3 In the Key – Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Philadelphia

help me out, what is an "eeek" face? does it mean: "please do not bother me at grocery store" or .... "that team play makes me puke"?

I'm sure it is difficult for the players when the games mean little but those in the last year of their contract will probably try to boost their stats.
Just wanted to take issue with this idea that Marion has made them a "running" team. Part of the Raptors problem over the past few years is that they haven't settled on what the should do as a team system. When Colanglo first came over, it was this foolish talk about a hundred shots a game, then they bring in Oneal and it's half court and now they bring in Marion and now they want to be a "running" team.
This "running" team identity is bullshit because it leaves the impression that everything they do on offense needs to be full open. The reality of winning basketball is that you "push" the ball to test the defense and make good decisions accordingly.
To me, this lack of a consistant smart approach is an indication that we need different coaching. I hope they would lure someone from a prooven system like the Spurs.

Yeahhhhhhhh the game is on Raptors TV! Oh wait, I don't get that channel in my building (on Star Choice) either.
Yesterday's debate seems to circle around a few themes.
1. Trading Bosh (even though I am not convinced that the Raptors will get anything close to value for him).
2. Bringing in cheap FA's (isn't this a bad idea on so many levels) like Delfino (are you kidding me? you think he is the answer?).
3. Resigning our own FA's, namely Parker or Marion. I am really not sure resigning either one of them is the right move going forward as I just think they will both cost too much (parker due to his age and Marion due to his belief that he is better than he is). Unless they both take veteran minimums for like a year or two max, this is a bad idea. Both of these guys are in their 30's and both have shown signs that they are on the decline. I advocated for the trade to get Marion but not cause I thought we should keep him but because he would free up playing time for Bargnani and his salary came off the books at the end of the year (I was also a proponent of trading Oneal to NY for Starbury for that same reason).
Some people mentioned GS as a possible destination for Bosh based (probably) on some rumours before the trade deadline that GS and Toronto had talked about a trade. I imagine that is all it was as I can see the conversation now:
Nellie/GM - "So what do you want for Chris Bosh"
BC - "Hmmmm, well we will take Biedrins, Randolph and one of Jackson/Maggette/Crawford off of your hands, though you might have to take Kapono to make the numbers work"
Nellie - "ummmm, I was thinking you just take one of Crawford/Maggette and maybe Randolph"
BC - "Not a chance, we need to take Biedrins too."
Nellie - "*Click*"
BC - "Hello?"
Considering that Biedrins fits Nellies system pretty well and he is not ridiculously overpaid (he is making 9 Mil per season), produces very nice numbers (averages a double/double and is above the Curry line) even with the length of his contract, do you really believe that GS would make this deal? Crawford's contract isn't that bad but I could see them shipping him out (or Maggette) but not in a package with Biedrins for Bosh and Kapono (who would have to be included to make the salaries match).
The Detroit scenario is also unlikely. Why would they trade away assets they would need to keep Bosh when they can just wait until he becomes a FA and sign him? It would cost at least something like Prince, and either Amir Johnson or Maxiell and Stuckey just to make the numbers work and I do not think Detroit will give up both Prince and one of the combo of the other players for a guy they can get for nothing.
Next trade scenario please. Keep um coming as I know Raptor fans have become too much like Leaf fans in that they always overvalue their own players in trade scenarios even as they stab em in the back by saying they aren't franchise players.

P.S. I think we need a definition of what a franchise player is as the core of the debate about trading Bosh is around whether or not he is a franchise player (and thus worthy of Max Money). Can someone please define this for me as from the impression I get from the posts, there are exactly like 5 players in the NBA considered franchise players and they are all guards or small forwards (ok 1 small forward).

Just bumpin into to your buddy BC at the grocery store like it ain't no thing eh? That's pretty sweet. If I was making 3 mill I might have someone attend to the grocery situation for me.

Eek is not an encouraging sign. But at least eek demonstrates acknowledgement of how much they have sucked.

Funny stuff as yes, post-work yesterday I'm grabbing some groceries at the Kitchen Table (highly overpriced) near my crib and while standing in line at the checkout, I hear a certain unmistakeable voice...

