Still time to be prudent and an interesting worlds awaits

So, what now?

(Seems that’s been a rather common question surrounding the Heroes Of The Hardcourt this summer, hasn’t it?)

Well, I’m sure you all saw Bryan’s quote in today’s missive about the sure-to-be-failed Matt Barnes acquisition and he’s saying he’s got some other things on the go.

I hope, though, that they don’t make moves just for the sake of making moves and that anyone they decide to trade for is someone who can play a significant role in filling the holes they have left.

I know there’s a palpable feeling of disappointment that the Chandler-Diaw thing didn’t get done, and the Barnes thing seems destined to fail but that doesn’t mean going out and doing something just to do something.

I still think it might be prudent to hang on to a lot, if not all of the trade exception money to see how things shake out here and around the league; although that prudence is tempered by the fact there’s a glaring hole at small forward now.

Still, rushing doesn’t seem to me to make a lot of sense.

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How come all yesterday the one thought that sat in my mind was:

Is this a job for Steve Fruitman?

After all, wasn’t he the guy who rescued the Hedo four-team, double sign-and-trade thing about a year ago? And then I thought, well, the Magic helped in that by taking on a big trade exception they never used and, this time around, they have no room to even start the proceedings with Barnes.

So, I guess it’s left to others to figure out what to do and how to do it.

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I’m really wondering now just how good – or bad, depending o your perspective – the world championships will end up being next month.

Not sure if you’ve been reading the daily dispatches from Old Friend C. Sheridan over at epsn.com but the Americans are hardly putting together a juggernaut and the tourney may, as a result, be far more competitive that we thought.

Not only won’t the USA have any of its top eight players from Beijing, they lost Amar’e Stoudemire to insurance issues earlier this week and David Lee banged up a finger pretty badly on Tuesday and no one knows whether he’ll be available.

As you well know, I generally applaud players for playing for their countries and I know most of the recognizable names from around the world will be there.

No Dirk, I see; and no Pau Gasol or Tony Parker but, for the most part, countries other than the USA will have their top players.

And that’s really good for the tournament. There really is nothing like a world basketball championships to bring out the passion in fans – think World Cup on a smaller scale – and having a few teams like Spain, Greece, maybe Argentina, able to challenge the Americans is a good thing.

And while that American team may still be full of recognizable NBA games to think it’s a heavy favourite is not the wisest thing to do.

One thing I find quite comical about the whole thing is how they are suggesting that toll of free agency may be part of the reason for guys like LeBron, Wade and Bosh – three mainstays from the Olympics – sitting out.

Yeah, that dog and pony show that ended July 8 must have been a killer on the body. The wear and tear had to be incredible and they have to rest their 20-something bodies for months because of it.

Yeah, right.

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Since I am no officially Golf Boy for the rest of the week, figures to be some downtime in the day since, you know, golf takes freaking forever.

So, to pass that idle time, how about we start the mailbag thingy by telling you to click here and send in the cards, letters and offers of untold riches and fun. Fun being the preferred option, that is.

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I presume you all saw this about Wayne Parrish and his future as a honcho at Canada Basketball, right?

Well, let me say the fact they’re going to find some way to keep him involved in some significant senior position – Chairman of the board? Head of an advisory panel? General overseer? Czar? – is the only thing that makes sense.

The organization may not have been on death’s door when he arrived but the Grim Reaper was coming up the front porch and the turnaround since then has been shocking.

He’s built bridges that had been burned, particularly between the provinces and the national organization and he’s somehow brought back hugely important people from the past who had been shunted aside and given them a real role in developing players and the game.

He got MLSEL to become almost a full partner, making training facilities available to national teams, providing money and manpower and getting Maurizio Gherardini on board gave Canada Basketball immeasurable respect around the world.

The financial picture is better – still some debt but an annual operating profit of late – and the sense of optimism is unbridled.

The woman who comes in to replace him – or man, I guess – as the CEO will have some tough shoes to fill, it’s of the utmost importance that Parrish be around to help show the way.

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You know what’s really great? And by really great I mean a huge pain in the tush?

The dudes putting in new gas lines on the Casa Doug Crescent and their willingness to bring out the heavy machinery and fire it up just after 7 a.m.

Super Dog loves it. Me? Not so much.

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Okay, off to the golfing course, where I hope it doesn’t rain because you don’t know boredom until you’ve sat through interminable rain delays at a golf event.

But maybe Bryan energizes my day with some huge complex deal; and I see Turk’s in Phoenix to chat with the folks there and I’ll be interested in hearing what he has to say.

Deals are done, deals are undone, deals are in limbo. Fun, isn't it?

And so it goes.

Another day, another snag, another story.

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Yes, there are issues with the Matt Barnes trade/signing, issues that popped up about 15 minutes after the head hit the pillow last night judging by the flurry of e-mails that greeted me this morning.

