Built Ford Tough

Are you seriously using Reggie freaking Evans and Dennis Rodman in the same sentence? Jesus christ.

Ottawa also gave Craig Anderson a 4 year, $12.75M contract extension. Numbers may be a bit off, but he is basically getting a bit more than $3M for 4 years. Kind of jumped the gun on that one, if you ask me. I hate Ottawa so the only time I ever watch them is when they are playing the Leafs so I don't know how well he has played since being traded from the Avs, but that seems a bit pricey for a goalie who has basically had one good year and that is it.

Cooke gets suspended for the rest of the season and the first round of the playoffs for his elbow to Ryan McDonagh.

He doesn't exactly strike me as having the best playmaking instincts, though. Even if he hasn't been groomed to be a "pure" point guard, you would still see some natural playmaking instincts, and I don't see that in Knight. Don't get me wrong, he is very talented and I honestly think that he will work his way into the lottery, perhaps top 10, maybe even top 5 (although I think that is a stretch) simply because he has the kind of size, talent and intrigue (consensous #1 high school player for basically every year until the final half of his senior year, leading the nation in freshman scoring, etc...) that he has. He reminds me of OJ Mayo, really. Both were considered future superstars as early as their first year of high school due to their size at the point guard spot, neither one of them really developed the point guard instincts and as a result by the time their senior year rolled around they were getting passed by a bit by other guards (Rose and Gordon in Mayo's case, Irving and arguably Selby in Knight's case). Both had solid freshman seasons for their respective teams, but again, neither one of them really showed the abilitiy to be a point guard at the next level and their stock dropped because of that, although Knight's has fallen more than Mayo. I actually wouldn't mind him on the Raptors as he is definitely a talented player, but I just question whether or not he will be able to run a team effectively at the next level, or if he is going to be similar to Jerryd Bayless or OJ Mayo. I still say he declares. I know he is supposed to be real big on education and loves college, but I just don't see the guy passing up the opportunity to be picked in the top 5 of the NBA draft, especially considering how going back to college could make him drop out of the lottery all together with how much deeper next years draft is projected to be. Also, its not like he is going to come out and say that he is entering the draft in the middle of a tournament run. He is much smarter than that. It wouldn't shock me if he did stay, but I still say he enters the draft.

Yeah, he definitely looks more like a complimentary piece than a guy that you can actually build a team around. I like him as a prospect and he is still young, but I agree that he isn't very assertive. That may due to the fact that he simply doesn't have a refined enough game to be that dominating presence offensively. His handle is weak and he is able to create his shot simply because of his solid footwork and size/length. It is hard to be really assertive when you are primarily a jump shooter.

Kleiza is fine if he is an 8th man off the bench like he was in Denver. When you put him in the starting lineup and expect him to be one of your offensive leaders, then you are in trouble, which the Raptors found out first hand this season. I'll give him another shot, though. He is a better player than he showed this season and the constant injury problems that he had to deal with (his knee was bugging him all season long before finally having the surgery, as well as the achillies injury he suffered early in the year) this season didn't help matters at all. Why are you so set on getting rid of Johnson, though? I agree that they need a legit center because neither Davis, Bargnani or Johnson are capable of playing it, but Johnson is the ideal big man off of the bench. Every championship team has an Amir type of player off of the bench, and considering he is locked up long term into what is a fairly reasonable contract, I don't understand why you feel that the Raptors need to so desperately move him. As far as Barnes, at the rate the Raptors are going and how well he is playing down the stretch, they are going to be lucky if they even have the opportunity to draft Barnes. If he continues his solid play and impresses in workouts, there is a legit chance that he will go in the top 2, maybe even first overall depending on who wins the draft lottery. I doubt he sticks around past the top 4, and with the Raptors having a better chance of picking 6th than moving into the top 3, I don't think they have that great of a shot at being able to draft him. Of course, this is assuming Barnes even enters the draft in the first place (which I think he will, but some don't).

So in the past two games combined, Ed Davis has played roughly 23 minutes. During that same stretch, Reggie Evans has played roughly 57 minutes. This franchise is a [expletive]ing joke. I'm at the point know where I want a complete overhaul starting from the top. Just get rid of everybody and bring in some guys who understand that YOU PLAY YOUR [expletive]ING LOTTERY PICK ROOKIE MORE THAN THE SCRUB VETERAN ON AN EXPIRING CONTRACT WHO HAS NO FUTURE ON THIS TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Washington coach could be lying to save face, though. He would look like a real idiot if he didn't even get them to check the clock. We will probably never know if he is lying or if the refs did actually say that to him, though.

