The calm before the storm? We can only hope so

How quiet was yesterday? Eerily quiet.

No calls returned, e-mails went unanswered, everyone seemed to go underground.

History would suggest that something’s close to getting done and sources simply didn’t have time, or the inclination, to talk to us.

It happens, unfortunately. But not without some effort on our end.

All we can do today is get back at it and see where we end up. And since I’ve got a radio gig to do this evening, I can be pretty sure if something’s going to happen, it’ll happen during the 5-7 time period when I’m talking about something else.

Alas, it is the way of the world.

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The Raptors?

From the very, very few texts I got returned yesterday, it’s clear there is still interest in David Lee, they are still wondering if there’s an easier way to get Hedo than to gut the team and they remain in conversations with Marion.

Marion, it’s becoming quite obvious, is the big domino here.

If he wants their money, I’m pretty sure they’d do him, Delfino, maybe Kleiza and be practically done.

If he doesn’t, they have to work harder at finding a home that yields something in return before they can move on.

One of today’s big trigger points is going to be what Turkoglu does. His visit to Portland apparently ends tomorrow – according to Jason Quick’s story in the Oregonian – and I’m told he’s not going to sit around dawdling before he makes a decision.

That might be the one thing that impacts these guys here more than anything.

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It was something like Toronto Day down in Cleveland, as Brian Windhorst reports in this story full of Raptor names.

Spoke with Brian just before he wrote this (he was checking to see if I’d been in touch with Parker’s agent, who seems to have gone underground) and we were wondering (a) what Parker would want money-wise and (b) if there was a sign-and-trade for Shawn.

On the first, we’re not sure the Cavs would give up the full mid-level but that something like a couple of years and $9 million or $10 million total might be the top end (wonder if that’s been written before) or something at less salary with another year added.

On the Marion end of it, the only thing I can see fitting might be Varejao (increasing the flopping level in Toronto exponentially) but even then, the Raps would be looking at – at best – a guy who might be the first big off the bench.

Not sure if there’s a fit there but it’s one of the few times I’ve heard Shawn’s name mentioned out and about.

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Speaking of Shawn, do you think the Knicks could get him to take a huge money (and I’m talking seven figures here) on a one-year deal on a sign-and-trade for David Lee?

Not sure how other pieces fit but it’s one of the ways I proposed dealing with Marion a week or so ago and I bet it’s gaining traction in discussions with him.

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This doesn’t rank up there with the biggest sports wins of all time but Canada hammering Syria down in Auckland at the world under-19 championships was kind of big.

The way the tournament’s set up, Canada needed just one win in the first round to be assured of moving on and now they’ve got it.

And with that win, it takes any pressure off them today against Spain, where a win will set them up nicely for the second round-robin.

Check out Tanya’s story here and you can almost hear the relief in Greg Francis’s voice that his team played well when it absolutely had to, even if it was against lesser competition.

I spent a lovely night in Hamilton a few weeks (seriously!) back watching this team practice and when I was talking to Greg after about how good his team might be, or might not be, he pointed out quite correctly that you never know how teams are going to perform when they absolutely have to. It’s one of the vagaries of any team sport, you worry about preparation and then see how it all comes together when the bright lights go on.

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Answer me this: Would you trade Ron Artest for Trevor Ariza straight up, which is essentially what seems to be happening in the swap of free agents?

Ariza’s younger, not as good a defender, probably better offensively and has no history of being disruptive.

Artest has been, many times in the past, a bit of problem child but given the circumstances of playing with Kobe Bryant and for Phil Jackson maybe that’s not an issue. Maybe it is.

On pure basketball talent, I’m not sure who’s going to be better for longer.

If I was Houston, I probably would have made that trade in a heartbeat; if I was the Lakers, I would have wanted the Rockets to sweeten the pot somehow.

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I’ll tell you this: The Mighty Yankees (of the Mississauga North peewee house league, not the American League East) were in a great one last night with the Tigers ‘til the rains hit and killed us at 2-2 after two.

I hate rainouts.

