, for a time, had it as their lead story on The Star's web site.

[Alex]

Hi Doug, any word on Gordy Hebert? I thought him and Jay, being fellow Canadians, were a team?

Blogger's note: Sources continue to tell me neither he nor Mike Evans will be back, as has been the speculation for weeks. Nationality has nothing to do with anything.

[dallas]

I think this is where I got your comments on the Raps not drafting a pg.

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/2009/04/an-early-mailbag-and-some-airlineinduced-crankiness.html

"Q: Do you think given the overall disappointment that Jose Calderon has shown this season in that the Raptors would consider drafting a PG such as Tyreke Evans or Ty Lawson in the 09 draft lottery should a PG be in there minds the best player available when they are on the clock ?

Mike M, Mississauga

A: I know for a fact no one in the Raptor basketball hierarchy shares the opinion that you – and so many others – seem to have about Jose. So, no, they will not look for a point guard in the draft."

Blogger's note: A far cry from a "guarantee" and exactly as I said, a very low priority.

[Tim W.]

I'm assuming the Belinelli deal would have been before he went on his little scoring binge. Too bad. I wonder why Golden State backed off.

cc: "Bosh is like Odom. Imagine giving Odom the max contract. He's a gonner! Lets just enjoy his last season next season."

How exactly is Bosh like Odom? Odom had the talent to be a perennial All-Star, but was too content to be a supporting player. He never had the drive to be a great player, and mostly coasted on his skills. Case in point, he never averaged more than 17.2 ppg in a season. Bosh has always been an incredibly hard worker who has done everything he can to become a better player. He's averaged at least 22 ppg in every season but his first two. Plus, Bosh has appeared in 4 straight All-Star games, Odom in zero.

You guys want to bring up how Bosh might have hit his ceiling, or that he doesn't have the talent to be an MVP-level player, fine. I don't entirely agree, but at least it's an argument that is worth having. Comparing him to a guy like Odom, who is actually nothing like him at all, skill-wise, personality-wise, or talent level is a ridiculous argument.

As for the draft, I think the Raptors have a very good chance of ending up with a very good SG/SF with the 9th pick. Mock drafts seem to be all over the place, highlighting how little talent separates the 4th and 10th best player in the draft. Either James Harden, Demar DeRozen or Gerald Henderson should be available. And anyone one of those guys should help and have a good career. While Chase Budinger definitely has some talent, I just don't see him being anything more than a bench player. Yes, he's got great hops, but he doesn't have the lateral mobility or ball handling skills to be anything more than a 20 mpg player.

[Kelsie]

Why do the editors still allow your colleague spew his venom on basketball. His stories are slanted, overtly opinionated and spend little time dwelling on facts.

I can't speak for everyone but it's becoming more and more apparent that the fans want to talk ball and not listen to speculation and hearsay. I also find his commentary to be somewhat offensive (like the original Bosh story with his girlfriend) and am wondering if there is not some hockey union issues or light fluff stories he can partake in? It's embarrasing and we are not interested in his critiques. To insinuate that he hasn't won anything so is not worth the money is stupid. The playoffs have shown us you are only as good as your teammates.

I hear what your saying about Ivaroni and Phoenix didn't have defensive players but it's not like we have a bunch of defensive stalwarths either. I do hope a new voice and some new schemes get us some new results and better play on the defensive end of the floor.

Flynn's a 1 and Holiday's a combo so I don't know if they would be of any interets to us (then again who knows). Any word on Evans or Derozan working out fo us in the near future?

Blogger's note: Next workouts are scheduled for Wednesday, not sure who's going to be there but I'd presume those two would be on the list. It's a matter of timing and getting them in.

[Tabber]

Eric, why do you even bother watching the games of such an apparently horrible team, when you have such an opinion of it? I'd say that shows less intelligence than the people you are so fond of slagging for their lack of intelligence. Oh well, once you get some responsibilities to deal with in life, maybe we'll hear a different story - or rather, no story - from you. In the meantime, I urge you to keep posting more of your inaccurate and wacky thoughts, so Doug and some of his readers can get their daily laughs and explain your errors to you in the hopes of enlightening you and getting you away from your misinformed sources of so-called information. Maybe thinking and reasoning for yourself rather than following bloggers' misinformation would be a good start?

