In a dizzying chain of events that it seems only Toronto sports fans have been forced to get used to, the Raptors announced on Tuesday morning that Bryan Colangelo would be relieved of his General Manager duties while maintaining the seemingly higher position of team President.

The exact terms of Colangelo’s new contract aren’t known (is it possible that just the final year of his current contract has been picked up? Would they refer to that as an extension in a press release?).

In addition, the team says that it has created a “new” position of General Manager “that will have final authority on all basketball-related decisions” and that the new GM should be named within 30 days after Tim Leiweke conducts his search.

So if you’re following, the team President, who was also General Manager as recently as yesterday, will give way to a replacement GM but will stay on as President without actually having any say over said new GM’s basketball decisions.

Though the new General Manager is expected to have full autonomy on the basketball side, the news release also states that “Colangelo will continue to advise Leiweke on basketball-related matters while also broadening his involvement with the business side of the franchise.”

In a final news item from the release, the team announced that at the suggestion of the MLSE board, Leiweke’s official start date has been pushed forward from July 1 to June 3.

This whole situation is very confusing, but reading between the lines, my interpretation of this mess is that Leiweke obviously didn’t feel comfortable with Colangelo building and running this basketball team (even though in the release, Leiweke states that “all of my due diligence around the League indicates that we have a fine, young core and a few key moves will make us a playoff contender next season”), but that Colangelo was still a valuable resource to maintain with his connections around the league and general experience.

Having said that, I’m sure Leiweke has plenty of NBA connections of his own between his former roles with the Nuggets and Timberwolves and his most recent role which had ties to the Lakers. And what happens if another team wants Colangelo in a basketball role? Are MLSE and B.C. serious about this new move to the business side, or is this just a temporary appointment until Colangelo finds his footing with another franchise?

It certainly seems possible that rumblings about Leiweke wanting something else and the board convincing him otherwise could hold water, and if that’s the case, the potentially promising Leiweke Era in Toronto sports is off to a discouraging start. I mean wasn’t the whole point of bringing him here to save the board from major sports decisions that they probably aren’t as qualified to make?

On Monday I thought that Tuesday would finally bring us some answers. It turns out I’m let with more bewilderment and questions than before.

***

Here are all of the quotes in full from the media release…

Leiweke – “After thorough evaluation and considering all the options, we have concluded that these changes will be in the best interest of the organization. By splitting the roles and having both men report directly to me, we are adding depth to the basketball operations group and giving the Toronto Raptors the best chance of competing for championships in the future. The new GM will inherit a great situation in Toronto, as all of my due diligence around the League indicates that we have a fine, young core and a few key moves will make us a playoff contender next season.”

Colangelo – “The future of this team and this organization excites me more than ever, and I am looking forward to being part of our future success. I will add whatever is necessary to help improve our basketball team while also expanding my efforts to increase brand awareness and influence growth of the game across this great country.”

Leiweke – “Bryan is skilled, knowledgeable and respected across the NBA and will be a resource that we count on to help build the Raptors into Canada’s team.”

***

On one final note, I forgot to mention that Colangelo will represent the Raptors at the Draft Lottery tonight. You can’t make this stuff up.

After weeks of virtually nothing happening, the Bryan Colangelo saga and ensuing search for a possible replacement has really ramped up this long weekend. With today being the deadline for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to make a decision on Colangelo, we seem to be reaching a climax…

The MLSE had been negotiating with Raptors president Bryan Colangelo over weekend on a return in a “significant” capacity, sources tell Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2013

The MLSE remains in full pursuit of Denver GM Masai Ujiri to assume full control of Raptors, sources tell Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2013

Colangelo’s finalizing agreement to move over to business side, leaving basketball ops. Ownership preparing major financial offer for Ujiri.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2013

(My favourite part of this is Woj referring to MLSE as “The” MLSE like The Iron Sheik would)

The obvious questions we all have would revolve around just what exactly Colangelo’s new “significant” business role within the organization would be and what kind of terms he would be under. Is Leiweke looking to sign Colangelo to an extension to put him on the corporate side, or is this merely an example of MLSE just finding a job that Colangelo can fill on the option year and final year of his contract before he eventually moves on?

In addition, even if Colangelo were to be offered a high paying job on the business side of the Raptors, would that really satisfy him? No matter what you think of B.C., he’s a super competitive guy who enjoys putting his stamp on basketball teams, and whether it’s Ujiri or someone else who comes in to replace him as General Manager in Toronto, note that Wojnarowski mentions that person having “full control.”

On to Ujiri. We know from previous Wojnarowski reports that his contract in Denver expires this summer and that he’s currently one of the lower paid GM’s in the NBA. But just how major would that “major financial offer” from the Raptors have to be to pry him away from a young Nuggets team that he has quickly built into a quasi-contender out West? The Raps have some nice young pieces and building blocks and they can offer the global metropolis of Toronto (no offence, Denver), but Ujiri would be taking a significant step back in terms of how immediately competitive his team is.

And while many assume that MLSE can make a financial offer that would blow any executive away, keep in mind that Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, who is a big supporter of Ujiri, is worth an estimated $5 billion as one of the 100 richest people in the States (according to Forbes). Can MLSE make Ujiri a mind blowing offer? Of course, and they probably will. But just don’t assume that Kroenke won’t be right there to make an incredibly lucrative offer of his own.

Lastly, there are still questions to be answered about the status of Ed Stefanski, who has one year left on his contract, Dwane Casey, who also has one year remaining on his deal, and the rest of the coaching staff, who are all on contracts reportedly set to expire.

We should finally begin to have those questions answered sooner rather than later, and we’ll no doubt have more questions to ask as this process moves on. For now, the gist of it is that the Raptors are trying to replace Bryan Colangelo with Masai Ujiri, and that’s quite alright with me.

***

UPDATE: Michael Grange reports that Colangelo will be officially relieved of his duties on Tuesday morning (though he also confirms reports that Bryan will still likely have a job with MLSE) and that the Raptors still haven’t been given permission to talk to Ujiri.

On Friday we learned from Doug Smith that the Raptors have until Monday to decide whether or not to pick up Bryan Colangelo’s option for next season. Smith also reported that Tim Leiweke and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment have hired a search firm to narrow down a list of potential Colangelo successors. Two names mentioned in that report were Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard and Thunder Vice President and Assistant GM Troy Weaver.

Saturday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski hit us with something that most Raptors fans surely considered once or twice when news emerged that Colangelo’s days may be numbered, and that’s that Toronto is reportedly targeting Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri.

As most of you are probably aware, Ujiri spent three years working under Colangelo in Toronto before being hired by the Nuggets, where he went on to handle the Carmelo Anthony situation better than Colangelo handled the Chris Bosh situation, to oversee a 50+ win team, and eventually took home the NBA’s Executive Of the Year award for this season’s performance.

I’d argue that Ujiri winning the award had more to do with his first two years on the job than this year, but nonetheless, we’re talking about a young basketball executive who has enjoyed nothing but success in his first three years on the job.

Wojnarowski, citing league sources, writes that Ujiri is the top choice of executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International, who MLSE hired to conduct the search. The 42-year-old, who became the first African-born General Manager in North American professional sports when Denver hired him in 2010, will see his current contract with the Nuggets expire this summer.

According to Woj, Ujiri turned down the 76ers job last year and he’s “one of the NBA’s lower paid GMs,” but he also mentions that “Tim Leiweke has expressed a desire to make a serious financial and organizational commitment to an elite executive to turn around the franchise.”

While I can definitely understand why it would be tough for Ujiri to leave Denver when the Nuggets are much closer to contention than the Raptors are, you’d have to think that between his familiarity with Toronto and the Raptors, and the potential for a raise, MLSE would be one of the organizations that could at least make him consider a move.

On a final note from the Wojnarowski report, the Yahoo! Sports writer states that Colangelo “could stay with the franchise under a new top basketball official.” I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Colangelo wouldn’t stick around to take the ego hit of working under his former Assistant GM, but that’s just me.

We’ve been waiting for what we thought was imminent news on the job status of Bryan Colangelo for a couple of weeks now, and on Friday afternoon, some finally trickled through.

First, citing multiple NBA sources, Doug Smith reported in the Toronto Star that Tim Leiweke and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment have “hired a head-hunting firm to whittle down a list of possible replacements” for Colangelo.

In addition, Smith reports that the Raptors have until Monday to decide whether or not to pick up the 2013-14 option year on Colangelo’s contract.

Later on Friday, Michael Grange confirmed the news…

As per @smithraps I can confirm MLSE has engaged search firm for GM hunt and has until Monday to pick up option on Colangelo’s option

— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 17, 2013

So there you have it. Whether it’s a deadline date that was already in the contract, a drop dead date that Leiweke came up with or Colangelo has asked for, or one that both parties have agreed to, Bryan’s fate will be decided by Monday one way or another.

