The Sum of Parts

I agree with your analysis of the BC additions making this a deeper, more talented team than last year.
But lets also recognize the impact of the turnover and the need for the new players to integrate into the Raptors offensive/defensive philosophies.
With the additions of Dixon, only 26 games, Jackson 10 games and Delfino, Kapono, Baston, and Moon, that's a 40% turnover from the start of last year. With possibly a new 3rd PG added that is a significent change, albeit a perceived improvement.
It may take more time than training camp and exhibitions allow, to see the benefit of the new players.

is there any reason why the Raptors have Roko Ukic on their roster on Raptors.Com??

Franchise, in the link to the free ESPN Insider article, Hollinger stated in the Pacers' evaluation: "Losing Baston was unfortunate -- the guy can play." And BC was quoted in the press release: "We feel he should be another key ingredient in the mix we already have" --and obviously thought so, gaving him the veteran's exception of 1.9 million for the next two years.

But here's insight from some dude from Israel posting on the G&M comments who had a close-up view of Baston at Maccabi:

"gerry rich from Israel writes: I watched Baston play for Tel Aviv for a couple of years. I have no idea why Larry Bird signed him and now the Raptors. He is primarily a weakside leaper at good height who will surprise occasionly with a follow up rebound and/or shot. His jumper is sporadic, sometimes dropping, sometimes not. He does have a tendency to take a shot at the wrong time and to force passes as well. He cannot dribble, post up low, or be trusted with the ball too often. He is weak, underweight, and overmatched at the 4 and most likely defends the 3 with difficulty.

I will say he is quick to react and fast, but I never saw him as being a better than average defender. He is a poor man's sub at best. For him to play 20 minutes a game is a major role on any team. His abilities would not pass that litmus test. Sorry, I think the Raptors could have done better than him. In fact, not only didn't Bird want him, he was going back to Maccabi, an NBA failure, until Toronto showed up."

It makes obviously more sense to trust NBA lifers like BC and Hollinger than the poster, but doesn't the veteran's exception seem a lot of cash for a maximum 10 MPG guy?

This makes it more-and-more obvious that Dixon ($2.9M), Kris ($2.5M), Carlos ($1.9M), Joey ($1.6M), Luke ($800K), Moon ($430K) and, gulp, Jose ($2.5M), will be cut and/or packaged with Rasho's (and maybe even Garbo's and Parker's) contracts by the end of 2007-2008, if not at the trade deadline, as the those three's contracts expire at the end of 2008-2009.

John P - I noticed that today too...I think it's just a lack of updates overall as Mo Pete is still there even though it's been reported he's agreed to sign with New Orleans. Basically it seems they've listed EVERYONE still associated with the Raptors in some way (see Pape Sow and Uros Slokar as well.)

Team first philosophy…what does it get you?

As excited and intrigued by the recent acquisition of talented individuals by BC, I can’t help but feel saddened by the departure of Sow and Slokar and the possible demotion of Humphries. They quietly bided their time by working hard in practices and provided a jolt of energy whenever their number was called. And how are they rewarded? They’re left unsigned the following year and in Humphries case may fall further in the depth chart.

How does Mitchell balance team play and harmony with the individual player’s desire for floor time? Given what transpired with the above, I’m not hopeful that the new players will be as patient or should be. Comments.

mulitple players at every position... it almost makes me want to cry

Playing time is determined by the players available to play and the results they produce in practice and games.
The more talent available the better the competion, and the better the game results.
BC has upgraded the talent from 1 to 15 for Raptors.
Now it's up to the players & coaching staff to utilize to the best abilities on game day. In the NBA nothing is given. PT is earned by the best available players.

Oh yeah, it's good to know the NBA is cracking down on corrupt officials now that the Raps are becoming one of the top teams:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07202007/news/columnists/nba_in_a_fix_columnists_murray_weiss.htm

Because let's face it, most Vegas/Atlantic City/online bettors are American and hardly any of them would take the Raps. I was in Vegas in late March when the Raps destroyed the Nuggs (I took -- and won -- both the over and the Raps, heh) and I was the only one watching (and presumably betting on) the game. Hopefully this will lead to no more major market teams getting the bullshit calls to make the spread and appease the mafia.

I have not heard too much about Uros Slokar and Pape Sow does anyone know if they are coming back? today Mo was on the Fan590 and I can just see he playing better for the Hornets, I miss him already, I love you Mo!!