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You saw the summer league roster for these guys, right?

Two things of note:

No Marcus Banks – and I promise you there are big shots in the organization quite miffed about that – and Smush Parker, a rather intriguing guard. I have no idea how Parker fits but it’ll be quite interesting to hear from people out there who looks better – him or Quincy Douby. Competition’s pretty fun, even if it is for a seat at the end of the bench.

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This went by everyone and comes as absolutely no surprise but the Raptors did not waive Patrick O’Bryant by July 1 so his contract for the year is now guaranteed at $855,189.

Comments

[tradebosh]

YAWN....! This must be a writer's nightmare. Scraping the bottom of a barrel. Appreciate it anyway doug! Looking forward to some real news!

Blogger's note: Nightmare? Not much, just a lot of hard work that may yield nothing; but it's what they pay me the mediocre bucks to do

[Mitch]

Any thoughts on Demetris Nichols being on that roster? In his final year at Syracuse I thought he had the athleticism (and the shot) to maybe make it in the league... and we are desperate for wings...

Blogger's note: Right now they have 10 players with fully guaranteed contacts, one (Douby) with a partial guarantee and that doesn't include Marion, Parker or Delfino. It will be virtually impossible for anyone to make even training camp out of summer league

[joe]

hey doug,

if the raps go after and get david lee, would that mean they're going to shop around hump/o'bryant? not that o'bryant will get much in return, but we're a team full of bigs. while david lee is great, this doesn't exactly help our lack of wing depth, which was one of our biggest problems last year.

[Kevin]

Doug, as you indicate, there are a lot of things that go into that pseudo Artest/Ariza swap.

I've liked Ariza for a long time, I was always surprised that Isaiah traded him from the Knicks but he's never quite put it all together until recently. It doesn't help, and this is the biggest factor to me, that he's frequently injured.

Artest, well, he brings a lot of good things to the table and then knocks a couple off (and I'm not even talking about him being crazy). I mean, he has a distinct propensity for jacking up shots that he shouldn't.

I would prefer to have Ariza for several reasons, the biggest is that he's younger and he's shown that when a coach believes in him he can really get it done when it counts. It would be nice to see someone that got better during the playoffs to help out Bosh instead of worse.

I'm also a little bothered that Ariza signed for the MLE if I'm not mistaken, and all the talk I heard was that Toronto would have trouble getting him for that price.

Blogger's note: And I think it was proven that Toronto never had a shot at the mid-level and he wanted to go to a team with a better record and -- arguably -- a better future

[jon]

Awesome job, Doug. Grange had an interesting & insightful article this am which led me to read some Cleveland reactions. Wow, we think we have an inferiority complex!

[Tony]

Would it not be surprising if there is an even bigger deal out there with the Knicks. We know they have an interest in Chris Bosh for next year. Does it not suggest that if the Raptors are interested in David Lee that maybe BC has read the signals and thinks Bosh is leaning towards leaving. Maybe there is a sign and trade in the works that sends Bosh to New York this year with Lee and some other pieces (maybe Nate Robinson and a 1st round pick) headed our way? Then he either resigns Marion and Delfino or he renouces them and Parker and goes after Turkoglu? Or creates enough cap space to recounce Marion and Parker and still sign Delfino. The one thing that I think is becoming clear is that Parker does not appear to be in their plans right now and that they won't consider resigning him until all the other pieces have fallen into place.

[anthony.mackay]

Artest to LA LA land... this is looking like an arm's race on both coasts!

They are going to resign Odem, Bynum gets another full training camp under his belt and regains his timing and confidence... this team looks so solid from 1-5 with a 6th man that would start on most other teams.
I'm not too concerned about Fisher since he proved yet again he can score when needed and the Lakers D is gonna be so tight they will be able to cover up his weakness... if the Suns could help Nash then these Lakers can help D-fish.

How good do you think this roster will be Doug, Phil might want to rest them at the end of the season if the #1 spot is locked up early again... but I see the Spurs sitting in a close #2 out west. Will they win more then the Cavs mark of 66 last season?

