Turk talks and a TV special shows there are indeed too many channels

Okay, except for the tardiness of this one, I think we might be getting back to some semblance of normalcy around these parts.

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I see Hedo’s weighing in from afar again, this time ripping the organization and Bryan in the wake of the Bosh stuff last week, which I still contend is little more than a titillating recap of opinions oft stated.

I’m not sure this isn’t a case of the pot calling the kettle black because I do think Turk spent a huge part of the season taking advantage of an organization that mis-handled him from the start and except for one little half-baked apology on the day after the season ended, I don’t think he took enough responsibility for how things turned out.

(Of course, I also think the organization coddled him too much from the start so there’s enough blame to go around)

Anyway, to Turk’s points:

Yes, Bryan may have been intemperate in putting all his thoughts (again, stuff he’d said for months) into one broadcast interview but that’s hardly reason to suggest the organization is fatally flawed or that people are never going to come and play for the Raptors.

Are there things that can be done better? Sure.

They can get a group of guys that like each other and who all play hard and let them go play and grow together.

They can – and should – abandon the theory of “one star and bit pieces” and let a team grow.

This has – so far – been one of the worst summers the franchise has had to deal with. The departure of the team’s best player, the two failed trades, the bickering that’s been going on here and there have done nothing to enhance the team’s reputation around the league.

Luckily for them, though, the summer is not over, there will be more done and eventually things will calm down, they will throw the ball up and then, and only then, can anyone assess what’s transpired.

And then we’ll be able to better judge if there’s any lingering problems from these trying times.

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So the e-mail drops early Monday morning from the good folks at Turner and NBA TV to say there’s one-hour special Tuesday night to announce the opening night games, the Christmas Day games and the Martin Luther King Day games for this coming season.

As the one and only Kevin O’Neill once said:

“Will the ridiculousness never end?”

Seriously, I know it’s all about the hype and there are lots of hours to fill on a television network but this might be the most silly thing I’ve ever heard of.

An hour?

For five or six days of games?

Unreal.

They should get LeBron to host it.

I’m betting the words “Toronto Raptors” are not spoken once during the hour unless they’re a visiting team for some MLK Day game.

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Hey, real basketball starts this week.

Well, real in the sense that the national men’s team starts working out Wednesday for what’s going to be a very full month for them.

I’m still not sure exactly who will be in camp, or how many, but they do have to hit the ground running so I don’t imagine there’ll be too many superfluous players.

They’ve got the game against China in Vancouver on the 10th, the two here against France on the 12th and 13th and then it’s off to tournaments in Greece and Turkey before the worlds.

That’s a pretty ambitious schedule but that’s a good thing. They need to find out pretty quickly how they stack up against good competition and we’ll have a good idea of what they are by the time the worlds begin.

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I know you’ve been dying to know that the Mighty Yankees have a couple of rainouts to make up this week before the regular season comes to an end and if we’ve learned anything this year, it’s how to deal with adversity.

A couple of wins, a tie and more losses than I care to remember but we’re having fun, the kids really are better ballplayers today than they were at the first practice and that’s about all that matters, right?

Okay, end of digressions. For now.

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I read somewhere this week that among the candidates for the Phoenix GM job is Tommy Sheppard, who’s an assistant in Washington right now.

Goes to show you that you can climb a ladder because when I first started this gig, Tommy was a PR guy in Denver.

Maybe one day I can be on short list for a GM job. That’d be pretty cool, no?

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We may as well start this now because I’m going to need stuff to fill up this week, I think.

So click here, send mail, tell me a story or whatever you like. It does help pass the day.

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All right, there’s a house to clean and grass to cut and today starts Super Son’s Birth Week so we’ll check back a little later.

Happy Simcoe Day.

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Comments

[Joe]

Hi Doug,

Happy birthday to your son. I hope he has a fabulous birth week.

Hedo's comments just reaffirm that something must have been seriously wrong with the relationships on this team. That begs the question: Did the team's leaders: BC, Triano, and Bosh step up and do anything to get things in order?

Blogger's note: They did, unsuccessfully it seems

[sam]

Turk is amazing, no?
Mails it in for the better part of the year - is well compensated for his efforts - or lack there of - then has the nerve to complain and point fingers.

[RK]

I'd back you up for a GM anytime, Doug. By the way, there have been reports of Rasho signing a 1+1 yr. deal with Olympiacos Pirrhaeus (that's Greece). Good for him.

