All Marco all the time

I swear, I don’t know if this off-season is ever going to end.

How’s a guy supposed to spend some quality deck and patio time when zany GMs keep making trades and doing things? Can we please get some down time?

But, I digress, as usual.

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AP FILE PHOTO

On the radar for a while, Marco finally lands in Toronto.

Short answer to several question: Yes, this is a good trade at almost every level. Young guy for old guy and a multi-faceted player for a one-dimensional one. Money’s not a big issue so what’s not to like?

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It really should come as no surprise that Bryan finally found a way to get Marco Belinelli here, he’s been a fan for a year or so and tried a couple of times last season to swing a trade for him. We’ve been writing his name as a guy the Raptors have coveted almost since the start of last season, we just were never sure what it would take to get him out of Golden State.

The cost now was negligible; Devean George is nearing the end of his run, I’m not sure how much he would have played anyway (although the backup three spot’s still a bit of a concern) and the money’s no big deal.

Belinelli makes $1,547,640 this season and there’s a team option at $2,372,542 for next season. I haven’t gotten any indication on whether the Raptors are planning to pick up that option but I have a feeling we’ll know pretty soon. I imagine with vacation looming for pretty much everyone in the front office – not really a vacation since everyone works all the time but you know what I mean – I bet they’d like to get all the loose ends tied up.

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So, what’s it mean for the lineup?

Well, Belinelli’s a two-guard with some point guard abilities so I think he’ll see a lot of his time at the two. But, I can also see him on the court at the same time as Jack, giving Jay a couple of ball-handlers to run the offence through.

The word from a respected Italian journalist, the official chronicler of Belinelli, Gallinari and Bargnani, as a matter of fact, is that Belinelli’s a mentally tough kid, quite confident in his abilities, needs to work on his defence (who doesn’t?) and has spent a lot of this off-season working to strengthen an ankle he hurt last year. He can shoot from range and can come off screens and get his shot off.

Looked good against Canada last week, I’m told.

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Another layer: Whither Carlos?

Good question.

I think there’s still a little bit of interest in getting Delfino under contract on a one-year deal but the Belinelli move will make it a bit easier to take if those Delfino talks fall apart.

No word on when we’ll get resolution one way or the other but, again, I’m guessing soon.

Personally, while I like Delfino’s game and his ability to play a couple of positions well, I’m not sure there’s room now for him.

The big argument against is that with Delfino, you’ll have a glut of swingmen all about the same and it could cause some havoc with minutes and rotations and the like.

That has to be a bit of a concern but you also have to realize that having players on one-year deals, like Antoine Wright and Delfino if that’s what they do and Belinelli if they don’t pick up that option, tends to make players conform a wee bit lest they not get another deal.

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Oh, right, the small forward spot, what’s up with that?

Good question, Doug.

The suggestion I got from the head coach in a conversation this week is that they’ve been told by friends in Dallas that Antoine Wright has the ability to guard some threes, in fact he can guard a lot of them, they think.

I presume on the rare occasion – very rare, if you ask me – they could slide Bargnani to the three and perhaps – just perhaps – they could get some minutes of out DeRozan there.

Right now, though, it’s the one issue that remains on the roster.

Is it a fatal flaw? No. Is it something that should be addressed? Sure. Right now? Not necessarily; I think September will yield more than a few unemployed NBAers willing to take one-year deals.

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Oh yeah, some of the exhibition schedules are being released -- the Suns in Vancouver might sell a few tickets, just wish we were going out there – but I’m not sure when Toronto’s is coming out officially.

Unofficially, there are some nuggets previously reported that we may as well repeat.

There are only two neutral site games – in London against Philadelphia (yay) and in Sioux Falls, Idaho South Dakota against Minnesota (nay) – and three or four games at the Air Canada Centre.

There is not, for the first time in years, a game against a touring European club team. Just boring old NBA squads.

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Speaking of Jay, how long do you think it’s going to take him to run out an all-Euro lineup of

Calderon

Belinelli

Turkoglu

Bargnani

Nesterovic

That’s got to sell a lot of t-shirts on the continent.

I also smell some marketing possibilities.

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Hey, back to the schedule for a minute.

I hear there’s a draft of the regular season schedule floating around, it’s unofficial and no one’s sure when the official one gets out but the one nugget I’ve got is:

Let’s just say the home opener will give you a chance to show your appreciation for AP and Jamario.

That’s about all I’ve got on the schedule right now.

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All right, I see there are about a kabillion comments I need to post. Better get to them before, you know, a day off turns into work.

Comments

[Mitch]

In BC we trust!!! gotta love this... serves Delfino right for trying to get more money than he's worth

[Nick]

Doug, isn't Bellinelli a bit of 'ball-hog'? The kind of player John Salmons, T-mac is? (which you hate)

Also, why bother signing Delfino now, just sign Kleiza with that money to fill in the 3-spot.

Blogger's note: Um, no. And, sure, why not if you can get a guy to take a one-year minimum value contract.