Yep, BC.

So I went over, said hello, and asked about the club right now to which he gave the "yeah, things aren't going so well" look before stating though that they were pressing on to try and finish the season on a high note.

I found this especially interesting because having spoken with him via the post-Marion trade conference call, his demeanor regarding the team had obviously taken a left turn.

I'm not sure what exactly we can infer from this, but we then briefly talked draft, I wished him luck in the upcoming big off-season, and told him I'd likely see him a lot along with the rest of the media during pre-draft workouts.

C'est tout...but yes, quite random indeed...

When I think about the changes to this team from last year, there is one that stands out as the most significant. That is of course Jose taking over the full time duties as point guard. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that this is the leading cause to one of our main issues, lack of defence.

I’m not suggesting that TJ should have been kept, he had to go. But when you look at our numerous deficiencies as a team, I think the main issue starts with Jose.

He is decent on offence and you could argue that when healthy, he is an above average pg. But there is no argument that he is one of the worst defenders in the league at his position. If you look at the raptors on defence, what happens is that Jose does not even attempt to guard his man straight up. I guess he knows he can’t. When the defender bring up the ball doesn’t blow by him and the opposition gets into their half court offence, Jose stands to one side of the player he is defending. This is different to what most of us our taught as early as primary school. "Always stand between your man and the basket." Nope, not for Jose. Jose’s best defensive strategy is to stand between his man and the sideline hoping to make his defender drive to his weak side. That whole defensive strategy is predicated on help defence. So as the help defence comes over, the ball goes to the 3 point shooter for either an open shot or a quick outlet to the cutter past the scrambling defence.

THIS IS OUR MOST SIGNFICANT PROBLEM. It’s not that we can’t defend, it’s that we aren’t given an opportunity to do so because we have to cover for Jose. We have been very good at times with our defence, our first game against Boston (at least the first 3 quarters of it) comes to mind. There were several other games where we flashed our brilliance. Enough to suggest we posses that skill set.

Therefore, I have to agree with Raps4life. If BC upgrades the 1 spot and does nothing else, I think we are back to close to a 500 team.

I also don’t like the trade Bosh talk. Sometimes these kinds of things just seem to simmer for a while and all of a sudden they gain momentum and become impossible to stop. This "trade Bosh" talk seems to be on the money horse carriers which were trained not to stop for anything but a secret word. If its true that no one in the league thinks Bosh is resigning, then its time to trade Bosh. But if BC learns the secret word, its time to stop this wagon. Bosh is an important part of our future, as long as he wants to be.

Ya Kitchen Table is a rip off. Location Location..

But with regards to the offseason, while it looks like there might be a lot of movement, I'm not sure the raps are positioned to be players. We have no cap space, and not muvh in the way of young reasonably priced players.

I think it is likley we will use our pick, the mle and lle and that will be the extent to our talent acquisition. Though a lottery pick, and the mle this year should not be insignificatnt additions.

Delfino is a no brainer to bring back - unless we truly need the space below the tax, in which case we'd probably just renounce Parker.

Other than that, I feel the downside risk to dissembling the Bosh/Bargs combo is too large. If they can atleast be passable on D, they could be insane on O.

But this offseason we might just be keeping it together and positioning ourselves to take the big step... Which might not be untill
Banks and Kapono are expiring...

I actually think TO is going to win tonight, dont ask me why. Philly just seems sort of overrated and i think we can pull this one out.

Franchise - you should have asked bc about bosh - wonder if he would have said anything sort of out of the blue to give us an idea of what hes planning on doing this summer??

totally rite about the caulderon thing. without a decent point guard the team is gunna fail, epically fail

The more I look at this team, the more I think... We need a good out of bounds passer just like Oak or Garbajosa was back in the day...

You know, the kind of passer that is immediately looking FAR up the court when the other team scores. I can't remember the last time the Raptors made an effort to make the long lob pass.

But really, it's going to be one heck of an interesting off season.