[chris]

Doug - can you name one team in the last 30 yrs (other than the Pistons) that won a championship with your team vs. allstar strategyu?

[Jon K.]

I read Turk's comments and it just shows what a no-class so-and-so he is. Last year's Turk was clearly not the player we saw the year before, but come in to camp out of shape, hurt and then never get a rhythm is the GM's fault? Getting sick enough not to play then not having the good judgement to not go out to the clubs is the organization's fault? No freakin' way. Glad to see that BC took the high road, but would've liked to see him rip on Turk too, he's an easy target.

I respected Bosh and Turk even after they left - but sheesh. Sometimes it's better to just say thanks for the opportunity and move on.

[james]

Wow, I'm glad Bco ridded himself and this organization of that brutal contract

[Yama F]

Doug,

As for Turk, he should be the last person to defend someone else being criticized for lack of effort. Turk still has ways to go in that department.

[DP]

Like you say Doug, if the money is there, players will come (see Barnes, Matt). Turk's sullen, mopey act will wear thin on a Phoenix team that is going to be lucky to nab an 8th seed in the Western Conference. And Bosh never managed to get his team out of the first round. He can complain all he wants but it was on him to carry this team and he didn't. He's the Lamar Odom of the East, a fantastic third option but as a franchise player, not so much.

[Craig]

Why is it that Colangelo has not lost his job? Nearly all of the choices he has made over the last 3 years have been terrible.

[LeeZ]

Re Turk's comments: first of all, I think we can all agree that the man has zero, and I do mean ZERO credibility and zero legs to stand on. So let's not look at the messenger, but rather the message. The "no one wants to come to Toronto" bit is ridiculous, all the more so since Turk himself not only wanted to come here, but wanted to come here so badly he reneged on a verbal commitment to Portland. But I'm more interested in what he said about BC's slagging of Bosh. Doug, I have to disagree with you on this one: Turk is absolutely right, although compared to Gilbert in Cleveland, BC was practically Mother Theresa. But BC slagged Bosh after the fact, making veiled and not-so-veiled accusations. Doug, you said he'd been saying these things for months. Well, I mustn't have been listening, because the ONLY thing I remember him saying (for public consumption) was that some outside influence may be in Bosh's ear. Nothing about him checking out. Nothing about him refusing to play once he had been medically cleared. Now, if BC confronted Bosh directly (in private), that's an entirely different matter, and gives BC the credibility to make the post-losing-Bosh-in-free-agency barbs. Doug, do you know whether BC, or anyone else in the organization for that matter, did in fact call Bosh onto the carpet for checking out or not playing when healthy? Failing that, Turk's bashing of BC is entirely justifiable and correct, at least the way I see it.

[LeeZ]

Just listened to Jack Armstrong on The Fan talk about Turk's comments. I agree with every. single. word. It should be required listening.
http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20100802_112251_7716

[WH]

Typical. Take millions of dollars from the organization. Play like a putz. Party. Blame the organization and disrespect the fans on your way out of town. No doubt the Phoenix media and Suns fans will be subjected to the same lame excuses game after game, until they tire of him. Bet he'll be "fatigued" after the world championships in Turkey.

[Lorie Paddock]

Happy Simcoe Day to you, too! Or is it only called Simcoe Day in the GTA? Well, it doesn't really matter to me what it's named as long as it's a day I don't have to work. Birthday congrats to Super Son, and is his gift this year going to be a new sax, or a drum set? Speaking of unbridled joyful sounds, what is your opinion of the decision made by FIBA to ban vuvuzelas from the worlds in Turkey? A necessary move would you say, or is it instead a violation of fans' rights to cheer on their team any way they choose? (Hey can you just imagine the sound those things would make in an enclosed building!?!?)

Blogger's note: I cannot imagine the din they would make in an arena and applaud FIBA

[Nick]

So Doug, whats the word? Is the boss sending you to Turkey for thee World Championships? Grunt TV, the International Edition...has a nice ring to it eh?

Blogger's note: I'll be there

[fiveteamer]

The franchise should move to Vegas.

It is clear top players want no part of playing in Canada.

How much more proof do you need?

