The end of that championship season!

Oh, how I wish Bryan would make a trade or something so we’d have some hard news to digest over here but it looks like a nice, calm couple of days are ahead. Which will be quite welcome, as a matter of fact.

So, in the absence of hard news, we give you …

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Let’s get the digression out of the way right off the bat.

Yankees win! Yankees win! Yankees win!

Yes, folks, finally a championship comes to Super Son and his buddies, the Complete

Mechanical (Hi, Randy!) Yankees are the playoff winners in the Mississauga North Baseball Association peewee house league.

A 9-5 win over the Dodgers did the deed last night and there was all kinds of celebrating going on. And justifiably so.

I don’t know how many of you are involved in kids house league sports – we’ve got 11- to 13-year-olds with widely varying degrees of skill and interest – but watching kids have fun playing a game for nothing more than the sport of it is really cool.

They were better ball players at the end of the season than they were at the start, they had fun all season, they made new friends and watching a gaggle of urchins become buddies and teammates over the summer was as much a hoot as watching them dog pile on each other at the mound when the game ended.

(Not to mention the coaches got to hang with a cool bunch of parents and new friends in various backyards and saloons).

Anyway, just wanted to catch you up now that it’s over.

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Canada got off to a less-than-stellar start to the Marchand Cup down in Puerto Rico but, remember, it’s not that big a deal.

The key is to get see some improvement over these three games – they go again tonight and tomorrow – before the kick off the worlds qualifier on the 26th.

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While we’ve been taking it easy and then dealing with another transaction, I guess nothing of substance has been happening around the league.

Thankfully, now that these guys have 15 men on the roster we’re not going to field any more zany suggestions on how great a fit Allen Iverson would be and judging by the utter lack of buzz about him around the league, there’s a huge suspicion that his career may be over.

Not sure how I feel about that, I really liked watching the guy play but I can see why GMs would be reluctant to extend his career for another year or two. There are a lot of miles on that body and you can never be sure it won’t break down rapidly and his inability – and then refusal – to deal with a backup role did nothing to enhance his chances of sticking around.

Maybe there’s a desperate team out there that takes a shot but it’s looking less and less likely.

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This is absolutely hilarious.

Two comments and three e-mails overnight from people wondering if Mo Pete was coming back simply because of one of those inane tweets people send out, this one saying something like, ‘No. 24 is back.’

Forget for a minute that these guys have no interest in repatriating Mo, who is a great guy with declining skills and a hefty contract.

Do people think he was speaking only – and directly, personally -- to those people in Toronto who read that stuff?

Seriously.

That’s a pretty high opinion of your place in Mo’s world to think he speaks only to those folks in his former adopted home town.

Classic.

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Speaking of guys without gigs, remember when free agency started and there was all kinds of buzz about the future of New York’s Nate Robinson and David Lee, a couple of restricted free agents people thought would get rich?

Not so much.

Neither has a deal here in the middle of August, and it looks entirely like both will play on one-year qualifying offers, making them unrestricted free agents along with about a zillion other, better, players next summer.

Why?

Well, it goes to the heart of what the Knicks are trying to do, and the financial restraint being shown by teams around the league.

No way New York is taking on money past this year – even for two of their own – because they want to spend it chasing big-name free agents in the summer of 2010, although another 33-win season or something like that is hardly going to make the Knicks a destination of choice.

But it also goes to the heart of what every team in the league is doing, too.

That no one would even give one of those guys an offer sheet for a two-year contract is, to me, kind of surprising. I don’t know if general managers are all saving money for some big spending explosion next summer or if they’re saving money because their owners are looking at the balance sheet and demanding it but the sense I get is there’s some kind of sea change going on around here.

And with a new collective bargaining agreement on the horizon – this one expires in 2011, they’re already holding preliminary talks on a new one – I can see teams doing very spending so they don’t box themselves in.

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Oh yeah, one more thing.

There always seems to be an inordinate amount of interest in whether or not the Raptors will hold full-on news conferences for every new guy they get in some kind of transaction.

Well, I don’t think there’s going to be anything formal for Amir Johnson, although they may get him on a conference call with some of us in the next day or two, and the first time we’ll see Sonny Weems, or hear from him, is when he arrives in town for some informal workouts sometime next month.

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Comments

[MC B-Rad]

So Doug....any chance that since MoPete isnt coming back, we get PMB now that we have a need for a 7th big? What about Good joey? He could sign for a league minimum right? There is an injured list in bball we could stash him on no?

In your own stolen words "I keed I keed"

[Alex]

WOOHOO congrats Doug and Super Son! Sure sounds more interesting then watching the Jays throw away (literally) a game last night.
My ultimate frisbee team is in the running for our league championship. Doug do you want to come up and cover the final? I have promised my team a keg of refreshments if we win.

