A couple of bigs is just a first step on an okay night

So, everyone okay with Ed Davis?

I’m not going to say Bryan hit a home run by taking a 6-10 lefty power forward who dropped maybe four spots because it's ridiculously early to make any pronouncements but I do think Davis was the best player on the board at the time and seeing how that’s what the GM said he’d take, it makes sense that he did.

Now, I only saw Davis play a few minutes the entire season – and seeing how his season ended in February with a wrist injury, I’m not sure there are a lot of experts on his playing ability out there in this readership area – but he does look like a solid defender who can rebound and block shots.

At least in college.

They say he’s a competitor – a friend in the ACC area disputed that in an overnight e-mail – but the one thing he is, is a big man and given we’re probably running 95-5 that Bosh is leaving, getting a big man can’t be a bad thing at all.

And when people out there wonder why Davis “fell” all the way to No. 13, it’s probably worth mentioning that more than a few people had him at No. 9 to Utah so it’s not like he freefell down the draft ladder.

But overall, was it a good night?

I’d say good, with gusts to pretty good.

I like the fact they did what they said they’d do and buy a second-round pick and Solomon Alabi, the Nigerian kid we wrote about in this tome last week, was a pretty good pickup.

A project, to be sure, but a tall project who’s familiar with some of the folks in the organization. One guy I know who’s seen him play, the inimitable M. Grange ™ , says the kid has some game and that’s good enough for me right now.

All in all, I’d say getting a first round kid who comes with a reputation as someone who can defend and a promising big man to sit on the bench and learn has to be considered at least a partial success.

But it is only the first step.

-

Now, was there more they could have done?

As it turns out, no. Aside from the public declarations that they tried to make a move up by contacting a couple of teams and that they tried to get into a late-first round slot, the word I got privately was with the way things were unfolding, they were content to hang where they were.

There were picks in play – this roundup of the night’s activities lays it out as well as I could and is much easier for me to link to that write – but nothing Toronto had to offer interested anyone dealing away selections.

Too bad. But not surprising, I guess.

-

So, whither Bosh in all of this?

Well, the most interesting thing of the night was that Chicago will divest itself of Kirk Hinrich after the July signing moratorium is over and they’ll join Miami as two more teams likely with enough cap room to sign two maximum-contract players.

(I say likely because the cap numbers aren’t official yet and won’t be until early July).

That makes another team even more of a player in what I think is going to be a summer we’ll never forget. And, sadly, one that will make for lots of work for moi.

-

Speaking of, the more I talk to more people in the Raptors organization, the more overwhelming the feeling is that Bosh is gone and they are absolutely looking at sign-and-trade transactions.

The trouble is, there has been no hint whatsoever from Bosh or his people of where he’d like to go, which kind of hamstrings Bryan at the moment.

I’ve said this all along:

I think Bosh wants to be wooed, he wants to be wined and dined and told how important he is to this or that franchise and won’t make a decision on where he’d like to go until that process is complete.

So I don’t think there’s a list and if there is even in the dark recesses of his mind, it’s a lot longer than just the teams with cap room to sign him outright.

Some day early next week we’ll sit down and go over the league and try to find 10 or 12 franchises that may have a legitimate shot at getting him.

But don’t for a second think the list is small or even finite.

-

As we were anticipating the drama of Thursday night, there were moments of reflection, as there always are on Draft Night.

And got to thinking about the worst ever.

And 2007 won hands down in my mind.

That was the first time we sat around all night waiting for something to happen and it never did.

So, as is tradition, a Gaggle of Grunts retires to a post-draft cocktail and we’re all sitting around bemoaning the boredom we’d just been forced to endure when the e-mail hits with the breaking news.

Raptors acquire some dude named Giorgos Printezis – the 58th pick in a 60-pick draft – and it sends shockwaves through us.

(By shockwaves I mean the rolling of eyes, general disgust and thoughts of, “man, Bryan just cannot help himself, can he?”)