Issues? Yes. Dead? No.

This is not Tyson Chandler and Michael Jordan, this is salary cap machinations the Raptors and Orlando Magic have to work through.

And they will give it their best shot.

It’s funny how these kinds of stories get going and how it’s impossible to keep entirely on top of them.

When I filed just before 10 or so, it was done; so done that my story got to the office about 20 minutes before Barnes tweeted that he would be playing in Toronto next season.

I’d checked this with a source or two; the word I got was “close” which is why I wrote the story for the paper (which you can read here) the way I did.

A bit softer that saying it was done, done and that’s mostly because I was mindful of (a) the words that the guys I was talking to were using and (b) Tyson Chandler kept running through my mind.

Now, in a perfect world, I would have been up around 1 a.m. when the note came in that there was a snag and I’d have been able to further update the story. But I wasn’t.

And the trouble is, for people who only get a hard copy of the newspaper, that wouldn’t have helped at all anyway; at 1 a.m. we’re closed for night on the paper side of the ledger.

I guess it underscores yet again how our business – and the entire business of disseminating news – is changing. And I don’t know if it’s all that good; I’d love to say I’d be willing to work at updating stuff every second of every day but that’s not going to happen. I just can’t figure out when the cutoff time should be each day.

Anyway …

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As a basketball fit, you have to think Matt Barnes is a pretty good one for Toronto, no?

A defensive-minded swingman who can make a three and is athletic is about what the doctor ordered.

In fact, when I was sitting around yesterday scribbling some notes (you get some of the end product in a bit) one of the things I wrote was: Best still out there: Barnes.

Now, he’s got some flaws, he could shoot it better, he can disappear for stretches of games but on this Toronto team, he’s probably the starting small forward and a good compliment to DeRozan.

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Hey, you saw the news about the Raptors-Suns game Oct. 6 at whatever they call that arena now, right?

We’re headed to Vancouver and while I love the fact some guys played up the whole “Raptors meet Hedo” thing because it’s fresh, getting to see Steve Nash in Vancouver will be very cool.

The full schedule is still being finalized but I imagine we’d be out there for three or four days of practice before the game, kind of a end-of-training-camp excursion after they have three days or so here in Toronto.

But I also don’t think we’re stopping anywhere in Canada on the way home; it’ll be Vancouver as the only stop on the national tour.

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So, Golf Boy returns soon. Got to deal with one more morning of family stuff I think but I’m kind of looking forward to getting out to St. George’s. I haven’t seen a street festival/golf tournament ever and it should be kind of neat.

Plus it gives me a nice break from salary caps and trade exceptions and the like. Until, of course, the Barnes thing comes to a conclusion.

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So, among those free agent recap notes I was jotting down yesterday – figuring out winners and losers around the league -- were these (and there’ll be more sometime the rest of the week)

Oldies but goodies: Among the better contracts, I’ve got Derek Fisher at three years, $10.5 million because it locks leader the Lakers really need; and Ray Allen at two years, $20 million because he’s still got some game and the Celtics need to make one more run.

Oldies but not so goodies: Am entirely unsure that 30-year-old Al Harrington at five years, $34 million on an already-aging Denver roster is money well spent; and Amar’e Stoudemire’s deal, five years, $100 million is a huge gamble on a guy who (a) has been hurt and (b) doesn’t have Steve Nash

Cashing in, big time: Anthony Morrow made about $736,000 last season in Golden State; he’s going to make about $4 million in Jersey. Wish I was him.

Understated, but big: Chicago didn’t get any of the LeBron Nation followers but Kyle Korver is really going to help; that team needed a three-point shooter and got it.

Rub your eyes, shake your head: If someone had told you when the free agency period began that the guy who would have the largest contract at the end of it would be Joe Johnson, what would you have said? “No way!” Well, at six years, $119 million, he’s No. 1 and I’m a tad stunned at the way things panned out.

Cashing in, big time II: Wesley Matthews made slightly more than $450,000 with the Jazz as an unsigned rookie; he got five years, $33 million in Portland and I’m thinking he and Anthony Morrow must be among the happiest men on earth.

Strength in numbers: No, the New Jersey (I Wonder If They’ll Ever Be Brooklyn) Nets win the Most Active Team award. But I wonder how much Morrow, Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar and Johan Petro will really help. That’s not a 12-win team, that’s for sure; but is it 35?

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Okay, same deal as yesterday, folks. Got some stuff to take care of that might keep me away from here for a few hours; please don’t get angry or hurt. I still love ya.

(Well, most of you)

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The dog days aren't here quite yet

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that NBA teams like their Augusts to chill and do nothing. That’s executives and players and, yes, beat grunts, who try to catch a breath.

What’s the context? The context is that Bryan did not come back from Vegas with a new player or two and it’s July 19 so he’s got about 10 days to work his magic on the point guard, small forward, backup big things he has to deal with.