[Andre]

Your funny about your Euro-allstar team there.... so now little known guys like Lou Williams and Ramon Sessions and Von Wafer, can blow by us like we were pylons.. Dang, i Don't have problem with European players. BUT WHY DO WE HAVE SOOOO MANY??? I you serious BC?? I know im gonna get hate for this, but what can i say? Jose, Turkoglu, Belinelli, ROKO, play nooo defense... Nesterovic is average, and Bargnani is still working on his foot speed and is improving. We have soft players. SOFT. I think this was a bad move, I though BC was changing the culture of this team to be more defensive minded.. but no.

[Grant]

You have probably answered this but... is Joey Graham in the same situation as Delfino, with respect to the Raps being able to sign him using "bird rights." Thanks.

Blogger's note: No.

[Lawrence]

Can you shed some light onto who all the players are that the Raptors have Larry Bird Rights for?

Blogger's note: Delfino

[Ryan]

I see absolutely no negatives in the trade for Bellineli. Sometimes you have to wonder how GMs get fleeced like they do, but surely George was not the best Golden State could have done.

[SteveG]

Doug did Bruce Bowen resign with the Spurs after?

I doubt he would sign here for the minimum, but he could add some D to the second unit.. I'm sure he's got another year in his legs no?

Blogger's note: He's still under contract to Milwaukee, they haven't done anything official with him

[Matt Kovacs-age 12]

Hey Doug, I love the trade but don't you think BC should get a 3?

Blogger's note: Yes, a backup three who will probably be needed to play 8-10 minutes a night.

[Jeff]

Doug,

Does Delfino play SF??? Couldn't he still be the answer to that hole in the roster?

[dc]

bellinicey!

So the raptors starting five, also their best five players:

pg- calderon
sg- Wright? Jack? Bellineli? DeRozan?
sf- turkoglu
pf- bosh
c- bargnani

seems to me the raptors are improved over last year (especially if calderon and bosh are completely injury free). But it seems like the old problem of a dominant slasher/shot maker STILL isn't fully resolved. Turk can clearly create a shot better than Marion, O'neal or Ford ever could. But the guard positions still create a lot of potential match-up problems for the raptors against the top 5-6 teams in the East.

unless DeRozen rapidly grows into an iguodala/granger/tmac style slasher-attacker-scorer aka. 'a star', this is not a team that will be a favorite to advance to the second round... again (but hey, at least they should be able to make the playoffs this year)

[Yiu]

Hi,Doug,

The trade is definitely a good one as George definitely won't see much playing time barring injury. But if you're talking about the SF position,I presume you're saying the bench, because aren't Turkoglu supposed to be the starting SF? And barring other moves,hi Ukic , hi Banks (this will need a miracle to happen and BC will definitely get the Executive of the Year if he accomplish that!), they only got a spot left and according to you, they still in talk with Delfino and so that will be a SF spot. But I think they are real thin in the front court. Take away the starting AB & CB, youre talking of Rasho, Evans & POB, tat's kind of scary if any of the starting 4 or 5 goes down. So don't you think that they should reserve the final spot for a front court player instead? Thks!

Yiu

Blogger's note: They need to see if they can get a three, yes.

[David]

Hey Doug,

Why does Golden State do this trade?

Blogger's note: They get rid of a guy they weren't going to play and get some money out of it.

[kelsie]

Hey Doug, I'm as big a Rap's fan as anyone that posts on this blog but I am going to play 'D's advocate' this morning and respond to your hypothetical question:

'Money’s not a big issue so what’s not to like?'

1) The all-European line-up you suggested is not something I am immediately fond of. If it gets results fine, but I have never seen an all Euro line-up in the league and if this is a 'great marketing ploy' count me as one of the fans against it. What kind of NBA team trots out an all-Euro line-up?

2) While I tihnk he might have potential it's not like G.S. gave up Azibuke or one of thier more talented swingmen. We did get rid of George who most likely wasn't going to play but now this means Belinelli is going to get minutes which brings me to my next point.

3) Delfino is no star by any means but I know that Delfino can defend and unquestionably rebound better than Belinelli. If this means Delfino won't be back I won't shed a tear but for a team that struggles defensively and rebounding, I don't see this as an upgrade of our team in critical areas. We added more scoring but when have the Raps ever had any problems scoring since the K.O era?

4) Does this mean Jack is strictly a back-up 1? I liked the thought of Jack playing some back-up 2.

5) Who backs up at the 3 now? Maybe it was never going to be George anyway but it's seeming like Wright is now a back-up three when last week he was apprently going to challenge for the starting 2 spot.

I hope everything works out in a good way but I'm starting to get tired about this 'diversity of Toronto' stuff as a justification for having a vast collection of Euro players on the team and i'm starting to feel like this is less about talent and improving in areas we need to get better in (rebounding and d) and more about the marketing possibilities and a reflection of the culture of the city.

I just want to win basketball games with the best collection of 'talent' available not blindingly support an experiment or cultural vision.

