No beaten-up old guys need apply

I read with great delight that Tracy McGrady is likely to sign with the Chicago Bulls.

Not so much for Tracy -- I don’t particularly care where he ends up -- but for me.

(And while it is all about me, this is also all about the Raptors so indulge me).

There won’t be a dozen of comments or e-mails suggesting the Raptors sign McGrady or Shaq or Allen Iverson or some other washed up star to fill out the roster.

Not only are their skills declining – McGrady’s been hurt forever, Shaq’s getting quite long in the tooth, Iverson was a ridiculous idea a year ago and even moreso now – but they are not the kind of guys anyone connected with this organization should give a second thought to.

This team, right now, is not a place for a veteran to come in and play out his dotage; they need young kids hungry to prove themselves or mid-20s guys ready to truly blossom.

I don’t care what word you use – rebuilding, re-tooling, changing, adjusting, whatever – this team this year is going to very much be a work in progress where you’ll have some kids still trying to figure it out, some trying to make their name and I’m wondering if it won’t be at least more entertaining a product that we’ve seen the last two years.

I think Bryan’s one last move – or maybe his two last moves – should be to add someone who can grow with the group, not someone like an aging star ending his career who might provide a couple of extra wins at the cost of the development of guys who may be here for a while.

So Tracy and Shaq and even Josh Howard, who is intriguing if he wasn’t hurt and most likely too expensive, should find other homes where they fit better because I don’t think any of them bring anything to a team trying to establish an identity.

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How could you possibly not like a guy who sat around having beers waiting to see if he made the cut and a dude who lost some weight trying to get fit and found out he didn’t like it so he’s somewhat portly again?

Really?

Carl Pettersson – you can read about him here – has truly vaulted up my list of favourite PGA Tour guys now.

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Dang!

Missed the tryouts for the June Taylor Dancers yesterday.

Hope it went well.

-

What’s up with the Raptors? Well, word I got over the weekend from folks was some things are “simmering” but nothing is imminent. Figure that’s just the normal state of affairs around there these days and probably doesn’t mean an awful lot.

But figured you’d want to know.

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Bit of a digression but what the heck, it’s not like there’s a lot of basketball to digest. So …

You know, everyone’s job has some good points and some bad points and after almost a week of being Golf Boy, I have devised the following lists for your reading pleasure

The Good

No night games.

You do your interviews outside the scoring trailer and not in some stuff locker room.

For the most part, the guys you’re talking to want to talk to you.

They don’t play stupid music during competition and there aren’t 19,000 people screaming when you’re trying to file at the buzzer.

Fresh air and sunshine when you’re working doesn’t bite.

The Bad

The stadium’s so damn big.

Rain delays

Having to park kilometers away and be shuttled into the course.

No Chicken.

You watch those guys hit balls and you think, “what game is it that I play?”

-

So the Miami Herald did this big long takeout on Chris Bosh over the weekend and there’s some interesting stuff in there.

Takes a couple of shots at Toronto but praises the city but the one that kind of made me sit up and take notice – and there’s a comment in the comment section about it, too – was that now he’s happy that people will know where he plays and who his teammates are.

I’ve got to say this: If Bosh’s team had won, people would have known where he played and who was on his team. I saw first-hand with that other guy – if the Raptors are good, fans will find them. It was a bit of a rock star franchise for a little while in the early-2000s on Vince Carter’s talents; Chris, for all the good things that he does, was never on team that was that successful.

But, trust me, if a team wins, the fans and the networks and the folks back home know about it.

And that’s the thing to be mindful about first and foremost:

It’s not the market or the country or whatever; it’s success on the court that determines how a franchise is perceived.

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You know what’s going to be cool?

Some actual basketball to watch in person.

Leo’s team starts dribbling into town this week, camp begins on the weekend to get ready for the worlds and I’m going to be quite interested to see how the team shakes out.

And hopefully it’ll provide some fodder for stories because other than that and any breaking news on the Raptors front this looks like a very uneventful week ahead.

