[19-28] 'Saur Losers | Retired

[Lamrock]

Starting to think people just Ctrl-F "Thierry" these days. Rest of the off-season's forthcoming. Also, there are just two spots left in the 2012 draft class. Stunned by its popularity.

Stay tuned, party peoples.

[|)e8*]

Funny shit man

[dare]

Another hilarious chapter

[Martti.]

Awesome stuff with Albano Sneijder! That cracked me up.

[Oznogrd]

Good stuff lamrock: since im catching this one from the beginning i may actually be able to follow it.

Hooray Turkoglu!

[buzzy]

Good stuff lamrock: since im catching this one from the beginning i may actually be able to follow it.

Same here, trying to follow it and actually leave some messages for this one ..

Keep it up, funny stuff so far.

[Lamrock]

Raptors Acquire Diaw, Barbosa In 5 Team, 13 Player Trade
Calderon Heading To Charlotte, Reggie Evans To Dallas

July 13, 2010 - The three-day trade saga seems to be coming to an end. At first, it appeared that we had converted our worst contracts (Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon) into Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler. Then Hedo failed his physical, Jordan decided to trade Chandler to Dallas instead and all went to hell. However, seemingly at the last second, Golden State and Dallas entered the deal and the biggest trade the NBA's seen since Fatoine going to Miami in 2005 happened.

In this complex deal, we will send point guard Jose Calderon to the Bobcats, and rebounder Reggie Evans to the Mavericks, and received Phoenix's combo guard Leandro Barbosa and Charlotte's Boris Diaw in return. The deal also saw Monta Ellis, Eduardo Najera and Matt Carroll join the Bobcats. Golden State, in what was essentially a pure salary dump, received Erick Dampier's instant expiring, Charlotte's 2011 first round draft pick and Dwyane Collins. The Dallas Mavericks significantly bolstered their big man rotation with Tyson Chandler, Reggie Evans and Alexis Ajinca. Finally, the rebuilding Suns acquired expiring big man Dan Gadzuric and the Mavericks' 2012 first round draft pick in the deal.


Welcome to Toronto, guys. You'll fit right in.
Though I would have preferred to dump Turk, and get a real Center in Chandler (we now have Bargs, Amir, Ed Davis and Diaw at the 4), but this does save us some money and arguably improves our team. Leandro Barbosa was injured for nearly half the season, and suffered career lows across the board, only managing 9.5 points per game on a career low true shooting percentage of .526%. However, Barbosa has been a force to be reckoned with in prior seasons, expecially in his 2006-07 career year, in which he averaged 18 points per game, with a TS of .595% and won the NBA's sixth man of the year award. If Barbs can revert to his fringe all-star form, then we've got a steal on our hands.

Then there's Boris Diaw, another former Phoenix Sun. I'm not so sure about him. He had one great career season in which he won the Most Improved Player Award, got a big contract out of it, and has been inconsistent and out of shape since. Reminds me of a certain other player on this roster... Diaw has primarily played the power forward position in recent years, but is versatile enough to play all 5. He may have to play the Center position like he did on occasion in Phoenix. Boris is overpaid, with 2 seasons at 9 million a year still remaining. His contract could be a good trade chip come 2011-12 however. Diaw averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game last season in Charlotte, which was right around his career averages. Here's hoping Triano can motivate him to play like his 2005-06 self.


Thanks for the memories, guys!
On the other side of the trade, we lose defensively challenged Spanish point guard Jose Calderon, and rebounder Reggie Evans. Calderon has spent all five years of his career in Toronto, and is both the team's all-time assist leader, and the holder of the record for best free throw percentage in a season (his astonishing 98.1% mark was the silver lining of an otherwise lost 2008-09 season). Last season, Calderon was hobbled by an injury, and suffered his worst season since his rookie year. His offensive efficiency fell (his free throw percentage was under 80%!), and was the worst defensive player in the NBA. However, Calderon has been very good in his career, with a career offensive rating of 120. His contract is bad, but he can still be a fringe all-star player. I wish him the best in Charlotte.

Reggie Evans, on the other hand, only played one season for the Raps, and spent most of it in street clothes. As an aging power forward, Evans was clearly not in the Raptors' future plans. However, I have nothing bad to say about his tenure here. His goodbye Tweet was great, and I loved his enthusiasm from the bench. (That blue jacket, however...) I wouldn't mind seeing him winning a ring with Dallas. (because let's face it, Dallas's title window will be long closed by the time we get a team that can even make the playoffs)

All in all, I approve of the trade. I would have much rather gotten Tyson Chandler instead of Boris Diaw, but a lot of money has been saved for the 2012 off-season. Barbosa and Diaw should help our teams, and Calderon and Evans are now in much better situations. While I expect this trade to be a precursor to a consolidation trade bringing in a serviceable center, this is a solid first move for Liam Washburn (though apparently Bryan Colangelo had initiated talks). I'd personally give this trade a B+, though time will tell how well this works out.

[Fresh8]

Looking good man. Can't wait for more.

You know I may not be replying regularly but I am still reading. The internet at home is just acting up so it's sort of a bitch atm.

