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

[Dave]

Hypothetical- Let's say a Restricted Free Agent (say, David Lee) signs an offer sheet with another team (Raptors); can the team that still owns his rights (Knicks) match his offer sheet AND THEN go and sign-and-trade him to either the team that (Raptors) or another team (Thunder)? Or are the only options for the Knicks in this situation to match or not match? Essentially, is the sign-and-trade option limited to teams with Unrestricted Free Agents only?

Blogger's note: No. If, for instance, Toronto signs Joe Blow of Mississauga to an offer sheet and Mississauga matches, they can't trade Joe Blow to Toronto for a year

[Detlef Shrempf]

Hey Dougy,

Great job. Word on the street has the one and only Shawn Kemp trying to make a comeback. Does anyone in the Raptors Brass want to throw a bone to Kemp? Maybe throw him a slice?

[jesse]

Was the Ariza signing another case of a very good player not wanting to play in Canada? Houston is without Yao and Tracy for an indefinite period of time and they just lost Ron Artest. When you consider that Ariza would've been a starter here, made more money, had a shot at the playoffs, and had a chance to be part of a young core group of players... it hurts me as a Raptor fan.

Blogger's note: I believe an inferiority complex is showing. Do you think they're saying Ariza is another case of a very good player not wanting to play in Wisconsin, or North Carolina, or Tennessee?

[adam]

Hey Doug, great blog as usual.

Question 1: Can the raptors do anything right now? It seems like they HAVE to figure out what Marion is doing/thinking before any type of offer is made to anyone.

ex/ They offer the MLE to a FA, two days from now Marion walks putting us under the cap. Then what happens to the MLE offer?

Question 2: If the raptors renounce just Marion, how much under the cap would the raptors be then?

Blogger's note: The offer stands in the first case; and I don't have the full math on the second one because I'm not entirely sure what (a) the cap will be and (b) what Marion's cap hold is, or what Parker's is. And if I put bogus information out there, I'm not doing anyone any good

[Jamie Buckingham]

Your response to your radio gig today: "Where I presume we'll be inundate with pucks chatter, rendering me eerily silent". Hahahaha couldn't have said it better!

[mark]

dougy- is marion our best option right now? i can't help but look back at the game tapes from last year to realize that we could use some change. a rookie and delfino isn't good enough.

i'd rather lay it down for lee.
what do you do here?

Blogger's note: Marion would be the right fit -- but at the right money and years and I presume that's going to be a tough negotiation. And a hard decision on both sides.

[BB]

Honestly, I think this being the first to break a story is way over rated. It really seems like its totally an ego thing with reporters because I can tell you as a reader I could care less who finds out whats happening first. If I were you Doug I'd take it easy and not stress so much about being the first to break something. Enjoy your day!

[kazbid]

hey doug when you go on the show you gotta tell that bob mccowan (spelling) guy to give some respect to other sports besides hockey..i get that he's a huge hockey/baseball fan (I listen to him quite often) but earlier this week they had a wimbeldon guy on for a 5-10 minute chat..and without exaggerating they spent 80% of the conversation talking about how McCowan doesn't like the way the grass looks in the stadium.

i'm not a huge tennis fan but i mean if i did want info on wimbeldon, or any sport besides hockey or baseball, it's troublesome that his lack of interest in those games translates into lack of appropriate discussion

btw..the marion one year big money for lee makes alot of sense.

[avi]

If the raptors actually did offer Ariza a 4 year 39 million contract as it says on nba.com and espn.com then doesnt it mean the raptors are willing to renounce everyone for a good free agent? The Raptors would not make that offer if they did not want to renounce their free agents.

Blogger's note: I don't believe it, frankly, no matter what anyone says. They may have "discussed" that number and the possibility of renouncing but they did not do it. And they are not ready yet to give up on Shawn. So I remain quite skeptical

[BrianV]

Toronto made an substantial offer to Ariza according to this link: http://www.nba.com/2009/news/07/02/ariza.rockets/index.html

[Darko]

Doug, can you pass the note to Colangelo, sign somebody (anybody)
already, we ain't got all day here, so that we can be on our mery way and get on with the summer.

Tim W

I understand your need to educate the masses but do try coming in under 10 posts/day. What Eric does with quality you are starting to do with quantity.

[Vincent]

Doug,

It's interesting that you mention in an earlier post that Ariza would have wanted to go to a "better team" with arguably a "better future".

Without RonRon, Yao, and McGrady for at least the first half of next year, if not longer, I would be very surprised if they were in the hunt for a playoff spot. They're going to have a starting lineup of Brooks, Battier, Ariza, Scola, and..??? Aside from Brooks, who exactly is going to create offence on that team?

And regarding Ariza having better offense, I would disagree with you there. Artest's post-up game alone makes him a better offensive player than Ariza. Ariza can shoot threes and can finish in transition. That's about it for his offensive game. He creates nothing on his own. He's Marion with a better 3point shot.

