10 Things On Last Night, Tonight and Beyond

So it is late in the season. I am tired and need to combine a re-cap and a preview into one. Thanks to folks at St Louis Wings for hosting me for the night for the game with the Thunder. I learned that the Easter Bunny is bigger than the Dino Blogger in two ways. Still, the folks at St Louis Wings have always been great to me and it is a great place to catch a game. Any restaurant/bar that puts basketball first in Canada is a rare gem to find. That said back to business, here are 10 thoughts on what we saw last night and what to expect tonight against the Pacers and beyond.

1. The Result Was Obvious- There was not a doubt in my mind last night's Raptor game would end up with the result it did. The Thunder were in bad need of a win coming in and the Raptors provided that perfect springboard to do just that. OKC had sat a top the Western Conference for the majority of this season and getting passed by the Spurs made losing to the Raptors not an option.

2. Thunder Fans- There is a lesson to be learned for Raptor fans from the people in the stands in OKC. It has become the best home court advantage in the NBA. Be it crazy fat guys with bunnies painted on them with masks or just your average OKC Fan they all get it. I am pretty confident they are never worried if they are treated to a slice of pizza. I am also confident that even when they sucked, which wasn't that long ago, they were not rooting for their team to lose (Tank). They are people that are just passionate to have the NBA in their city. That passion has died down in Toronto. While Raptor fans are a loyal group they also have become jaded and divided at times. I understand why that is, but still when you watch a game in OKC you see what being a fan by it's true definition is all about. They are more than just the example of how to build a team they are an example of how to build a fanbase. I miss the days when Raptors fans were like this.

3. Bargnani Tough?- I really am starting to have serious doubts about the future of Andrea Bargnani. Again this calf injury becomes an issue and he sits the 2nd half. No the Raptors were not tanking, as I mentioned earlier this result was an obvious one. I am left to question what kind of pain threshold Bargnani truly has. This is aside from the debate on if he has truly turned the corner as player. Even if I am to believe that, which I remain unconvinced, it becomes a moot point if he is not healthy in the long term. I don't mean to diminish a calf injury but this has become rather ridiculous on some level.

4. James Johnson Saga- I have no idea what James Johnson did. I don't care what he did to be blunt. I do support what Casey has done in sending a message. That said enough already. It was pretty hilarious watching the Raptors try and guard Kevin Durant with James Johnson on the bench. Matching the potential MVP of league on a 10 day contract player is not just punishing Johnson, it is punishing the team as a whole. Casey was quick to get him in there. Let's all move on now though and give Johnson his spot back. Credit to both Casey and Johnson, along with team for keeping whatever happened on the down low. Sure we all would like to know what happened but honestly we really don't need to know.

5. Jaamal's Impact- If I hear one more time this year about the impact of Jaamal Magloire, I swear that I am going to puke. Tell me has there ever been a player in the history of this team praised for doing so little? I mean seriously. I guess it is a situation not unlike the one with Jay Triano, in which because he is Canadian people are wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. Here is what he has been in reality. A trash talking tough guy that still knows how to commit a foul in the NBA and can occasionally show you he use to be a good to great player 10 years ago. That is all. He likely isn't coming back and I would seriously wonder if the Raptors had not come along, if he is even in the league at all. Sadly this is the guy that will go in the history books as the first ever Canadian Raptor. It makes me sad for all the young up and coming talent we have in this country that could have been that. The only old Canadian I would want to have that honour played basketball for his country and is a two time NBA MVP.

6. Barbosa Is Back- If you are not at least a little happy for Leandro Barbosa getting a chance to play for a playoff team you may have no soul. This is a guy that game here and never once complained and went out and did his job for the past couple seasons. Given this crazy NBA Sked, I confess I have not seen much of Barbosa since leaving. But based on the boxscores and random comments I see on Twitter he is doing what he does in Indiana and I am happy for him.

7. Roy Hibbert- I have said this consistently for awhile, it pains me to watch this guy play and know he will go down as a draft pick of the Toronto Raptors. Now it should be noted if not for the trade with the Pacers he would have never been picked by the Raptors. They felt he was too slow for their up tempo style of basketball at the time. That said, I at the time thought he was a great answer for the Raptors at center. He is never going to blow you away but he does all the things that you would hope that a center would do. On top of that having met him once he is a pretty great young man. Georgetown has not produced to many stiffs at the Center position over the years. It is one of the safest bets in the NBA draft when you take a center out of Georgetown. When you look back on that trade that brought J.O to Toronto the biggest loss in it was Roy Hibbert.

8. Raptors Can Be Spoilers- When you look at the Schedule remaining the Raptors could have a impact on the playoff race. Starting tonight with Pacers two games ahead of Boston for 3rd in the East, followed with games vs Sixers, Celtics, Hawks twice, Heat and Bucks. It gives you some motivation to go out there and try and win games. It is also the reason that people hate tanking in general. Tanking has an impact on the teams that are actually in the playoff race. This is why David Stern needs to step in and do something dramatic to the NBA Lottery System. It was designed to prevent this sort of thing. Still if you look around the league it isn't working. The concept of tanking is talked about far more than it ever was back in 1985 when there was legit concern teams would tank to land Patrick Ewing one of those Georgetown centers we mentioned earlier. I say this with all due respect to Anthony Davis, if he has half the career the Patrick Ewing had, he would be a fortunate young man. However, with all the hype surrounding him you would think he was better than that and going to project to be the next superstar of the NBA. I would venture to say that is vastly optimistic. He could turn into a fine NBA player and likely should. That said is he going to be better than a hall of famer or some great recent top picks? I don't see that. Don't believe me it is ok. I will rest easy knowing that I also never was impressed with this guy named Greg Oden and said Kevin Durant would be better. I am sure that I was laughed at for that and I will use the obvious line of who is laughing now?

9. Reality Math- What we knew before this season even started is now fact. The Raptors based on their loss in OKC and some other things last night have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. Still with nine games left which for fans feel pretty pointless, it is still important for some folks on this team. No matter what happens in these final games it will not change the fact this summer is going to be a huge off-season for the Raptors. What guys do down the stretch of the season may help shape/decide if they are going to be a part of this team moving forward. If for no other reason than that, this is ultimately why the concept of tanking is stupid. Players fighting for jobs and their place in the food chain are not going out to try and lose or even think of losing. Especially when you look at guys on 10 day contracts. They are fighting for their very NBA lives every night and day they step on the floor.

10. Time Flies Even When Your Losing- At some points this season has been very painful to endure. The losing combined with this crazy schedule can make your head spin. At least it has seemed to go by fairly quickly and the fact this NBA Season was only 66 games and not 82 games was a blessing given the state of this franchise. There has been so much blind hope for the future this year, it has bordered on the insane. While I do think the Raptors are heading in the right direction, the speed in which some think things will change is likely not going to be the reality. As bad as this season has been the Raptors ultimately did improve as hard as that is to believe at times. It speaks to how bad they were last season and how much it was needed to make a coaching change. I was one of the few that had been saying that long before it was cool. Funny how the people that weren't in favour all love Dwane Casey now and the change in direction of this franchise. I think one of the things I find most frustrating is how people change with the wind and are never truly brought to task for it. Yet when I go out of the box of and say something that ends up being right, I take abuse at the time for it and no one other than me says that I was right. Maybe people just have got use to the fact that I will tell them that I was. Whatever the case, I am proud of my track record on things and do take comfort in the fact that it must mean I know what the hell I am talking about at the end of the day. That is in many ways it's own reward.

So I decided to do this instead of a preview and it ends up being twice as long. Oh well the off-season and a bit of a break will be here soon enough. Happy Monday all and hope you had a pleasant holiday weekend.

B.C Positive Spin Class In Session.

When Bryan Colangelo talks, you always have to try figure out what he is saying to an extent. Let's do the best we can to translate what Bryan Colangelo had to say post trade deadline. First, the move he made sending Barbosa to the Pacers. It appears his main motivation was not the 2nd round pick he got in return for Barbosa. It was more about getting the 7.6 Million that Barbosa is making this year off the Raptors books. Colangelo claims this will give the Raptors 11.5-12 million in cap room heading into the draft. Which according to him is the most of any NBA team heading into the draft. Why this is important is it gives the Raptors options to make trades prior to the draft once the season concludes on April 26th. As Colangelo taught us with his trade for Reggie Evans and sending Jason Kapono to Philly NBA Teams can make trades from the moment there season is over. So all non playoff teams would be options after the 26th of April. As teams are eliminated they are added to the pool of teams the Raptors could do business with.

Colangelo also now has two second round picks that he can dangle in both trades and perhaps to move up in the draft. Given the Raptors overall history in the 2nd round and Colangelo's nature to move second round picks it is highly likely the Raptors don't hang on to these picks at the end of the day. That is me adding my two cents not something Colangelo said. What Colangelo didn't say but seemed to infer was that Barbosa could actually return to the Raptors, or at least they would be open to the idea. What Barbosa could get on the free market is up for debate, but safe to say it will be far less than 7.6 million he banked this season. Barbosa likely knows that too as he took his option for that amount to remain with the Raptors. Barbosa has also expressed that he has had a positive experience in Toronto and has a long standing relationship with Bryan and seemed to enjoy the Toronto fan base. Also the Raptors pick up a TPE as part of this deal that will kick in for the 7.6 million. Some see this as big deal and another added element of flexibility. These are likely some of the same folks that said the same thing about the Bosh TPE that ultimately the Raptors did little with for a far larger amount. If the Raptors use it then it can help if they don't it means nothing.

