Built Ford Tough

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/66146/20100423/hornets_interested_in_doug_collins/#ixzz0lzI5Zbqq Honestly, I don't think that you can go wrong with any of the coaches listed in this quote, aside from maybe Budenholzer as I don't know anything about him. They are all good coaches in their own right who each bring their own style that could benefit the Hornets after a pretty disapointing season this year.

I know that I am usually pretty harsh on the Heat on here, mostly because I disagree with basically everything that Flash says and a fair amount of what Poe says , but I have to give them credit for a very gutsy performance tonight. I thought that they were going to pull it out at the end, but they were beat by a superior team on a last second shot. No harm in that. - Beasley played a very strong 4th quarter hitting some nice jumpers as well as grabbing a few tough rebounds in traffic. He had a nice shooting night, which is great to see if you are a Heat fan considering how poorly he played in the first two games of the series back in Boston. I still would like to see him be more aggressive on offense and not settle as much. I know that he isn't necessarily always utilized in a way that helps him get to the line or anything, but when he gets the ball and has players like Glen Davis on him and he doesn't look to attack him off of the dribble, well, lets just say that I can understand why some people get so frusturated with him. Luckily for the Heat his jumper was effective tonight so at least he was still scoring on these kinds of mismatches. - I thought that Chalmers played really well tonight from what I saw. He did a very good job of fighting through screens and keeping up with Allen off of the ball, which is definitely not an easy thing to do as Allen is superb at utilizing screens and getting open, whenever he was matched up with him. Allen did drop 25 points on 50% shooting, but I thought that the Heat, Chalmers in particular, did a really nice job of making him shoot tough shots. He only shot 4-11 from three and a majority of those misses were because of the defense that Chalmers played on him. - Haslem played well off of the bench as well. I didn't like that shot he took when the game was tied at 98 (I think it was 98) as he tried to do too much with the ball which resulted in an off balance jumper from him, which isn't exactly the kind of shot I would want to see from Haslem in a tied game. Outside of that though, I thought he did a good job of converting on his opportunities and providing the Heat with good hustle both offensively and defensively. - Wright played one of the best games I have seen from him. When I hear Poe and Flash rave about how good Wright is I always chalk it up to homerism on their part, and I still do somewhat, but I can see where they are coming from a bit more now (I still think that there is a fair amount of homerism involved though, haha). He did a good job of hitting open shots from the perimeter, but he wasn't just spotting up as he did a nice job of creating for his teamamtes with his 5 assists, which gave the Heat's offense more diversity rather than just relying on Wade to do anything. He got to the line a team high 5 times tonight, which is something that the Heat need to do more of. I thought he did a pretty good job on Pierce as well, despite the fact that Pierce scored 32 points tonight and there was only a couple times where I thought he played bad defense. Unfortunately for Miami, one of those times just happened to be on the final possession of the game. - Ironically enough, I thought that Wade played pretty poorly tonight. I know that he had 34 points and 8 assists tonight, but I wasn't really too impressed with his performance. I thought that he settled way too much tonight and was too passive on offense. There is absolutely no reason at all that Wade should attempt 11 three pointers in a game. When Wade is settling for long range jumpers not only is he taking a low percentage shot, considering his inconsistent 3 point shot, but he is making the Heat's offense easy to defend as nobody else is getting the great looks that they normally do off of his penetration. Don't get me wrong, he didn't have a terrible game, but I wasn't really all that impressed with the way that he played tonight. After watching the first 3 games of this series on and off, I know understand why the Heat were trying to throw that game against the Nets in order to fall to 6th and play the Hawks. The Celtics are just a terrible matchup for the Heat because of the style of play that they play is so similar to the way that the Heat play. All of the things that the Heat do well, the Celtics do almost all of those things better than the Heat do. I can definitely see why the Heat would've rathered to play the Hawks in the first round instead.

What a stupid shot by Wade. He had a decent look at it and all, but there is no reason why he should take a pull up three when Ray Allen is defending him, especially when you consider that you had Wright who had just knocked down a huge three earlier, Beasly who has been effective in the quarter and Haslem who has a very good short corner jumper. Add to the fact that Wade isn't really a great three point shooter either. He definitely should've attacked Allen off of the bounce and if the defense collapses, then you kick it out for a three pointer. EDIT: And Pierce hits a step back jumper from about 20 feet over Wright to give the Celtics the 100-98 victory and a commanding 3-0 series win. Wright can't let Pierce go to his right there. You have to force him left and take away that hard dribble to his right step back move that Pierce is so good at.

