Jump-Ball – The PG Situation

So - conclusion seems to be Trade TJ, since all other outcomes lead to an unhappy team.

What about trading both of them?

Calderon's value may never be higher, and if he could bring a solid piece like Luol Deng or Emeka Okafor in a sign-and-trade then why not live with that?

As per some previous threads, if TJ could be packaged in a trade to bring a Jarrett Jack or Luke Ridnour or Delonte West or some decent "backup PG" plus another piece like a Przybilla or Outlaw, that seems to be addition-by-subtraction.

It's clear to me that having 2 starter-quality PGs doesn't mean a thing if you don't have a top-tier SG/SF.

Every team in the final 4 has a top SG/SF (Ginobli, Pierce, Hamilton/Prince, Kobe) to go with their top PF/C (Duncan, Garnett, Gasol, Rasheed). And - 2 of those teams get by with consistent but unspectacular PGs (Rondo, Fisher).

And - if you look at the final 8 (Jazz, Cavs, Magic, Hornets), 2 of those teams lost despite having the better PG (Deron Williams over Fisher and Chris Paul over Tony Parker).

Franchise,

The #1 reason why TJ Ford will be gone next year:

BC doesn't put up with me first bullsh*t period.

Unlike other GMs (i.e. Isiah Thomas) who will try to build around knuckleheads with talent BC won't if they display a selfish streak.

No, they can't all be saints and you need some whiskey drinkers too but everybody buys into the team concept or your a$$ gets shipped out.

BC has said that Jose is coming back as a Raptor. Forget the smoke and mirrors and remember the KISS principle. BC has two starting point guards and one is a pain. The pain will be dealt with this summer.

I will sh*t myself if BC deals away Jose and keeps TJ Ford.

I don't think you can say one position determines how good a team does.

For example there are teams with good point guards, sg, sf, pf, c which suck.

I think you just need to have guys who have good chemistry together and a good overall talent level.

For example the Lakers won three rings with a dominate big man and 2 guard. The Pistons did it with 5 solid starters. The Bulls did it with 2 star players at the wing spots. The Spurs did it with two dominate big men and then a dominate big man and a lot of above average role players and then with a dominate big man and two allstar guard players.

There is no one way to build a championship caliber team. You need chemistry and talent...and that talent can come at any of the 5 positions.

There are a lot of teams in the lottary which require a pg. And if they are unable to land Rose I'm sure a lot of them would be willing to gamble on TJ because they are under pressure to start winning now or please a star player (Miami, NY, Portland and Indiana seem to be the most likely to take a chance on TJ).

All of those teams also have guys who can possible help Toronto address some of there areas of weakness (rebounding, wing position).

On another note; a lot of people have brought up the point about Colo saying over and over again that Jose Calderon will be resigned. Fair enough. However Brian has never said what will happen after Jose is resigned meaning he could very easily be part of a sign and trade package.

I really hope that is not the case.

Jose has also stated that he wants to be a starting point guard on a team trying to win and advance in the playoffs. I doubt he would end up in a situation like New York or Miami.

I think a lot of people have forgot that the Raptors are still rebuilding. I would be happy to see minor improvements such as drafting a great wing prospect (Batum, Green, CDR in order), addressing our PG situation and Andrea Bargnani improving dramatically in the offseason.

Whether or not that gets us past the first round would still be up in the air. However the Raps would still have more than 15 million in expiring contracts so a move could be made at the deadline to bring a star player.

I would rather see that then a free agent signing in the offseason because you usually have to take a major chance on a guy and hope he develops (Hedo) or you have to completely over pay a guy to bring him in (Peja, Rashard)

After watching the Cavaliers stagnant offence for the last few weeks this deal came to mind, and I think it makes sense.

A deal between the Raps and the Cavs, centred on Ford, Varejao and Delonte West. The addition of Varejao would address a major issue with the Raps interior defense and rebounding. He would be the first big off the Bench (I’m assuming Colangelo is going to force Bargs at the starting centre spot again this year…) and would provide great energy. A Calderone/West duo at the point guard spot would be rock solid.

For the Cavs, they get a playmaker who will take a lot of preasure off LeBron James. Ford can initiate the offence and create shots for himself and others. If you’vve watched the Cavs recently its obvious that they need a true point guard, which Delonte West is not (more of a "tweener"). I think Booby Gibson could be substituted for West in this deal and it would still work.

Jose should stay. It's that easy.

Pack-age up TJ and lets see what we can get.

Would love to see a poll on this issue.

Jose should stay. It's that easy.

Pack-age up TJ and lets see what we can get.

Would love to see a poll on this issue.