Out come the computers – thank goodness for wireless capability at our favourite watering hole – we all type about two paragraphs while asking each other: “How do you spell this cat’s name? Where’d he play last year?”

And then we go back to bemoaning the boredom we’d been forced to endure.

Fun times.

-

Okay, okay, okay.

An earthquake is a geological event, not a meteorological one.

Point taken.

Still, it was pretty cool, no?

-

Why didn’t Turk get traded Thursday night?

Well, one theory espoused in the last couple of days by people who chatter is that because of the Bosh uncertainty, Bryan wants to wait to see what happens there before divesting himself of another talent and leaving his cupboard even more bare.

I guess I can see the logic in that – see what he can get for Bosh before seeing what he needs to get for Turkoglu – but I believe that if there’s a deal out there for Turk right now, he’s got to do it and worry about the consequences of the Bosh thing later.

I am told there are “a handful of teams” out there looking for Turk possibilities (one of them to kick the tires was Orlando, according to this story from my man Brian) and I think Bryan needs to be more active in getting a deal done sooner rather than later.

-

So, I’m still all over the Black Stars – and Super Son was in mourning when the Azzurri went out (not to mention my pal sitting on the next stool) – but if there’s a better team nickname than Blue Samurai, I haven’t heard it.

That’s very cool.

-

You know, I’m sure every draft pick was pretty darn happy to hear his name called Thursday night but I am virtually certain no one was happier than Andy Rautins.

And good on him, really.

When I talked to him on the phone for this tiny piece, he was elated and for good reason.

The Knicks are maybe the best place he could have landed and it’ll be interesting to see if his shooting abilities (it is a “very defineable NBA skill,” was how Bryan put it earlier this week) are good enough to land him a gig with a team that loves to shoot.

-

If you promise not to send diatribes that say: “I wanted them to take so-and-so and how in the world could they screw the draft up so badly? Your thoughts?” questions, you’re welcome to click here to get into the super secret mailbox.

-

Comments

[Jean-Marie]

- Quite clearly, Ed Davis was not the happiest of guys when he was known coming to Toronto. Can you blame him, who entered the night with the prospect of ending up in Utah, with Jerry Sloan? Firmly disappointed. And, again, nobody can deny these American players feel themselves somehow uncomfortable when they get “sentenced” to that snowy gulag up there.
- However, people say he’s a good defensive player, and fans are happy. But I want to tell the fans, again and again, to please remember: team defence starts from the outer ring, from the guards position. You can help sometimes from behind, but no second line can possibly hold the place having to help every single time! So, the solution for a new improved defence begin from the small guys, unless you pick up a Dwight Howard instead of Ed Davis.
- As for Solomon Alabi, apart from the fact of a happy godfather in the front-office, it’s difficult to see anything different by the O’Briant guy we had before.

P.S. = How in the world can Super Son happen to be an Italy’s football fan?

[Jeff]

Will BC do a press conference today to talk about Alabi, like he did for Davis last night?

Blogger's note: Note, G20 has the office closed

[John S]

Hi Doug,
A quick look at the CRA website shows an income tax guide (IT-420R3) which discusses non-resident income earned in Canada.
Basically, income earned in Canada is taxable in Canada. Therefore, only half of Davis' income should be subject to Canadian tax (assuming that playing half the games in Toronto is considered to be a reasonable allocation). And I have no idea how the US tax system works if the Canadian tax is recoverable or not so there is a chance that it's even lower than that.
I'm sure that MLSE has specialists that take care of discussing finances with the athletes or can refer them to the appropriate experts.
Hopefully our tax experts can thaw out enough in their igloos that obviously all Canadians live in to be able to help Davis out. Sigh...

[Andre]

Ya man, I didnt think Jerome Jordan would go that high, but its great to see us Jamaicans making a mark in the nba!

Im happy with the ed davis pick, but you know what? im disgusted at this free agency summer... They should let Bosh walk for nothing, we dont owe the guy anything, to give him a max contract, just to play somewhere else. If were rebuilding lets do it via the draft. The Thunder and the blazers are a perfect example of building via the draft.