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Comments

[HopeCaper]

Hey Doug, Thanks for the article on Bosh or I would have missed it. I don't know what some here are complaining about. I didn't see where Bosh trashed the city. He said he liked to win and the city was different than a US city. So what? I think he was talking about him making the adjustment to a new country and he found it difficult. So what? That is not negative. Bosh is a class act. He worked his ass off in TO, never trashed the city, the fans, or the organization. He likes to win. I don't blame him. I wish it could have been in the True North but it didn't work out. He gave it a chance and never once sucked his thumb and said trade me like a lot of other thumbsuckers out there. He earned his move and like you said Doug, if To was winning he would likely still be here. We have to be realistic looking at the Raps and acknkowledge they have some building to do. Fans should not forget that this franchise has been mishandled for a long time and BC has made some creative and valiant efforts to save the ship with all hands but there were too many holes in the bottom.
As for Deejay old or young flatulence is something we all have to deal with, apparently you have not- in spite of your tirade- discovered that truism yet.
Thanks Doug for keeping us in the loop.

[Mike]

I wonder if his horrific DVD, FirstInk, would have sold more copies in the US??

[dc]

What is Leandro Barbosa to the Raptors? Doug Smith just defined everything the team doesn't need right now and it looks to me that at 28, Barbosa fits the definition of an overpaid, underproducing one-trick- pony veteran in the twilight of his prime, adding a few wins at the expense of legitimate experience for players with more potential going forward (aka. DeMar DeRozen).
Barbosa already a waste of money?

[stickhandle]

damn if i can't let this go ... here's a scenario ... convince Shaq to focus on D. That's his job. He's actually not a bad passer too. But 'D' is his thing. Let AB play the 4. Team want to run right -- i think Iverson can still run. He plays the 2, mostly with Jose."Allen, you want to prove your still the answer -- we need you to shut down so-and-so too". Derozan runs and run at the 3. Make it clear to Jose - he's the boss. He distributes. Jack is the leader of the second unit with Weems, Amir and Belinelli. On some nights - these guys will be hot too. As long as the Shaq and AI contracts are one year -- they can be trade fodder at the deadline.

[GM]

I certainly feel a difference when I visit American cities. It's subtle but it's there. So no doubt Bosh would think Toronto feels different. It *is*. But that doesn't make it better or worse -- just different. But let's remember this when the ridiculous discussion comes up again about the NBA expanding to Europe. If many NBA players can't get past the subtle differences of Toronto and Vancouver, there's no way they'll be able to get past the marked differences of a European city.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

How do, Doug,
I've always been a CB4 supporter, but I've got to say the guy's taken a turn for somewhere other than the high road here lately. He's smart enough to know that his remarks are tacky at best, and definitely lacking in generosity. "Seven years to make up for" doesn't get itself explained away very readily. That 'brand' thing of his just really isn't clicking on all cylinders these days. Guy's still a hell of a basketball player, though...
Hey, nice work on the golf coverage! Cheers.

[pain777pas]

Bosh will play hard like a rookie for a while and if they take off with consecutive wins then Bosh will seem like a different player. He is going to get really easy shots until the playoffs if they move the basketball and be unselfish. With Lebron on any team he is going to make plays and with a closer like Wade on the team they are destined to be better than people think. Bosh is better than we think and with those guys to learn a few tricks from they will win the big one get over it. Toronto never put the right pieces together to win the big one. Last years team was the best supporting cast that Bosh has had and once he got injured the team tanked. Now we will watch this new team win 35-42 games this season and be optimistic about their progress. Triano will figure this out he is smart and knows what to do he just has to command that respect and pride in the lockeroom. Bosh will have more energy to rebound and BLOCK shots this year I see 18-24pts and 12rebounds and 2blocks average Wade and Lebron 25-30pts, 7rebs and 7asts a piece. Miller, Z and J Howard know how to play the game and I think Z is the biggest piece that they picked up that will be a out the gate game changer for this team. The Heat will go to the Conference finals but then Orlando or Boston will show who's who. Doug admit it Toronto would have been great with Rudy and Bosh have Turk, Calderon Jack roaming the 3pt line and have Rasho start. That would have been a decent team with Amir coming off the bench or starting for that matter. Andrea has the most to prove right now. Signing him as a Centre to Bosh was a good move on paper. He will not bang in the post consistently nor help rebound. Rudy would have been an exciting player that would play well instead of Andrea. BC knows what he is doing and I really believe that we cannot get a better GM or honestly I will back BC because I don't think there is a better GM who tries to make moves for this team. Bosh needed to leave if he would like to have the chance to play for a winner. I think that he deserves to play for a contender. Garnett moved and won. Bosh will do the same.