I’ve held firm that Colangelo’s failures (a five-year playoff drought without cap space or a 2013 lottery pick to show for it) simply would have made it ridiculous to extend him, but I did think that from a stability standpoint and the fact that an incoming GM would have his hands tied by the current salary cap situation, Bryan’s option would be picked up and 2013-14 would serve as a make or break year for he and Dwane Casey.

Then, if Leiweke and the board wanted to go in another direction at this time next year, the next general manager would have a little more flexibility in initiating change. With these latest developments, however, it’s hard to imagine Colangelo being back for another stab in the dark.

I suppose it’s possible that MLSE concludes Colangelo is still the best option after conducting a search, but it seems unlikely, doesn’t it? Between the initial Phil Jackson rumours, the length of time it has taken for Leiweke to make a decision on Colangelo and the fact that MLSE is apparently already looking for a possible replacement, Bryan’s time in Toronto appears to be reaching its end.

Many Raptors fans will likely be encouraged by the potential change in direction, and that’s fair, but a word of caution I’d give you is that there’s no guarantee a Colangelo replacement would like/keep the same current Raptors you like or that he would look to move the current Raptors you assume anybody other than B.C. would move. In addition, while I do have a significant amount of blind faith in Tim Leiweke, this is still the Raptors we’re talking about, so until something actually does happen, don’t just assume it will.

For now, we wait…again.

I’ll be around to write about and react to any breaking Colangelo news over the next few days. Until then, enjoy the long weekend.

***

UPDATE: One thing I failed to mention above is that Smith wrote in his report that “Two names being tossed around NBA circles” are Kevin Pritchard and Troy Weaver.

Pritchard is the current General Manager of the Pacers (since last June) and served as Trail Blazers GM from 2007 until 2010, while Weaver is the current Vice President and Assistant GM of the Thunder, where he has worked under Sam Presti for five years.

We’re still too early in the process to know enough (and really, we don’t even know that Colangelo is finished yet), but at first glance, if those were the two names out there, I’d prefer Weaver. I’m not knocking Pritchard, saying that the Raptors have to hire a first time GM or saying that they should hire a younger guy, but I do think this perceived need for a “proven” NBA executive is wildly exaggerated. Do Masai Ujiri, Sam Presti or Daryl Morey look lost to you in their first full fledged GM jobs?

Exactly. It’s time to think outside of the box. I’d rather the Raptors try to find a forward thinking member of another team’s management staff than the average, recycled, run of the mill NBA GM.

With the Grizzlies booking the franchise’s first trip to the Conference Finals on Wednesday night, much of the talk was about how obviously improved the team is in a post-Rudy Gay world.

Gay’s supporters and Raptors diehards can point to the fact that the Thunder would have been the favoured team in the West semifinal series had Russell Westbrook been healthy, but the fact remains that the Grizzlies have a better record since trading Rudy and that the team’s two most successful post-seasons came with Gay either injured or long gone.

Had Gay taken advantage of his talents more in Memphis, there’s no doubt that a team focusing on the frontcourt of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph with an inside-out game that included Gay and Mike Conley as weapons could have been better than the current edition of the Grizz. Unfortunately, Gay seemed content with being an inefficient chucker on too many nights in Memphis and Lionel Hollins seemed content with living and usually dying by that ill advised Rudy Gay hero ball instead of structuring the team’s offence the right way.

So yes, the Memphis Grizzlies are better and are playing smarter since the Rudy Gay trade, and they are an overall better team without the presence of an inefficient, ball stopping perimeter player. That should no longer be up for debate, but the fact that the Grizzlies are better without Gay doesn’t mean that the Raptors have to be doomed with him in the fold, and too many people assume that’s the case.

I’m not going to defend Gay’s ridiculous contract and I’m certainly not going to excuse his inefficiency in a lot of games for the Raptors last season, but when looking at Rudy’s body of work as a whole after the trade, you can make a compelling argument for him as a very productive player for the Raps going forward and even a potential All-Star in the Eastern Conference.

In his final 16 games of the season, Gay averaged 19.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting over 48 per cent from the field and over 44 per cent from three-point territory. In that stretch, he took almost five shots per game less than he did over his first 17 games as a Raptor, got to the rim more often and made better decisions with the ball in his hands. Now that level of shooting accuracy is unsustainable for Gay long term, but so is the putrid shooting we saw from him in the first chunk of the season.

In addition, Gay posted a solid Player Efficiency Rating of 17.6 in his 33 games as a Raptor, and his APER (Adjusted Player Efficiency Rating is a more in-depth form of PER, via HoopData) of 18.29 ranked fifth among small forwards, behind only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce. It also ranked in the top-15 among all forwards (small and power), whereas his APER of 15.2 through 42 games with the Grizzlies this season didn’t even rank in the top-15 among small forwards alone.

On the defensive end, Gay played with a focus that few of us expected to see from a guy whose lackadaisical effort was often criticized in Memphis, and his defensive play in Toronto was a big part of a five-man unit that finished with the fourth-best defensive rating in the NBA and the fifth-best net rating.

All in all from a Raptors perspective, we saw some ugly nights from Gay, but we also saw plenty of good in his game and there’s enough statistical data out there to suggest that he can be the most productive player on a playoff caliber team next season.

There’s no doubt right now that the Grizzlies made a great move. After all, they shed a max contract, saved a ton of money long term and got a promising young big man in the process without taking a step back in the short term but actually taking a big step forward. In addition, I was hesitant and remain uneasy about the Raptors moving Ed Davis, and no one can be sure at this point that the acquisition of Gay will go down as a good move for Toronto.

But I do know that Memphis’ success without Gay should not be the measuring stick by which the Raptors’ end of this blockbuster trade is judged. That should be left to the future success or failure of Gay and the Raptors themselves.

If anything, Raptors fans shouldn’t be so concerned with how the Grizzlies are doing without Rudy Gay, but rather they should be reflecting on how the once sad sack franchise that entered the league at the same time as the Raptors has now easily surpassed them in overall success and relevancy. That’s the real concerning part. I mean, who’s next, the Bobcats?!

We’ve discussed at length many times this season that Jonas Valanciunas is one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise dark situation for the Raptors, and on Tuesday, we got more evidence of that as Valanciunas was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team.

Valanciunas, who finished seventh in rookie scoring, third in rebounding, third in blocks and third in double-doubles, is the 10th player in franchise history to be named to an All-Rookie Team.

While Valanciunas’ defence and energy were the strengths most fans were looking forward to watching in his debut season, it was the big man’s offence that took us by surprise and really opened our eyes to how high the now 21-year-old’s ceiling can be, as Jonas’ True Shooting Percentage of .618 is tied for the fourth-highest mark of any rookie in NBA history to play at least 1000 minutes.

In case you’re wondering, the All-Rookie First Team consists of Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, Dion Waiters and Harison Barnes, while Valanciunas is joined by Andre Drummond, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kyle Singler and Tyler Zeller on the Second Team.

The other nine Raptors to be selected to an All-Rookie Team were Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Vince Carter, Morris Peterson, Chris Bosh, Charlie Villanueva, Andrea Bargnani, Jorge Garbajosa and Jamario Moon. In other words, the Raptors have had a top-10 rookie in half of their seasons in existence so far without it preceding much future team success. Here’s hoping Valanciunas is where the tide turns.

On another note, the second round of the playoffs is in full swing, the Jays are a quarter of the way through their season, the Leafs saw their unlikely playoff run come to a crushing, heartbreaking end last night, I left the country for the better part of a week, and through all of that, we still don’t know if Bryan Colangelo will be back next season (though the latest report is that Colangelo may step down if the decision takes any longer).

So much for getting this situation cleared up and taken care of quickly. Come on, Phil, hurry up and turn Leiweke down already so that we can all find out just what the hell is going on here.

On Tuesday, most of us were convinced that news regarding Bryan Colangelo’s job status would emerge throughout the day.

Late Wednesday afternoon (or whenever it is that you stumble upon this) we still aren’t seeing any clearer in that regard, but there’s plenty more Phil Jackson chatter to hold us over in the meantime…

As most of you are probably aware by now, the original source of the Jackson/Toronto link was ESPN’s Marc Stein, and on Wednesday, Stein continued to be a driving force of the speculation on TrueHoop TV with Henry Abbott and David Thorpe.

In terms of points that stick out from the video, Stein says that Jackson probably wants a stronger role than the advisory one that Jerry West has with the Warriors and mentioned that “bottom feeder teams” like the Raptors and Bobcats “in unglamorous Eastern Conference cities” are interested, among others.

Personally, I’m fine with Stein comparing Toronto’s and Charlotte’s basketball teams and referring to the Raptors as a bottom feeder because that’s what they’ve been for the better part of 18 seasons, but don’t ever compare Charlotte to Toronto as a city, especially when describing a city as “unglamorous.” We’re better than that here in Toronto, and you’re better than the average American sports journalist who would usually make that comparison, Stein.

