Built Ford Tough

I read somewhere (I'll try to find the link) that they aren't necessarily looking to get rid of Gherardini. Colangelo said he would love to have him back, but the organization just isn't sure if he wants to stay sign a new contract in North America or go back to Italy where he would likely have plenty of GM jobs available as opposed to here where he has none. There is speculation going around that he only came over here with the expectations that he would have been offered a GM job somewhere in the NBA by now. Since he hasn't, and doesn't appear likely to get one any time soon, they figure he will just go back to Italy. I don't care about him leaving the Raptors organization as bringing him in was supposed to lead to an influx of good International/European talent for the Raptors, and instead all they got was Bargnani and Belinelli, so he hasn't really done much for the Raptors as an organization. However, he did wonderful work with Basketball Canada so a part of me would like to see him stick around just so that Basketball Canada will continue its substantial growth. It has grown by leaps and bounds since he started working with them. Either way, though, I would be estatic if the Raptors could bring in an experienced GM into an assistaint role like Colangelo wants to do. Losing Ujiri really left a hole in the Raptors front office as I think he was a fantastic assistaint for Colangelo (as evident by his excellent job in Denver, particularly how he handled the Melo situation).

From Broussard's Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/Chris_Broussard Oh the joys of having an owner willing to spend money. The Cavs will have spent like $80M (not sure of what Baron has left on his deal) just to acquire two draft picks, and because Gilbert is willing to spend so much money, the Cavs may walk away with the two best players of the draft and two cornerstones for his post-LeBron era. Must be nice.

Great final play by the Bulls. That was Thunder-esque. EDIT: Give credt to the Heat defense there, though. Very good job of them there.

Tell me about it. He is basically a slightly better version of Russell Westbrook, yet he gets put up on a pedastool while Westbrook is a borderline scrub according to so man people. He is just as poor of a decision maker (see all of those stupid jumpers over James instead of driving like he should) than Westbrook is but he can compensate for it a bit better due to being more athletic and being a better finisher in the paint. James clutch shooting continues to be remarkable. Watching him and Dirk close games out in these playoffs have been a thing of beauty.

LeBron James ability to hit dagger threes is something else. Who would've expected this from him considering his reluctance to take the big shot in the past? He has been absolutely lights out at closing games in the playoffs this year.

Brandon Knight did very well in the athletic testing. He basically measured out on the same level as guys like Rose, Westbrook and Wall when it comes to the quickness and agility drills, which is surprising considering how the knock on him was that he wasn't that great of an athlete. He put up a 10.74 in the lane agility drill (6th best at the combine), a 5.27 in the modified lane agility drill (4th best) and a 3.07 in the 3/4 court sprint (tied for 2nd best). John Wall had a 10.84 lane agility and a 3.14 3/4 court srpint. Russel Westbrook had a 10.98 lane agility and a 3.08 3/4 court sprint. Derrick Rose had a 11.69 lane agility and a 3.05 3/4 court sprint. I'm not sure how he did in the vert testing and the bench press (I imagine he struggled with the bench pressing, although he did at least 4 reps as he wasn't in the bottom 5) as full results won't be released until tonight or tomorrow, but his agility and speed results are very encouraging. For those of you who are interested, Bayless had a 11.26 lane agility and a 3.07 sprint. Kemba did really well, too. He had the 11th quickest lane agility score at 10.87, had the 11th best standing vert at 32 inches and had the 5th best max vert at 39.5 inches. http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2011-NBA-Combine-Athletic-Testing-Results-3725

Serious question, but have you even watched Burks play before? The guy is not a good shooter; he is a weak one. He is a very good scorer and Marcus Morris is not "easily better offensively" than Burks is. I would say that Burks is more skilled than Morris is, relative to their respective positions. He has a good body considering his age. A 6'6, 200 pound 19 year old with a near 7 foot wingspan and 5% body fat is about as good as you can hope for from a non athletic freak. Obviously he will add strength as his body matures, but his measurements for a 19 year old are pretty solid. Even if you just read a few scouting reports you would know that pretty much everything you said about Burks is way off base, lol. EDIT: My bad on his weight, for some reason I thought he weighed 200 pounds at the combine, but it is actually closer to 190 (193 to be exact), so maybe you have a point on that one, but the other two are still way off.