McGateway:

I admire your knowledge of these trade senarios. I don't understand all the technicalities of the trade system so I take you at your word. I can't help but be suspicious that there may be a bias there as a Bosh lover. I would like to state once again that the reasons I support trading Bosh are as follows. His position (pecking order)on the team dictates that the offense goes through him which means he is isolated in the post which allows him to make his slow motion turn, hold the ball and finally make a move while the rest of the team stands around. He has been held up as the team leader but he is not one ( being a great player does not make one a leader). The good teams know how to push him off the blocks - what Garnet does to him. He is subject to injury. In crunch time, everyone in the arena knows who the Raps are giving the ball to because he is our "franchise" player. Because of this, we leave Bargarni out of the equation who is quickly becoming the best scoring option on the team at 23 years old. I could go on.
So keep on shootin down the trade seniarios and we'll continue watch Bosh score 30 points a game and the team lose

I'd love to know how healthy Jose is. He was never a great defender, but last year at least he guided opponents to spots on the floor. Not this year.

All year I was set on having a major upgrade at swingman or shooting guard but after watching the loss to Utah, I really started to wonder for the first time if upgrading at point guard shouldn't be top priority...especially since there are a lot of really good point guard prospects in this draft. Teague, Collison, Warren, Lawson, all of these guys are good to great defenders who can push the tempo and score in transition. Teague and Warren could even play the 2 as slashing scorers ala Arenas since they're bigger too, and maybe then BC can save money to grab a proven NBA swingman.

The problem though is what to do with Roko. I'm confused too as to why he and Banks aren't getting major minutes now to see what they can do. Again, it's pretty hard to properly evaluate players when you don't see them in game situations.

Also, after the talk with BC, I was wishing I had asked him why they took so long to look at D Leaguers and why guys like James White weren't brought in.

Franchise:

Why don't you ask BC for a bona-fide 1/2 hour interview?

I'm sure he won't talk much about Bosh; but the draft, your stock watches, PG concerns, D-leaguers etc seem fair game...

I gotta say I've always been an advocate for keeping Jose. I left a relatively long post a few days ago regarding Jose so I won't go into detail again, but I think I'll just summarize it:

1) Top 5 pg

2) Poor D - but same can be said for nearly every PG in the league (toughest position to defend)

3) Needs to 'unlearn' half court ball

4) Coaches responsibility to try and compensate for weaknesses.

We have a great opportunity with Jose here as I've always felt good PG is central to a good team. Where we lack, as was mentioned many times, is a shooting guard and bench. Bosh's future (in regards to contract and where he wants to play ) is also paramount.

SwirskysSoldier: "Poor D - but same can be said for nearly every PG in the league (toughest position to defend)"

I think that’s a bit of an oversimplification. The rules in the NBA have definitely evolved over the years such that it is a guards league and no longer a big man league. It is much tougher to defend guards the way the game is called thereby making the defenders, guards themselves, look like bad defenders. All true.

But, perhaps the most important spot to defend is the one. You need to slow down the attack and most importantly to stop the point of attack. Make the opposing 1 make hurried decisions that are not feeding into their strengths. That is an enormous responsibility and one that should not be dismissed so hastily. To suggest that "nearly every PG in the league" does a poor job of this would be a gross understatement of the general level of pg play in the league.

This is Jose’s only weakness that concerns me but it is significant enough to impact our win-loss total substantially. This is not a coaching responsibility, it’s a general lack of skill set which was effectively masked when we had the ability to start and sub in a quick point guard against the starting 1s in the league. A PG who for all his faults, could stay in front of his man. TJ was no defensive specialist and got burned many times, but the one thing he could do was stay in front of his man which limited many fast break opportunities.

I’m not even going to get into the top 5 PG comment other than to refer you to a list of PGs and ask yourself whether there aren’t 5 names on that list that you wouldn’t rather have than Jose.

Was this magical encounter at Pusateri's (since Colangelo loves all things Italian apparently)?

I thought it was strange running into Alex English doing his own shopping at Loblaws, so seeing the Legomaster waiting to cash out by himself would be a funny sight.

