Raps Look for 3rd Straight in Dallas

The Raptors roll into Dallas (tipoff at 8:30PM EST) on the back half of two games in two nights, and hope to both extend their win streak to three games and to give Chris Bosh, playing at an MVP level thus far, his first win in Dallas in his career.

W2W4:
- Big man matchups. The four starting PFs/Cs in this game will have a huge impact on how the game turns out. Dirk Nowitzki has always been a Turok (averaging 24 points and 7 boards against the Raps), and the player whose ceiling was always "The Next Dirk," Andrea Bargnani, will hope to continue to take a huge step forward in his fourth season. If Il Mago continues to develop, he could turn out to be even better than the one-time MVP. As well, CB4 should give Erick Dampier fits with his improved play and newfound beastly-ness in the post. Look for Bosh to have a huge game (really going out on a limb there, eh?).
- New Mavs and new Raps. The two teams were involved in a mammoth four-team deal this offseason that brought Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright and Devean George (flipped to Golden State for Marco Belinelli) to Toronto, with Shawn Marion and Kris Humphries donning the Mavs blue. Turk has been a steady influence in the Raps' frontcourt thus far, being incredibly consistent on both offense and defense, while 'Toine and Marco have been instrumental in making the Raps' second unit one of their potent weapons. The Matrix has been his usual stat-filling self, putting up 14 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game, while Hump has given them some energy off the bench with 6 points and 4 boards per game to go along with his trademark questionable shot selection (44% from the field).
- Jose Calderon. After some criticism incited by his slow start to the season, the object of many a man-crush delivered a classic Jose game, with tremendous efficiency against the Hornets: 16 points (on 6-11 from the field, 2-4 from three, and perfect 2-2 from the line), 8 assists to just one turnover and 4 rebounds. If Jose continues to be the floor general we know he can be, the Raps will be very tough to beat.

Marion Out, Turk In, Crazy Four-Way Deal

UPDATE: This deal is now official and will be announced today on Raptors NBA TV at 4 P.M. You can read Eric Smith's reaction here.

In an incredibly convoluted move, RealGM is reporting, along with the Toronto Star, that Shawn Marion, Nathan Jawai and Kris Humphries are heading to Dallas, Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright and Devean George are heading to Toronto, and the Grizzlies will receive Jerry Stackhouse (who will likely be waived to save money), Toronto's 2016 second-round pick and "substantial cash." The Magic were enticed to join in because as opposed to letting Turk walk, they received a valuable $7 million trade exception which can be used to balance trade salaries, as well as cash considerations from Toronto. An additional advantage for Toronto, which could end up playing a huge part in the Raps' success this year, is the recovery of their mid-level exception which entitles them to about $5.7 million of extra salary. It's speculated that BC will use it to bring back Carlos Delfino or perhaps split it between him and Pops Mensah-BonsuPossum's Phone Ban.

Overall Movement:

To Toronto:
F Devean George from Dallas (3.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG in 16 minutes/game in 08-09). Will likely be a middle-of-the-second and third quarter reserve. He does give the Raps a little more depth up front, and is a three-time NBA champion with the Lakers, so could provide a needed veteran presence. His contract also comes off the books at the end of this season.
G/F Antoine Wright from Dallas (7.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG in 24 minutes/game in 08-09). Will probably be one of the first wings off the bench, or a starter while splitting minutes with DeMar DeRozan. He's a solid, physical forward who is at his best when he's moving without the ball and spreading the floor. Fantastic pickup by BC to add some wing depth. His contract, like George's, comes off the books at the end of 2010.
F Hedo Turkoglu from Orlando (15.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.9 APG in 36.6 minutes/game in 08-09). The big fish this offseason for BC and the Raps. He'll start at small forward and log over 30 a game. He'll be somewhat a point forward, and with his matchup problems combined with Jose Calderon's efficiency the Raptors will be deadly in the half-court set. He can also lead the break to help make use of DeMar DeRozan and Chris Bosh's athleticism and speed in the open court.
Addition of Mid-Level Exception - The Raptors receive an additional $5.7 million dollars to spend as they choose. Ideally, Colangelo would use it to sign Delfino and Mensah-Bonsu to add some needed wing and bigman depth.