My thoughts are that this has been posted about 3 times now and David Kahn has denies this on multiple occasions.

Some new stuff from a Colangelo interview today on Sim and Tid: Uncut. - Will be attending a Kanter workout in Chicago on June 5th and 6th. Will also get a more in depth interview with him than they would've at the combine. - Says he likes Walker's quickness on the defensive end of the floor and mentions how it is a point guard driven league. However, I got the vibe that he isn't particularly impressed with Walker and that he likely wouldn't be taken at 5 if the draft were today. Workouts can obviously change his opinion on him, but if I had to guess Walker is below Knight, Kanter and Valanciuns on his draft board, and quite possibly guys like Vesely and Leonard are above him as well. I think he likes him, but isn't as high on him as Knight and Valanciunas, who I think is the top 2 on his board. Somebody else may interpret this interview as him being high on Walker, though. - Says that he was really impressed with Tristan Thompson. Really liked his interview and liked what he saw from him at the drills, but he is pretty redundent with Ed Davis on the roster. He then went on to say that they will take the best player in terms of talent and need for the team.

Seriously? The only debatable call was the hook on Mitchell that Sedin may or may not have embellished. However, considering the hooking call that Hamhuis got in the first period where he had one hand on his stick and managed to completely spin Marleau around despite barely touching him, that was a legitimate call. The other two penalties were completely legit. What is a ref supposed to do? Murray flips the puck over the glass on the penalty kill. Autmatic penalty. Couture plays the puck with Pavelski still on the ice. Too many men, not debatable. The difference between the 1st and 2nd period was that every call was legit against the Sharks. Maybe you can argue the first call on Mitchell but that is it. The 5 straight penalties that the Canucks had against them in the 1st were all pretty much debatable, aside from the Torres charging call. Completely different circumstances.

^^^ Lol at the emotional leader since Carter left BS. Carter was never the vocal leader or anything like that during his time with the Raptors. They brought in guys like Charles Oakley because Carter wasn't comfortable with being the emotional and vocal leader. He just wanted to go out and play his game, which is why he was so effective in New Jersey with Kidd. Guys like Anthony Parker, Jorge Garbajosa and TJ Ford had more leadership qualities than Carter did. They certainly weren't close to his level when it comes to actual basketball talent, but they were all more leaders than Carter was. As for the trade itselt, it is obviously BS. There is no way in hell the Raptors are getting Rudy Gay for Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and Leandro Barbosa. This is clearly some BS rumor that some moron came up with and some second rate site ran with it. This just makes absolutely no sense at all. The Pacers didn't want Calderon last summer, so what makes them suddenly want him now that they have Darren Collison on the roster? The Grizzlies are going to pay Bargs $42M over the next 4 years, Randolph $66M over the next 4 years and Gasol around $40M over the next 4 years? Yeah, right. This trade has as good of a chance of happening as me being the first overall pick.

It has been mentioned, just in the Pacers forum. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/23214-sam-amico-indiana-pacers-making-serious-play-for-2-overall-pick/ It was pretty much shot down by Kahn immediately, which is no surprise to anybody considering the mention of Beasley and Rubio as well as the pick.

