The chatter begins, at least publicly, as trade day nears

And so it begins anew.

Rumours, rumblings and leaks.

Yes, the Bulls did ask the Raptors about Andrea Bargnani a couple of weeks ago or so.

Yes, the Bulls wanted to see if Toronto had any interest in Carlos Boozer.

No, there are “no active talks” between Chicago and Toronto today, according to a league source who’d know, which should tell you all you need to know about the Raptors interest in Boozer.

And seeing how Boozer makes about $15 million this year to the $10 million Bargnani will make (Boozer has two years and about $32 million left after this season; it’s two years and about $23 for Bargnani), there’d have to a bit more going out from Toronto any way, and not sure what Chicago would want.

But that’s beside the point, really.

I don’t know why Toronto would want Boozer, to tell you the truth. Sure, he’s got some skill and is having a pretty good season but he’s also 31 years old and I wonder if his skillset fits.

That stretch for spot for Toronto, given the construction of the rest of the roster, needs to have some ability to make a three-pointer because those shots will present themselves; and I don’t now if Boozer fits the bill.

Now, this could be re-visited – the whole Rudy Gay thing cooled considerably before it was revived after the first Memphis trade – so we shall never say never but … but every indication I got from everyone I talked with last night suggests this is a non-starter today.

Of course, it’s just the first of many we are likely to hear in the next couple of weeks. Lucky us.

-

I will say this, and think I did in the noon chat yesterday, but in his search for a backup point guard, I would suspect Bryan would make a call to one place that makes the most sense:

San Antonio.

They’ve got Tony Parker and Nando DeColo and Patty Mills and the one kid who might more intriguing as many:

Cory Joseph.

Not sure what the Spurs would want – probably just an expiring contract and an end-of-bench guy – but calling about Joseph’s availability would be one of the first ones I make if I’m the GM.

I’m not the GM, of course, so who knows what happens.

-

I had never heard this song before, or this singer, but when I was talking to a buddy at Indiana she was mentioned so …

Not bad at all.

-

So how thrilling and exciting is this job?

Well, Air Canada didn’t screw me over so that’s a good thing (I thank the good thoughts from the folks in the chat and wish I could e-mail some of them and say thanks but addresses are lacking) but it turned into a long one anyway.

Land, have to get to hotel and at least start the Nothing But Net main (here you go if you missed it) and the wander up to the team hotel to spend half an hour in the lobby chatting with Rudy Gay.

That’s done, sit around the lobby (and I was like brown shoes at a black-tie affair in my jeans and their ritzy hotel) for about 90 minutes waiting for the Terrence Ross announcement.

Get it, talk to him for a few, finish off the Net stuff, wander into bar there for a quick one, down to St. Elmo’s for the best shrimp cocktail ever, some catching up with my old bartender friend Chuck and a couple of quick ones before it closes.

Stop at the Marriott sports bar to catch the end of Lakers-Celtics and start of Bulls-Nuggets, walk back to my place and crashed by 11.

Too bad, though. Had fully hoped for a whole St. Elmo’s night; maybe next time. Hate when work gets in the way of planned fun.

-

Mail?

I’m hearing from an Irregular that there might be issues with the link here, we’ll get that looked at today sometime. Until then, use askdoug@thestar.ca to get in touch.

Thanks.

-

One cool thing.

We’re sitting in the lobby waiting for Ross and I see a vaguely familiar face come in the door about 40 feet away.

He’s walking right by us and, yes, it’s Fred Jones!

Yeah, the ex-Raptor, ex-dunk contest champion and a really friendly guy.

He sits down for about half an hour to catch up and we find out he’s running a private social media site for athletes to stay in touch for charitable events and the like.

He lives here in Indy but, of course, was born and raised in Portland where he ran an AAU program for teens. And one kid who played on that team you might have heard of:

Terrence Ross.

Weird, the things that happen when you lobby-sit for a couple of hours.

-

Seriously, what are the chances the Air Canada flight that’s supposed to come to Indy today to pick me up for the 7 a.m. flight back tomorrow makes it out of Pearson this afternoon?

And, while I really like Indianapolis a lot, we were stranded here for about two days thanks to an ice storm a couple of years ago and I’m not entirely sure I want to do it again.

-

I hear and read that it’s like summer over in Sochi and there’s no snow and no cold and it’s one year minus one day until the 2014 Winter Games begin?