To Dallas:
F Shawn Marion (from Toronto)
F Kris Humphries (from Toronto)
G Greg Buckner (from Dallas)
Cash (from Toronto)

To Memphis:
F Jerry Stackhouse (from Dallas)
F/C Nathan Jawai (from Toronto)
Cash (from Dallas)
2016 second-round draft pick (from Toronto)

To Orlando:
$7 million trade exception
Cash (from Toronto)

Overall Grade for Toronto - A
This deal really couldn't be better. They acquire some solid veterans to bolster their bench, they add star power and fill a hole, and they pick up some additional salary to acquire some more depth or even a starter to replace DeRozan, while saving money for the coming offseason (Humphries had a player option for 2010-11). This is Colangelo magic at its finest, and it's beautiful.

To quote John Schuhmann of NBA.com, "Even if all the moves don't work out perfectly for Toronto, at least Bosh knows team management wants to win, and is willing to do whatever it takes to surround him with talent. And next year, when he makes a decision about his future, Bosh may realize that not many teams can say the same."

BC's Final Talk Before the Draft

The NBA draft is this Thursday and Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo gave his final press conference before the draft today on Raptors NBA TV. The conference outlined Bryan's summer plans regarding the draft, free agency, and addressing the team's needs.

Bryan began the conference with talk of the draft. He explained that the trade for Reggie Evans has changed BC's draft wishes. He discussed that he "has a list" of 5 players from which he will choose one to draft (providing they will be available): Jrue Holiday, Jonny Flynn, DeMar DeRozan, Gerald Henderson, and James Johnson. Of those five, Johnson and Holiday have come back for additional private discussions. Bryan then discussed the shift in prospect scouting from an active, workout-based evaluation to a more conversation-based incorporative system, contrary to what Elvis Presley might have wanted (I will be surprised if anyone gets that reference). Bryan said that he feels he has a very strong impression of his prospects, stronger than the old style of scouting. BC also revealed that, save for a drastic change, the Raptors will not trade for any additional picks or move up, as "the asking price was too high to move up."

After the draft talk, Bryan then discussed free agency and the Mid-Level Exception. He explained that re-signing Shawn Marion is preferable because "he fits the team". However if he is unable to re-sign Mr. Matrix, he believes a sign and trade scenario would be best. BC also felt that the Raptors are solid with bigs. He discussed the development of Patrick O'Bryant, as he has shown flashes of what BC thought he could do. In the words of the GM, "the kid's got a chance." With the Mid-Level Exception, BC is looking to address the "wing uncertainty." If he were to draft a point guard, he would look to sign a wing, and vice versa. However with the futures of Marion, Anthony Parker, and Carlos Delfino all up in the air, no one can know how it will play out. A Raptor fan can only believe in the Architect, Bryan Colangelo.

The Rumor Mill

Despite the Raptors poor season, there is more buzz around them ever. What will Bryan Colangelo do this summer to shake up the team and get them back on track? The offseason itinerary for BC is no picnic. He will have to solve some serious coaching and personnel issues. Here's whats been making the headlines recently.

Headline 1: Toronto is expected to retain Jay Triano as head coach.
Bryan Colangelo told the Toronto Star, "I think it's safe to say, coming out of all of the player exit interviews, that to a man the players have a lot of respect for Jay, they respect his basketball acumen, they respect his professionalism, they respect his means of communication and they respect generally the way he leads this team." Backed up by Andrea Bargnani attributing his success to Triano, expect to see Jay around next year.

Headline 2: Bryan Colangelo will offer Chris Bosh a contract extension.
Chris Bosh is one of two 20 and 10 big men in the Association (the other being some guy named Dwight Howard), and is the franchise player for our beloved Raptors. Amongst season long rumors of Bosh leaving Toronto, BC looked to assure Raptor fans that CB4 is not going anywhere (for at least a year). "Chris is still the best player on this team and thus will remain the cornerstone of the franchise," Colangelo said Monday. "I will sit down and talk to him and his agent this summer about the possibility of signing an extension."