Yeah, UNC really lucked out with that final possession. Not only was there that arguable goaltend call (would've only been a 2 anyways, but still), but Washington should've had the ball with something like 1.2 seconds left instead of the 0.5 that they did have. An absolutely brutal job by the officiating crew to not even look at that final play to check the clock. Henson really made some boneheaded decisions down the stretch, though. If he would've just left the ball alone, none of this would've been an issue. He really lucked out down the stretch as his two poor plays could've easily ended the Heels season.

Tell me about it. People act as if Wade is this saint because he stayed in Miami, but really, these three were meeting up regardless of which city it was. It could've been Miami, New York, Chicago, New Jersey or freaking Minnesota (ok, maybe not Minny). The way things played out it just so happened that Miami was the one with the cap room to be able to fit all three without forcing them to take major paycuts. People just look at James as this super villian because he left his home town team to join up with another superstar and an all-star, but if the roles were reversed and Miami was in Cleveland's situation, Wade would be doing the exact same thing.

What the hell was that? Guy throws up a half court prayer with 2-3 seconds left. Henson is a moron. He is lucky as hell that they didn't call goaltending. What the [expletive] was he thinking doing something as stupid as that? EDIT: It was going to be a two anyways, so no big deal there. Still a ridiculously stupid decison on Henson to even touch that ball anyways.

Henson with a deflection on the inbounds pass, which leads to a turnover. Strickland heading to the line for a 1&1. Great utilization of his length by Henson. And Strickland makes the 1st. EDIT: And Strickland knocks down the 2nd to make it a 3 point game.

Marshall misses front end of the 1&1 and Washington has the ball down 1 with 7 seconds left.

Barnes with a transition hoop to cut the lead down to 1 and then the next trip down the floor uses a screen very well to get open behind the arc and drains a 3 to give UNC a 2 point lead. Every time I watch Barnes play he always seems to come up with these dagger shots. This guy is cold blooded for such a young player.

As far as I know, he plans on staying their for another year. I haven't read or heard anything that specifically says that he will return for his sophomore season, but I believe he plans on staying another year and he really wants to play with Kabongo. After Kabongo decommited from Texas last year, I think it was Thompson who convinced him to recommit (at least I think I remember reading something like that) and I can't see him doing that if he planned on bolting after his freshman season. I hope he stays, though. It would be awesome to watch hiim, CoJo and Kabongo (and Thomas to a lesser extent) all play together next year.

I don't get it. You do realize that they aren't trading their own picks, right? They are going to use their cap space, TPE from the James trade and shorter term contracts to trade for bloated contrats in order to pick up extra draft picks on top of their own. Basically, they are going to do the exact same thing as they did in the Baron Davis trade. Trade a short term deal (Williams had 2 years left) for a longer, more expensive deal (Davis has what, 4 years left?) and in return for taking the contract, they will get a draft pick back. As for the Hamilton situation, as an example, they would use their TPE to absorb the contract of Hamitlon, taking the final 2 or 3 years left on his deal off of the Pistons books, and as a favor for doing that, the Pistons will send them a draft pick. I don't really see what is wrong with doing that. If you have the money, you might as well use it.

You don't not draft a guy because of James Johnson. He (JJ) has had some solid moments from what I have seen this season, but he is the kind of guy who is much better served as a 8th-9th man off of the bench. He isn't a starting caliber player at this level, so I wouldn't pass on a guy just because you already have him on the roster. The same thing can be said about Kleiza.

Honestly, I don't see it happening. The team clearly isn't tanking and are legitimately trying to win as many games as possible. Otherwise guys like Barbosa, Evans, Bargnani and Calderon wouldn't get so much floor time and it would instead be handed out to James Johnson, Davis and Bayless. Luckily for us, the team is legitimately awful so they are still going to end up with, hopefully, a top 5 pick without actually tanking.