What about Jose Calderon? Bryan said many teams did inquire about him. However he stressed how happy the Raptors were with him and how he has played with this roster. He basically said that until the Raptors have an answer to replace Calderon he would likely not be moved. That said he also mentioned the ability to use amnesty clause. Calderon would be due 10 million plus in the final year of his deal. It seems unlikely you would use it on him. Linas Kleiza who has had an up and down season would be another option but with the coming of Jonas Valanciunas it would make sense to keep Linas around beyond basketball reasons. Bryan did of course not miss an opportunity to brag about Jonas stating that in his view had he been in the upcoming draft he would be the 2nd pick overall pick behind just one player, that he could not name but safe bet he was talking about Anthony Davis from Kentucky the consensus number one pick heading into the NCAA Tournament starting today.

If the Raptors were to not act prior to July 1st and do not use the Amnesty clause according to Colangelo that would give the Raptors roughly 20 million dollars of cap space post July 1st. Keep in mind the Raptors would have to sign both their draft picks in Jonas and whatever they get from this draft as part of that. According to NBA T.V today there are 5 teams with over 30 million of potential cap space. The top of those in the 35 million range. Also worth noting one of those teams is the Dallas Mavericks and Mark Cuban who will be active you can count on that. If you are a betting type I would suggest Colangelo will exhaust all trade scenarios rather that try to get in the Free Agent market. The Raptors have obvious issues at convincing top talent to come to Toronto. Not to mention the Raptors recent ventures into the Free Agent market have been pretty awful with signings of Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Kapono. Still his J.O trade was no bed of roses either. Colangelo did state that if the Raptors go shopping regardless of how they will be looking to do it, will be for several additions not just one big home run swing. In other words Deron Williams is likely not in the Raptors wheel house as an example. Not that he ever was, but a big name, big money guy is not on the horizon.

He alluded to several young players being out there on trade deadline. He mentioned as he often does about having conversations that do not lead to trades today, but are used as a base to further conversations in the summer. If the Bucks pairing of Ellis and Jennings is not a roaring success, I would not be shocked if Brandon Jennings is on the Raptors radar. That would be the point guard that helps you move Jose Calderon along. Colangelo has in the past expressed a desire to have a point guard for the future for this young group. He also would be a nice piece to pair with his childhood friend Demar DeRozan. Prior to the Bucks move Jennings expressed a desire to look at big markets when he is a on the market, which normally would not include Toronto. However he likes Toronto and has someone already here that knows it well.

Is that an option? I have no idea, but what is fact is this has to be "The Summer Of Bryan" and if it is not than Colangelo is dead. He and this organization have preached for patience and pointed to this summer where they will have all of these tools to improve the team. Raptor fans have been treated to a season that in many ways has meant nothing from before day one. While it has been great to see the job Casey has done in changing the mentality of this team. Making defense a priority not just something people talk about. Still this team has never been designed to win and the fact people want it to lose and tank is not exactly a positive experience to live through. The time is up and the Raptors have to stop with the positive spin talk and the hyping up of their draft pick that has yet to play a game and ultimately deliver a team focused on winning and heading towards the playoffs and beyond. Raptor fans have heard enough talking for a life time since Chris Bosh decided to bolt for South Beach. Regardless of what the Raptors say they dropped the ball and blew it when it comes to how they handled the Bosh situation. While people will show them some form of sympathy and allow them some time to turn the page. The time is up after this summer.

Trade Deadline Day: Barbosa Is A Pacer.

11:25 am: It appears the best the Toronto Raptors could do is get a 2nd round pick for Leandro Barbosa. Marc Spears of Yahoo was the first to break this trade and several sources including David Aldridge from NBA TV/Turner have confirmed the deal. It was not made clear is this is the Pacers pick or not but if it is the Raptors didn't exactly get a ton in return for Barbosa. No players were required to come back and Pacers had roughly 13 million in room to make the addition. This will help the Pacers out adding some scoring to their bench.

More updates as they become available. I will just be updating this post for the rest of the day. It would be a surprise if the Raptors did anything else though.

Just a Note 2:10pm: Anthony Carter who the Raptors never officially released is part of trade as well. There is also a TPE exception that will kick in for 7.6 Million or there about. Given how the Raptors botched that with the Bosh sign and trade so if you choose to believe that they won't do it again that is significant. But in the end it is nothing more than possible flexibility down the line. As I said at time of the Bosh sign and trade TPE is not wearing a uniform and until it turns into that it is nothing.

Update 2:45- Mike Wells who covers the Pacers says Anthony Carter is NOT part of this trade. Proving that no one truly wants Anthony Carter...LOL.

Eve Of Trade Deadline: Raps vs Nets

A lot of eyes will be on this game and it may have nothing to do with the Raptors and Nets playing a basketball game. It will have everything to do with the fact that speculation is that Dwight Howard will be the first free agent signing of the Brooklyn Nets if you believe the news. So that might force the Magic to make a move with the Nets or someone else to get something now for Dwight Howard. So people maybe watching this game to see who is not playing more than who is. Deron Williams and Jose Calderon both won't be but that is due to injuries. In terms of the Raptors and the trade deadline the key player to watch would be Barbosa. If he is not playing tonight you can almost guarantee he will be on the move.

In terms of the game itself the Raptors will have a decent shot at winning two in a row with no Deron Williams to deal with. If the Nets are truly looking to make the big splash for Howard who knows who else may not be playing. It could be a very easy win for the Raptors depending on who actually shows up for the Nets.

The Raptors with the win last night exceeded their win total on the road for an entire season last year with only 6 wins. It seems the Raptors are on pace to win the 20 games we predicted in the Dino Nation Blog if not a few more. Andrea Bargnani has looked better and better with each game in his return to the line up which is a positive sign both short and long term.

Raptors will be off tomorrow and in Memphis on Friday. If you expect to see them look much different I would suggest not to hold your breath. Colangelo has shown some out of character patience in sticking to the plan. So it is unlikely he loses his senses at this point.

Raptors Remain Perfect Against The Cavs

So the Raptors are the follow up act in town in Cleveland after the WWE like they were in Phoenix earlier in the season. I would put my money on the WWE being more entertaining, but who knows. The Cavs just a year plus removed from Lebron James being gone to South Beach are in a playoff race. It kind of depresses you as a Raptors fan. However unlike the Raptors Cleveland is getting to enjoy there goodies from the NBA draft in Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving. Things have really turned in a positive direction for Irving after a pretty mediocre start to his NBA Career vs the Raptors on December 26th. Now he looks like a contender for the Rookie of the year and with Ricky Rubio out for season that only adds to that case. Raptors have beat Cavs quite easily twice this season but I would put my money of Cavs in this one with no Calderon and an improved Irving.

Raps win the tip and some nice ball movement lead to fading jumper in the lane for DeRozan. Raptor then get a turn around jumper in the lane from Bargnani and an early 4-0 lead. The former Raptor for about 10 minutes Atwan Jamison gets the Cavs on the board with score 6-2. Cavs would start to battle back down just 10-9 as they were coming in riding high winners of three in a row. Anthony Parker with a steal on Bargnani and it lead to Alonzo Gee getting fouled and having a chance to give Cavs first leas of the night which he does making it 11-10 with 6:24 to play in first. Cavs would start to get some turnovers and that got them running and get points in transition they had a 17-12 lead on the strength of 13-2 run with 4 minutes to play in first. Dwane Casey had seen enough and called a time out. Gary Forbes checked in at point and Raptors responded with a couple baskets and cut Cavs advantage to 19-18. After Gray split a pair at the line Sessions drove scored and got the and one free throw to make it 22-19. A Gary Forbes jumper would make it a one point affair after this 1st quarter 22-21 Cavs.

Cavs get first two baskets of the quarter and just out to 26-21 lead. Barbosa hits a three to make this game a little tighter at 28-26. This was a close game but it really lacked any kind of excitement to it. Kinda of like living in Cleveland must be like. Barbosa was doing his thing in this one with two days to NBA trade deadline he was making some pro scouts drool no doubt. Cavs were trading buckets and flipping between a 5 point and 3 point advantage over the Raptors. Still the Raptors were hanging around and got on a bit of a roll and tied the game at 40 on a Bargnani jumper on the baseline. Later Bargnani on the drive scored to give the Raps a 44-42 lead and Bargnani 10 points in the half. Raptors were playing good defense and starting to pull away building a 9 point advantage 51-42. A Barbosa three pointer with under 30 seconds to play would make the lead 10. Cavs got a bucket and Amir Johnson looked gimpy but Raptors still had an eight point lead shooting 58%. and leading 54-46.

Raptors did a solid job hanging around than closing things out in the second and pulling away. James Johnson with a couple blocks to start the 3rd quarter. It took about 1:45 for anyone to score then Bayless nailed a three...Cavs counter with 2 and then another 3 from J.B. He is a true streaky player and shooter. Trending upwards at the moment as were the Raptors up 60-48. Kyrie Irving a three and that was first of night for Cavs and it seemed to spark them a little of a rally get them down a touchdown 62-55. Irving was trying to will his team back in this one but he was not getting a lot of help. Andrea Bargnani was starting to round into form in game number 3 in his return. Difficult leaner with contact and it goes and he draws the foul. Raptors were up 9 with the free throw to come. Raptors were hanging on up 69-63 with 2 to play in 3rd. Raptors close 3rd strong and lead 75-65 after 3.

Raptors were cruising along up 11 and Cavs seemed to have little fight. Casspi hit a three and got the game back to single digits with under 7 to play. But Bayless eventually answered that 3 he was 4-6 from behind the arc. Raptors seemed to have this one well under control. Cavs were making one final push and had game to 6 points with 2:40 to play and charge on Bayless. Cavs a sloppy turnover with a chance to cut it to a four point lead with about 1:30 to play. A Bargnani slam to give him 19 points would put this game to bed. Make the Final 96-88 for the men in red.

