So much for a slow off-day

Guy takes the long way home and lands to find out about buyouts and trades and a reason to have to pay attention to the dunk contest on all-star weekend.

Should have stayed on the road.

-

So long, Peja, we hardly knew ye.

I guess there were two surprises in the whole Stojakovic departure Thursday:

That it happened so quickly.

And that no one wanted to offer anything for him.

As was made quite clear to me last night, the Raptors explored every option and when they couldn’t find one – and figured they wouldn’t find one in the next three weeks or so – it was time to pull the plug.

A buyout was always a possibility but I had been told it was quite unlikely to happen before the trade deadline so that Bryan could explore all his options with an “asset.”

The GM did explore all his options and didn’t find one but I wonder if the fact Peja had some kind of promise in Dallas, as opposed to, say, New York or New Jersey or Miami or Atlanta or some other Eastern Conference team, might have factored into it.

It’s always best to let a guy go to the other conference and now that Peja’s apparently out of the clutches of any conference rival, why not let him go early.

Now, about his knee?

Was he faking, embellishing, using a low pain threshold to take a wee vacation? I don’t know and I won’t ever doubt a guy who says he’s in pain but I would think if it were different circumstances, you might have seen him out there.

But that’s between him and whatever team employs him.

I do wonder, however, what guys like Kleiza and Johnson and Calderon and Bayless must have thought when a sore knee dragged on for weeks and weeks while they went out and played hurt.

Maybe that was a factor in the timing? Who knows.

-

So DeMar’s got Darryl Dawkins helping out with his dunks now that DeRozan’s replacing Brandon Jennings in the all-star weekend contest and that’s all well and good.

I guess Vince wasn’t available to help out?

Anyway, I’m hoping one other aspect of Dawkins’s personality rubs off during whatever time they spend together:

Quotability.

DeMar’s a nice kid and all and he’s always around when we need someone to talk to but, really, he’s got to pick it up in the quotes department.

The ones the other night about being tired of losing and feeling like he was back in high school were the best we’ve gotten out of him in a while and, truth be told, they weren’t so great.

It’s probably just a function of youth because not many kids hit the league running in the quote department and here’s hoping some interaction with Dawkins helps out.

After all, a dude who once named a dunk “The Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam, Glass-Breaker-I-Am-Jam” knows his way into a reporter’s heart.

-

What’s the trade?

Well when I was talking to people after getting on the ground late last evening, it was still very much evolving but the only thing that really matters is that Toronto’s going to get this Alexis Ajinca kid from Dallas somehow.

(I warn you, again, that nothing’s done until it’s done but this looks done).

Who is he?

Young kid, just 22, a legit 7-footer who has some shooting range and he barely played with the Mavs after a short bench-warming start to his career in Charlotte.

Is he an upgrade in any way?

Well, he’s better today than Solomon Alabi is and he’s taller and probably fits the offence better than Joey Dorsey does but he will come in as the fourth big and there might not be a lot of minutes for him.

Please, don’t go all “Ajinca’s the answer” on me, he’s a bit player on a team with a very bad record.

-

Orlando?

They’re on a bit of a roll, seven wins in their last 10 games, and as Brian tells in this piece, they’ve got some, um, magic going for them of late.

Turk?

The old fella’s been okay, he’s had some big games in his old hometown and seems far more engaged.

Go figure.

-

I can’t wait for that Pittsburgh-Green Bay Super Bowl, can you?

And I’d like to thank the NBA schedule folks for giving us this Sunday and Super Bowl Sunday off. First time that’s happened in a long while and for a guy who usually cares more about the social aspect of the NFL playoffs than the actual games, I’m quite happy.

-

Here’s one out of the mail:

Q: On Friday when the Raptors were in Toronto playing the Pistons, Reggie Evans was there on the sidelines, walking around sharply dressed in his suit.