The only top-tier teams that I can remember with just a PG and PF/C alone:

- Jazz with Stockton and Malone
- Sonics with Payton and Kemp

All I'm saying is that many dominant teams seem to get by with average PG play, so trading Calderon for a solid starting SG/SF and trading TJ for any backup PG who can run a play and maybe hit a 3 once in a while.

Although - if the Bargnani and expiring contracts for RJ rumours are true, then no SF trade is needed (and the TJ for Jack+Przybilla deal seems even better!)

I want to see TJ Ford be traded for a top perimeter defender. It doesn't have to be an all star, it just needs to be a player type such as Bruce Bowen or Shane Battier. We really need a perimeter defender. Delfino is not the answer.

Also, I think that it would be a good idea if Franchise and Howland would be able to set up a poll for raptors topics. People on this website keep on debating and it would be fun to be informed about certain subjects from polls.

Two trades that see T.J. gone are as follows:

(As previously mentioned)

To Toronto:
Jamal Crawford
Jared Jeffries
Phoenix' 1st rd pick in 08

To Phoenix:
Ford
Parker
David Lee
Toronto's 1st Rd Pick in 09

To New York:
Raja Bell
Barbosa
J. Graham
Grant Hill

And a second trade that works would be:

To Seattle:
Marcus Banks
Udonis Haslem
Kapono
Rasho
Graham

To Miami:
T.J. Ford
Parker
Baston
Donyell Marshall
Nick Collison

To Toronto:
Shawn Marion
Earl Watson
Chris Wilcox

Both of those trades work under the CBA and both would land superstars in Toronto (Crawford or Marion).

For obvious reasons, I prefer the second trade option with Marion coming to Toronto. I think Miami would only do it if it was certain that Marion was going to opt out and they'd lose him for nothing. At least this way they get the PG they want, a decent defensive centre in Collison and some vet presence in Parker.

For Seattle, they get some space at PG for Ridnour, keep the defensive rebounding they lose in Wilcox with Haslem, get a terrific shooter in Kapono to pull a defender off Durant in the draw and kick and clear cap space by swapping Rasho for Collison who is under contract for 3 more years.

There's something in this for everyone. Its a win-win-win situation.

See, being a GM is easy :) Just kidding, but seriously there are a ton of trades out there for sure.

And, don't forget about Roko.

He averaged (in 25 minutes):

12.1 points
3.0 assists
2.4 rebounds

60% FG / 38% 3FG / 75% FT

That seems to be good enough to play 10-15 minutes a game in the NBA. I'd much prefer having a 6'6" skilled backup PG than our current 5'10" brick-laying no-passing PG who might miss half the season with injuries anyway.

Roko Ukic's contract with Barcelona runs thru next season before he is a FA. He want's to come to the Rap's next year, and BC want's him as 3rd PG to learn the NBA for a year. He must 1st arrange a buyout with Barca.
If Ford is moved the 1st option would be to sign a veteran back-up, or as a 2nd have an inexperienced Ukic as back-up.

Hey if BC can trade Hoffa for Humpries he can sell Tj's protential to some team. Hey Tj played well for half the season it is not unrealistic that we may get some player of talent on this team.

I always thought Ford has the talent to be an elite PG and is better than Calderon (except passing sklls) on strickly talent levels. But if he puts himself ahead of the team, then he has to go, there is no question about it.

I think Ford's problems are overblown by the media and the fans are way to hard on him. But due to the salary structure keeping both ford and calderon are means less talent on the other spots. So trade ford may be the safer option even if we didn't get much in return and ford plays well after he got traded.

By the way, we have around 8-9 millon in salary tied up in Joey Grams, Kris Humpry, and Baston, not mention 3 million in Garbo, that is a lot of money for player sitting on the bench most of the season. Maybe we should discuss ways to dump some salary. I hate to see Delfino go because BC extended Grahm.

to Howland and the Franchise, and all u other ppl who think calderon is way better than ford take this into consideration
TJ ford 12.1ppg 3rpg 6.1apg 47%fgp 10.1fga 2.0TO
jose Calderone 11ppg 2.9rpg 8.3apg 51.9%fgp 8.6fga 1.5TO
now calderone did have the better overall season...tj didn't have a great year, he was out for 2 months b/c of injury which understandably hindered his performance through-out a large portion fot the season..but his stats are still comparable to calderons...and dont forget that tjs a much better defender, calderon gives up penetration way too much, in my mind this offsets some of the things he does on offense...plus we all kno that tj's capable of better, lass year he averaged 14ppg and 8apg and he was headed for an even better season before the injury occured...and dont give me no crap about ford being inury prone, the only injury that kept him out for significant period of time this year came as a result of that hard foul from al horford..and its obviouse that somthing like that doesn't occurs on a regular basis...i'm not even gonna argue with u ppl who think otherwise..his other stinger injuries only keep him out for a few games...IMO when tj ford is healthy and confident he is just as good if not better tthan JC...if tj is able to gain some strength and imporve is jump shot over the offseason, there will be no question as to who the better player is...weather or not u agree wit me is up to you...but i think i made one thing pretty clear and is that not one of these players is way better than the other... i think both ford and calderon would do just as good as the raps starting pg...however calderons trade value is much higher than fords..and if we're able to get a all star calibre wing for him then we sould do it...and to BC those 2 elite teams had two allstar levels players on the wing, jeff horncek and detleff schremp