Raptors win their 14th of the season and 3 of those at the hands of the Cavs. A solid road win and it also is the 7th win on the road which is more than the Raptors had in a full season last year. A nice night for Bayless with 20 points and 7 assists and 19 for Bargnani in the best game of three he has played since returning. Raptors move on to face the Nets tomorrow night.

Anthony Carter Out? Let Trade Talk Begin

Yet to be confirmed, but Doug Smith has said (Via Twitter) the Raptors are expected to release Anthony Carter. This would leave the Raptors with just 2 point guards and with trade deadline coming people will read more into this minor move without question.

However, at this time of year every move be it minor or not, it will lead to speculation of some bigger move to be made based on the small move. Does this mean the Raptors are shopping for a point guard? This could also mean the opposite in that the Raptors are not going to entertain the idea of moving Jose Calderon at all.

It could just be that Carter was honestly been a train wreck and never brought anything to table at all for the most part. Guess his veteran leadership is no longer required if it ever was to begin with. I would suspect will hear something on this from the Raptors at some point today prior to their next game on Wednesday at home vs the Rockets.

It is 9 days till March 15th so all your rumours or actual moves will be confirmed or denied by that time. I would suspect the Raptors main chip to move is Barbosa and beyond that anything else would be a bit of surprise to me. But will see what happens. I am sure many will be rushing to their trade machines to make up their fantasy trades so have at it. If only trades were that simple.

More on this if it becomes official later today. If not will have something for you in the DNB tonight so either way enjoy your Tuesday and talk to you later.

Wilson Chandler Saga Takes Another Turn.

Well it seems Wilson Chandler is a free man. So the story we had about him not being able to sign with the Raptors has now changed. It had been reported he would have to wait about a week that would have made it impossible for him to sign with another team. Here is the update we added to the original story from the weekend.

This ongoing saga or maybe it just seems that way, has taken another twist or is it a turn? Wilson Chandler now has the green light to sign an NBA Contract and has until Thursday to make that with another team not named the Nuggets. So that puts him back in play for the Raptors. There has been talk that Raptors are looking to move Barbosa to free up more cash to offer a contract that Denver would in effect be unable to match. It is currently believed the Raptors could only offer 4.2 million where the Nuggets would have 4.6 Million to over given both teams respective Cap Situation.

According to Chandler's agent he is only interested in a long term deal and if he doesn't get one he would sit out the rest of the year and could go to Italy and play in the spring and be ready to return to the NBA next season as a RFA. Here is a story from the Denver Post that contains more info.

Back To Work For The Raptors

Andrea Bargnani was well enough to go shake hands and kiss babies at All-Star weekend, but it would appear is not ready for basketball still. When exactly do we start to worry about this? The rest of the Raptors who won just their 4th game without him before the break have re-assembled in Houston. Not sure how many people saw the Rockets being so successful so fast in the post Yao era. Pretty sure not to many people saw Kevin McHale as a great hire. He was not exactly a great GM in Minnesota. He had two stints behind the bench as well in Minnesota with little success. In 2004-05 he was 19-12 and had a second tour of duty in 08-09 went 20-42. After taking a couple season off in the media working for NBA TV he was hired by the Rockets. Yet the Rockets sit at 20-14 coming out the All-Star Break sitting in 6th in the West.

The Rockets only representation at the All Star Game in Orlando was Chase Budinger in the dunk contest. How he got hooked up with P Diddy is another story for someone else to care about. On paper you look at this Rockets line-up and it has a few nice pieces, but it does not scream Western Conference Playoff team. They have Kevin Martin who they acquired from the Kings. He is there leading scorer with 18 a game. Some felt Kyle Lowery deserved a trip to Orlando. He has had a solid season. Luis Scola has always been a nice big body to have. They did land Samuel Dalembert in free agency. The rest of the roster is a collection of cast offs from other organizations. Like Courtney Lee, Goran Dragic, Johnny Flynn to name just three. They also have a few draft picks from last few years in Patrick Patterson and Jordan Hill and former Nets draft pick Terrence Williams.

Still it seems hard to figure out how this team wins. The Raptors have the unfortunate case of playing them in Houston where they are 14-4 and they headed into the break winning 7 of their last 10. Raptors were playing good basketball for most of their home stand but ended up 2-5. We mentioned Bargnani but Linas Kleiza has been out the last couple games as well, we will see if he is in the line-up tonight.

Jose Calderon was the most consistent player in the recent home stand with a few games scoring out of his mind. Trade rumors continue to circle around him and the Raptors continue to deny they are shopping him. They do admit that they are answering the phone when teams call. Leandro Barbosa is also likely getting some interest as well. There will be no all day trade deadline show for the NBA so we will inform you that the trade deadline in NBA is March 15th. Orlando was a team that was rumored to have interest in Calderon. But they have denied that. The Lakers might have some interest in a point guard and a guy like Barbosa wouldn't hurt them either. But unless Calderon is demanding to leave, the Raptors need to see a young point guard with upside coming back the other way. It seems unlikely they move Calderon this season given that fact. Barbosa is likely going to go to the highest bidder at the end of the day. If he were to fetch the Raptors a late first round pick or early second round pick that would be considered a win for them. It would bring a name like Myck Kabongo into the mix when you start talking draft and point guards. Kabongo is a freshman at Texas and most feel he will enter the draft. This despite having a season with the Longhorns that did not match the high expectations people had for him this season. The Raptors never had a shot at Tristan Thompson and claim that even if they did, they were not going to select him. They got their guy in Jonas. If Kabongo was on the board with a second draft pick it would be interesting if they passed on him as well being another hometown product.

We still have 33 games before we have to worry about the draft though. The Raptors 10-23 record sees them with the 5th worst record in the NBA. Washington, Charlotte and New Orleans I would think all finish worse off than the Raptors which would leave them at best 4th worst. Raptors could actually have a better chance of dropping to worse position by doing the unthinkable and winning some games. Teams like the Pistons, Kings and Nets are all right around the Raptors in the standings. When you examine the Raptors schedule it is a lot easier to see some wins for them especially once Bargnani were to return. I would think at the end of it all they exceed my 20 win forecast for them at the start of the season.

3 Keys for Tonight:

1. Aggressive Demar: This second half of the season we need to see a much more consistent DeRozan. He had a very up and down first half. It would be nice to see him start the half being aggressive and play well on both ends of the floor.

2. Battle The Bigs: Raptors need to get on the boards and compete on the glass. Scola and Dalembert will offer problems on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor on the glass. The Rocket average 42.5 rebounds a game.

3. Shake off the Rust: Raptors had a lot of time to practice prior to the All-Star break that might help them be a little more sharp coming off the All-Star break than the average team. In a season of few practices the Raptors have had quite a few based on the schedule of late.

Raptors Showed Some Fight At The ACC

The Raptors and Wizards started off with a sluggish start in the first quarter. The two teams took turns leading this game only to let the other come back and even things up. The one thing the Raptors did consistently for most of the game was getting on the glass at both ends. They ended up with 61 rebounds, 64 points in the paint and 28 second chance points. That is always going to be a recipe for a win. Raptors took control of the game in the 2nd. After a three for Washington to close out the first tied at 22. The Raptors would dominate the 2nd out scoring the Wizards 33-23 and have a 10 point half time lead for there effort. The start of the 2nd half was not as good as Wizards came out and got the game to with in a single point. The Raptors got to the edge of the cliff and slammed on the breaks and hit reverse. Dwane Casey decided to make a move and take out Demar DeRozan who was getting exposed on defence. Linas Kleiza would replace him in the line-up and he fixed the issues on D and added some offence. The Raptors slowly took back the advantage they had built. By the end of the third the lead had increased to 11 and the Raptors would close things out with a strong 4th quarter to end up with the 106-89 win.

Amir Johnson had a monster throw down that prompted Matt Devlin to proclaim he was back. He did have a huge bounce back game as it turned out with 18 points, 13 rebounds with 7 of those coming on the offensive end. In what has been a tough time for Amir, who coach Casey said has been having some personal issues in terms of his family, was able to put it aside and perform. It is something that Raptor fans were happy to see from a guy that is so active with the fan base. When Amir is going good it usually has something to do with Jose Calderon. The two over the years have developed a wonderful chemistry. Calderon seemed to be trying to aid Amir in his efforts to have a great night. We saw Jose at his distributing best with 17 assists to go along with 8 points and a rare 8 rebounds from the point guard position.

In the end it was a team win with the Raptors having 5 players in double figures including 3 coming off the bench. Barbosa who was under the weather and was sent home earlier in the day came back for the game and poured in a team high 19. Kleiza who was the spark off the bench that kept this car on the road in the 3rd had 15 points. Johnson we already mentioned had 18. If my math is correct the Raptors had 63 points coming off the bench in total. James Johnson had 13 and DeRozan 11 as the other two double figure scorers. It was a rough night for Demar again shooting just 4-12 and having his issues on defence. But he like everyone was active on the glass with 7 rebounds. Easier to take a tough night for Demar when the team plays well. But still a concern as we move forward. He could use a night like Amir Johnson had sooner rather than later.

All these good feelings are great but how much it will help the Raptors come Sunday afternoon remains to be seen. They travel to Miami and face Chris Bosh and those two super friends of his Lebron James and D-Wade. The Miami Heat are a challenge for any team in the NBA. In terms of the Raptors it might be mission impossible. Dwane Casey was able to find a way to stop Miami as an assistant in Dallas, but as the head coach in Toronto that will prove to be a much more difficult task. But that is why tonight's game was so important. Instead of looking at strong possibility of facing a 4 game losing streak heading in Miami, they come in off a strong performance feeling good about themselves. In fact not just them, but fans can feel a little better about their Raptors after a performance like this tonight.