Anyway - I agree with the notes here on shutting down Calderon. He is completely useless in his current state: can't defend his shadow, can't dribble by anyone, and he risks a more permanent injury every game he plays at 60-70%.

Why not sign Marcus Williams (just released today) and have him and Roko play the entire game?

Also - we need to showcase Kapono as much as possible to get him into a trade this summer. I would argue that getting Bosh to play through most of the season would also be important (getting over 60-65 total games played) so that he doesn't get the "damaged goods" label like Camby back in the day and reduce his trade possibilities also.

Big picture: rest of the season is all about getting every Raptor polished up for the summer. Many teams (like the Pacers) are losing money, so there will be tons of non-FA players available in trades.

I can remember awhile back Mark Cuban mentioning how unhappy he was about nba players playing abroad in the off season....a la Spagna or Italia...
Is Jose going to play this summer,and what about Bargs ?

Zona - what I wrote was most defenitely an oversimplification. I didn't want to get into detail unless someone was responsive to my comments. I totally agree with what you said about slowing down the attack and forcing the opposing pg to make bad decisions. I just think that is an incredibly difficult task for any pg to do. The guys are covering what is usually the quickest player on the opposing team and are trying to do this by moving side to side or backwards. That in itself makes playing 'good D' a very difficult task. Few pgs are ever able to stay infront of their man. The task falls on the bigs to deal with the penetration by opposing PGs. This is usually done by taking charges or being a shot blocking threat. Something the raps don't have (or do) which makes Jose's D look much worse.

The reason I mentioned a coaches responsibility is sometimes there are PGs that can be nearly unstoppable. Sometimes a coach needs to use his other players to cover these guys. I referred to this before (in a previous post) but I'll mention it again. The Knicks played Boston back in January and D'antoni covered Rondo with Al Harrington. He used his size and length as opposed to speed to defend a great penetrator. Harrington shut down Rondo and the Knicks ended up winning that game. Harrington's size alone forced Rondo, and thereby Boston, to change their play style. Why can't Traino use Marion, or AP, to cover some of the superior PGs in this league? I mean look at the Jazz game. Why not try another player on Deron to stop his penetration through size and length. Ofcourse this leaves Jose covering Brewer but I would prefer to giving Brewer a chance to go off than I would Deron. Sometimes coaches need to use some originality in their designs instead of the usual X's and O's.

If you want me to list what I feel are teh top 5 pgs in the league. I would say:
1)Paul
2)Nash
3)Billups
4)Williams
5)Jose

I mean there are other great pgs (Kidd, Rondo, Harris), but depending on criteria I think this is rough outline of quality pgs in this league. (although this is always debateable for many reasons)

Swirsky
Calderone a top 5 pg ? In no particular order

CP3
D.Williams
T.Parker
Billups
Harris
Nash
Ellis
Rondo
Rose
Nelson
Stuckey
Westbrook
Kidd
So only four of these pg are better the Calderone?

Hell I’d take Jordan Farmer over Jose
Do you watch basketball or you just a raptor fan? Better yet just a Calderone fan.

Biz28 - thats why I mentioned crieria. Age? Experience? Strengths? Passer? Scorer?

Ellis - not even a pg (undersized 2 playing pg because of situation)

Westbrook/Rose - Rookies (may be better in the future... but not now)

Stuckey - Unproven (disappeared last few months)

Nelson, Parker, Harris, Kidd, Rondo could all be reasonable debates no doubt.

Yes I'm a raps fan, yes I'm a Calderon fan or I wouldn't even have mentioned this. But I always have and will put the priority of this team (as I see it) over any one player.

Silly to even to ask if I watch basketball. I guarantee I've seen more ball in my life (likely this year alone) than most will ever get an opportunity to watch. You can doubt my opinions all you want but don't jump to conclusions about my experience based on absolutely no information.

Criteria – best all round player

Westbrook and Rose are better now. Last I remember Nelson ate a healthy Jose’s lunch last playoffs not even a debate. Jose’s not top 10 under any criteria, besides age (Kidd) wouldn’t take Jose over any on the list. Lead the league in assist/turnover ratio big deal; of course he did so cautious never pushes the ball or takes chances.