Courtesy of a link to a hoopshype article, it seems that Base Year Compensation expires on June 30th, so that's probably the earliest you could see a trade of TJ.

I think that which pg you keep would also influence the caliber and type of backup you'd look for.

If I kept Calderon, I'd be okay with a average backup pg, and I would be looking for speed, quickness and defensive ability above all.

If I kept Ford, I'd be looking for a backup pg capable of major minutes without a large drop off in overall team play. That pg would also have to be at least 6'2 with at least average 3pt shoot ability.

In short, with Jose you can afford to be cheap when it comes to the backup.

With TJ, you'd be using up more resources (either via trade or FA contract.

great post. my only problem with it all is that I really don't think tj's value has dropped that much. the potential for him to be a quality starter is still there - I'm sure we can all agree on that. the injury concerns are a problem, no doubt, but lots of pro ballers have that issue.

I think if you sell him on: a) his numbers when he was a starter, pre-injury, and b) his potential and youth, he still could be a very valuable piece on a starting unit somewhere.

so I'm not so sure tj's value is so low right now as you guys are insisting.

the me-first attitude, btw, I don't think is that big of a deal if he's brought in as a starter, with a legit back-up that isn't challenging him.

the only reason it's an issue here is obvious. 2 starters - 1 job.

jose stays. tj goes. and he brings something back in value to boot.

Kwame, you wouldn't happen to be a GM of another NBA team, would you?

Everyone's really thinking that TJ gets us someone we need back. I'm a little afraid BC may be like Maestro (I'm jumping off from your previous reference) and stick to his vision, dumping TJ for expiring contracts in order to be a player next summer (say, Snow, Smith or Wally from Cleveland), especially if he can't get someone back that he really wants. This, of course, keeps us at .500 only, and ends up helping another eastern conference team, so maybe BC would shy away from a deal like that. But I'm keeping my expectations low, and hopefully will be pleasantly surprised if he pulls in somebody useful.

MAS:
"A deal between the Raps and the Cavs, centred on Ford, Varejao and Delonte West. I think Booby Gibson could be substituted for West in this deal and it would still work."

I don't think there's any chance Cleveland's giving up both Gibson and Varejao for TJ Ford.
Both Gibson and West are restricted free agents this season, and will be getting pretty good pay raises as well.

My question is Why is it OK for Jose to say he wants to start but it is not for TJ to say the same thing. As good as Jose was playing while TJ was injured the team was not winning..check the stats...Jose will have great games and the team still loose..so where his is effectiveness...and when has it ever been said or written by any of the players that TJ is a cancer (and I hate that word) in the locker room. If I can remember clearly every player loves TJ being in the locker room, especially on the road "he is fun, he plays around with everyone, always joking" and that's quotes from AP, Bosh and Hump to name a few...TJ was injured this year and never really got it back together. You could see that his confidence was gone, after coming back. The right move to make his to trade Jose and upgrade the team, get a wing player and/or a centre...Jose is not a better point guard than TJ..TJ knows the NBA he went to College in the US..just a year ago Jose was on the bench. Why do you think that BC went and got a point guard, Jose was still here..And what to say he will be a good next season, this has been a contract year for Jose, if you follow the NBA history almost every player play their best basketball in a contract year (remember Keon Clark)...Lets keep both point guard if Jose stakes is still high comes Feb then BC can always make a move at the trade deadline...But don't just get rid of TJ off the team because Jose said he wants to start..he is very hypocritical with his comments..." I just want to play for a winning team, doesn't matter if I start or come off the bench, once the team is winning" and as soon as he gets to Spain he wants to start...Jose has a lot of problems that the fans don't see, but it is as clear as day for TJ. Jose cannot cover quick guards they eat him up alive...The direction of the NBA is every team is looking for a quick PG, why should the Raps get rid of TJ who is one of if not the quickest PG in the league..He was drafted 9th in a Draft year with Lebron, Bosh, Carmello and DWade..We need to be patient with TJ..If JOse wants to start let the coaching staff decide in Training camp next year and my the better man win............Raps4Life

Raps4Life I completely disagree with a lot of the stuff you said. It is ok for TJ and Jose to make their comments about wanting to start AFTER the season is over. DURING the season you put the team first and do whatever you can to win games. That’s why Jose nicely gave up his starting spot DURING the season, TJ was the one who was crying and causing chemistry problems DURING the season which is why everyone is mad at him.