We Interupt: Raptors vs Wizards To Bring You Bryan Colangelo

Bryan Colangelo hi-jacked the Raptor broadcast tonight to address the captive Raptor audience. He used the time to talk about his recent trip to check on Raptors 5th pick Jonas Valanciunas. He was as expected extremely positive about his prize draft pick. Even at the expense of current players like Amir Johnson. He said some things about Jonas' defence and said unlike Amir Johnson had been doing. Given the fact Amir has been having some unknown personal issues I found it to be a perhaps unintentional but an uncool thing to do on Colangelo's part. He basically gave a long drawn out promotional speech on how Jonas is going to translate well into what the Raptors are building with Casey. Highlighting his defensive skills and abilities to rebound. No pressure kid you are just suppose to save the franchise. It is going to get to this point.

Here is where things got interesting. The topic of the small forward position came up. Rumours of the Raptors being interested in Wilson Chandler have been flooding the internet of late. He is one of the players that decided to head to China during the NBA Lockout. The name of Andre Kirilenko was also mentioned as a possibility. The was news for an interested listener in Lithuania, it wasn't Jonas checking out what the boss was saying. Sonny Weems was though who is playing over there as he decided to not wait for the NBA Lockout. After the conversation had ended he tweeted to Matt Devlin asking if he had forgot about him? Bryan sure did. The Raptors did tender a qualifying offer to Weems who was a RFA. So much like what the Raptors went through with Carlos Delfino, When Weems would decide to return he would still have his rights held by the Raptors. But based on the conversation Weems later tweeted that looks like he will have to find a new team. It should be noted that Sonny is often checking on his old team over in Europe. In an interview here in the DNB Demar DeRozan said the two still keep in contact as often as possible. Some including me wonder if Weems not being here is at least a small part of the struggles Demar has had this season. It was widely known how close they were when Weems was here. But in an interview with Matt when I suggested the idea he was quick to dismiss it. Whatever the case is with that or the future of Sonny Weems it made for a moment that you could only have experienced with Twitter. Personally I have always loved Sonny. I try to give him a shout on Twitter often like I do with other former Raptors like Reggie Evans and T.J Ford. I would welcome him back to Toronto. Not to say he would fix the Raptors issues at small forward. He would need to prove that. But would I rather have him than say Rasaul Butler? Do I even need to tell you my answer?

The Colangelo show was not done. In talking about Jose Calderon he talked about the need for a point guard of the future. Which might suggest Jose Calderon is the past. Colangelo did not go as far as saying he would move him. But he is clearly shopping for a new younger more modern point guard. There was also talk of Leandro Barbosa. Colangelo claims he has already taken calls about his availability. Colangelo when you were reading between the lines seemed to be angling for a better deal. That is actually our current poll question and last I checked you folks believe both Jose and Barbosa will be gone by the deadline at least the majority of you.

Ironically the two guys Colangelo slagged had big nights as the Raptors won 106-89 over the Wizards. Just the third time the Dinos have been over 100 this year and first without Andrea Bargnani who was also praised by Colangelo. No new info on his injury status. Will have a full re-cap tomorrow as the Raptors head to South Beach for Sunday afternoon reunion with Chris Bosh and all his super friends on Super Bowl Sunday.

More Of The Same In The ATL

The Raptors would be another man down as the entered Atlanta for a special MLK Day Matinee. James Johnson joins Jerryd Bayless, Aaron Gray and of course Andrea Bargnani. The writing was on the wall it seemed heading into this one. Demar DeRozan day started out the day on the right foot with the Raptors opening score in this game driving to bucket and getting an easy two points. But by the end of the afternoon DeRozan would be as frustrated as the fans watching the game likely were. He would get a rare technically foul and end up on the bench cooling his jets with 4 fouls. Amir Johnson would also have his issues with foul trouble as well on this afternoon. He quickly had to make an exit in the 3rd quarter with about 9 minutes left. For an undermanned Raptors squad that made it an even rougher afternoon.

It did start somewhat well though with an 11-5 lead in early going in the first. But Josh Smith would be big all afternoon and it started with 8 points of a 10-0 run that brought the Hawks back to take the lead. This would set a pattern for most of the afternoon. The Hawks would seem to turn it on and off proving that they are, both good enough to be good, but why they never will be great. They were the like a cat playing with a mouse before they killed it. Raptors fought back to get the lead down to 4 with the score 22-18 only to see the Hawks pull away again before the end of the first with a 26-18 advantage after one.

In the second despite many foolish and silly turnovers by the Raptors, the Hawks were letting their foot off the gas pedal, especially at the end of the half. After letting a 34-22 lead be trimmed to 36-30, only to go on another 7-0 run and have their largest lead of the game at 13 points. But again they let things slide and only led 50-45. It was a gift the Raptors were still in this game.

The Hawks continued to feed Raptor fans hope and their own fans concern. The Raptors with a less than full roster, and having a few folks in form of Young Onez as spectators were able to hang around. Barbosa was the main offensive weapon, his 22 points off the bench led the Raptors on the afternoon. The Raptors would be just down 2, heading to the fourth quarter with the score 73-71 Hawks. But as often been the theme for the Raptors of late, the 4th quarter was an epic disaster. They would take over 5 and half minutes to even register a field goal. Hawks did enough to close the door outscoring the Raptors 20-13 and finish off the Raptors 93-84.

Raptors 5th loss in a row as they head next to Boston to conclude this 3 game road swing. Josh Smith had the line of the game with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Joe Johnson was not shabby either with 27 points 5 rebounds and 6 assists with a couple steals. Compare that to the Raptors future as Demar DeRozan had just 10 points and was 5-17 from the field. Ed Davis did have a season high 11 rebounds but only 7 points as he was forced to play 40 minutes in part because of Amir Johnson's foul trouble. Johnson did have 13 points and 10 rebounds in just 25 minutes of action. Calderon had 13 points and 11 assists but also 4 turnovers. You can certainly understand why the Raptors are struggling with injuries mounting combined with the schedule that has been challenging. But, if you are not starting to have some deep concerns about this young core that Raptors have claimed they are building, then you must not be paying attention. Is it a product of the new system? Is it a product of having to play harder with a focus on the defensive end of the floor? Is it the fact the Raptors were handcuffed by the lockout and had no control of there young players for the entire lockout? It could be all of the above. But for the Raptors ultimate game plan to work they need a lot more from their young core. That begins with Demar DeRozan and Ed Davis.

Raptors Show Some Fight But Lose On Points.

The Toronto Raptors had about as much chance of winning this game as Tim Tebow has in beating Tom Brady. But while Tebow is currently on the way to being crushed by Brady. The Raptors in Chicago had a lot more fight than one might have expected coming in. But in the end the Bulls would come out on top of things but it was an interesting ride to get there.

Demar DeRozan got off to a good start with 6 of the Raptors first 8 points. Amir Johnson did not as he was sitting on the bench just over 3 minutes into this one. He had a foul on the opening possession than picked up his second with 8:49 to go in the 1st. Bulls had a 12-8 lead after DeRozan's third score but would then go on a run and push the lead to 21-8. This prompted Dwane Casey to call a time out and change his approach on defence. The Raptors went zone and it worked really well. Derrick Rose could no longer pick apart Jose Calderon. The Bulls struggled to find any offence at all. James Johnson was having a solid two way performance against his former team. He along with Leandro Barbosa were leading a wave of scoring from the bench. The Bulls 24-13 lead after one, was being chipped away as they had empty possession after empty possession. In fact the Raptors were able to get the lead 35-33 with about 1:30 to play in the half. That was the first time they had led in the game since it was 4-2 Raps in the early moments. Toronto would reverse the 24-13 advantage in the 2nd as they outscored the Bulls by the exact same margin for a offensively challenged 37-37 halftime score.

Raptors came out in the 3rd and continued on with zone defence with a more traditional looking 2-3 zone. Bulls would nose out ahead by 5 points but a DeRozan 3 pointer would bring the Raptors back to level at 44 a piece. It was a scrappy 3rd quarter as both teams had their issues getting the ball in the basket. The Bulls would again push out to a five point bulge and would end up with just a 4 point lead after 3 with score just 56-52. Some more bad news on the injury front for Toronto as James Johnson was out with a twisted ankle and after reports he may return, as it ended up he would not. The Bulls came out of the blocks in the 4th and quickly built their advantage to 11 points. The Raptors made one finally push back but the Bulls responded and re-established the 11 point advantage and push it further with a Rose bucket to make it 71-58 Chicago. The Raptors were challenged to score, they had one possession where they had 3 or 4 attempts only to finally have Kleiza end up at the line. Which was a rare event. Raptors making a foul shot was even more rare. They went 1-7 from the line. Demar DeRozan did not get to the line even once in this game. Barbosa was the only Raptor to make a free throw in this game. The Bulls would close this game out and earn a hard fought 77-64 win moving to 5-0 at the United Center on the season and 12-2 overall.

Raptors fall 4-9 and have lost 4 straight. They next hit the floor at 4pm on Monday as it is the MLK Holiday in the U.S and they will take on the Hawks. DeRozan and Barbosa shared the team high in scoring with just 15 points. Raptors were able to hold Rose to just 18 points but he had 11 dimes to go along with it. The fact the Raptors were able to hang with one of the NBA's Elite teams was encouraging but in the end another loss and they lose a player as well with Johnson going out. Despite all of that you had to at least be a little impressed with how Dwane Casey schemed on defence to give the Raptors a fighting chance through 3 quarters. It was noted that Casey was even more active than usual on the sidelines in the broadcast.