True, the only info I had was that ridiculous statement you made, about Jose being the 5th best pg in the league.

Just a head's up, according to Doughy Smith, it is *not* a TSN2 + Raptors Simulcast, the game is being broadcast in full on Raptors TV *afterwards*.

Sorry Vicious D.

SwirskySoldier, I will give you one thing, you have the most appropriate name on the board because only Swirsky himself is a more biased observer than you are.

Let's compare shall we:

A. Swirsky voted for Bargnani for rookie of the year over B. Roy.

B. You just put Jose Calderon up as the number 5 PG in the league, and defended it by saying some of the other guys are unproven. Well, what is Jose Caldeon if not unproven. He hasn't put together a full year of top flight play as a starting PG for a good team. He got the starting job last year when TJ went down and performed admirably for a .500 team, and this year he's been injured and when he has played he has contributed to the worst Raptor team since the days of Mike James.

I think Jose COULD be a top 5 PG in the league, and MIGHT be a top 5 PG in the EAST; behind Harris, Rondo, Jameer Nelson, Mo Williams, Rose and Andre Miller. Out of that group only Harris doesnèt have his team in the playoffs, but he's an immense individual talent. In any case, do you think any of the GMs of the teams for which those PGs play would trade them straight up for Jose? Based on that criteria, I don't think the answer would be yes for Bibby or Stuckey also.

Long story short, SwirskySoldier, you need to start putting some thoughts behind your comments or people are going to think you're either a 14 yr old rabid Raps fan or not very credible; or maybe both.

Rob

At which Kitchen Table?

Biz28

I not a fan of SwirskysSoldier comment especially on CB4 but I do respect his opinion and in this case I somewhat agree with him.

Before the ‘hammy’ injury Jose was the top # 2 pg in the league offensively. I am not going to argue this since I have done it a million times and provided stats to prove my case. Go back to pervious post! Stats are deceiving but when you are at top of the league in almost ever offensive stats for pg then it a different story. He was second only to CP3. His defense was still bad but not atrocious. After his injury then is offensive got limited and is defensive get even worse. He basically became a pylon.

So yes he was a top 5 pg in the league for the first two months but we all know what happen after. Injury, bad condition, losing, blah blah blah. I would still give a healthy Jose a chance but only if he does not play this summer for Spain and improve is game.

Lastly, people are so subjective to say he got killed by player X and Y. Yes, his defense is frustrating to watch very frustrated and it is painful at times and sometimes he way to passive with the ball but ever player on any night can get ‘kill’ by some scrubs. Best pg in the League is CP3 and I saw him got killed by scrubs pg and many different occasion. But he is still CP3 right? I say give Jose a shot at next year but if a solid trade comes by then wouldn’t complain either

Sigh.... obviously people haven't been reading my posts. One thing I will give you is that I am a rabid raps fan and am not ashamed to say it. I have seen nearly every game since the original tip off and even stuck it out during the Jalen Rose years. What I want is for this team to be good... to have a dynasty.. to draw attention every game. I'm not worried so much about the players as I am the team. Sure I love alot of these raps players but am always willing to mention their weaknesses and strengths.

People do not have to agree with my opinions on Calderon and that is more than fine, but there is little need to be 'insulting' because of it.

If you guys want to know why I respect Calderon so much its because of his decision making and efficiency. Assit:Turnover ratio may be 'no big deal' to some of you but is one of the most important reflections of a point guard. The most important thing a point guard does is distribute the ball. This is directly reflect by this ratio. The first thing I was taught in basketball was turnovers are the most important part of the game. You not only lose an opportunity to score but you give your opponent another opportunity to score. It may not be a 'sexy' stat but it is damn important for a pg.

Calderon is also one of the most effecient guards in the league. This guy shoots nearly 50%, 40% from 3pt line this is a rare commodity for any player let alone a pg. Oh yeah he has also only missed 2 or 3 fts all year. Sure he won't score alot but its not his job to score. Its his job to get the ball to people who will score.
(just go through your list of pgs and tell me who even comes close to stacking up to that?)