PS - IF BC is seriously thinking about gutting the roster to sign Hedu, do you think he would do the same to sign both Marion and Lee? Seems like a big gamble but look at everything the Cavs are doing to keep LBJ in town... we need to give Bosh a reason to stay in TO !

[Felix]

maybe you've touched on this already or answered a question on this (i have not really seen it), but how does david lee fit into our squad? is he our first big off the bench? do we want to pay someone like that big bucks? how does he get 30 mins/night... does that mean a bosh/bargnani/lee front court? i know this may all be moot but i'm slightly confused by this pursuit. no question lee brings energy, enthusiasm, a nose for the basketball and doesn't disrupt the offence (and with good %'s), but is he really where our money should be going? am i missing something?

Blogger's note: If he's here -- and that remains a very big "if" -- we'll ask someone. But he's a pretty good player and you can never have too many of them

[Andy]

Hi Doug.

Is there any cap/tax relief benefit whatsoever to cutting or buying out a player who is under contract? If a buyout for lesser dollars than the contract were agreed upon, what number counts against the cap? Just trying to see if there are any options what-so-ever with Banks other than having him stew on the end of the bench...

Thanks as always for the morning reading!

Blogger's note: Just cutting a guy or buying him out does not significantly lessen cap obligations.

[Tom L]

Ariza's name came up a lot with fans and blogs, but not often with those, such as yourself, with "league sources."
It's likely the Raptors were likely paying attention to Ariza, but it seems clear he was never near the top of the list. A) do you have that sense and B) have you heard any reason why (doesn’t like Toronto, agent concerns, allergic to snow, etc) – b/c it wasn’t like he signed with a contender.

Blogger's note: The reaction I got to the very first Ariza line to Toronto was they were in the discussion, very marginally and it never got all too serious.

[jc]

the dominos are falling...not to mix metaphors but i think i can see the twister on the horizon. Really not sure about the Lee idea. If bosh has reached his max at 22 and 10 (and a fine max that is), would it not be better to take his eventual $20 million and use $10 of it on Lee's 16 and 10 and use the other $10 on a G/F who could average 6 more points than our G/F last year (and still be able to sign marion!) Seems like the mini blowup route may be the way to go but it would be a shame to give up on bosh at such a young age. any thoughts?

Blogger's note: I don't think you can use numbers to make a case and I don't think a mini-blowup is first on their minds. At least not on the minds of anyone I've talked to this week. But, as we know, things change

[Paul]

We appreciate it, Doug!

[Steve]

I saw a rumour yesterday (can't remember where) that Ariza turned down a 9 Million/year offer from Toronto before going to Houston. Any truth to that?

I can see why me might choose some place else other then Toronto, but with the injuries, I am not so sure Houston is the best choice. Do you think there are problems convincing free agents to come up to Toronto? I guess it goes both ways though, given the other rumours that Hedo loves it here, and so possibly Rasho -- people do like to choose where they live over money some times.

Blogger's note: To make that alleged offer, Toronto would have had to finally decide to renounce its free agents and they haven't reached that point yet

[snake]

wow. Varajeo would be awesome i dont see how he fits on this team as its currently made up. but i do think he is one of the most undderated players in the league he does all the dirty work and would instantly make this team much better on the boards and D. I like that BC is considering, kleiza, Hedo, and Varajao are all very underrated commodities who i really like. cant wait to see what goes down in the coming days. Obviously i dont think they can get Hedo and Anderson. but if BC could find a way to do it he is a genius. I think Varejao is the type of player Bargnani needs playing with him to really strive, and i would rather pay him 9 mill then Bosh max money, Chris Bosh is NOT A MAX MONEY PLAYER! he is a slightly better carlos boozer,al jefferson, or p.j brown and thats how he should get paid.

Blogger's note: Go check the salaries of Boozer and Jefferson. Your argument will lose a lot of its luster there.

[petro]

Doug... I realize Dahntay Jones is one of the those players teams will address after a higher ticket signing like Lee, or Ariza or Marion... but are there any whispers of his name with the Raps?