Here’s hoping sooner rather than later.

(Of course, national team stuff and a trip to Turkey kind of eat up some of August but what’s a fella to do?)

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One guy who isn’t coming back – maybe to clean out a condo but that’ll be it – is Marc Iavaroni, as I’m sure you all read in this piece that came up late Saturday night.

Now, if I believe head coaches get too much credit and take too much blame, you can imagine what I think of assistants.

And while there seems to be a lot of slagging of Marc out there, mostly from people who’ve seen him interact with players or colleagues, it’s pretty baseless.

Yes, he’s a quirky guy, no question. Yes, the team’s defence was subpar all season.

But to think he single-handedly decided what they’d do, or single-handedly turned perimeter defenders into statues is folly.

He worked hard on skill development with the bigs – he spent every pre-game period and a lot of post-practice time working with Andrea on the block – and he suggested some defensive systems that didn’t work.

And then they changed some things, as all smart staffs do when things weren’t going well and they didn’t work, either.

Coaching is very much a collaborative effort, discussion and suggestions and debate until the man in charge – Jay – makes the final call and says, ‘yes, we’ll do it this way.’

Marc was brought in a year ago to provide some fresh ideas, on both sides of the ball with a focus on defence, and they didn’t really work out all that well.

So you move on. Try something new. See how that goes.

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The word I got from a couple of People Who Count when I asked if they’d replace Marc was: “Perhaps.”

If they do, I’d expect it be someone young to focus on skill development as much as in-game strategy.

I think PJ will help Jay a lot in that regard, Alex showed last season with his work with Amir Johnson that he’s good at developing players and I know Micah’s going to have the staff prepared for whatever opponent is up next.

So if they do hire someone, I don’t think it’s going to be a “name.”

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I know there are some asking about news conference thingies with the new dudes, Linas Kleiza and Leandro Barbosa.

Not going to happen.

We got all the time we’re going to get with Kleiza when we ran into him – nudge, nudge, wink, wink – the day he signed his offer sheet. (And here’s the result of that conversation).

And Barbosa, I’m told is back in Brazil and they aren’t going to bring him up.

So it’ll be training camp, or maybe in Turkey late next month, when we next get words.

Oh, and it’s not a given that Kleiza will be playing for Lithuania at the worlds, funnily enough in the same group with Canada. When I asked him about it that day, he was kind of ambivalent and suggested Lithuania may send a young team to the worlds as the vets take the summer off before the country hosts the European championships in 2011.

Not sure what that might mean for Canada but having an inexperienced team in their group can’t hurt, can it?

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This might rankle some but over the weekend the realization hit me – again – that if they ran a car race on my crescent, I’d go sit on the back deck.

Really, I don’t get it. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that I don’t see the allure.

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Hey, you’ve read about the Canadian teen girls, I presume (if you haven’t, it won’t take long to get through this) but I don’t know if many of you know about the Canadian women.

The senior national team began its preparation for the worlds later this summer out in Vancouver over the weekend, beating Chile on Saturday night. The details are here and I see they go again tonight in Richmond and if you’re out that way, you might want to take it in.

I know the men are going to get the bulk of the attention in the next little while (they’re starting pretty soon as we turn our attention to the world rather than the NBA) but the women’s team is pretty darn good and might surprise one or two of you later this year.

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Ken Berger’s got a nice piece here on Michael Jordan and the whole LeBron James thingy and, not surprisingly, he makes a lot of the same points a lot of us made about what would have happened in the olden days.

(Of course, Ken didn’t ask Jordan why he screwed over the Raptors but that’s not his gig).

Anyway, James, far more than Bosh or Wade, is getting hammered these days, isn’t he? I was wondering what the fallout from his whole summer of tomfoolery would be and it’s been a bit more drastic than even I had thought.

For a guy who handled himself pretty well at the start of the process, I’m not sure he’ll ever totally be able to make up the way he screwed up the finish.

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Okay, here’s the deal. Wee family issue popped up over the weekend so I’m not Golfing Boy today, not sure when I’ll get to all the comments but I will.

It’s not personal if they don’t get up right away.

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All kinds of questions, all kinds of answers

Here you go folks, have at it. Lots of fun and frivolity in here.

Honest.

Q: Some big changes with the Raptors. That leads me to the opinion that many successful teams have leaders amongst the players (captains and 1 or 2 others) that motivate the entire group. Who does this well in the NBA (beside Kobe and KG in Boston)? What characteristics of such players do you see as very important? From the current Raptor group who fills this and why? Enjoy the Canadian Open.

Bill O, Peterborough

A: I think you’d have to put Steve Nash in that category, for sure. Along with Dwyane Wade and guys like Brandon Roy, probably. I think the characteristics you want most of all are an excellent work ethic, a professional demeanour and the ability to draw out the best in teammates by being forceful or coaxing, caustic or by using whatever means work.