In terms of coaches that will be in play should Jackson take over the basketball operations for an NBA team, the obvious answer of Brian Shaw came up, as did the name Kurt Rambis.

The biggest point that many fans will take from the TrueHoop video is Stein’s proclamation that Toronto “is the team to keep an eye on” while also adding, “I would probably, at this point, give the Raptors the best chance.” As usual, Leiweke’s presence is the main reason that the Raptors are seen as favourites, with Stein referring to MLSE’s new CEO as “an undeniable superstar among sports executives.”

In one of the more intriguing tidbits from the nearly six-minute segment, Abbott mentioned that “Phil’s family’s from Canada” and that “he’s got roots there,” which was the first I had heard of any Canadian roots. However, it just so happens that Macleans.ca posted an interview with Leiweke on their website on Friday, and when it came to the question of Phil Jackson, here’s how Leiweke answered (note the mention of family again)

“Well, I think it’s nice to throw Phil’s name out there, but he’s newly engaged and his fiancée lives in L.A. He has grandkids now. So I think that although Phil will certainly be—and has been—someone I’ve gone to for advice and input, I don’t think people should expect he is going to be the saviour. We have a current GM, Bryan [Colangelo]. So, first and foremost, I need to go spend time with Bryan before we can define problems, solutions and answers. Phil Jackson knows the city well, by the way—he has a bunch of Canadians in his family, so he’s very partial to Toronto and wants the Raptors to have success. But I don’t want people to think he is going to ride in on a white horse and fix this. It’s not that easy.”

While Leiweke clearly downplays the idea of Jackson strolling in and magically transforming the franchise, I’d still assume that if Phil is open to the idea of Toronto, then Leiweke and MLSE will attempt to lure him into some sort of front office role. In addition, while I still believe that the predictable end to this saga will see Bryan Colangelo’s team option picked up for next season, isn’t it at least somewhat possible that Jackson could join the staff as a high ranking front office member while B.C. runs the day-to-day operations?

I understand that the possibility is highly unlikely and there are currently no reports out there to suggest that it is possible, but at this point, I just don’t think anyone should be ruling anything out.

On that note, if it isn’t an option and if Colangelo’s job is being determined by whether Jackson would or wouldn’t come to Toronto, then a familiar face from RaptorBlog past has a solid viewpoint on the matter…

Seriously, if MLSE is waiting on Phil Jackson to decide Colangelo’s fate, that’s just cruel. Cut the cord now so both parties can move on.

— Scott Carefoot (@scottcarefoot) May 8, 2013

Times have changed…

In what is surely going to be one of the more impactful days in recent Raptors’ history, Bryan Colangelo is expected to meet with the MLSE board some time today to both review his recent performance and to pitch his plan for the future.

As Holly Mackenzie reported on Monday, MLSE’s most recent hire, CEO Tim Leiweke, is expected at the meeting.

At his season ending media conference on April 22, Colangelo noted that a resolution with respect to his job status could be expected within two to three weeks. Well yesterday was two weeks to the day, so with the all important face to face meeting set for today, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that we’ll probably know Colangelo’s fate in the coming days, if not later today.

The recent rumours linking Phil Jackson to the Raptors had many assuming that the hire of Leiweke and Leiweke’s reported interest in Jackson would spell the end for Colangelo in Toronto. But there are no guarantees that the Raptors have reached out to Phil, that Phil would be open to the idea of working for the Raptors or that Colangelo would necessarily be out in the unlikely event that Toronto could actually land The Zen Master.

(Sidenote: In terms of an update on Jackson, he’s recently taken on the task of helping the Pistons in their coaching search and has reportedly been reached out to by the Nets)

One of the few things we do know is that if Colangelo is still running the show, Dwane Casey will remain the Raptors’ head coach. What isn’t known is what would happen to Casey should Colangelo be relieved of his duties. Would MLSE axe both at the same time? Would they keep Casey in place and then let a new General Manager decide the coach’s fate?

When it comes to Colangelo, my feelings remain unchanged. If it’s between firing him and extending him beyond next season, then he has to be let go after missing the post-season for a fifth straight season without cap space or a lottery pick to show for it. However, from a stability standpoint, the best decision may be to simply pick up the team option on B.C.’s contract for 2013-14 and let he and Casey prove their worth together next season in contract years.

If it doesn’t work out and both need to be let go after that, at least the incoming parties would have more flexibility to really go in a new direction at that time than they would have right now.

In any event, there will surely be some sort of news (and potentially major news) worth talking about as reports about the meeting emerge later today,  so keep an eye on your computer/phone/tv throughout the day and be sure to check back with us later.

An NBA player celebrating a birthday isn’t exactly a story, but if there’s one Raptor whose birthday is worth writing about, it’s probably Amir Johnson, who turned 26 years young last week. Amir has been heralded as a “young veteran” given the fact that as the last high schooler drafted into the NBA, he’s already played eight seasons at that tender age of just 26.

To put that in perspective, he’s only 10 months older than Stephen Curry.

After a disappointing 2011-12 season that saw Johnson battle personal issues off the court and frustrating inconsistency on it, I talked about the fact that Amir might be another bad season away from hearing his name pop up in amnesty discussions. Well he made sure that wouldn’t be an issue, as the fan favourite turned in the most productive, consistent year of his career in 2012-13.

In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who disagrees with the notion that Amir Johnson was the most valuable Raptor this season and may very well be the team’s best player right now. And looking at things from that perspective, the $13.5 million remaining on his contract over the next two years seems like a bargain.

While his basic statistics of 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game are decent, it’s the advanced stats that are indicative of the continued growth in Johnson’s game. If you look at power forwards who played at least 40 games and logged at least 15 minutes this year, Amir ranked in the top-five in field goal percentage, true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage, top-10 in offensive rebound rate and top-15 in Alternate Player Efficiency Rating (APER is Hoopdata’s more in depth version of PER). Heck, he finished with a top-20 offensive rating league wide, not limited to power forwards or even big men in general.

Committing fouls is still an issue for Amir, as his 301 personals led the NBA and his 3.7 per game average was second only to Dwight Howard’s 3.8. On the flip side though, Johnson’s fouls per minutes played rate went down for the fourth straight season and his propensity to pick up fouls is no longer a real threat to his minutes, as he logged a career high 28.7 minutes per game in 81 games this season, with his 2325 total minutes played in 2012-13 dwarfing his previous career high of 1853.

In addition, while giving up fouls and subsequent free throws can contribute negatively towards a team’s defence, Amir remains the Raptors’ defensive anchor and the most positive influence on the team’s success. His total plus/minus of +213 was far and away the best mark on the team, as of the 11 players that played at least 1000 minutes for Toronto this season, the next best plus/minus belonged to Rudy Gay…at +56 (Amir’s net rating per 48 minutes of +4.4 was nearly double that of Gay’s +2.3).

The next step for Amir will be to remain consistent and continue adding to his game while taking his minutes to over 30 and beyond, which he did plenty of times already in 2012-13 while playing through various nagging ailments.

While Jonas Valanciunas remains the beacon of hope going forward, the best story of the Raptors’ frustrating 2012-13 campaign was Johnson emerging as a legitimate starting quality NBA big man. Now the question is, can he be a legitimate starting big man on a quality team?

There are surely plenty of people who may laugh at the very thought of that, but not me. If there’s one thing I learned in 2012-13, it’s not to doubt Amir Johnson.

I suggest you follow suit.

Image creation courtesy of theScore’s Sean Keay

I don’t how many people envisioned the first two weeks of the Raptors’ off-season being dominated by Phil Jackson to Toronto rumours, but nevertheless, here we are.

If you remember from when the Jackson/Raptors rumours began to heat up on Friday after the Tim Leiweke hire, Toronto’s biggest potential competitor in the chase for The Zen Master was thought to be Seattle if Chris Hansen could successfully move the Kings there. However, with the committee of NBA owners recommending on Monday that the relocation of the Kings be blocked, and therefore recommending that Seattle stays without an NBA team for now, Toronto’s biggest challenger appears to have taken a pretty crushing early blow, and I wasn’t the only one thinking that way…

No team in Seattle cancels out one of the hotter rumored landing spots for Phil Jackson. Let the rumors begin elsewhere.

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 29, 2013

Well those rumours did in fact pick up later on Monday night, as Marc Stein, who originally broke the news of the Raptors’ interest in Jackson, reported for ESPN. Citing sources close to the situation, Stein writes that the Raptors, “emboldened by the news that the Sacramento Kings apparently won’t be moving to Seattle, have ramped up their pursuit of Phil Jackson to be their new team president” and that the Raps “regarded the Seattle group that was trying to buy the Kings as the biggest threat to preventing Jackson from seriously considering their pitch.”

In perhaps the first report actually linking these rumours to a timeline, Stein also adds that “sources say that the Raptors will be pursuing Jackson aggressively this week, believing that they rank as Jackson’s most attractive current option for a new career in management now that he can reunite with Leiweke.”