Now, I have no idea if I’m going to be asked to go or not – and not entirely sure three weeks away from my beat is the best idea – but covering a winter Games in spring or summer weather sure sounds good.

But now’s also the time we generally start paying attention the women and men who’ll probably dominate a lot at the Winter Games (we are far more successful there than at the summer event) and given that it’s a quiet time in pro sports, start finding out about those athletes, would you?

I’ve always thought Olympians get short shrift from the public, and the media, so maybe it’s time to change that a bit and for everyone to start learning about the athletes they’ll cheer for a year from now.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[sportschic]

Can someone help out an Irregular? I was looking for the chat yesterday to see what I missed, but I can't find it anywhere. It's not here on the blog and I don't see it on the Basketball section either.

Blogger's note: Here you go
http://livenews.thestar.com/Event/Raptors_chat_with_Doug_Smith_at_noon

[JT]

Doug, interesting analysis on Boozer. My question is, wouldn't adding Boozer now in exchange for Bargs (in general, salaries would have to match) increase the talent, toughness and defensive level of the Raptors for the remainder of the contracts? Sure, it's an extra $9mil over 2 years but ridiculous amounts of money being paid to Gay doesn't didn't seem to matter either. And the money I'm sure will somehow even out (Bargs plus Kleiza/Anderson/Fields just for salary purposes)

[Matt M]

I hope that the Raptors have no interest in Boozer. He seems too expensive and not good enough offensively (not enough range to complement DeRozan and Gay) and especially defensively to be a good fit with the Raptors. But I guess if he was the Bulls would want to keep him. If this is the market for Bargnani then the Raps might as well keep him and hope he thrives in a third big role.

[Heath]

Any comments on the Pete Thamel article on si.com? http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20130207/andrew-wiggins/?sct=uk_wr_a3
Ro Russell sounds like an athletic pimp.

[Jamie]

Hey Doug, I can't find a link to yesterday's noon chat on the Star sports page. Any idea if it's still accessible?

Blogger's note: Here you go
http://livenews.thestar.com/Event/Raptors_chat_with_Doug_Smith_at_noon

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
I always liked the idea of having Cory Joseph on the raps as a backup or 3rd pg.
He's young and could potentially develop and you know he's gotten some solid input from Popovich and Parker the last couple of years.

[Colin W]

If we are looking for a decent backup PG to run this offence, is Cory Joseph really the answer? I see you mention the name but not the justification as to why the Raptors should even consider him. Sure would appreciate if you could provide a couple of reasons for your thinking.

Also, did the Tallheads at the Star tell you to change your profile picture? The present one shows the strain of covering a losing team for the past several years. Bring back the other one ;)

Blogger's note: He's young, talented, would be quite willing to learn and play 12-14 minutes a night; his contract is small and he's a true point guard. I'd rather have young than old in that spot and, realistically, that's all they're going to get. No way a vet wants to come play less than half a season on a non-guaranteed, pro-rated minimum deal.

[Jeff]

I Think in the Nothing but Net you forgot to list Jamario Moon as a former Raps participant of the Dunk Contest. :)

Blogger's note: Think I did; oops

[ian]

Can you trade for an injured player? If Lakers wanted to deal Gasol, could Raps do it if they wanted?

Blogger's note: Yep

[Lorie]

Hello Doug - Just a gentle reminder to follow-up on that zany combo of away shoes and home jerseys. And isn't it fun that Raptor fashion stuff is more and more a hot topic around here? And in your Q&A you mentioned that you'd spoken to Jose electronically and that he's 'getting by'? For some reason that phrase makes me worry about him a wee bit. Were you referring to him 'getting by' personally or professionally or both?

Blogger's note: Tough to move from one country to another, a wife and two small children and the resulting chaos. He's doing well, though

[Jerry]

If anyone can help Bargnani reach is potential, it's Pops. SA would be a great fit.

In addition to whichever backup PG the Spurs are willing to move, they would have to ship out Borris Diaw and some other cap ballast, likely Matt Bonner to make the numbers work (according to the Trade Machine).

But i'm sure you knew that... and decided the Bargnani wouldn't be an upgrade over Diaw and Bonner for the Spurs.

[boris]

re: chatter about Boozer. Didn't you say the same things about talks with Memphis, and then basically the next day they made the trade?

most people now go with the opposite of what you predict and come up right most of the time.

Blogger's note: Whatever. Other places to read, other writers to bug. Feel free. But get your facts straight. See ya

[Geoff Read]

I've always liked Boozer... but maybe that's because he looks like someone you wouldn't want to meet in an alley. But good points on how he might not be a good fit with the Raps.