IMO... Dahntay is one of those guys you want on your team and hate playing against. I just see him as a great fit with this team that currently lacks athleticism at the 2 and 3. I like the thought of having Delfino, DD, and Dahntay as our 2's and 3's (and maybe Marion of course).

[coachd]

Eerily quiet sure sounds like they're pondering a really big and unexpected move. Say, like trading one of the "untouchables" on this team.

[NC]

Let's say we sign Marion, Delfino, Bosh stays next year yadda yadda ... how do we pay Bargs come his negotiation time if he has a year similarly to the end of last? To early for this headache?

[Nick]

I swear I'm not making this up but I've been playing the video game NBA 2K9 for a while, and I've added Reggie Evans to the Raptors via trade (not with Kapono however), and signed Smush Parker via free agency. Kind of neat!

[mb]

Hey Doug. Whats the radio gig? primetime sports?

Blogger's note: It is. Where I presume we'll be inundate with pucks chatter, rendering me eerily silent.

[Felix]

i'm going to go all conspiracy theorist on you for a second. maybe BC is being 'creative' by trying to get lee to sign an offer sheet for say 8-10 mil and really put the pressure on the knicks to make a decision. Do they really want to keep the hard-working, crowd favourite lee? or do they jeopardise their chances of landing two big fish next summer (not saying they will, but they at least need the cap room to have a chance barring S&Ts)? and as for the raps, if lee accepts and knicks don't match, they get a solid player which we just generally need more of, irrespective of position (as you have alluded to) and if knicks match, well, lee was never really a fit positionally anyway. maybe i've been drinking too much of the kool-aid?!?

Blogger's note: Helluva gamble because they'd be risking Marion, Parker and Delfino on the Knicks not matching. And if they did match, Toronto would be left scrambling. Big time..And a week would have elapsed between the time the offer sheet was signed and when New York had to make a decision, time that other free agents may get away.

[George]

I know that we are all just sitting around speculating. And this can be fun at times. So... Let's say we get Lee in a sign and trade for Marion with NY. And then given that San Antonio has often been suggested as an ideal destination for Bosh + AP sign and trade, get Manu and Roger Mason + picks or other players in return. I don't know if the salaries work, but I think that this might not be that bad a scenario, providing Manu's healthy again. So we will have Bargnani, Lee, Manu, DeRozan and Calderon starting. With Evans, Mason, Delfino, Ukic, and Hump coming off the bench. I know probably will never happen but just an idea.

[Lee]

Thanks for the Blog, Doug.

The name I'd be most interested in is Marvin Williams.

He is restricted with Atlanta but he is young and talented and would, IMHO, fit well with the Raps.

Have you heard of any interest from the Raps for Williams or do they believe that Atlanta would just match any offer given?

Blogger's note: Everyone I've spoken to around the league thinks Atlanta would most likely match and no one wants to tie up money for a week in an offer sheet only to lose Williams and any other free agent who signs anywhere in that period.

[SY]

No Yao, No McGrady and No Artest, I just don't see why Ariza would want to sign w/ Houston.

BC should have flown down, talk to him face-to-face when the news of Artest signing w/ LA broke out, show him the respect he is looking for and offer him the full mid-level. A missed opportunity.

-SY

[Rob]

Based on the Cleveland article I just read this morning...it's looking like the Cavs are going to be the biggest pain in the you know what for the Raptors. The 3 names mentioned in the article that the Cavs are now talking to are Parker, Klieza, Marion.

[Michael]

I just don't get it about sign-and-trade deal with Knicks where we get Lee and they get matrix. If the money is the same then is it better we keep matrix? We need more help on the wing and Lee will only come off the bench. Just forget about putting 3 bigs at the floor at the same time. I really hate that idea. It didn't work last season so just stop that.

Matrix fits this team and why let him go and get Lee with the same amount of money?

If BC really makes this deal then I really start to think he doesn't know what he's doing. Just focus on the starters first before worry about the bench.