Earlier this month when Dwight Howard flew in to Toronto as a member of the Orlando Magic, many probably thought it might be for the last time as member of the Magic. The NBA Trade Deadline was looming and most experts felt the Magic had no choice but to trade their star. This based on what happened here in Toronto with Chris Bosh and in Cleveland with Lebron James. Those moves to create the Big 3 in Miami changed the landscape of the NBA perhaps forever. Despite a new CBA not much had changed in terms of teams being able to maintain their stars. There was talk of some type of franchise tag being part of that deal but it never materialized. Long before the Raptors lost Chris Bosh or even Vince Carter, the Magic lost Shaq to the L.A Lakers. This was more a case of deja vu for people in Orlando. Would they go the root the Utah Jazz who decided to learn from the mistakes of Toronto and Cleveland and traded their star point guard Deron Williams to the Nets. That seemed to be the popular conventional wisdom and it was the same root the Denver Nuggets would take in trading Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks. I think it is safe to say the Jazz and Nuggets are in far better shape than the Cavs and Raptors currently.
Many speculate as to why Dwight wanted to leave in the first place. Orlando had been to The Finals and have done like the Cavs and Raptors and tried to build a team around him. However, the blunders of Otis Smith especially recently in acquiring Gilbert Arenas and bringing back Hedo Turkoglu. Many feel that Howard has not been thrilled with Otis Smith's performance and that is something he shares with Orlando fans actually. Some also wonder in Stan Van Gundy and his rather gruff approach was part of the reason as well. Howard in the past had even made comments about the fact Van Gundy was always so negative and he had encouraged him to be more positive with the team. Not sure how successful that has been. Dwight was complicating the issue by it seemed at times almost daily changing his mind on the topic of if he wanted to stay or go from Orlando. Howard genuinely seems to love the fans in Orlando but also seems utterly unimpressed with management. I would venture to say Dwight cares more for the people in Orlando than Bosh does for people here in Toronto or James does for the people in Cleveland. Dwight seemed to want a way to leave Orlando and still be the good and fun loving guy that people love. He had seen how Lebron James was turned from super hero to super villain. What Howard could seem to understand was you can not make everyone happy and still do what you want and feel what is right for you.
So, the Magic had option A to trade Howard or option B, which was to gamble like the Raptors and Cavs did and risk being left with nothing as the franchise was when Shaq left for L.A as a free agent. In the end the managed to come up with an option C that saw Howard forgo his opportunity to become a free agent this some and agree to accept his player option for next season. They basically have postponed what might in fact be the inevitability of Howard leaving for at least a year. It seems pretty clear the Magic are not going to come anywhere close to winning a championship this season. Chicago recently dismantled the Magic and not even Superman is enough to beat the Big 3 down south in Miami. The Magic are not going to get any closer to a championship this year. Which is what this is all about for Howard. You wonder how things might be different if the Magic were able to defeat the Lakers for the lone NBA Finals Dwight Howard has made.
Raptor fans tend to wallow about how superstars have left here. Some believing it is all about Canada and take it as personal insult. There is a lesson in all of this for the Raptor fans. Orlando does not have the weather issue of Toronto. It is often brought up about the high taxes here in Canada for players. Well Orlando last I checked is the state of Florida which has no tax on income just like the same advantage the Miami Heat enjoy. At the end of the day you can come up with a million excuses as to why people leave Toronto. Ultimately it is no different than why they would leave Orlando, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Minnesota and many other teams. It comes down to to fundamental things. The first is fairly obvious and that is winning and having a player buy into the belief he can win a Championship with that organization. The second is not as obvious but it is about power. Vince Carter left in part because he was unhappy with the choice of Rob Babcock as G.M of the Raptors. He had his own person in mind that being Dr.J. While Carter was clearly right about Babcock there is no evidence to suggest his choice was right either. No NBA team has hired the NBA Legend since. I am unaware if he has even interviewed for an open position since than. That is just one example of a player wanting to have power. Now players and agents would spin what I am calling power into the word input. Whatever you care to call it most players want it. Notice the topic of money never came up. The truth is after a certain point the superstars in this league have made more than enough money. Money is something the guys on the lower ends of the food chain to worry about.