[Ren]

Some mentioning here and there that the Raps have a real interest in Bobby Brown, especially after pretty good play at SL and good chemistry with the Young Guns. If they are leaning this way, it seems Calderone and Evans (with the signing of Anderson) are surely on their way somewhere - perhaps for that all elusive veteran center. Problem is, who is left? I suppose with the trade exception BC has a little leverage, but it seems that he does, for once, have his hands tied after a pretty lousy summer thus far. The deals he had in place in the beginning, as you said, would have made this team maybe a contender for a spot, but now, it seems it will be very hard to come by. Can you speculate, if the above is what becomes the direction, a top 5 list of the centers Colangelo might look for? Humor us, Mr. Smith!

[Matt]

Do you know if Rowan Barrett or Denham Brown will be representing Canada at this World Championships?

Blogger's note: No

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Dog day afternoon to ya, Doug,
"We thank 'Player X' for his services and we wish him the best with his career." – That's pretty much the sum of it for intelligent parting words out of any GM's mouth. Beyond that, whether right, wrong or indifferent, any remarks simply aren't productive. I'll say the same thing about BCo's blurbs that I said about Bosh's: He's smart enough to know better (the same applies to Hedo; well, his words anyway, not so sure about the smarts part). If attracting players to T.O. has ever been an issue, and I don't know that it ever was, at least to this point, pulling a Ricciardi isn't going to help matters any. Time to put the "yap" to rest and talk future Raps and positive game plans. Defensive center, anyone? Cheers.

[lisa]

I just wanted to thank Chris for the years/memories. He worked hard however he needed help. when we signed Turk i thought we would have a great season however Turk did nothing for the team. He was a total waste of time & money.
Good riddens to Turk & all the best to Bosh.

[Mike U]

Doug,
Why don't you think that last season had lot to do with Jay Triano being a soft coach? I know from previous comments that you don't think it's a coaching issue and that BC feels that Triano is the right coach. At the same time, Bryan has made a lot of bad choices. Why isn't Triano being mentioned as much as Turk, Bosh, or Jose these days? Because I think those three players, under another system, would be a pretty good big 3.

[Steph]

Doug, If BC uses the TPE will that take the Raptors into the luxury tax? And if it does I would guess that Brian would have to go the the Tall Foreheads at MLSE to use it. Is this correct?

Blogger's note: No; they could stay under the tax using almost all of the trade exception. But he's got approval to go into it if he has to anyway

[Dave in Oakville]

I agree with Craig above, I never heard word one about Bosh choosing not to play even though he had been medically cleared to do so. I would go so far as to say this.... Turk has a point, other players will note that the GM threw a former player under the bus and discussed things that would only have been known to the player and the Raptors training staff, coach etc. I would bet that Bosh's teammates did not know he had been medically cleared to play but basically benched himself. LeeZ says listen to Jack Armstrong and he is right.. Jack has a perspective worth hearing.

Colangelo was out of line and has done the organization no favours with his remarks. Doesn't matter if what he said is the truth.. should not have been said by him.

Also remember, Turk waived his 5 million trade kicker and agreed to a reduced contract to get out of Toronto. What will we think when he returns to form and helps Phoenix this year. This guy is still a great ball player, who was basically mismanaged and allowed to loaf and sulk at the team's expense.

Doug, for whatever reason, you are being too soft on BC on this.

[ldc]

Hey Doug

What do you enjoy watching more: Fiba or Fifa. Majority of the world would pick the latter, what about you?

Blogger's note: I'd probably take the basketball.

[Pablo]

Hello Doug, long-time reader from Spain. I'm a bit confused with your comment regarding the basketball national men’s team. According to you, they start working on Wednesday, but Spain's basketball national team played against some Canada national team on Sunday (you can check any spanish newspaper). Isn't that team representing Canada at the World Championship? Is it some kind of junior Canada team? I would thank you any clarification because I'm a bit puzzled.

Blogger's note: It was a development team of mostly youngsters who aren't ready for the senior program and will bear little resemblance to the team that's in Turkey

[Jean-Marie]

“Turkoglu added that the chemistry in Toronto was never right and the Raptors never used his talents properly”.
Nobody can really deny that Hedo always was - and still is - a joke. Nobody can forget the way he presented himself in Toronto from the beginning: having just betrayed his own word with Portland.
Why did he decide to come to Canada – and what for - nobody knows. Why is he speaking right now, after being on vacation all season long, and why is he defending Chris Bosh (who, allegedly, didn’t mesh properly with him) nobody knows either.
The main reason for all this just seems to be properly described by a single word: buffoon! Buffoon with the typical levantine ability to turn things around, the typical habit to betray, the typical mistrust!