The big week is finally upon us

You know, nothing says Father’s Day better than a morning in a pub with a Totti jersey-wearing Super Son drinking coffee and trying to explain what a Kiwi is.

Very cool.

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Okay, it’s Draft Week.

And I fully expect Trade Week, too.

I think perhaps the most interesting part of this whole process with the Raptors their steadfast philosophy that they’ll draft who they see is the best player regardless of position.

I guess with so many pieces in play – guards, wings and bigs – it makes sense that they just go and grab a guy and deal with whatever comes down the pike.

And the thing is, they do have lots of choices.

It would appear their list, in no order because no one’s whispering who they like best at the moment, includes guards Eric Bledsoe, Xavier Henry and Avery Bradley, wings Paul George and Gordon Hayward and bigs Patrick Patterson and Epke Udoh. That’s a lot of choice, which is good because, as we all know, the Raptors are in far more reaction mode than action mode in this draft.

So much of what they do at No. 13 will be predicated on what happens with picks seven through 12 that to try and handicap this thing really is an exercise in futility.

But we’ve got three days to handicap, I guess, and since I’m hearing they’re trying to get together a workout in Toronto tomorrow – and Jim Kelly told us last week if they did get one it’d most likely be for guys coming back a second time – maybe we’ll get a bit more of a hint when we find out who lands here tonight.

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Here’s one left over from last week when Jack, Johnson, DeRozan, Weems and Dorsey were in town and we were hanging around just before they started to get their workout in.

And for all you diehards wondering what specific drills they do to work on rebounding, it might ease your mind a wee bit. And, frankly, it’s something we don’t get to see too often in the limited minutes we get to watch practice so I can’t say for sure how often it happens.

They have this iron ring with probably a two- or three-inch smaller circumference than the rim that they attach to the basket.

It’s still big enough that a perfectly placed shot could go in but what it does is provide more legitimate caroms than, say, putting a lit over the entire rim because that would get some crazy bounces.

Speaking with Jay and P.J. and The Hardest Working Man In Showbiz K. DiPietro (who was in charge of figuring out which of the six practice-facility baskets to put it on), I come to the conclusion that it’s going to be a drill they’ll use often as one way to try and improve the team’s rebounding abilities.

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Hey, someone with time on their hands do me a favour, okay? Keep track of all the rumours and draft “promises” and mock drafts that go up everywhere today, tomorrow and Wednesday and let me know how much actually takes occurs.

I’m betting less than 20 per cent.

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Digression time, and given the time of year in basketball we might have regular digressions.

Super Son just wanders past and there’s about a week or so left in his elementary school career and I’m wondering what kind of exams and tests and stuff he’s got on this week.

Well, today’s a visit to Laser Quest, tomorrow’s all day at Wonderland and Wednesday’s bowling.

Seriously.

Laser Quest, Wonderland and bowling.

Yeah, they’re leaving Grade 8 with a bang.

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You know me and twits, er, tweets, right?

Inane over-sharing that could spell the ruination of communication.

Well, I (heart) Dwyane Wade because, I’m told, he tweeted, or twitted, or whevered this:

"I wanna thank all my fans 4 thr support thur everything. From ths moment on I'm on twttr hiatus until after Free agency is ova.”

I understand than means he wants to thank all his fans for their support through everything and from this moment on, he’s one twitter hiatus until free agency is over.

And I thank him for that.

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So, football.

I must say I’m quite disappointed in my Black Stars only being able to draw the 10-man Aussies on Saturday (and only by dint of a questionable penalty call) and I’m told there was the same reaction in the neighbourhoods of Accra, where the vuvuzelas were quiet Saturday afternoon.

But it’s going to be a huge week, no?

My Spanish friends (and you know who you are) are on pins and needles, the Brits are crazed with angst and you know the Yanks are trying to figure out what conspiracy will screw them later this week.

Excellent few days ahead, and I’m quite glad it’s morning and afternoon entertainment because most of the Raptors stuff tends to break in the early evening.

And I will ask this: Given the histrionics with the French (and isn’t that a meltdown to beat all meltdowns?), how do you think they’re feeling in Ireland? Having had their spot in the World Cup stolen by that handball goal in qualifying, do you think the Irish are happy that France has turned out to be so dysfunctional or are they even angrier because they wouldn’t have made such a mess of a World Cup appearance.

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Comments

[Jason]

My sister and brother-in-law just got back from a trip to Ireland, and reported that the Irish are pretty excited to watch France lose. During the France-Mexico match, the pub they were in was decorated with Mexican flags and filled with sombrero-topped Irishmen.

[Humberto]

Hi Doug,
I don't know about Ireland right know but I know as a fact that they had a big party all over the country when France loss to Mexico 2-0.

[danno]

Hey Doug, wondering how Monta Ellis might fit into a role with Toronto, now that they Stephen Curry?

[Keith Wagar]

Doug, Germany is going to take it to Ghana --- barring stupid calls by referees!

[Juan]

Hi Doug
Is your sense that the trades you're expecting will be part of/around the draft or separate from it?

Blogger's note: Part of

[Diablo]

Although still sad not in the World Cup, this Irish lad was a happy lad the day the Mexicans beat France. Gracias Mexico!