It is important to understand that lots of markets have their problems. None that can't be over come by that magic tonic that is winning. There is no doubt the Raptors have some of the most unique problems of any franchise in some ways but it is not like other teams don't have their issues as well. That brings me to a topic from the game against the Bulls. Which was a fantastic basketball game. Still instead of focusing on the fact the better team won and it was a great effort, it was a lot of Raptor fans blaming the refs. It was those same Refs that kicked out one of the Bulls best players halfway through the game. It was those refs that gave the Raptors 4 free throws that they made one of at the end of OT. Every team from time to time feels they don't get a fair shake from the refs it is not unique to fans in just Toronto. Can we just once say are guys played good and the other guys played better and we lost a close one.
Also this has nothing to do with taking on the Magic but a good example of why tanking is a guarantee of nothing with what went on in Atlanta. Anthony Davis most people believe is the number one pick in the upcoming draft. He got injured in his teams battle with Baylor. It looked serious at first, but he would return and play in the game still flavoring the knee his injured. However, you are always within the blink of an eye of everything changing. So to waste an entire season all with the goal to land on specific player is always one serious injury away from getting nothing. It is also why I will always support any college player that wants to leave school as soon as possible. Kentucky was never going to give Anthony Davis millions of dollars he would get in the draft if he were to go down and lose his basketball career. It is not to say Kentucky doesn't have the millions to do it, that is just how the NCAA works. Charles Barkley once famously said that college football and basketball were the last forms of legalized for of slavery in America. While that does come off as outlandish it is not that far from the truth. Also the Magic are a classic example of why you can never truly have faith in the NBA Lottery. They won back to back lottery's and the second time they had a less than 2% chance of winning.
As for the game itself? It is the same old story. Find a way to stop Dwight and if you can do that you have to find a way to guard the perimeter on defense with all their shooters. The Raptors and Magic once had a rivalry primarily based on players leaving Toronto. First there was Tracy McGrady that went directly to Orlando and then there was Vince who went via New Jersey and was traded to Magic eventually. There is no longer that buzz anymore. Not even the friendship between Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard that produced some of both guys best games of their careers. Dwight is taking a longer path than Bosh did in leaving Toronto but if anyone thinks he is going to be in Orlando long term you are fooling yourself. Just like Dwight is if he thinks giving the Magic an extra year is going to make his exit out of town any easier next season. Ask people that still boo T-Mac and Vince about how it works when you leave town. Fans get emotionally invested in players and even if you hear it 10,000 times that sports is a business for fans it never is. It is almost always personal.
So I am off to Toronto to cover this game. I was convinced Dwight Howard would be gone but I would still get a chance to see Stan Van Gundy as he was going to still be around. As it turns out both will be. As for the Raptors it will be interesting to see if both DeRozan and Bayless are able to play. Calderon would love to see Bayless are being pushed to limit there last two games with huge minutes. While DeRozan had been playing some of his best basketball of this season in the last 4 games. So will talk with you tomorrow with thoughts on this one.
Showing posts with label Jose Calderon. Stan Van Gundy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jose Calderon. Stan Van Gundy. Show all posts
3/26/12
5/30/10
He Do, He Don't , He Doesn't
If you have not heard the story The Basketball Jones were the first to bring it to light based on a interview Hedo did on Turkish T.V. Hedo claims he does not want to return to Toronto and his lawyers are trying to work on a way for him to do just that. Well good luck with that Hedo. There are still 4 years remaining on his big money deal he signed last summer. If the Raptors were to buyout the contract that would be foolish. A 4 year hit to your salary cap? Bryan Colangelo is not an idiot. That being said can you honestly trade Hedo coming off one of the worst seasons of his career? Odds seem pretty long in doing that.
Hedo's frustration seems to be based on the incident in which he skipped a game but did not skip going out that same night. He blames the organization for this issue getting played out in the public. Is he really that stupid? In the modern world that we live in does he honestly think this info never gets out? This is the same guy that prior to being hated by the majority of fans had a run in with women that snapped his photo with a camera phone. The Raptors handled the situation as they should. Long before this incident Hedo had performed far below expectations. He slags an organization that allowed him to sit on his butt for most of training camp. This because he wore himself out playing for Turkey in the summer. Which he will do once more this summer at the World Championships. Think that would have happened under Stan Van Gundy in Orlando? In Turkoglu version of reality it is the Raptors management that turned the fans against him. Really? He honestly believes that?
Come on now Hedo, let's get real. His lack of performance is why fans were upset with him long before the night of partying when he is suppose to be injured. He says he was embarrassed by being booed by the home fans. Play like you did for the Raptors for Turkey and see what happens. When you sign a contract that entitles you to more money than most people can dream of making in a lifetime, there is a price for that fans actually expect you to earn that money. Imagine that. Hedo has proved himself to be a jerk. He made an apology to the fan base at the end of the season. At the time I said in this blog it was one of the most insincere apologies that I can recall. Well just over a month later it appears it didn't just look like it.
