Jurassic Hoops

Five reasons I love Chris Bosh’s engagement

Steve Clarke — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:28:10 +0000

While most Toronto media outlets have been rather unenthusiastic about Chris Bosh’s engagement announcement, I’ll be the first to say I’m psyched up for CB4’s pending nuptials.

Here’s why Chris Bosh’s engagement is FANTASTIC:

1. The top 25 hottest NBA wives list will remain unchanged. His fiancee looks like a cross between Star Jones and Mariah Carey. If you doubt me, check out this pic of the fiancee…and Star Jones…and Mariah Carey.

2. If Bosh’s loyalty to his bride is as strong as it was to his NBA team, we should see an exciting divorce story in about 7 years. Oh, and he’ll disappear for about 11% of the time his family needs him…just like he missed about 9-10 missed games per season with the Raps on average.

3. His fiancee is approximately 5.0′ tall…making her one of the few people who still look up to him.

4. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are likely to be members of the bridal party. Wade will be the Best Man, while LeBron will be the d-bag who killed the hopes and dreams of the city of Cleveland…and an usher.

5. Did I mention his fiancee looks a lot like Star Jones?

Best wishes to the happy couple!

Steve Clarke covers the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers for Fanball at JurassicHoops.com and Blazerstrail.com. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveClarkeNBA or contact him via email at sclarke22@hotmail.com

Raptors lose a good one

Steve Clarke — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:02:13 +0000

On Thursday, the Denver Nuggets will formally hire Masai Ujiri as their new General Manager, nabbing one of Bryan Colangelo’s key assistants.

For the past 3 years, Ujiri has been a crucial part of the Toronto Raptors senior management team, first acting as director of global scouting, and ultimately serving as assistant GM to Colangelo.

He’ll have his job cut out for him in Denver, as he’ll be dealing with an ownership group reputed to meddle with decision-making of its basketball operations personnel. As well, one of his first assignments will be to address the Carmelo Anthony contract/trade situation, a challenge which would keep even a seasoned GM up at night.

Although I have no formal proof to back this statement up, it seems likely Ujiri is the first Nigerian native to hold a GM position with a major North American sport, and possibly the first African-born. Ujiri is a native of Zaria, Nigeria, and as such, it’s no surprise that he’s played a major role in the NBA’s “Basketball without Borders” international development initiative.

As Colangelo said, Ujiri is “one of the brightest young minds in the game.” Losing the well-connected Ujiri means losing privileged access to some of the most significant resources in international markets.

When people discuss Masai Ujiri, they speak about his wealth of contacts and connections. In his travels from his youth in Africa to prep school in Seattle to junior college in North Dakota to playing college hoops Montana State, he took in as much coaching and basketball knowledge as he could get, while developing relationships with basketball brains throughout the US. After college, he headed to Greece, Germany, Belgium, England and Finland, using the experiences to earn an International PHD in Hoopology.

It won’t be his first stay in the Mile High city. The Nuggets hired Ujiri in a scouting capacity back in 2003, leading to his eventual promotion to the role of director of international scouting. When he left the team in 2007, Ujiri suggested he might have some unfinished business in Denver, telling the Denver Post, “Maybe one day I’ll come back to the Nuggets. The Nuggets will always be family to me.”

It turns out his prophecy came true. The Raptors lost a respected member of their family, while the Nuggets and Masai will celebrate their family reunion in the coming days.

Top 10 trades in Raptors history

Steve Clarke — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:46:59 +0000

It’s not too difficult to remember the bad deals made by Raptors management.

Look no further than the names Alonzo Mourning, Hedo Turkoglu, and Chauncey Billups to recall some of the horrors of Raptors trading history.

But not all the moves made by Toronto GMs have gone sour. In fact, in the early years, the Raptors’ foundation was developed through several shrewd acquisitions.

Here’s a quick look at the 10 best trades in Raptors history:

10. Raptors acquire Kevin Willis from Rockets for Roy Rogers and the #s 16 and 18 picks in the 1998 Draft. Houston drafted Bostjan Nachbar and Mirsad Turkcan.