You mention the quote from guys in the locker room. Can you please find me a time where a player says someone on their team is terrible and shouldn’t be there? Guys even stuck up for Ron Artest when he ran into the stands. The only guy I can think of who threw his teammate under the bus was Kobe Bryant……and TJ Ford is no Kobe Bryant.

TJ’s confidence was gone? Is that why he refused to pass the ball and kept taking all the shots when he wasn’t starting?

BC went and got a PG while Jose was here because Jose was not playing at this level. He had only been in the NBA for one year…..so I really don’t see what point your trying to make. In fact BC even stated that he had no idea that Jose was this good.

If Jose and TJ both want to start then your right the coaches should decide. Last season when Ford got injured they decided Jose was better and he should start. TJ acted like a baby DURING the season and got his starting job back by crying.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7939780

Perhaps TJ is not way better than Jose on defence. I remember Nelson burning that Raptors time and time again when Jose was on the floor. He looked as lost as Andrea did at times. You are giving Ford way to much credit in my opinion.

Is there anybody beside me that thinks we should make a move for Shawn Marion? He is a unrestricted free agent this summer. A sign and trade from miami would work.

To Miami
TJ Ford
Rasho
Moon
Toronto's 1st Rounder

To Toronto
Marion
Miami's 2nd Rounder

Miami gets a high draft pick, a starting PG, a starting center, a replacement for marion at bargin price. Give them Grahm or Delfino if they wanted. That is a offer they can't refuse if they want to start winning this year.

Toronto becomes the new phoniex suns. We have
PG: Calderon (Nash)
SG: Parker (Bell)
SF: Marion
PF: Bosh (Stoudemire)
C: Barg (Kurt Thomas?)
With Kapono, Delfino and Humpries first off the bench.
We can still get a SG or C using Miami's second round (31-34).

This roster gives toronto a more talented starting 5 while trims some of its unused depth. We get the second scoring threat, improved defence and rebounding. And we still have some expiring contract to land FAs next year.

Good analysis Raptors HQ.

MAS, your trade of Ford for Varejao and West makes a lot of sense for both teams. Cleveland arguably gets the player with the most potential while the Raptors get Varejao - a great rebounder and hustle guy who could be a long term replacement for Rasho. The team could then trade Rasho's expiring contract and other players or picks to get a solid wing player - ex: Maggette.

I disagree that TJ's value has deteriorated significantly. He is young and has potential so there will be at least one team that will take a chance and pay something close to fair value for him. It makes no sense to trade Calderon - the better PG - when PG is arguably the most important position.

Raps4life - I totally disagree with your comments. Calderon is the better PG at this point. Calderon has gotten better as a player in each of the last 2 years - not just in his contract year. He has shown that he still has more upside. He is a better shooter than TJ, makes much better decisions handling the ball and runs plays for his teammates and he has great chemistry with Bosh. Both TJ and Calderon are poor defenders -Calderon can be beaten by quicker PGs but he plays better team defence while TJ either doesn't make an effort to play defense or too often goes for steals and gets out of position defensively.

There is no doubt that the other players were unhappy with TJ's me first attitude. Anthony Parker even came out during the season and said that TJ needs to do a better job sharing the ball with his teammates. I have no doubt that his me first attitude was one of the key factors which had an impact on the team's chemistry which led to its poor play during the last 25 games of the season.

TJ will be the one traded. Colangelo has already intimated that he would re-sign Calderon and that Calderon would be back next season.

JYD, Marion isn't a free agent but he has the right to opt out of his current contract. Nevertheless, a trade for Marion does make sense since he rebounds, plays defense and can score. His only downside is he can't create his own shot.
If he plays SF, then the Raptors could live with Bargnani's poor rebounding numbers at the centre position.

Your trade is interesting but you're paying too much to get Marion. There is no way I would include a 1st round pick. I would instead propose a trade of Ford, Rasho and Graham and a 2nd round pick for Marion.