Again, Leiweke built a reputation as a sports business mogul in Los Angeles (with ties to the Lakers) and calls both Jackson and Jeanie Buss friends, while also just happening to be the guy that convinced David Beckham to move to the MLS, so while I may not be ready to believe that this is really going to happen, I don’t think it’s as much of a long shot as other pundits do.

In addition, Leiweke mentioned on Friday that Jackson called him upon hearing the rumours of Tim being hired by MLSE in Toronto, and that the phone call included Phil telling him “what a great city it is.”

Heck, if you want to go even further, we can look at the fact that Jackson has a history with Raptors’ Director of Sports Science Alex McKechnie, who worked for the Lakers while Phil was collecting more rings in L.A., and that Phil was just tweeting about McKechnie last week…

Conversation about @lakers plethora of injuries by John Ireland on radio.He hit the part about Alex McKechnie coming to ‘fix’ Shaq in 98′

— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) April 26, 2013

Butt, no one asked happened to Alex? He’s with Toronto btw and sorely missed. A guy that can keep players on the floor.

— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) April 26, 2013

The remaining question mark in all of this remains the job status of current President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo, who has only a team option for 2013-14 remaining on his contract. A week ago, Colangelo noted that he expected it to be resolved in two-to-three weeks, but given the new circumstances, is B.C. now just a default backup plan in the event that the Raptors can’t land Jackson? Is he in the plans at all? Would the team consider retaining him as the GM while Jackson oversees him as President?

In addition, would Dwane Casey have a chance to coach the final year of his contract next season if Jackson really is brought in or if Colangelo is replaced in general?

These are all obvious questions that remain unanswered as the Raptors and Jackson continue to be linked in reports, but one way or another, Leiweke and Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment seem to be making some serious waves in the NBA right now.

If you ask me, I’m still not convinced Jackson ends up in Toronto and none of us can be certain that he’ll be a successful NBA executive (which is why it might make more sense for him to be the face of a team as President while someone with more GM experience handles the day-to-day operations), but am I still unreasonably excited about the possibility of The Zen Master in Toronto?

Absolutely.

If MLSE believes they have a real chance here, a Brink’s truck should be dispatched to Montana without delay.

I was going to write a quick collection of thoughts on how the appointment of Tim Leiweke to President and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is good news for the Raptors going forward because of his breadth of NBA experience.

And then this happened…

Been hearing rumbles all week Raptors were planning to make run at Phil Jackson to offer team presidency Phil craves. All makes sense now

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) April 26, 2013

Hiring of Tim Leiweke to run Raps & Leafs gives Toronto’s basketball team major player with LA ties who can make pitch Phil will listen to

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) April 26, 2013

Suffice to say, this story has just taken on a much more massive role than just “Leiweke is good news for the Raptors.”

The obvious warning I’d give to fans that are already celebrating Phil Jackson’s 12th championship parade – only this time down Bay Street – is that this is a mere report right now. There’s no telling whether the Raptors plan to pick up Bryan Colangelo’s team option for next season, whether they’ll even make a pitch to Jackson or whether Phil would actually listen. But remember, Jackson is reportedly looking to move on from coaching by running an NBA team from the top, and the Raptors would give him the ability to do so in one of the NBA’s biggest markets.

In addition, as Stein notes, Leiweke has obvious ties to Los Angeles. He’s been serving as the President and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which owns the Kings (NHL), Galaxy (MLS) and a share of the Lakers, in addition to the Staples Center and the L.A. Live entertainment complex (as well as the Home Depot Center). It only makes sense if through all of that, one way or another, Leiweke has built some sort of relationship with Jackson, right?

On that note, part of the reason I was going to post a quick writeup on Leiweke taking over MLSE before the Phil Jackson news even broke is that the hiring represents a positive step forward for the Raptors, as the conglomerate is now run by an influential figure who has hands-on experience in the NBA. In case you weren’t aware, Leiweke served as president of the Nuggets in the past and was actually the first person ever hired by the start up Timberwolves in 1988, where he became Vice President.

(Humorous sidenote – Leiweke’s Wikipedia page has already been updated to read “He will become CEO of MLSE on June 30. And will fire Bryan Colangelo for ruining the game of Basketball for Toronto fans.“)

But back to The Zen Master.

You can question whether one of the greatest coaches and ego managers in sports history would even make a good executive assuming he is brought on somewhere, but the instant credibility Jackson would deliver to Toronto basketball would be unlike anything this city has ever seen. Bigger than Isiah, bigger than Vince, bigger than Bryan. With Phil’s massive presence at the helm, I don’t think I have to explain to you how much more attractive Toronto and the Raptors become to potential future free agents, trade targets and coaching candidates.

On a final note, while there are surely some out there who scoff at the notion of Phil Jackson in Toronto simply because he’s got “too much” money to need this job or because of a general theory about already being “too rich,” I’ll simply leave you with the indelible words of the Million Dollar Man.

In a special edition of RaptorBlog Radio, Drew and I are joined by Dwane Casey as we reflect back on the season that was.

In his second appearance on the show, coach Casey talks about the defensive ceiling of the Raptors’ athletic core, how the offence might change heading into next season, how Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan can become more efficient offensive players, the value of Amir Johnson, the ongoing Andrea Bargnani situation and what’s changed since the last time he joined us on the eve of the season.

Listen to our interview on the player below or download the MP3 here

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As a reminder, if there are any other questions you were looking for Casey’s input on, be sure to check out my notes and thoughts on Casey’s and Bryan Colangelo’s season ending press conferences, where you can read more about Colangelo’s support of Casey and Kyle Lowry’s role on the team.

On Monday I attended the season ending media conferences for Dwane Casey and Bryan Colangelo, which you may have watched yourself live and can still watch for yourself in its entirety at raptors.com. While we can go through every little thing that the Raptors’ coach and General Manager said, I chose instead to highlight the parts of the pressers that stuck out to me.

You can find my thoughts on Casey’s media availability here.

Below, you’ll find some talking points from Colangelo’s presser and my thoughts on some of those points…

- First and foremost, the most relevant news of the day was Bryan Colangelo letting us know that a resolution with respect to his job status (there is only a team option for 2013-14 remaining on his contract) is expected in the next two to three weeks (he said that he and the board came to an agreement that they would out off the decision until after the season) and that more importantly, if he remains President and GM, then Dwane Casey will remain head coach.

My thoughts on the matter are well known by now. I think Casey deserves another chance, but I’d be able to live with a new General Manager deciding that he wants to hand pick his own coach. What I would not have been okay with is Colangelo staying on and firing Casey.

As for my thoughts on Colangelo, the architect of a team that has missed the playoffs for a half decade without cap space or a likely draft pick to show for it this year absolutely cannot be extended long term, which means the options are either send B.C. packing or simply pick up his option for next season and then make a long term decision on him during 2013-14, depending on what the franchise’s future looks like at that point.

- Colangelo started things off by stating that the team is farther along than a lot of media people seem to think they are and also admitted that while the win/loss record may not be up to par yet, the team is “pretty much” where he expected them to be at this point in terms of roster makeup.

- Colangelo said that after improving from a .268 winning percentage in 2010-11 and .348 in 2011-12 to .415 in 2012-13, the next step is to become an over .500 playoff team.

- Colangelo called Rudy Gay “the closest thing to an All-Star that this team has seen since Vince Carter and Chris Bosh himself.”

At $17,888,932 next season and potentially $19,317,326 in 2014-15, he damn well better be, Bryan.

- Colangelo called DeMar DeRozan a “tremendous scorer” and added that he’s “just scratching the surface” at 23-years-old.

Good scorer? Sure. Improved player? Absolutely. But “tremendous scorer?” That’s going about a mile-and-a-half too far.

- Colangelo called Jonas Valanciunas “one of the great young prospects in the game right now” and added that “I can’t imagine any organization would be happier than we are with Jonas Valanciunas being part of this team.”

Finally, a player evaluation Colangelo and I can agree on. For my money, Valanciunas looks to be on track to become an All-Star big man in the near future and the type of true centre that can anchor a successful team on both ends of the floor.

By the way, I was killing some time on Basketball Reference’s season finder on the weekend and do you know what I came up with? Jonas Valanciunas is the first rookie under age 30 in NBA history to post a PER of 15+, a True Shooting Percentage of .600+, a Total Rebound Rate of 14+ an a Block Percentage of 4+ (the only two other guys to do it played just three games and two games, respectively, in their rookie seasons). In addition, the only other players to record those advanced statistics in a season at age 22 or younger (minimum 1000 minutes played) are Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum.

The kid’s a stud.

- Some of the more intriguing comments of Colangelo’s nearly 40-minute presser were in regards to Kyle Lowry. Colangelo talked about how Lowry was ineffective for too long this season, and while Bryan made clear that the following was not an indictment of the coach, he did say that Kyle “was ineffective because he just wasn’t in a position to utilize his skill sets and his mentality.” Colangelo went on to say that between off-season surgery, his early season injuries and his minutes fluctuating between backup duties and starter’s minutes, when it comes to Lowry, “I can’t say he was ever physically right this year.”