So that is about all for the game. However I want to make mention of an interview conducted by Eric Smith that was part of the pre-game radio broadcast with former Raptor broadcaster Chuck Swirsky. Believe it or not this is the 4th season since Chuck left for Chicago. Time real does seem to fly by. Chuck since leaving Toronto has never explained why he left other than for "Family Reasons". He has been in this blog many times and out of respect to Chuck we have never pressed to have him explain. Eric Smith in this interview with Chuck, it finally is explained in depth what those reasons in fact were. So I encourage you to go have a listen.

I honestly never knew the reasons Chuck had left till today. I had heard bits and pieces of this story but never knew what was fact or fiction. I have always loved Chuck as person and I am sorry to hear of the reasons he had to leave a place that he did and still does love. Chuck and Eric both will always have a special place in my heart. I was just doing a college radio show locally here in Hamilton and emailed Chuck and later Eric about being guests on the show. Chuck would do that small radio show several times as would Eric. Chuck would also help me get to know a few people in an attempt to advance myself. He is a great human being and truly cares for people. I may have issues with his style of broadcasting at times. But never the man. The man is one of the best people I have had the chance to know. I have appreciated his wiliness to be a guest here in the DNB since leaving for Chicago. Now knowing what was going on for him personally I appreciate even more. Whatever you may think about Chuck, he gave a heck of a lot to helping sell this Raptor franchise in his time here. He should always be respected for all that he did to try and grow the Raptors and game here.

Raps Tried To Win But The Mavs Did Win

It's seems pretty easy to please Raptor fans these days. Show up and don't get blown out and happiness reigns supreme on Twitter. The Raptors did show up in Dallas and they did try. Even had a lead in the 3rd quarter when their old buddy Vince Carter led another team back to beat his former club. In the end this was a battle of the Raptors wanting to win and give their new coach an unexpected victory. While there was a Dallas Mavericks team that was off to the worst start of a defending Champion in over 40 years. They needed to win and they did just that.

The new and improved Andrea Bargnani clearly came to play tonight. He was a big reason the Raptors could even claim to be in this game. While no one can deny his improvement this year my feelings on his future remain the same. It is kind of hypocritical of a lot of people to not agree. If you can say after Chris Bosh left town that you can't really win with him why should it be different with Bargnani? While Bargnani is less likely to leave the Raptors the same things that were said about Bosh and why the Raptors couldn't win with him apply. Bargnani is clearly this teams top scorer. But even now at his natural position that was once occupied by Bosh he can not provide enough to help this team win. Chris Bosh was often taken to task for the games he had big performances often came in games the Raptors lost. The same can be said for Andrea Bargnani. He was about as good as it gets for him tonight shooting 11-18 with 30 points and had 7 rebounds. There was only one assist in that though. Maybe that gets to the fundamental problem with a traditional four as your main piece. It is often said that your best player is suppose to make everyone around him better. I fail to see how Bargnani has done that today or ever.

But his improvement is a positive no matter how you choose to look at it. But to me it makes him an attractive piece to move not keep. In a stacked draft class coming up you would think a team would be willing to part with a first round pick to get a scorer like Bargnani. On a contending team he is a great second or third option. Raptors could get another solid pick and perhaps a player they could use at point guard or a legit small forward something the Raptors have failed to have since Vince Carter left. Never once have the Raptors traded a player at high point of his value. You only need to look at the Vince Carter trade and the next to nothing they got as Bosh left via free agency. Perhaps the last time the Raptors got any true value with a core player in a trade was when they moved Antonio Davis. They did alright in that deal despite losing a fan favourite in Jerome Williams as well. If the Raptors are truly rebuilding then don't go half way.

This of course would be a lot easier to do if Demar DeRozan was showing signs of taking the next step. While Bargnani has shined it has been a bit of a troubling start to Demar DeRozan's third season. There is no really dramatic improvement in his defence. While he seems to be forcing his offence and we have seen many more forced shots than we have highlight dunks. Tonight DeRozan had just 11 points with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Shooting just 4-12 as well. James Johnson who was a big hit with Raptor fans since he arrived is starting to see his honeymoon end with fans. He did not score a point and was a -14 for a guy that is suppose to be one of you best defenders?

Another chip the Raptors have to play that is less attractive than that of Bargnani is Leandro Barbosa. He had 20 points will the rest of the Raptors bench had just 6 points. Barbosa decided to use his player option to collect his 7.2 million dollars owed for this season of service. He clearly can score and he clearly is not a guy that is ever going to be defence first. The Raptors may want to hang on to him to have his salary come off the books as it is a big piece of that 20 million or so Colangelo would have in cape space next season. But if you can get a player you like already under contract that you would control for a few seasons is that not a better option. Raptors have had their struggles being a player in free agency in the past. Colangelo's big signings have never been smashing successes. Hedo Turkoglu the most recent but there was also Jason Kapono prior to that. They still would have a decent amount of cash to spend as well. But the key is when you go to move Barbosa it is from a position of strength. If you don't get what you want you cash is your 7.2 million in cap room and call it a day.

Mavericks had 5 players in double figures three of those coming off the bench including Carter. Bargnani schooled that Dirk fellow as he not only outscored him 30-18, but even out rebounded him 7-4. But in the only stat that matters Nowitzki got the W. The Mavs get in the win column for the first time this year with a 99-86 win over the Raptors. Both these teams sit at 1-3 on the season but the difference between the two teams is massive.

I grow tired of hearing that it was a entertain loss. If this was a movie or a concert that would be great. But as much as sports becomes more and more entertainment based it still is about winning and losing. The Raptors have proven that while their effort level may be improved and there defence is with out question miles ahead of any point under Jay Triano. They held the Mavs to 44.4% shooting on this night. But at the end of the day moral victories are for losers. This whole attitude of the Raptors at least tried hard and it was more entertaining than watching paint dry concerns me. Great just friggin awesome. Look I get it and yeah there are some good things. But at the end of the day is this core group good enough? Not really sure. At the end of all of this have the Raptors actually solved any of their problems? I think they have solved at least one. Dwane Casey is a keeper it looks like to me. He is not taking any pride in the fact his team tried hard. He expects and demands more. As should all of you that are just satisfied with a team giving an effort. But can this team attract free agents? Remains to be seen. Will the ownership of this team be willing to go to that next level to make the Raptors a true contender when the time comes? Or will the be happy to have a team that is good enough to make the playoffs and do nothing really. See the Atlanta Hawks as the classic example of that. Although they have tried to spend money just maybe not always wisely.

I think what I find frustrating is people seem to just accept and buy in no matter what. While I truly admire the loyalty of fans, I am not ready to see the Raptor fan base morph into the one that cheers for the hockey team that hasn't won since 1967. In theory the Raptors are in a good position for success. But when you place that against this teams failure of the past how confident can you truly be? While I am not as over the moon about Jonas Valanciunas has some people. I think he has a good shot at being successful. However I need to see it against NBA talent under NBA rules to be convinced. Also as this season grinds along and people look to the future the amount of pressure on him will be intense. I mean it is almost now as some people see him as a Savior. Raptors still have no point guard and no real dynamic small forward. At best Jonas is a piece to your puzzle but he is not going to be able to pass the ball to himself. He also can't defend the wing position. Maybe you find that answer in the draft. But for tank nation you might want to look up the odds of worst team actually winning the lottery.

Speaking of point guards Jerryd Bayless turned his angle in this game and did not return. He did have an x-ray on the ankle that came back negative which is positive. That being said if you saw the replay of it on TSN it was a pretty nasty twist. We saw are first look at Anthony Carter as a result and got to see Forbes play some point guard. Along with a bigger dose of Jose Calderon who was having fun playing someone slower than him. A decent night for Jose with 11 points 7 dimes and a couple steals. Jose can defend people that are his lesser in terms of speed. Problem is that list grows shorter ever season. No one will cry more when Jason Kidd retires than Jose Calderon. As for Bayless his status vs Orlando is not known but safe bet he could be out. Aaron Gray remains out with a heart condition. This will take Raps fans back to the struggles of short lived Raptor Nathan Jawai. But we are told things with Gray are not as serious. He is still able to practice with the team despite being held out of game action. Obviously you hope for the best health wise. Basketball wise based on what we did see of him the Raptors are not missing much.

I guess the point I am making is that people tend to be far to accepting. Some of these people were the same ones that never thought we needed a coaching change but they now have fully sold out to POUND THE ROCK. If you have learned anything from reading this blog I hope it is that I don't just follow the crowd. I have been ahead of the curve on a lot of things. Long before you heard anyone questioning Jose Calderon I was. When people were applauding a trade for Jermaine O'Neil that was not me. I was the guy that told you Roy Hibbert was going to be good. The Raptors at the time felt he was to slow to play in their system. Well is Jamaal Magloire going to win a race against Roy Hibbert? Not likely. In terms of him I seem to be the only one that remembers how this guy consistently turned his back on this country and the national team. Only now at the end of his career when he has very little left to offer does he become a Raptor. Yet he is applauded like some hero cause he happens to be from Toronto. You want to applaud an NBA Player from Toronto? Tristan Thompson will make his only visit to the ACC on Wednesday. Applaud him. I never liked Hedo signing as well. This all may seem like bragging on my part. It is not meant to be. But it is to say and illustrate that I often have a good sense on things and have a good track record at being right. But just because I am a realist and I am not so willing to just accept everything at face value doesn't mean I want to see this team fail. I like everyone else want this team to be a success. But I don't do it with disregard or forget the long history of failure with this organization.