This only adds to the list of problems for the Toronto Raptors. It was already bad enough with Chris Bosh about to bid adieu to the franchise. Now you have this moron putting a gun to the Raptors head and giving them an ultimatum. Would he turn his back on his country if they bomb out of World Championships? No he wouldn't. However in 1 year he is ready to bail on a team that gave him 53 million dollars. Ungrateful S.O.B does not begin to describe what I think of that.
While many cheered the addition of Turkoglu last off-season. I was not part of that parade. I felt the contract was both for to much money and more importantly to long a term. That long term of this deal is coming back to bite the Raptors in a way I did not expect. I did think at least for the first couple years Hedo would be productive. That has not happened and I don't think anyone could have seen this coming after just 1 year under contract. Now that term and money make the contract almost unmovable.
Vince Carter is not exactly loved in Orlando at the moment. While people in Orlando love Hedo. How would Raptor fans feel about a Carter for Hedo trade? Yes I said it. Look as much as most hate Vince Carter. Is it not better to deal with the devil you know? Clearly no one expect Hedo to turn into a jerk when he came to Canada. But sadly this deal likely never happens. Otis Smith did not exactly have many kind things to say about Hedo once he left Orlando. It would appear Otis Smith knew a heck of a lot of this dark side to Hedo. I have never seen a G.M much more happy than Otis was once Hedo was gone. That is not to say he is thrilled with his choice to replace him. We could have told Otis all about V.C just as he could have warned us about Hedo.
There are rumours about Stan Van Gundy's future with Orlando. Which started from Micheal Wilbon leaking info that if Magic lost to Celtics he could be in trouble. It lead to a war of words with the PTI host and Stan Van Gundy. However if the Magic were stupid enough to fire SVG, I would hope the Raptors were one of the first teams on the phone to hire him. Bryan Colangelo has said the Raptors will not go there. Honestly change that plan. Maybe if you hire Stan Van Gundy he could fix this Hedo mess. Turkoglu played well under him in the past. He clearly knows how to use him. The simple reality is the Raptors would be hard pressed to trade Hedo and can simply not afford to buy him out and take a cap hit for 4 years. Regardless of the Hedo mess, Van Gundy is the style of coach the Raptors need. In the playoffs you have those wired segments. When SVG is on them it is classic stuff. I can not imagine Jay Triano doing any of that. Jay just does not seem like a guy that can convince anyone to run through a wall. Stan Van Gundy not only does that he expects you to do it.
In the end Hedo can blame whoever he wants to for his issues in Toronto. The answer to his problems is in his mirror every morning. Forgive us all if we are not going to shed a tear for a guy making far more money than he is worth. If he ends up screwing over the Raptors. I have great news for Vince Carter. You may just have moved to public enemy number 2 in Toronto. Who knows depending on how the Bosh thing goes maybe number 3. The bad news is the entire league sees you for what you are as a guy that never has lived up to your potential. Also you may be public enemy #1 in Orlando. If you want to see what Vince Carter should be. Just go back and watch Kobe Bryant close out the Suns last night. Vince could have been that good.
What was already going to be a long and difficult summer for Bryan Colangelo has become even tougher for him. It is going to be interesting how he finds a way out of this mess of his own creation. Safe bet a Hedo picture on his dart board would not surprise anyone.
Hedo's frustration seems to be based on the incident in which he skipped a game but did not skip going out that same night. He blames the organization for this issue getting played out in the public. Is he really that stupid? In the modern world that we live in does he honestly think this info never gets out? This is the same guy that prior to being hated by the majority of fans had a run in with women that snapped his photo with a camera phone. The Raptors handled the situation as they should. Long before this incident Hedo had performed far below expectations. He slags an organization that allowed him to sit on his butt for most of training camp. This because he wore himself out playing for Turkey in the summer. Which he will do once more this summer at the World Championships. Think that would have happened under Stan Van Gundy in Orlando? In Turkoglu version of reality it is the Raptors management that turned the fans against him. Really? He honestly believes that?
Come on now Hedo, let's get real. His lack of performance is why fans were upset with him long before the night of partying when he is suppose to be injured. He says he was embarrassed by being booed by the home fans. Play like you did for the Raptors for Turkey and see what happens. When you sign a contract that entitles you to more money than most people can dream of making in a lifetime, there is a price for that fans actually expect you to earn that money. Imagine that. Hedo has proved himself to be a jerk. He made an apology to the fan base at the end of the season. At the time I said in this blog it was one of the most insincere apologies that I can recall. Well just over a month later it appears it didn't just look like it.