The biggest takeaway from the Lowry talk was that it doesn’t sound like Kyle will be getting an extension before the season starts, but rather he’ll have to earn it on the court next year. I’m fine with that. Lowry showed glimpses of being a potential All-Star caliber point guard at times, but he also disappeared for sizable chunks of the season and he still hasn’t proven himself as a full-time starting point guard on a competitive team over a full season. Give him some incentive to come in and earn his long term money by proving it next season.

- Like Casey, Colangelo noted that the Raptors need to address their backup point guard situation and mentioned that they have some targets out there. Colangelo also mentioned that they still look at John Lucas III as a third guard. For the record, JL3 has a team option worth over $1.5 million for next season.

- After mentioning that the team played “better than playoff basketball” after the 4-19 start, Colangelo said that the goal now is to make the playoffs, stating “I will take that squarely on my shoulders.”

If Colangelo’s team option for 2013-14 is picked up, as I expect it to be, then I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s playoffs or bust for his job after that. As for his “better than playoff basketball” line, the Raptors had the sixth-best record in the East after the Rudy Gay trade, though as I cautioned last week, putting too much stock in the final two weeks might be fool’s gold. If you ask Bryan, though, the teams the Raptors beat in that final stretch “were coming to play” despite popular belief and the Raptors “hit them in the teeth early” with aggressive play on both ends of the floor.

- When asked if he ever considered a coaching change during the 4-19 start, Colangelo’s response was “Absolutely not. Put that one to bed. I’ll leave it there.” He also mentioned how much respect the players have for Casey and said that Dwane is still “the right coach for this basketball team.”

- Colangelo says the Raptors have “marketable trade pieces” and “valuable assets.” Personally, I can’t see anyone other than Valanciunas having an eye popping value on the trade market.

- If you think that this current group of Raptors “can’t play together,” well then according to Colangelo, “you’ve grossly misinterpreted this team.” In addition, Colangelo noted that while the numbers do play a big part, “it’s not all about analytics.”

What would the ghost Raptors say to that?!

- When presented with the never ending Bargnani question, Colangelo said that nothing’s really changed with the situation and that as long as Andrea remains a Raptor, the team will do the best they can to get the most out of him. However, Colangelo also brought up the “change of scenery” discussion again and noted that a number of teams were interested in Bargnani before injuries derailed any trade possibilities.

My hope is that by this time next year, Bargnani will be long gone and we’ll never have to deal with asking these same questions again.

- When discussing the likely lack of cap space that the team has over the next little while, Colangelo said that it looks like there is a two-year window where the team will have to “grow organically” and that they will have some options in the form of some of the mid-level exception, potentially the bi-annual exception, veteran minimum contracts and of course, trades.

While the part about the team being able to grow organically sounded nice, I see it more like he capped himself out with a mediocre roster and now has little choice but to watch the team grow organically, but y’know, either way…

- Colangelo also mentioned that the use of the amnesty provision might affect the team’s potential luxury tax situation, but that it likely won’t affect their actual cap situation.

If Linas Kleiza picks up his $4.6 million player option for 2013-14, then I assume this will be the summer that the amnesty comes into play.

- When it comes to the draft and the slim chance that the Raptors keep their pick by moving into the top-three, Colangelo said that the team would retain that pick “and wouldn’t be disappointed with that.” On the other hand, in yet another indication of just how weak this draft class looks, Colangelo added “but equally, we’re not disappointed to not have a pick in this draft” before saying that “it’s not a bad year to take a pass.”

- Colangelo said that it’s important to add players with a veteran presence and also mentioned that Jamaal Magloire was missed in the locker room this season while he did a “terrific” job in his role on the player development side.

If Magloire was still around in the locker room, you can bet that he wouldn’t pussyfoot around the playoff talk next year without fully guaranteeing it, because that’s what veteran leaders do.

- One of the things Colangelo says he took from the players’ exit interviews was that the guys look to Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan as the focal points of the team

- All three Raptors rookies are expected to go to Summer League in July, with Valanciunas also expected to play for the Lithuanian national team (FIBA EuroBasket 2013)  in what the team expects to be a big summer for Jonas.

- Valanciunas works so hard and puts so much extra time in the practice gym that he sometimes needs to be told to slow down just to protect him from himself

- Colangelo says that no matter what happens with Bargnani, the team will look for more perimeter shooting and “someone who can spread the floor from the four-spot.”

- Overall, Colangelo said that he’s looking at the season “as more positive,” which I think is to be expected from a rebuilding General Manager facing contract uncertainty. The main thing that stuck out to me though was Colangelo’s support for Casey.

On Monday I attended the season ending media conferences for Dwane Casey and Bryan Colangelo, which you may have watched yourself live and can still watch for yourself in its entirety at raptors.com. While we can go through every little thing that the Raptors’ coach and General Manager said, I chose instead to highlight the parts of the pressers that stuck out to me. Below, you’ll find those talking points and my thoughts on some of those points.

First up was Dwane Casey…

- While the team’s record was disappointing, Casey said he’s proud of the development he saw this season, specifically from the team’s young players.

- When talking about some of the frustrating losses the team suffered this season and how a few bounces going the other way could have changed things, Casey referenced Kobe Bryant’s heroics in the loss to the Lakers, Kyrie Irving’s deep three-pointer that beat the Raptors in Toronto (Alan Anderson’s lax defence on that play still frustrates me) and Al Jefferson’s game tying three-pointer earlier in the season, which was big Al’s only three of the season. While few of us needed a reminder about the frustrations of this season, hearing Casey reference even three of what was a plethora of heartbreaking and crushing losses just reinforced it. Geez, this team lost way too many of those games this season.

- Casey reminded us that coming into the season, he never said that the team would make the playoffs but rather that the team would be knocking on the door of the post-season, which he feels they did when they got to within four games of eighth place Milwaukee in late February. He also mentioned that the following week, where the Raptors lost to Washington, Cleveland and Milwaukee, was where things got away from them again.

Personally, I don’t consider being out of the race by March and mathematically eliminated in the first few days of April “knocking on the door,” but I do agree that the same week (February 25-March 3) Casey referenced is the week that put any hopes of the eighth seed to bed.

- Casey mentioned at one point that Rudy Gay is a deceptive defender, and it got me thinking that while everyone pointed to Gay as a one-dimensional player/athlete with little interest in using those abilities on the defensive end, it appears as though he’s actually a more valuable defensive player in the NBA than he is an offensive player.

Rudy was solid defensively for the Raptors  and was a big part of why the Lowry, DeRozan, Gay, Johnson, Valanciunas lineup measured so well on that end of the floor, but he absolutely has to be a more efficient offensive option next season. Casey also mentioned that Gay will work with Raptors strength and conditioning guru Alex McKechnie over the summer to add strength, specifically core strength.

- Casey talked about how winning and developing young players at the same time is a difficult task and also stated that the summer will be big for player development this year, whereas next year will be about winning.

- Casey downplayed the media reports of he and Kyle Lowry butting heads as him just coaching and said that they talked everyday. In one of the more forthcoming moments of the morning, however, Casey acknowledged that he “probably hindered (Lowry) a little bit” by making sure he was looking to feed his teammates since Kyle’s gift is getting to the basket.

The relationship between Casey and Lowry was a topic of discussion all season, as was Lowry’s play. The way I see it, Lowry needs to find a better balance than he did this season between attack mode and totally selfless, but Casey also needs to let his point guard take the reins.

- When asked about why Andrea Bargnani wasn’t able to replicate his early 2012 success under Casey, Dwane reiterated that he believes in Bargnani’s unquestionable talent, but also said that in terms of the All-Star level of play Andrea played at early in 2012, “Pulling that out of him, I used every bit of experience that I had in the book.” Casey later added “I’ve got to do a better job of pulling it out of him, but he’s got to meet me halfway.”

To be honest, while you can criticize Casey for certain things this season, I don’t think he should be taking any of the blame for Bargnani’s inconsistencies and failures . He shouldn’t need to expend energy on getting a $10 million player to play with motivation – that’s on the player.

On a final note about Bargnani, Casey also mentioned that the offensive package the coaching staff had designed for Bargs coming into the season was similar to the offensive package Casey saw in Dallas for Dirk Nowitzki.

- When asked about whether Landry Fields is still seen as a big piece of the future here, Casey was adamant that he is. Fields’ basketball IQ and off-ball movement were once again lauded and Casey mentioned that Landry will have his shot reconstructed much the same way Ed Davis did last summer. Dwane said that Fields “fits in well with the way we want to play” and reaffirmed that “he will be a big part of what we do going forward.”

As regular RaptorBlog readers are aware, my thoughts on Fields are pretty similar. He needs to regain his shooting form and individual offensive touch to be truly worth his contract, but from a strictly basketball perspective, he’s an overall positive presence on the floor because of his defence, his rebounding and the way he creates space for teammates on offence by moving off the ball.