9. After finally ridding themselves of Rob Babcock, the Raps accomplish what the maligned GM had failed to do for months. Just a week after Babcock’s dismissal, Wayne Embry convinces a certain ex-Raptor GM (hint: his nickname is Zeke) to bring Jalen Rose and the $32.6 million remaining on his contract to the New York Knicks along with a draft pick (Renaldo Balkman) in exchange for Antonio Davis. This was Davis’ swan song with the Raps, as he was waived shortly thereafter.

8. Raptors acquire Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones (later waived) in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu. Regardless of how the on-court performance for the players involved pans out, this is a classic case of “addition by subtraction”. Time will tell whether the trade will move up or down the list, but for now, it has to be considered one of the best moves in recent Raptors memory.

7. Raptors pick up Tracy Murray, Keon Clark, and Mamadou N’Diaye from Denver Nuggets in exchange for Kevin Willis, Alex Radojevic, Garth Joseph, and a 2001 2nd rounder (Ousmane Cisse). The tall trio heading to Denver fizzled out quickly, while Tracy Murray became a key player in the Raptors offensive attack. Keon Clark was painted to be the centerpiece of the deal by Glen Grunwald, but it was ultimately Murray who made the phrase “Teeeeeeee-Time” a household expression in the early 2000’s. Another great dynamic of the trade? The discovery of a great saying: Nobody dunks like Mamadou.

6. Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems are traded to the Raptors for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic. While Johnson and Weems’ stories are still very much unfinished, the Raptors gave up basically nothing for a bona fide starting power forward and a player who should work his way into steady minutes in ‘10-11. Ukic appears to be shaping up to be a modern Vincenzo Esposito, and the move represented a resolution to years of indecision about his future with the team.

5. Raps pick up Popeye Jones, 1st rounder in 1997 (John Thomas), and the right to swap ’97 first rounders with Minnesota from the Dallas Mavericks for Jimmy King and 1998 and ’99 2nd rounders (Ansu Sesay and Gordan Giricek). In exchange for practically nothing, Toronto picked up an aggressive rebounder who quickly became a fan favorite.

4. In what ultimately became multiple transactions, the Raptors acquire Kenny Anderson, Alvin Williams, Gary Trent, two 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers for Damon Stoudamire, Walt Williams, and Carlos Rogers. Less than a week later, they flipped Kenny Anderson, Popeye Jones, and Zan Tabak to the Boston Celtics for Chauncey Billups, Dee Brown, John Thomas, and Roy Rogers.

Net result: Stoudamire, W.Williams, Rogers, Jones, Tabak for A.Williams, Trent, picks, Billups, Brown, Thomas, Rogers.

3. Toronto receives Doug Christie, Herb Williams, and cash from Knicks for Willie Anderson and Victor Alexander. Christie and his wife became fixtures in Toronto, while Anderson and Alexander failed to produce much of an impression in the Big Apple.

2. In exchange for the rights to Jonathan Bender, the Raptors receive Antonio Davis from the Indiana Pacers. 2839 boards later, Davis remains the 2nd all-time in team rebounding history, while Bender averaged just 5.5 points per game over an injury-ravaged career.

1. In a draft day deal, the Raptors trade the rights to Antawn Jamison to the Golden State Warriors for the rights to Vince Carter. While the latter part of his stay in Toronto was a time we’d all like to forget, it’s impossible to overstate the impact he had on the NBA and the sports scene in general during his incredible rookie and sophomore seasons. For his first few years in the league, ‘Air Canada’ Carter was bigger than Elvis. Regardless of what happened later, Toronto fans were fortunate to witness the endless stream of highlight-reel performances Vince unleashed on the league.

As the 2010-11 NBA season approaches, Bryan Colangelo seems poised to swing another sizable transaction. Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans are the names most frequently mentioned as trade bait.

If he does swing a deal, here’s hoping BC is able to unseat one of the top 10 trades in Raptors history and improve this current team’s prospects.

Raptors going Back to the Future? Looks like ‘96-97 again

Steve Clarke — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:12:39 +0000

Bryan Colangelo is reported to be pulling out all the stops to try to upgrade the Toronto roster heading into the ‘10-11 season.

The days ahead will clarify whether he’s be able to significantly boost this team’s fortunes.

But, if he doesn’t, all signs point to a chilly winter at the ACC.