[aditya]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pitch/gallery/15/090605

check this...passing it along

[aditya]

chris bosh not signing an extension this summer is such non-news because that's exactly what dwyane wade and lechoke would do....they will all become free agents in 2010 and the only lock to stay on the same team is wade in miami.....guaranteed for sure...

[aditya]

trying to think, who are the teams raptors haven't made a trade with in their franchise history?

[Tim W.]

I would love to know where all you guy are getting your information that Bosh is definitely leaving. Is there some secret source, maybe Bosh's brother or Colangelo's hairdresser or possibly the American media, most of whom have never set foot in Toronto, and have no idea it's downtown is not just a bunch of igloos stuck together? Because is certainly isn't from Bosh himself. I mean, if a team traded away a free agent to be who wanted to test the waters, then the NBA would look very different than it does today.

SY, how exactly would Colangelo trade for a contract like Marcus Camby? I've very curious how that would happen.

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

I'm in Iceland. Holland is here to play a World Cup qualifying match tomorrow night against the home squad. Drove by some basketball nets in a playground today and that is the extent of hoops contact here. Thanks to you and the 'Net for the updates.

AG, Toronto

PS: I'll let you know who wins here tomorrow. High hopes for the Icelanders, but the NR has some Arsenal guys on their side, I'm told. Regardless. the streets of Reykjavik will be looney. I'll have a full report...

[Juan]

Tonight on PTI Kornheiser said something like "Chris Bosh is a bright young fellow with a great future ahead of him, but if he honestly believes he is in the same category as Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, he is losing his mind".

I like Bosh but I'd have to agree with him.

[aditya]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt9hRCthV8E

hey doug, check this out, wrong sport though, but as a jays watcher, chek what alex rios did... guess quiet alex isn't such a quiet person anymore...

[Lorie]

That Stan! He'd be a little more interesting to cover if he would stop holding back and tell you what he really thought once in a while!!!! What must it be like to report on this guy on a daily basis? Life in the zany lane!

[Don W.]

If money is the issue and according to Bosh's statement this appears to be true then there is no hope he will re-sign in Toronto. Yes, The Raps can give him more money than any other team but when you take other factors into consideration---taxes, life style etc. Toronto loses big time. In my opinion Bosh will eventually sign with one of the Texas teams. Texas has no state tax which is a monumental saving and is the most prosperous state in the US with a surplus of over 9 billion in the past year while refusing bailout money from the community organizer in Washington. On top of this where can you get a good chicken fried stake or properly cooked texas catfish in Toronto?

[Ken]

I'm very disappointed with the Graham trade not going through. I think that Bellineli would really shine in Raptor colours. BC should throw in a future second rounder and were good to go hopefully.

[Nick]

"it’s what he did in Phoenix and whatever you think about the Suns, they had good defensive systems, just not good defensive players"

I don't get. Last time I checked, we don't have good defensive players.

[K. Byron Scott]

In my opinion, the way that the Raptors organization has handled assistant coaching changes in the past makes me believe that MLSE has more of a say then BC does. Triano stayed on as an assistant through coaching and GM switches and now English survives the firing on the coach he served under and his replacement. Triano has been the man groomed for the head coaching position by the organization.

And as far as Bosh goes, if he is going to sell-out after 2010 without being traded this coming season, it would most likely involve a sign and trade so he can get even more max money by resigning with his team before going somewhere else. If a team does try to take a shot at signing 2 sign-and-trade max money guys(James,Wade,Bosh) That would automatically represent more then half of the cap for just 2 of 12 roster players. So if everything works out for say a Miami or a New York they'll have 2 superstars and the D-League 3rd-team all stars. If you have an injury to a star then what?