Bringing Valanciunas to Raptors this Season if Possible, Makes Ton of Sense

Hopefully this is going to happen, I am just wondering why the financials have suddenly changed so much? I thought he wasn’t coming over because of the buy-out claus, and NBA teams can only help with $500k, has that changed?

I don’t think anyone will argue that this would be whats best for the team, and seeing where we are heading in the future. I loved what I saw from JV at the World Championship as he more than held his own against some NBA players, the NBA grind will be tough on him especially in a short season when they are set to have a back to back to back set.

As much as I am against the Amir contract (6.25/4yr for a back-up big is too much right now) we need to find out where Ed, Amir, AB and JV all fit into the team’s future. Before we can really do that we need to see JV in the NBA. Especially with this next draft because of all the talented big guys if we end up with one we need to know what we are doing.

Even with Jonas coming over this roster is very flawed, our play at the 3 and 1 are still huge questions. I think everyone knows Calderon has overstayed his welcome, Bayless has never been the starting pg for a full season. Kleiza is injured and James Johnson still needs a long look before we hand over the future at the 3 to him. Our bench needs some suring up especially with Weems overseas. DD has the potential to be a 20/4/4 player he has alot of development to do but does look like a solution at the 2.

This season will still be a long one but hopefully at the end we have a clearer picture about who is coming and who is going because then we can make a good selection in this draft and hopefully have 3 (DD, JV, Pick) or 4 (+AB) pieces that we can really start to build around (that is also considering JJ and Bayless don’t work out, which they could and we have 4 or 5 pieces).

Now I am sure I will hear it for not including Amir Johnson in our future and if that stupid APBR metric is brought up again I may lose my marbles. I would like to know how I can take a ranking system seriously that ranks Demar Derozan 358 and Brian Cardinal 157. Andrea Bargnani is ranked 268 while Shavlik Randolph is 253. This system also ranks Amir Johnson ahead of Stephen Curry (60), Rudy Gay (70), Brook Lopez (75), Eric Gordan (82). Jose Calderon comes in at 173 behind the likes of Brian Cardinal, Hassan Whiteside, Michael Ruffin and Gani Lawal (WHO?!). As my previous point about what top 8 team could use him, there are two teams (in the top 8) that pay their back up big more than Amir, one is Odom (lakers) and the other Haywood (Mavs), lets not compare Amir to those special situations. We need flexibility and paying that much for that long to a bench player isn’t flexible. As for AB if he doesn’t work with JV than he has to go whether trade or amnesty but he deserves a chance at his 4 spot with a big-guy who compliments his game and we haven’t given him that.

An interesting thought I had was to still go after Chandler with JV because the basket protection those two could bring would be phenomenal and JV looks to have a developing mid-range game and hits FT consistently. While they may be limited offensively they would be (if JV comes as advertised) one of the best defensive front courts around.

Just lucked out as I saw the link come rolling by on Twitter.

A couple of things to note:

1. He was shooting and making a bunch of 5 – 10 foot jump shots which he wasn’t doing last season. Not that he couldn’t make them last season but he wasn’t used that way.
2. Tyrese Rice does not run the pick and roll with him so Jonas is getting nothing now on that play.
3. He rarely gets the ball on the back to basket post up play. I am not sure why. It is either their offense or Rice is freezing him out. Maybe Rice is not capable of feeding the low post with any degree of success.
4. His defense looked more under control as he did not hedge very much on defense but rather stayed with his man from the gitgo on the play.

Off of that one game while his defense looked better than it did last season, his offense is pretty much MIA since he is not getting a lot of opportunities or at least did not in that game.

ISTM that it would be better for the Raptors and for him to come to the Raptors for the 2011-12 season. A season of NBA experience would certainly would be better for the 2012 London Lithuanian team. LOL

I also say go for it.

Rumor has it that the Raptors are interested in DeAndre Jordan. A long shot to be sure.

ISTM that BC and Casey really want to try and find a big to help clog up the middle on defense. (A VG idea no doubt), Over their careers going forward I see Amir (24 yo) and Ed (22 you) more as PFs than as Centers.

- Would you like to stay in Vilnius of Lithuania in the morning ’till the end of the season, or pack your bags and go to the NBA now? – Journalists asked Mr Valanciunas.

- (Smiling) It is very strange question. I am now "Lithuania in the morning and not very interested in the business. Need to do a lot of work. Part of this team and I think they belong to the end of the season.

Is to set goals, you win and do not think about those things. I’m on this team, not Toronto.

According to David Aldridge from NBA.com:

Free agent forward Shane Battier has narrowed his list of prospective teams from more than the original dozen or so to a handful of teams, including his current team, the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami, Indiana and Toronto, according to a league source. The 33-year-old, whose defensive skills still are among the league’s best, has been one of the most sought-after free agents since teams were allowed to discuss contract parameters last Wednesday.

I say go for it.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports:

The Sacramento Kings have emerged as a frontrunner to sign Rockets free-agent forward Chuck Hayes, league sources said. Sacramento had wanted to sign Hayes to a lucrative one-year deal to keep cap space for the summer of 2012, but could come back with the kind of multiyear offer now needed to acquire him.