And I have a sneaking suspicion that Jarrett Jack will emerge as the “leader” of this team, barring any other transactions.

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Q: You've got the best blog on the net Doug. Now that I've gotten the shameless flattery out to the way, can you confirm if Kleiza and Triano exchanged some unpleasantries at a Denver game a few years back? While shooting free throws, Kleiza mouthed off at assistant coach Jay on the bench. If I recall correctly, Jay was motioning Kleiza to come on over. Please let me know if I'm losing it but this episode from a few years back seems clear in my memory.

D L, Richmond Hill

A: You’ve got it kind of right. Yes, there were words exchanged but it started when Kleiza was chattering away with none other than Kris Humphries and Jay, then an assistant, stuck for his player. The Nuggets were winning by about 35 at the time, both Linas and Jay recalled when we asked them about it a week or so ago. And Kleiza got a technical.

They’re fine now.

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Q: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each put up big numbers for their respective teams over their careers. And, I would submit, that's one reason why they're considered to be so great. With them playing together, do you think they will see their stats across the board dip as they share the ball? Or will the Heat just score so much more that their individual stats will stay about the same? Or will one or all of them take a hit, statistically speaking? And if so, which one?

Similarly, as the alpha dogs of their respective teams, they all got the benefit of the doubt with the refs. Will one of them (or more) start seeing more fouls called against him because the refs can't let everything go? What's your take?

Guy M, Vancouver

A: I think it’s most likely you’ll see the other five or six guys in the rotation see their career numbers go in the toilet. But, I don’t know if Bosh will have the ball enough to keep up his 20-plus average; Wade and James should probably get their numbers because they got them playing quite unselfishly in the past and that should still hold true.

As for the calls? It will be interesting. I would presume they would get the most senior officials for a lot of their games and I can see them coming under some extra scrutiny.

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Q: In the past, you've mentioned that if there's an overabundance of smoke, there's gotta be a fire somewhere. With that being the case in regards to Chris Paul - and I think that everyone would agree that the trade talk is at a frenzy with regards to him - would you guess that he'll be on another team by Hallowe'en? Groundhog Day?

I'm not looking for prognostication as to which team will, trade for him, but rather if you think, despite the comments from the GM, he's going to be shipped out of New Orleans.

Thanks!

Jarrod H, Toronto

A: With all the stuff going on around New Orleans – the general manager “parting ways” with the franchise, the impending sale of most if not all of the franchise – I don’t know that anyone can hazard a guess.

If I had to – and that’s entirely what it is – I think they let things play out until at least the trade deadline and find out truly what direction they are going in.

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Q: Hi Doug. I am an avid reader of your blog and look forward to it on a daily basis. I, like many, was appalled by last weeks "historic decision", and have been scouring the pages of the interweb since in an attempt to find a commentary that can properly sum up the rage towards, and disappointment in, the subject, interviewer and network that created one of the low points in television and sports history. You did a nice job of conveying your own disappointment in the sham, however, it felt like you stopped short of really digging your claws in, as Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone did in his blog here: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/matt-taibbi/blogs/TaibbiData_May2010/179533/83512. With that said, my question is, does working for a daily ever make it difficult, or frustrating, to hammer situations like "The Decision" as brutally as you would like?

Adam J, Oakville

A: It’s not so much working for a daily that makes it difficult, it’s what that work entails. I’d love to be able to sit back and take big picture looks at more things – and I know my bosses would give me full support to write what I thought, with some boundaries like use of vulgarity in place, but there always seems to be a local angle that takes up a lot of my time.

And that is frustrating.

What I need to do is learn how to maybe use the blog a bit more for things like that, but it’s tough finding the time, to tell you the truth.

Boring off-day so early mail and more to come Sunday

Okay, here’s the deal: I’ve got nothing, really. Had a very quiet day for the first time in a while so ….

Aside from the teen girls beating Turkey to open the world under-17 championships, the Raptors winning another one at the summer league and a day ahead that includes sitting in the office making sure nothing blows up, there’s nada.

So take this as an early mailbag and rest assured there’ll be a more complete one in the morning.

Have a good day folks, you know where I’ll be. And if you'd like to get something in, do the usual and click right here.

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Q: Hi Doug. Your blurb about the league's claim of financial hardship made me wonder - do you have any idea how the Raptors have been doing? Not that anyone should be remotely concerned about MLSE as a whole, but have the Raptors on their own been turning a profit on a yearly basis?

Thanks.

Errol T, Toronto

A: Along with where the keep the secret pictures that allow them to get civic leaders to bend over to make things easy for them to develop anciliary properties, the financial figures of MLSEL are a closely-guarded secret.

But take into consideration they play to more than 90 per cent capacity, reap the benefits of a national US television deal that gives them close to $40 million a year ad don’t pay a luxury tax and I would assume – even with my rudimentary knowledge of high finance – that the picture is petty rosy.