What is wrong with having more than one project on the team, especially if the Raptors lose Bosh in the offseason and are going to be completely irrelevant when it comes to the playoff picture for the next 5 years anyways? I agree with you that they should trade the pick if they think that Bosh is gone (assuming they can use it along with Banks and Evans expiring deals to land a good piece), but if Bosh is leaves there is absolutely no way in hell that Colangelo should trade the pick. Adding cheap assets like a draft pick is essential to a team that is going to rebuild, which is most likely what is going to happen with the Raptors. Being able to control a player like Udoh, Whiteside, George, etc... for the next 4 years or so while they aren't making much is very important to the Raptors considering Bargnani, Turkoglu and Calderon will be making $30M a season for the next 4. So unless the Raptors are including this pick in a package for somebody like Iguodala or Ellis or a legit 35 minute a night point guard on draft day, there is no way that they should trade the pick in my mind. What do you guys think about Paul George? I know that the Raptors already have DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems and Hedo Turkoglu that play the 2/3 spots and he might not be as good of a fit for the Raptors as a center like Whiteside would be, but I really like his potential. I think that he could become a Trevor Ariza or Nicolas Batum type of player. Acquiring an athletic defender who has nice length and can hit shots on offense would be an awesome addition to the team as far as I am concerned. Plus he is only 20 years old and still has plenty of room to develop and add to his game.

Looks like Corey Joseph is going to be joining Tristan Thompson at Texas next season. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/news/story?id=5130568 I don't really follow a specific college team as I tend to just focus in on some of my favourite prospects and try to catch as many games of theirs as I can, which is why I took an interest in Ohio State (Evan Turner) this past season and USC the two seasons before (DeMar DeRozan and OJ Mayo), and with both Joseph and Thompson playing for Texas next season, it looks like that is where I will focus my college basketball attention on. I definitely want to catch out players like Barnes, Knight, Selby and Sullinger as much as I can as well, so I will try to watch as many UNC, Kentucky, Kansas and OSU games as well.

I imagine that the Heat are going to win at leastone game at home during this series, but I honestly have no idea if that will be this game or the next one. Wade is going to end up stealing a game for the Heat sometime in this series. I think that getting out of Boston and playing at home is going to be good for the Heat. A young, inexperienced player like Beasley as he won't have to deal with a hostile Boston crowd.. O'Neal hasn't exactly been the strongest player mentally throughout his career, even dating back to when he was in his prime physically and was one of the best power forwards in the NBA, so getting out of Boston, where he played like absolute [expletive], is definitely a positive thing for O'Neal. Then again, Beasley and O'Neal are both so inconsistent and unreliable that it really is hard to make any sort of predictions in regards to them. If Allen is hitting from downtown like he was in Game 2 the Heat are going to be in some serious trouble though. When the Celtics are playing relentless defense and Allen is converting from deep, they are a dangerous team like we saw in Game 2.

Link Did anybody really expect Brown to consider going back and coaching the Clippers? I know that kept on hearing rumors about it, and I would've liked to see it happen, but I don't think that anybody really expected Brown and the Clippers to have a reunion.

Also, he may undergo surger this summer on his ankle that was bothering him off and on for the majority of the 2nd half of the season. And, lastly, he won't be playing with Italy this summer. Link I've never heard of the website before, so I don't know exactly how reliable this site is. As for the comments, it is nice to see Bargnani showing confidence and wanting to take on a larger role with the team should Bosh leave. It is also very good to hear that he is commited to the Raptors and will not play for Italy this summer as there are questions about his ankle and what not. On the other hand, a team with Andrea Bargnani as it's premier player is going to be a difficult team to watch.

Terrible decision by Korver there. There is absolutely no way that he should be trying to put the ball on the floor there. Did Nene get outside of the restricted zone there though? He made up for it by drawing the charge on Billups though. Melo fouls out of the game there. Tough call to foul out on.