Please fellows don't get me wrong..I too love Jose, I have no ill feelings towards Jose, he is a very good PG and a very good student of the game. I have no problem with him wanting to start...I would have a problem if he didn't. But the point I am trying to make, BBall said it best..The perception from the Fans is that TJ has no value at 8mil a season...one bad season does not deteriorate your value to nothing...especially when you are 24yrs old...What I don't like is bias by the fans. Every other player on the Raps is given a chance even Andrea (about 10) except for TJ which in my opinion is not fair...There is alot of team that did very well with mediocre point guards...So if it means trading Jose since his value in everyone's opinion is higher than Ford's then wouldn't that be the right thing to do to make the team better...Raps fans acts as if Jose is the Franchise player..NOT...We dont have alot of caps space to purchase a player this summer so a smart GM has to use what he has and the only one the Raps can use to get better this year is ...you guessed it....JOSE....RAPS4LIFE

JYD,

I think Marion's got a player option for the upcoming year for 17 million. And since he's not going to get that amount again, I think he might pick up the option and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Guys,

I was doing some reading and we can't trade out of the first round again. That kills any idea of not using or trading the first round pick.

Looks like Duhon will definitely be available as a backup: Chicago just got the #1 pick.

Haslem should also be available (assuming that Miami takes Beasley).

Chicago winning the draft and presumably drafting local kid Rose makes Miami a PG buyer, which helps the probability of a Ford-Marion trade.

Roko Ukic is good enough to be back-up next season, he's probably better than Duhon right now.

Seems like Nuggets and Nets are dealing

Camby/Anthony for Jefferson/Marcus Williams

If that goes throug, there goes trading for Camby or Jefferson. haha

I agree that TJ's value on the trade market might be a bit higher than he is getting credit for.

However regardless of what we get back I'd much rather have Jose. He has continued to improve season in and season out and theres no reason to think that it won't continue.

I'm not even sure if Jose would be enough to land an "all star" caliber player. All star calibers are tier 1 players......Jose is a "top 2nd tier point guard" (can't remember who made that quote but I completely agreed with it).

Miami will be looking for a point guard no doubt. And Haslem's spot will be taken by Beasley. Perhaps a very simple trade would be:

TJ Ford for Udonis Haslem and the Heat's second round pick.

They get their PG we get some toughness and rebounding.

Also just thought you guys would like to know: A NJ newspaper has been putting out more than 1 story that the Nets have been talking trade with the Raps centering around Andrea Bargnani.

Seems like Mello is on the move as well.

The Raps could certainly put together a package of TJ Ford, Andrea Bargnani and some other expiring contracts say AP which might tempt them. Not sure if that would be enough given the inconsistancy of the first 2.

Richard Jefferson would be an attainable piece as well. Unfortunately the Nets have a starting pg (harris) and a backup (williams).

But Andrea and expiring contracts might make it work. They get an extremely intriguing prospect and the cap flexability to completely rebuild.

Good call on the poll, we'll update it from the current one on the home page.

Interesting draft lottery tonight. As a huge Beasley fan, I was just glad New York and New Jersey didn't get their hands on him. However looks like we'll have to wait a month + to see which way the Bulls go. Beasley makes more sense on paper as the low-post scorer they've needed for an eternity...but now that they started to remake their lineup with Big Ben gone, and because Rose is a native son...who knows. But if Beasley goes 1, it throws a major wrench into any plans of dealing Ford to Miami.

MAS - Howland and I were watching the draft lottery tonight and discussing your Cavs deal...very interesting. The free agent situation with Gibson and West complicates things a bit but with all the bigs the Cavs now have under contract, moving sideshow Varejao for Ford makes a lot of sense. The Cavs offense stagnated at times in the playoffs and Ford would give them another penetrator and scorer.

WTF,I had the same thought about Carmelo Anthony. If he's available and I'm the Raptors I offer up Ford, Bargnani, Rasho and 1st and 2rd round draft pick to get Melo. That sort of package has got to be just as appealing to Denver as anything that NJ could offer.

I agree having Carmello and Bosh would make us contender year after year after year provided Melo keeps his head on straight.

I think Sam is a good guy for that provided he doesn't have a soft spot for that player.....and he wouldn't with Melo.

The key would be doing what the Spurs do.....rotating the role players.

I'm sure the Bull's gm (I think its Paxon but not sure) is doing everything he can or will be doing everything he can to move Kirk and his terrible contract. However it was only one bad year and I'm sure a lot of teams would be willing to take his contract.

Wouldn't it be interesting if they swapped Kirk and some pieces for Marion which allowed Beasley to go to Miami and Rose to go to Chicago.

Glad seattle didn't end up with the top pick....getting Durant and Rose would be just to unfair

For everybody who wants to see Carmelo in a Rap uni. It won't happen. It will be hard for Melo to help the team when he's serving 3 years less a day for whatever bone headed move he makes next year.

If we're all pushing for Melo, let's also try and grab Darko from Memphis... then we'd have 2-3-4 from the 2003 draft.

Taking a long term view, Chicago getting the first pick makes them a threat in the East. If they pick Beasley, he's their long awaited low post presence. If they pick Rose, they can implement the kind of fast transition style that takes full advantage of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah.