- In terms of Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, Casey talked about how the tough start made Valanciunas a better player later in the season, how the big rookie started seeing and reacting to double-teams in the final week or so and how he should have a “huge role” on both ends of the floor next season. As for Ross, Casey talked about how impressive the rookie’s athletic talent is, but admitted that Terrence had “an up and down year” and that the next step for the 22-year-old is to lock in and focus on every possession and learn when to drive, when to pass and when to shoot on offence.

We all know how much potential is stored in Valanciunas’ seven-foot frame and what we expect of him as he continues to develop, but I think Ross’ role and potential for 2013-14 is more of a mystery. I’ve said before that when you look at his natural shooting ability, his defensive principles, his rebounding at the wing position and his athleticism, you can make the argument that his ceiling is higher than DeMar DeRozan’s. The questions now are will Ross put the same level of off-season work in that DeRozan does and can he put all of those tools together in a breakout sophomore season next year?

- Casey said that finding a veteran backup point guard will be important.

It’s easier said than done, but the Raptors need to find a pass-first backup point guard who can play at least average defence and takes care of the ball, because John Lucas III/Sebastian Telfair logging minutes as the primary backup at the point is not going to cut it for a team that’s already talking about the 2014 playoffs.

- When asked if there’s a team out there that the Raptors’ rebuild/direction can be compared to, Casey pointed to the process Indiana has gone through in recent years “with similar athletes.”

If you recall way back in September, the Pacers and Grizzlies were the two teams I compared this Raptors’ rebuild to at the time. For the record, Indiana finished in ninth or 10th place with 32-36 wins for three seasons from 2007-08 to 2009-10 before making the playoffs with just 37 wins in 2010-11 and then emerging as a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference last season. In 2012-13, the Pacers won 49 games and finished third in the East for a second straight season.

- Overall, Casey was more forthcoming than I thought he would be in dissecting the season that was and what went wrong, but his overriding message seemed to be that he remains convinced the Raptors are headed in the right direction.

(NOTE: I’ll have notes and thoughts on Bryan Colangelo’s presser later tonight)

In the season finale of RaptorBlog Radio, Drew, Oliver and I look back on yet another disappointing season in Raptor land and look ahead to what we hope are better days to come.

Listen to the podcast on the player below or download the MP3 here

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NOTE: While this episode may serve as a sort of regular season finale, you’ll still hear from us from time to time throughout the off-season as things develop.

If you thought Wednesday’s season finale meant things would be slow in Raptor Land, think again. On Thursday, Bill Simmons published Part 1 of his annual list of the NBA’s top 50 most valuable assets, which included Jonas Valanciunas at No. 44 (just ahead of Enes Kanter and Andre Drummond, just behind Kenneth Faried).

More importantly, Simmons included this tidbit…

“When Sam Presti was quietly shopping James Harden last October, he called Toronto to feel out a Jonas package. And got rebuffed. Quickly.”

Simmons also includes a sidenote, which reads “Our pal Chris Broussard told me this one and nearly made my eyeballs fly out of my head. But I got it confirmed — it’s true.”

My first reaction was that we’re all aware of how scrutinized Broussard’s “sources” are, but between Simmons writing that he had the report confirmed himself and Zach Lowe writing back in October that the Raptors were one of the teams who “had at least semi-serious internal or external discussions on Harden,” I can definitely believe that the Raptors had a legitimate shot at trading for Harden with Valanciunas as the bait.

I’m as big a Valanciunas fan and am as hopeful about his potential as anybody, but obviously, if you’re asking me today if I would trade Jonas to land James Harden, my answer would be yes. I see Valanciunas as a future All-Star and a potential top-three player at his position one day, but Harden has proven himself to be a legitimate franchise player this season and might be a top-10 player overall already at the age of 23.

Having said that, let’s remember that things were different back in October. Valanciunas had yet to play a regular season game in his NBA career, and while Harden was seen as a top-five shooting guard and rising star, very few people expected the memorable season that the bearded youngster delivered and there was no guarantee that Toronto could have locked him up long term. So while it’s easy for us to sit here now and cry about the fact that it sounds like there was a chance for the Raptors to acquire Harden, it would have been an incredibly tough decision to make for Colangelo to trade away his prized top-five pick without him playing a single game for the franchise.

You can do that for the absolute, no doubt about it superstars, but Harden wasn’t in that category before the 2012-13 season tipped off. He is now.

Though I will say, while the decision to not actually pull the trigger on the deal is understandable given the circumstances, Colangelo rebuffing the deal “quickly” is surprising. Really, he didn’t even think about it for a few seconds? Didn’t even come back with a counter-offer in the event that Presti’s offer wasn’t to his liking?

***

On a final note, if this recent development has tempered your excitement about Valanciunas because you now lament what could have been with Harden, may I present the following player comparison presented without comment to remind you of the special talent that Valanciunas could be.

I’ve included a table below which includes the per-36 minute stats and advanced stats for the rookie seasons of two big men.

Player A is a rookie named Jonas Valanciunas in 2012-13.

Player B was a rookie named Chris Bosh in 2003-04.

Again, presented without comment.

With the final game of the season upon us and many fans already looking ahead to what they hope is a prosperous off-season and next season, I figured I’d shake things up over here tonight.

On that note, in lieu of a Game Thread or Thoughts On the Game post later tonight, I’m going to just add some random thoughts I have throughout tonight’s game to this post.

- My first thought is whether the Celtics will actually play Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett tonight. Remember, Boston has already clinched the No. 7 seed and are locked into a first round series with the Knicks, so there’s really no reason for them to risk injury in the regular season finale away from home.

- In last season’s finale, it was Jamaal Magloire of all people who thanked the crowd for their support and guaranteed a playoff berth in 2012-13. No word yet on whether it will be Aaron Gray, John Lucas III, Alan Anderson, Sebastian Telfair or Linas Kleiza to take the mic tonight.

- In all seriousness, I’m going to assume it will either be Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan or maybe even Jonas Valanciunas tonight, and I’m also going to assume that the “playoffs” and “next year” will be included in the address to the crowd. That address will then be greeted by cheers from fans who forgot that the same thing was said a year ago.

- Rudy makes the brief pre-game speech. Smartly, no playoff guarantees this time. Just a “get ready for next year” and “hope to see you next year.”

- Thoughtful moment of silence and reflection for the city of Boston before the game with both teams at centre court. Celtics starting lineup then came out to “Sweet Caroline” in Fenway Park homage.

- Valanciunas is insanely active to start this game. Crashing the boards, blocking shots, using his pump-fake to get defenders in the air and then attacking the basket.

- Rudy Gay continues to shoot the three-ball well over the last month or so. As we’ve all stressed recently, if this offence is going to be effective with he and DeRozan playing together, one of them is going to have become at least an average long range shooter. The thing with Gay is that he’s a 35% career three-point shooter and once shot 39% from deep in a season, so there’s some hope to be had with his stroke.

- I wonder if Paul Pierce will check back into this game at all. You see the Celtics are off to a magical kingdom known as the “playoffs” after this, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the last we see of him tonight. Hopefully the Raptors know the feeling by game no. 82 next season.

- Landry Fields gave the Raptors some good minutes in that first half. I know a lot of fans have already given up on Fields living up to his highly scrutinized contract, but I still think he can be a solid piece of the rotation next season. Regardless of whether he can rebuild his shot over the summer (and we obviously hope he can), Landry’s a guy who can come off the bench to defend the opposing team’s best wing player, who rebounds well for his position and who can space the floor with his great off-ball movement.

- Amir Johnson just hit another three. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see that a little more often next season. His range has crept closer and closer to the arc every year. By the way, we’re all in agreement that Amir has been the most valuable Raptor this season, right?

- Speaking of things we may see more of next season, Valanciunas is drawing double-teams right now. Also, Quincy Acy.

- The wave is in full effect in the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors’ bench joined in, and the crowd just exploded for free pizza. For the love of God, this fanbase needs meaningful April basketball and playoff basketball again.

- I haven’t looked it up or even thought about it much, but I’m going to guess this is one of the only times in NBA history that a sub 35-win team has had three winning streaks of at least five games. What a weird season.

- Standing ovation for a 34-win team. For a passionate fanbase sometimes criticized for growing impatient too quickly or for booing prematurely, the fans have been beyond patient and generous this season.

I’m just standing and applauding the fact that this chaotic, disappointing season is over. Now, as we’ve become accustomed to doing at the end of an NBA season in Toronto, it’s time to say “maybe next year.”

The Raptors have closed out their disappointing 2012-13 season in seemingly impressive fashion, as they head into Wednesday’s season finale against Boston on a four-game winning streak and winners of six of their last seven games. In addition, the last four victories have all come against Eastern Conference playoff teams seeded fourth to sixth, and April 2013 now marks just the second winning month for the franchise in the Post Bosh Era (February of this season was the first).

