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The Official 2007/2008 Toronto Raptors and NBA Thread

Well, the draft has just happened, which IMO is more or less the start of the new season. This years draft was a really good one and there have already been some blockbuster moves. One's that directly affect the Raps as the east has just gotten significantly stronger. Ray Allen, Zach Randolph, and Jason Richardson are all coming to the east now. That is 3 extra all star caliber players put on teams where they can definately push them over the brink and into respectibility. I think Colangelo needs to do some tinkering or the Raps are going to be hard pressed to match last season's success. Especially in their division. Ray Allen has always been a huge handful for the Raps to handle and they definately do not have the defensive presence to guard Pierce, Allen, and Jefferson. They already get banged around bigtime by the Knicks and this is only going to worsen now that Randolph is in the picture. While the Raps are solid, they got lucky last season on behalf of other teams bad luck. With a healthy Knicks and Celtics, each with another all star added to their roster.......

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TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto Raptors didn't have a pick and sat tight through most of the NBA draft before making a late move to tweak their roster Thursday night. President and GM Bryan Colangelo traded his team's second-round 2008 pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Greek forward Giorgos Printezis. The 6-9 small forward averaged 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds last season with Olympia Larissa. The 22-year-old Printezis, who is at Madison Square Garden for the draft, was considered one of the top young players in the Greek League. Colangelo is turning his sights squarely on free agency, which begins Sunday, to further revise the roster. "We've got free agency on our mind right now," Colangelo said after the first round of the draft wound up. "Our sole focus is preparing for Saturday night, Sunday morning at 12:01 (when teams can negotiate with free agents). "We want to be active, we want to try to move quickly in terms of reaching out to various free agents." With no pick in the draft this year, Colangelo and the Raptors found themselves in an unfamiliar position as spectators. Last year at this time, the Raptors were the centre of attention, holding the No. 1 pick, which Colangelo used it to take Italian forward Andrea Bargnani. Thus began a major off-season overhaul, and the revamped team went on to capture its first Atlantic Division title and make the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. "We like what we have with this team," Colangelo said. "It got down to the point where there were very few players we were excited about, looking at where we could jump in." Colangelo, who's known as a fearless wheeler and dealer, spent draft night working the phones at the Air Canada Centre. He said he received offers for picks in the first round, but nothing worth the price. "We did have a few deals come up that were somewhat interesting," Colangelo said. "I would tell you a couple of the ones that were top-10 or near the top-10 were things we just felt were a little bit too rich for the value that was coming back." Jose Calderon was the one Raptor that was hotly sought after, but Colangelo had said he wasn't about to part with the Spanish point guard. The Raptors were interested in acquiring a pick late in the first round - they were rumoured to have had their eyes on Italian Marco Bellinelli, and Spaniards Rudy Fernandez and Tiago Splitter - but nothing came to fruition. Action will now heat up for Colangelo in the wee hours Sunday morning when free agency begins. "We have targeted one or two we want to focus on and address some of the things we're talking about," said Colangelo. Among the players the Raptors are believed to be interested in: Orlando's Grant Hill, Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State's Mickael Pietrus and James Posey of the Miami Heat, reportedly. Both of Toronto's 2007 picks were traded away long ago. Charlotte acquired Toronto's first-round pick in 2002 as part of the deal that sent Michael (Yogi) Stewart to Cleveland for Lamond Murray, while Portland held the Raptors' second-round pick in a deal that went back to 1997. In what was touted as a deep draft, the Portland Trail Blazers took seven-foot Ohio State centre Greg Oden with the top pick. The Seattle SuperSonics took Texas forward Kevin Durant at No. 2, while Florida forward Al Horford went third overall to the Atlanta Hawks.

Source

The Raptors definitely need to do some signing this weekend. There's a lot of rumours going around that Colangelo wants Pietrus, but I've heard some mixed things about him.

Jason Kapono signed for $24 million/4 years

I don't know if he's worth 6 million a year but this guy is going to open up so much space for Bosh to drive to the basket. He shot 54% from 3 last season which was highest in the league by a mile. Can't wait for next season.

That was one good season though. Colangelo really has a lot of faith in him to sign him to 6 mil/year. i don't like how the raptors are becoming more and more a pure offense team though.