Well the Bulls and Heat just got stronger next year. With the emergence of the Sixers, Magic, and Hawks this past season its clear Toronto has to get better.
I guess BC will look at all options and make what he considers the best deal. The only Raptor not on the table is Bosh.
Personally I think Jose is entering his prime years. Next few years he can be one of the better PG's in the league.
I also think TJ has the potential to be the better player, several years from now. Will that potential develope? Can he stay healthy? Logically, keeping Jose seems the safest move. Is Roko Ukic ready for the NBA - fact is none of us know for sure. Deal for another backup? Who knows? Chicago just got deeper, possible trade partner?

Nothing like a Jose vs TJ, or is it a TJ vs Jose debate to have a post of endless length. Keep up the great work guys.

My heart tells me Jose, my gut tells me TJ. The big thing that scares me with TJ, is his injury. I never used to believe that his spinal stenosis would affect him after his surjury, but it did this year. But TJ is a great pg, and can be a great one for this team.

Jose, will be great for ANY team. I would hate to lose his heart and passion he brings to the raptors. I actually think that Jose has more swagger than TJ. Its just shown in more of a leadership sense (where TJ's is an attitude, which can corrupt his play)

Tough decesions. Im glad Im not the one making the choice, and having to live with the consequenes if you made the wrong choice.

Of course Jose is a better player. That's just pointing out the obvious. However, he's not THAT much better (check the stats... plus now with Jose whining about being a starter, what exactly is the difference between them? everyone loves Calderon because he was saying the right things during the season, but his recent comments have revealed that his stance is pretty much the same as TJs... so I don't know how keeping TJ "poisons the locker room" and keeping Jose is a boon to our chemistry... maybe that's just me). Calderon's trade value is significantly higher though. Say TJ is 75% the player Calderon is, but Calderon has twice the trade value. In that situation, from an overall team talent standpoint the team would be better off trading Jose for someone of equal value and keeping TJ.

firesmitch, Good point about Calderon: if he's all team-first, why go to the media and hurt his trade value? He's basically encouraged other GMs to low ball BC in any deal now that they know we're in a fix. He could have just gone to the Raptors and said as much, but in private. Once again, I call on Spanish speakers to really look at that quote through the filter of "is this a team first guy" goggles...

Camby/melo for Jefferson/Williams are you kidding me? Who is your source, a Jayz? There is no way in hell that Denver makes that trade. They are giving up a star SF and one of the premiere defensive centers in the league for a good SF and a backup PG. How does that make sense? If NJ Won the lottery and gave up the first pick too maybe Denver would consider it but the deal as is, is completely one sided for NJ. Now if it was Melo for VC maybe they would do that. VC as much as most Raps fans hate him, is one of the few players in the league who could potentially play up to Kobe. Not to say he is as good as Kobe but in a 7 game series he could at least match Kobe point wise (about 90%). Even then NJ would have to throw someone better than marcus williams into the deal.
As for the Rap PG debate, I still say you trade them both. Miami has the 2 pick and more than likely will have to take Beasely (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). Why not offer them Calderon and Bargnani for the 3nd pick and contract to match? Even if Toronto ends up having to draft Beasely, you can always flip him to another team for the player you need. Trade Ford for what ever you can get and sign either Duhon or get another pg in another trade (sign and trade for Delfino perhaps). I am not saying Miami would make the deal but it would be tempting if they got a sure starting PG to play alongside Wade and Marion, and a player with upside they could put into the PF spot (which I think Bargnani is destined to play in the NBA). Unfortunately, the NBA being what it is, the Raps may be stuck in the same situation they were this year until the trade deadline unless they are willing to take a hit for Ford. Who knows, maybe BC will pull a rabbit out of his hat.

I agree that both PG's are lacking in their man-to man defense, but Jose does play better team defense. My issue with TJ is that I just don't believe that he has a high basketball IQ. He has shown time and time again that he isn't a very good decision maker when he has the ball in his hands. Now, can that be taught? After 4 years...I'm not so sure.

His spinal stenosis is a concern though. My wife assured me last year that TJ's surgery SHOULD prevent further injury, but nothing is written in stone. This year, she has changed her tune quite a bit after witnessing TJ's third stinger over a one-year period. Lets not forget that TJ suffered one stinger last year and two more this year. THESE injuries are directly related to his condition. This is cause for concern and TJ does risk paralysis every time an Al Horford recklessly makes a play for the ball (head). Does he have potential? Yes, at least I believe he does (but so did Joey Graham). Do I believe that he has worth in the eyes of a team looking to strengthen that position? Most definitely! AB just had a brutal season, yet the Nets are enquiring about his availability. GM’s have to be risk-takers in order to be successful. I have to believe that there is someone out there who still believes in his tremendous upside when put into the right situation, regardless of his health issues. He has only two years left on a workable contract…let’s see what BC can do?