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Q: Since the woeful Grizzlies left Vancouver we have but one NBA team that could become Canada's team if the Raptors would just do some marketing in the west. We could have some exhibition games/home games in the west not to mention Raptor memorabilia. Do you think this might happen?

Linda S, Westbank, BC

A: Well, they’ve been west but I guess not far enough. But don’t fear, the details are still being finalized and I don’t have a firm date but if you were to think about a pre-season game at GM Place this October, you’d be thinking ahead of everyone.

And once I get an idea of when, you’ll be the first to know.

As for memorabilia, I can’t imagine they’ve left all the store shelves empty? Someone’s falling down on the job in the merchandising department.

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Q: Hi Doug. Losing Chris in free agency is a blow to the team, no doubt. However, I would like to believe that this gives Bryan to truly develop this roster into his own vision of what appears to be a team that is long, athletic, and fast. Do you think that the loss of Chris gives Colangelo the ability to truly build his "own" roster rather than attempting to build around a player that he had no part in bringing to TO? Thanks!

Mike R, Calgary

A: Well, I would except for one fact: Chris was a guy Bryan re-signed to a maximum-value contract in 2006 and a guy he tried to placate with any number of different teammates in the intervening years. But there is indeed a chance now to build a “team” rather than “a bunch of players surrounding The Man” and it’ll be interesting to see how the whole situation plays out.

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Q: Hi Doug. Great to see the blog going strong through the off-season.

My question is: How much influence does Jay Triano (and his staff) have in player acquisitions/transactions? For instance, when Bryan Colangelo deals for younger, more athletic players to play what he calls a more up-tempo style, is Triano bound simply by what Colangelo gives him or has Triano requested players that would suit an up-tempo style, because that's what the coach feels will be successful in the NBA?

Alan W, Toronto

A: Very little influence, actually. They are apprised of moves the general manager is thinking about, or trying to, make but they do not “suggest” any particular addition. It’s up to the staff to figure out how best to use the pieces the GM has put together. And it’s commonplace throughout the league.

That’s not to say there’s absolutely no interaction between the front office and the head coach during deliberations but Bryan tends to keep things close to his vest.

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Q: Hi Doug! Big fan of your blog. I have a question I think only you can answer: Where can I buy a Raptors summer league jersey? I'd love to have one. Just to be different. Thanks!

Andrew D, Toronto

A: They’re like shooting shirts with names on the back, you sure you want one? I have no idea if they make them or if you can buy them if they do. Tell you what: Let’s say they cost $50. Why not save that money since the product doesn’t exist and send it along to the Jim Proudfoot Corner of the Star’s Santa Fund this winter. It'd be greatly appreciated by all.

Kleiza's coming and the Warriors fetch an astonishing price

Hey, welcome to Linas Kleiza Day!

Denver's window to match the Raptors' offer sheet expires tonight and The Nuggets are not going to match.

Oh, and we’re two days away from the end of Toronto’s summer league run. I think if they go 5-0 they might erect a statue to Eric Hughes outside Thomas and Mack, right next to the ones for Tark and Wayne Newton.

Or not.

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But, on the flip side, if we’re two days away from the end of Toronto’s Vegas vacation, we’re also two days away from Bryan leaving a gathering of a couple dozen other GMs and that means he’ll probably be working overtime trying to get something done before the flight home.

Put in that kind of super-charged environment, it’s almost impossible for him to resist getting some trade done, or some move made.

This is something of an educated guess but I bet my mid-week next week we might have some resolution to the issues that plague the Raptors, namely what to do with the point guard spot and whatever small forward issues they need to resolve.

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Speaking of summer league and the non-roster guys you may think are impressing (I’m a perfect 5-for-5 on Days Without Watching A Minute Of Action), here’s something to consider:

Right now, the Raptors have 13 players with guaranteed contracts, they hold an option on Joey Dorsey and I don’t know that there’s room for anyone, to tell you the truth.

I think for financial reasons, they probably won’t go with a full 15-man roster (that seems to be a trend around the league) and if they are to make some kind of trade, or even use that juicy trade exception, it’s going to mean players coming back, or even extras being added.

So no matter what transpires on the court out there, I think it’s a simple fact of there being no room for anyone.

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Last call for the mail, boys and girls.

Not sure when the weakly, er weekly mailbag will get up but I suspect we’ll stay on the same schedule this week.

And since I’ve got all day Saturday to sit in the office and pretend to know what I’m doing steering the ship, I figure that’s as good a chance as any to get caught up with the mail.

So click here, challenge me and we’ll see what we can do.

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Seriously, this is going to be really cool.

Somehow, amid being reminded of the billion or so dollars in oft-questionable contracts that were doled out this summer, David Stern is going to have to sit across from Billy Hunter, plead his case for the NBA economic model being near ruins and Billy’s going to look up and say:

“Four hundred and fifty million dollars, David. That’s what the Golden State Warriors went for. Four hundred and fifty million dollars.”