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Originally posted by infinity HiGH That was one good season though. Colangelo really has a lot of faith in him to sign him to 6 mil/year.

But i WOULD trust Colangelo

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i don't like how the raptors are becoming more and more a pure offense team though.

This, however, i completely agree with

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Originally posted by TheVrk But i WOULD trust Colangelo

+1

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This, however, i completely agree with

+1

Still waiting for that SF who'll plug the gap on perimeter D and PF/C that can rebound and be monster in the paint defensively

I wouldn't put Colangelo on such a high pedestal guys. Yes, the man is a genius, but he makes mistakes. Every great GM does. I'm not saying this is one of those mistakes, but I'm a little hesitant about putting that much faith in this signing.

I guess we'll just "wait and see"

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Originally posted by infinity HiGH I wouldn't put Colangelo on such a high pedestal guys. Yes, the man is a genius, but he makes mistakes. Every great GM does. I'm not saying this is one of those mistakes, but I'm a little hesitant about putting that much faith in this signing. I guess we'll just "wait and see"

Yeah, no point and complaning or anything right now...we'll wait and see how things turn out...but I definitely agree that we need to focus on some defense and maybe getting some decent rebounders insteand of the 3-pt shooters!

Should be another intersting season!

I really think they need to improve their rebounding, Bosh is fine in this department at PF, but if Bargnani is going to start at center this year like I think he is, he is pretty weak in this department. I expect he will improve a bit but since he likes being on the perimeter so much he is never going to be a monster on the boards. In that case we need a SF who can rebound as well...Corey Maggette has averaged around 6 boards for the last few years, not too bad at the swingman position.

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Originally posted by lazy haze I really think they need to improve their rebounding, Bosh is fine in this department at PF, but if Bargnani is going to start at center this year like I think he is, he is pretty weak in this department. I expect he will improve a bit but since he likes being on the perimeter so much he is never going to be a monster on the boards. In that case we need a SF who can rebound as well...Corey Maggette has averaged around 6 boards for the last few years, not too bad at the swingman position.

Maggette's got a bit of attitude problem though.

a big HELL NO to Maggette. right now there are no 'problems' on the Raps and they should keep it that way.

Kapono is a good signing, IMHO, although that is a lot of cash to throw at a relatively unproven player...though if he continues to improve, or at least maintains last year's averages, it could also be a bit of a bargain down the road. He is only 26 too.

to say the least, the guy can shoot...almost 50% from the floor and lead the league in 3pt% last year...also a great free throw shooter. He's also only 26, so probably hasn't 'peaked'. He should really help to stretch out the opposition defense because you really can't leave him to double someone else.

I see at least another move coming though...and with Kapono and Jackson on board, I can easily see Joey Graham being shipped out for another PF. Maybe even packaged in a 'sign and trade' involving MoPete?

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Originally posted by MarkT I see at least another move coming though...and with Kapono and Jackson on board, I can easily see Joey Graham being shipped out for another PF. Maybe even packaged in a 'sign and trade' involving MoPete?

I think sign and trade involving MoPete is going to get the most value, unless Colangelo ships Calderon off because of a deal that he can't refuse.

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Originally posted by infinity HiGH I wouldn't put Colangelo on such a high pedestal guys. Yes, the man is a genius, but he makes mistakes. Every great GM does. I'm not saying this is one of those mistakes, but I'm a little hesitant about putting that much faith in this signing. I guess we'll just "wait and see"

We can speculate all we want, cause its just fun, but at this point (early July) all we CAN do is "wait and see"

well MoPete apparently is signing with New Orleans...4 year deal.

interesting, since they tried to sign him in '04 when he was a restricted free agent, but the Raps matched the offer.

So the Raps lineup appears complete (for now)...I'm rather impressed and optomistic. Ford, Parker, Garbo, Bargnani and Bosh are the likely starting 5...with Calderon, Delfino, Kapono, Rasho and Graham off the bench. I bet Humphries pushes the front court hard for minutes and I wonder how Luke Jackson figures into the mix now that Kapono is here. Dixon is barely going to play, but is nice to have in case someone gets hurt.

The Raps have more depth than ever (more than most teams in the league, I'd say) and without a radical overhaul to the lineup. So many players can play multiple positions that even one or two injuries shouldn't be *that* big of a deal.