[WH]

Good points Doug about not chasing former star players who are at the end of their tenure. Do you have a sense from the team officials that they are nervous about fielding a young capped out team with no obvious emerging star? I mean unless BC can pull off a trade for a legitimate star player, the Raptors are basically going with what they've got, which on paper at least is not much.

Blogger's note: I don't think they feel nervous at all.

[dc]

"You could feel it, you could look at it, you can smell it. Everything. All your senses tell you you're somewhere different."

Sounds like someone took Bosh to Kensington and Chinatown his first week in Toronto. Perhaps the odours of hippies, patchuli and pickled fish baking in the sun created a bit of sensory-overload...

[Pipit]

What's wrong with having the desire to win? It's been 7 years and he did what he needed to do to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, the Toronto management didn't do their job. So now almost everybody is blaming him for bolting out and speaking his mind even the author of this blog. Tell me, what did Bosh say that is false? Everybody is entitled to his own opinion and he didn't say anything degrading about the city. Toronto feels different as he compared it to his home. He's frustrated about not being recognized and not winning with the Raptors. Tell me, what is false in those statements. Bosh did his job and he decided to leave for justified reasons. He's still a class act and anybody who says otherwise is just sourgraping. I wish him well and looking forward to see his team humiliate our lousy team in the next season. If there's anybody to blame, that would be the Raptors organization as they can't put even a competitive team for all of 7 years that Bosh is here.

[matt]

After reading one of Jeff Blair's crappy articles a couple of weeks ago, I sent him this email:

"Mr. Blair,

Please stop writing about the Raptors or any other basketball matters. Your lack of understanding and your pedestrian knowledge of the situation is painful to read. I understand I have a choice as to whether I read it or not, but your writing is contaminating the minds of other less knowledgeable people. Your holier than thou attitude is absolutely pathetic. If you expanded your context you might not be so god damn negative.........but then maybe that's your whole schtick.

nothing personal of course....it's just your writing I don't like."

his response, which took all of 5 seconds -

From: JBlair@globeandmail.com
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:47:30 -0400
Subject: Re: about basketball

"Tough sh*t."

then 5 seconds later -

From: JBlair@globeandmail.com
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:48:37 -0400
Subject: Re: about basketball

"As for holier than thou ... Look in thje mirror. Read Doug Smith and enjoy the kool-aid."

Just wanted to let you know what a douche this guy is. He pretends to be all pally with you when you are on PTS and says this behind your back.

[Words]

I know this is not going to happen, but I'd wait for the 60 day period to expire on the Morris Peterson trade to OKC and I would try to bring back Mo Pete.

Mo Pete will always be a Toronto Raptor in my mind and I would love to see him come back.

Doug, any fond memories of Mo Pete?

[Rob]

Dear Chris Bosh,
The only reason "people" ie. Americans know where you are playing now is because you are on the same team as Lebron and Wade. Otherwise they still wouldn't care.

/sarcasm

[Mattress]

To the poster who called Barbosa old...are you kidding? He's 28! And based on the saleries given out this summer, he is not overpayed. Doug was refering to players such as Iverson(35 years old) and Shaq (38 years old) and its not just an age thing, its a willingness to be a backup and teach younger players; something I don't think Iverson or Shaq are interested in.