[G Chan]

I don't think New York can land any big free agent next year, the whole team is a mess and they won't win anytime soon, besides those big FA can have max money anywhere, so why go there. My guess is LBJ, D Wade and Bosh will all stay put.

[PK]

I may be wrong about this, but can you see the Knicks being in a better position by having Robinson and Lee for only the one year? In my opinion, both, particularly Lee, could contribute on most teams in the league (Robinson as a spark of the bench) and come the trade deadline the Knicks could package them with some of their other terrible contracts and send them to a contender/almost play-off team, to push them over the edge. In the end, the Knicks will have a very bad, but young team with a heap load of cash to add 1 or 2 of the big name free agents they want next year as well as a top draft pick. I'm not a big fan of the Knicks, but this could end up being very good for them.

[Bill Braskey]

I, for one, would like to see Iverson stay in the league. I don't see this as another Latrell Spreewell situation where Iverson is pricing himself out of the market. I think he honestly wants to play and have a major role for a team. Trouble is, no team wants to change their dynamic to give him a major role. It's a bizarre situation where it doesn't seem to be about the money... it's about the role.

I think a one-year deal in NY would be the perfect fit for AI. He gets a year on Broadway to showcase whether he still has it. NY isn't expected to make noise this year, but having AI on the floor would keep interest in the team high (ESPN much?), which would compensate for a poor record when next summer rolls around. When it comes to NYC, it's not the win-loss record that's important, its the attention the team gets (and always will). With AI on a one year deal, he gets attention, they get attention, and if they choose, they can both part ways after one season.

Also, you can't tell me that a full season in a Mike D'Antoni offence wouldn't revitalize Iverson's career.

[sean]

a quote from the man himself. Allen Iverson "If you think that I am just going away-Think again! I am getting ready for the NBA season. Waiting for the call. Charlotte, Miami, NY."

also if theirs anything I have learned from Colangelos time with the raptors it is that nobody reallY knows what he might or might not do! so maybe he is done dealing, maybe he isn't! who knows! NOT EVEN HE DOES!

[Jamie]

The only people talking about next summer, are the people who have no hope for this winter, aka the Knicks. This year is going to be awesome, Go Raps Go...69 and counting!!

[BenjaminKR]

Forget a news conference for Amir, how about a news conference for me for watching a lackluster, disappointing season last year? I kid, I kid...

Congrats to Super Son for winning the championship. It's refreshing to be passionate for the sake of being passionate, and unfortunately, it's increasingly rare as we get older. Even NCAA players, who play without compensation (besides scholarships), are playing for future careers in basketball, whether it be in the NBA, D-league, overseas, etc... That's what's special about houseleague sports; they are pure and worth maintaining.

As for Mr. Nate Robinson, it appears as though he's gotten himself into a lot of trouble this time. Forget his antics on the court, showing the immaturity to post on Twitter while being pulled over/arrested shows that he is unable to be more than a flash in the pan fad. With a Knicks squad that should be desperately trying to rework its image as the laughingstock of the NBA, they definitely don't need a 5"9 distraction.

Good work Douglas.

[rob]

Hi Doug,
I kinda lost track of what happened with Belli and bargs. are they done with their international duty. did they have any more games to play with italy this summer. and any insight on how good bargnani was with the italian team.. I know that belli was the star for that team because he got most of the touches and he was the man but i wasn't too sure about bargnani (I know this info. should be somewhere on the net but the fiba website hardly covers anything ).

Blogger's note: No real insight, the Raptor types who saw him play were pleased, they ran some screen-roll stuff for him and put him in the post; Italy has one meaningless game left against Finland tomorrow

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Congratulations, Coach and Super Son, on a stellar peewee Yankees season! Speaking of good vibes and mojo, can we get on with this NBA season already!! These Raps are fully, fully loaded. Talent and depth o' plenty. Just add gel. What's your over/under, Doug, on a Banks buyout at this point? Cheers, and enjoy your dog day afternoons.

[EK]

Congrats to the Sauga Bombers! On which field did the festivities occur?

Blogger's note: The Field of Dreams. Or Memorial Park in Streetsville, I can't tell 'em apart

[neil]

Hi Doug, I was reading the power rankings on NBA.COM the other night and they had Washington ranked 9th overall in the league and 4th overall in the East. Is it just me or is that just crazy talk?

Blogger's note: That's a pretty good team if Gilbert's healthy

[Mike]

marcus banks for matt carroll???

truth to this??