To be perfectly honest, I think that my best case scenario as a Raptors fan this offseason would be for the Raptors and Rockets make a sign and trade involving Chris Bosh. As much as I appreciate what Bosh has done for the Raptors in his 7 years with the team, and as much as I like him as a player (when he is playing to the best of his abilities and not settling), I think it might be in the best interest of both teams if they weren't their seperate ways. I won't complain if he re-signs, obviously, but I don't think I will really care all that much if he leaves either, especially if the Raptors get some valuable assets to rebuild in return. I don't know what Houston would be offering in a sign and trade scenario, but I definitely am intrigued by an offer that would possibly include assets like the Knicks '11 pick and '12 pick and the expiring contracts of Battier/Jeffries, as well as young player like Hill (Brooks doesn't really seem like he would leave). I don't think that Colangelo really believes Bosh is worth a $130M contract, and to be honest with you, I don't really think that Bosh is worth it either. Obviously he is a star player and is going to get that money as that is the way that the market is breaking down, but I question whether or not it is in the Raptors best interest to hand over a max deal to Bosh. Since you guys are much more aware of what Houston would be willing to give up in a S&T, what do you think the kind of offer that Houston would present to Colangelo for Bosh? And, most importantly of all, how much interest would the Rockets have in Bosh? I imagine they would be interested but would it be enough to give him a max deal as well as give up valuable assets for?

I don't get some people. You constantly hear people whine and cry about how the league is so watered down, not physical enough, players are fake and robotic, don't show enough emotion, blah blah blah, yet whenever somebody shows any kind of emotion, talks any sort of trash, plays physical or does any of the things that people constantly whine and cry about, that person gets hated on. LeBron is talking crap the Bulls bench and Moon is acting cocky after hitting dagger 3's to seal the game for the Cavs and people are complaining? Give me a damn break. Who cares if the Bulls were a .500 team and the Cavs were the best team in the league? Does that mean that the Cavs can't show any emotion during a game or talk a little trash. Joakim Noah is allowed to talk [expletive] and scream like a lunatic after every basket he scores, but LeBron isn't allowed to give the Bulls bench a wink or a smug smirk after hitting contested jumpers right in front of the bench (who is probably talking smack to him while he is playing)? Seriously, seeing people [expletive] and moan about players talking smack or acting cocky is completely pathetic. The majority of the most idolized players in the history of the NBA are without a doubt the cockiest mother [expletive]ers and talk trash from the minute the game starts yet these people are revered and respected while players like Kobe, LeBron, Garnett, Artest, Pierce etc... get hated on non stop for being cocky, arrogant pricks, or in KG's, PP's and Artest's cases, a wannabe thug. Seriously, do you do anything on here other than try and start crap involving LeBron? Of course it is you that makes comments like this and of course you have to bring up Kobe in a thread that has absolutely nothing to do with him. You can't even have a mature discussion about anythign to do with Kobe or LeBron on here anymore. It is absolutely pathetic the agendas that some people have on here.

How can you say that Garnett started [expletive] with Richardson for no reason? It is hilarious that you just called somebody bias two posts ago and then go ahead and type something like that. Richardson walked up to Garnett and Pierce, who was lying on the floor hurt (whether he was faking it or not is completey irrelevant), talking trash to them. Garnett pushed him a little bit to clear space and to give his hurt (again, completely irrelevant as to whether or not he was faking it) space, and then Richardson says something to Garnett again, which led to the elbow, which shouldn't even be called an elbow with how weak it was. There is absolutely no doubt that Garnett is the guiltiest person in this scenario, and after seeing the 2nd elbow that he threw I completely agree that he deserves to be suspended for game 2, but to act like Richardson is some innocent victim in this whole situation is just wrong. If he doesn't walk over there, when he clearly knows that they won't be inbounding the ball with an injured player lying on the sidelines, and start talking trash, this entire situation doesn't even happen. Garnett deserves most of the blame for overreacting to the situation (I still believe that he didn't do anything wrong up until the 2nd elbow, and even then, it is hard to blame him for that elbow with it being in the heat of the moment and having people grabbing him), but Richardson definitely played a part in this as well and you are being a homer if you think otherwise.

Eh, I don't know if I can agree with you on your first point. I used to think that Bargnani's rebounding numbers were because of a lack of desire as well, but after watching him during this season and seeing how completely clueless he is when it comes to rebounding, I think a lot of his shortcomings on the glass is due to a lack of ability as well. I won't get into much detail as travesy basically said what I was going to say in response to your point, but if you watch Bargnani when a shot goes up, he really doesn't look like he knows what to do and just looks awkward. Obviously a lack of effort plays a part in this as well, but I don't think that you can say that it is the only reason for it. I would attribute it to about 70% of lack of talent and 30% lack of effort. Out of curiousty though, what do you think Bargnani's ceiling is? I keep on hear you talking about his ceiling and I'm interested in what exactly you think his ceiling is as a player.