They probably are, but really, who cares? The Raptors suck and are going to suck equally as much next season so I'd have no problem with taking Knight and allowing him and Bayless to duke it out for a year or two. I think Bayless is a better prospect, but if Knight is still on the board at 5 I think you have to take him (unless Kanter is there as well then I wouldn't have a problem with drafting Kanter instead of Knight). As for the Raptors board, I would imagine it goes like this: 1. Knight 2. Valanciunas 3. Kanter 4. Walker 5. Leonard/Vesely 6. Vesely/Lenoard Based on what I have heard, Knight is definitely at the top. Some Raptors execs went out to dinner with Knight already and, as far as I know, this has only happened two times in the 5 years that Colangelo has been with the team and those two players were Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan, both of which were clearly the Raptors number 1 targets in their respective drafts. If Knight is available at 5 I have no doubts that he will be picked by the Raptors (unless Irving or Williams fall, but that won't happen). I'd hate it if they traded down and drafted Leonard, or drafted any small forward in general. I don't mind Leonard as a player, but there is absolutely no way in hell that I would be happy with them taking a small forward this season considering how deep the small forward class is likely to be next season. Give me anyone of Gilchrist, Barnes, Miller, Nash, T. Jones or Thomas over any of the small forwards in this class without hesitation. Hell, I'd rather draft Perry Jones and try to play him at the 3 than draft Leonard this season and pass up on somebody like Knight, Walker, Kanter and Valanciunas. Unless they are getting a legitimate asset in return for trading down (and by that I mean the pick that they are trading down for isn't the best asset in the trade) no way would I move down considering the ridiculous depth at the 3 in next years draft. Give me a point guard or center from this draft and then I will find my small forward of the future next year considering the fact that 3 of them have franchise player potential.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/24/raptors-keep-eye-on-rudy-gay If they are so interested in him, maybe they should've drafted him in 2006 when he was clearly the best choice for them. The Raptors don't have what it takes to get him, though. Unless they are willing to part with DeRozan or Davis with the 5th pick, I don't see them landing him. Why on earth would the Grizzlies want Bargnani considering how terrible of a fit he would be next to Randolph and considering it would run Gasol out of town? PS: I question the validity of this considering you can't combine a player with the TPE. Either the Sun is making shit up, or they don't know how a TPE works. Either scenario seems likely to me. Hell, both are probably true.

This was my favourite part: What exactly does he think his role should be? He was given the green light to chuck up jumper after jumper this season no matter how poorly he was playing everywhere else on the floor, and even in the games when he couldn't hit a shot to save his life. So either he thinks that he shouldn't be such a promminent offensive figure for any team and should simply be a spot up shooter, or he thinks he should have an even greater load offensively, which is laughable. We all know he doesn't give a damn about his role on defense because, according to him, what he does on offense is more important and complicated than simple things such as defense and rebounding.

Well, that is what the Raptors will likely get at 5. There is a chance that a guy like Knight, Valanciunas, Kanter, Walker or anybody else who is linked to the Raptors may develop into an All-Star or great starter, but there is just as good of a chance of him being nothing more than good role player. I'd be happy withe the Raptors getting a solid starter or a 25-30 minute 6th man from this draft to be honest with you. Anything else would be gravy.

The Raptors should not care about how a player fits on the current roster when deciding on who to pick and it should definitely be BPA. The fact of tha matter is that if the Raptors become a winning team, the vast majority of the current roster will likely not even be on the team. I can maybe see guys like DeRozan, Davis, Amir, Bayless and Bargnani (as a 6th man) still on the roster if the Raptors become a contender, but even then, none of these players are sure things by any stretch of the imagination (although a case could be made for Amir as a nice energy big off the bench like Davis for the Celtics). Go BPA and don't even think about drafting for need or whether the guy you are picking may not mesh perfectly well with the current roster.

Aren't we talking about moving up to the Kings pick at 7? I don't see why you think that moving from 14th to 7th would cost the Rockets anything of real significance. Depending on what the Kings want to do with this draft (I honestly have no idea at all as I've paid no attention to them) it wouldn't surprise me if the cost was nothing more than a 2nd rounder and some cash, or maybe a heavily protected future first that is likely to turn into a 2nd due to the protections on it. Just going off of my personal opinion, I imagine the Kings are after either Knight or Walker to pair with Evans in the backcourt and there is a strong chance that neither one of them will be available at 7 assuming that the Jazz pick a point guard at 3 or the Cavs decide to go with Williams at 1 (unlikely). It wouldn't shock me if the Kings would settle to move down to the 14th pick and gain a 2nd or something considering the money that they will save in the rookie contract unless they think that Biyombo or Thompson would be worth pairing with Cousins in the front court. If they don't like either one of them I could definitely see them moving down if they can pick up some sort of future asset in the process. If that is the case, I think you would be a fool not to try and move up to snag Leonard and settle for Singleton. If we are talking about moving up to the Cavs pick at 4, obviously Leonard wouldn't be part of the equation and the cost would be significantly higher, especially considering the ridiculous standards to which the Cavs hold that pick (Rudy Gay. Seriously? lol).

