Plan C

Raps4life

I went to a hockey game in Calgary to watch the Flames and Oilers play. In seats near me was a guy in a suit and his lady in a nice dress a 9 1/2 at least! I started to yell at the oiler players and the lady raised a finger to her mouth and looked at me and shussed me. lol

I promply told her and her guy to go home change into some jeans and sweatshirt come back and start being part of the home crowd and help their team.I understand your last post good one!

Unless TJ is done, any PG we bring is is temporary, so why give up anything for one?

EARL BOYKINS.

He needs a team to play for, we need a PG. Sure he's a liability on D, but he can score and distribute...he's like a mini-TJ (which is saying something). Sign him for the rest of the season and we're good. You can't tell me he's not a better option that Juan, and I won't even talk about our supposed "coach on the floor".

Maggette for Rasho and Moon? I'd do that in a second, which ultimately means that Elgin would have to be on crack to do it. No way that deal happens.

If you are looking for a swingman look no further than the ATL Hawks.

They are still missing a lot of pieces (A Center, Backup PF, PG, Back up PG) however what they do have is a ton of swingmen and slashers.

Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Josh Childress all fit the ball. And despite having so many guys who all play the position each are putting up solid numbers and are still young developing talents.

Childress is putting up 13, marvin is giving 18 and josh smith is likely close to 20 and joe johnson is probably slightly over it. Perhaps they could use a guy like Humphries or Rasho

Would BC be willing to give up Andrea for Marvin Williams...would ATL be willing to do that? Seems as though the league doesn't believe in Andrea and the raps maybe believing to heavily in him?

For the PG situation why not look to a team like the Sonics. They have their young talent in Green and Durant and have some depth at the pf spot. However they could still you some depth at the wings and upfront however they do have three PGs all of which are fairly young, resonably priced and are constanly being discussed in trade rumours. Wonder what it would take to get a Luke Ridnour (5.6 points, 3 assits) or Delonte West (8 points 3.5 assits) or Earl Watson (8.5 points 6.3 assits)

Of the three Luke was previously the most productive but is really having an off year. With his lack of production, Seattle's ownership issues, the idea of moving the team the raps could possibly steal him away and hope he regains his form in a new setting.

Either way it is highly unlike you will get something for nothing....the raps need to figure out whats going on with TJ before they can plan their next move. Perhaps they already know....if they do it would be nice of them to let us know...or let us know whats happening at all these visits to specalists TJ keeps making.

Almost forgot...once again a great write up thank you for taking the time to do this...its fun to read and discuss

Davl..that is so funny I am still lol..At least she was beautiful.

Franchise "one deal that works financially is Jamario Moon and Rasho for
Maggette and Paul Davis. Davis is a throw-in of course to make the deal work financially" It would kill me if BC pull the trigger on Jamario. I am a huge JM fan I know with time he will be a great wing player for the Raps. Could we throw in Maceo instead. And probably get someone with a little higher salary from the Clips.

All serious sports followers know that after a team overachieves one year they settle into a plateau the following year. Exactly what the Raps have done. They are not nearly as good as they were nor as bad as they are now. The flaws that were overcome last year are not disappearing in 07/08. What does this team need? A star - a go-to
guy in the clutch. The current crew is too young, too nice, too soft to be more than a .500 team. How does BC
do it? One of two ways: patience or
the pain of moving a top player. The decision is how far the Raps can realistically go with what they have. Not far from where I sit.

heyy if were looking for a ....
point guard- who can find the open man and lead a resurgent bench

AND

Off-guard- who is long and lanky ala shaun livinston and who can slash

= we already have that overseas in ROKO UKIC-- wut about him

Maggette will not exercise his player option in LA and Baylor know that, that’s why he would move Maggette. Cory has never been on the same page with Dunleavy and Maggette, even though he is the 2nd best player on that team, is going back to the bench when Brand returns. I say you pull the trigger on a Moon/Rasho move for Maggette in an instant if that is available to you. Hopefully, Maggette stays, but if he doesn’t, at least you moved Rasho’s contract.

Not to disagree really with anything, but lets just assume we have an awesome team with players who have all have play excellent on both ends of the floor... in spurts.

We have good players and backups at every position. We have athleticism that we can't seem to pop the top off (moon, graham). We have winners. We have sproingy young players and wily vets. No world-beaters, but when enough of them show up, we are a powerhouse offensively and competent defensively yet we fall apart on a regular basis.

My point is we need we need a glue guy if anyone, or for our current team just to hold it together, see what happens in the playoffs and maybe garbo will be back for next year.

I'm not against a trade. I just don't think it will help much.