If the Raptors problems were simple and easy to fix there is no doubt there have been some smart people in this organization over time that could have fixed them. But it isn't simple, it is very hard. This Organization wants your patience. I say for some they have been patient for 16 years. Based on that it at the least should make you at best skeptical of the Raptors rather than to just buy into whatever they are selling to you. However you care to look at this season, it in many ways is a lost season. Some see it as a means to an end. But there is no guarantee it is a happy ending. Applauding effort and trying is ridiculous to me. That should be a given. Like I tweeted tonight. Yoda put it best....Do or do not.....there is no try.

Raptor Ramblings

So now that another season is in the books we will shift our attention back to the home team. Toronto Raptors are a team without a coach as you know. Just curious if the Miami Heat are going to part ways with Eric Spoestra if he would jump to the top of the list for Raptors coaching search. I wouldn't mind having him personally. Despite being young he does have a ton of experience. He does have a defensive mindset even if he couldn't stop Dirk for most of the finals. While he might not be able to coach the three super egos in Miami he is a solid coach overall in my view. You look at the job he did the season prior with very little beyond D-Wade as evidence of that. But all that being said the Heat at least for the moment have given no indication that they are not going to bring him back next year. The Raptors appear to be looking at Dwane Casey an assistant coach for the Champion Mavericks but are not alone as so are the Detroit Pistons according to Slam. Also on both the Pistons and Raptors lists include Lawrence Frank the one time Nets head coach that beat the Raptors in the post season under Sam Mitchell. Given the narrow perspective Colangelo has given in terms of what he is looking for there can't be to many coaches that fit that bill.

Draft workouts are set to resume in Toronto on Wednesday. I will be in town to check them out. No list as come out as of yet but I have a hunch we might see some local talent in the mix. Raptors already worked out Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker who if they were to go point guard would be at the top of the list of player that could be available for them. Colangelo has been in Europe checking out his options over there. He also and stated publicly he is the market for a 2nd first round pick in the top 10. If that was to land a Tristan Thompson with it I would be all for it. If not I really can't see much point to it. If the Raptors bailed out of this draft altogether it would not make me sad in the least. Other than the fact we are having a draft party and would have no draft pick to celebrate. But basketball wise this is a weak draft class. I would venture to say even weaker than the class that landed us Andrea Bargnani at number one.

In other off-season news in terms of the Raptors it would seem Leandro Barbosa is leaning toward declining his option for 7.2 million for next season. I am not sure if this makes much sense for him. But in terms of the Raptors it would make them a team with a lot more cash to play with under a what is expected to be more restrictive CBA. Colangelo's old Suns ties were able to have him work out a sign and trade that landed as it turned out a championship ring for Shawn Marion. It also helped Colangelo pull off the move to land Hedo. While that was a complete failure the fact that Colangelo was able to work with Marion was not. Now Barbosa is looking to turn down an option but Colangelo has stated he would be interested in signing him long term. It seems Colangelo might just have been able to work with a former Sun once again to get himself some much needed cap space.

I briefly mentioned our draft party which will be going down at St Louis Wings at the Bay St location just up from the ACC. On Friday I will be giving away one VIP guest pass for our party. That just like with our Bosh Bash will give you a night out on the good folks at St Louis Wings. Food and drinks for free and a chance to party with everyone else that shows up. Also for everyone will be having X-Box 360 with some NBA 2k11 to keep you entertained in between picks. That and I am sure some other fun and surprises will be on the agenda for a fun night for all. I hope to see many of you decide to come out and spend draft night with me and folks at St Louis Wings. So Friday in the blog will have some way for you to have a chance to win. Also check on Twitter as I will post something there to make you aware of the contest.

That is a wrap for today. I will be in Toronto tomorrow so may not hear from me. Ryan should have his weekly DNB Top 10 for your enjoyment though. I will have some stuff from the workouts on Thursday. Raptors will be having workouts on that day as well but I am only heading down for the Wednesday workouts as of right now.

Bargnani and DeRozan Go Off On The Wiz

It is not very often you can say this season the Raptor fans can go into a game expecting a win. But on this night in Toronto, you had every reason to feel that way with a banged up Wizards squad, that has just 1 road victory on the season in Cleveland. Raptors can relate to Wizards road struggles as they themselves have lost 14 in a row on the road the latest coming at the hands of the Pistons. But at the ACC they have been more respectable coming into last night 13-22 at home. Ok, more respectable in comparison to 5-27 on the road. If this was a college game, these are two teams that would not even make the NIT. But Raptors with a tough 5 game western road trip in front of them, starting in OKC on Sunday, really needed a win here from moral if nothing else. Amir Johnson would be back in line-up starting and wear those ugly green things again and even The Raptor was green it was scary.

Game started with a James Johnson block on John Wall but the Wizards would score off the block. Raps would get the next two buckets and Amir Johnson from James Johnson hooked up for the Amir slam. Wizards were getting in the paint and getting some easy baskets a couple McGee slams and it was 8-5. DeRozan jumper from mid range is money and it was 8-7. Amir Johnson would draw Raptors level at 10 playing with some fire early but it would eventually fade as Amir still was not at 100%. DeRozan had an early 7 points and the game was still even at 17. James Johnson as has been the book on him since joining the Raptors off to a fast start driving down the heart of the lane and giving the Raptors a 19-17 lead. Bargnani would nail a three and it was 22-19. This would be followed by a DeRozan drive score and 1 giving the Raptors a 27-21 advantage. Raptors woul maintain that 6 point lead and shot 68.8% to have a 33-27 lead. Bargnani had 12 and DeRozan 10 combining for 22 of that 33 for the Raptors.

Reserves were in the game for the Raps and Reggie to Bayless in a little roll reversal. Ed Davis coming off the bench gets a hoop. Raps a sloppy turnover and John Wall runs away from the pack and gets a slam. Another turnover and Wall passes this one ahead for the easy score and Wiz were with in 4. It would get worse as the turnovers would continue and The Wizards would take the lead at the line 39-37. Wizards were on a serious run 6-6 in the quarter and leading 43-37 time out required from Jay Triano. Wizards were outscoring the Raptors 13-4 in the early going of the second quarter. Defence was not exactly a strength for either side and it was showing. Jose a three in front of the bench out of the time out and Raptors needed that. Calderon sparked the come back he missed a lay up but DeRozan was there for the finish he later would stick a jumper and Raptors were on a 9-0 run out of time out and back in the lead. DeRozan was now heating up and getting out and running he gets a layup and was fouled and Raptors once down 6 got on a 19-2 run and led 56-45 since the time out. Whatever Jay Triano said he should bottle it and use it again. After the game he was asked about what he said but said he could not recall what he actually said. Wizards finally got back on track and cut the lead back down to just 5 at 58-53. Raptors got basket then with 4.3 seconds called a time out and a nice play for Barbosa who got to show off his speed, as he got the score and drew a blocking foul. He missed the and 1 free throw and Raptors would settle for a 62-53 halftime lead.

Raptors shooting percentage dipped slightly to 58% but that is still pretty good. But 10 turnovers for the Raptors for 16 Wizard points so you could argue the Raptors should have been up my more. three guys were doing most of the work for the Raptors, Calderon, Bargnani and DeRozan. Jose would find Demar on the break for the easy lay in. But the Wizards got it back to 5 points again. But then Bargnani would hit for 2 sparking the Raptors again to a little push. Both he and DeRozan had 20 a piece in this one. A Reggie Evans dunk and Wizards needed to re-group down 68-59. Stopping DeRozan and Bargnani would be a topic of time out for sure. But whatever was said was not working as DeRozan had 2 straight jumpers and was shooting lights out. Raptors led 72-61 and were rolling. Wizards get some good fortune as Raptors got a questionable call as they were called of inbounding the ball incorrectly. But nothing seemed to phase the Raptors as the built back their 11 point advantage thanks to Andera Bargnani and James Johnson hoops making it 80-69. Bargnani stroked another three later on and that would be the 500th of his career 54 back of Vince Carter on the Raptors all time list. DeRozan and Bargnani had a combined 56 points and led 87-75 late in the 3rd. It would end up 88-77 Raptors in the lead after 3. Samuel L Jackson was taking in this one, I think Raptors won when Drake was in the house as well. Maybe you need to invite some stars to get Raptors to win. Whatever it was the Raptors were playing like a well oiled machine on offence.

Barbosa stuck a 3 in the early going of the 4th and Raptors looking to have everything in control. But we have seen this before a Raptor game is never over till it's over right? That being said Barbosa another 3 and Raptors were up 13 with just under 9 to play leading 96-83. Raptors were doing a solid job keeping the lead so far. That was what they call fore shadowing as the Wizards once down 13 in quarter had chopped lead all the way down to just 2 points with score 98-96 and some Boos rained out at the ACC. Just 3 minutes left and like a big seed in March Madness the Raptors were just looking to hang on for the win. Kind of like Texas did earlier in the day with Tristan Thompson and Cory Joesph and Longhorns hanging on for the 85-81 win over Oakland. Raps were up by same margin 102-98. A free throw contest down the stretch helped the Raptors get lead up to 106-99. A Jose Calderon three ball would pretty much ice this one. Raptors had a 10 point lead and would hang on from there for a 116-107 win. Bargnani and DeRozan a combined 63 points and a big win for the Raptors. Face it this season any win is big.

Bargnani had 33 and DeRozan 30 while Jose Calderon did a solid job running the show with 17 points, 6 assists and a couple steals. Here is some thoughts from Demar on his night from everything from how he played to Samuel L Jackson declaring Demar his favourite all-time Raptor. Think he wanted to say Vince Carter but he knew he was in Toronto. Still DeRozan is getting respect and fans by leaps and bounds this year and having the endorsement of Mr.Jackson helps but his game is doing more to make the case this season. So here are the post game thoughts of Demar DeRozan.

