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The twist of course is that these are all flashback links as we present to you some of our favourite interviews and chats with former Raptors, or near-Raptors, starting with a man whose name became synonymous with barking noises.
Let's start this off with the Junk Yard Dog himself, as a few years ago, our Canball Ace Ray Bala went one-on-one with Jerome Williams. Part I of the chat dealt mostly with his time before Toronto and his early years with the Raptors, while Part II dealt with his work post-NBA. It's a great read, especially Part I where JYD dishes on his favourite teammate while in Toronto, highlight as a Raptor, and how he got his infamous nickname.
Next, let's head back to Media Day 2007. Why? Well how else are you going to get in-depth chats with some of the greatest All-Time Raptors, from a recently signed Jason Kapono and Jamario Moon, to none other than Luke Jackson himself!!
And if that's not enough, how about another helping featuring TJ Ford, Carlos Delfino, Anthony Parker and...aaaaah!!! JUAN DIXON!!!
We'll stick with the Media Day theme and jump one year ahead to 2008, if not to hear audio interviews with Jamario Moon and Hassan Adams, then how about Bryan Colangelo talking to the media and noting that his Jermaine O'Neal led club was the best one he's had yet, on paper!?? Gold Jerry, gold!
Moving away from former players we bring you our chat with Raptors' play-by-play man Matt Devlin, something we did back when Matt first arrived on the scene in TO. Unfortunately the excitement we had about his arrival from Memphis was pretty short-lived as soon after, he began his descent into a caricature of his predecessor, Chuck Swirsky. Here's hoping that a change in management also brings forth a change in Matt's style this season.
You agree right Peja?
Oh yes, we chatted with Mr. Stojakovic after his Raptors debut and it was a good thing too. You may recall that his stint with the Dinos wasn't exactly a long one...
We head to the 2009 draft now, and an interesting pre-draft workout that featured Jonny Flynn and Jrue Holiday. The Raptors had a bevy of prospects in that year, including Gerald Henderson and Terrence Williams. Eventually of course the team chose DeMar DeRozan, and the HQ grabbed the first interview with him post-draft, as we were there live in New York that year.
And of course, we couldn't do some "flashback links" without having Andrea Bargnani in here somewhere could we? Here's our chat with Jonathan Givony of Drafexpress.com prior to the infamous 2006 draft, featuring some interesting discussions regarding Bargs, and the likes of Tyrus Thomas and Adam Morrison!
Finally, a painful but favourite flashback read to cap off this edition of LBL. My chat with Paul George at his pre-draft workout for the Raptors back in 2010, a time when I was still holding out hopes that he'd be around when Toronto made their pick. Him and oh...Larry Sanders...