Weekend Of Little Excitement

If you were expecting a ton of excitement in terms of the Raptors signings you were not listening to Bryan Colangelo or thought he was lying. It is not that the Raptors moves were horrible but they were far from headline grabbing.

First on of the reported Pietrus trade with the Suns that is now not happening. The trade that would have seen Pietrus come over for the Suns for a conditional 2nd round pick is dead. Raptors had Pietrus in and he apparently is not healthy, some issues with his knee that Raptors medical staff felt could take a month or so to get right. So that was that in terms of that deal. Down the line if Pietrus gets healthy it would be no shock if Raptors re-visited this move. But in the short term it is dead and done.

Another deal still in the waiting to happen mode is for Gary Forbes. The Raptors have signed him to an offer sheet as a restricted free agent and with the new CBA rules an answer from Denver should be coming by today or tomorrow on if they will match or not.

Jamal Maglorie was all done and signed sealed and delivered. He was saying all the right things about being the first Canadian to suit up for the Raptors. It would be some solid PR if you forget the fact he consistently has turned his back on team Canada. That takes some shine off the feel good story of the hometown guy finally coming home. In simple basketball terms he will be a help to the Raptors maybe more as a teacher than a player in terms of defence. As I said his play peaked in about 2003 when the Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans and went to the Western Conference. He was a little used Center for the Miami Heat. He will get more use here but one wonders if he can last under the grind of this gruelling lockout schedule.

If he can't never fear the Raptors signed Aaron Gray. Yes Aaron Gray. I will wait for you to collect yourself. Gray is every bit the journeyman Center that has had to many teams to mention. His most recent stop was in New Orleans. If the first adjective used to describe a guy is he is 7 foot whatever that is usually a warning sign. You can't teach height. But you also can't teach talent and Gray has very little of it. He is another body in the mix. But what this means combined with Maglorie is it looks like Andrea Bargnani has finally got his way. Yes Andrea Bargnani you get to play your natural position at the four. So now let's hear what the excuse will be if he can't do any better there?

The Raptors attempted to address another concern with signing Rasual Butler. He is a decent defender that can make a three point shot. The Raptors despite the likes of Calderon, Barbosa and Bargnani had one of there worst seasons from beyond the arc in the history of the franchise. Butler should help out with that as well as this defensive makeover.

There is talk that Raptors are still one of four teams in mix for Reggie Evans but it is hard to see where Reggie would fit in this group. The Raptors did also add Anthony Carter who would be the 3rd point guard. That has yet to be made official but whoever the third point guard is makes little difference especially if they go the veteran Derek Martin route.

It is hard to say that any of these signings change the Raptors outlook as individuals. Even as a collective group they do little to shift the bottom line. It will be the impact they have on the existing roster that will determine their worth. If they help establish a better overall team defence and get players to buy in. If Andrea Bargnani is able to thrive with the move to the 4 spot. But ultimately Bryan Colangelo said he was only looking for guys for the short term and that is what he got. Nothing flashy but the hope would be the Raptors added some substance. That remains to be seen.

I don't think you can be all that critical of the moves made. But at same time if any of these signings do much for interest in the Raptors I would be stunned. It also likely will not mean a major difference in terms of the team's ultimate outlook. When teams are lining up to fight for the likes of Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, the Raptors are signing Aaron Gray and Rasaul Butler it just doesn't measure up on the excitement scale does it.

Raptor News, Notes and Random Anger.

For years many have wanted Jamal Maglorie to be a Raptor. That however stopped being a good idea at least 5 years ago perhaps even longer. When the Hornets left the Eastern Conference was the peak of Maglorie's NBA Career. I have always had a strong desire to have a Canadian be part of the Raptors roster. However this is not what I had in mind. The fact Maglorie, time and time again has taken a pass on playing for Team Canada has made him fall in my eyes. I think it is really a shame that someone like this will be in the history books as the first Canadian to throw on a Raptor jersey. He fit right in with that group in Miami as far as I was concerned. Not that he played much. Sure it is a one year deal and will not impact on the bottom line at all. It just upsets me based on the history this signing will represent. Something this guy never has done for his country. I would sooner have Justin Bieber on the Raptors than him.