This only adds to the list of problems for the Toronto Raptors. It was already bad enough with Chris Bosh about to bid adieu to the franchise. Now you have this moron putting a gun to the Raptors head and giving them an ultimatum. Would he turn his back on his country if they bomb out of World Championships? No he wouldn't. However in 1 year he is ready to bail on a team that gave him 53 million dollars. Ungrateful S.O.B does not begin to describe what I think of that.
While many cheered the addition of Turkoglu last off-season. I was not part of that parade. I felt the contract was both for to much money and more importantly to long a term. That long term of this deal is coming back to bite the Raptors in a way I did not expect. I did think at least for the first couple years Hedo would be productive. That has not happened and I don't think anyone could have seen this coming after just 1 year under contract. Now that term and money make the contract almost unmovable.
Vince Carter is not exactly loved in Orlando at the moment. While people in Orlando love Hedo. How would Raptor fans feel about a Carter for Hedo trade? Yes I said it. Look as much as most hate Vince Carter. Is it not better to deal with the devil you know? Clearly no one expect Hedo to turn into a jerk when he came to Canada. But sadly this deal likely never happens. Otis Smith did not exactly have many kind things to say about Hedo once he left Orlando. It would appear Otis Smith knew a heck of a lot of this dark side to Hedo. I have never seen a G.M much more happy than Otis was once Hedo was gone. That is not to say he is thrilled with his choice to replace him. We could have told Otis all about V.C just as he could have warned us about Hedo.
There are rumours about Stan Van Gundy's future with Orlando. Which started from Micheal Wilbon leaking info that if Magic lost to Celtics he could be in trouble. It lead to a war of words with the PTI host and Stan Van Gundy. However if the Magic were stupid enough to fire SVG, I would hope the Raptors were one of the first teams on the phone to hire him. Bryan Colangelo has said the Raptors will not go there. Honestly change that plan. Maybe if you hire Stan Van Gundy he could fix this Hedo mess. Turkoglu played well under him in the past. He clearly knows how to use him. The simple reality is the Raptors would be hard pressed to trade Hedo and can simply not afford to buy him out and take a cap hit for 4 years. Regardless of the Hedo mess, Van Gundy is the style of coach the Raptors need. In the playoffs you have those wired segments. When SVG is on them it is classic stuff. I can not imagine Jay Triano doing any of that. Jay just does not seem like a guy that can convince anyone to run through a wall. Stan Van Gundy not only does that he expects you to do it.
In the end Hedo can blame whoever he wants to for his issues in Toronto. The answer to his problems is in his mirror every morning. Forgive us all if we are not going to shed a tear for a guy making far more money than he is worth. If he ends up screwing over the Raptors. I have great news for Vince Carter. You may just have moved to public enemy number 2 in Toronto. Who knows depending on how the Bosh thing goes maybe number 3. The bad news is the entire league sees you for what you are as a guy that never has lived up to your potential. Also you may be public enemy #1 in Orlando. If you want to see what Vince Carter should be. Just go back and watch Kobe Bryant close out the Suns last night. Vince could have been that good.
What was already going to be a long and difficult summer for Bryan Colangelo has become even tougher for him. It is going to be interesting how he finds a way out of this mess of his own creation. Safe bet a Hedo picture on his dart board would not surprise anyone.
1/6/10
Oh No!!! Orlando
Raptors head into this one well rested and and winners of 6 of the last 7. In short there are no excuses and add that Jose Calderon is likely to return off the bench tonight. Minus a surprise Reggie Evans return it will be all hands on deck. Although he is on the trip for the record. However the point is the Raptors have everything going there way heading into this one. Orlando on the other hand lost to the Pacers last night. The same Pacers that got blown out by the Knicks. Safe to say Stan Van Gundy is even grumpier than usual and you can expect a better effort from the Magic tonight. If not you can expect high entertainment watching Van Gundy just lose his mind on the sidelines. You can have your Phil Jackson or whatever coach you choose. I love Stan Van Gundy as a coach. He was robbed of a chance at a ring in Miami by Pat Riley. However he just moved upstate and kept on keeping on. Maybe it is, as frustrated as I get and Raptors fans get, I can relate to Stan Van Gundy. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and is never happy with his team. Good is not good enough in Stan Van Gundy's world. A motto that the Raptors should embrace moving forward.