[Gringo]

Hi Doug,

Bosh is simply saying Toronto smelled differently. What's so bad about that? He grew up in a different enviornment where he probably felt comfortable. Is it mandatory for Canadians to like USA?

Yes, we never won when Bosh was around but there were many changes in the team as well. From what I recall every year Raptors had wholesale changes. It's time the organization looked deeper into what can be done to win. Seven years is a long time to put the house in order, and Raptors seem to have regressed. Nonetheless, it is tough to lose a player of Bosh's calibre. He may not be the top dog but he was atleast a dog in the fight. Now, we have puppies left.

Players have also a choice to go where ever they want to go. It's not collectivism here in north america yet. Just like any other person can moves to real or perceived greener pastures, so can professional athletes. However, after commiting to a team for a certain time and then turning around and demanding a trade is less than gentlemanly. The only way to deal with it is to maybe start putting clauses in contracts that reduce the player salary substantially if trade is demaned within the first two years. Max contracts could be reduced to three years as well to allow a player and franchise to re-adjust quickly.

This concetration of higher profiled players in larger centers is most likely to have a dampening effect on the remaining franchises. It will be tougeher for the less fortunate franchises to gather enough talent to have a realistic chance of winning.

Perhaps in the interest of quality some franchises need to go bankcrupt instead of continuing to have yearly losses. The remaining franchises by default will then have more higher quality players available as not all top players can go in the same franchise.

The problem then is not the players but the business model that keeps a sinking franchise forcibly afloat. It's a mini-version of bailouts we have experienced. Propping up zombie banks of franchises doesn't bring back prosperity or a healthy existence.

Yes, it sounds crude but maybe New Orleans with its smaller demand market needs smaller businesses than a large NBA franchise. A product only sells when there's demand for it and perhaps people in New Oleans want to spend their money on other essentials than go for a basketball game.

Gringo

[Matty-Pix]

article takes shots at the Bosh man's comments:

http://www.nbadaily.net/mainstory.cfm?articleid=106

Who advises Bosh on what he says publicly? Not cool.

[Jack]

Vince Carter was lobbying management to hire Dr. J as GM. OK, hindsight is 20-20 but if that happened, I could see Vince playing his heart out here. And maybe Dr. J would have picked D-Wade instead of Bosh.
But stranger things happened and the Raptors ended up with Babcock.
Arauuuuuuuuuuuuuujjjooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

[elwyn jennings]

you folk are way too sensitive; guy says when he was 19, he didn't want to go to toronto. who can blame him ? - it's in a different country! he says it doesn't smell the same...well, fact is, it doesn't! and i feel the same thing everytime i go across the border.

he also said toronto was a great city! the seven years reference is in basketball terms only, can't be in any other respect, and he is right again: 7 years with hardly any playoff experience.

really, wgas??

guy's gone, didn't handle it particularly well, but was a team trooper for most of his time here. hat's off to him.

that's that.

[The J]

I think it is pretty clear now that it is the American players that are ruining this team. When will BCo and MLSE end this Yankee experiment. We need more hungry Europeans and less of these Americans who only work hard for us when they are on the team, but not as much after they leave! This Yankee experiment has to STOP!! :)

[The J]

Hey Doug,
I agree that the Raps do not need any old stars to take time from the younger players who are developing. But what do you think about bringing in older players who would play less minutes and be used to HELP the young guns develop? For example, when Derrick Martin was here he barely played. Most of his time was garbage time, if he played at all. Yet he seemed to be crucial to the development of guys like Calderon and Ford. So what would you think of a guy like that to say play center and help train Bargs like JO did? Or a veteran wing to help train DeMar and Weems?
On a side note whatever happened to Derrick Martin? Last I remember he was working for the Raps, but I haven't heard his name in a long time.

[Rob.V]

You know, many of you have said it much more eloquently than I, however:

Bosh is right where he should have been when he was drafted.... "as role player", nothing more!. A role player, with a big mouth that is.