That’s the largest sale price in NBA history for a team that has made the playoffs once in the last 16 seasons.

I tell ya, the league is really going to have a hard time pleading its economic hardship argument with things like that going on.

Now, heaven knows I have no expertise in the area of high finance or the inner workings of multi-hundred million dollar businesses, but the perception that things are horribly broken in the NBA model is going to be hard to prove to the common folk given what’s been going on the summer, capped by that extraordinary number the Warriors fetched Thursday.

I am sure there are teams in the league in precarious financial straits, just as I’m sure there are players who are horribly over-paid.

There would seem to be enough blame for why on both sides – owners and general managers who spend foolishly, players who don’t earn the princely salaries they are paid.

But I would also assume that both sides would realize that the general public sees this as billionaires arguing with multi-millionaires over an unimaginable financial pie and anything less than a settlement will be a catastrophe for all concerned.

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In a moment of digression, I’ll mention that not only has Super Son decided this would be a good summer to start learning the drums (and I have to tell you, the sound of a neophyte 13-year-old Ringo hammering away is something not many should live through) but he decided last night would be a good night for him and I to sit through Rocky IV.

On The Waterfront it’s not, and I think I need to be spending more time with him on finding the finer things in life. Like silence. And good flicks.

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Speaking of digressions, I need Bryan to do what he’s got to do this weekend, because starting Monday, I Are Golf Boy in my one-week-a-year-turn-on-the-links and I’d like a nice, relatively quiet week.

I’d also like sun (the best thing about basketball: No rainouts) so if anyone can hook me up with temps in the mid-20s and no humidity starting Monday, it’d be appreciated.

(Yes, it’s quiet in basketball land, hence the digressions).

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Hey, finally saw an Antoine Wright rumour out there.

Cleveland’s apparently got some interest and I guess that’s not a huge surprise since, you know, they don’t have a whole lot of players and they were calling about him last year around the trade deadline.

Boston was being bandied about as a possibility a couple of weeks ago so we should see him somewhere in the league next year.

But I’ll also throw this out to calm some things down: I don’t imagine there’s any kind of sign-and-trade deal out there. Teams making offers to Wright are going to be making offers below the mid-level exception and a) they won’t have to do a deal for financial reasons and b) there’s nothing at that price range that’s likely to help the Raptors on any team.

There has been little or no communication between Wright, his agents and the Raptors brass; that ship has sailed off unimpeded.

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I know, we’re a little bit shorter than usual today, blame the guys in Vegas.

Is there more coming? There has to be.

I’d love to sit back and digest exactly what this team is going to be like next year but you know we can’t for one simple reason: Bryan can’t be done.

No way.

The way I see it, there are still two crying needs on this roster: some frontcourt depth and a starting small forward.

I don’t think a frontcourt of Amir Johnson, Andrea Bargnani, Ed Davis and Reggie Evans is good enough by any means and whether it’s finding a starter to let Johnson come back off the bench or finding a suitable backup who’s long and athletic, something has to be done.

As for the small forward?

I think you diminish the energy of a second unit if you try to play Weems and DeRozan together and there will be some size and defensive issues to deal with when they are on the court at the same time.

Kleiza? I’m not sure he’s a great fit in a ball-movement kind of offence that wants to run a little bit. He’s a good player, no question, who can do a lot of things but I don’t know that he’s ready to handle extended starters minutes right at that moment. Maybe he evolves and eventually does, right now I’m not convinced he’s ready.

So where does a GM turn?

He turns to his assets and tries to turn them into better assets, and right now the assets he has are point guard depth, that big trade exception and the expiring contracts of Reggie Evans, Marcus Banks and Marco Belinelli.

What they can fetch is entirely unknown and to sit here and guess is folly.

I don’t know – and don’t imagine I’ll ever find out – just who is available out there. I’m going to try to find out a couple of names that they may have asked about and see where that leads us but in this day and age, there seems to be a lot of clamming up being done by GMs, scouts, contacts throughout the league.

But rest assured, if you or I can see the deficiencies in this roster, you know full well that the guy in charge does and if there’s one thing we’ve come to learn about Bryan, it’s that he’s more than willing to make a deal  he thinks will improve his team.

When does it happen? Who knows. I’d bet sooner rather than later because he’s out in Vegas surrounded by dozens of other GMs and that’s like a perfect storm to a trade-minded guy.

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Turk for Barbosa?

Pretty good deal, I guess.

Gets Bryan out from under a so-so contract he gave out, saves about $23 million or so over the life of the deal and Barbosa, if he’s healthy, seems like a pretty good fit for a team that wants to run a bit.

And there’s no reason to think he won’t be healthy; I’d have been concerned if a 27-year-old speedster had leg problems or knee woes, but a wrist injury? They’re easily overcome and there’s no reason he can’t be back to his usual self when next season rolls around.