Dirk was also 21 years old and in his 2nd season in the NBA, while Bargnani is 24 years old and in his 4th season in the NBA. In Dirk's 4th season in the league he averaged 9.9 a game. Compare that to Toronto this season who had Chris Bosh grab Really though, how many players, aside from Dirk, have noticably increased their rebounding after coming into the league? I'm not talking about making a jump from 8 boards a game in his rookie season to 10 boards a game in his sophomore season after he added 10 pounds of muscle and got accustomed to the league or something like that. Dirk increased his rebounding from 6.5 in his 2nd season to 9.2 in his third season. Off of the top of my head, I can't recall any other similar rebounding jumps that didn't involved somebody playing 10 more minutes a game or something. Bargs is also bigger than Dirk is at 7'0, 250 pounds, and Bargnani is more athletic than Dirk is as well, which makes it even more disapointing. Seeing Dirk's rebounding numbers in his 2nd season being better than Bargnani's in his 4th season, while being smaller and less athletic than Bargs doesn't really give me too much hope. I don't expect Bargs to continue to put up historically bad rebounding numbers or anything, but I think that him grabbing even 8 rebounds a game during a season for his career may even be unrealistic. The guy is just an attrocious and lazy rebounder. Those two do not mix.

.... That is exactly the point. There are no players in the history of the NBA who are above 7 feet tall, played at least 35 minutes a game and averaged lower than the 6.2 rpg that Bargnani did this season. Hence the reason for no matches in the search parameters of: For single seasons, in the regular season, from 1946-47 to 2009-10, from 7-0 to 7-7, requiring Rebounds Per Game <= 6.3 and Minutes Per Game >= 35 There are no matches because nobody has ever done it, aside from Andrea Bargnani this season.

This season we saw Kevin Durant become the youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring. We also saw Steve Nash become the oldest player in NBA history to lead the league in assists. Both of these two had historical seasons, but did anybody else realize that Andrea Bargnani had a historical season of his own north of the border? Andrea Bargnani's 6.2 rebounds per game is the single lowest average in NBA history by a 7 footer who played at least 35 minutes a game. There is literally no 7 footer who put up worse rebounding numbers in at least 35 minutes of action in the history of the NBA than Andrea Bargnani did this season. http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&type=totals&per_minute_base=48&is_playoffs=N&year_min=1947&year_max=2010&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=84&height_max=91&lg_id=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=&qual=&c1stat=mp_per_g&c1comp=gt&c1val=35&c2stat=trb_per_g&c2comp=lt&c2val=6.2&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=trb_per_g There is the proof. I didn't realize that the Raptors were witnessing a historical performance by one of their own this season. How awesome is that?

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5091385 I didn't watch a lot of Clipper games this season, but I did watch around 10-15 games of theirs this season and from what I saw, I completely agree with Hughes' comments on Kaman and Davis. One thing that I always thought to myself was that Kaman is absolutely terrible at reading where the double team is coming from and is equally as terrible at reacting to the double. He is very slow when he is passing out of the double, and because of this it allows opposing defenses to be able to recover and close out on the perimeter shooters. If he was more decive on the catch and was able to react to the double team quicker, I definitely think that the Clipeprs would've got a lot more open looks on the perimeter and Kaman wouldn't have an assist to turnover ratio of basically 1:2. I imagine it would've helped the Clipprs score more than 95 points a game and shoot only 45 and 33 percent from the field and three respectively (20th and 27th in the NBA). Kaman took huge strides forward in his game this season, that is undeniable. He showed the ability to be a top 5-8 center in the NBA and showed that he can be relied upon for around 18-9 night in and night out. I'm not going to hate on him for his rebounding or anything because he did play a large part of the season with Marcus Camby grabbing 12 boards a game, but I definitely agree with Hughes when saying that Kaman isn't suited to be a number one option and that he struggle mightily with reading and reacting to double teams. He hit the nail on the head with Davis as well. Davis can talk about being a leader all that he wants, but ultimately it is his actions and not his words that need to shine through. Since coming to the Clippers, Davis has been a huge disapointment. He is averaging 15.1 ppg / 7.9 apg on 38.8% shooting and is attempting 4.5 three pointers a game despite shooting only 29% from three. However, he did improve a bit after the All-Star break and after Dunleavy was fired, whch isn't exactly saying much considering how poorly he has been playing since coming to the Clippers. He has to re-commit himself to getting into shape and playing the kind of 2 way basketball that he did in his final year with the Warriors if he wants to be looked at as a leader though. He can talk all he wants, but he needs to put in the work this summer and come back motivated next year if he wants to be looked at as a leader.