I can’t imagine why he would be rehabbing in the frozen wastes of Toronto if he didn’t have to be (isn’t he from Florida and aren’t all the doctors and therapists in the U.S.?). Is there a requirement in NBA contracts that injured players have to travel with the team and show up at games? Or does it depend on the player’s contract?

 

 

Andrew M, Toronto

A: Yeah, I might pick Florida over Toronto these days but I don’t have that chance.

And neither does Reggie, actually.

Teams generally demand that injured players stay in town so that team physicians and trainers and the like can get their hands on them each day.

The exceptions, and we’ve seen it here with Reggie and Peja, rest his soul, are when teams send injured players to be looked at by specialists or to rehab with people the player might be more comfortable or familiar with.

But the general rule of thumb is that injured players stick with their teams; it’s not a contractual obligation but a traditional one.

-

Oh yeah, one more good thing about the trade with Dallas if it goes through as expected.

Won’t have to answer any more “how come they don’t bring that Printezis guy over, he’s great?” questions.

-

Man, those Delta Airlines pilots sure know how to instill confidence in passengers.

Guy gets on a tiny jet in Minneapolis (how else would you get home from San Antonio?) and the guy driving points out that it’s a bit cold in Toronto and there’s some weather coming in as we’re headed that way and just in case, the “emergency airport” is Rochester, New York so we’ll be okay.

And then we’re sitting there waiting patiently with the door still open about 30 minutes after departure time and the dude comes back on to tell us they’ve got enough oxygen for the pilots if it was a domestic flight but there are different regulations for international flights and we have to wait for them to bring some more.

For the pilots. Not for us.

Yeah, I love travel.

-

Want a shot at the mail? Take it here, please.

-

Okay, here’s the deal.

There are a few other tugs on my life, believe it or not, so I’m afraid an In-Game Bloggy Thingy can’t happen tonight, which is too bad. Hope you understand, though.

Don’t think there’s anything up for tomorrow, although I’m told (and I don’t get a lot of say in the matter) there might be so I guess we just have to stay tuned in the morning.

Sorry, but things happen.

 

Comments

[Brent]

Doug,
Why would Dallas give the Raps cash and a pick instead of just releasing Ajinca outright? All I can think of is some kind of luxury tax saving maybe??? Help!
Thanks.

Blogger's note: If that's the case with the cash and picks, you're probably right. Let's let the dust settle and see

[HopeCaper]

Hey Doug, thanks for the poop on Peja. The NBA is its own kind of animal but wouldn't the Raps be better off to just release him than buy him out? As in cheaper? This buy out idea then go negotiate with anoth team doesn't seem right to me. I know we have seen other examples before and it doesn't seem any "righter" now. If a guy takes a buyout then he should not be allowed to play in the NBA again that season.

Blogger's note: If the Raptors just released him, they would owe him every dime left on his contract; if they negotiate a buyout, maybe it saves them $500,000 or $1 million or something like that. Every penny counts, I guess. And, yes, it is its own animal.

[Mike D.]

No risk here of going all "Ajinca's the answer" on you, but I can feel a good "He might fit the offense better than Joey Dorsey, but I can't wait to see a 7-foot 220-pound guy try to keep the Eastern Conference bruisers out of the paint on defense" coming on.

Re Peja....it did seem that maybe his knee ailment was a lot like Antonio Davis' back problem when Davis returned to the Raptors.

[Derek S]

Morning Doug,
Assuming the trade goes through for Ajinca, I can't imagine that the Raps would keep him, Dorsey and Alabi long term. I suspect that one of the three would be released or traded before next year. If I had to guess, I suspect they play Ajinca a fair bit between now and the end of the year, to see if he has any game/potential. If so, they probably move Alabi, and if not, they probably move Ajinca. Given how young they both are, probably doesn't make sense to keep two young "development" guys on the roster at the same position. Your thoughts?

