Free Agent Camp Recap for June 22nd

What about those rumors of TJ AND the 17th pick for Diaw??? C'mon...BC can do way better than that, TJ is worth much more.

What’s wrong with Jordan? On some mocks, he’s slipped to 16. Not unreasonable he would be there at 17. With comparisons to Howard, don’t you have to consider him?

Hicks may be there early in the second round, if the Raps want him, buy Seattle’s 3rd pick (32nd overall) and pick him up there.

Anyone see the story out of Greece? Olympiacos is interested in Raptors guard Anthony Parker. "It's still too early to say anything. I have Olympiacos' offer in my mind, but I still belong to the Raptors so it's not easy," Parker said. Solobasket

Parker rumour is a bit scary...suddenly Colangelo could lose two of his key acquisitions before the completion of his 3-year plan. Maybe it's time to start looking at getting another draft pick this year...

As for Jordan, guys like him and McGee are falling because they have Chris Taft and Patrick O'Bryant written all over them. Sure, Jordan could be the next Dwight Howard...but he could also be the next Adonal Foyle. Not sure why DeAndre didn't go back to school for another year of seasoning. He's just years away from being a contributor at this point.

The Anthony Parker rumour doesn't worry me.....even if he left after this year it wouldn't worry me.

He is under contract to the Raptors for this year and we will probably need him. However the guy is already 33 years old. I doubt he was in Brian's long term plan anyways. He was brought here to play defence, score a little, be a leader and show the young guys what it means to be a pro.

He is not our long term answer at the sg or sf position and if he was I would be very worried.

The raps have 18 million in expiring contracts this year so getting a sg to replace Parker won't be that hard.

Another note: Garbo may be signing with CSKA Moscow

Moving on to the draft, I read that Robin Lopez has been invited into the green room meaning he might not even be there when Toronto is picking.

DeAndrea Jordan seems to be all over the place, some sites are saying he could slip all the way to the bottom of the first round. Without a doubt someone will suffer from the Jameer Nelson or Marcus Williams syndrome, always happens so it'll be interesting to see who it is. Batum, Anthony Raldolph and Hibbert are three other guys who could go a lot later than expected.

Interesting piece of news. Doug Smith is reporting that Raptors are having talks about trading TJ, Rasho, and #17 plus filler for Jermaine O'Neil. Doug Smith says he got this from a legitimate source, and my feeling is that if this was just a third party rumour he wouldn't have published it. Here's the link:
http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/

Just heard that BC is trying to put a package of TJ, Rasho and the 17th pick for Jermaine O'Neal..That would be the best and biggest move that BC could pull off...If you are regular here you will know that that is the only trade I was pushing for and I heard it on the Fan this morning..just think of this starting 5...
Bosh,
O'Neal,
Jamario,
Parker
Jose
I am praying that BC can pull it off before draft day...Raps4Life

I sort of like this trade but it would leave us a little short in the point guard position wouldn't it? Also, I still think we need an upgrade on the wing and with T.J. gone, who do we have left to trade away for a better wing player. A good question is: with this trade, would we still be in need of a high caliber wing player? We’d definitely have rebounding covered so does that mean we keep Delfino, Moon and Parker as our best options on the wing?

My only skepticism on this trade is would there be an issue of touches for Bosh and O’neal? They both would be accustomed to being the focal point of the offence and there presumably would have to be some adjustment in the way they play to accommodate each other.

You know what, I’d actually rather the Raptors trade T.J. for a good SF/SG instead of having two all star bigs. I’m not sure that would work out well chemistry wise. BC knows what he is doing though so my 2 cents is really only that.

I wouldn't worry too much about touches. O'neal is more focused on the defensive end than bosh. On offense, he could play the low block, while bosh played the high. Like Perkins and Garnett.

As far as the slasher, it would become a moot point, cause we would have another inside presence. So instead of driving and dishing, we would post up, wait for double, then dish. So we can stick kapono, calderon and parker out there with'em. Any defense and rebounding we lose with kapono we'd make up with having O'neal in there,anchoring the D, something Bosh really can't do.

I know O'neal has miles on him, and it is a bit of a risk, but seriously Boston is in our division. It's gonna take a big move like this to allow us to compete. I don't care how many "gems" BC finds in the draft, no way it puts us into Boston's class. With JO at least we're getting there. And Bosh, Calderon, and Jo would be as formidable a big three as any in the L.

Yes, with this trade the team will have a flaw; lack of crunch time scoring. But better one than 4 (lacking toughness, defense, rebounding and crunch time scoring).

Also consider what we're giving up for him. We're selling high on Rasho, no one's losing sleep over TJ, and I think we can all agree that the 17th pick at best will be a project.

Obviously if we could get manu, and KG for Tj and Rasho, I'd do it, but considering what's reportedly out there (DIAW?!?!?!) this is a fantastic trade.

We'll see if it comes about...

I'm a little skeptical about JO's health, I can't remember the last time he played a full season, 3 years ago maybe? So i guess Bargani is the 6th man again?

