Raptors HQ

Look What Raptors Stuff I Found On Ebay

2012-05-17T19:30:01Z

Can Ball Ray, the finder of the strange and unusual on Ebay, has found an oddball of an autograph for you Raptors fans. The player who's autograph it is is a memorable Raptor shooter during that string of three consecutive Play Off runs but the item signed is a little unusual. Find out who it is and what he signed here ...

Item: A Major League baseball autographed by Dell Curry

Now this is a bit unusual but the back story behind why it's so interesting for a Raptors fans is pretty cool.

For those of us who remember the time when Vince Carter used to play with heart and the Dinos were looking at the Play Offs as a possibility, Dell Curry was that outside gunner keeping the middle spread for Wince and Antonio Davis.

When Dell arrived in Toronto after a decade in Charlotte when they were the Hornets, he was on his last legs in the League but the dude could still knock down the three. He was the predecessor to Jason Kapono if you will. For those of us that remember him, he would miss every shot you gave him except the back breaking trey for the lead or the game. The was that kind of shooter. He is currently the Raps fifth best 3-PT shooter of all time registering in at .390 over his three seasons.

But what people don't often know is that Dell was also a pretty good baseball player. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 14th round in 1985 after going 6-1 with a 3.81 ERA after his junior diamond season at Virginia Tech. He never did make the majors, or even sign with a minor league team, but he did get into a minor league game for the Gastonia Rangers. He started the game, lasted three innings striking out three batter but giving up three hits, a walk and an earned run to be tagged with the loss. That would be the end of his baseball career but you can at least have this signed baseball to put on your mantel, your desk or coffee table.

Or you could just have have this autograph instead in your pocket to impress your friends. And it's even on a Bobcats business card.

An A and B Team for the Senior Women Is Not a Bad Thing

2012-05-17T14:15:03Z

With the Senior Women's National Team beginning their road to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament last night, Can Ball Ray weighs in on the idea of a Senior Women's "B" Team and what that would mean for the women's player pool ...

The Senior Women National Team are looking like they have a good shot at possibly qualifying for this summer's Olympics in London and that has largely to do with a great pool of talented female players. This weekend is the tune up with China in BC for the 16 ballers that will make up the official team.

But there is another Senior Women's team that will be playing overseas this summer as well. This second team, made up primarily of CIS and NCAA players, is being called the Senior Women's "B" Team.

Kind of like a junior varsity team of sorts, Canada Basketball has decided to make the effort to create a team of players that could have made a contribution to the SWNT team and sent them to Europe to play as a separate unit in some exhibition games this summer in Montenegro and Belgium.

Personally, I like the idea.

I like the idea of a team of potential National Team players heading off to play in against other teams as a form of training is an excellent idea.

How else would you be able to better prepare them if they were to make the jump to the varsity? You get them together, you have them train together, you have them travel and play games together. You have them experience being on the varsity team as much as possible by simulating as much as they would have to go through being on the varsity team.

This is something that the US has done in the junior ranks for some time, primarily because their pool of talent is so vast and it helps to have these type of situation, and I think this is something that can work for Canada.

This model addresses two very important issues that you have when you have players playing in such different geographical regions: uniform training and building cohesion amongst strangers.

If you run down the list of players on the Senior "B" Team, they all play at schools that cross all the time zones of North America right from St. Mary's in Halifax to Marquette in Milwaukee to Utah in Salt Lake City to UBC in Vancouver. Their contact with each other could be minimal and getting together is definitely not regular.

Add to that the fact that the majority of these athletes may be spending almost all year on campus either in class or training with their teams making getting together to train as a National Program.

This Senior "B" Team allows for some of the players that may not be playing/training through the off season to get some work in while also getting everyone more familiar with each other and with the systems that the Senior Programs use. The best part is that it creates a larger pool of players with international playing experience. And having a larger pool of players to select from to replace injured, unavailable or aging players is always a bonus.

The tertiary benefit of the "B" Team is that it gives the up and coming players something to play for. Not everyone will play in the varsity team, that's a fact. But this junior varsity edition gives those coming down the pipe a team to play on to be a goal or a reward of sorts for making it this far in the progressive steps up the ladder. It's almost like the consolation prize that has you playing great teams in foreign countries as a form or training. Shoot, give me that boobie prize any day instead of a ribbon.

This isn't necessarily a new thing for Canada Basketball. This set up reminds me of the Men's Development Team that Canada Basketball has sent out to Europe to compete in the last two summers leading up to the major FIBA events. Those teams were slightly different in that they went out to compete in tournaments to help develop players for the pool. The Development Team also served as a further audition for the Senior Men's Team that would play usually after these teams would play.