According to voting conducted by ESPN.com’s 93 staff writers, this Raptors roster (assuming no upgrading occurs) places the Raptors squarely in last place overall in the Eastern Conference.

Frustrating as it is to say, it’s hard to argue with their forecast.

Take a look at the team’s depth chart, and you’ll soon see why sceptics doubt the capabilities of this current incarnation of the Raptors.

Depth:
PG   Jose Calderon           Jarrett Jack                Marcus Banks
SG   Leandro Barbosa   DeMar DeRozan
SF   Linas Kleiza                Julian Wright             Sonny Weems
PF    Amir Johnson          Reggie Evans               Joey Dorsey       Ed Davis
C      Andrea Bargnani      David Anderson

I was reminiscing today about more innocent times in Raptors history, and it occurred to me that this current roster bears a bit of a resemblance to one of the first Raps squads to hit the floor.

Look back to 1996-97, and you’ll see a team with talent in the backcourt, a patchwork roster, and a sketchy overall outlook entering the season.

What’s even more disturbing is if you compare starters is that I’m not sure if the ones from ’96-97 aren’t…uh…better. Stats for 2010-11 projected based on career averages and anticipated minutes.

Point Guard
THEN: Damon Stoudamire 20.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 8.8 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.2 bpg
NOW: Jarrett Jack 16.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 8.2apg, 1.2 spg, 0.2 bpg

Shooting Guard
THEN: Doug Christie 14.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.5 spg, 0.6 bpg
NOW: DeMar DeRozan 13.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.4 bpg

Small Forward
THEN: Walt Williams 16.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.8 bpg
NOW: Linas Kleiza 14.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.3 bpg

Power Forward
THEN: Popeye Jones 7.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.5 bpg
NOW: Amir Johnson 12.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.6 bpg

Center
THEN: Marcus Camby 14.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 2.1 bpg
NOW: Andrea Bargnani 19.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.3 spg, 1.3 bpg

Sixth Man
THEN: Carlos Rogers 9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.8 spg,1.2 bpg
NOW: Leandro Barbosa 12.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.2 bpg

THEN: The ’96-97 Raptors team coughed up 98.6 ppg, while scoring 95.5.
NOW: Look for the current Raptors squad to both score and give up a bit more in a faster-paced offense.

It’s hard to imagine Colangelo would see this roster as a fait accompli. Perhaps, through some creative wrangling, he’ll reshape this team into a contender. As it sits right now, this team might leave Raptors fans yearning for the days of old.

NOTES:

The ‘96-97 team finished with a record of 30-52, landing them the 9th overall pick. They selected Tracy McGrady in the ’97 draft. The best month the Raptors had in ’96-97 was 6 wins, 10 losses in March…but their March was nothing compared to the schedule the current Raps face in March ’11 – road trips to England and tough west-coast swing.

Calderon to Charlotte after Sept 13th?

Steve Clarke — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:40:14 +0000

Another day, another near-miss for Bryan Colangelo.

Reports are surfacing that the Raptors and Bobcats discussed another Jose Calderon trade yesterday afternoon, again falling short of closing the deal.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. As it stands right now, the Raptors need to upgrade their size and athleticism, while the Bobcats are hard up for a legit NBA point guard.

As first reported by David Aldridge of NBA.com, the Raptors and Bobcats worked the phones in hopes of sending Calderon to Charlotte for either T.J. Ford or Erick Dampier’s non-guaranteed contract.

While this revelation is interesting, Aldridge doesn’t mention that it would be a major stretch for the Raps to accept T.J. Ford in this deal, even with a buyout in the works. Dampier, on the other hand, makes a lot more sense.

Further to the discussion, if the Raptors are to pull off a deal with Charlotte, they’d be crazy to do it now. If a deal goes down between Charlotte and Toronto, it will happen on Sept 13th or later.

Here’s why: the league’s collective bargaining agreement contains a unique clause regarding players received in a trade.

“If a team acquires a player in a trade, they are allowed to trade that player straight-up for another individual player immediately. However, if they wish to package that player with another and make a trade, the team must wait 60 days before doing so.”

Dampier was traded to Charlotte from Dallas following the failed Tyson Chandler to Raptors deal – July 13th.