Orlando has had little trouble dusting off the Raptors 3 times this season, the first two in Toronto with not a full roster. They have at times punished the Raptors from beyond the 3 point line. Raptors have not been the 3 point shooting crazy team as in the past. They still have shooters but not to the level that Orlando does. Raptors still have ability to make the 3 ball but a number of the people they count on to make that shot have not been hitting it. Jose Calderon and his return should help in that to some degree.
He will likely be playing limited minutes in a reserve roll for the first little while. Jack remains the starter and the point guard debate will simmer till Calderon is deemed back to game shape. The wild card in this debate will be Chris Bosh. Not saying he will decide it. However it is dumb to think he does not have an opinion on this. Also dumb would be think that it does not play a factor. But for those that think Calderon needs to be traded that makes little sense as well. Marcus Banks may be playing over expectations. However the bar of those expectations was set low, it seems to build up what he has done to a level higher than it probably is. Banks has been good for the most part and most of that on the defensive end. Offense for me has been hit or miss. However for my money I am not ready to see Marcus Banks as the full time back-up to Jack, Jose can be good regardless of his role. Unless you don't buy into the fact he is a great team guy as many over the years have said. I have no reason to believe that and think Jose and Jack for that matter will except whatever choice Jay Triano eventually makes.
It is hard to imagine the Raptors will some how find the answer to solve the Magic. They just have not really been close to doing that this season. If the Raptors are to have any chance they need to get D-12 in foul trouble. That at least will help to some degree. Dwight is almost as big a factor on defense as he is on the O. In fact against the Raptors he may be more important on D. We all remember that playoff series where Dwight was blocking everything that moved. The Raptors get easily persuaded to becoming a jump shooting team when you have D-12 prowling around the basket.
The Raptors did shake a monkey off their back though with that win over the Spurs. They had not beat a quote "Elite Team" since knocking off Cleveland on opening night. They are rested and will get the boost (Most likely) of a Calderon return. It is a chance to get to .500 again. That is the major hump to cross for the Raptors to get away from the bottom feeders in the East. However I will not hold my breath waiting to exhale for a win tonight. If these teams hook up again in the playoffs it is hard to imagine the Raptors coming out on top. The Magic beating the Raptors in their last playoff match-up was the start of the Magic rise to being one of the elite teams in the East and they should be for years to come.
Orlando has had little trouble dusting off the Raptors 3 times this season, the first two in Toronto with not a full roster. They have at times punished the Raptors from beyond the 3 point line. Raptors have not been the 3 point shooting crazy team as in the past. They still have shooters but not to the level that Orlando does. Raptors still have ability to make the 3 ball but a number of the people they count on to make that shot have not been hitting it. Jose Calderon and his return should help in that to some degree.
He will likely be playing limited minutes in a reserve roll for the first little while. Jack remains the starter and the point guard debate will simmer till Calderon is deemed back to game shape. The wild card in this debate will be Chris Bosh. Not saying he will decide it. However it is dumb to think he does not have an opinion on this. Also dumb would be think that it does not play a factor. But for those that think Calderon needs to be traded that makes little sense as well. Marcus Banks may be playing over expectations. However the bar of those expectations was set low, it seems to build up what he has done to a level higher than it probably is. Banks has been good for the most part and most of that on the defensive end. Offense for me has been hit or miss. However for my money I am not ready to see Marcus Banks as the full time back-up to Jack, Jose can be good regardless of his role. Unless you don't buy into the fact he is a great team guy as many over the years have said. I have no reason to believe that and think Jose and Jack for that matter will except whatever choice Jay Triano eventually makes.
It is hard to imagine the Raptors will some how find the answer to solve the Magic. They just have not really been close to doing that this season. If the Raptors are to have any chance they need to get D-12 in foul trouble. That at least will help to some degree. Dwight is almost as big a factor on defense as he is on the O. In fact against the Raptors he may be more important on D. We all remember that playoff series where Dwight was blocking everything that moved. The Raptors get easily persuaded to becoming a jump shooting team when you have D-12 prowling around the basket.
The Raptors did shake a monkey off their back though with that win over the Spurs. They had not beat a quote "Elite Team" since knocking off Cleveland on opening night. They are rested and will get the boost (Most likely) of a Calderon return. It is a chance to get to .500 again. That is the major hump to cross for the Raptors to get away from the bottom feeders in the East. However I will not hold my breath waiting to exhale for a win tonight. If these teams hook up again in the playoffs it is hard to imagine the Raptors coming out on top. The Magic beating the Raptors in their last playoff match-up was the start of the Magic rise to being one of the elite teams in the East and they should be for years to come.
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