His shot is nice, I don't deny that, but I don't see how he can play the 3 in the NBA. He doesn't have very good handles and he definitely won't have the lateral quicks to guard opposing small forwards. Again, you probbaly know more about his game than I do because I admit to only seeing maybe 2 or 3 games of his all season long. He just doesn't strike me as the type of guy who can play the 3 at the next level and I'd prefer if the Raptors didn't come out of this draft with another power forward. I don't know, I wouldn't be opposed to drafting him, but that would only be if all three of Irving, Barnes and Valanciunas are off of the board already. He is in that group along with Kanter, Walker, Jones and Jones where I wouldn't be opposed to drafting him, but isn't who I would ideally want to walk away from this draft with. EDIT: Brandon Knight had a nice bounce back game today against West Virgina. He had 30 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists on 9-20 shooting and 9-10 from the line. He still isn't a point guard, though, and I don't really ever see him developing into a legitimate point guard in the future. He screams Gilbert Arenas (in terms of being a scoring 1) to me. Terrence Jones had 12/10/3 as well. I have been less than impressed with what I have seen from him so far in the tournament. He doesn't look all that great to me.

They are impressive numbers, but context has to be taken into consideration. They played a weak team, Barnes was the third best Tar Hell on the floor (Zeller had 32 points and I already posted Henson's numbers) and Barnes, as the Heels small forward, was taller than any player on the other team. The numbers were nice, but an above average game against the 15 seed is hardly anything to get excited about (considering he was 2-10 from three and had 4 turnovers). Lets see him continue to put up these kinds of games as the tournament goes on and he plays some tougher competition. No thanks on Williams and I wouldn't be opposed to Kanter, assuming Barnes and Irving are gone. I'd rather take a chance on Valanciunas over Kanter, but I wouldn't hate the pick. I'm just a bit worried about Kanter being able to adjust to the next level as he would be undersized at center (if the reports of him being 6'10 are true) and he seems a little too earth bound for my liking. I just like Valanciunas' length, the fact that he is only 18 or whatever, something like 90% of his shots are at the rim where he has around 75 TS%, a 90% free throw shooter and has a ridiculous rebound rate. He has a high chance of being a bust, I don't deny that, but I think he has one of the higher upsides in this draft. In a weak draft, you might as well swing for the fences when you are picking 5th/6th like the Raptors are likely to. Out of curiousity, why do you think Williams would be a good pick for the Raptors? I admit to not having seen him much, but when I have watched him I never came away thinking that he could be a full time small forward in the NBA and I don't really think he is a better prospect than Ed Davis. I'm usually strongly in favor of picking the BPA, but in a draft like this I honestly think that the Raptors should trade down if they are put into a position where the BPA is clearly a power forward, such as Sullinger or Williams. That is the one position that they really don't need with Bargnani, Davis and Johnson already on the team. Attitude and personality wise, I agree that they are nothing alike. I can see the comparision between their games, though. Obviously Williams isn't as talented as Beasley is, but I do see some similairities between the two.

Amir Johnson has arguably been the Raptors best all around big this season, a hell of a lot better than Reggie Evans, and you want him gone because of a couple of bad games where he was playing through an injury? Get rid of Evans, or give him a small contract to be a practice player. No team will ever be a serious contender having a complete liability in every aspect of the game aside from rebounding playing any significant minutes.

Ed Davis plays 12 minutes while Reggie Evans plays nearly 30 minutes. Jerryd Bayless plays 14 minutes while Jose Calderon plays 34 minutes. Leandro Barbosa takes 11 shots in 18 minutes. What. A Joke.

Some stats tonight from some of the more highly touted draft prospects. Kyrie Irving: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals on 4-8 shooting in 20 minutes Derrick Williams: 22 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block (game saving one, I believe) on 6-11 shooting and 9-9 free throws in 36 minutes Jared Sullinger: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals on 5-7 shooting in 28 minutes Harrison Barnes: 24 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals on 9-19 shooting (2-10 from three) in 35 minutes John Henson 28 points, 11 rebounds, 6 blocks on 10-16 shooting and 8-10 free throws in 28 minutes

I honestly have no idea. I would imagine if the OTPP are serious about selling their share of MLSE, it would be done before the beginning of the next season, but that is just speculation on my part. There isn't even a guarantee that the OTPP are going to sell their share, so who really knows.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-110318-20/nba-coaching-carousel Triano here for another year to command the tank and then the Raptors go out and get a real coach? Sign me up! Seriously though, I can't see the Raptors going out and giving out a long term deal to a new coach with all the ownership stuff up in the air. You might as well let Triano ride out his contract and then once all of the ownership drama is settled, the new owner(s) will be able to assess what they want to do and bring in their own coach. At least that is how I see things going down.