[Jeff D]

I'm a little surprised you didn't mention the passing of Manute Bol in yoru blog today. I'd be interested to read some of your thoughts given his passion for humanitarian work in Sudan. Take care,

[Boko]

Doug, I hope that it's either Bradley or Henry that they draft off that list. (What I really hope is another matter altogether ... )

[Alan C]

Doug, if you had spent any time with a Grade 8 student in an educational setting in mid-June, you would know that learning is the farthest thing from their mind. They know the grades are in. They know they're done. So the best thing is to keep 'em occupied. Besides, lazer tag sounds pretty cool.

[John Culligan]

Hey Doug, just wondering if you could enlighten me with your reference to "down the pike" (seeming as it's a slow week and all).

It's the second time in the last few weeks you've used it, and I once had a boss at work who was fond of the expression. I never quite understood it, and was wondering at it's origins?

Blogger's note: From "down the (turn)pike" or highway; an olden days saying

[Don]

doug, please tell the guys to draft larry sanders. he's a good kid and great fit for the team.

[m]

Great article about Ron Artest.
http://www.sbnation.com/2010/6/18/1524227/say-queensbridge-ron-artest-nba-champion-it-all-makes-sense-now

[LeeZ]

Now I know you are understandably loathe to discuss rumours, but this report by Hoopsworld is kinda interesting: "Patterson may or may not have received a promise from the Toronto Raptors at No. 13, but he walked away from his workout very confident that they will take him if he's there. He even cancelled a workout with the Bucks, who own the No. 15 pick. The Hornets are also a strong possibility at No. 11. It's not entirely confirmed, but it seems that Patterson has received a pretty strong commitment from the Raptors."
Doug, did anything Patterson said or did after his workout give you the same sense that he was confident the Raps would take him? Question number two: have you ever witnessed anything quite so moving as JohnnyMac hitting that homer yesterday?

Blogger's note: Patterson didn't, actually; and the homer was incredible and I forgot a JohnnyMac story this morning.

[LeeZ]

Another question for you, Doug. If Bosh leaves and the Raps are looking for a defensive-minded centre to allow Andrea to shift over to the 4, do you see them taking a sniff at Jermaine O'Neal with part of the MLE? To my mind, it would have to be a relatively short and inexpensive contract.

Blogger's note: I'd be surprised, haven't heard his name but I've beens surprised before

[Mike D.]

Doug, I really hope that when the Young Guns run the drill you described with a steel ring inserted inside the hoop, the coaching staff makes it clear that the purpose is to practice rebounding. Based on the last 3-4 years, I could easily imagine a number of Raptors jumping to the conclusion that the only objective is to make the perfect shot, and that if the ball bounces out they should wait for a coach to retrieve it so they can shoot again. Although admittedly the players that come to mind don't include many of the Young Guns (and definitely wouldn't include Joey Dorsey).

[John]

Why no mention of Aldrich? He's more likely to fall then a couple of those guys mentioned. He's the best fit with Bargnani and arguably the BPA.

[gdr]

Doug, had a dream over the weekend where the Raps were transformed into the Suns. I woke up and realized this wasn't far fetched. The Raps could have the same sort of roster as the Suns. If we could somehow acquire Nash (for Jose & Banks) and Iguodala (for Hedo & Marco), we could see a starting 5 of Nash, DeMar, A.I., CB4 (or Amir) & Bargs. Obviously this is just a pipe dream, but if B.C.'s comments are genuine that the good old folks of MLSE are willing to spend above the tax, this team would be fun too watch!

[LeeZ]

Interesting article about Manute Bol's passing and the origin of the expression "my bad". http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/06/manute_bol_and_my_bad.html

[Brook]

Monta Ellis: Doesn't pass, won't defend. But if you don't have a superstar any more, maybe you need a pure scorer to give the raps a chance. Wouldn't be my first choice, but wouldn't be terrible. (Unless he hated the idea of Toronto).

[ANM]

Hey Doug, a late Happy Fathers Day to you.
Your thoughts on Bosh saying he wants to "be the man" and pretty much saying why leave Toronto if he's second fiddle.
Does that raise the % of him resigning with the Raptors or is that just him saying the "right" thing because he should and he'll probably be gone anyway?
Being a Raptors die-hard, is that just reading too much into it and wishfull thinking?
As always thanks for the no BS blog.
ANM

[Lavi]

Doug!
Your Wade tweet would have been perfect.... had it not been for your grammatical error in the last sentence "he’s one twitter hiatus until free agency is over". I still thought it was funny though.

For horribly written tweets that are closer to home, you should check out Weems and DeRozan's tweets. They are horrible. By the looks of it they never attended class.... ever.

[Jon]

If you're going to correct Dwayne Wade's grammer, you'd better make sure you don't make a mistake of your own: "he’s ONE twitter hiatus until free agency is over."

[Jack]

So the Raptors' brass likes Eric Bledsoe, huh. HoopsHype compares him with Marcus Banks, who is already with the team. Do they really want 2 Marcus Banks?

http://hoopshype.com/draft.htm

[Brian67]

Lavi/Jon - I got the impression that Doug was not correcting Wade's grammar, but translating.

[The J]

Brian67 - but he added in an error that wasn't there. Wade said he was "on hiatus" Doug made it "one hiatus" which makes a lot less sense. Though it could be a typo. Which I can more than accept from a blog posted around 8:30 in the morning.