This news broke late last night it followed a press conference that was truly depressing. It wasn't meant to be and it does have some excited about the future of the Raptors. But that would be starting next season and not this season. If I was a casual basketball fan and watched that it gave me no reason on earth to watch the Raptors this year. While the honesty of it all should be admired and it is better than setting up unrealistic expectations like has been done in the past. It still was a bitter pill to swallow knowing that this team has little to no desire to improve in the short term beyond internal improvement. A signing of a guy like Maglorie only drives home that point more.

There has never been a Raptor season I have looked forward to less that I can recall. If I as someone that has supported this franchise from it's birth feel that way I can only imagine how a casual fan feels about it. Expect attendance for the Raptors to take a nose dive this season. There lack of focus on this season combined with an NBA Lockout that promised competitive balance and only served to line Owners pockets while still giving players the freedom to force their way out of markets. If this plan doesn't work as the Raptors envision the countdown to Demar DeRozan leaving is on. If DeRozan becomes a star and then follows the same path as all the rest it will be a serious blow to this franchise. There will be no turning him into a villain and making him the bad guy. Something they were able to do with Chris Bosh and were given indirectly more than enough to help from Bosh's own actions.

This season has been made pretty irrelevant before it ever started. While next season might be the most important in the history of this franchise. It will be one of those fork in the road moments. If things don't go well it could be a serious blow to this franchise and it's long term outlook.

I feel for Dwane Casey who is in a tough situation with this schedule and a very short training camp. It is going to be tough to implement his system and keep this team rolling through a challenging to say the least schedule. But this is not that Adam Sandler movie where you can press the fast forward button. You can call it re-buliding, building or changing cultures. Raptor fans have heard it all before and newsflash some of them are pretty much fed up with it. The Raptors have set the bar as low as possible for this season and perhaps as high as possible for next season. So see you at the NBA lottery where we can talk about how you can rig a ping pong ball. That is always fun every year.

All Quiet On Eastern Front

I am happy to report, www.dinonationblog.com has been renewed to 2012. I guess that means, that I will be here for at least that long. Raptors are back to square one again. At this point, are you not just waiting for some story that the Hedo trade will be rescinded. He did have gallbladder surgery after all. But that one is done and he is the Suns problem now. Almost Raptor, Tyson Chandler, is one of many trying to make team U.S.A to head to Turkey, to take on Hedo and the world. While Demar DeRozan is not there, he was named to the 1st team All Vegas Summer League. Maybe someday he will wear the red, white and blue like Bosh and Carter have in the past. You know who won't play for team USA either? Well yeah those 3 guys in Miami, but Amare Stoudemire has been told no by his new team the New York Knicks. When you spent 100 million bucks, guess you have earned the right for your player to play his first game with you. This is a blow to the U.S that was light up front to begin with. If Robin Lopez has a camp invite to be a center, I think you got problems.

Other big names taking a pass on the World's include: Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitski. Also there will be no Yao Ming and not just at the World's. You might have noticed the Rockets signing of Brad Miller. Well here might be why. Seems Yao is still not right and could miss the first few months of the NBA season. I remember reading this injury could be career threatening. The longer that Yao is away the more real that seems. As for Canada Matt Bonner has a contract but still no citizenship yet. While Maglorie has signed on with the MWO and no doubt will turn his back on his country yet again. I have an idea let's deport Maglorie, and give his citizenship to Matt Bonner. He wants to play for this country.The fact Canada basketball continue to kiss the butt of Jamal Maglorie angers me. The guy has never played for this country and never will. I don't care what he does for the program off the floor. The best help you can give is throwing on the red and white and playing.

Raptors are still holding out hope for Matt Barnes, but unless they uncover some CBA loop hole that we are unaware of... this is done. Other teams actually have money available to offer Barnes a deal that far exceeds the 1.9 million that the Raptors could offer in an Orlando sign and trade. Barnes only has limited "Bird Rights" with Orlando and that is the most Orlando could sign him for to trade him. That is far from the said to be 4.5 million per season for 2 years that was offered. Confused yet? Just think in a year we will have a brand new CBA that we will all have to learn all over again. I look forward to that with about as much anticipation as the looming lockout it may take to create that document.