Blogger's note: Dorsey's contract expires and I don't envision a scenario that he comes back

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Morning Doug, and welcome home.
Wow, when was the last time the Raptors were actually working from a position of strength? What does the buyout do in terms of cash left in hand for BCo to use to swing a trade or two here? Would you say that some manner of trade is more a matter of "when" than "if"? Sure hope so. Clearly, some help is needed, and there's only one guy that can make that happen; the sooner the better. Cheers!

Blogger's note: No impact on financial end of trades

[Tabber]

Hey Doug, your colleague Feschuk is positing that Peja's release is a goodwill gesture, which got me wondering how does the goodwill get returned to the Raptors? We saw Mourning get the same treatment and I can't recall any resultant goodwill coming back to the Raptors. Is this really just translation for "the guy didn't want to play here so we paid him a chunk o' cash to keep the potential bad influence out of the dressing room"? And is this as common in other markets as it might appear to be in Toronto, or is it an anti-Toronto bias among players - usually American, but obviously not in this case?

[Wilber]

So, is this a case of a non-trade that's really a trade?
BC talking to Dallas and they're interested in Peja, but not his contract and BC wants Ajinca in return. So BC says, okay, we'll do an "Anjinca for spare parts" deal, but the parts include some unknown amount cash, which they'll use to buy out Peja's contract. Is not part of this deal Dallas giving BC some consideration for getting them Peja without the contract? It's two independent transactions on paper, but it seems they're really not.

Am I off base here?

[sam]

I suspect Ajinca is a project at best. If it works out all the better, if not, nothing ventured nothing gained.

[Lorie]

Hiya, Doug!
Man, that is some glamorous life you lead! Oxygen only for the pilots??? What is that all about? Sometimes I wish I was able to do a get out of Dodge more than I am currently able to. Maybe not. And not by air!!! :) So, yes: a Packers vs. Steelers Super Bowl is what I'm rooting for, too. But that's just the football stuff. What about that all-important, critical-to-the-sports-spectacle portion: The Half-Time Show? (I won't even gripe about the U.S.-Only Half-Time Commercials I am prevented from seeing.)Now, the Black Eyed Peas are likely to be entertaining. And one hopes they deliver fewer cringe worthy moments than poor old Roger and Pete served up last year. But, I wonder, if asked who would YOU choose to entertain the millions of viewers at the half? (My personal fave? An unbreakable tie between Prince and U2). Salut!

[John S]

Colangelo said that the buyout was for a "nominal amount".
Any word as to how much the buyout was? With the size of Peja's contract this year, it'd be nice if the Raps got to save a lot of money (with the naive assumption that the Raps will use that money wisely instead of hoarding it for MLSE).

Blogger's note: Don't know at the moment

[Juan]

Doug
Re: the potentially pending trade with Dallas: this is being spun as a separate deal but I'm a bit skeptical about the coincidence and the timing. In reality isn't this effectively a trade of Peja to Dallas for Ajica and picks? I can only assume there is some strange capology-related reason the deal has been structured the way it has.
Am I way off in left field here?

Blogger's note: There's lots of cap and tax issues at play

[MC_Brad]

Any relevance to the trade being with Dallas and Peja signing with Dallas??? purely coincidental or maybe an outright trade couldnt be made, but this was a way to accomodate everyone?

[Steven]

Hey Doug,

So given the massive complications of the NBA Salary Cap, what does the Buyout mean to Toronto. Is Peja's Salary instantly gone and they are now under the cap, or does it stick around till the end of the season?

Blogger's note: It sticks around but it's not an issue

[franz joseph third]

maybe instead to keep pointin on poor players poort coaching and poor effort
wd be time to look at the organizattion behind them
in many year of work what goal did they accomplish?
win?grow good canadians players? something special for the comunity?
what is they made a 2nd round playoff in 20 years of worK????
wow do they always have the same players and same coachin stuff? i guess not
so dnt complain so much on players and jay cuz they r loosin
when the season still had to start the whole nba was thinkin that the raps were the worste team in the league, and by now they r not so
what do u expect?
keep your foots on the ground smithboy and be realistic, the team is doin all what they can, 8 players healthy and not completely and u complain because they lost vs the team that own the best record in the league?
dear smith r u becoming another of the blind raptor fans out there?
stop walkin in the ski and say the truth
Raptor Organization SUKS that's it
the past and the present support my words

aufwiedersehen Franz

all the players with some talent in that roster shld be leavin raps as soon as possible, if they care to win and not just the $$$$$$