He was "lucky" to get drafted to Raps (re: playing time) and a team that was in a state of change with VC leaving because if he had of been drafted perhaps by a contending team... he might be earning about 10 million a season somewhere, with no All Star appearances, still without possibly ever having any success.

And that's what's disappointing with the parting shots at this point.

The Raptors make the kid the "face of the franchise"... pay him to be "a leader"... (which he ultimately wasn't)... but now I'll blame them, the city, or anyone other than ME for 7 seasons.

Just once, just ONCE, I would I like to see an owner say okay Chris Paul. You're unhappy?... tell you what… you stay away from the team the next 2 years and we’ll honour your contract. YOU give up 2 years of your career, and when your contract expires you're free to do whatever you want! (of course this would never happen).

All integrity appears to have been lost on these kids.

When you are turned over the keys to the franchise it's not simply so that you are paid more money. Franchise players are to be franchise players, um, you know... when TEAMS SUCK! (that's why you are brought in as the FRANCHISE PLAYER... to help make things BETTER!!).

Sorry, what a douche bag!!! To be saying, I've got 7 years to make up for. The Raptors were ok when they helped to "make you who you were"... and when you signed your "max" extension. The money you were “smelling” then didn’t smell any different across the border, did it?

I've never said Bosh owed the Raptors anything because as a free agent (god bless).. do what you want. But (at minimum) if you could KEEP YOUR TRAP SHUT.. it would be appreciated!!!. I don’t think that’s too much to ask?.
Douche bag!!!

Kevin Garnett may only ever win 1 championship due to all of his failed seasons in Minnesota, but that cat will always be a greater champion than kids like Bosh in my book.

It's as though there is a sense of "entitlement" with the young athletes of today. A shame, really!

Shaq?, Shaq should in fact go to Boston... because I'd like to see Bosh end up on his ass all night in the conference finals.

Iverson? It's interesting because for the first time I think we can see his point. He's always been the guy... and always wanted to be the guy. We all called him a selfish player… but there was no way he would share a team with LBJ and Wade in his prime... so who's right, or wrong here?

I take back EVERY negative thing I have ever said about Iverson (lord know there was quite a bit). Say what you will about Iverson, but he indeed was a franchise player.

At least he never wanted to ride anyones coat tails.

[Neil]

All the CB4 supporters arent seeing the one thing that he said besides the smell and that he didnt want to go to a different country ...he said "NOW FINALLY PEOPLE WILL KNOW WHERE I PLAY AND WHO MY TEAMATES ARE" ...so people didnt know who Turkgelo was or Shawn Marion or Jalen Rose or Jermaine O'neal or Demar Derozan or Vince Carter? Really ....CB4 is full of himself right now and most of those players were brought in here to try and keep him happy and work with him ....and how does a Jarret Jack or jose Calderon feel about hearing those comments. Out of everything in that article that was the most disappointing hearing him talk about his teamates that way. I hope he realizes this coming out party he is having will not last forever he is one knee injury away from calling it a career ! Smarten up Chris!

[Dave in BG]

Heard Sir Charles on ESPN radio at noon today. He was also bemoaning the CP3 trade demand and started his comments by saying

"Toronto is now irrelevant"

Now before you go all anti-US, continue listening to Sir Charles. He immediately then said:

"Cleveland is irrelevant and if CP3 leaves NO, then NO is irrelevant"

He continued on to say that there are only 5 relevant teams in the NBA now and that is a sad day for the league.

Point is, people, do not take Bosh's comments so personally. Fact is the so called "stars" are narcissistic, and they view Toronto no better or worse than Cleveland, Sacramento, Minnesota, Memphis, New Orleans,.... you get the picture.

Contraction in the NBA is inevitable without substantive changes to the way the league operates. Sure it will take a few years, but it will happen. As was said on Mike & Mike this morning, you cannot have a 30-team league where only 5 or 6 can compete or matter.

[sean]

Shaq and AI aint' coming to TO, break the matrix and get real. Just play the youngs and see how it goes, addition is subtraction for this organization

[Arun]

@Matthew
I got a team - Raptors.