That was definitely Demar DeRozan, and I definitely talked to him pre-game and you will definitely come back and listen right? Definitely, Demar DeRozan is improving and taking major strides. When he and Bargnani both have their games rolling it definitely HELPS!!!

Reggie Rocks, But Bobcats Roll.

Sports makes stranger bed fellows than politics ever has. As proof I give you today's matinee with the Raptors hosting the Bobcats. The Pacers left the ACC quite upset with the Toronto Raptors and now today they have to root for the Raptors. Pacers and Bobcats enter today tied in the Eastern Conference Standings. The Raptors have another game where they can have an impact on playoff race even if they are not in it themselves. Also rooting for the Raptors are the Bucks sitting just a half game behind the Pacers and Bobcats. Losing an hour of sleep the Raptors have motivation to be spoilers. No Amir Johnson again today and that gives Ed Davis a chance to start. Coming off a double double. His 7th of the season I believe. But if I am wrong take it easy on me I am going on an hour less sleep too and making far less than anyone on the floor today.

Raps and Bobcats exchange hoops then a risky pass by James Johnson looking for Demar is picked and Bobcats turn that into two on the other end. Bobcats were looking sharp early and had an 8-4 lead. Bargnani who struggled in his return the line-up was not great but scores on a drive on his first attempt of the afternoon. Couple of fouls on Ed Davis and then DeRozan and the DeRozan foul sends Kwame Brown to the line. He mad both and Bobcats lead 12-6. DeRozan would score on the other end, answered by a Jackson three on the other end and it is 15-8 Bobcats on top. D.J Augustin hits a jumper to make it 17-10 and that draws a time out from Jay Triano. James Johnson blows a lay-up but Reggie was in and all over it but second chance did not get points. Bobcats get a three in transition and it was 22-13 and looking ugly early. James Johnson used a Reggie Evans screen and this time hit the uncontested lay-up it is was 22-16 and Bobcats wanted to talk it over. Reggie Evans making an impact hustles and get a ball leads to break and Raptors got a easy basket on a 2-0 break. Reggie makes an impact there is not question about that. Reggie was a one man wrecking crew and his hustle was leading to Raptors getting all kinds of open looks it was tied at 22 and since Reggie joined this game Raptors had an 11-4 advantage. Bobcats would edge ahead 24-22.

Reggie was rebounding everything with 8 boards and even had a basket to tie it at 24. Sonny Weems would give Raptors first lead since 2-0. Bobcats would try to fight off the wave of energy Reggie had brought and went on an 8-0 run. That was the good news, Stephen Jackson tweaking his back was the bad and Bobcats foul and take a time out for him to get checked out. Jerryd Bayless his a 3 ball Raptors were down 5. But now bad news for the Raptors as Demar DeRozan was knocked down and forced to take a seat even though he didn't want too. DeRozan is of course the only Raptor to play in ever game this season. Bobcats took advantage of his absence to take a 8 point lead. Jackson was back for the Cats as well. Ed Davis and he closed off the comeback push tying it up at 42 but failed to give the Raptors the lead at the line. Demar was back and he would give Raps the lead a 10-0 run and Raptors back on top 44-42. It was a scrappy finish to the first half and Bobcats were in a fight up 50-47.

As at the start teams trade buckets this time Bobcats strike first blow with Henderson jumper and Demar looking no worse for wear with the answer. Teams continued to trade baskets waiting for the other to blink with the score 59-56 Bobcats. The Raptors would be the ones to blink first and Bobcats nailed a wide open Augustin three. Then a turnover and a foul and suddenly Bobcats were up 10 with score 66-56. Even the return of Reggie to the floor did not help stop the Bobcat surge. A time out from Jay Triano to try and stop the insanity. But another Augustin three and Bobcats were doing a better job accounting for Reggie on the glass. Couple of Calderon baskets would get it back to single digits after the Bobcats had their largest lead at 13. make it a 6-0 Calderon run as he made 2 at the line. Not a fan but Jose like Reggie had in first half was making an impact in a very different way but same result. After DeRozan split a pair at the line Raptors were down 71-65. James Johnson in spurts is great but is also awful at times. Case and point a silly charge. Bobcats steady things and built the lead back to 10 with score 75-65. Raptors would make a push and draw a little closer for the 4th quarter. Some really sloppy play by Bobcats late as Bayless had a steal led to a easy lay up for Bargnani who was struggling mightily. The Evans a steal and a shot well out of his range and had it gone down the Building would have followed. Raptors would settle for being down 76-71.

The struggles for Andrea continued as a double team caused him to throw the ball away. Raptors had cut it to 3 but after that it was a 80-73 Bobcats lead. Barbosa not nearly as hot as on Friday. Made one to cut it to 5 but next trip missed. Reggie regardless of the score just rebounds. Sonny Weems in limited minutes is getting his and makes a jumper. But like Barbosa the next time a miss. But Reggie Evans with a steal and he was trying to WILL the Raptors to a win. Steal led to Bayless lay-up and it was 82-79. Bobcats got it back to 5 but a Barbosa three would cut the lead to two. This game was getting scrappy and Bobcats up 6 get teched up as Gerald Henderson did not like something. Reggie Evans has 17 rebounds in 28 minutes and he needs a break. DeRozan comes in and heads straight for the hoop and gets a call. Makes a couple at the line. DeRozan has had a rough day getting banged up and just 9 points so far. A Scramble play ends with a foul on Stephen Jackson by DeRozan and Jackson would split 2 making it 89-84 Bobcats. Break time over for Reggie but he is not in there to stop D.J Augustin who again nails a wide open look. Barbosa was heating up and basket and 1 at the line made it 91-88 Bobcats. But again Augustin hits and I am officially adding him to the Raptor Killer list. It includes names like Roger Mason Jr and other odd names. Demar DeRozan goes into double digits with a bang with the throw down. Raptors were fighting hard but in the end Bobcats had far more to lose than the Raptors. Bobcats needed this game and got it 95-90 powered by Texas Alum D.J Augustin with 23.

Speaking of Texas time to see where Longhorns will be for March Madness and tune in tomorrow as I chatted with T.J Ford about our Canadian kids at Texas and their prospects of making the NBA and who knows if they are smart here in Toronto becoming Raptors? As for today. Reggie tried to will this team to a win but he needed more help and Bargnani and DeRozan not having great scoring days would make that task far to tough in the end.

Pacers get BLURRED!!!

Watching Roy Hibbert play against the Raptors always makes me cry a bit. I am doing a feature on March Madness and talked with him. Asked him how does it feel to return to your former team for 2 weeks. He laughed and said they should have kept me. Jokes aside they really should have. Pacers are still in the playoff hunt in the East. Raptors playoff hunt died some would say when Chris Bosh said he was going to South Beach. But playoffs have been off their radar pretty much the entire season. As Ryan said in preview Raptors have been reduced to spoilers at this point.

James Johnson a quick basket to open the proceeds and he picks up a foul at the other end non-shooting. Former Raptor Roy Hibbert with the answer to tie it at 2. Funny I am doing a feature on March Madness and Tyler Hansbrough who won a title at UNC had back to back baskets but Raptors lead 8-6. Raptors had an early 6 points from James Johnson but a Granger 3 and Paul George bucket and foul which he missed left this puppy tied at 13. Pacers took the lead 15-13 and a time out and DeRozan it would set off a Raptor 10-0 and Pacers now needed the time out trailing 23-15 in first with 3:52 to go. This is not what they wanted to see with Raptors have hope of a win. Raptors would maintain the lead for the most part leading 32-27 after 1. Raptors shot 65% in that opening quarter and yet just up 5 points.

Raptors came out and built on the lead Barbosa had 9 already off the bench for the Raptors and that was the lead as well 38-29. Barbosa was hot as hell a score on break then a wide open 3 and he had 14 and Raptors lead was up two touchdowns. Given the news in NFL today will use some football terminology because they won't be for awhile. The Blur was just that on both defence and offence and it was having a huge impact on this game. The Raptors were benefiting with 43-29 lead and the Pacers needed a time out. Barbosa had hit 5 of his first 6 shots.

A sloppy turnover and Pacers get an easy bucket on the break. Barbosa misses and Hansbrough gets a slam dunk. Barbosa would get back on track and hit a jumper for two but the former UConn stantout A.J Price nailed a 3 pointer and Pacers were showing some fight as they were battling to hang on to the 8th spot in the East. They had trimmed a few points off the Raptors lead and it was 47-36. Reggie Evans battling on the glass gets rebound number 7 of what would be an eventual 8 in the half. 4 offensive and 4 defensive an equal opportunity rebounder and it would that 7th board would lead to a Barbosa bucket giving him 18 points which is what he would end up with for the half. Pacers were getting tagged with a lot off silly offensive fouls the latest of those to Danny Granger and it was not helping the comeback effort. A three from Granger later who help and got Pacers to single digits. That would be short lived as Calderon would find Ed Davis and he made the basket in the paint and got fouled made the and 1 as well and Raptors were up a dozen. They would continue to ride this effort to the half and lead 62-48 at the break.

The third quarter as it would turn out would be the worst of the night for the Raptors. After scoring 32 and 30 in first two quarters points would be harder to come by in the 3rd. James Johnson after a perfect 6-6 in the first half and 13 points would not score a point in the the 2nd half or take a shot. But Jay Triano said after the game it was more important that he kept Danny Granger under control. which he would do a good job of in 2nd half as Granger had just 11. Despite the good 3rd quarter for the Pacers they only manged to take 4 points off the lead and Raptors took a 83-73 advantage to the 4th quarter.