[DaveT]

Doug, first thanks for the great reporting yesterday. I don't know how many "Blogger's note"s you posted but it seemed like you had a reply to most comments.

Just a second on my soap-box here: Has anyone else looked at the reporting around the draft, and around sports in general, and notice the bibliographic (last name, first name) is incredibly over-used? Feschuk's article from this morning has the gem, "(See Araujo, Rafael.)", which isn't to hate on Feschuk but it's the easiest example I could find.

Doug, was there the feeling that we might have traded #13 if someone like Ed Davis (who I haven't seen ranked that low since the end of the season) wasn't on the board? Or was it just that there wasn't a lot out there and if it wasn't Davis it would have been George, Paul or Patterson, Patrick?

Blogger's note: Tough to say but 13 was in play until they realized Davis would fall there; I'm told that was after Utah didn't take him

[K Price]

So Doug should we be expecting things to be quiet until next Thursday? And do you think Lebron decides where he is going around July 1st? or drags out out through July?

Blogger's note: I fully expect it will drag

[Dan W]

I was happy Davis fell to them. I was hoping with a second round pick they would take a guy like Willie Warren who can create his own shot.Alabi is agood pick at that spot too. Alot of mock drafts had him in the 20's

[Pain777PAS]

Looks like it is almost official that BC has given up on signing Bosh at this point. Good picks can't hate on young bigmen that are not overweight. Meaning potential to develop in every way. Doug, the 3 spot is now just a large hole. I like the picks but I'm so (can't find a better word) nervous about this team. Like even with these picks what is the direction of this team? What are they trying to build? I cannot for the life of me see anything coming into focus. The 3 spot needs to be filled. I say keep Hedo for the time being. When Chris goes run the pick and roll with him and let him distibute the basketball and make things happen. He will toss up the alley oops and stuff unlike others who are no risk no reward by the numbers wanna be #1 point guards on our team. I really love Nash and Stockton and Paul and Deron. Some nights high turnovers because they try to make great plays. Instead we have pass early point guards who turn plays into early shot attempts.

[WH]

Great reporting as usual, Doug. Amir Johnson had his breakout year last season, and I'm sure that he sees himself now as a starter at the 4 with the departure of Bosh. Do you think this pick will influence his decision as to whether to stay in Toronto?

[kelsie]

Raps were very fortunate to get Davis. Had he of come out the year they were the NCAA champs he would have went top 5 and higher than Hansborough or Lawson. Very fortunate and good acquisition.

That being said the Raps have the potential to be hamstrung if they let BC preside over any CB sign and trade scenario. He gambled and lost, couldn't put a good enough roster around him (the Raps talent is overrated currently) and will now most likely orchestrate a trade that will be focused around building around Bargnani, who should be a 6th man and is NOT a franchise type piece to build around. Let Embry do it so that there is no emotions surrounding the expected trade. I'm almost wishing Bosh leaves outright so we won't take back other teams scraps and be even more financially crippled by BC's acquisitions. If they are goign to trade Bosh they should start over and focus on draft picks and developing youth. I think BC still thinks he has a strong "core" to build on to win now and nothing is further from the truth. After Bosh, they have no top tier or even 2nd tier talent. When you lose a top 10-12 player for lesser talent you are more than likely to take a step or two backwards no?

In any other basketball city, if the GM gambled and now has to give up his best player by far, for 20 cents on the dollar his job would be in jeopardy. Pritchard, an astute GM, was fired for far less.

[nate]

So pumped for Rautins!

Now he has to take up skateboarding and soccer, and beg D'Antoni to let him play point.

[craig thompson]

I agree. Doug, you've been riding both sides of the rail too often. I think you've been covering this team too long, have become too close with players, organisation members and the like to provide a critical analysis of goings on. You're reporting should have blasted the Hedo trade as soon as it was made. Anybody with any sort of b-ball IQ could have told you that that was an over-inflated contract. Firing Sam only to blow up the roster...I mean...how can you still be printing stories 'B.C. better get a move on'. Come on. This guy has transformed the Raptors into a euro-joke. Why don't your stories reflect what has occurred?