With a win against the Celtics tonight and a Milwaukee loss, Toronto will finish just three games back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, which would mark the closest they’ve been to eighth since early January. Regardless of tonight’s events and how the standings finish, the Raptors as an organization (except for Dwane Casey, who told it like it is on Tuesday night) will likely spin a tale of how encouraging the season ending streak was, how indicative of how good this team can be it is, how if only the season was a little longer they could have caught eighth or how if a few of those early season losses had gone their way, they’d be getting ready for the playoffs.

And I really hope that true Raptors fans aren’t naive enough to believe it all.

The truth is that the Raptors have been realistically out of the playoff race since early March or late February, lost home games to Cleveland and Washington (two teams who are probably as confident about improving next season as Toronto is) while they were still in the race, and were mathematically eliminated from contention with two weeks of the season to spare. Their streak also consists of two wins against a comically undermanned Bulls team and a win against a Hawks team that looked mentally checked out of the regular season by the second quarter.

And as for those slumping Bucks, they were eight games ahead of the Raptors just a couple of weeks ago and swept the three-game season series against Toronto fairly easily. They were locked into a playoff spot and almost locked into their seeding of eighth already in early April. Believe me, if they were in an actual battle for their playoff lives or really had something to play for, they don’t drop the last five games, which included losses to the Magic and Bobcats.

It’s not all negative for Raptors fans, as there are some positives to take away from the team’s current run. The pace and style of play the Raps are currently playing with is indicative of how this team can play next season if they bring largely the same team back. They can get stops, force turnovers and then punish teams by running and converting those stops into easy baskets the other way. In addition, the five-man unit of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas has the fourth-best defensive rating (92.4) of any five-man unit in the NBA this season and the eighth-best net rating (12.0) of any five-man unit.

Those positives, along with the fact that the Raptors are 16-16 with Rudy Gay in the lineup and should expect improvements from three rookies now logging regular minutes, can be cited as reasons to believe that this roster can play roughly .500 basketball next season and compete for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. If you’re looking at those factors and thinking realistically about 38-40 wins and the No. 8 seed in 2013-14, that’s a fair, reasonable assessment.

Just don’t put too much stock, if any, in the fact that this team is going to finish the season on an April roll and will make their playoff “chase” look respectable by finishing within three-to-five games of eighth. They’ve done it by beating playoff teams that have checked out of the regular season early and by closing the gap on an eighth-seeded team that hasn’t had anything to play for in a couple of weeks.

Putting all of your eggs in that basket heading into next season is an easy setup for disappointment. Don’t let yourself fall into that trap, no matter how often the team or other fans may try to shove it down your throat in the coming days and weeks.

Start time: 8:00 PM ET
Channel: TSN2 (TNT in the U.S.)

Probable starting lineups
Toronto: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas
Atlanta: Jeff Teague, Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, Josh Smith, Johan Petro

Injury report
Toronto: Andrea Bargnani is out
Atlanta: Al Horford, DeShawn Stevenson, Zaza Pachulia and Lou Williams are out

Random Thoughts

• While the Raptors as a franchise have been on national TV in the States before, many of the team’s current players haven’t been in their pro careers, so it will be interesting to see if nerves get the better of Toronto’s young players to start the game. Amir Johnson was a bit player on the Pistons teams that would have had national television exposure and DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross had some brief experience as part of dunk competitions, but for the most part, the only players on the roster who probably see this as no big deal are Rudy Gay and John Lucas.
• It sounds like Jonas Valanciunas will start tonight. Hopefully the Raptors’ rookie and most prized possession is healthy enough to log heavy minutes and turn some heads around the league, if he hasn’t already.
• The last time these two teams met in Atlanta, the Raptors were hours removed from completing the Rudy Gay trade and were robbed by a blown officiating call in the dying seconds.
• The Raptors are playing their final road game of the season and will finish their 2012-13 away schedule at either 12-29 or 13-28. Either way, their consistency on the road is one of many factors that will have to improve next season if this team is to have any shot at the playoffs in 2014.
• The Hawks are either going to play the Pacers or Nets in the first round of the playoffs, but Atlanta still has some seeding of their own to determine which could decide what their post-season ceiling is. If we assume that the Bulls will beat the Wizards in Chicago on Wednesday night, then the Hawks will have to win both of their reamaining games (vs. Toronto and New York) to hold onto the fifth seed in the East. If Chicago loses on Wednesday, then the Hawks just need a split of their final two games to avoid falling to sixth. Of course, finishing fifth would mean that a potential second round matchup with Miami awaits should the Hawks upset the No. 4 seed, whereas a sixth-place finish would see them avoid Miami until the East Finals. Having said all of that, I only give Atlanta a chance at the second round if they draw Brooklyn in the first round.
• As for the Raptors, the only thing left to decide is what their chances of keeping their 2013 first round draft pick will be as opposed to their chances of forfeiting it to the Thunder. Toronto will finish ninth or 10th in the East and will finish between 19th-to-21st in the overall standings, meaning they will have between the 10th and 12th best lottery odds. Finishing in 21st place will give them a 4% chance of keeping their pick, finishing 20th will give them a 2.9% chance and finishing 19th will give them a 2.5% chance.Regardless, I maintain that losing the pick this year in a very weak draft remains the best option, as the team can then move forward with its own first rounder in deeper, upcoming draft years.
• Is this the last time that the Raptors will play a Hawks team that features Josh Smith?

With the canceling of Tuesday’s scheduled TNT game between the Celtics and Pacers due to the tragic events that took place in Boston today, the Raptors at Hawks game has been moved into the TNT slot.

The game will mark the first time the Raptors have been on national television south of the border since 2008 and the first time on TNT since 2004. Fans have been longing for that kind of exposure for some time, but for obvious reasons, this announcement should not be met with any sort of celebration.

I chose to write about it briefly here because this is a gathering place for passionate Raptors fans, and a Raps game being on TNT is something I thought fellow fans would want to know about, but again, it’s a horrible way to get there.

Part of the beauty of sports is the ability to serve as a distraction from the grind of reality and everyday life, and while the game itself means little in the standings or in the grand scheme of life, hopefully the Raptors and Hawks will be able to provide some form of entertainment and distraction for basketball fans, if even just for a couple of hours.

So by all means, try to enjoy watching your team in a TNT game tomorrow night, as you shouldn’t feel guilty about that passion. But keep things in perspective and keep the victims, first responders, their families and all those affected by the attack in Boston in your thoughts and prayers.

The Raptors look for a third straight win this afternoon when they host the Nets, as they’ll also look to avoid the season sweep at the hands of Brooklyn.

Start time: 3:30 PM ET
Channel: TSN

Probable starting lineups
Toronto: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson, Aaron Gray
Brooklyn: Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Keith Bogans, Reggie Evans, Brook Lopez

Injury report
Toronto: Jonas Valanciunas and Andrea Bargnani are out
Brooklyn: Gerald Wallace is out

Random Thoughts

• Quincy Acy and Reggie Evans on the same court – you’ve been warned. Evans averages 11 rebounds per game in less than 25 minutes per night (a ridiculous rate of 16.2 rebounds per 36 minutes) while Acy really does resemble a younger Evans (both in style of play and appearance), albeit with more refined offence and better man-to-man defence. Add in the fact that Quincy is logging regular minutes now, and we’re sure to see this matchup at least a few times today.
• The Raptors haven’t won three straight since they beat the Wizards in the infamous Wale feud game way back on February 19 and figure to be in tough again this afternoon. Beating a shorthanded Bulls team was one thing, but the Nets are playing well right now, as they’ve won four in a row with a big win at Indiana on Friday night. Brooklyn has guaranteed themselves a top-four seed in the East and home court advantage in the first round, but they still have a shot at 50 wins and an outside shot at a top-three seed, so I don’t think they’re settling for cruise control mode today.
• Many felt that Deron Williams had played himself out of elite point guard status over the last couple of years, but he certainly seems to have regained his form recently. Williams is still averaging nearly 19 points and eight assists per game this season and he’s averaged 26 points and nine assists during the Nets’ current four-game winning streak, which included a 33-point, 14-assist performance in Indiana less than 48 hours ago.

The Raptors look to sweep a home-and-home with the Bulls and take the season series in the process, while Chicago tries to keep pace in the battle for Eastern Conference playoff positioning.