Where’s he fit?

Well, he’s a backup combo guard no doubt about it; I think one of the plans was to let him and Diaw work in some kind of tandem running things on the court together but of course that plan was waylaid when the Charlotte deal was scuttled.

But Barbosa’s a valuable piece and I can see him fitting in pretty well. He can get around his man, he’s lightning-quick on the break and he brings a level of speed to the Raptors that they’ve only ever had when T.J. Ford was here.

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It’s good, I guess, that the Heroes Of The Hardcourt, Summer Edition, have Thursday off.

They can go get sized for their rings.

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Mail? Let’s take one more shot (well, we’ll probably take another one tomorrow) and see what we can get.

Click here if you’d like to send a card, a letter, a greeting but no rants, okay?

I’m thinking that with the summer upon us soon it might be time to scale back just a wee bit; the plan will be, I presume, to do the usual pap and drivel here Monday to Friday and then just have one omnibus weekend mail bag so I can maybe get some extra downtime on weekends.

Sound okay?

Am going to try to start it this week but that just means Bryan will come up with something silly for me to do Friday and react to on Saturday.

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Hey, how about my Argos!

2-1? That’s juggernaut city, folks. And, having covered them all of one day, I’ll take ownership of their turnaround.

And I do like Chet, er, Cleo Lemon as a pivot.

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Back to Summer League for a second.

You know what I think of it and I haven’t watched a single second of a single game but I have talked to people who are out there because I figure you want to know what’s going on.

The word:

DeRozan and Weems look really good, lots of good chemistry; DeMar seems to have worked quite hard in his ball-handling and they’ve had some highlight reel stuff. That’s to be expected, of course, since they’re facing mainly non-NBA talent, but the thing people are most impressed with is the improvement in things like ball-handling, defensive awareness and cohesion.

Early reports on Ed Davis? Athletic, hasn’t had moments of mind-wandering too often, can keep up athletically and has more offensive game than some thought, at least at the summer league level. Seeing how he hadn’t played five-on-five since February, everyone seems pleased with progress.

Solomon Alabi? First day, got this: “Hope he likes Erie.” Since then, he seems to have become more comfortable. Remains a long-term project.

And now the guy everyone wants to know about: The New Legend Joey (Not Tommy) Dorsey.

Kid’s a bull, built like a linebacker and doesn’t mind contact at all. Has looked good and aggressive and solid on the boards. Is he a keeper? Depending on how many guys they end up with on the final roster, there are those who think he might just get some kind of non-guaranteed deal.

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Finally, a Raptor trade that goes through

It’s done.

No, seriously. It’s done.

Just got word that the league has signed off on the trade that will send Hedo Turkoglu from Toronto to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa.

Dwayne Jones, a 6-11 centre who was the leading rebounder in D League last season before joining the Suns as a emergency backup when Robin Lopez was hurt, is also included in the trade.

It’s not big news, that’s for sure, since it’s been kicked around since Sunday night but as we saw with the aborted Toronto-Charlotte transaction, nothing is really done until it’s really done.

Barbosa struggled through a so-so 2009-10 season, missing almost two months with a wrist injury that finally required surgery in January.

He averaged 9.5 points and about 18 minutes a game as a backup. When fully healthy, the 6-2 202-pounter known as The Brazilian Blur because of his speed, has proved to a valuable backup combo guard and the Raptors hope he fits well into what they plan is a high-tempo offence.

Barbosa, a native of Sao Paolo, has spent his entire seven-year career with the Suns. He was the 28th overall pick in the 2003 draft – chosen by San Antonio and shipped to the Suns – and was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2007. He’s averaged 12.6 points per game in 466 regular season games, shooting 47 per cent from the field and 40 per cent from three-point range.

Jones doesn’t seem to fit into any long-term Raptors plans and could well be waived. The 27-year-old, undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in 2003, has bounced around the NBA, playing 82 games with Boston, Cleveland, Charlotte and Phoenix in five seasons.

A deal gets done but it won't likely be the last one

Seriously, something’s going to happen today.

Honest.

Of course, it’s something you know about so I don’t know exactly how we’ll write it but still …

It’s something.

Until then …

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I don’t think we’re ever going to find out the full, unabridged version of what transpired between the Raptors and Bobcats over the past 48 hours because there may be some time the two teams want to do business again and no one wants to air all their dirty laundry in public.

I will say this as a statement of fact: There was a deal agreed to at some level around mid-day Monday, so much so that the players involved where informed by teams and their agents that they were moving, one sure sign that there was abundant confidence at both ends that something was about to become official.

I don’t know when Dallas swooped in to start the process of acquiring Tyson Chandler; maybe it was after word of the impending deal leaked out, most likely there had been some previous communication between the teams that hadn’t amounted to anything.

