The list is getting narrowed

The list is narrowed, no doubt about it, as we get to T-minus one day and counting to the draft.

As was mentioned in today’s yarn (it’s here for those who missed it) there is all kinds of activity going on and there is no doubt in mind that some kind of transaction comes down between now and the end of the draft.

But if the pick remains the No. 13 selection – and I’m thinking more along the lines of a straight trade or the addition of a pick rather than dealing away the selection – I have a sneaking suspicion the list has been narrowed to four or five.

I’ve got Ekpe Udoh, Cole Aldrich, Paul George and Avery Bradley on it with Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Patterson as longer shots.

Having Bradley back in just to have dinner and be checked out by the doctors was an interesting revelation and has to speak to some serious interest on this end.

He and Aldrich are the only two legitimate No. 13 candidates who’ve made multiple visits to Toronto but the Raptors have done all their due diligence on the others, too.

What’s that entail?

According to Bryan, lots.

“The medical background, the background information that we’re receiving in terms of a formal written report that’s been ordered on several players. We might discover something that makes sense or does not make sense and we have to do some further investigation on it.”

So it’s not all jump shots and ball-handling and physical prowess at all.

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From The Entirely Facetious Department Of Items (which means please don’t take this too seriously) I offer this:

The Raptors are virtually certain to draft Cole Aldrich on Thursday.

Why?

Well, they hand out these little bio sheets whenever they have a workout and Tuesday’s arrived with all the background on Cole Alrich.

And I’m thinking:

Hmm, no ‘D.’ Has to be a Raptor, right?

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Hey, did anyone notice that my favourite basketball team has an 11-2 record, is easily in first place in its conference and seems on an inexorable march to a glorious championship?

Yeah, I’ve been checking in on the Seattle Storm and I hope you are, too.

They’re 11-2, with a 5 1-2 game lead in the West, they’ve won eight of their last 10 and if Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson don’t tie for WNBA MVP honours, they ought to have a recount.

Can I pick a team or what?

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Hey, Ghana today!

The Black Stars are in tough against Germany, very tough, and need a win. Difficult, no question, but not impossible and it’ll be pretty tough to get me away from the tube this afternoon.

Think good thoughts for them, would you?

Oh, and talking to a guy around the Raptors who knows a bit about the football yesterday and the chatter gets to France, which at that moment was being drilled 2-0 by Bafana Bafana.

Guy looks at me and says: “France? 2-0? That’s terrible. They can’t go home now.”

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Let’s put out a quick call for mail with the usual “click here to send in your cards and letters” and see what we come up with.

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The piece of news that kind of got short shrift Tuesday – and it’s not hugely significant and it may be just a case of downplaying an impending move – was Bryan on the point guards.

Here’s the transcript:

“Rather than saying we were absolutely going to do something with one of our point guards, it’s more about trying to determine whether or not the two guys can co-exist. And the conversations I’ve had with both players have been very productive, they’ve both said things that make me comfortable and the coaching staff comfortable if they were to come back.

“But as you know, we have to constantly look to improve our roster and if there’s a means to do that and one of those player sis involved then we’ll look to do something. But there’s not a mandate to make a move here. I like both players, signed them both for various reasons and I have to say there’s a lot of talent on our team because I’m getting a lot of calls about several of our players.”

The “but as you know …” thing is the most important there because if there’s a deal, he’s going to make it and I’m told there is quite a bit of interest out there in each of Jarrett Jack and Jose Calderon.

Now, many have read that Indy wants a point guard and I’m told Charlotte’s in the market as well so we can guess phone lines have been burning between those cities.

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Hey, back to the WNBA for a sec (go, Storm!) for this.

Candace Parker misses the rest of the season after shoulder surgery.

A crippling blow to the Sparks but given her – I know, tenuous – connection to Toronto, figured some of you would like to know.

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Did you know Chris Bosh is a de facto free agent today?

Bryan let us in on some housekeeping news yesterday; Bosh had to tell the team by June 20 that he was going to exercise his player option for next season and when the fax didn’t arrive, it meant he’s on the market.

No big deal but a little piece of news that we didn’t know nonetheless.

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Okay, the grass doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter, the blackberry’s fully charged for the trade e-mails and phone calls to arrive and downtown Toronto’s a police state with the G20 crap so it’s a house day today, methinks.

Hope there’s news to worry about.

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Comments

[aditya]

Blogger's note: Everyone's waiting to see if Salmons opts out of his deal next week
-------------------------
I ain't one of them. He told me he's opting out. (Oh, I remember, you hate John Salmons also......u think he doesn't pass the ball enough.. well, when you are a scorer, you don't need to be a passer)

[Mike D.]

I'm curious why Patrick Patterson, who seems pretty NBA-ready at PF, would already be off the list - would it be a bad signal to Bosh and Amir? Or is it because we already have Joey Dorsey with his considerable (albeit as yet undocumented in the Star) potential?

[joeu]

@erc
You have conveniently ignored the truth of Doug's statements. People are avoiding the downtown, businesses are losing customers with some businesses choosing to close shop, workers are moving to temporary off-site locations, Water and Sonic cannons have been deployed for crowd control, public facilities, including bus shelters, bike racks and trees are being removed, and additional police are being shipped in from other towns "to make citizens used to seeing so many police, and ... the number of officers will grow 'progressively' until it’s in the thousands." - all in the name of security for the G20. That is a police state.

And don't hide behind that "Blue line against anarchy" rhetoric. The G20 doesn't have to be in Toronto, and this level of security doesn't have to be at the G20. One billion (and counting) dollars isn't about making anyone more safe - it's about insulating State Heads from people with the democratic right to protest, and discouraging legitimate protest.