Calderon not proven? I guess his last three years don't count because he wasn't always a starter? Please, this guy still played 30 minutes a game and was out there for the end of games especially when the game was on the line. It wouldn't suprise me to see how many GMs would trade their pgs straight up for Calderon (especially in the east). They have been drooling over him for years now.

He has been slower recently, but we can't ignore that he has been playing ball for 3 straight years and came back early from the hammy injury. We can blame him all we want but you have to recognize his stats haven't gone down as this team has gotten worse (and I doubt anyone can argue this team hasn't gotten worse). The team around him has started to collapse. He still needs a number of years before he becomes a leader (like Billups) and he needs to unlearn the half court play so he'll push the ball more, but I guarantee that if he has the players around him people won't question wether he is a top pg in this league or not.

I'm not a highlight reel/fantasy stat tracker guy when it comes to the players I like or who I think the raps should keep. There is alot more to a player than how much they score or how quick their crossover is.

Just as a sidenote 2ndRapsFan - "you need to start putting some thoughts behind your comments" My thoughts were based on my opinions. Your thoughts are based on your opinions.. so doesn't that put us on the same level and therefore both "14 yr old" or "not very credible"?

To be honest the way Jose is playing right know he is not even in the top 10.

oh the pain...not sure why I got a little excited when I read about the simulcast...but I did. so silly.

the season just keeps getting better and better.

Sorry guys. I guess I misread it.

Swirsk, I'm sorry if you took my post as an insult, but I don't see where I insulted you personally. Rather, I was pointing out the inanity of your assertion that RIGHT NOW Calderon is a the #5 PG in the league. That's where the credibility issues come into play fo me because that comment is so patently absurd right now.

The only people who would make such an argument are rabid Raptors fans because Jose hasn't really shown what other top flight PGs have shown; and that is an ability to be on floor leaders, directing an efficient offense and contributing some scoring when it's needed. Calderon has been a starter for all of one year, has put up good numbers, but has lead an inefficient offense while playing NO defense. The primary job of a PG is to ensure that the offense runs smoothly and I haven't seen Jose do that for a full season on a winning ball club. It's true that he's been injured, but he still hasn't done the things that other top PGs do, as noted above.

I think too many fans get wrapped up in stats and it clouds their judgment of players and their true value to their respective teams. Jose putting up 11 ppg and 9 ast is nice, but who cares if it's on a deplorable team. Guys like CP3, Williams, Parker, Billups and Nash lift their teams to another level; until I see Jose do that he will be a good PG, with great potential and nothing more; assist to turnover ratio included.

Rob

P.S-I've been a Raps fan since I saw Isaiah rip through that Raptors logo all those years ago. I love this team dearly and want to see it succeed by wining a championship.

However, that doesn't mean I have to be biased in my opinion regarding the team or its players. That's the type of jingoistic BS you have to put up with in politics and I don't wnat to do it in sports also.

SwirskysSoldier, I wish you were right on this one, I really do. But Jose right now is really holding our team back.

I could be wrong, but I thought Jose was 3rd on the depth chart for the national team as well. I know for sure he was at best 2nd.

If you can't be Spains top option at the 1, how can you be top 5 in the NBA?

OK I can tell this discusion has got a bit off were my main points were in regards to Jose and that is in part my fault. When I first posted it was in regards to not wanting to trade or get rid of Jose. I will admit that right now Jose is not playing to his calibre. What I was trying to get at is that we have our future pg and a damn good one at that. In all reality it is the only position we are secure at (I can't say we are secure with Bosh because we don't know what his plans are after next year, and AB is playing out of position with Bosh at pf). This team has alot of faults but it does not start with Jose. We lack a sg and a bench. We lack strength down low and athleticism. We lack someone willing to take it to the rim. The raps are living and dieing (oh how they are dieing) with the jumper. There are alot of positions where we need adjustments but the pg is not one.