But I will say this: It looks bad on the Bobcats, regardless of precisely how things unfolded. As I was told by one league guy during the whole schmozzle: “This is the first time something like this has happened” and all I can think back to is last February’s trade deadline when they pulled out of a TJ Ford trade about five minutes to the deadline.

But, no, there is nothing the league can do about it. As we keep saying, nothing is official until it’s official and the Raptors-Bobcats thing hadn’t progressed to the absolute drop-dead time, which is the trade conference call with the league to make sure the transaction works under the arcane salary cap rules.

It didn’t get that far so there’s nothing to do but close the book and move on.

I’d imagine, though, that it will likely be a little while before Bryan calls Rod Higgins with some other proposal.

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In the ‘moving on’ department, it makes things a bit dicey but not terribly so.

I’m sure Bryan has other irons in the fire (I was told at least one team has big interest in Jose) and I guarantee you he was working the phones and the room at the Vegas summer league for most of yesterday.

I can’t give you a when, or even a where, but I do think Bryan’s decision to trade Jose earlier this week means that he’ll do everything he can to move him in the next couple of weeks.

But, if there’s not a good deal out there, I can also see them having both point guards in camp in October. And I don’t know that it’d be such a bad thing if that happened.

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Let’s take our first shot at the mail this week and try for some variety, keeping in mind the Charlotte stuff will be eons old by the time we get to the Sunday morning reading.

Click away right here to get to where you want to go.

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How do you think Tyson Chandler feels?

Twice now, he’s been traded and yanked back, once when he was going from New Orleans to Oklahoma City because of worries about his foot and then in the whole Toronto-Charlotte debacle.

It could give a guy a complex until he realizes he’s got a $13 million contract and I guess you could put up with some inconveniences every now and then.

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Al Harrington at five years $34 million to tax-troubled Denver makes little sense to me, but this whole free-agent year’s been making little financial sense so what the heck.

What it does mean is the Raptors are like 99 per cent sure to land Linas Kleiza on that offer sheet he signed.

Unless, of course, Michael Jordan finds some way to mess it up.

Now, if Kleiza only signed his offer sheet last Thursday, which is the day we got to chat with him, it means Denver likely didn’t get a copy of it until Friday at the earliest so that means this Friday is when it becomes official.

And if they didn’t get it Friday, it’ll be Monday before it’s finally done.

Gotta love the waiting around, no?

And now with Turk gone and Boris Diaw not coming, I can see a situation where Kleiza becomes the starting small forward this season.

Or – and this is a bit of a stretch having talked to a few members of the staff – they may want to start Weems in that spot and really get out and run with him, DeRozan, Jack, Bargnani and Amir Johnson.

That, my friends, is not the basketball version of the ’27 Yankees and leads me to think Bryan’s still got some work to do.

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Can I just mention, since I haven’t in a while, that the Beloved Seattle Storms are 16-2, have won seven straight, are unbeaten at home and on a roll to beat all rolls?

Yep, I know how to pick ‘em.

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Speaking of Yankees, the passing of George Steinbrenner sure created a bit of a buzz, didn’t it?

Now, it’s a tad out of my bailiwick but, really, to hear him lionized as some great man kind of strikes me as odd.

He was a bully and blowhard.

He would belittle players and managers and had a “hey, look at me!” manner about him that irked me.

And the way he treated George Costanza sometimes? Yeesh. Of course, he was broken up that one time George died and he did try to keep him from having to go back to the chicken company but still …

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I know at least one of you (hi, Mike!) will be over the moon at the news The New Legend Joey Dorsey had 13 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto beat Houston 100-91 at the summer league Tuesday.

And, it being summer league and all, that’s all I’ll say about that.

Oh, maybe I will mention there was 57 fouls called in a 48-minute 40-minute game and 60 free throws shot.

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In case you were wondering, and after the teen boys caught the imagination of some last week you probably should be, the Canadian teen girls start their worlds Friday in France.

Canada’s in a tough group with the USA, France, Turkey, Russia and Japan; same format as the boys with five preliminary round games and the top four advancing to knockout quarter-finals.

Charlotte end of Raptors deal dead

The part of a complex Raptors deal that would have sent Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans to Charlotte is dead, killed by Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, according to league sources.

The teams had signed off on the transaction that would have shipped Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler to Toronto early Monday afternoon – with Chandler being told he was to become a Raptor – before it died later in the day.

The other part of the transaction – Hedo Turkoglu from Toronto to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa – is still a go and could be finished as early as today.

The nixing of the Charlotte part of the multi-team transaction is a sorry saga. The highly-respected Marc Spears of yahoo.com first reported Monday afternoon that Chandler told him he’d been traded. Evans also publicly said his goodbyes to Raptors fans through his twitter account before yahoo.com reported overnight that trade was in peril.

What it means in the long run remains to be seen; Toronto officials are in Las Vegas and offered no comment.