The Senior Women's Team seems pretty set with their 16 so I'm not anticipating any of these ladies making a move up from the "B" to "A" squad but these players will be working like they are on the varsity. One of them could be on the big team for the next big run so getting them in the same environment only makes sense.

Long live the "B" Team.

The Senior Women's National Team take on China again for game two of their three game set before flying to Toronto tonight. They'll be looking to go 2-0 tonight. If you can't make it out to the game you can check it out one www.sportscanada.tv. Game time is at 7:00 PST.

RaptorsHQ TV - Steve Nash and the Toronto Raptors

2012-05-17T13:00:11Z

If you missed the news from just over a week ago, you're probably not someone who follows basketball.

At all.

Steve Nash of course was named General Manager of Canada's basketball program, a huge move that has huge implications for the game in this country, not only from a national team perspective, but potentially regarding the country's lone professional squad as well.

For years fans have pined for Steven Nash to suit up for the Toronto Raptors but until this recent move made by Canada Basketball, it seemed like a pipe dream at best.

But in the wake of this move, many have argued that Nash in the Dinos' back-court is no longer such a stretch, and that Raptors' GM Bryan Colangelo, whom Nash already has a storied history with, will do everything in his power to bring Steve to TO next year.

We've yet to discuss the topic in much detail, but we kick said conversation off this morning with thoughts from both myself and our Canadian Basketball correspondent, Ray Bala, in our latest edition of RaptorsHQ TV:

Poll - Raptors vs Magic - Which Team Currently Would You Rather Be?

2012-05-16T23:30:18Z

So far in our "Who'd You Rather Be" series, the vote has been in favour of the opposition.

Both the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz were voted, both by readers, writers and opposing team bloggers, as being in preferable overall positions to the Toronto Raptors as of now. The reasons varied, from current talent to management and ownership and it's obvious that the Raps are going to be in tough in future "match-ups" for many of these same reasons.

However this one I expect to be quite close.

The Orlando Magic got the EVER so slight edge in my take on their current situation versus that of the Dinos, and even SB Nation's own Magic blogger, Evan Dunlap, noted that the compare was a lot closer than he had anticipated.

So to settle this, we of course want to hear from you.

Magic or Raptors, which team would you rather be presently?

Poll

Which team would you rather be right now?

Raptors vs Magic - Orlando Pinstriped Post Weighs In on "Who They'd Rather Be"

2012-05-16T18:00:42Z

We gave you our thoughts on which team we'd rather be earlier today, the Magic or Raps, but what did the opposing team's blogger think?

Check after the jump for Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post's take on the situation...

This question took a lot more thought than I initially figured it would, which isn't a terribly great statement about where the Magic stand at the moment. But ultimately, I decided Orlando's in just slightly better shape than Toronto is.

What it comes down to is assets: the Magic's days of contending appear to be over, and a rebuild seems to be inevitable. The Raptors have been in that rebuild for two-plus seasons, so in that sense they're farther down that path than Orlando is. The key difference is that the Magic, in Dwight Howard, still have a top-five player in his prime. I think it's in their best interests to trade him over the summer unless he agrees to sign a contract extension, and I don't think he'll do that--he can get more money and more years by re-signing as an unrestricted free agent, as opposed to adding a few years onto the extension he signed in 2007--but Orlando ought to be able to get several assets in return for Howard: some draft picks, a reasonably productive veteran, and perhaps a youngish prospect.

That's better than the traded player exception the Raps received for Chris Bosh in 2010. Dumping Howard might also afford the Magic the opportunity to rid themselves of the contracts of Hedo Turkoglu and/or Chris Duhon.

Moreover, Orlando also has restricted free agent Ryan Anderson, around whom they can attempt to rebuild or whom they can sign-and-trade over the summer, depending on which course of action suits their needs. He's an asset, and asset is really the name of the game in rebuilding.

Can Ball Ray Talks Steve Nash As the New GM of the Senior Men

2012-05-16T17:45:06Z

It was announced last week that Steve Nash was announced as the new general manager of the Canadian Senior Men's National Team and it's about time that Can Ball Ray put a video up of the whole thing.

He has written about three big areas where Mr. Nash could be seen to immediately the Senior Men's program, and Canada Basketball as a whole, and you can find those posts here in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 where I discuss them in greater detail.

Basically, I'm harping on Nash as the best thing to happen to the National Program in a long time and all this means to infuse some much needed optimism for the future. It may only be a matter of time when we, as a collective basketball loving people, will be looking upon the next few editions of the Senior Men as Canada's Nash-onal Team in the most figurative and literal forms on the floor.