Jose does not seem to have that pazzazz to him, but a large part of this is because almost nobody out there (with the exception of AB) is finishing with any consistency. Jose is getting the ball where it needs to go, to the open players, but they are just not finishing. If they were you would see Jose being raved about around the league. (I'm not going to get into the defense as I stated my opinions on that earlier). One player (not Lebron or Kobe) does not make a team. He needs support to do what he does, and he is not getting it anywhere, on defense or on offense.

2nd Raps fan - I don't see how you can tell someone there opinions are not credible or sound like a 14yr old and them not taking that as insulting (unless ofcourse they were actually 14)

Zona - Calderon was the starting PG for Spain. He sat out the last 2 games with an injury

Finally, my name is out of respect for the Swirsk (who was the worst and yet best play by play guy around). It has nothing to do, directly, with my love for the raps.

I think with regards to Calderon, we have to take the middle ground for now. He's injured, and we can all agree that it's affected his game adversely. It in fact reminds me of his rookie year when he had plantar facitis and everyone proclaimed him to be a bust.

I've made no secret that Calderon is my favourite player on the Raptors squad. He has the potential to be a top point guard in the league if he's at full strength. Unfortunately, an injury to his leg is perhaps the worst injury that he could incur. It's an injury that doesn't prevent him from playing, but it severely limits all aspects of his game, including balance and speed.

I think we should wait for another summer of recovery before we start making judgments on Calderon's contract. He's had two good years in my book, and two questionable years with injuries.

Although criticising Calderon doesn't mean you are not a Raptors fan, complaining about a player who has been hurt all year and not playing at 100% and talking about trading him then drafting a PG in the draft certainly sounds like a fan...... A LEAF Fan. Leaf fans complaing about their goalies too even when no one on the team plays d and leaves them hung out to dry. Calderon is INJURED, making a drastic move to get better at the 1 is simply stupid as when he is healthy, Calderon is more than sufficent to start at the 1 for this team and all arguments about whether he is a top 5 PG are moot. This team needs more help in other areas right now so wasting time trading away a guy who is a starter (and only like 25) is simply a waste of time. Jordan Farmer is better than Jose? Really? Isn't he backing up a washed up Derek Fisher? I could look good too if I played with Kobe Bryant and only had to face back up PGs (ok, I admit I am oversimplifying things a bit here but, Jordan Farmer is not better than Calderon when JC is heathy).
List of PGs -
Harris - Yes Harris is good now but his team is no better than the Raptors and up until this year he looked mediocre. That isn't to say he sux but it does prove that it takes time with PGs just like it takes time with Big men (unless your name is Chris Paul).
Jason Kidd - If you don't think that Mark Cuban would trade a guy who can't hit a jumper any more and makes a heathly JC look like good on D, you are crazy.
Nelson - to me they are the same player. Nelson does have the advantage of having a better team around him and I advocated trading JC to Orlando for Nelson when he went out for the year.
Nash - is 35. yes we should trade a 25 year old Pg for a 35 year old PG. That is what the leafs would do.
Rose/Westbrook - I haven't seen either one of these guys play enough to make an argument about whether they are better or not than Calderon but based on stat lines, Calderon is more consistent than either of them though I would agree that Rose definitely will be better than Calderon one day.
Mr. Big shot - Billups is a special case PG as he is big, an excellent defender for his position and does so many of the little things that helps teams to win. I think you could make an argument that Billups is the best all around PG in the game. Period.
Tony Parker/ Rondo - I like both these guys but they are both completely different players than Jose. I would like to see both of them playing on crappy teams (like in Rondo's rookie year with Boston) before I said they were better. It is easy to look good when your team is stacked. I can see how some might think they were better though.
Ellis/Stuckey - they need to prove more before you can even bring their names into a discussion.
I can't believe you left Robinson off the list as well as he is better than some of the guys you mentioned.

Calderon is not a top 5 overall PG in the league but I think he can be down the road and even if he isn't he is more than adequate for any team he plays for to win a championship. After all, Miami won a championship with white chocolate, do you really think he was better than jose is now (when they won the championship)?