Start time: 7:00 PM ET
Channel: TSN2

Probable starting lineups
Toronto: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson, Aaron Gray
Chicago: Kirk Hinrich, Marco Belinelli, Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer

Injury report
Toronto: Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross, Landry Fields and Andrea Bargnani are all out
Chicago: Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose are out

Random Thoughts

• When teams head into “playing out the string” territory but they also likely won’t have a draft pick to tank for, watching the team’s rookies is often all fans have to look forward to. Unfortunately for Raptors fans, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross are out tonight, so here’s hoping Quincy Acy gets plenty of minutes and supplies us with enough rookie excitement.
• The Bulls are still banged up and are coming off of an emotional overtime victory over the Knicks in Chicago last night, so the also banged up Raptors might actually have a shot tonight. Having said that, a combination of Deng, Boozer, Butler and Robinson is more than enough to beat the Raptors on any given night.
• The Raptors only have three remaining games after tonight, so in the event that Valanciunas doesn’t play again this year, here’s my take on his rookie season.
• The Bulls are currently in fifth place in the East and are pretty much out of the running for a top-four seed, but they’re also just a half-game ahead of the Hawks for sixth, so there is still something to play for.

Seeing Jonas Valanciunas in a neck brace and on a stretcher at the end of Tuesday night’s game in Chicago was certainly concerning, but thankfully, the injury doesn’t sound to be too serious and Valanciunas is a gametime decision for Friday’s game against the Bulls.

Nonetheless, even if an overly cautious approach saw the flexion extension injury end Valanciunas’ rookie season, we’ve seen more than enough from Jonas to continue to favourably project the big man’s development going forward.

If you recall, back in September I wrote about realistic statistical expectations for Valanciunas’ rookie season based on the rookie seasons of some other big name true centres. Almost to a tee, JV has met the expectations of roughly eight points, six rebounds, one block, a PER of 15 and 20 minutes per night that I set for him coming into the year.

I also mentioned way back then that those modest statistical measures “seem to be the rookie bench mark of a future All Star caliber NBA centre.” Given that Valanciunas has met and slightly surpassed those expectations as a 20-year-old rookie big man from overseas, Raptors fans should remain excited about the Lithuanian’s future in Toronto.

To further examine Valanciunas’ potential going forward, here’s a comparison of his rookie season and the rookie seasons of Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah, two All-Star centres that Jonas was most often compared to before he stepped foot on an NBA floor.

The one knock you can use is that both Chandler and Noah played more than 70 games as rookies whereas Valanciunas has only played 60, but the injuries JV sustained this year are not the kinds of injuries that should worry anyone about his future durability.

Offensively, Valanciunas is miles ahead of where Chandler and Noah were as rookies and projects as a more effective offensive option than those two going forward, but Noah is an excellent passer out of the post and there are no guarantees that JV will achieve that kind of court vision. On the defensive end, Chandler and Noah are as good as they come in today’s NBA and Jonas had some defensive issues earlier this season, but no one will argue against the Raptors rookie’s defensive upside.

Another thing to note is that Chandler’s and Noah’s numbers didn’t exactly skyrocket in their sophomore seasons, but there is evidence in Valanciunas’ game over the last couple of months to suggest that he might be able to flirt with averaging a double-double next season given more minutes. For a 21-year-old sophomore big man in the NBA, that would be the mark of a pretty special player.

All in all, whether you look at his own numbers in a vacuum or compare them to the statistics posted by other star centres in the NBA, Jonas Valanciunas continues to project as a future All-Star at the position. And in this dark, lonely abyss Raptors fans currently wander, that potential in Valanciunas serves as a glimmer of light – a way out.

Not much is certain with this franchise right now, but Valanciunas’ status as a beacon of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation is. After a year of hype without him actually playing a game, his rookie season has assured us of that.

The Raptors scored 100 points for the first time in 10 games and barely hung on against a severely shorthanded Bulls team to reach the 30-win plateau for the first time in three years.

Hooray for slightly less futile futility!

The Raps were in cruise control for the majority of the night before narrowly escaping an all too familiar fourth quarter meltdown in what was a pretty ugly finish.

Now here are some thoughts on the game…

Raptors 101, Bulls 98

- First and foremost, if you’re concerned about Jonas Valanciunas after he was looking pretty woozy at the final buzzer, here’s the latest update:

Jonas Valanciunas will remain overnight in Chicago for observation. Test results are pending as team departs to Toronto. #Raptors.

— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) April 10, 2013

Jonas Valanciunas sustained a whiplash-type injury in final seconds. Taken to Rush Presbyterian Hospital for precautionary testing.

— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) April 10, 2013

Valanciunas finished with eight points, three rebounds, a block and five fouls in 23 minutes of action, marking the first time in 13 games that Valanciunas was held under 10 points. JV was solid defensively, but Carlos Boozer out-muscled him more than a few times and he seemed more frustrated than usual with some of the ticky-tack fouls called on him.

- The Raptors took advantage of the undermanned Bulls early, jumping out to an 18-3 lead to start the game. Toronto extended that lead to 16 a few times and led wire-to-wire, but things got unnecessarily tense in the final minute when the Bulls actually got the last possession down just three.

- Amir Johnson bounced back from a string of disappointing performances with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds in over 45 minutes of action. Those aforementioned disappointing performances were most likely a case of Amir just slowing down after a grueling season that has seen him fight and play through pain all year. Case in point, there was a play in the second half where Johnson clearly tweaked either his knee or ankle on an offensive possession, hit the deck in pain, got up, ran the floor while wincing and limping, then proceeded to actually get involved on the defensive end without missing a beat.

He also did this tonight.

The guy just doesn’t let up, and it’s been particularly encouraging this season after he seemed to lose some of that energy and flare last season.

- Kyle Lowry played the kind of game the Raptors need him to play, toeing the line between looking for his own offence and looking for his teammates. Lowry attempted 11 field goals and was more aggressive in attacking the Bulls than we’ve seen in a while, but he was also still looking to get teammates involved and was responsible on the defensive end. The result was the type of balanced line fans have been looking for from Lowry – 13 points, 10 assists, two steals, two turnovers.

I’d still like to see Lowry be even more aggressive when need be (the guy is more than capable of dropping 20-25 points on any given night) next season, but 11 shots is better than the always deferring guard we’ve seen too much of this season.

- While Valanciunas may not have stood out tonight the way he has over the last few weeks, the Raptors’ other two rookies were impressive. Terrence Ross scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting (including 2-of-3 three-point shooting) in 18:26 of playing time while Quincy Acy posted a solid stat line of eight points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 27 minutes.

Acy’s offence is obviously far from a finished product, but it’s also more polished than most assumed it would be at this point and his defence and rebounding are beyond NBA-ready. I really don’t see a reason why Quincy can’t log some regular minutes off the bench for a hopefully more competitive Raptors team in 2013-14. Not major minutes, but minutes as the team’s ninth or 10th man and fourth big man or combo forward.

- DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, but the real story for DeRozan should be that his seven free throw attempts represented his highest total since attempting eight in a game on March 15. After going to the line at least six times in 12 of 15 games, DeMar did it just once in his next 11 games before tonight, averaging 3.1 free throw attempts per game in an 11-game stretch. That’s simply unacceptable for a player like DeRozan.

DeMar needs to work on his ball handling and developing a three-point stroke that is even semi-reliable heading into next season, but he also needs to ensure that he stays consistent with his aggressive approach.

- Rudy Gay’s 6-of-14 shooting night obviously wasn’t great, but I continue to be encouraged by the fact that Gay appears to have found his three-point stroke after looking lost from behind the arc for the majority of the last two years. With his 3-of-5 shooting display from downtown on Tuesday night, Rudy is now shooting over 42 per cent from deep over his last 10 games. Remember, Gay was a 35 per cent three-point shooter for the first five years of his NBA career and actually shot 39.6 per cent from behind the arc in 2010-11, so there is reason to believe he can be an effective long range weapon again next season.

- I know the Derrick Rose situation must be frustrating, but Bulls fans must also be pretty excited about the team’s potential next season with a healthy Rose and a developing Jimmy Butler. The 30th overall pick from the 2011 Draft has looked very promising lately, especially in his 28-point performance tonight that saw him play all 48 minutes.

Raptors Player Of the Game: Amir Johnson – 13 Pts (5/8 FG, 3/3 FT), 11 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk in 45:28

Bulls Player Of the Game: Jimmy Butler – 28 Pts (10/12 FG, 3/3 3PT, 5/6 FT), 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO in 48:00

It’s hard to take anything from the results of these quite meaningless games as the Raptors play out the string, but we can look for small beads of development in the rookies’ games and look at things like an improved three-point shot from Gay. All in all, we just ask that you bear with us over these final five games of the season. I’m not sure how much we’ll have to talk about after the games or how many of the games we’ll even have postgame thoughts for, but you can be sure that RaptorBlog will have a ton of its usual content again once the season ends and we can officially start looking ahead to the off-season and next season.

In addition, for those asking, we’re working on trying to get another couple of podcasts in before the end of the season.

Until next time…

Terrence Ross converts an and-one, a courtside photographer’s camera ends up on the floor, and naturally, Amir Johnson picks it up and proceeds to take some professional photos of his teammates…

Underrated part of this? You can see Rudy Gay asking to play with the camera when Amir picks it up and then posing for a photo, but Johnson doesn’t pay any attention to him.

(video courtesy of Beyond The Buzzer, GIF courtesy of SB Nation)