Those who are calling Jose out for speaking his mind at season’s end are being a bit biased. This guy shut his mouth for the betterment of the team during the regular season. He is now trying to promote his services (and beliefs) around the league as well as here in Raptorland. Let’s not forget that he is a restricted free agent and is simply letting everyone know what his expectations are. Some might even call this good marketing.

McGateway, actually I saw it from the score last night. And here's some more from yahoo:

"Wednesday, May 21, 2008 9:12 EDT

Nuggets, Nets working on Jefferson for Anthony deal?
Getty Images

Although general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said Tuesday night that the New Jersey Nets would consider trading any of their draft picks, it seems that with the 10th, 21st and 40th selections, the team's biggest bargaining chip still is Richard Jefferson. However, it seems more likely than ever that the Nets' starting small forward could be traded. He would probably have to be included if the Nets want to land one of the biggest superstars in the league, Carmelo Anthony. The teams are rumored to have had talks regarding a deal according to the New York Daily News.

Jefferson, who is owed $42 million over the next three seasons, averaged a career-high 22.6 points this season. He also proved that he was healthy by playing in all 82 games after missing significant amounts of time the previous two years.

The Nets are said to be considering several trade scenarios, most of which involve Jefferson being shipped. In the rumored Anthony proposal, the Nets would also get Marcus Camby while sending Marcus Williams, Keith Van Horn's contract and other pieces to the Denver Nuggets along with Jefferson.

Source: New York Daily News

"

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors;_ylt=AoLm_OF7lWDn0bHxmb6VI4fqbwM6

And apparently, they are really willing to trade Carmelo right now because of attitude problems. So there's my source.

In no particular order:

-MAS, I like your trade idea with the cavs. I've never been a big Varejao fan (when i watched him play for Barcelona years ago he was nothing to write home about) but his limited skills fit perfectly with what the Raps need. Also TJ looks like he would be a very good fit with the cavs, so MAS your idea makes a lot of sense: go run it by BC now!

-Does anyobdy else think that Nets-Nuggets trade is quite loopsided in New Jersey's favor?

-As for Jose's comments to the spanish media, I think it probably sounded bigger than he intended. When I read it, I took it more to mean that he would value more than just the money in a new contract, and of course that he intends to be a starter, but he is not demanding a guaranteed starting spot or anything like that...

-I predict Jose ends up signing for the Raps for slightly less money than you expect (about 6m or 7m year) and within the first week of free agency negotiations. You have to factor in that, coming from europe where the player salaries are a lot lower, european players are not too difficult to content. Off the top of my head i can't remember any big contract negotiation drama with the dirks, manus, gasols...

Botton line guys and girls, there were five teams in the NBA last year that featured only one player who averaged above 15 ppg. Those teams were as follows:

Miami, Minnesota, Seattle, Cleveland and of course, the Raptors. So, the three worst teams in the league, record wise, a team that has basketball jesus Lebron (not to be confused with Jesus Shuttlesworth) and our Raptors. That speaks volumes about the offense on this team, in my opinion. You can say we had balanced scoring, you can say that on any given day, someone other than Bosh could step up, but really, I'm not buying it, I'm sorry.

There's word coming out now that the Bucks are shopping Michael Redd around. He could make a pretty solid addition to the team, though I'm not sure what we'd have to give up to get him. Maybe Parker + Rasho + Moon? The Bucks have huge contracts tied up for a few years, they may want to clear some space off the cap. Plus, if we dealt these players for Redd, it would still leave us with the possible Bargs + Graham + Garbs + Draft pick trade with NJ. Or a T.J. trade with Miami if they get Beasley? Perhaps Haslem for Ford?

Check this starting lineup out if we move the above named players.

Calderon/Ukic
Redd/Kapono
Jefferson/Delfino
Bosh
Haslem/Baston

+ Draft a solid centre like a Brook Lopez or something along those lines.

Alright, sure, there are problems, like the fact that this particular lineup would cost the Raps roughly 70 million (assuming Calderon inks at around 8 mil and Ukic at around 1.5 mil) and that the projected luxury tax for the 08-09 season is 70 million. Or the fact that in two years, we'd have 66 million wrapped up in five players (though all of whom would have huge expiring contracts that could be moved). Or how about the fact that it leaves the team without a real centre - even if you substituted Varajao for Haslem in the T.J. deal, you're still without a real centre. But still, who wouldn't want to watch a starting four of Calderon, Jefferson, Redd and Bosh? I mean, that would be insane! We'd dominate the East! Who's with me?!?!