I found these quotes on RealGM message board so I don't have a link. All that was posted with them was saying that they were from the Detroit News. The only player listed here that I think would have any real value in a trade would be Tayshaun Prince. He is a good defender, great when motivated, can contribute offensively with his ability to hit shots, post up and play a bit of a facilitating role as well. Best case scenario for a team trading for Prince is that they get the great two way player that he was when the Pistons were among the league's elite. Worst case scenario for a team trading for Prince is that he sucks next season and they simply let him expire at the end of the season. I think that trading for Prince would be worth the gamble if a team is looking to acquire a defensive 3 who can chip in on offense as well. As for the rest of the people mentioned, I don't see them getting much of anything. If they move Hamitlon, they will have to take on an equally bad contract in return without getting anything of value. Same can be said of Charlie V. If you were Joe Dumars, what kind of approach would you take to this offseason? Last season he took a lot of heat for handing out inflated contracts to players who simply didn't look like they would fit on the team, and skeptics were proven right after this year. He definitely has some work to do this offseason if he is going to fix the mess that he created last year.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/66049/20100418/okur_out_three_to_six_months/#ixzz0lUCyS1V0 Big blow to the Jazz. Even if Okur hasn't played that great this season, his ability to space the floor opens up the lane for Boozer to work down low, Williams to attack from the top of the circle and it gives the Boozer/Williams pick and roll so much more room to work with as well. I don't have any doubts that Williams and Boozer are still going to be able to get theirs, but without Okur and Kirilenko in the lineup, you have to wonder if they have enough secondary talent to win this series.

No, apparently it takes incredible bias to think that the Heat blew the game. And the Heat didn't blow a 14 point lead down the stretch, unless you consider more than a third of the game the stretch or something. The Heat had a 14 point lead with about 7 minutes left in the third quarter, which was about 29 minutes into the game. That left 19 minutes, basically 40% of the game, left. The Heat didn't blow a 14 point lead down the stretch. They lost the 14 point lead with basically 40% of the game left to play. Even then, the Heat were held to 39.7% shooting, scored 32 points in the 2nd half (around 23 points in the final 19 minutes or so of the game and 10 in the 4th quarter) and turned the ball over 20 times. I'm sorry but I just don't see how anybody can think that the Heat blew this game and somehow gave it away to the Celtics. Apparently I'm not intelligent enough. Boston outplayed the Heat throughout the 2nd half, outscoring them by 12 points after being outscored by 3 in the half. But no, the Heat choked this game away and gave it to the Celtics. It is definitely reasonable to say that the Heat were intimidated by the Celtics defense. I can see where you are coming from with that comment. However, to act like the reason why the Heat stopped penetrating and driving to the rim on offense and were settling to just swing the ball around the horn is because they were intimidated is, simply put, not telling the whole story. Sure, I definitely think that is played a part in it all, but the biggest reason why they stopped driving to the hoop is because of the fact that they simply couldn't penetrate the Celtics defense. They had absolutely no driving lanes throughout the majority of the 2nd half of the game, so they couldn't do anything other than swing the ball. When you are facing the kind of defensive intensity that the Heat faced in the 2nd half of that game, you can't get to the hoop because of the intensity that you are facing, whether you are intimidated or not. They didn't throw the game away either, the Celtics ripped it away from them based off of their superb play in the 2nd half. I t's not like they were playing the Raptors and getting countless open looks and easy baskets that they simply didn't convert on and that is the reason they lost. They stopped scoring because Boston played the kind of defense that made them the 2008 NBA Champions and a team that many considered to be the favourites in the East heading into last season and even this season. Your last comment is just wrong as far as I am concerned though. You attribute O'Neal, Beasley and Wright's struggles in this game to the fact that they missed shots that they usually make and don't make any reference to the amazing defense that the Celtics played, yet you go ahead and say that Pierce, Allen and Garnett (and probably Rondo) struggles is due to the Heat's defense. I don't disagree that the Heat played very good defense on the best Celtic players, but to simply say that O'Neal, Beasley and Wright struggled because they didn't hit shots that they usually do, and not even mention the Celtics defense is a joke. Even if the Celtics defense had no reason to with these three Heat players struggling, O'Neal, Beasley and Wright are notoriously inconsistent anyways, so its not like this was something out of hte norm anyways. Like Wade did?