Hilarious comment from Granger last friday about the Tj+17th per Diaw rumor: "I don't see that happening... if the Suns trade for Ford how can they be sure Steve Nash will adjust to coming off the bench?"

It appears as if this pice of new has some legitamacy...NBA.com is reporting it on their website.

"Piece of News" I mean...

Sergi P, I caught that as well in Grange’s post, even though I still believe Ford is a talented PG and I like the guy, that was HILARIOUS!

As for the proposed O’Niel trade… There are pros and cons to this deal.

Pros:
• Bargnani can be used as he should be: a big off the bench that can take advantage of mismatches, not have to play defence against 1st string centres and provide a change of tempo from a traditional centre (O’Neil)
• Defence and rebounding is improved drastically
• Bosh won’t be stranded on an island as the only true "quality big" on the team and therefore not have to guard the Kevin Garnetts, Dwight Howards and Amare Stodamires of the league
• I think Bosh and O’Neil could compliment each other nicely… Bosh being more of a face up, "slashing" and jump shooting type and O’Neil the more traditional back to the basket player on offence. Defensively, you have two legitimate shot blockers (would like to see more of this from Bosh) in the lane. Possibly, when/if health the best front court in the East, at least on par with KG/Perkins or Wallace/McDyse.
• We finally get Colangelo to admit what was blatantly apparent last year…. Bargnani is not yet (being generous) a starting centre in the NBA.

Cons:
• Huge… HUGE cap number: O’Niel makes over $20 mil in each of the next two seasons. This leaves very little wiggle room for the Raps to improve at the wing spots and back-up PG.
• It is a possibility that Bosh and O’Niel don’t match well (I don’t believe this will be the case).
• O’Neil is coming off a season in which he missed 44 games and ain’t getting any younger (he will be 30 in Oct. but it’s not like he’s an old man)
• There have been question’s surrounding O’Neil’s leadership qualities… not sure how much stake you can put in that though as it is mere speculation.

While this deal makes sense in many ways, there are drawbacks. I hope this deal/rumour is really a ploy by Colangelo to get other teams to come forward with alternate proposals. Basically, Colangelo throwing some gasoline on the T.J. trade fire.

nice recap guys , thanks.
A couple of questions.
1-In the Benson/Suns case, Do the Suns have rights over Benson because he plays for them on their summer L team, or is it just a situation where their coaches can get a better feel for the player but anyone can still sign him?
2-Delfino's option was picked up by the Raps. Has the dollar value of the option been established or is that yet to be negotiated? and can Carlos be included in a trade this summer or does the option tie team and player together for the rest of the year?

Geez I hope the JO trade does not go through - the guy is way too injury prone and will be gone by the time the raps are ready to be taken seriously.

Jermaine O'neil will be getting 44 million over the next two years.

However last year he only played in 42 games and put up 13 points and 7 rebounds due to knee injury.

If the raps bring this guy in and he's not healthy then the upcoming year basically goes down the drain because the only reliable big man we will have is Bosh.

Are the raptors willing to make that gamble.....over the past 4 years Jermaine has missed an average of 30 games a season. I don't think its worth the risk.

Recent examples of moves involving big men with big contract who've had big issues or doubts about their health:
Ben Wallace - Worked our horribly for the Bulls
Shaq - Didn't work out at all, couldn't get them anywhere
Zack Randolph - LOL probably the worst move of all

I'd much rather keep Rasho has an enforcer next to bosh and have andrea back them up and kris sit on the bench until next year when Rasho's contract expires. Remember the end of the season Rasho was playing the best basketball of his career.

i'd be willing to move the draft pick, a number of players (rasho, ap, ford, joey, kris, baston) and our mid level exception but not for an injury prone and likely washed up player.

Somebody mentioned that we would be weak at the PG Spot. Probably wont' be an issue as Roko will be coming over and guys like Steve Blake and Chris Duhon will be on the FA market.

I think BC is not serious about the O'Neal deal...its all part of the process of drumming up the price of your own players..."Hey, look...Indiana is willing to give us O'Neal...your deal for Diaw really stinks in comparison!!! How 'bout your throw in Nash???"

44 mill... 44 million dollars!?! I can't honestly agree it is a good idea to spend 44 MILLION dollars over two years on a guy who hardly plays because of a gimpy knee (not to mention lack of desire)? Surely we can find a better way to spend 44 MILLION freakin dollars over the next two years! Cory Maggette, Josh Smith, Beindris, or Baron Davis... can't they be had for that kind of cash? Its just too big of a gamble for that much money (I think).

We'll be breaking down some of the recent trade rumours surrounding the Raptors tomorrow in addition to posting our annual chat with Draftexpress' Jonathan Givony. First impression is I like the JO idea simply because it's worth the risk to get rid of Ford. If it was moving a proven player for him, well, that's a different story but as we all know, Ford has to go anyways so to get someone with this much upside in return would be huge.