While they're still lacking a solid rebounder and aren't going to be the most defensively sound team on the floor, the offense looks pretty damn solid.

my office is getting hyped for our 3rd year of Yahoo Fantasy Hoops I think we should start one here for anyone who is serious and willing to put in the time to at least manage their lineup once per week. If no one else does, I'll start a thread once it's up on Yahoo's site and see if there's interest.

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Originally posted by MarkT well MoPete apparently is signing with New Orleans...4 year deal. interesting, since they tried to sign him in '04 when he was a restricted free agent, but the Raps matched the offer.

I wish him good luck with his new team. He's always going to be a quality player and he deserves a new start.

I think he'll fit in nicely at NO too.

Damn. I am going to miss MoPete circus shots.

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While they're still lacking a solid rebounder and aren't going to be the most defensively sound team on the floor, the offense looks pretty damn solid.

This is what's going to stop the Raps from going deep into playoffs. I dunno if Mitchell and Colangelo is banking on Bargnani dramatically upping his defence and rebounding (and Bargnani will improve) or another trade is in the works but this area in the Raps has hurt them the most last year and I'm not happy that this has not been rectified yet.

I like Garbo but I think the Raps can do better on SF position.

Well, still long time to season I suppose.

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my office is getting hyped for our 3rd year of Yahoo Fantasy Hoops I think we should start one here for anyone who is serious and willing to put in the time to at least manage their lineup once per week. If no one else does, I'll start a thread once it's up on Yahoo's site and see if there's interest.

Fantasy hoops is always fun. If not for just bragging rights.

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Chuck Swirsky We could know today whether the Raptors will secure the services of Maceo Baston who signed an offer sheet with the team a week ago, but Baston has until Monday to report to Toronto to finalize the offer. If the Pacers elect not to match the two year deal the Raptors will pick up an athletic, shot blocking big man who can run the floor and finish around the rim. Baston's acquisition will benefit the Raptors in the front court with his versatility but he is an outstanding character person as well. I had the pleasure of watching Maceo at the University of Michigan and he is a class act.

Is this the Raps big man that'll fill in the defensive gap?

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Originally posted by EvilTree Is this the Raps big man that'll fill in the defensive gap?

This would be an excellent deal for the team. Looking at whats been going on in the East, specifically the Atlantic, we'll definitely have our work cut out for us next year.

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Originally posted by infinity HiGH This would be an excellent deal for the team.

Is this confirmed? Did Indiana decline to match Toronto's offer? I can't find the answer anywhere....

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Originally posted by SuperJimbo Is this confirmed? Did Indiana decline to match Toronto's offer? I can't find the answer anywhere....

Not confirmed. Until Monday for Indiana to match and this dude to show up in Toronto to finalize things

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Originally posted by EvilTree Not confirmed. Until Monday for Indiana to match and this dude to show up in Toronto to finalize things

Just in...

Thursday, July 19, 2007
Baston heading to Raptors after Pacers don't match offer sheet
Associated Press

TORONTO -- The wait is over for Maceo Baston and the Toronto Raptors. The Indiana Pacers declined to match the offer sheet given to Baston by the Raptors last week, so the 31-year-old restricted free agent can now report to Toronto for a physical and to sign the deal that is reportedly worth $3.8 million over two years.

"We're happy to get another piece falling into place," Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo told The Canadian Press. "We feel he should be another key ingredient in the mix we already have."

The 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward averaged 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 47 games with Indiana last season. He also played sparingly in 16 games with the Raptors during the 2002-03 season, averaging 2.6 points.

After that initial stint with Toronto, Baston found success overseas with Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he teamed with Raptors swingman Anthony Parker to help the team capture two Euroleague titles (2004 and '05) and three Israeli Premier League championships ('04-06).
The athletic forward averaged 14.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in his Premier League play with Maccabi and 13.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in Euroleague action.

Fuckin right. Take that Boston and NJ!

Sweet, I'm so pumped for this season it's not even funny.

I don't know that Baston is any better than Humphries, but he's decent and adds to the depth of the Raps up front, which is exactly what they needed. Good pickup though, especially for less than 2 mil. a year...bargain, IMHO.

Joey Graham is going to be hard pressed for playing time (which is good...maybe that's the motivation he needs to become consistent).

KG to Boston.

Boston now has KG, Pierce and Allen

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