The comments about Baston being a bad signing are some sort of joke right? He is only costing about 2 mil per year and its a 2 year deal. Even if he turns into the biggest bust in Raptor history (and we know that isnt going to be the case) it is still a sound decision as it doesn't hurt the teams bottom line.
I am still nervous about the Kapano signing. 24 mil over 5 years (or is it 4) is a sizeable chunk of change for a guy who's role with the team will be (in theory) to come off the bench behind Joey G (at least that is how I envision the team's initial starting lineup to be). I have no doubt in my mind that it was a secondary choice behind Grant Hill because of all the things that Hill brings. I cannot believe for a second that BC targeted Kapano over Hill as they are not even close in what they bring to the table. Maybe Hill was never interested in Toronto but considering his wife is from Windsor I doubt that it was a Canadian thing and maybe more of a "they aint going to win a championship" thing.
At the end of the day I cannot help but think that BC must of have seen something more than a 3 consistent 3 point shooter in Kapano otherwise maybe he just made his first mistake.

Some interesting takes on Maceo. I personally don't think he's even the second coming of Keon Clark, but considering I only see him playing 10 minutes a night I don't think there was a better option out there at this price. I mean Jake Voskuhl cost more!!

I'd like to hear Sergi P's take on Maceo as I think he got to see him play more than most overseas. And while Baston's jumper has always been suspect since his days as a Wolverine, that's fine...I don't want to see him shoot unless he's dunking or laying it in. No, I'm just hoping he realizes his role is to come in and bring some energy and athletic ability on the glass...

As for the small salaries, I think you've got something jj - depending on how the club performs in the first part of the season, I fully expect to see Rasho and some of those other players names mentioned at trade deadline time. We've seen Phoenix desperately cut cost today (at what looks to be a case of mortgaging their future to a certain degree in my opinion) and other teams who haven't had nearly the success of the Suns will probably look to do likewise offering the Raps a chance to swing a deal...

Maceo is a 100% improvement in ability/experience over Pape Sow & Uros Slokar. That's all that his signing may mean, plus someone to push Humphries for playing time @ PF. He makes the team better @ a reasonable cost.

What about the late 2nd round draft Giorgos Printezia guy. This team is stacked.
The recent additions to the team are very promising conducive to a very competitive training camp however after the 9 or 10 main players are chosen, which of the remaining will be content to ride the bench? Humphries? Dixon?

I may be stating the obvious but I hope BC has another card to play. Most of these guys are proven players and may not be as content with pine time as Slokar and Sow or even Humphries.

Mitchell should at least enjoy training camp but when the official season starts…
Maybe I should just relax, stop looking for problems and enjoy the strongest 1 to 15 core in team’s history.

This is indeed the deepest Raptor team that we've ever seen, but that's about the only good news coming out of the league these days.

Coming off one of the worst seasons ever, this Donaghy scandal has the potential to cripple the league. All the conspiracy theorists who argue that Stern rigged the draft so that the Knicks would get Ewing, Dwyane Wade would get every call against Dallas etc. all of a sudden gain a measure of credibility. Lots of people swore off the NBA after the Wade fiasco. I wonder how many casual fans will jump ship this time?

As jjdynomite pointed out, this happens just when the Raptors are getting good. Sigh.

As a casual fan who is fascinated with everything Raptors and not much else, what Wade fiasco are you referring to?

jjdynomite, I don't see the logic in your comment, Oh yeah, it's good to know the NBA is cracking down on corrupt officials now that the Raps are becoming one of the top teams: Please enlighten me.

OldSchool, I think the "Wade fiasco" is a reference to the fact that during the NBA finals two years ago Wade got a foul called on a Dallas defender every time he drove the lane...even if the "contact" was a fingertip brushing him as he went by

Sure Franchise, but I really don't have a lot more insight on Maceo than what you guys have already said. He played a couple very good seasons for Joventut (the spanish club i root for) in 2001-2003, but I think his style of play is mostly based on his great leaping ability, which can bring to the table a lot of blocks, rebounds or dunks in Europe, but does not really translate as well to the NBA where there are many players who are as athletic and powerful (or more) than him. Still, I think he is a good signing for this kind of money, I too envision him playing those 10 minutes a night to provide a more dynamic and athletic backup to Rasho, he will probably compete with Humpries for that spot if we assume Garbo will back up Bosh at PF. And it's one more guy with an euro background and friend of Parker so it should be good for team chemistry too.

That's my two cents...

That's the one. I generally want to ask Mark Cuban if he'd like some cheese with his whine, but he had a legitimate gripe. Wade shot more free throws than the entire Dallas team in some games, if I recall. In one game he bulldozed into Notwitzki out on the perimeter and still got the call. What could Dirk do but throw up his hands? Stuff like that lends credence to the theory that the NBA wants to create superstars at any cost, such as giving such stars favourable calls.

None of this is meant as a slight against Wade, by the way, who is an absolutely fabulous player.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/sports/basketball/22nba.html?_r=2&ref=sports&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Looks like the Raptors are being named as one of the teams that could have been involved in a fixed game. Really interesting stuff here.