Glue guys I can think of without regard for availability:
-Dunleavy
-Posey
-Bowen
-Tim thomas

And no, AP is not that guy I don't think. He has to be a scorer in the clutch and defend the best player. It's too much.

What is Marko Yaric up to these days? Is he still with Minny? 6'7" guards don't grow on trees and he's probably making too much money to fit into a rebuilding plan. Dixon + Rasho to get him? (not sure what the salaries are) Once t.j. gets back he could fit in at the 2 off the bench.

Also, what would it take to get guys like Eduardo Najara or Paul Millsap or Udonis Haslem? Does anyone think we'd want them, could they be had?

What about a Andrea Barngnani + Joey Graham for Yi + Charlie Bell? Would anyone do that? Bargs is a lot of potential to give up, but Yi arguably has more potential in terms of being a power forward (i.e. he's shown that he is at least interested in rebounding).

Anyway, its a ton of fun to dream up scenarios. I'm still thinking of the Iggy + Dalembeast for Bosh that was suggested here a couple days ago. Not that I'd necessarily pull the trigger, but it sure would be a much different team to watch (for the record, I love Bosh, don't get me wrong here.)

This was a great read by the way. Here’s my two cents:

"we already have that overseas in ROKO UKIC-- wut about him" There’s an idea, why not bring Uric over? Send him to the D league if T.J. is looking good to go for the rest of the season or have him share minutes with Delfino/Dixon. It would be a difficult position for Uric though, to come to a new country and play this level of basketball right in the middle of the season when all teams are firing on all cylinders. Okay maybe that’s not such a great idea.

C. Bell would be a good investment at that price. He’s a combo guard isn’t he? Plays good defense, he can slash, shoot and he is affordable. I get the feeling his heart is in Miami though and Toronto in January/ February is a long way from the beaches of MIA; not sure he’ll be thrilled to be here as a third string PG as opposed to starter in Miami.

L. Head is another solid option. I never really liked his game but he is a PG/SG with very good range when he’s on his game and he’s affordable. How’s his defense though?

I am big a fan of Maggette being on the Raptors but it would hurt to have to give up Moon. I think Moon’s athleticism is an asset to this team that so sorely lacks grit and athleticism. Also, to give up a veteran big man and not get at least a solid center back in return will hurt the team more than the good of having a guy like Maggette. I’m all for that Maggette trade if we can some how replace Rasho with some type of half, just half decent center.

What would Denver want for Steven Hunter? He’s been a forgotten man in Denver’s overpopulated C/F positions. Maybe Juan Dixon and Paul Davis? It would work financially. Speaking of Paul Davis, is he any good? Does he have potential to come in and make an immediate impact from a rebounding standpoint?

Over the past 25 years there have been 8 championship teams. All these teams had striking simularities. They all had strong defensive centers - Molone, Parish,Laimbeer Cartwright, Olajuwon, Shaq,Duncan. They all had mobile superstars that were in the 1,2 or 3 -Dr. J, Bird, Isaiah, Jordan, Drexler, Kobe, Parker and Wade. They also all had exceptional second scorers - McHale,Dumars, Pippen, Manu.
There are more but that is enough to make a point. Toronto has a starting center who is really a 4 We have a star who plays 4 but is limited in shooting range and mobility. And we have no "second steady scorer" except perhaps Parker and he vanishes. So, here's a shocker- Talk in Miami is about trading Wade and if there were any way in the world to get Wade for Bosh +, it should be done. Then Bargani can move to his natural position at 4.

Smoe kind words for Calderon from ESPN's Hollinger, who makes a strong case for him as the backup PG for the east in the all-star game.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=EastAllStars-080108&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dhollinger_john%26page%3dEastAllStars-080108

Franchise - this site was built on trade speculation because you guys are the best at working these things out. I love it. I can never figure out salaries and stuff ...

Shouldn't resigning Calderon be priority #1 at this point? Or am I a little behind on his contract details?

Roko Ukic doesn't even get PT in Europe (he doesn't even play in one of the best leagues BTW), what makes you think bringing him over here is the answer to our problems?

LAs Only Raptor Fan

Thanks for pointing out the Post on JC at espn. Loved it hopefully JC will get the all star game call.

Rocky Ukic probably isn't even the best PG on his team, and there'd be buy out issues. Unless you're giving me 1000-1 odds, I don't think he's going to have an NBA career.

What about Penney Hardaway as a temp solution? If Washington could pull Roger Mason Jr. out of the woodworks and have him be productive, there's gotta be someone in the D right now for a stop gap.

I think this season is showing that it's time for a mini-overhaul (I know I know, thats Paradoxical). I don't necessarily mean panic, but I'm willing to forgo this year's playoffs if we could pick up one or two younger potentials.