[Adrian]

Also, Bosh apparently likes to get "wooed, wined and dined" now? lol. But I thought you said it "doesn't make a difference"? Hehe.

Both sides of your mouth. I'm not even a troll and I don't really mean to offend someone I've never met before because it's a waste of time (or maybe I do because it's a waste of time) but this is good stuff. Going through your past blogs and holy hornets, am I stockpiling the contradictions. And I've yet to see a single apology for all of your rants on fans who were in many cases simply complaining about the direction of this sad-sack franchise. I should have been paying attention. See you later today. :)

This team will be terrible without Bosh and you all know it. But you're just looking to save a buck for the maestro who gives you stories and keeps you employed gainfully. I get it now. :) Soloman Alabi is not Ha-Seung Jin because he is Dikembe Mutombo. Believe it. Ed Davis is Chris Bosh 2.0 because he's left-handed. He will work well beside Bargnani because you've never seen them play together before. Believe it. Keep those season tix renewals coming and let me leave this $126 million in the bank. By the way, we have approval to go into the luxury tax. Everything you want can be done. Believe it. (It just never will, but that's semantics.)

Blogger's note: This is not your personal rant space, it's mine. I'm tired and about done with this. Just letting you know.

[Chris]

Doug,
In light of your "wants to be wooed" comment, I was wondering...
Are there teams persuing Bosh as their #1 interest? Or is everyone gunning for LBJ, with Wade as a second option and Bosh as the consolation prize?

Is it likely that Bosh won't get the attention that LBJ and Wade gets, or do GM's see him as equal (but obviously positionally different) with those two?

Finally, since we all know you love making predications... what order do you think LBJ, Wade, Bosh, Marion get signed in?

Blogger's note: Marion's not in play. I go with Wade, LeBron, Bosh. And no GMs would put Bosh in the same category of those two in an honest assessment but some will believe he is the most logical target for their pursuit.

[knickz]

love the pick...the best thing about the entire night was when kevin durant said the raptors were his fav team growing up...kd is a stand up guy

[KatWu]

Dear Adrian, your last post had no CAPS LOCK. I feel like "believe it" deserves at least the same amount of respect as "SHOW ME". Shocking. Unless, in some sad twist of fate, your CAPS LOCK button has failed, perhaps due to awesome useage. In which case, I shall arrange a Kanye West-hosted telethon to raise the capital to get you a new one.

[Skiff]

I actually like the picks given the spots and the unreliabilty of anything outside the first 6 picks, but I'm going to keep beating this horse. Colangelo needs to be removed and let someone with some better foresight get in the seat to work the Bosh/Turk trades. I have no faith in BC's ability to pull all this off and begin rebuilding a team with purpose. Every year he's got a different "message", and successful teams only have one "message" and stick to it.

Please basketball gods, deliver us Pritchard now that Portland has foolishly released him. He's a good fit for this market, and clearly knows how to build!!

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

@ Adrian: dude while Doug, might talk out of both sides of his mouth (according to you) we here are getting tired of you talking out of your @ss.

Instead of shooting your mouth off here in a forum that nobody cares what you think, why don't you attend any of the myriad of functions that the Raptors hold for season ticket holders and address your issues with Colangelo yourself? My guess? Because you are a pimply faced 17 year old, living in your mom's basement, with nothing better to do than troll blogs.

[sam]

I seem to remember the excitmemt of last summer more vividly than some of the folks who have added thier 2 cents over the last couple of days.
Last year when BC recieved value for spare parts - He was praised - Kapono for Evans -
The sign and trade getting Turk, wright, and some guy who turned into Marco - and moving the rights of Delfino and Roko to get Amir and Sonny- plus signing Jack

To recap - some things worked and some things didn't
Evans gets hurt - and doesn't live up to the hype that most fans created - Jack solid point guard and good citizen - Marco didn't really get a chance to show any consistency (Shout out to James online)
Amir and Sonny were pleasant surprizes and thier value on the team surpasses what Delfino and Roko would have brought - Turk was given too much leeway - took advantage of it and didn't play as well as history suggested it would. Ego

This summer the team is faced with a wrinkle or two - but I'm sure inthe next couple of weeks the ground work will bear some fruit -
Depending on what Bosh decides -
If they can repatriate Turk and make him understand Team before Turk and ball.
It's all very simple - yet complicated - and it takes time.