[Axel The Great]

13 player trade! Wow.

[kibaxx7]

Good trade for you Lamrock Barbosa will surely do great.

[Alejandrov011]

Barbosa replaced by Gadzuric... You have to be kiddin me


The Suns were robbed in daylight with a carrot as a gun

[Valor]

Loving the prologue and good stuff all round here man, keep it up

[Lamrock]

No substantial updates today, but here's what Hedo was up to prior to the Prologue:

phpBB [video]

[Murat]

[buzzy]

That somehow reminded me of Dancing Guy from Sunny.

[cavs4872]

The first eight seconds were the best part. He wasn't even eating the pizza.

[Axel The Great]

Wow, the last part was pretty racist, with Mexican food and Arizona.......

Anyways, pretty funny video, first part was hilarious.

[Lamrock]

2010 Offseason Round-Up Part 2

September 28, 2010 - After a very active start to the off-season, which saw our franchise player leave, and a blockbuster (okay, that's a bit of an overstatement) trade go down, things have cooled considerably. We signed an undersized shooting guard with no clear role or ability besides three-point shooting, and then silence. I guess the best thing to do with an expensive 25 win team is to stand pat... Either way, with the pre-season looming, let's take another look into the archives to see how we got here (and reminisce).

Denver Nuggets Do Not Match, Kleiza Officially A Raptor
July 16, 2010 - Three days ago, if you told Raptors fans that Linas Kleiza'a 4 year, $18.8 offer sheet would not be matched, they would likely be thrilled. Then Hedo Turkoglu failed his physical and would be staying in Toronto. The Raptors now have both players, in addition to young swingmen DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems who play the small forward position. Kleiza, 25, sports career averages of 8.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in four seasons with the Nuggets.

Toronto Raptors Sign Salim Stoudamire
July 29, 2010 - The Toronto Raptors have agreed to terms with sharpshooting combo guard Salim Stoudamire. Stoudamire, 28, spent three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 8 points a game. He boasts a career average of 36.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Stoudamire's deal is reportedly worth $1.2 million over two years, with the second year being a player option. The signing of the former Sun Devil likely means that Summer League stand-out Bobby Brown will not make the Raptors' roster.

Your 2010-11 Toronto Raptors:

Starting Lineup:


G Jarrett Jack | 6'3", 197 lbs | Georgia Tech | Born: October 28, 1983 (C)
G/F DeMar DeRozan | 6'7", 220 lbs | USC | Born: August 7, 1989
F Hedo Turkoglu | 6'10", 220 lbs | Turkey | Born: March 19, 1979
F/C Andrea Bargnani | 7'0", 250 lbs | Italy | Born: October 25, 1985 (C)
F/C Boris Diaw | 6'8", 235 lbs | France | Born: April 16, 1982

Bench:


F Amir Johnson | 6'10", 225 lbs | Westchester HS | Born: May 1, 1987
G Leandro Barbosa | 6'3", 202 lbs | Brazil | Born: November 28, 1982
F Linas Kleiza | 6'8", 245 lbs | Lithuania | Born: January 3, 1985
G Marco Belinelli | 6'5", 200 lbs | Italy | Born: March 25, 1986
G/F Sonny Weems | 6'6", 203 lbs | Arkansas | Born: July 8, 1986
F/C Ed Davis | 6'10", 227 lbs | North Carolina | Born: June 5, 1989
G Salim Stoudamire | 6'2", 175 lbs | Arizona | Born: October 11, 1982

Injury Reserves:


G Marcus Banks | 6'2", 205 lbs | UNLV | Born: November 19, 1981
F/C Joey Dorsey | 6'8", 268 lbs | Memphis | Born: December 16, 1983
C Solomon Alabi | 7'1", 237 lbs | Florida State | March 27, 1988

[cavs4872]

I get that Bargnani is more fit to be a power forward, but Diaw starting at center is just unacceptable. I'd waive a scrub and try to sign/trade for a decent center, and then have Boris come off of the bench. If one of your bigs gets injured you're kind of screwed that way too.

[Axel The Great]

WTF is Salim? Never heard of him. You should give Dorsey a chance, he's a great rebounder and has lots of energy.

[Fresh8]

Kleiza is a good addition

[Lamrock]

Hyperize., When Amar'e missed the 2005-06 season, Boris Diaw started at Center, had a career year and the Suns won 54 games, coming within two wins of the NBA Finals. If Diaw sucks that much, I'll start Amir and get another big.

Axel13, Undersized three-point specialist shooting guard who kicked ass in college. Dorsey... Eh... Got a bit of a logjam at the 4.

Sit, If you say so...

[Fresh8]

He is! I'm a fan

[kibaxx7]

Overall, I'm a fan of your roster man. Barbosa and Kleiza are favs.

[Lamrock]

Yeah, I like my roster too. Was considering having the trade go South (again), but opted against it because it would have been a hassle and I wanted to keep the Party Machine.

Playing the pre-season right now. Only doing 5 minute quarters to set rotations, tweak sliders (ridiculous how broken the game is out of box) and such. Will do a brief recap of the pre-season, though be ready for scores in the 50s and 60s.