I for one am not worried. I like the roster where it is and even without Garbo I think this could have been a 50 provided TJ stayed healthy. If TJ comes back within 3-4 weeks I can still see them above .500

Now if you don't believe in the raptors and feel that a change needs to be made then bringing in guys like Hardaway, Boykins, Hunter aren't really going to do anything besides costing us minimal amount of money and space on the bench.

Hardaway was cut by the second worst team in the league and he's supposed to help us??

Hunter does have size but so did Jerome Moiso and Shawn Bradley.....should we bring them back? Theres a reason he's stuck on the bench.

Luther Head is in a different situation....he's not a pg he's an undersized shooting guard....I wouldn't even call him a combo guard like Mike James. If Juan can't play the point effectively for us then there is no way Luther Head will be able to do it for us.

Wow, that was a great Hollinger article on Calderon, he makes a good point, other than Billups and maybe Kidd I don't see a better PG in the East right now.

But just so you know that i'm not always a "homer" on spanish players, let me tell you that I believe Sergio Rodriguez to be really overrated in the general league perception: surely he is a flashy PG with some potential, but his game is still way too risky and turnover-prone, I don't think he'll ever become a solid NBA starter.

As for the trade talk, I like the idea of Bell or some D-league prospect but any speculation is useless until we know for sure what is TJ status.

Great points brought up so far, there have been quite a few mentioned that crossed my mind at one time or another.

Given my limited knowledge of his game (ilinois march madness run), I see Luthor Head as Juan Dixon part 2.

He may very well be a combo guard, but I don't think he has experience running the offense and creating opportunities for others, which is what we need to re-ignite the bench.

In relation to Portland, if Sergio Rodriguez is their future then what about Jarret Jack.

With Jack, you have a guy who

a) has the size to play some shooting guard once tj comes back

b) has history with bosh from his one year at georgia tech

c) Has 3pt range

I'd definatly be on board with the Charlie Bell idea, would be cheaper to acquire (asset wise) then jack. And seemed to do a good job covering the pg and sg positions for bucks last year.

THIS IS THE MOST HONEST EVALUATION OF A PLAYER I HAVE EVER READ.......BY ESPN By John Hollinger....
Backup guard No. 1: Jose Calderon, Raptors
This is probably going to shock some people, so I'll just go ahead and say it: Calderon, right now, is the third-best guard in the East.

Go ahead and laugh. Get it out of your system.

Done? Good. Now let's look at the numbers. Calderon ranks fourth among Eastern Conference guards in PER; he's a millimeter behind T.J. Ford, who is out indefinitely, and of course trails Wade and Billups.

But he's way ahead of the others. Vince Carter, Richard Hamilton and Michael Redd are eating his dust, and no other point guard in the East rates in the top 50 in PER. (If you're looking for Jason Kidd, by the way, there's more on him below.)

You might think Calderon's numbers are so good because he's been beating up on second-teamers for half the season. Actually, no: His PER has gone up since Ford went out and now is as high as it's been all season. In his 20 games as a starter, he's averaging 13.5 points, 9.9 assists, and shooting 50.0 percent from the field. The other overlooked part is that he's making only 1.5 turnovers per game.

Let me repeat that for emphasis: 9.9 assists. 1.5 turnovers.

That's amazing. To show you how amazing, let's look at a stat I keep called "pure point rating." I created it to replace assist-turnover ratio, which tends to reward point guards who never penetrate. Pure point rating produces more valid ratings of a player's ability as a distributor by rewarding production instead of just making a ratio. (If you're curious, the formula is: Pure Point = (100* ((Assists * 2/3) - Turnovers))/Minutes.)

So … care to guess who's first in pure point ratio this season? Hint: it's not Steve Nash or Chris Paul. It's Calderon, by a fair amount.

Pure Point Rating leaders
Player Ast/40 min TO/40 min Pure Point Rating
Jose Calderon 11.2 1.8 14.11
Steve Nash 14.3 4.2 13.25
Chris Paul 11.0 2.7 11.47
Brevin Knight 7.9 1.7 8.96
Jason Kidd 11.3 4.0 8.94
*Through Sunday's games
No, he's not the scoring threat that Nash or Paul are, but Calderon is insanely efficient at running the offense and makes his shots, and that makes him a far more valuable player than people realize.

As for my arguments about preferring players who have established this level of performance, Calderon has a far better case than you might think. He played fantastic last season too and had the biggest PER jump in the league, though the voters chose to pretend he didn't exist in the Most Improved Player voting.