They Got some nice pieces yesterday - Davis fills a void as does Alabi - 2 young uns to match up with Sonny, Demar and Amir, Jose, Jack, Andrea, and what ever Bosh and Turk becomes (Stay or Go...)
BC will be active - and will fill out the roster. I'm not ready to count him out.

[greg]

this wasn't such a good night for the raptors. They have not resolved anything and Doug was right, it should be seen as a failure if the team was unable to get any significant deals done on draft night. They didn't get any done so not much to celebrate. The offseason is not done yet however and things can still happen. Hence why Doug may be optimistic.

As for Bosh. If there is nothing good to get in a sign and trade for the raptors the raptors should not do it. There is no point in signing Bosh to a max contract then trade him for bench fodder. If Bryan wants to build relationships make him do it on his own time and money but giving Bosh a max contract for relatively nothing in return and to have him play elsewhere seems like a bad business decision. Save the raptors some money and not throw max money at Bosh just for the sake of doing it.

I still believe the best option for the Raptors is to keep the majority of their players in tact get GOOD contracts and try going through this season as a development year because if winning a championship is the goal, they are not going to get there this coming season. No Big Blockbuster trades that amount to anything like the past 2 years.

[Lorie]

Holy Cow, Doug! Your blog was up at 8:11 AM?!?! Do you ever sleep?(Running on pure adrenaline yet?) Thanks for the terrific reporting during the predraft, draft, and post draft - and that is indeed great news about Andy Rautins. (Hey, did you make it out of the G20 lockdown okay last night, or are you still confined to the ACC?)

Blogger's note: I'm on a stool watching soccer near home. A fine day.

[Boko]

Doug, we don't want to read that stuff either ... you know what stuff I'm talking about ... do what you gotta do ...

[erc]

Doug, Please do not ban Adrian. He does rant SO much better than you do.

[RB]

Adrian dude, chill...do you wake up every morning and think "hhmm how shall i try to rag on Doug today?". You are missing the point that it's his blog, his opinions, if you don't like it, don't read, nobody is forcing you. Stop asking for apologies too and get off of your high horse like you are entitled to something...

[kelsie]

It's easy to knock Adrian because of the "aggresiveness" of the arguments but the sentiments suggested are bang on.

You can choose to sit there and keep on giving everything a pass, or you can call it like it is.

Colangelo has all year been saying we need to keep CB cause he's the cornerstone of this franchise but in the exit interviews is saying how Bosh also needs to look in the mirror to explain the results of this season? lol He had a HUGE year but when you put 8 new players together with a novice coach bad things tend to happen.

Colangelo has been running this team into the ground the past 3 years with no plan vision or foresight doing everything on the fly and still no one calls his actions into question, especially the media in the city.

I respect Doug but he said yesterday that Colangelo should be active and has to do something and last night, outside of a good pick falling into his lap, he didn't do anything. I as a fan was expecting something to happen as well. I heard about how Davis add's rebunding and defence, and protecting the basket which is what the team needs, but who is the Raps starting centre?? lol You might want to do something about that position as well then, no?

Maybe some trades will take place in the next week or two but my concern is that BC will try and add a few lesser talented pieces (to build around a centre who is a defensive albatross)once Bosh holds him to task and 2 weeks from now I'll be hearing how much potential Beasley or Gibson has being in a a Raptor uniform.
Bosh will be villified and the issues (BC, Bargnani, Calderon) will all still be around collecting pay cheques.

The Raps are a team right now that have NO direction from management, to coaches right down to the players and more people need to call this out to attention.