This article was from Nov 9 and had some interesting notes about Jonas, his team is playing in EuroCup Tier 2 and not Tier 1. He seems to be playing extremely efficient considering he is shooting high 65%+ fg in all three of the leagues he is competing in. Seems to me that he needs some burn against top flight competition and his learning curve should be huge.

http://torontosportsmedia.com/toronto-raptors-basketball/jonas-valanciunas-update-how-is-the-future-toronto-raptor-faring-overseas/11923

Toronto Raptors
Sounds like Calderon, Alabi, Davis and J. Johnson all expected to be at ACC’s practice facility this morning. #Raptors
44 minutes ago

Amir won’t be in T-Dot until Thursday according to a Twitter exchange between him and Wright.

HoopPlusTheHarm Joshua Priemski
WUT. “Andrea Bargnani, in an interview with La Stampa, said that he is getting the Canadian citizenship.”
17 minutes ago

He must hide it very well

EyeOnBasketball Eye on Basketball
200 of 250 issues settled, per @KBergCBS tinyurl.com/6mm333l

Age limit delayed, still working on drug testing, D-League.
22 minutes ago

NEW YORK Negotiators have made significant progress on secondary issues that must be finalized before the new collective bargaining agreement can be ratified and are confident the process will be completed in time for both sides to vote on the deal this week, a person briefed on the process told CBSSports.com.

Lawyers for the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have pared the list of outstanding items to about 50, down from about 250 when the process began Friday, the person said. Among the more important B-list issues, it remains likely that the age limit for draft eligibility will be unchanged and is expected to be revisited at a later date when there is time for more thorough discussion. The two sides also are still negotiating the language on a new drug-testing policy and a provision by which teams will be able to shuttle players back and forth to the NBA Development League.

Player reps from all 30 teams will be in New York Wednesday to discuss details of the new deal. Players and the league’s Board of Governors are scheduled to vote eletronically on Thursday, with training camps and free agency slated to open Friday.

Shane Battier has narrowed his list of teams down to Memphis, Miami, Indiana and Toronto. He apparently wants to play with a contender. Shouldn’t that cut the teams down even more?

…

you guessed it. Sunday at 1:00 PM Dec 18th at home

There second game is Wed 21st at 7:00 in Boston

Can’t link to this as it is an ESPN Insider article. However, I am posting this here because every Raptors fan needs to read this. From his breakdown of Andrea Bargnani:

“• Line-drive jump shooter. Deadly off catch and very good off dribble to right.
• Makes heavy use of pump fakes. Can straight-line drive to rim to right.
• Softest thing from Italy since gelato. Abhors contact, rarely rebounds.

The biggest challenge for Dwane Casey will be getting Bargnani to quit being such a wimp. His defensive stats are absolutely pathetic. Last season the Raptors were 6.45 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the court, while the year before the differential was 9.10. And that’s the best set of numbers on his résumé.

Want more? Among centers he was last in both blocks per minute and rebounds, and sixth from the bottom in steals. According to 82games.com, Bargnani was savaged by opposing centers for a 21.1 PER; essentially, an average center became an All-Star at the mere sight of Bargnani.

Wait, it gets worse. Using regularized adjusted plus-minus, Bargnani was the worst defensive big man in the entire league last season. Technically, there are two different ways to do this method — one here and one here; conveniently, both had Bargnani as the league’s worst defensive frontcourt player. The fact only three centers fouled less frequently gives you some of the cause for that effect — the dude is barely trying. Nobody expects him to turn into Tarzan down there, but with his mobility he should at least be able to rotate effectively and cut off drives. More often he’s on the weak side scratching his beard while an opposing guard is laying the ball in."

Just so everyone is clear, as per above and the following two links that Hollinger had in the article, Bargnani is among the WORST players in the league in terms of giving up more than what he brings to the court. Therefore, he actually hurts the team by being on the court:

http://stats-for-the-nba.appspot.com/ranking_rec

http://stats-for-the-nba.appspot.com/ranking11

As long as everyone expects him to be a true C that is going to protect the rim we will be miserable. He is not a franchise player but luckily WE DON’T PAY HIM LIKE ONE!

Tyrus Thomas(8mill/3yr), Baron Davis(12mill), Anderson varejao (8mill/3yr), Travis Outlaw (7mill/4yr), Lewis (22mill/2), Brand (17.5mill/2yr), Gooden (6.7/4yr), Salmons & Magette (11/2yrs), Okafur (13.5/3yr), Scola (9mill/4yrs)

Andrea Bargnani 10.5mill/4yrs. These contracts really are not that far off from Andrea Bargnani everyone who thinks he is a franchise player really needs to stop whining because we dont pay him like one. Does he have a lot of flaws OBVIOUSLY, but he is not a C and he is a not a franchise player so stop comparing him to one. He is a stretch 4 and the fact is that has alot of value in the NBA and while everyone likes to talk about Defence you also need to score the ball, so while Hollinger is bang on, his defence is horrible AT THE C position, which is the 2nd toughest to play aside from pg.