Alright, that's getting a little carried away, but still there's clearly room to improve and we have the assets to do it with.

IS Denver's GM a complete nut or what...why would you give up Mello and Camby for Jefferson and Williams...then again this is the nba remember what Babcock got for VC? Raps should go after the deal Portland deal that would bring Pryzilla (sp) and Banks and Ratcliffe for TJ and Rasho...that's the best deal out there for the Raps..This is fun, I dont know about you guys but I cant wait for July 1st...Every team in the East is getting better and the Raps better join the party or we could be spectators to the playoffs next season..remember only 8 teams make it...Atlanta and PHilly looks good, Orlando is a lock...Detroit, Boston and Cleveland..Raps...only one spot left for 6 teams that will be improving their roster...Chicago..1st pick, Miami 2nd pick and those are good teams that have bad seasons...include NJ in that mix ..the east will be very interesting comes training camp in October.....raps4life

Have to agree with Asst GM there, well said.

Might not be fair to Ford, but the injury possibility comes into play....however the millions of dollars he banks makes it impossible for me to sympathize.

(I realize Ukic would be 3rd string prob to start...I thought his arrival here was a given though.)

AP underwent surgery on his finger.

Andrea underwent surgery on his face or nose or something.

Either way neither is really serious and they should be cleared to resume workouts within a month....although AP's is a bit more serious.

lol was just coming on to comment on that wtf. I wonder how hurt these guys were all season. That's AP's dominant hand. And the adenoids surgery is basically saying bargnani had the flu-like symptons in the winter. I know I did this winter. Could explain his inconsistent motor a bit.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3407116

All signs are pointing to Jose staying.

Was on hoopshype and reports out of Toronto and NYC state that although Jose is the more coveted pg TJ is the more realistic option.

It also states like we have that TJ may have a bit more value than some were giving him credit for.

Another fun rumour is that Brian would even inquire about what it would cost to get the no.2 pick.

I'd say anything other than Bosh.

Franchise/Howland,

Any chance you guys are going to be running a post on the list of unrestricted free agents (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=2008freeagents) who might be possibilities for the Raps to use its MLE? I know people are talking about using the MLE or a portion of it on Diop or Duhon, even Najera, but it would be great to have a player-by-player analysis relative to what the Raps need (i.e. defense/slashing wing)/can expect to get (i.e. not Magette nor skilled playmaker/scorer) for under 5-6 mill.
As an example, if Raps don't resign Delfino, and no trades seem to be brewing for a slashing SG, does Quentin Ross make sense as a cheaper, backup, defensive SG? Having almost never seen the guy, I have no idea. Hope you guys do.
Keep up the good work.

Just a quick note, Jose is indentured to the Raptors. Colangelo can match anything that is offered to Jose, without regard for the cap....Jose has no leverage whatsoever. As a point of reference look at Mo Williams and Charlie Bell, both guys wanted to go to Miami pretty bad, but Milwaukee blocked the Heat every time by matching.

We had some draft talk scheduled for tomorrow but it might not go up until tomorrow night...Howland is having some computer issues so 1:40 am apologies if we don't get it running as we had hoped.

Interesting though that the New York papers have picked up on the Jose-TJ thing as some of you have mentioned. That means there's at least an awareness of the Raptors' situation at PG outside of Toronto.

I too think the Denver trade rumours concerning the Nets are crazy. Why Denver wants to essentially return to the lottery for the foreseable future in an ever-improving West and STILL be handicapped with its worst contracts (Nene and K Mart) is beyond me. Probably why these things are called rumours...

Casey - Great stat about the scoring issues that Toronto has. I talked about this to start the Orlando series saying that while defence is always a worry with Toronto, I was actually worried if the team could score enough when it mattered. We saw the result and that's why a scoring player like CDR who can manufacture buckets would be such a boost to the team in my view...

...then again so would trading for an established swingman...

PS - Tim...we'll definitely be doing that as we move into June and closer to free-agent time. I did a small breakdown in an article a few weeks before the season ended but we'll get into much more detail this time around.

Good read and interesting points. Particularly about trading the team's depth and trading 3 for 2 or 2 for 1. Franchise is right, there's too much depth and not enough starting level talent. For me this is the key. BC needs to decide who is in the teams future and then shorten the bench. It appears that BC has decided to stick with Mitchel and I think it's obvious that Mitchel does use his personel effectively. The Raps played some over there best ball this year when Ford and some others were out. Jose and Bosh developed a chemistry and Mitchel was forced to use an eight man rotation. Players knew if/when they were playing. There was consistency and a confidence that was visible on the court. There are many players on this team that I could go either way with; Moon/Delfino/Graham/Garbo and yes even Ford/Calderon.