An epic collapse? No, that was called the Celtics completely locking down the Heat. The Heat didn't collapse in this game. The Celtics just played defense like it was the 2008 Finals and absolutely shut down Wade while the rest of the Heat couldn't do anything. The Celtics gave Wade absolutely no driving lanes to work with after his great start, forced him into contested jump shots and when they weren't forcing him into contested jumpers, they forced the ball out of his hands and did a great job of contesting the jumpers that the Heat took. The Celtics didn't give the Heat any open looks or easy baskets all second half. The defense that they played in the final third of the game was the reason why they won. Are you saying that you don't think the Celtics, a top 5 defensive team in the NBA, are capable of playing this kind of defense all series long? That is basically what it sounds like with the posts you have made in this thread. If the Celtics are motivated, they are more than capable of playing this kind of stifiling defense all series long, and the Heat perimeter players better start hitting jumpers or else it will be a short series. I shouldn't expect you to give credit to the Celtics and make it seem like they were given the game by the Heat instead of earning the win like they certainly did, but I find it completely laughable that you say that it took an "epic collapse" by the Heat to lose game 1. You literally give no credit to the Celtics for playing unbelieveable defense, which is the real reason why the Heat lost this game, not some "epic collapse". You also completely brush off the fact that Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen shot a combined 10-32 from the field, by acting like it is a normal occurance for these three, who shot 47%, 51% and 48% respectively during the regular season, which is completely false. The bottom line is that the Heat did not have an "epic collapse" in this game. They were shut down by a terrific defensive effort by the Celtics. There is a difference, in case you didn't know. Man, I can't believe it. I have defended the Celtics twice in this thread and was cheering for a Celtic win last week. What the hell is going on?

So I guess I'm the only one that liked seeing Garnett give Richardson a little shot there? It's the playoffs, your best player is lying down hurt and a member of the opposing team starts walking towards him, your first reaction is going to be to get that guy away from your teammate. Also, who knows what Richardson was even saying to Garnett/Pierce? I know that it is going to be pointless for me to defend Garnett's actions considering his history and the amount of hate that he gets for every thing, but I honestly don't think that he did anything wrong there. Good on him for getting Richardson away from his injured teammate. I do think that the second elbow looked pretty bad though. There is absolutely no way that Garnett should be suspended though. EDIT: The best part of that entire sequence was seeing the 90 year old Dick Bavetta trying to seperate the players. I'm surprised he wasn't injured.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/66006/20100416/mlse_willing_to_pay_luxury_tax_if_bosh_stays/ While I love the fact that it finally looks like MLSE is willing to spend the neceessary amount of money that you need to spend in order to win games (assuming Bosh comes back), I just question why the hell they haven't been willing to spend the money that it takes to win in this league for the past decade? The last time that MLSE really gave the green light to the GM to spend was when the Raptors needed to extend Carter after that playoff series against Philly. They gave Carter, Davis and Jerome and Alvin Williams contract extensions, but ever since then, MLSE has had a lock on their wallets. Again, I love the fact that they are willing to spend into the luxury tax and all, but I just don't understand why they have been so cheap over the last 9 years. They are the 2nd richest ownership group (behind MSG) after all.

Marginal at best. It is basically like asking who the better player is between Ekpe Udoh, Patrick Patterson, Hassan Whiteside, Daniel Orton (I think he might be worth the gamble actually), Paul George, Xavier Henry, Jan Vesely and Donatas Motiejunas. Can you honestly say that between this group of players that one clearly stands out more than the others or one doesn't belong with the others? I guess you could say that Orton doesn't really belong based on his play this season, but I am intrigued by him. He was a bit of a homer pick for me, but other than him, you get my point. An interesting question comes up when talking about the Raptors draft though. How much should their approach to this years draft change if they know that Bosh is going to leave or stay? If Bosh stays should they pick the BPA or should they look to fill a hole and take somebody who would be a better fit on the team, but may not have as much of an upside? If Bosh leaves should they look to draft somebody like Ekpe Udoh or Hassan Whiteside to replace him even though Xavier Henry or Paul George might be the better players? This is assuming that the Raptors somehow manage to convince Bosh to stay and retain their draft pick, which I find highly unlikely.

And who exactly do you propose to trade him for? Elton Brand? Gilbert Arenas? Those are basically the only two guys that you would be able to trade Turkoglu for. Nobody is going to touch his contract and the only way that you can dump him is if you are taking on a worse contract than his. Unless some GM loses his mind, the Raptors are going to be stuck with Turkoglu for the next 4 seasons, might as well get used to it.