Out of his draft there were 3 players selected to an all-star team, one of which is Brandon Roy, it was a weak draft class that has gotten weaker with Roy’s knees.

So lets everyone relax and realize that he is not our franchise player, isn’t paid like one and to top it off is only just turned 26! So before we amnesty him for nothing, why not give him a chance to play PF, his natural position with a real C and not Chris Bosh.

The only way he will help the team is if he changes his game and that is unlikely to happen.
Putting him at the 4 is a mistake. Getting him to play physical and with passion is the only chance for him to be truly successful. Good luck Casey and Andrea.

Bargnani reminds me a bit of Rashard Lewis and he might be serviceable beside Dwight Howard, that’s about it. Stop trying to suggest he is only deficient because he is at the 4 position. He is deficient because he doesn’t fight hard on defence, because he doesn’t try. So whoever you pair him with be it at the 4 or 5 he will be the weakest link in the chain and therefore the chain will not be strong. Casey knows this already and he knows the focus will be on how Andrea fits into his system and how many minutes he gets. The cameras turn on later this month and we are all watching. Hope Andrea shocks us all, but I would bet against it 5-1 in a second.

My point is this, he is obviosuly not a 5 and playing him there is a disaster. If we find a 5 man who is a true center and can move him to the 4 we are maximizing his talents. His ability to stretch the floor when there is a real post up option, and guard smaller guys and use his length and size to minimize teh damage. Also having two guy out there that are 7feet and cover alot of territory should help. Also we know have a coach who will preach defence! Also AB is not a true basket protector and when you have Jose Calderon getting burned more than the human torch it looks poor on him. Having both of them on the court are a disaster, I am not saying that AB is the future but look how successful Lewis was in orlando next to a true big C and remember they paid him the MAX to get him. If we try him at the 4 and it doesn’t work ship him, but give the man a chance to succeed.

Here are two quotes about Zach Randolph pre-memphis:

“Randolph’s career high for blocks in a season is 41. Outside of that season his career high is 17. His season high in steals is a little better at 68 and his second best season is 59 but it isn’t the numbers that make his defense weak. It is the uncounted number of times players score easily because Zach didn’t stay in front of his man. People remember the huge games he had against the Grizzlies but they don’t remember the big games Grizzlies PF’s had against him. In the 2007-08 season Darko Milicic was injured two minutes into the game against the Knicks and Kwame Brown – yes that Kwame Brown – put up 11 pts and 8 boards in the game. Sure Randolph had 27 and 10 but Kwame freaking Brown nearly had a double-doulbe against him. That is bad and the Grizzlies won the game too. "

“Friday was the brightest day for New York basketball and Madison Square Garden since the Knicks participated in the 2000 NBA Finals.

It wasn’t because the Knicks scored a huge victory verse the Celtics or Lakers. It wasn’t because they improved their roster. No, the trading of their two top scorers, Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford, has definitely left the roster even more diluted.”

“Unlike the Harrington deal, the Clipper acquisitions serve the sole purpose of clearing cap space. Zach Randolph was enjoying an extremely productive season, averaging 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and even draining the occasional three.

Trading Randolph for two players who are uninspired and past their prime (Mobley is unhappy with the trade as well) will definitely cost the Knicks wins this season. The cost is minimal, however, when accounting the 17 plus million dollars off the books this trade produces in 2010.”

Look what happens when players are put in the right spot; Randolph is a superstar and crawford won a 6th man of the year. I am not saying that AB is either of those but what I am saying is before you give up on a guy you need to give him the chance to succeed.

Marc Gasol is a true big, who does the dirty work. He covers the other teams best player in the post and does the dirty work, however, he only avg 7rpg last year, Zbo grabs a ton. Bargnani needs to improve his rebounding (unquestionably) but he does not need to be a 9/10 rpg player if we partner him with a good rebounding big who likes to play defence. While he does need to anticipate better if the Raptors defence on the perimeter becomes better he is required to help less.

I am not saying Bargnani is a franchise player because so far he hasn’t been and his game is not similar to Z-bo, but remember the rap he had before he was in memphis, it was worse than Bargnani. He was a knuckle head, who was a distraction, in trouble with the law and played no defence. Memphis put him in a spot to succeed, good defensive players around him(like dallas with dirk) and suddenly his positive attributes were magnified, instead of his weaknesses being magnified. Is Bargnani a part of the future who knows, but we need to give him a chance to succeed before we throw him away for nothing. While at times it is frustrating to watch, the Knicks felt that way and so did the Clippers but now Randolph has rebuilt his reputuation. Crawford was a chucker who would never win, well Atl brought him off the bench and let him chuck away and he became a huge part of their success and won 6th man of the year.

My point is very simple we do not need Dwight Howard but we do need a players who compliments Bargnani if we think he is part of our future. More than likely he will not be a franchise player, but Derozan is still developing, JV is a young prospect and we have a high pick this year. We need guys who can guard the perimeter and a big who can play D, help/protect the basket and rebound. If we get that move him to the 4 and he is awful, SHIP HIM, but first let him get a fair shot.

Ask Knick fans about this play….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh2fn01cngg