The Raptors and Pacers would play the 4th quarter to a stalemate. The Raptors after being in an almost identically position as they were against Utah with a 14 point lead with about 7 minutes to play. This time the Raptors would stop the bleeding quickly after a little slippage Triano called a time out and it got the Raptors back on track. There may not have been drama in the outcome the rest of the way after that. But there was in the final moments. Darren Collison earlier in the year had nailed a 3 point shoot late in a game when Pacers could have just dribbled it out for a win. Raptors remembered that and Leandro Barbosa remembered that as did the Raptors. Barbosa would take a chance to score late creating some ill will with a frustrated Pacers club that is free falling out of the playoffs with their 6th straight loss losing to the Raptors 108-98.

Danny Granger was not a happy man and basically said he would have done ill will to Barbosa had he not feared being suspended. But a Raptor never forgets I guess is the lesson of this story. It was a good night for one of the DNB's Favourites in Reggie Evans with 16 boards. He gave his take on this whole thing post game. You can find Barbosa's thought on it on Raptors.com and my bald head in James Johnson's post game scrum. Here is Reggie's thoughts on end of the game and his own performance, some praise for Ed Davis as well.



That is a wrap on this one. Had interviews with T.J Ford talking about Canada's big 3 ballers in Thompson, Joesph and Kabongo on the way. Also first chance to talk with Demar DeRozan since his whole all-star experience and a nice performance in England. Look for those in the coming days. Up next for the Raptors is the Bobcats who are chasing the Pacers something they might want have kept in mind before talking smack about the Raptors.

The Raptors Road To The Unknown

There are now just 19 games left in the Toronto Raptors 2010/11 season. I was talking to someone over the weekend and they hit me with that number and I was kind of surprised. The season goes by so quickly, it really does. In those last 19 games it is more about the Raptors positioning in the draft lottery than anything else. But even that is flawed to a degree.

The Lottery itself is a bit suspect in nature. Some people have a hard time believing in it's legitimacy. From the very first lottery that saw Patrick Ewing going to the New York Knicks people have wondered how on the level it is. All those conspiracy believers may not be right but enough strange occurrences have happened in it makes you wonder. But legit or not this NBA Lottery maybe the most unusual ever given the back drop for the draft. The NBA's looming CBA issues and the lack of a deal and a lockout looming threaten to alter the draft class. Many feel that because there is a real question if we even have a season next year will cause many kids to take a pass on the draft. However David Stern has never been a fan of letting youngsters in this game. He created the rule to bring an end to high school players being drafted. The last ever high schooler drafted is on the Raptors Roster in Amir Johnson. Who is to say that Stern does not push to increase the eligibility age to enter the draft. That might make kids flock to this draft if they saw that as a possibility. The general consensus is this draft class is stocked with power forwards. The one position the Raptors seem to be over stocked. In a terrible season like this people look to the draft for hope and answers. But in terms of this season it may just provide more questions than it does answers for the Raptors. Much like the year Andrea Bargnani was selected, there is not a clear cut number 1 selection. No slam dunk Blake Griffin or Lebron James to select.

As for the future of this team we still have yet to even see if Bryan Colangelo is coming back. It is widely assumed that he will. It was also widely assumed that Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans had been traded. If Colangelo is back that likely means Jay Triano will remain as well. Regardless of if Bryan is back or not he has laid a foundation to fix this team under the new CBA. But it is hard to even say how well he has done in that regard with having no idea what the new rules are going to look like. The game is going to be altered and rule book to how you build a franchise will be re-written this off-season. Teams will enter the draft most likely with no clear road map as to what free agency is going to look like and no clear idea to when that even takes place.

The Raptors ability to be competitive in the NBA may greatly be helped by the results of the collective bargaining agreement. While the Raptors are in no danger of moving this league has other teams that are in that position. The Sacramento Kings seem almost a lock to move to Anaheim while the league itself owns the Hornets. Look around the league and you don't need anyone to tell you it has some serious issues in small markets. The actions and events that lead to Chris Bosh and Lebron James going to South Beach are being felt. Now New York wants to have a similar model and have 2 thirds of it in place. While there is no question the general interest in the sport overall has been helped by the creation of this super team in Miami. NBA ratings have been up and interest in the sport has been too. But in contrast to that interest is down in this market. The attendance for the Raptors is off from the past. Television and Radio numbers are down as well. Even online interest is down if I base it on myself. The easy answer to that is losing. Team loses interest will drop. But really it can be a much larger and bigger problem. It can be a loss of hope. When there is no hope that a team can truly be a contender you have a serious issue. While in a market such as Toronto that is not a death blow by any means it is for other markets and makes teams become not viable.

This CBA will need to address that competitive balance. Which in real terms that ability to have hope and faith that any team can truly win be restored. Oklahoma City is the exception and not the rule. Fans in markets need to have faith that they can have stars and not worry that at the first chance they have to leave they will bolt for a more attractive situation. You are never going to be able to create a perfect system but the NBA must create a better one that allows teams to have the ability to keep it's stars. That can be tough when at a certain point players have made so much money that it becomes less about the money and more about other things. It is not like you can mandate someone to be loyal. Players will make the point that franchises are not always loyal as well. Teams on any given day when they are able to make trades can send a player packing at the drop of a hat.

The end result of the CBA will have a lot of say in what the Raptors future is going to be. If fans can embrace Demar DeRozan as the next one or just the next one to leave. I had said long before this season had ever got started that his development was the most important thing of this entire season. Injuries and a lack of any sort of a competitive team has made that even more the case. Whatever they come up with in a new CBA is not going to change one simple fact about the NBA. This is a star driven league and more than any other sport you truly need a star player or players to have any hope and being a serious contender. The Raptors as currently constructed have no star or franchise player at the moment. They have two potential stars in Bargnani and DeRozan. But when you look at things realistically the chances that Bargnani ever reaches that level grow less and less as the days go by. The same is not true for DeRozan who is showing true signs that he can be an elite player in this league. It has not been in the way that a Vince Carter burst on to the scene in Toronto. It has been a steady progression of improvement. Demar is still very young and I think we sometimes expect so much from kids these days. Not everyone can be like Lebron James or Sidney Crosby and walk into a sport and instantly dominate it. It takes time for most to learn and grow and develop into superstars. But there is not question that Demar at least has the tools in terms of ability to become one.

The question will become if DeRozan can reach that level can this team surround him with a team that is capable of winning. They have failed to do that with Carter and with Bosh. While you can point to those players and lay some of the blame on them, you have to assign blame to the Raptors as well. If Colangelo is indeed back he will need to get things right. While Bryan has had a lot of success in bringing in some complimentary pieces. When Colangelo has looked to hit the home run he has struck out every time. This will be his last chance to get it right and it may take him doing some things that many do not see him doing. He may need to take a hard look at Andrea Bargnani and if he truly should be here. Can he be a complimentary piece to a DeRozan or do you need to trade him and move on. Bargnani is not and will not be this team's franchise player. If people are going to question if Bosh could be to argue that Andrea can be is beyond ridiculous.

Who ultimate Colangelo makes part of this young core moving forward is going to be vital. While Bargnani is part of that mix if Colangelo is not willing to move him. DeRozan, Ed Davis and Amir Johnson all I would suggest are the other locks but after that it becomes cloudy. Jerryd Bayless is a real question mark above all others. He has not exactly blown anyone away really. Especially as the losses have mounted for this team, he has seemed to see his play drop off as well. He is likely to see more competition come his way as a result. I can not imagine the Raptors would not seriously be interested in finding a young point guard to develop and eventually replace Jose Calderon. You have Sonny Weems who it would appear has been ruled expendable by the Raptors acquiring James Johnson. It seems unlikely that both Johnson and Weems would remain. Solomon Alabi has in a sense just become the white flag for the Raptors throwing in the towel on games. He has bounced back and forth from the Bayhawks to the Raptors. I am not sure what to make of his future. Maybe they give him another year to see if they can turn him into anything. He very much is a project like Nathan Jawai was suppose to be and never was.

It will then become finding the vets to place around this group. In terms of the vets they have it would seem unlikely that Reggie Evans or Barbosa enter into the longer term plans for the Raptors. Both have been plagued with injuries and we have only got to see snap shots of what they are capable of doing in Toronto. The Raptors however the CBA shakes out are going to have cash to spend. Evans contract is going to expire and unless Reggie takes a serious discount I can't see him being back. While Barbosa becomes an interesting asset entering the final year of his deal. Definitely he is an interest piece for a contender if he is healthy. He also will offer a ton of cap relief for whoever is holding is contract by the end of next season assuming we have one that is.

But to truly know what this team or any team is going to be able to do in the future is just not possible. We have no road map on what teams will or won't be able to do. At the same time the NBA's future is in flux so is the NFL's future. They too are in the beginning of their labour situation. While the two are not related exactly should the NFL find a way to have labour peace, as an NBA fan you would hope that increases the pressure for the NBA to do the same.

The sad fact is that as fans we are held as the hostages in these things. It takes away your ability to even look towards the future with no really idea on what it will be. Which in terms of the Raptors is all they have going for them right now is the future. The present has been painfully obvious you could argue even as far back as when Chris Bosh signed in Miami. We all remember the post Vince Carter Raptors. It took a long time to recover from that. This time around the Raptor fan base is far more bitter and far more jaded. They have endured 16 years of a team that has not been able to deliver on it's promise of wanting to be a winner and a contender. They are more educated as fans and are not as easy to accept that this team will be able to get it right this time. After all they have enough history of them getting it wrong to be justified in thinking that it will not change.

However with a new CBA that will eventually come it is hard to predict what it will mean for the NBA and for the Raptors specifically. What is not hard to figure out is this fan base regardless of that is tired of losing it's stars, tired of losing faith and just tired of losing in general. The pressure to get it right will be intense. Raptor fans are not like Maple Leaf fans and are not willing to wait 40 plus years for them to get it right.