I like the new photo, BTW. Is it just me or do you look more svelte than in your previous portrait?

[The J]

Quick Question, You recently said (I think in the live blog) that Casey is trying to avoid ever having Bargnani and Jonas on the floor at the same time. But wasn't that what we wanted? Bargnani free to play his game while a conventional big (strong, defensive and rebounder) is out there to balance his weaknesses. I know that's what the hope was a couple years ago (Ie, get a Tyson Chandler to pair with him), and then part of the excitement with JoVal was that pairing, but now it's what they want to avoid? Is this because Bargs is just coming back from an injury and JoVal has been hurt? Or are they legitimetly concerned that it's a bad pairing? If so, then I would think trading Bargs ASAP would be a priority if JoVal is the future.

Thanks again. It's been a while since I have posted on here, but I have still been reading.

Blogger's note: Doesn't want them now; in the future when JV learns how to play, it might work well

[A. Wong]

I like the trade other then I don't know who will be going along with AB.

You see, I like the team very much. I give their chance to be making the playoff this year less then 20%. However, this is a very very important year for the Raptors. We are loaded on the wings, got good fire power and when Jonas get to be more comfortable with the NBA just him plus Johnson is a strong front court. May be John Lucas is good enough off the bench then we got a back court that can really scores. Adding Boozer remind me a lot of the year when they add Antonio Davis.
I think a two year contract is the best contract to be the receiving end on any trade as the first year Boozer have something to prove to the bulls who gave him up and the second year is his contract year thus he will work his tall off to get that one last big fat contract.
Say what you want with him but he is a talented power forward plus he brings one thing what the Raptors truly need.

Veteran presents.

With him, I think the raptors got the ability to challenge the second round of playoffs.

Thought?

[Phil A]

I was angry when I heard about the Bargnani for Boozer rumour. There are several reasons why I am not a fan of Boozer but the bottom line is that he's simply not that good of a player. He is an undersized power forward who is a very streaky shooter and lacks any sort of athleticism. He is a liability defensively and I don't think that he would be a good fit on this Raptors team. How can anyone justify paying this player $15 million a year for the type of production and impact he has on the court. Let's stop this non sense and let's actually see what Bargnani is capable of with this new and improved team before dealing him.

[O.J.]

Hey Doug,

I'm not saying we should necessarily get Boozer but you want a stretch 4 who can shoot a three? How has that worked out for us the last 7 years? How about getting a true power forward that can rebound, play solid interior defense and score inside consistently? The last time we had one of those(Antonio Davis) with some dynamic wings (HWSNBN, Tmac etc) we were a pretty good team. Wouldn't Milsap be the best option right now?

Blogger's note: Actually for the two playoff years with a more talented team, it worked quite well

[sam]

I've always been partial to "Indiana Wants ME" by R Dean taylor I believe...It was a cnstant of the K-Tel Record years....

I'm not sure Boozer is an upgrade over what the Raps already have...If there is serious chatter going on lets hope it's a bout something else. I know some Raptors faithful like to eat thier young, but the urgency with some to trade Andrea seems to be a tad over the top.

Andrea had a nice debut on Wednesday, and perhaps he is better suited right now to be the 6th man until he gets his wind back....He seemed to work well, defended pretty well -

[jc]

Hey Doug,
In 2 previous games against the pacers, JV has started. He and the team handled Hibbert et al admirably. The first time he was coming back from an (smaller) injury as well. Are the stars aligned for him to start tonight? The game preview would not suggest that. The pacers may have gelled and we are missing a certain triple double threat but this would seem to be the time.

Blogger's note: No, it would not suggest that because I don't believe it'll happen

[Tim]

Hi Doug,

Let me chime in and say like a couple other irregulars, I had a bit of a hard time finding the Q and A yesterday. Why not have the text guys make a whole blog post to link to it so it's easy to find? At least make it accessible off the Badketball sports page

[MF]

Listening to some Raptors fans makes you shake your head. I am not a big Andrea fan but the bottom line is winning and having a strong team that can compete. This team needs to step back and see how AB fits with this group- adjustment can be made in the off season. Raptors need to focus on becoming a 500 team before being focus on play off. AB is a lot better than a lot of guys we are willing to trade him for, and a lot of good teams are going to be willing to make that trade ( as yourself why Raptor fans, its not bad teams asking about this guy). Raptors have need but it's not at the 4. Practice PPP and make better decision BC

[Rob.V]

Back from the west coast, thanks for the Phoenix tips dude. Took in a Suns-Mavs game last week and had a nice bite and cold beverage at the Bianco place before the game.