The salary piece though is a concern as it changes next summer now. (That was to be the summer of financial freedom.) So like you pointed out MAS, that really hinders any upgrades Toronto may want to make at other spots. And if the draft pick goes too in the deal, not a lot of opportunity to bring in potentially cheap talent.

While I agree that O'neal is wildly overpaid, you cannot deny that this is exactly the type of player that we need. Jermaine would give us scoring in the low post, leaving Chris to play in the high post, and our shooters (Calderon, Parker, Kapono), to spot up on the perimeter. Defensively, we get a proven rebounder and shotblocker, a guy that can bang with Howard in the low post a bit, and somebody that is a real interior presence. That will, in turn, mean the perimeter guys can be more agressive, and Bosh can be used as weak side help.

Now, with that said, $44 million is ALOT of money, but if this doesn't work out, we have a $23 million expiring contract that we can use either next off-season, or wait for the deal to expire and then have alot of money to spend in free-agency. By the way, that's the summer that Lebron, Bosh, Amare, Wade, Ginobli and potentially Deron Williams and Chris Paul can all opt out of their current deals and become free agents. Not a bad summer to have some money to spend.

If this deal goes down, it addresses alot of the problems that plagued this team last year, but we'd still need a slasher at the 2. Fortunately, we'd still have the mid-level exception to use, so that hole can still be filled.

Admittedly, JO's salary is outrageous. But on the flip side, if he's a bust, imagine being able to offer a 22 million expiring contract in a trade a season and a half from now...

Everyone keeps talking about Roko coming over for sure next season, but is it really set in stone? Thought there was a buyout that had to be negotiated, and I'm sure there're other issues as well. Can someone clarify if Roko coming to the Raptors next year is a realistic possibility? Thanks!

OT....U must of heard this by now Shack rapping Kobe....too funny..

http://www.tmz.com/tmz_main_video?titleid=1626146951

ESPN: "The other potential scenario for the Clippers is a trade. They've been talking to the Suns about a deal that would send Corey Maggette and No. 7 to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa and No. 15."

If this goes down I’ll be very disappointed. We should be in there with Ford & #17. I can only hope these real scenarios are happening behind closed doors while they float out ridiculous Diaw rumours.

No way would the Clippers deal Maggette and the No.7 for Ford and the No. 17.

They already have so many injuries to key guys they won't take a chance on Ford for that high of a price.

Maggette probably has more value than Ford so they certainly aren't going to give us the better player and the better pick.

Reports are now indicating the the Raps and Pacers deal is dead (thank god)

wtf,where did you read jo & tj deal dead ? I hope you are right,Shit,the way Rasho played the end of the season whats the rush to dump him .If this deal indeed happens its all about trading big injury bogged down contracts that nobody else will touch.Draft a big,trade for a seasoned slasher...clippers anyone ?

I am just curious what people over in Indiana might have thought about this trade scenario? My connection is incredibly slow these days so if anyone could look around and post any indy responses that would be cool!

Personally, I think it sounds pretty good for the Raps. Yes Rasho was solid last season, but he was relegated to the bench in favor of developing Bargs and Ford also has a history of injuries. I think the pick is the only reason why Indy actually makes this trade. People keep pointing out the 44 million, but we would be sending back around 40 million over the next 3 years. If you are worried about injuries, TJ's longer contract is actually more of a long term risk. Plus, as someone pointed out, when O'Neal's deal is expiring we will all kinds of options. I think this would be a great deal for TO and I hope that it isn't dead for good.

As for Indy, I do think it is a good deal for them too. It is time for them to end their JO era, too many bad memories. They have loads of jump shooters and TJ would be a good drive and kick PG for Dunleavy, Granger and Murphy. As I said, Rasho was very good last year when given minutes - plus he is white which the Pacers seem to like.

One last point I would like to make is that this would be the type of player BC is looking at to bring in here. I think BC is far too often criticized for only liking soft Euro-jump shooters. When BC came to TO, we needed an overall talent upgrade - at every position. The best way to do this was to think outside the box. Bringing in unheralded Euro players, that were fundamentally sound and free agents that were under the radar helped to change the culture of the raps and made them a .500 squad. Bargnani might have been a stretch, but there was no clear cut #1 pick and there is still loads of potential there. However, even in Pheonix, it was BC that signed Kurt Thomas to add some toughness and rebounding. He knows that is an essential part of the game, and apparently he knows it is something the Raps are missing too. No he might not be perfect, but I hope this 'almost move' helps change the stereotype of what a BC player is. I just hope this deal can still get done!

Come on guys, censoring "Holy Sh**"??

I realize it might not have added to the convo but that was my reaction, so next time, I guess just go with "Gee whiz!" or something?

Remember guys, the internet was invented so we could swear and curse and not be censored.

Besides I'm pretty sure the last time "sh**" was considered a swear word was in the early 80's.

PS He also brought in Raja Bell for his toughness and defence on the perimeter - I loved watching him and Kobe butt heads in the playoffs over the past couple of years. So please let all this talk of BC only liking one type of player please stop.