[Michel G]

aditya: You're childish comments are getting boring. Just so you know.

[ANM]

Did you feel that Doug?
Around 1:43pm today, the rumbling?
Was it the G20 summit, the FA summit, King James admitting he's really 32yrs old or an earthquake?
I'm in Kitchener and felt that.

[kazbid]

doug doesn't like salmons? don't blame him. there's lots of shooters in the league..no reason to pay a salmons $8M+ to score 15 ppg on 6/14 shooting each night. we got hedo doing that.

plus salmons isnt a very versatile player..as in he doesnt really create his own shot (very well) or do much besides shoot (i.e. not a great defender or passer or dribbler)

[DougG]

Love to see the Raps end up with both Avery and George, especially if Bynum is coming in the Bosh exit (although I 'm not sure how Bosh ends up the number 1 guy in LA.)

[ed]

here here joeu

[Luigi]

aditya your rants concern me. You seem to be an angry angry person who probably lacks social skills. You may want to consider councilling for these outbursts of yours. Doug reports facts and his own personal opinions, there is no reason for you to attack him every day. Get a hobby... let up my friend... get a grip!

[FPB]

Go Black Stars Go!!

[Josh]

Aldrich = no D?

He's the best defensive big in the draft. WTF are you talking about?

Blogger's note: Man, humour is lost on some. They had Alrich. No "D." Get it? Yeesh

[Aditya]

@ Luigi
lets not make personal remarks here.....i am just stating the facts...john salmons told the bucks he's opting out.....in fact, john hammond has gone on the record saying that all indications are pointing towards him pointing out....and doug smith hates on guys like john salmons, nate robinson, and many other players for no reason....no one's perfect, and i am not either.

[Aditya]

*towards him opting out

[KX]

Felt the earthquake?

[The J]

If Lebron is really 32 I don't want to know how old Greg Oden is.

[Rob.V]

@aditya

Quit it... or Doug is gonna have to tell his mommy on you!!!

Oh, and for others talking Salmons. Didn't "the lord" tell Salmons NOT to come to Toronto a few years ago?

Now, I know the lord is a forgiving woman and all... but I doubt she's changed her mind that quickly!!

Thank you!, I'll be performing here all week...

[Bobby]

@ joeu

word

[Adrian]

Still no action. More lip service and I hope it doesn't end there. I'm tired of our friendly politician, Mr. Colangelo, talk talk talk. He has it down to an art. We'll see if there's any substance this time..... but it sure looks famliar, doesn't it? Wonder if Chris Bosh is still his top priority as he claimed at his state of the union in April. Wonder if he's going to explore every option to keep him, as he said he would numerous times. Or maybe that was just lip service because he knows there's no penalty for his lies. We'll see starting tomorrow night. It will reveal quite a bit about this organization. But I think we know where we're headed- more misleading leadership? We'll see.

That tangent about the luxury tax two months ago sure was entertaining, wasn't it? I'm glad he's got approval! In a hypothetical parallel universe, that might actually be important! I'm not so glad that everything here is a press release. I don't know. I'm tired of this. I would love to give these people (Colangelo, Jim Kelly, Embry, Gherardini, Triano and the rest of them) who've been here for so long and done so little, the pink slip. Dragging us as fans through the mud is not what they were hired to do. I don't care that they are using our money to buy Porsches- it's not our job as fans to finance their lavish lifestyles.

More to the point, how is Jim Kelly still there?!?!!? The Raptors have one of the worst draft records in the league! The team sucks and has pretty much always sucked- and he's been here for the duration! And somehow he's still conducting workouts with a smile on his face. Lord jesus. It's beyond words. Zero accountability. Zero. We'll soon see if that's changed.

[Matt Kovacs - Age 13]

It was very funny when the French Manager wouldn't shake the hand of the S.A Manager! Although France did deserve to go home considering how they got in.

[ANM]

@ The J
Funny you say that......Oden is actually James' uncle who is really in his 40's. Thats why his body can't handle the NBA.
(don't you see the resemblance?)
;)

[Matt]

What do you think of this Ford post... http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/17022/wednesday-night-draft-chatter

Rudy and #22 for #13? Would you do it?

Blogger's note: Can't happen unless the Raptors send something else for cap considerations.

[erc]

@joeu Whether or not the G20 should be held in Toronto isn't the issue. It's here.It is a political decision that has been made.
There are all sorts of legitimate, lawful protest groups who will be allowed to exercise their democratic right to dissent. Police states don't do that.
However there are traditional protest groups that gather at G20-type summits that are committed to violent protest. Their actions are generally bad for business and they are capable of clearing out more than bicycle racks.
Is the number of police reserves on hand overkill? I believe it requires a little more documentation than your opinion or mine to say for sure. However, too much has got to be better than too little.
Lets hope and pray that there are way too many police reserves on hand and that the bulk of them will never be deployed. Preventing anarchy can be a costly business. Allowing it to run its course can be even more costly.
The Nazi party in Germany started out as a violent protest group that was never checked until 1945. Turned out to be a real costly police action; bad for every business except armaments and hard on a lot of downtown cores.
Again, why the G20 had to be held in a major city like Toronto is a decision I question. Maybe there are good reasons for it, I've just never heard them. However, it's HERE and the baggage it brings has to be dealt with.
To think otherwise means you've head your head in the sand, the Sixties or somewhere else for way too long.

[J]

Adrian, I missed you.

[JHP]

Doug

One of those rare days where something has to happen. Or maybe BC will trade away the pick for cash and future considerations LOL