[Ian Murray]

Awesome that the Printezis questions will disappear. Although you can blame your colleague Feshcuk for starting those!! I think he did an article awhile back about the guy. Until that article I think most Raptors fans forgot about the dude.

[DMcCalgary]

Guys like Pipit, lgd, and Mark should stick to managing their fantasy league teams, where there are more willing trade partners to cater to their whims.
Doug, in Feschuk's article, he quotes BC as saying Peja was bought out for "a nominal amount". If that is accurate, then this ends up being a huge saving beyond 0.5-1 million. Have you further insight into the numbers involved here than Feschuk had?

Blogger's note: No, not at the moment

[Peter]

Doug, you have the worst travel agent. Do you book those flights yourself or is someone out to get you?

[Pipit]

Whew, had the chance to read the comments the past blogs and I was surprised how famous I am. I didn't know there's a lot of over sensitive people out there. Hey, but you need to thank me Doug for how many hits in your blogs I caused. There were a few who put in their time just to solely comment on me. When you open your blog to the public, that means you need to be ready for some tough criticism. Doug reviews comments and he solely decides what to publish. So for other posters who gets offended on my comments, I don't encourage you to read it. Or you can comment so there will be more hits on Doug's blog. Win-win situation for this blog that we love. Let's get back to basketball which is this blog all about. Doug, about Alexis Ajinca, is this another Euro type player?

[joeu]

I don't have a problem with the buyout / free agent signing manoeuvre in this case as Peja apparently left 400k on the table when he agreed to the trade from Charlotte.

What I do regret is not getting to see him play with the raps - I think he could have helped the team get a few wins, and helped a bit in the development of the young players.

[JHK]

I thought a buy-out would result in shedding the entire contract but no? So we are still paying Peja 14 mill?

[TLI]

I'm really not all that concerned with the how's and why's and wherefore's of Peja's departure -- just really sorry we didn't get to watch him shoot for a while with the Raptors. Loved to see him when the Kings came to town, back in the day.

[The J]

Hey Doug,
Off topic, but I might be in San Antonio in a couple of months and was wondering if you had any recommendations outside of the obvious choice of the River Walk? Any top picks for places on the River Walk?

Blogger's note: Mi Tierra is open 24 hours and is great; Quarry Market is really good; go to Durty Nellie's under the Sheraton and find the guy who knows Cito and Casa Rio would be good

[GM]

* "the Raptors explored every option and when they couldn’t find one – and figured they wouldn’t find one in the next three weeks or so – it was time to pull the plug." Why, though? Are they clairvoyant? How do they know what they might find in the next three weeks? And if they did, indeed, find nothing for him, couldn't they buy him out then? Are there advantages to buying him out now as opposed to three weeks from now?
* You express uncertainty now over whether he was faking injury with his knee, but throughout his time in Toronto, you maintained that he actually was injured and couldn't play. I wish the team had played hardball with him. Tell him, if they suspected he wasn't hurt, that the only way they'll move him is if he plays. If he doesn't, they'll keep him around until the trade deadline. It's a shame he can have his cake and eat it, too.
* "Please, don’t go all “Ajinca’s the answer” on me, he’s a bit player on a team with a very bad record." But he was a bit player on a team with a very good record in Dallas.

[Bob Wesley]

Hey Doug,Is Dallas going to bring Georgios Printezis over?

Blogger's note: Good one

[Dave]

I am a little confused...are the Raps trading some TPE for Ajinca, cash and a pick? Or what are the Raps giving/getting for/with Ajinca?