It is a slow day today, as basketball is heading towards the dog days of summer. By the way are you a fan of Entourage? Seems that Bosh got the idea for his free agency documentary from Turtle. He also apparently got a guest spot on the show. Some thought he was in L.A to watch Lakers to join Kobe. He wasn't, it was to join Vinnie Chase and Ari Gold. Who knew. I hate the way Chris Bosh is being marketed like he was buried away up here in Canada. That no one knew he existed. That is stretching the truth. But Chris is enjoying the spotlight and this is part of what he wanted. I also have to admit that I personally am interested in the Bosh Documentary if it is done right. I am a lot more then I was in "First Ink". Also Bosh likes the NWO/MWO thing. He says he watched wrestling as a kid and liked those guys. I have taken a lot of blows from Chris Bosh. Being un-followed on Twitter, having had him leave the Raptors but this is the last straw. He made me feel old. You Sir, are off the DNB Christmas Card list.

Canada Heavy Edition Of DNB

After a heck of a lot of action, the quiet calm of the off-season is setting in today. Jay Triano is in Vegas working team U.S the next generation through it's paces. I always find that to be sad. Triano who I may have questioned the idea of him coming back as head coach of Raptors. There is no question to me that he should still be the coach of team Canada. He did a fantastic job with the national team and it never made sense to me that he was let go. The fact, that U.S.A Basketball trusts him to be running a camp for their future stars should be proof of that. It also is a good thing for the Raptors in a small way by him getting the chance to work with a lot of talented players. You never know when that might come in handy in the future.

Think there is little question that Bryan Colangelo has given Jay the tools to be successful. Jay will also get that training camp that everyone said was so vital for Jay to get a fair shake. I am hopeful he is able to be a success. The fact he is Canadian and coaching the only NBA team in this country is something special. There is no doubt that Triano has had an impact on the futures for Canadian coaches. Much like Steve Nash he has done a great deal of good for his profession in this country. Should he have success that impact will only grow.

It seems to be a slow time for the NBA in general. It has been a very active off-season and a ton of changes. Maybe that is why this Lebron James dunk tape got so much attention. Really does it matter? So a college kid dunked on Lebron James. Demar Derozan threw down on Kobe Bryant I have been told. Was there a big deal made about that? Did you even know that until you just read it? Lebron James has taken a lot of shots of late. I really don't get why people feel the need. I am sure Lebron James is not a perfect person. However that being said he is a tremendous talent and the fact we live in an era we get to watch him is a treat. But people better stop picking on Lebron or Shaq will come and get you. Also interesting that a couple Ex- Raptors could be part of that mix in Cleveland. Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. Parker is signed and sealed and Moon has signed an offer sheet and it is up to the Heat to match.

Speaking of Miami they have 2 more Canadians than the Toronto Raptors. They re-signed Joel Anthony and Jamal Maglorie to contracts. I often wonder why more people have not been talking about Anthony as a future Raptor. I mean it seems for decades there has been talk of Jamal Maglorie becoming a Raptor. For almost the same amount of time there has been talk about Maglorie suiting up for team Canada. That talk has heated again as of late. Personally if it were up to me I would not bother. How many times has this guy rejected a chance to play for his country. Meanwhile, Joel Anthony was out on the floor busting his but for his country last summer. There has also been talk about Ex-Raptor Matt Bonner and his desire to play for Team Canada. I will be much more excited if Matt Bonner suits up for team Canada. When Maglorie was an all-star level talent in the NBA where was he? Steve Nash as much as I really think he should have continued playing for Canada he at least put in some time wearing the red and white. He also still is active in helping Canada basketball in many ways behind the scenes.

I have always wanted to see team Canada have some success. There has been a lot of success lately on the junior levels of the program let's hope it can translate to the senior level. Last summer was a real low point with the whole Sam Dalembert situation that became very public. I had a chance to meet Sam last summer in Hamilton. He is a fantastic guy and in our conversation he seemed very committed to the program and making it successful. What happened and who's story you believe is up to you. It just seemed so odd that the guy I talked with less than 3 weeks before the incident in Greece could have had that much of a turn around is beyond me.

Leo Rautins is no doubt under the gun to get some results. He has I believe one year left on his contract with an option for a second. If Canada can not qualify for the next World Championships that should be the end for Leo. Let's be honest if this was the Canadian National Hockey program it would be unlikely that Leo would still have a job. If he was in the same spot in Hockey terms. However the challenges to floor a competitive basketball team as opposed to a hockey team are great indeed. The first and foremost issue is on of dollars and cents. Canada Hockey brings in a ton of money where Canada Basketball struggles to find support and funding.

So with lack of Raptor news I hope you enjoyed this VERY Canadian Edition of the Dino Nation Blog.