Headline 3: The Raptors have shown interest in Brandon Jennings.
Jennings, a projected top 10 pick in the upcoming draft, made the decision to forgo college and play a year in Europe before heading to the NBA. The lefty point guard averaged 7.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 19.6 minutes per game, in 16 games. He shot 38.7 percent from the field and 26.8% from 3 point range. Also, he has awesome hair.

Headline 4: The Raptors will look to sign and trade Shawn Marion.
The Raptors are interested in re-signing forward Shawn Marion (Bryan Colangelo needs someone to sit with at dinner), but hope to sign-and-trade him if they can't retain him over the long-term.
At the end of the Raptors season, Marion made it semi-clear that he wanted to play for a contender. Perhaps BC will try to sign and swing Marion for a higher draft pick.

Raptors' (Totally Accurate) Season in Review

The Raptors this year experienced a very successful season after swinging a big deal in the offseason to send malcontent T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic to Indiana. While Jermaine O'Neal exceeded expectations handily, averaging 18 points, 9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, 2008-09 Executive of the Year favourite Bryan Colangelo swung a deal to send O'Neal and Jamario Moon to Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks - both of whom experienced complete rennaissances in their own rights in Toronto. Marion put up a fantastic stat line rounding out the frontcourt with franchise player Chris Bosh and first-time All-Star Andrea Bargnani, and Marcus Banks assumed the backup shooting guard position behind First All-Defensive Team member Anthony Parker. Jose Calderon also qualified for his first career All-Star appearance (he insisted that he did not want other guards to feel left out, and refused to play), posting an average of 19 points and 10 assists per game. After the trade, the Raptors played extremely well as a team and, while they were unable to catch powerhouses Orlando, Boston and Cleveland, qualified for home-court advantage in the first round, losing to NBA champion favourite Philadelphia 76ers, led by Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala and above-average point guard Andre Miller. The 76ers battled injuries all season, when all three members of their core played, they went an astounding 23-1, led by all-around good guy Brand's monstrous 29 and 14 per game.

As well, the Raptors' future looks extremely bright, especially since CB4 has verbally committed to staying in Toronto for his entire career. Expect many accolades to come the Raptors' way this summer.

Raps Perform Magic Trick - 99-95 Raptors

In a stunning spoiler, the Raptors have pulled off a fifth straight win, this one over a team that is actually good. Led by spectacular showings by Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion and Jose Calderon, the Raps withstood the Magic's four-man attack of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson Rafer Alston, who combined for 83% (79 points) of the Magic's overall scoring. The game had 21 lead changes.

NBA.com Recap

Player of the Game:
Shawn Marion grabbed his first PH PotG nod with a nicely rounded box score of 17 points (8-13 FG, sickening 1-4 FT), 15 rebounds, 6 assists and one steal. He's been getting high-percentage shots, been active on the glass and is a very effective point-forward, and he's adapted well to the Raptors' system.

Notables:
Chris Bosh - 24 points (10-20 FG, 4-4 FT), 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers. Tough to resist giving Bosh the PotG nod, but 5 turnovers is even uglier than 25% free throw shooting. The two bigs brilliantly anchored the frontcourt with Andrea Bargnani's foul trouble.
Jose Calderon - 21 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-3 FT), 8 assists, 3 rebounds. Brutally efficient. What else is there to say?
Andrea Bargnani - 16 points (7-12 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT), 2 rebounds, 6 fouls in 25 minutes. Was scoring like he usually does, but was very hampered by foul trouble, having to deal with Superman and the Turkish Il Mago, Turkoglu. At least this isn't happening every day like last season, am I right?

Full box score

Stat of the Game:
The Raptors, helped along by Orlando's dismal (40.8%, 31-76) shooting, managed to outrebound the Magic by fourteen, and held Howard to just nine rebounds - though four of those were offensive, the team was boxed-out respectably by the Raptors, and the Magic recorded nine offensive boards to the Raps' ten.

Side Note:
Just to let you all in on a little secret, the +/- statistic in basketball is by far the stupidest stat ever. Jake Voskuhl, namesake of the act of "recording a Voskuhl", posted a horrific line of 0 points on 0-2 shooting (1 block against), 3 fouls and 2 rebounds in 6:37, yet he was +7. Someone please explain to me how he actually helped the Raptors. I will give you a chocolate bar nothing.