[chili]

Hey Doug,

Do you have an idea where they are with the negotiations with Kleiza?
Did you hear anything about a deal in the works for Richard Hamilton?
Thanks.

Blogger's note: Nothing ever on Hamilton and a lot of other things have to be resolved before they can do more on Kleiza but, trust me on this, Linas isn't sifting through dozens of more lucrative offers

[chris]

Trevor Ariza landing elsewhere for the MLE????? UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!

:-)

Blogger's note: What I'm trying to figure out is who everyone's mad at?
Bryan, who at the very least would have made the same offer and may have sweetened it at the cost of Marion, Parker, any chance at Delfino and probably Douby?
Ariza, who made obviously a personal decision to go to Houston?
Or me? (On that, I kidd)
But, really, why is it "utterly ridiculous?"
Crap happens

[jon]

methinks the David Lee thing is a smoke screen to try to put pressure on others.

[Bill Braskey]

Is Orlando just letting Hedo walk, or are they considering sign-and-trades? Seems odd to let an asset walk, but then again, given what they have taken on with Carter, maybe they can't handle taking something back?

I'd love to see a three-way deal... S&T Marion to Orlando... Orlando S&T's Hedo to Portland... Portland sends us Blake & Outlaw.

[jimmie]

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."

Word is the Raps discussed a 5/$39M for Ariza (not an offer, just talk -- but a lot more than the MLE) before he accepted the lower Houston deal. It wasn't a missed opportunity, just a personal choice by the player. Ariza must think Houston offers him more of a chance to show his skills and be a bigger part of the team, now that their championship aspirations are done for the time being. Not an unreasonable choice for a 24-year-old who has already won a championship and is just starting to come into his own as a player.

Toronto is getting Marion back at a discount. All the preamble is just positioning for that deal, IMO. The only other viable option is Turk, but I imagine BC is taking a wait-and-see on that as well, to check what Portland offers and either drive the price up or back off.

Remember, BC can't offer a deal to ANYONE without renouncing Marion/Delfino/Parker. Otherwise, he doesn't actually have the money to spend. So if he's going after anyone other than his own guys, he better be pretty sure the deal is going to be accepted. He's not just going to throw out offers to all the FAs he's interested in and see who bites...

[Clutch]

One commentator on Varejao: "Flopping his game and he does it very well." I grew up frustrated seeing professionals dives in soccer, and as a result, I can't stand flopping either. I hope we wouldn't seroiusly look at Andy. Although he does work very hard on the court.

I find it interesting that Ariza even chose to play for the Rockets as they will be missing Tmac for 30 games and Yao indefinetely. Artest will have the better career, despite the incidents...and the fact Ariza has already won a Championship.

Don't you think a trio of Bargnani, Bosh, and Lee could be a little confusing? Who will play the 3? Mago? That didn't work out the best with JO. Many other factors might have played into that; managment obviously knows best.

Too bad about the rainout..it seems every time I read the blog those Yankees smoke the other team

Cheers

[snake]

Hi Doug, Chirs does deserve a big contract (something around $13 million per season sounds about right), but there’s a tendency for teams to give their best player a max deal no matter how they stack up against the other superstars in the league. Redd, AK-47, Matrix, AI, Jermaine O’Neal, T-Mac, Starbury, Steve Francis, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Mike Bibby and Vince Carter all made more than $15 million last season and while some are better than others, I don’t think any of those players are worth that kind of money. oh and also Big Al Jefferson makes 11 Million. A max contract for Bosh would start in the 16.5 million range with increases every season. I reitterate Chris Bosh is NOT a max money player. And im confident Bryan Colangelo Knows it.

[sean]

Hey Michael did BC not know what he was doing when he brought in 9 new players and won the division in his first full season with the Raps? give me a break, you might not like all his decisions but the guy knows what he is doing!

[jay]

Ariza's agent: "We had a substantially larger offer above the mid-level from Toronto." any truth to this? personally i dont care, if he doesnt want to play here i dont wan him.

Blogger's note: I've read the quote; it assumes Toronto has finally decided to renounce its free agents. That, as of about 10 minutes ago when I talked to someone, is not true. But it is entirely possible they kicked around different scenarios without coming up with a firm "offer"
It may be nothing more to most than semantics but it would suggest a sea change in philosophy has already occured in the Raptor hierarchy and at this moment, that's not true

[Dave]

Doug, what impact do you see the Artest signing having on LA's intentions to keep Lamar Odom? Have you heard anything about the Raptors having any interest in LO?

Blogger's note: None. And no

[YEs]

You cant blame Ariza for not wanting to play in Toronto. Arguably Houston is the second best team in the west (YES, even without Yao they took the Lakers to 7, which no one else could do)

[T i]

@snake: 13 million a season for Chris??? Please go research some NBA salaries on the net and come back. Thanks

[Mike P.]

sign and trade bosh/banks for lee, robinson, gallo.... do it...knicks, raptors...do it.