Blogger's note: All good points. But for the all-Euro, just check the San Antonio roster from a couple of championship seasons
But you're right, they need to rebound better, they could use another backup three but, as I mentioned, I know they can play Jack and Belinelli together, which one's the one and which is the two is a matter of semantics more than anything.

[Ben]

Doug, any particular insight into this trade from the perpspective of GS?

Was it purely because of the backcourt glut that GS has, or have you heard of any 'personal' type of issues that may have been at play?

It just seems very bizarre to give up on a 23 year old top 20 draft pick for an aging/close to done vet (with a near-identical salary), no matter how unbalanced your roster might be.

Thanks, always enjoy reading the blog!

Blogger's note: They weren't going to play Belinelli, they got George, who may help or he may be waived so they can have a roster spot; and they got some money, which never hurts.

[kelsie]

In your opinion Doug do you think Belinelli is a better player than Delfino?

Blogger's note: Different, and younger, and cheaper. Better? In some systems, yes; in some, most likely not

[Wallace]

Hello Doug,

I won't ask you if you like this trade because you have already stated that you do.

Nellie and the Warriors didn't think much of Belinelli after having watched him for two years, and essentially dumped him and his salary. The Raptors are reportedly going to pay all of George's salary too, so unless my math is off, they will in effect be paying $3.2 Million for one year of Belinelli's services. That may be a bargain...who knows? BC could be right about him.

My question is this. BC's stated goal was to remake the Raptors with an eye to more toughness, better defense and more effective rebounding. He has made some interesting moves and the team will be exciting to watch and will score points. But in your view has he not completely abandoned his original goal? Starting lineup: Calderon can't defend the 1. Bargnani can't defend the 5. Turkoglu can't defend the 3. Bosh is just okay against the opposing 4. As for the starting 2, who knows?

Blogger's note: The goal was to make the team better; and it is. Evans is tough and rebounds; Jack is tough on the court; I will dispute your contention on a healthy Calderon and I think you're missing the boat a little bit on Bargnani. No, he's not a great rebounder but he can defend. Obviously not to your liking, though

[Blake Kennedy]

This team is going to get absolutely throttled on the boards, and not having Delfino here (as likely as that looks now) is going to hurt. His rebounding puts guards to shame, and he could have easily compensated for Bargnani's uselessness in that area (in fact, his rebounding percentages are considerably better than Bargnani's, from the guard position, both offensive and defensive).

Belinelli wouldn't know what a rebound was if it walked up to him and introduced itself. I guess it doesn't matter, because he won't play much...

Blogger's note: They didn't trade for him to bury him on the bench; he's going to play, trust me on that one

[Rob]

Doug,

Do you know much about the relationship between Bargnani and Bellineli? Friends or just countrymen? Any history there off the court?

While I like this trade, I am a little worried that Marco isn't as good of a defender as Delfino. What are the odds of us still signing the Count (as in Chocula)?

Blogger's note: They're friends and teammates on the national team; not sure exactly how close, though.
I'd say the odds on Delfino are slimmer now than they've ever been

[Dan W]

There are a few sf free agents left that could sign for the minimum. Ime Udoka, Desmond Mason(not as likely), Wally Szczerbiak for three point shooting only at this stage in his career. Cavs just waived Linton Johnson who I think is supposed to be a passable defender. There is always the option of another trade.

[Josh]

Hey Doug, keep telling us it's gonna slow down, everytime you do BC knocks another one out the park. Love this trade, George is done like dinner, hasn't looked good (playing or attitude wise) since his LAL days. I think the competition for the starting 2 just heated up!

[anthony.mackay]

Doug,
I'm a Bosh fan, I'm NOT one of those guys that says trade him and yes I think we will need to offer him MAX money if we want to keep him cause there are at least a few other teams that will offer it to him.
But the one thing that stands out when watching him is that he doesn't seem to have many moves in the post. I know he has a great jumper for his size and yes for 6'10" he has a good handle and can blow past most defenders. But with this current roster (one I am very excited about) I'm worried the team will fall in love with the jumper.

This roster makes me think a little bit of the Magic, lots of guys that can shoot it to space the floor but the difference is Bosh doesn't always play in the paint like Dwight.

Don't get me wrong, at the point in their career I think Bosh is better then Howard but he needs to develop some more post moves... I mean we can't have all 5 starters camping out behind 3.

[AC]

Doug,

Your wisdom please... what did the warriors gain from this trade? Bellineli is younger and a better scorer and has more upside. Why would the warriors make this trade?

Blogger's note: They get some money, they may use it to pay off George and get a roster spot; they get rid of a guy they weren't going to play

[Marc Zahradnik]

Doug,

What do you think this means for Roko's development (i.e., playing time) if anything?

MZ

Blogger's note: Nothing

[Lazaros O.]

Uh, Sioux Falls is in South Dakota, not Idaho. Haven't I seen this mistake here before?

[chris]

Sign Joey for the minimum. He played well under Jay (and never seemed to be playing for himself/a contract), plus the devil you know (well) is better than the one you don't.

He's a 3 who can guard some 4s. Much better fit than Delfino, who is just going to crowd players. We're already over-crowded at the 2.