The first thing I will say is that it's not like I had forgotten what we had here early with Vince however watching him for the first time away from the ACC was interesting. Even at 78 years old he was hands down the best player on the floor... was was kind of a cool (new) perspective on VC's talents.

So, I'm about 50% through the 4 games I've missed while away and the first thing I can possibly think of is this: We need a PG! Yeah, maybe a back up... but yeah... maybe a starter as well.

Gay will help us get to the playoffs next year. I don't mind that he chucks them up, go look at Melo or Kobe's shot totals (although 23-25 a game is too much). The bottom line is he adds talent to this team. The next logical steps are to develop JV and Ross. Obviously Demar has done a great job of expanding his rebounding and the assist part of his game however with Gay now on this team the one thing that could really help this team is for Derozan to become a consistent outside threat from behind the arc. If he can improve his 3 point shooting this off season with Gay in the lineup this team will be that much better next year.

Absolutely Ross should play. Season ended about 3 weeks ago when I thought it had... but I understand why the Raps don't see it that way.

Boozer? I'm 50-50 but teetering on - why the hell not?. There are both sides of the argument however as much as you must be building for a championship you gotta learn how to walk first.

We've seen it first hand here for years. This is a losing culture and losing begets losing. To change this is tough, and to do so and make the playoffs consistently you need vets to do it.

I don't disagree with some of the "cons" with a boozer trade however there is a reason he is in the playoffs virtually every year. It's human nature to point at faults however he is a good post player. He'll score on the block and get you rebounds. His career has not been an accident, he's earned his numbers. The Raptors are clearly in the mind set of playoffs, and so it's hard to argue against a Boozer trade if you don't have to give up your 2 young chips in JV and Ross.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter a lick what any of us think as clearly Colangelo is looking to bring in vets that have won some games... and that's never a bad thing.

You keep your rookies and walk them through a "winning" program going forward, makes sense to me. That's the model for all of the good teams that have done it consistently over the years.

Think about it, how much different of a player would Andrea have been if say the Lakers with Kobe or Celtics with KG had drafted him?.

It's a shame really however I would think that we need to be very aware of what habits and culture the JV's, and Ross' are exposed to here in Toronto over say the next 3 years.

Amir learned from some of the games best in Detroit. He's probably always been a hard worker however there is no way anyone can convince me that the veteran leadership on those Pistons teams didn't instill some kind of professionalism that is still apparent today in Amirs game. We need THIS type of winning atmosphere for our young players to grow so if BC (and Co.) feel that Boozer can help with this then trading for him can only be a positive for this team.

So in that sense... I believe I have just sold myself on why the Raptors "should" make a trade for Carlos Boozer. -

My apologies for the extended sermon today... been away a while. Lol!

[doug]

I am indifferent to the Boozer/Bargs trade I can see the possibilities , and wouldn't mind if it happened...the Gay one was a no-brainer...but after the Gay trade BC said something which I agree with 100% and have let my feelings be known about it in the past...why do people worry about what a player costs??, as BC said leave that to management...I don't get it and never have what a player makes, I could care less what the Raps payroll is, and who cares if they go into luxury tax territory?...it doesn't concern me one iota...I look at talent, what a player brings and how they'll fit....the money issue to me is irrelevant....nice nite to sit in and watch a game..ok cheers...

[alex]

I would say wait and see if Bargs can play as a 6th man. The point is, right now you have a good core of young players in Lowry, DD, Gay and Amir. Based on what we have seen in the past, these guys will continue to develop and improve each and every year. Add to that two potential future all stars (or at least very good players) in JV and Ross and a 6th man with superior offensive skills in Bargnani. If you want, add also a good defender and rebounder on the wing such as Fields, who will also improve his shooting again due to the nerve surgery he went thru.

Already those 8 players can be a pretty good group in a year and a very good one in a couple of years.

I mean, if everything goes as it should and with not major injuries, the raptors may have a very bright future. DD, Gay are potential future all stars, JV and Ross one day may be the same, Amir and Lowry can come close to the status and Bargs can be within the top 5 best 6th man.

Boozer or other names that will follow soon, I don't see the point of dismissing the group now if not for a very talented guy.