If the Raps want to seal a deal with Charlotte, they’ll likely do it on the 13th of September – 60 days after the previous transaction. Otherwise, they would only be able to send Calderon and maybe Marcus Banks to Charlotte for Dampier.

If they wait until the 13th of Sept, they can pull off a much more desirable deal, sending Calderon, Reggie Evans, and Banks for Dampier and Boris Diaw. It’s no secret Colangelo would love to reunite Diaw with Leandro Barbosa in a run-and-gun attack.

What they’d do with Dampier is a discussion for another day.

Watch for rumors to bubble about a Charlotte/Toronto swap, and don’t be surprised if it happens in mid-September.

Steve Clarke covers the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers for Fanball at JurassicHoops.com and Blazerstrail.com. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveClarkeNBA or contact him via email at sclarke22@hotmail.com

NBA schedule released: Raptors highlights

Steve Clarke — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:41:17 +0000

The anticipation is over. With the NBA’s announcement of the 2010-11 full season schedule this afternoon, Raptors fans finally know the biggest game dates in the coming year.

Grab your BlackBerry, iPhone, Outlook, calendar – whatever scheduling system you use – and mark down the following key gamedays.

Nearly all of the home games are Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun, with just one Tuesday matchup vs the Hornets.

Most anticipated home games:

The Superfriends of the Miami Heat visit Toronto on Wednesday, Feb 16th at 7pm and Wednesday, Apr 13th (final game of the regular season) in what will inevitably shape into “Boo-a-palooza 2011”.

The Raptors and New Jersey Nets travel to London, England, for a back-to-back set at the O2 Arena on March 4th and 5th. Thankfully, the league has given both teams a couple of days off prior to the overseas games, and promises they’ll be treated to first-class travel and accommodations for the trip.

I’d recommend you strongly consider taking the ‘Over’ when Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns bring their aggressive offensive attack to Toronto on Friday, Feb 25th at 7pm.

Mike D’Antoni brings a similar assault to Toronto just once this year as his New York Knicks square off with the Raps on Sunday, Dec 5th at 1pm.

Now that Tracy McGrady is a Piston, watch for the return of the Mac on Wednesday, Dec 22 at 7pm and Friday, Jan 14th as Detroit visits Toronto.

Michelle Carter returns to the TDot with her little guy on Sunday, Apr 3 at 1pm as the Raptors take on the Orlando Magic.

The 2009-10 champion L.A. Lakers come to Toronto on Sunday, Dec 19th at 1pm, while Eastern conference champs the Boston Celtics visit the ACC on Sunday, Nov 21st at 1pm and Sunday, Jan 2 at 6pm.

The biggest non-surprise of the new schedule is the fact the Raps don’t have a single US nationally-televised game, unless the team is voted in on an NBATV fan night.

Longest roadtrip:

The team has a pair of 5-game roadtrips. The first goes from Jan 15-22, and it includes stops in Washington, New Orleans, San Antonio, Orlando, and Miami. The second goes from March 20-26, including stops in Oklahoma City, Denver, Phoenix, Golden State, and L.A. (vs Clippers).

Longest home stand:

The Raps have a 7 game home stand interrupted by just one quick road jaunt to Boston starting Nov 19th-Dec 5th. While it’s technically a 3 game home stand and a 4 game home stand sandwiching a road game, it will be a great stretch for the Raptors, as they enjoy home-cooking and the lightest portion of their schedule.

Nightmare month:

March promises to be a very tough stretch, as the Raptors have a trip to London, England, along with a trip to Detroit, and a grueling West-coast swing.

Barring a major acquisition, this will be about the time the Raptors begin to clear up exactly how many ping-pong balls they’ll have in the draft lottery.

Click here for the full schedule.

Major move seems inevitable

Steve Clarke — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:13:53 +0000

Bryan Colangelo can’t possibly see this Raptors squad as a finished product.

With the way the current roster is comprised, it would be a small miracle if this team were to squeeze into the final playoff spot in the East.

It’s a team in need of at least one or two upgrades, and Colangelo has never been shy about managing his roster aggressively.

No one could say he hasn’t tried. Tyson Chandler, Boris Diaw, and Matt Barnes were all nearly Raptors.

What’s clear is that BC is anxious to re-shape this year’s team.

In his ‘near-miss’ transactions he aimed to get bigger and more athletic, intending to add energy to the team’s run-and-gun offense.