In fact, Calderon's 2006-07 PER ranked eighth among NBA point guards, and sixth among all guards in the East. To use one All-Star competitor as an example, his mark last season was not only better than Richard Hamilton's, it would have been the best mark of Hamilton's career.

So Calderon has been better than anyone else at his position except Billups, and his performance history suggests it's either not a fluke or a very small one. He's on a team with only one other viable scorer and, thanks to his skillful playmaking, has them in the top half of the league in offensive efficiency.

So if, after all this, you think he isn't an All-Star, I have only one question. Other than saying, "He's just not what I think of when I think of an All-Star," what case is there for Jose Calderon not to be an All-Star this year?

simple trade ... maceo baston for smush parker. same years, similar contracts, both stuck on the bench.

Great discussion going as usual...

1. LOVE to have Jarrett Jack. I mentioned Sergio because of Doug Smith's comments (interesting insight on him via his Spanish play Sergi) but if there was one point guard I'd like on Portland it would be Jack. I was hoping the Raptors would take him at 16 if both Granger and Graham were gone in the 05 draft. Good leader, improving offensive player, good 3-point shooter and like you said Yardley, he's got great size and would be a big improvement defensively over any of our point guards.

2. Jaric. No way the Raptors would touch this deal even if he was any good. Marko is being paid about $6 million a year for the next four. Not sure why Isiah hasn't traded for him already.

3. Great to see Jose getting props. Cool seeing him no the front graphic of the ESPN basketball home page too and Hollinger, as posted, presents a great argument. I could never figure out why he wasn't mentioned last year or this in the "most improved" category so good to see Hollinger acknowledge this.

4. Can't see the Hawks moving anyone. Ever. Ok, joking but Smith and Joe Johnson are cornerstones and considering the abuse they took for selecting Marvin Williams (not to mention that he's starting to develop), doubt he goes anywhere either. Childress would be a nice gluy guy but he's not exactly a slasher. More of a do-it-all guy and at this point I'd rather have Jamario Moon.

5. The Seattle situation does bear watching. Ridnour was supposed to be the next Nash at one point in his career but can't stay healthy or in Seattle managemen's favour. His contract isn't great either though - similar to Jaric only a year shorter.

6. Earl Boykins. I actually like this idea as he could do a bit of both the scoring and passing for Toronto. The problem is, how much would he be looking for salary-wise? BC is in a situation where he can't afford to take on any more salary if wants to re-sign both Delfino and Calderon. This also means buying someone out is extremely unlikely and with all signs pointing to Darrick Martin hanging around, that means there's no roster room for Boykins.

If there was anyone I'd want right now as a back-up it would be Eric Gordon, draft rules be damned.

And while we were talking about slashers for the Raptors, a great link I didn't get a chance to add today from Slam:

http://slamonline.com/online/2008/01/from-dr-j-to-kobe-bryant/

Like somebody posted yesterday anybody can beat anybody! I turned off the Nets game as they were winning and doing anything they want then I check scores just now and they lost ....BIG TIME makes my day....Washington lost Chicago lost to knicks and Orlando down right now Cleveland won tonight otherwise a perfect world for the Raptors. Great discussion tonight I enjoy reading these trade scenerios (sp)But I have nothing to add!!!Where is Marcia's list?

great interviews with tj and bosh you can d/l from fan 590

Davl like you read my mind, I rather like the team the way it is, but just like you I was watching the Jersey, Washington and Cleveland game last and we almost went pack to 4th but that's ok we will win tonight keep up the good comments I got your back.

huh?!!!

Another great post!!

I'm not sure we need a trade. I think the team is very competitive as is. Watching my daughter play over the years and loosing the odd close game i'd go out on a limb and say the team needs to be coached better. All the talent is there IMO. I like Smitch and I even say keep him front office as he deserves at least that (coach of the year)

The raps got to learn to grind out those close games and that's only done with a Grade A coach. Sam despite his honours and years in the leage just doesn't have that experience yet.

have a great day!

I like the idea of signing Earl Boynkins...no really. All I have ever seen from him is he knows his role and plays it well. He can finish, drop the rainbow, and handle the rock good as well. I say sign him BC!

1. As for the Clippers - you can keep Maggette - too much of everything (wrong) - not enough right.

2. We don't need anything from Atlanta. Too single minded (everyone) and we'd give up too much.

3. If we can't score a PG then why donsen't BC and Mauro go and grab the young kid from Italy...he's ours and that would be a good way to ease him inot things learning from Jose!

Ahhhh They're probably going to not do anything so we all are just getting way out in front of ourselves.

I'm out!

Fresh 1

PS. Great answers and blogs and an awesome topic Franchise!