So who's on the bandwagon early?

CanBall Report: Steve Nash Becomes National Team GM (via raptorshqsbn)

Poll

How much time do you give before the Nash Effect is felt on the National Team and Canada Basketball as a whole?

Who'd You Rather Be? Raptors vs Magic

2012-05-16T15:10:13Z

In their continuing look at how the Raps stack up against this year's playoff clubs, the HQ turns its attention to the Orlando Magic...

When we launched our "Who'd You Rather Be" series last week, I couldn't help but have the Metric song, "Gimme Sympathy," stuck in my head.

One of the singles off their last album, the chorus features Metric lead singer Emily Haines asking the age-old question, "who'd you rather be, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?"

While it's been a line that always resonated with me for various reasons, it was hardly applicable to the first few editions of our series as in my books, both the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz were in a class or two above Toronto.

But what about the Orlando Magic?

The "Beatles vs Rolling Stones" argument is obviously a complex one beyond simply legacy vs longevity, but the point Miss Haines may be making is that perhaps being the Beatles isn't so much better than the Stones, and the two groups are closer in stature at this point then you'd imagine...

...much like the Magic and Raptors.

Here's why...

Marketability:

Orlando is a strange case in terms of marketability.

At face value, one would think that it has the advantage over Toronto; better weather, no individual income tax, one of the larger US-based markets, etc, etc.

After all, when you ask the average NBA free agent what things factor into his decision to choose a certain market, the above are usually tops on the list.

But while Orlando indeed hits the mark on all, this is a team that can't seem to hold onto its superstars.

First Shaq, and now currently Dwight Howard. For some reason even with all of its assumed advantages, players still don't view it on the same level as a Miami or LA.

Some of this I'm sure comes down to team history, the Magic are hardly on the same level as the Lakers in terms of franchise cache, and I'd argue behind even a smaller market team like Utah. But there's another part that I can't quite put my finger on and for that reason, I'm not sure there's a huge difference between Orlando and Toronto in terms of market.

Orlando gets the edge, but based on a free agent history that's not much rosier than that of Toronto, I can't quite hep but think that if the Raps could create a consistent, winning culture here in TO, this might even end up "advantage Dinos." I'm not sure what it is, but I get the feeling that if the Magic were to lose Howard and drop out of the playoffs, they'd suffer the same "relevance" issues as clubs like Washington and Charlotte.

Advantage Magic

Talent:

Looking at Orlando's roster, it's hard to see much in terms of future upside.

Players like Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon are all overpaid and well on the decline, and in terms of young prospects we're talking Earl Clark and...Justin Harper?

DeAndre Liggins?

Daniel Orton?

Yep, the cupboard is pretty bare. Orlando's best players are actually the ones entering the middle of their NBA careers, guys like Ryan Anderson, JJ Redick and Jameer Nelson. But as much as I'm a fan of the former two, Anderson and Redick alone don't usurp Toronto's overall personnel situation right now in my opinion. I'd prefer the upside presented by guys like Jonas Valanciunas, not to mention that the Raptors are entering the 2011-12 NBA draft with a lottery pick and two second-rounders to help boost that overall talent picture.

However I'm still going with Orlando here by a hair thanks to one name; Dwight Howard.

Even if Howard is gone this season via trade, it's hard to think Orlando won't be able to at least grab some solid talent in exchange for his services, as well as future prospects/draft picks. To me this tips the scale in favour of the Magic but again it's another close one, a bit like deciding between Daniel Orton and Solomon Alabi...

Advantage Magic, but again, barely

Management:

Orlando GM Otis Smith gets his fair share of criticism in terms of the moves he's made during his tenure with the Magic, perhaps best summed up recently by Yahoo! Sports' Kelly Dwyer:

...GM Otis Smith takes over (from from former GM John Weisbrod), and because the team starts to win behind Howard and Nelson, you tend to ignore his missteps along the way. Like attempting to hire Florida's Billy Donovan, before settling on Stan Van Gundy once Donovan went back on his agreement with the Magic to coach the team. Or the drafting of Fran Vazquez. Or the Rashard Lewis contract...or Carter, (who) fell off unexpectedly in 2009-10, especially in the playoffs...

...then 2010-11 hit and Smith made a pair of panic moves, sending Carter and Marcin Gortat to Phoenix for (Jason) Richardson, while dealing Lewis (overpaid, but not using up many possessions) for Gilbert Arenas (overpaid, using up a whole lot of possessions).