Why? The guy played like complete shit down the stretch. I could understand feeling sorry for him if he had some wonderful game and received no help, but he was awful down the stretch and one of the biggest reasons why they lost this game and blew the lead.

Great double from Marion to cause the turnover. Kidd with some very quick hands to strip the ball from Durant. Also, very nice play from Dirk to suck the defense in and find Kidd for the open three. Last possession he forced a tough, contested jumper over Collison and he made the appropriate adjustment this time down the floor. The Thunder bench looks absolutely deflated. Durant looks borderline suicidal and Westbrook doesn't look much better. Not a good sign at all.

I still don't see how you don't at least take a look at that play considering the circumstances. Never the less, the more deserving team will win this game.

Lmao. What kind of play was that. Terrible possession, although nice play by Marion. There should be some time added to the clock, too. I think there was around 1.4 seconds left when Kidd called time. Wow, how is time not added to the clock there? That is reviewable, isn't it?

That horrible decision from Terry on the fastbreak after Durant's turnover really hurt the Mavs. All he has to do is pass the ball to Marion at some point after crossing the half court line and he has a wide open layup. Nice defense from the Mavs on Durant to force the ball over to Sefolosha. I've got a feeling we are going to see a Durant buzzer beater tonight, assuming Dirk hits this second free throw.

Except Leonard is a much better prospect than Singleton. Singleton's best case scenario is becoming a Thabo Sefolosha type of guy. Good to great defender, alright shooter (and his shooting ability at the next level is a question mark in my mind as well) but nothing else. Leonard has similar defensive potential in addition to being a much better athlete, a more versatile offensive player (although not as good of a shooter, but supposedly he has improved on that quite a bit since SDSU's season ended) and a very good rebounder. He is also 2 or 3 years younger than Singleton is as well. I don't mind Singleton as a role player in the mid first round or something, but he is not a better prospect than Leonard is. I would draft Leonard over Singleton no matter what the circumstances are every time.

They would draft him if they thought he was the BPA. Colangelo didn't workout Ed Davis and I believe he only spoke with him one time last season prior to the draft (to tell him that if he falls to 13 the Raptors will take him) but had no problems drafting him. They may have interviewed him at the Combine, I'm not 100% sure, but I know for a fact that they never worked him out or anything like that prior to drafting him. If Colangelo thinks that Kanter is the best pick for the team (assuming he is available) I am certain that he will draft him. Besides, this whole thing was basically a huge misunderstanding by the sounds of things. The Raptors, like the Jazz, will be heading to Chicago to watch Kanter workout with Grover. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/05/23/predraft.camp.wrap/ So I don't think it was as bad as it first seemed. Just some miscommunication between the two parties. Gotta love the part about the Bucks, though. "We are not avoiding anybody........ well maybe the Bucks". I'd be fine with Valanciunas considering his potential on both ends of the floor and him being more skilled than I originally thought. Vesely and Biyombo scare me, though. Kanter scares me somewhat. He has the talent, size and rebounding ability, but hearing how Len Elmore talk about how he was getting destroyed on the defensive end and being targeted by opposing players during the two-on-two drills it makes me a bit weary of him. I wouldn't complain if they draft him, but I can definitely see him being a borderline liability on the defensive end of the floor. So long as the Raptors come away from this draft with one of Knight, Kanter, Valanciunas or Walker I will be happy, though. Considering the fact that the Raptors are guaranteed to land one of them I will probably be happy with the outcome. I think that these 4 are probably at the top of the Raptors board, with Walker trailing behind the other three by a bit.