He did accomplish part of his mission, engineering the swap of last season’s big free agent prize, Hedo Turkoglu, for speed demon Leandro Barbosa.

All the evidence is there for another significant roster move prior to the start of training camp:

BC’s thirst for roster-tinkering
Glaring weaknesses in the roster
Trade exception bigger than the GDP of Ecuador
Redundant talent on the roster

But what could Colangelo do to improve this Raptors team?

The biggest issue for the team is a lack of depth, particularly at the 4 and 5. While Amir Johnson stepped up with some impressive performances down the stretch last season, are we to believe that he is ready to step in as a bona fide starting NBA power forward?

It would be fair to argue that Johnson is an emerging talent, but the stark reality is that he’s averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 217 career games.

And then there’s Andrea Bargnani – il Mago – who sometimes fulfils his moniker as a magician, but often pulls a disappearing act when the team needs him most.

The safe assumption is that Colangelo will try to use his biggest bargaining chip – Jose Calderon – to bring in as big of a haul as possible.

There are still several teams at risk of entering the season with the need for an upgrade at the point- Indiana, Charlotte, Portland, and even the LA Lakers emerge as possible trade partners.

The Golden State Warriors are another somewhat intriguing trade partner, as they are rumoured to be aggressively shopping Monta Ellis. While it is unlikely Ellis would wind up in Toronto, the Raptors’ massive trade exception enables them to facilitate 3-way transactions.

It’s long been suggested that Colangelo has considered the acquisition of Andris Biedrins, and the lanky Russian Latvian has put himself deeper in Don Nelson’s doghouse recently with controversial comments about his Warrior teammates.

In essence, a Calderon-for-Biedrins transaction would result in the transfer of one questionable contract for another. Calderon has 3 years, $9 million per season left on his contract, Biedrins, 4 yrs also at $9 million.

The days ahead will tell the story, and we can count on Colangelo finishing what he started. As it stands right now, he’s got a trade exception in his pocket, a marketable point guard, and a burning desire to reshape this roster.

He simply can’t and won’t enter the 2010-11 season without further adjustments.

The Rebirth

Steve Clarke — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:48:59 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages…

Welcome to the reincarnation of JurassicHoops.com. Sit back and enjoy the ride as we follow the trials and tribulations of this year’s Raptors squad.

Someone much smarter than me once said that success as a writer hinges on one’s ability to quickly establish credibility and rapport with the audience. So, here’s a little about me:

I’m Steve Clarke – Fanball.com’s correspondent for the Raptors and the Portland Trail Blazers. In the past, I’ve had the good fortune of interviewing some of the sporting world’s biggest names.

I’ve followed the Raptors from day one…actually, before day one. Multiple witnesses can confirm that I proudly displayed the new Raptors logo printed in a 1994 edition of the Toronto Star on my Western dorm room wall – even before the team selected a single player in the expansion draft.

Included in the crowd of schmucks booing the selection of Damon Stoudamire in the 1995 draft was a young Steve Clarke, disappointed the team ‘missed out’ on surefire NBA legend Ed O’Bannon.

Like many of you reading this, I was back in the cheap seats at Skydome (yes, it was still called Skydome at the time) when the ‘96 Raptors defeated Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and the rest of the Chicago Bulls in one of the greatest games in team history.

I watched with amazement as ‘Half-man, Half-amazing’ Vince Carter stunned the world with his acrobatic dunks in the 2000 Slam Dunk competition…and like you, I thought the Raps had drafted their own Jordan clone.

Like you, I nearly threw my remote at the television when Vince morphed from “superstar slasher” to “jump shooter afraid to break a nail” to “whining sissy-boy.”

I watched the remarkable transformation of the beloved Vinsanity to a man who cemented himself as the most vocally despised visiting player to Toronto…

…that is, until Chris Bosh and LeBron James ‘bring their talents’ to the ACC this fall.

(Mark my words…it will be loud, and it will be vicious. Hell hath no fury like a Raptor fan scorned.)

We’ll have to save a few opinions and memories for another day. Please check back often, and take a moment to add me on Twitter @SteveClarkeNBA to follow the latest opinions, breaking news, interviews and inside info on the Toronto Raptors.