Blogger's note: It's being talked about, yeah. But not done by any means, I'm told at the moment

[LeeZ]

Doug, unless I'm mistaken, I think you wrote that you thought Johnson would be slotted in as the fifth big, and possibly 4th. I gotta say, I just don't see them having Rasho play more minutes than Johnson. While it's possible Rasho enters the game before Johnson (to avoid, say, Johnson and Evans -- two offensively challenged bigs -- being on the court at the same time), I think Amir is going to get as many if not more minutes than any Raps big whose last initial isn't B. And to me, that's as it should be. The guy is tough, long and athletic, plays solid d and is young -- apart from playing solid d, Rasho is none of those things. I love Rasho, glad he's on the team, but don't see him having anything more than a bit part on this team in light of the recent additions. I also don't think they should start Derozean, what with two fairly solid options in Bellini (good offense, underrated defence) and Antoine Wright, a solid defender. I'd ease him in.

[Bryan h]

Hey Doug,
I am not sure you are qualified to answer this, (not having a PhD in Psychology) but why are people so obsessed with Pops Mensah Bonsu? The guy cannot even play on both ends of the floor.
I feel like franchises in Toronto have this nostalgia complex for players that cant play anymore.Can't these whack jobs see that the absolute lack of interest around the rest of the league should be a definitive indicator of the player’s skill level? There are enough warm bodies on the bench and for practice.

[fg]

hey PK, you dont have a clue,
not the Knicks are not in a good situation, they do not have there next draft pick, they traded it already. so they will lose Lee and Nate after this season, no way they stay after they become unrestricted and how they have been treated. So the knicks are not going to be much of a playoff team for years to come, Even if they add one all star, as we seen in the league, that doesnt make you a playoff team let alone a contender.

[Eric]

I generally like the trade and the movement this summer. I think it's timely. If Bosh can't lead this team to glory, it will be clear that he won't be deserving a max contract next summer. He's got everything he wants and more. Similar to last year and getting a "6 time all-star" to play alongside. Similar to 3 years ago and getting a charismatic pg to help him carry the leadership torch, as well as a #1 draft pick to help with the scoring load (not to mention an all-World GM). Similar to 4 years ago and getting a young big (CV) to give him room down low. Similar to 5 years ago and getting a young coach (Sammy) to do all his talking for him.

If Bosh can't do it with this team, he can't do it.

[Ryan]

You mean there's not going to be an introductionary parade for Weems, a la Shaq and his water gun in Miami?

[Raps Fan]

Doug,
what if a player gets injured like Rasho can the Raptors sign an another player like Pop's so, the Raptors have 15 healthy players?

Blogger's note: Nope

[Nick]

This is addressed to DK.

Why on Earth would anyone want to sign with the knicks? Its not like they have any solid pieces to build with right now. Gallinari? Yeah right. Jordan Hill? Chump. Wilson Chandler? Hes streaky. The Knicks suck and will always suck. They lost won in the 70s and things have gone down the hill since. Sure they made the playoffs a few times. But what did they Accomplish besides one finals appearance in a lockout shortened season?...and on a final note, they don't have a first round draft pick. It goes straight to Utah. Thats right, even if they land the first overall pick it goes straight to Utah.

Also Doug, just a little though here about the Yankees winning. How strange is it right now that both the NY Yankees and LA Dodgers are both the best teams in their respective leagues? Maybe we will see a rematch in October?

Blogger's note: I'd be a Dodger fan in that circumstance

[pooks]

Congratulations Yankees!!!!

Well done Super Son and well done Doug.

[anthony.mackay]

We got a full season ahead of us where anything can happen (trades, injuries, etc) but as of right now I see LBJ staying with the Cavs. Bosh is around 60/40 to stay, we need to have a great season for him to stay and Turk, Jack need to have near career seasons (Andrea needs a career season.)

D-Wade is the wild card, I like him in a heat jersey but Riley hasn't done anything and no Iverson is NOT the "answer". JO's knee will never be right so if Beasley and Chalmers don't show some serious growth it looks like Wade will be the TOP free agent next year.

[Ken]

As an unrestricted free agent, were you surprised at the terms of the reported Delfino contract?

$3.5 million a year, for three years with only one year fully guaranteed, and the Bucks having a team option for third year.
(A fairly low risk deal for the Bucks even in these tougher times.)

It seems like a decent deal for both teams.

Blogger's note: I do think it's a good deal both ways

[Michel G]

Regarding the earlier post on the Italian basketball team, it is ironic that Belinelli was the go-to on the Italian team instead of Bargnani, but on the Raptors the roles will be completely reverse.

However, I did make a habit of checking the boxscores and when Bargnani was on he took a lot of shots, so I presume they ran more plays through him during those games.

[Richard Spackman]

Doug:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=r0EIACYJtq4Wgjl-ZmYzRug&gid=30 tells me Amir Johnson makes $3,941,667; and I make the Raptors $1,851,051 under the tax level. That gives the Raptors the ability to take back $6,404,844 in a Banks trade. Are my numbers close enough to work

Blogger's note: Your number for Johnson is wrong, he was at $3,666,667 and had a 15 per cent trade kicker before he went from Detroit to Milwaukee; all they can take back for Banks is about $5.7 million, which is 125 per cent of his salary plus $100,000