The Raptors made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by signing free agent Hedo Turkoglu. That move alone upgrades the Raptors' talent level and should make them better.
But perhaps as important are the lesser, more-under-the-radar acquisitions Toronto made since the end of its 33-49 season. On their own, these moves didn't register very high on the impact meter. But when taken collectively, they should dramatically improve the team's depth, which was a problem area a year ago.
ORLANDO -- Ever since he was traded to the Orlando Magic almost three months ago, Vince Carter has said all the right things. He's talked endlessly about fitting in with a team that reached the NBA Finals last season, about altering his game to fit with center Dwight Howard, and about being happy to change the way he has played his entire career.
On Friday, coach Stan Van Gundy finally asked him to stop.
He doesn't want Carter fitting in. He wants him standing out.
Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it with a Debate in the Paint. This week, the topic is the Toronto Raptors, and whether they are moving toward being contenders in the East.
Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it with a Debate in the Paint. This week, the topic is the Toronto Raptors, and whether they are moving toward being contenders in the East.
The Toronto Raptors never have won more than 47 games in a season, and they probably never will, which makes this whole debate kind of sad. It's a wonderful city with a lively international flair, but it has a franchise that is destined for a life of basketball mediocrity.
All has been fairly quiet on the Lamar Odom front for the past week or so -- too quiet, in fact, for those hoping that the Lakers would re-sign the heart and soul of their championship team to a new contract. Sure, there were reports leaked that Odom personally called team owner Jerry Buss to try to reopen the negotiations, (as well as a rumor that Kobe Bryant made a similar call to try to get the two sides talking), but nothing concrete for the hand-wringing masses of Laker fans to be able to hang their hats on.
Until today, that is. The L.A. Times is reporting that the two sides once again began talking on Wednesday. But with the Lakers likely offering less than they did at the beginning, is a deal any more likely this time around?
On this episode of the Young And The Cap Flexible...
In our last episode, we clued you into a potential deal that would send Carlos Boozer to Chicago, Kirk Hinrich to Portland, and Tyrus Thomas to Utah, among other moving pieces. The deal was refuted by several sources, but ESPN's sticking to their guns that the deal is on the table, but has hit a snag.
That snag? The Blazers insistence on keeping a phenomenal young player so that they can ... not play him?
LAS VEGAS -- Raptors coach Jay Triano already has thought a lot about how his team is going to play in 2009-10. He pretty much wants the Raptors to be the Orlando Magic of the North.
Triano has three versatile big men at his disposal – Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu – and he plans to employ the same kind of system that was successful for the Magic this past season.
"Hedo is so good at handling the ball, and we're not afraid of letting our forwards do that," Triano said. "Bargnani stretches the defense with his ability to shoot and Bosh is good inside or facing up or rolling to the basket. I would think we'll do things similar to what Orlando did.
What had been a tricky deal between Dallas, who is apparently in BUY! BUY! BUY! mode, and Toronto, who is attempting to maximize its Hedo Turkoglu cushion, turned into a four-way ballroom dance. Orlando reportedly jumped in to get a trade exception for the loss of Hedo and Memphis will provide its usual role as facilitator.
Rasheed Wallace is one of the last major free agent names to make a commitment, and if the reports turn out to be true (thanks to Hedo Turkoglu, you can never be too sure), he'll be suiting up to start the 2009 season as a member of the Celtics.
Our own Matt Steinmetz thinks that makes Boston the favorite to take home the title next year. But to me, that seems -- to put it as politely as possible -- a bit overly-optimistic.
Turkoglu's agent Lon Babby admitted Saturday that Hedo made a verbal committment to the Blazers Friday before changing course. That might seem like bad pool, but that's one of the dangers of negotiating deals during the free agency moratorium the first week of July. Last-minute reversals have happened before, and they'll happen again. (It's also worth noting no one confirmed a Portland deal on the record during Friday's crazy hours. Everything was anonymously sourced.)
FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.
ORLANDO -- Ever since he was traded to the 
Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our 
All has been fairly quiet on the 
On this episode of the Young And The Cap Flexible...
LAS VEGAS -- Raptors coach 
The rumored sign-and-trade sending 
It seems 