There were certainly some good moves made by Smith as well, however as Dwyer points out, it's hard to say how many of these were the result of "good GMing," and how many were dumb luck.

Bryan Colangelo's reign in Toronto is similarly a bit of a roller-coaster ride. Mixed in with shrewd moves like Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa are epic disasters like Hedo and Jason Kapono. When you line his record up with that of Smith, the argument could be made for either of the two, but since we're talking about the team's current situation, I'm giving the nod to the Raps.

Otis Smith has shown an even greater propensity to cut off his nose to spite his face of late than Mr. Colangelo (BC actually resisted the temptation to shoot for short-term gains this past season) and faces a much more daunting job of getting his club back on track than Toronto, something we'll touch on in the next section.

There's no guarantee of course that Colangelo keeps does what's best long-term for the club now that he's got some assets to work with, but right now, I'll take him over Smith running the show, by a hair.

Advantage Raptors, barely.

Financial Situation

If you're looking at the salary situations of the league's various teams, the Orlando Magic have to be among the least desirable.

They amnestied Gilbert Arenas and his $20M or so a season, but how about having over $75M tied up in Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, Glen Davis, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson over the next two seasons?

Some of those contracts drop off after next season, but the bottom line is Orlando's financials ain't pretty, and that's without taking the $19M Dwight Howard's owed next year into account. Even if Howard's moved, the Magic are going to have to get mighty creative just to re-sign Ryan Anderson, one of their best players who's a restricted free agent next season.

The Raps have only the long-term deals of Linas Kleiza and Andrea Bargnani to worry about, as Jose Calderon is in the final year of his sizable deal, and I'd still argue that Amir Johnson is playing up to the standards set by his contract. The rest of the crew is still on rookie deals, or have short-term commitments, hence the flexibility alluded to in the previous section. This one's a no-brainer then for me.

Advantage Raptors, by a lot

So who'd you rather be?

A Magic team that's much more relevant NBA-wide, and has Dwight Howard to dangle via trade, or a Raptors team with much better upside from a talent perspective, and a ton more financial flexibility?

It's a tough call for me, but I'm giving the ever-so-slight edge to Orlando.

Unless the Dwight trade turns into a complete fiasco that sinks the club into the NBA basement for the next few seasons, Orlando is simply a more NBA-relevant market at this point, and long-term I think that gives them the edge over TO, something ESPN alluded to in their last round of "NBA Future Power Rankings:"

"The best news is that the Magic are still in Orlando. With a gleaming new arena, a sunny climate and no state taxes, this team should be a strong free-agent draw as long as it can remain even remotely competitive."

The Magic finished 25th out of the 30 NBA clubs on said Future Power Rankings, while Toronto sat one spot lower at 26.

And that's pretty much how I view things right now as well.

We Have the Senior Women, Some More Commits, Steve Nash, Andrew Wiggins and More in Canadian Content

2012-05-16T13:45:02Z

Today we have a few more looks at the Senior Women's National Team, three more NC-Double-Eh commits that you should already know about, the invites for the Junior Men's and Cadet Men's tryouts are out, some Steve Nash stuff, some foreign kids signing up for the CIS for next season and more in today's edition of Canadian Content ...

First we start off with some National Program program news ...

Canada's Kim Smith in pursuit of elusive Olympics goal

Women Cdn basketball on quest for Olympic berth - sportsnet.ca

Canadian women hungry for elusive Olympic basketball berth

And remember folks, the Senior Women are playing against China in some friendlies from today until Friday. So if you're in Langley, Richmond or Abbottsford be sure to go out and support our ladies ... Canada hosting China at LEC

JUNIOR MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ANNOUNCES INVITATIONAL TRYOUT ROSTER AND SCHEDULE | Canada Basketball

INVITATIONAL TRYOUTS ROSTER AND SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR CADET MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM | Canada Basketball

CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Basketball - Worlds: Canada's U18s solid ahead of Brazil

Capers’ hoops coach McKenzie to guide women’s national development team - Basketball - Cape Breton Post

UPDATE: Triano presumptive choice for Canadian national basketball coach

UPDATE: YorkRegion Article: Vaughan players auditioning for Canada

UPDATE: Canada-China women’s basketball series a perfect sendoff for qualifying - The Globe and Mail

UPDATE: Wheelchair basketball nationals this weekend at Oval

UPDATE: Former Douglas College coach named to wheelchair hall

Next up is some pro stuff ...

Phoenix Suns 2011-12 Player Evaluation: Steve Nash - Bright Side Of The Sun

Nash, Rivers among winners of PBWA awards - sportsnet.ca