Sorry, I was away from the HQ over the weekend. To answer your question, Marcia, the fact that the Raptors are getting better = more popular (i.e. will start being carried now on US National TV, which hasn't been the case since the Wince days) means that there will be higher betting traffic on them (whether for or against, depending on the opposition). Which means that a Raptor game in which a corrupt referee (i.e. Donaghy) would be assigned to, would be a game likely to be fixed, because the mafia would flag it as a heavily-wagered game (i.e. lots of a betting action).

I'm not a hardcore gambler by any means, but to summarize, there are 2 predominant ways to bet on a b-ball game, the SPREAD(how much a team wins/loses by) and the OVER/UNDER (whether the total score is above or below the line). There are also sometimes partial bets (by half or by quarter) or on particular players, but those are usually in the playoffs (i.e. how many points Wade would score in a game).

The NYT article that Casey cites talks about how the SPREAD could be manipulated:

"The United States attorney’s office in Brooklyn is investigating whether Donaghy wagered on games for two years, then, starting sometime in December 2006, agreed to affect the final winning margin of games in which he was part of the standard three-man officiating crew.

Had that occurred, experts in sports gambling said, a pattern would emerge. Because the people influencing the official would presumably bet large sums of money on a particular team, bookmakers accepting such bets would react by moving the line -— the margin of victory for the favored team —- to offset it. In order to balance total bets on each side, a bookmaker will move the line to encourage bettors to place wagers on the other side if it sees too much money wagered on one team."

The "Sports Guy" Bill Simmons Sports Guy talks about how the OVER/UNDER can be manipulated:

"[The corrupt referee] agrees to affect the over/under of games by whistling more fouls than usual, which should drive the scores above the over/under because everyone will be shooting more free throws."

The Raptors style of play is very conducive to this latter type of fixing since they score a lot of points (and make a lot of their free throws), so it would be pretty easy for a corrupt ref to engineer that the Raps (and their opposition) make the OVER.

Hope that makes sense. Also note that Simmons mentions that Donaghy worked the Raps/Nets one-point-loss Game 6, so the SPREAD could well have come into play there. And we all know the mafia is big in New Jersey, and Donaghy grew up in Jersey. And hey, didn't we see James Gandolfini at one of the playoff games? ;-)

jjdynomite, I feel ya, and you are very right about that, let's hope the NBA takes care of their business, because I want to see my team go to the playoff, and we don't need any crucked refs spoiling our wins. Thanks for the info bro.

Thank You Tim Donaghy for revealing what we all knew to be true - there is a problem with NBA refereeing. It has been a huge beef or mine for years that the referees were the most important playoff players in the league. We all saw the games that Mark Cuban is griping about and he is right to suggest that the refs gave Wade everything. You can't stop him if he drives because legitimate defences were just drawing foul shots. Phoenix-Spurs game 3 went a long way to determine the NBA Champs. Bowen fouled Nash on literally every play. Whether it was because of his reputation or because of a fix, a hand check kept Bowen in step with Nash.Sort of like Kidd guarding Jose or TJ, a hand check allowed a slower man guard a faster one by interference.

What bothers me is the unwillingness of league administration to deal with a problem earlier. Every sport starts their drug policy with denial. It seems to be in proportion with the dollars made. The NFL is the largest abuser but gets the least attention because it makes the most dollars. Remember how Baseball rode McGuire's roid driven chase for the single season home run record? And we knew he was doing it.The NBA did nothing with all the complaints that the reffing was changing the outcomes of games. Chances are they do corporate media damage control rather than fix the problem. Charley Rosen's article on the FoxSports site has some good suggestions. An interesting one is to allow protests and reviews. It won't be as easy as the NFL b/c basketball is a flow game, but some accountability needs to be done. I still feel that aside from the 2 blow out games in Jersey that the Raps won each game based on play.
Having refereed a few games, I know how hard it is to call a good game. There is so much happening so fast that no one can keep up. Rosen mentions elevated officials who call a few narrow rules (3 sec, defensive 3 sec, etc) to allow the refs to only worry about the contact calls. Seems like it is time to make some changes.

and in other sad but already old news, mo is officially gone.

he was my favorite rap for a long time. on and off the court.

Papa I agree with you I feel like they have taken away my MOPETE, he is such a good person and basketball player, I like BC but he does not want to keep anyone that he did not put on this team the least he could have done is leave MO. I surely will miss him and I will follow the rest of his career

Let's wait for the results of the FBI investigation and how the game was impacted by the ref before we blame every game result that we did not like on corrupt officials.
Everything written with the exception of Stern's statements today is nothing but media supposition's.

Hola mardena!
falikotrepat